Monthly Archives: October 2013

Shooting shows how news can mislead

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By ADAM HENDEL

Reports on Oct. 3 from multiple sources seemed misleading about the “shootings on Capital Hill.”

Without doubt, security around government buildings should be tight, but the way this story was reported made the situation seem like a terrorist attack.

Those following the news viewed images of civilians rushing to find cover. Video and audio clips focused on gunfire while the main details were initially neglected.

On Oct. 3, CBSNews.com’s video catching the incident was captioned, “Capitol Hill car chase, shooting.” The video showed a black car driving away as viewers could only hear, but not see gunshots.

That day, The New York Times captioned a photo, “Shots fired near the capitol” and in the proceeding article wrote, “By the time the ensuing chase ended, dozens of shots had been fired and two officers were injured.”

It’s plausible that many believed there was a gunfight due to vague videos and captions like these. The warning should have pertained to a reckless driver leading a car chase, not a shooting. The hurt officers sustained their injuries due to the vehicle pursuit, not from bullets.

The following day, CBS announced that there was one fatal victim, Miriam Carey, 34, who was gunned down by police after she “ran her car into a barricade near the white house and led officers on a high-speed chase.”

As it turns out, the only shooting that took place was by the police. According to the Chicago Tribune earlier that day, “All the shooting appears to have been done by police. Law enforcement sources said the suspect did not shoot a gun and there is no indication she had one.”

By Oct. 5, Carey’s image had transitioned from a threat to our government to a depressed mother who didn’t deserve to be killed.

The Chicago Tribune announced that the victim suffered from post-partum depression and was not a harmful person. Valarie Carey, the victim’s sister and former New York police sergeant stated, “Deadly physical force was not the ultimate recourse and it didn’t have to be.”

However, this portion of the story, which defends the victim, was only citing the perspective of her sister, making the story article very subjective.

In situations like this, it is difficult to distinguish the relevant details versus subject matter presented to catch a viewer’s attention. The mixed news coverage makes stories like this confusing. It is important not to make quick assumptions from breaking news; not everything we see is definitive.

No more bad news for Derrick Rose

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By ADAM HENDEL

Chicago’s all-star point guard, Derrick Rose, made his return in the Bulls’ preseason opener after 526 days. Rose tore his ACL on April 28, 2012, and suffered a rather slow recovery.

Sports reporters and many basketball fans complained that Rose was taking too much time off the court. His doctor had cleared Rose to play at the end of the season, but Rose decided not to rush his situation.

Brent Barry and numerous other reporters have called Rose the “ultimate competitor.” Many agree that Rose was not being selfish and that it must have been difficult for him to watch the team struggle in his absence.

Conversely, some critics believed Rose should have returned shortly after his clearance. However, he did not play. When the bulls needed support in the post season, many complained that Rose should have felt obliged to step in.

During the NBA playoffs, Charles Barkley explained on Bleacher Report, “Derrick Rose has been practicing with no limitations; he should have been playing two months ago.”

Despite previous gossip about Rose, On October 5th, Sports Center explained how the start of a new season felt like a new begging for Derrick Rose. He put an end to the negative reports when he scored eleven points in the first half.

According to the Chicago Tribune, Rose explained that he “had no nerves and didn’t want to get caught up in the hype of the situation.” The 2011 MVP felt the game was a step in the path towards being ready for the regular season. It’s exciting to hear more positive news about Derrick Rose.

Journalism, a career or a death wish?

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By AXEL TURCIOS

The practice of journalism in Central America has become more than a career choice, it is considered more of an attempt to find death in an intellectual way.

My country, Honduras, is not an exception for journalists, who fight for exposé of political corruption as well as other internal problems. While working towards the truth, these professionals put not only their lives, but also the lives of their families, at high risks.

Ramón Custodio, Honduran Human Rights commissioner, expressed his concern about the impunity that keeps the murders of 35 people linked to the news media recorded at their institution between 2003 and so far this year, only two of such cases have come to judgment.

According to the Citizen Council for Public Safety and Criminal Justice (a private organization and part of the Mexican Employers’ Association), for the second year in a row, San Pedro Sula, Honduras, remains at the top spot as the most violent city in the world, with 169 homicides per 100,000 inhabitants.

Such a ranking brings up the question of what is Porfirio Lobo, president of Honduras, doing to address the criminal crisis?

Juan Ramón Mairena, president of the Honduran College of Journalism, mentioned his sorrow towards the incompetence from President Lobo’s government to complete their promises to implement a protection program mainly targeted for journalists.

In the past year, President Lobo has maintained a confrontation with different media outlets, especially with the ones that criticize his administration by pointing out his security, economic and social failures.

One of the main causes for deaths in the Latin America country is the constant fight among the drug cartels and politicians who are related to extortion, corruption and money-laundering schemes.

A mass communication career is very difficult in a nation where drug trafficking has influenced many people to begin campaigns to stop journalists from denouncing the corrupt.

Journalists, in their attempt to portray the reality of things, lose their fear and end up throwing themselves into the enemy’s claws.

Believe it or not, if I had to live in Honduras again, my passion for journalism would still be the same. In other words, I’d still choose to communicate with others regardless the risks to which I would be exposed.

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California law impacts journalists

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By MELANIE MARTINEZ

The governor of California, Jerry Brown, has recently signed a law that expands protections for journalists.

It reigns in the control of federal prosecutors by giving journalists a five days’ notice before they serve the reporters subpoenas on their records, so that they cannot leak them to the media.

This way, the government agencies’ ability to seize journalists’ records is substantially curbed. They must first give a notice to reporters and news organizations before seeking a subpoena of journalistic information. This information refers to that of a third party, such as internet service providers and cell phone companies.

This law comes about after the Justice Department’s investigation of leaks about a Yemen conspiracy to bomb a U.S. airliner in 2012. The government’s agents had seized phone records from the Associated Press without first notifying them.

In July the Justice Department pledged to notify news organizations if a subpoena on information is being sought.

Here in Florida, the government has existing shield laws and court-recognized privileges  for journalists and the media.

Although this a law enacted in California, an action like this affects the country as a whole and the journalists who report and write in it.

As seen throughout American history, when one state enacts a law, it says something about the state of the country and its policies as a whole.

The United States, though it is a democratic country with freedoms of press and speech, it ranks as low as 47th in the world by the Press Freedom Index created by Reporters Without Borders.

Though the California law mirrors the new media regulations put in place at the federal level, concerns over the way the Occupy protests were handled and the fact that the First Amendment is being taken for granted mean our government must keep moving towards total press freedom.

The Founding Fathers wrote the First Amendment in order for Americans to be able to truly express themselves and seek truth and righteousness from our government. As Americans, we can never lose sight of that.

As Abraham Lincoln implored in his Gettysburg Address, the world “can never forget what they did here.”

The only way we can have a truly free democracy is if we have a truly free press, existing sans restrictions that prohibit the public from knowing the truth in order to spark debate and have a government by the people, for the people.

Media don’t seek positive side of festival

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By MELISSA MALLIN

CHATTAHOOCHEE HILLS, Ga. — Despite much of the negative news media attention directed towards the EDM — electronic dance music — scene, America’s new music festival TomorrowWorld, brought over from Belgium, turned out to be a huge success.

One of the biggest concerns with the festival was obviously drug use. After two deaths and many hospitalizations at Electric Zoo, a music festival held in New York, many news media outlets directed even more negative attention to the rave scene and music festivals.

Sisters Miriam and Olivia Nervo, better known as NERVO, play their set at TomorrowWorld on Sept. 28 (Photo by Melissa Mallin).

Sisters Miriam and Olivia Nervo, better known as NERVO, play their set at TomorrowWorld on Sept. 28 (Photo by Melissa Mallin).

We’ve all heard about those unfortunate souls who have gone to a music festival such as Electric Zoo, EDC, and Ultra, and have overdosed and died or have been  hospitalized in critical condition.

So how did TomorrowWorld, held in Chattahoochee Hills, Ga., near Atlanta, eliminate such atrocities?

To start, the festival raised its age limit to 21-plus. There were no tickets. Festival-goers received bracelets, which had to be activated in order to enter. IDs were closely checked and scanned and bags were eagerly examined. Police also walked dogs around the premises to try and sniff out illicit substances.

Precautions were taken and once fans entered the festival they disappeared into a confounded world of music and love. Investigative journalists from MSNBC bought tickets and joined the festival in an investigation to find out just how easy it was to get drugs and find “Molly.” They found many fans openly walked around offering it and many others looking to find it.

D.J Kill Paris plays an hour long set at TomorrowWorld 2013 on Sept. 29 (Photo by Melissa Mallin).

D.J Kill Paris plays an hour long set at TomorrowWorld 2013 on Sept. 29 (Photo by Melissa Mallin).

But despite the fact that, yes, drugs are very easy to come across at a music festival, the festival was one of the most successful ones ever to  be produced in the United States.

Out of the 140,000 people from more than 100 countries that attended, there were absolutely no fights, few arrests and, most importantly, no deaths.

Fulton County Commissioner Robb Pitts praised the festival for being an absolute success. He cited both the economic impact and the good behavior of the attendees by stating that the festival had an “unimaginable” impact.

He also announced that Fulton County has agreed to an 8 to 10 year contract with the festival and it will most definitely be coming back.

You may be wondering why this is newsworthy?

After attending the festival myself, it pains me that the news media only follows EDM after a music festival and only reports on deaths and illicit drug use that openly takes place. What the media fails to recognize is that music festivals bring people of all cultures, from a variety of different backgrounds and different languages, together through music. Yes, there are drugs but not everyone uses them. In fact, most people go there sober, have a couple of beers and just rage.

But this is not enough to be newsworthy today. Today’s news often requires a negative element.

The news media could find meaningful and interesting feature stories by looking at the fan base and how fans prepare for such festivals. Many festival goers spend hours making Kandy (beaded bracelets) to wear and pass around to other people. When handing out bracelets they make a peace sign, a heart for love, they clasp their hands together for unity, and they pass on a bracelet out of respect. This ritual symbolizes the festival motto: PLUR — Peace, Love, Unity, Respect.

A festival goer (Photo by Melissa Mallin)

A festival goer (Photo by Melissa Mallin)

Many people also spend days trying to put together the most outrageous and sexiest of outfits. A music festival is like Halloween for three days where everybody dresses in neons, fishnets, crazy hats, short shorts, pasties, skimpy tops, fuzzy boots, body suits and so on.

It truly is a sight to be seen and could be an interesting story if the media covered the costs of buying such outfits, or simply the costs of going to the festival itself. There are so many other aspects of a music festival the media could cover besides the drug use and the negative imperfections that go on with such events.

But, again, the positive side of the music culture today does not seem to be newsworthy.

It would be nice to see media outlets recognize music festivals for what they are — a generally safe place for people to gather, socialize, dance, and ultimately experience one of the most amazing feelings in the world. It is one of the very few places where you can truly witness and experience “world peace.”

With all the hate expressed in the world today, a music festival is one of the few places where people from around the world can gather and share an experience. The love produced in these festivals is purely an epidemic that needs to be brought into the real world.

Alvin Risk playing his set at TomorrowWorld on Sept. 29 (Photo by Melissa Mallin).

Alvin Risk playing his set at TomorrowWorld on Sept. 29 (Photo by Melissa Mallin).

Music festivals, are honestly one of the most peaceful, happiest places you could ever have the chance to go to. It’s not all about drugs unless you make it all about drugs. For the most part, people go, dance,  experience love, and it is one of the happiest places in the world, if only  for a few days.

It’s the best way to escape from work and reality basically because you walk right into a new world. Your work becomes your dance and your reality becomes the stages and the beautiful installations that go with it. When the festival ends and you’re on your way home, it is indeed heartbreaking because your alter reality is over, (at least until next year) and it is time to return to the real world yet again.

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Motorcyclists incident caught on video

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By ALEXANDRA SILVER

The concept of sharing the roadway with bikers has always been difficult to grasp for most drivers on the road. Motorcyclists, just like other drivers, must follow the “rules of the road” but we still find many cyclists breaking the law.

On Sept. 29, a man named Alexian Lein was driving on Manhattan’s West Side highway in a Range Rover with both his wife and 2-year-old daughter when they were slowed by hundreds of motorcyclists.

The incident has attracted national and international news media attention because there was video of the incident and it is being replayed countless times as part of coverage of the story. It’s another example of the pervasiveness of video today and how it impacts our ability to see and to understand dangerous moments such as this one.

Lein was waiting patiently as the motorcyclists fooled around, holding up traffic for no apparent reason. As Lein attempted to get past the cyclists, he accidentally hit one of the motorcycles and continued to drive away. This prompted the hundreds of cyclists to follow his vehicle until he was at a red light.

In a matter of minutes, a cyclist bashed the driver’s window with his helmet and proceeded to attack Lein, breaking his leg, but leaving his wife and daughter unharmed.

This situation is particularly frightening, seeing as Lein was simply trying to protect his family and the motorcyclists continued to threaten and eventually injure him. They proceeded to destroy property and cause physical harm in front of both his wife and daughter.

Police are now investigating the incident and two of the cyclists have already been arrested. Another cyclist that was struck by the SUV is now paralyzed and the charges against him have been dropped.

Despite the fact that Lein should have been cautious of the cyclists, he was threatened and any father’s first reaction would be to protect their loved ones when they are in need.

Blogging vs. Journalism

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By VALERIA VIERA

The talk Jay Rosen did about “The Twisted Psychology of Bloggers vs. Journalists” relates to how blogging and using the Internet to share stories is a whole new scenario, that’s actually interrupting journalists’ work.

“Work lives have been disrupted by the Internet. There’s an attraction there,” he says.

My point of view in this matter was supported when I read the words of an editor’s column in an Australian newspaper:

“The great thing about newspapers is that, love us or hate us, we’re the voice of the people. We represent the community, their views, their aspirations and their hopes. Bloggers, on the other hand, represent nothing. They whinge, carp and whine about our role in society, and yet they contribute nothing to it, other than satisfying their juvenile egos.”

This expresses reality and, for me, the complete truth. Yes, bloggers are going to be a constant problem in our society, but, after all, news is news and the newspapers are the ones going to inform citizens and the community in a way that doesn’t judge, that tells the truth, that’s reliable and remains a place where opinions don’t interfere, like in blogs. When you finish reading this contribution, you can choose which side, bloggers or journalists, or better, just understand where each one stands.

For me, journalists are the ones who have to go out there, have the experience, be in the situation (sometimes), so later on they can go and write the objective story. Bloggers just talk and write opinions (most of the time negative) about the news that have already occurred and told by the press. And if they do report original news, a lot of times it is not true, causing people to believe things that did not actually happen. Obviously, this can cause a lot of problems.

“I’ve said that bloggers and journalists are each others’ ideal “other.”

This sentence also grabbed my attention. I would say bloggers and journalists have a competition where, in fact, journalists have a fear of being replaced by these new individuals.

It is a new competition that, through the Internet, is overcoming the role of the press or, better yet, like was stated in The Introduction, the press itself is being absorbed into the media.

Peace journalism is great idea, in theory

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By MARISSA YOUNG

In my Freedom of Expression class at the University of Miami, we have been discussing peace journalism.  Advocates for peace journalism recognize that today’s media are too eager to focus on violence and tend to favor what they consider to be the victimized parties and assign blame to the “others.”

Peace journalism attempts to give everyone a voice and expose untruths on all sides, while promoting peace and reconciliation instead of war and violence.

In this style of writing, journalists are not supposed to use words like “terrorists,” as these words are considered demonizing language. Instead, they are supposed to call groups by what they call themselves, like al-Qaeda.

Our assignment was to find articles and rank them according to a peace journalism rubric.  As I read through articles, I realized how difficult it would be to adhere to the peace journalism standards. For example, “murdered” has negative and obviously violent connotations, but what else are you supposed to say if that’s what happened? Saying that a man “killed” somebody may have a little less of a negative connotation, but the connotation is there nonetheless.

I agree that an author should make every effort to quote or at least talk to and write about all parties involved and I do think that in many cases this can be done better than it is done now. Sometimes, though, it may be too dangerous.

Should journalists have to reach out to a group that just bombed a civilian’s house? And how are they supposed to talk about this incident without victimizing the civilian? I’m not sure how peace journalism advocates would answer these questions, although it seems to me that the rubric is arbitrary; the person rating an article can interpret the categories and define them however he or she chooses.

One part of the peace journalism rubric is “writer advocates for one side/position.”  (A score of three indicates deviance from the peace journalism philosophy.) This is where peace journalism contradicts itself: it says that authors should be objective, but one of its main goals is to promote peace and reconciliation rather than violence.  Even peace journalism has its own agenda and is inherently biased.

I believe that peace journalism is a noble concept, but it is impractical. It is an unattainable ideal, but we can at least shift toward it, combining some ideas, like less thirst for blood and more open-mindedness, with traditional reporting styles.

Is news a dieter’s friend or enemy?

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By REBECCA COHEN

Endless stories with wavering opinions on the newest, best way to lose weight are reported daily.

However, the information that is disclosed is never finite and usually contradicts previous reports by that same news source.

Among the most popular amidst ever-changing diet tips are super foods.

On Huffington Post’s “Healthy Living” page, it features avocados as one of its brain super foods; however, on the same page, it tells dieters to avoid the vegetable altogether.

And don’t get me started on the news reports on breakfast.

News reports are so unreliable that dieting reports should consider discontinuing, considering dieting tips are not newsworthy in the first place.

However, does this fluctuating information simply mirror the rest of news?

Reports about the country’s financial status, governmental status and presidential status are constantly changing. The problem with the media is that, alike the American people, it cannot make up its mind.

So, for now, the government is shut down, we should not eat carbs at breakfast and should never allow an avocado into our bodies.

But this could all change by tomorrow.

Meter model is newspaper’s best bet

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By SHAI FOX SAVARIAU

The Dallas Morning News recently had to take down its paywall for online digital subscribers because it turned out that it wasn’t doing as well as managers thought it would.

At first, publisher Jim Moroney stated that the paywall would only hinder the paper.

That was in 2009.

After putting the paywall into effect in 2011, Moroney then stated in 2012 that the paywall was “very satisfying” and that it drew many subscribers in the first year. In May of this year, Moroney decided to input a meter model, like the one that The New York Times has previously adopted. This is where a certain number of articles are available for free but then after the monthly limit is reached, readers must pay a subscription to see additional articles.

As it turns out, the copy-cat attempt flopped.

In my opinion, it’s interesting to see how newspapers are having to adjust to the digital age. Since print newspapers are not doing as well as before in creating revenue, newspaper companies have to find new ways of gaining income.

What this paper did wrong was that it input a hard paywall that barely allowed articles to be seen for free and THEN put a model meter after.

Other papers are struggling with this same dilemma. Paywalls seem unreasonable,  especially when there are ways of getting news for free, but when it comes to these small papers, they have to make sure some type of money is coming in for their online news services. I agree that paywalls are completely necessary for the journalism world these days. Unfortunately, these smaller papers are not The New York Times and have to be more efficient to maintain their profits.

Other papers need to just follow what The New York Times did. It’s a much more larger and more popular newspaper. They set the standard for every other paper, in a sense.  Constantly changing the strategy of your online newspaper’s website is not a good marketing idea.

Original article found here: http://www.cjr.org/the_audit/the_dallas_morning_news_drops.php

China’s journalists and the government

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By REBECCA FERNANDEZ

Tensions are flaring between China’s journalists and government officials after the Southern Weekend newspaper took a stand against government censorship. Recent protests against the nation’s long-standing government involvement in the press launched what many are referring to as the Beijing News incident.

It all began when the New Year’s issue of a Guangdong province newspaper, Southern Weekend, printed a piece by the local propaganda minister that ran without the knowledge of any of the editors. This was the final straw for several of the newspaper’s employees who, up to that point, had been obeying China’s censorship laws by not running pieces that the government had asked them to pull from print.

Southern Weekend’s fed-up editors publicly spoke out on Chinese microblogging site Weibo, claiming that the article allegedly written by Tuo Zhen, a provincial-level official, was “raping” the newspaper’s independence. The post went viral and was eventually taken down, but that hasn’t stopped a flow of criticism against China’s censorship laws.

The most recent backlash occurred when officials answered Southern Weekend’s plea for less government involvement with increased censorship and additional propaganda.

Another article was written, however. It was not as easy for officials to get news outlets to run the article this time around. Officials issued an order to several newspapers nationwide to run the article Tuesday, but only a handful followed through. However, newspapers like the Beijing News, who chose not to run it on Tuesday, were forced to do so the following day. The Beijing News did not give in easily and caved only when authorities physically arrived at its offices.

What really happened at the Beijing News office is still unclear, but several posts on Twitter said that the Weibo accounts of Beijing News employees were all deleted. Alleged photos of a chaotic Beijing News newsroom also made its way through Twitter.

One Beijing News employee, who chose to remain anonymous, confirmed that there was a meeting of administrative-level employees Wednesday morning.

If Dai’s resignation is confirmed, this will likely be the most defiant act a newspaper leader has taken in response to the recent Southern Weekend situation.

Weibo, China’s version of Twitter, has blocked all chatter on the Southern Weekend situation, as well as of the Beijing News incident, but that has not stopped Chinese sources from getting the news out.

News leaks could be threat to security

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By DANIELLE COHEN

Reporters are responsible for making information and news accessible. Sometimes, the information that may be newsworthy might not be safe to share as public knowledge.

A prime example of reporters leaking information that is not safe to share has happened recently and has put our country’s security as risk.

There was a report made by the McClatchy DC news service Washington bureau chief about how “odd” a story was on the front-page of The New York Times.

James Asher, the Washington bureau chief for McClatchy, made this statement in regards to a leak that took place in the beginning of August regarding the closing of 19 embassies that stirred media chaos.

McClatchy at the time supported publishing the details, which included intercepted communication between the Al Qaeda Leader Ayman al Zawahiri and Yemen AQAP head Nasir al Wuhayshi.

Other sources, such as The New York Times, decided it would be beneficial to hold back publishing this information and honor the government’s request. The Times did report communication involving “senior operatives of Al Qaeda,” but did not release any identities.

The evening of the release of The Times story , a Yemen expert explained “that an August leak regarding an Al Qaeda plot undermined U.S. intelligence gathering as — laughable.”

Now that it is about two months later, U.S officials who request anonymity told The Times that the leak promoted terrorists to change their methods of communication.

There are reports that this news leak damaged national security.

The Huffington Post stated that the U.S. government never raised concerns following the story released on Aug. 4 and that “multiple sources inside and outside of the Yemeni government confirmed our reporting and not one of them told us not to publish the facts.”

Gregory Johnsen, a Yemen expert and author of a book on al Qaida in Yemen, made the point that the U.S. publicly closed 19 embassies and that the facts about Wuhayshi and Zawhiri were known in Yemen.  The point she made was once the government leaks something, the information is hard to control.

We are unsure if our government is investigating the source of these leaks. We do know that the FBI and the office of the director of National Intelligence refused to speak about the subject. The Times also did not contribute and did not contact McClatchy for information.

For more information visit http://www.huffingtonpost.com/michael-calderone/mcclatchy-new-york-times-al-qaeda-leak_b_4022429.html?utm_hp_ref=media