Journalism: December 2007 Archive Page

Philip Kennicott (Washington Post) reflects on what we might learn about ourselves when we notice that the photographer who snapped the iconic image of a young girl crying in terror after a napalm attack in Viet Nam 35 years ago also snapped the iconic image of Paris HIlton weeping in the back seat of a police car.

They are both photographs. They were both taken by Nick Ut. They are both images of someone in pain. There, with the word "pain," you feel the powerful forces of repulsion. The pain of a little girl burned by napalm (dropped by our South Vietnamese allies) can't be equated with the pain of a silly goose who doesn't have the basic maturity to face a well-merited and laughably mild punishment with any dignity. The photograph of Kim Phuc is about a pain that is real and compelling to the conscience, not just because it was physical but because it was inflicted on an innocent child. The tears of Hilton were due to a court order that returned her to jail to complete a 23-day prison term after repeated probation violations (stemming from a drunk-driving arrest). The vision of her weeping just doesn't feel real. Hilton's pain was fodder for the national pastime of schadenfreude -- an ugly use for celebrity that often borders on sadism -- but at the same time, her pain could have disappeared in an instant, if she were capable of a single philosophical thought.

Spokesman Review:

"Our editors (Wednesday) night noticed the similarities in the two photos," said Paul Emerson, Tribune managing editor. "We are not crime-stoppers here. It is just a weird coincidence. If it did solve a crime, I'm glad it happened. I have seen nothing like this in my 26 years as Tribune managing editor."

A Tribune employee, originally alerted police about 3 a.m. Thursday to the obvious similarities between the men in both pictures.

The employee wanted police to see the front page before Millhouse did. The employee pointed out Millhouse was clearly the man police were seeking, sporting his blue- and black-checkered jacket and dark-colored, hooded sweatshirt in both pictures.

The New Statesman:

With only few days remaining in 2007, the indications are the global temperature for this year is the same as that for 2006 - there has been no warming over the 12 months.

But is this just a blip in the ever upward trend you may ask? No.

The fact is that the global temperature of 2007 is statistically the same as 2006 as well as every year since 2001. Global warming has, temporarily or permanently, ceased. Temperatures across the world are not increasing as they should according to the fundamental theory behind global warming - the greenhouse effect. Something else is happening and it is vital that we find out what or else we may spend hundreds of billions of pounds needlessly.

I've blogged on this topic before (pro-warming, pro-debate, pro-conspiracy). It's been interesting watching the way journalists (some of them committed environmental activists) have constructed the public understanding of the scientific debate. Politicians, business executives, and leaders of environmental groups can all be excused for their rhetorical excesses, but not the reporters.

Does the emotionally loaded term "global warming" mean "Humanity is recklessly endangering the environment by releasing excessive greenhouses gases into the air," or does it mean "The earth is now warmer than it was when glaciers covered most of Europe and North America"?

In 2002, David Winer bet Martin Nisenholtz that

In a Google search of five keywords or phrases representing the top five news stories of 2007, weblogs will rank higher than the New York Times' Web site.

According to Workbench:

So Winer wins the bet 3-2, but his premise of blog triumphalism is challenged by the fact that on all five stories, a major U.S. media outlet ranks above the leading weblog in Google search. Also, the results for the top story of the year reflect poorly on both sides.

In the five years since the bet was made, a clear winner did emerge, but it was neither blogs nor the Times.

Wikipedia, which was only one year old in 2002, ranks higher today on four of the five news stories: 12th for Chinese exports, fifth for oil prices, first for the Iraq war, fourth for the mortgage crisis and first for the Virginia Tech killings.

News Digest: After a 2006 shake-up at Yum, an executive named Hearl rose to the top position. But now Hearl is out, replaced by someone named Eaton. 

Yum executive Hearl will retire
Eaton to be new development chief

By Alex Davis
alexdavis@courier-journal.com
The Courier-Journal

Yum! Brands announced yesterday that the company's chief operating and development officer is retiring a year after he was promoted from president of Pizza Hut.

The Louisville-based fast-food company said Peter Hearl, 56, has decided to leave at the end of March after 17 years at Yum and its predecessor, PepsiCo. He will be succeeded by Roger Eaton, a Yum veteran of 12 years who now oversees the company's restaurants in Australia and the South Pacific.

"Roger Eaton is the perfect choice as Yum's new chief operating and development officer," David Novak, Yum's chief executive officer, said in a statement yesterday. "He is one of our very best leaders, with enormous talent, strategic thinking, energy, commitment and a stellar track record of consistent results."

Hearl's appointment on Dec. 1, 2006, was part of a shake-up of Yum's domestic management team. At the time, Yum faced lackluster domestic sales at many of its brands, including Taco Bell and Pizza Hut.

(From the Courier Journal, via Language Log.)

This ABC News story following up on an early 1990s story ends on a deftly sensitive note.

Since entering prison Smart has completed two master's degrees, one in law and one in English literature. Those studies have kept her focused.

And she said her favorite book is "The Scarlet Letter," which is the tale of a woman condemned for having an illicit affair.

"Nathaniel Hawthorne's 'The Scarlet Letter' is a story that I could really relate to," Smart said. "I feel like I'm this modern day scarlet letter that I can't ever get rid of."

"I'll be forever punished by my own bad choices," she added.

Filing this MetaFilter thread on movies about journalism.

News.com.au

Det-Sgt Jeff Maher of the homicide squad confirmed that a Google Earth satellite mapping van had been filming the area for up to a week.

He said the images captured by satellite could hold some clues to the gruesome murder.

"They (Google Earth) have had a van in the area for the last week," Det-Sgt Maher said. "We don't know what they've got yet. It's an avenue of inquiry at the moment." Police learnt of the Google Earth link during a door-knock of the area.

But wait a minute... the Google van takes pictures at street level. If it's the street-level pictures they're interested in, then what do "the images captured by satellite " have to do with the case? The quote from the police officer refers specifically to the van, so I'm guessing the reporter made a hasty assumption here.

I remember reading an interview with some who said he never bothers to read a news article that has "may" in the headline. Move along, folks, nothing to see here.

Inside Higher Ed offers short stories on two student papers that are struggling to keep their administrations at bay:

At Oklahoma State University, the editors of the Daily O'Collegian, the more than 80-year-old campus newspaper, have for several weeks refused to let the articles they write for the print publication appear on ocolly.com, the newspaper's online portal, because the student journalists are at odds with the university administration's publications board over who should have the power to hire and fire staff for the online operation.

And the editor of the student newspaper at Connecticut's Quinnipiac University has been threatened with the loss of his job in the wake of his public criticism of a university policy that bars the weekly Quinnipiac Chronicle from posting articles on its Web site until after they have already appeared in print. The editor, Jason Braff, argued that the policy impaired the newspaper's ability to keep the campus informed, but Quinnipiac officials said it was designed to improve the accuracy of the Chronicle's reporting, "in light of a student's enthusiasm to release 'breaking news.'"