Current_Events: February 2008 Archive Page

Elia Powers, Inside Higher Ed:

What plays into coverage of violence, both on campus and elsewhere? The answer, most experts agree, is a confluence of factors.

The obvious starting point -- and one that media analysts say weighs heavily on the minds of editors in all tragedies, not just school shootings -- tends to be the number of victims. Look at the math in the three recent college cases: Virginia Tech (33 dead, dozens injured). Northern Illinois (6 dead, 16 others injured). Louisiana Technical College (3 dead, no injuries).

It's also a matter of the news cycle. The Virginia Tech attacks took place during a period of relative calm. These latest shootings occurred in the midst of the busy election season. Some also point to the fact that Virginia Tech came first and with the descriptor "worst shooting rampage in modern United States history." Since then, school and store shootings have become somewhat regular occurrences.

"This has now become, sad to say, a genre of news story -- the crazed gunman in the school or work place or mall," said Roy P. Clark, vice president and senior scholar at the Poynter Institute.

The BBC appended this to its coverage of the Mexico City explosion:

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At no time should you endanger yourself or others, take any unnecessary risks or infringe any laws.

From the AP:

Danish police said Tuesday they have arrested three people suspected of plotting to kill one of the 12 cartoonists behind the Prophet Muhammad drawings that sparked a deadly uproar in the Muslim world two years ago.

From the AP:

The estate of "Lord of the Rings" creator J.R.R. Tolkien is suing the film studio that released the trilogy based on his books, claiming the company hasn't paid it a penny from the estimated $6 billion the films have grossed worldwide.

Amanda Cochran, who was a student in my freshman composition class not too many years ago, went on to be the editor-in-chief of the student paper, and is now in grad school at NYU. She writes about taking on an assignment on short notice.

I was nominated to cover the story yesterday by one of my professors, and just on a whim, I said yes because the press credential online option was closing down and I was one of the only people in my class available to sign up.

So I did.

It wasn't just any assignment... she was to cover Hillary Clinton's Super Tuesday campaign party, and then report live on the NYU Tonight broadcast.  Minimal time to prepare; a chaotic environment; a pressing deadline; competition with a pack of dedicated professionals; then the added pressure of delivering the report live. What did she have to say when it was all over?

God, I love journalism.

Update: added screenshot via this entry.

Wired:

A leading general and former top military spokesman in Iraq is pleading with the armed services to let troops blog and post to YouTube.   Too bad the video site is banned on military nets, and Army rules squeeze military bloggers, hard.  Greg Grant notes, politely, that Caldwell's "recommendation that appears to run counter to Pentagon policy."

Yahoo (AP):

"Microsoft's consistent belief has been that the combination of Microsoft and Yahoo! clearly represents the best way to deliver maximum value to our respective shareholders, as well as create a more efficient and competitive company that would provide greater value and service to our customers," Ballmer wrote.

It has been years since I've taken Yahoo! seriously, but this is still chilling. Diversity keeps cyberspace healthy. Monopoly reduces freedom.