On UVa rape story: Rolling Stone editors “regret the decision to not contact the alleged assaulters to get their account.”

Rolling Stone, how about you apologize by disclosing the money you made by sensationalizing the under-researched UVa fraternity rape story, and donating it all to a women’s shelter and a journalism scholarship? To Our Readers: Last month, Rolling Stone published a story titled “A Rape on Campus” by Sabrina Rubin Erdely, which described a brutal gang rape…

A college tells faculty it’s illegal to speak to student journalists

Congratulations, President Meadows. You have turned the little local squabble you wanted to silence into a very public issue. (See “Streisand Effect.”) Meadows said even though the administration is not prevented from speaking with students about the labor impasse, he had declined to answer [student journalist] Garber’s questions about the dispute. That, Meadows said, means…

What Is Gamergate, and Why? An Explainer for Non-Geeks

I’ve been following the frustrating slow burn that is #Gamergate for some time. I’m planning to introduce it in my online Video Game Culture and Theory class this January. This ground-level introduction will help add context to the mayhem. Until recently, you might have lived a life blissfully unaware of the online #Gamergate movement. But…

Reporters say White House sometimes demands changes to press-pool reports

The decades-old White House press pool was created as a practical compromise between the news media and the nation’s chief executive: Instead of having a mob of journalists jostling to cover the president at every semi-public function, a handful of reporters are designated to act as proxies, or “poolers,” for the entire press corps. Poolers…

Synergy! Opportunity! Ambition! Risk! 

I had an epic, hour-long meeting with three student journalism leaders. Synergy! Opportunity! Ambition! Risk! I’m so glad to see their eagerness and their dedication. Looking forward to what another semester will bring. Similar:The Ascent #StarTrek #DS9 Rewatch (Season 5, Episode 9) Odo and Quark bicker their way up …Things Past #StarTrek #DS9 Rewatch (Season…

The CRAFT of News Writing (Clear, Relevant, Accurate, Fair, Timely)

An introductory lecture covering the First Amendment to the US Constitution, the Fourth Estate, the Functions of Journalism, and C.R.A.F.T. (Clarity, Relevance, Accuracy, Fairness, Timeliness). Similar:The Ascent #StarTrek #DS9 Rewatch (Season 5, Episode 9) Odo and Quark bicker their way up …Things Past #StarTrek #DS9 Rewatch (Season 5, Episode 8) Odo confronts his reputation as…

Journalism is doing just fine, thanks — it’s mass-media business models that are ailing

Hmm… I warn my freshmen not to use the vague “Some people say…”, so I’m immediately biased against this author’s writing. Nevertheless, the internal links provide a useful overview. Some argue that the rise of the internet has destroyed — or severely crippled — journalism, but all it has really done is disrupted traditional mass-media…