Entries from May 2009
I took my daughter to the Strong National Museum of Play recently and noticed a couple of newspaper boxes like this in the exhibit for Sesame Street.
Five years ago, I wouldn’t have thought much of this. But today, with the current state of the newspaper industry, the sight of a newspaper box in a museum struck me as eerie. I couldn’t help but wonder if this was where newspaper boxes — and indeed, newspapers as we know them — were going to be. Not in our homes and in our hands, but in a museum exhibit.
My 4-year-old knows about newspapers. (How could she not when her mom used to work for one?) But it’s hard not to wonder if in the not-too-distant future children will be asking their parents what that box with the paper in it is when they tour exhibits like this. Five years ago, I don’t think it ever would have occurred to me that newspapers would be in the shape they are now. It’s not that much of a stretch to think that five years from now boxes like this will be gone for good — except for in museums.
Categories: future of journalism · newspapers
Tagged: death of newspapers, future of journalism, future of newspapers
If a radio host sends e-mails that say a politician is gay, is that libel?
You and I might say no, but Tom Fetzer, who is running to be head of the state of North Carolina’s Republican party, says it is.
He has informed his supporters that he intends to sue radio station WLTT and corporate owner Sea-Comm Media over e-mails sent by radio host Curtis Wright that said Fetzer is gay. Fetzer says he is not.
The News & Observer has the e-mail Fetzer, former mayor of Raleigh, sent to his supporters about the legal action here.
Mr. Fetzer, be prepared to be hit with outrage.
Categories: Media Law Case of the Week
Tagged: libel
I am in the midst of grading the many works of my students, so today I will simply offer you a “teaser” of what is to come next week:
- Monday: The Media Law Case of the Week
- Wednesday: What a trip to the Museum of Play taught me about journalism
- Friday: A look back at a classic video game tied to journalism that seems even older than it is
I hope to see you back here next week. Until then, enjoy the weekend. And I will enjoy diving into my students’ works.
Categories: front page
Tagged: coming attractions
A group of migrant workers who claimed a Fox News segment called “Manhunt at the Border” defamed them by making it seem that they were the subjects of a manhunt have lost another court case.
A photo of the migrant workers was shown during the course of the “Hannity and Colmes” segment. According to Courthouse News Service, the 4th District Court of Appeals said the broadcast, taken as a whole, never says there was a law enforcement hunt for the workers.
Courthouse News Service provides a short summary of the case as well as a link to court documents here.
Categories: Media Law
Tagged: defamation
Oy vey!
Woody Allen is getting $5 million from American Apparel because it used his image — or a parody of him dressed as a rabbi — in its ads without Allen’s 
permission.
The NY Post reported the settlement today — along with this image of the ad.
The Post, by the way, is dealing with its own legal troubles. A New York State Supreme Court justice is suing the newspaper for libel after a story alleged he paid to get his seat on the bench. The latest step in the case is a series of subpoenas to the judge’s family and at least eight other judges, according to the New York Times.
Categories: Media Law · Media Law Case of the Week
Tagged: appropriation, libel, Woody Allen
I’m teaching an old class with a new outlook this fall. It’s called Advanced Media Writing, and in the past, its topic was determined by the person who taught it. That meant it could be journalism or PR, depending on the teacher.
Now, the course is supposed to be a hybrid course that teaches all types of writing to all types of people. The problem is finding materials that are neither too basic nor too advanced. It’s a higher level course, but the broadcast people have never written for print and/or online, and the print people have not written for broadcasting.
My struggle is, as the field becomes converged, is teaching set styles for set mediums an antiquated notion? I worry that what this class really should focus on is writing and packaging stories — whether they be print, broadcast or PR — for online.
I guess I better stop dallying and choose a plan of action. Book orders are already overdue. Shall I throw a dart and predict the future?
Categories: teaching
These aren’t stories I want to read.
However, I can’t help myself.
The Buffalo News is continuing to do an outstanding job covering the aftermath of the fatal crash of Continental Connection Flight 3407.
Case in point: Today the News published the name and story of the final previously unnamed passenger on the doomed flight, graduate student Dipinder Sidha.
Throughout the days, weeks and months following the crash, the News did not give up on publishing the stories of those who died in that day — despite the fact the some names were not released by the airlines or, in some cases, the families.
The News’s coverage of the National Transportation Safety Board’s hearings on the flight includes stories on the event and the families, an animation of the flight’s final minutes, a live webcast of the hearings and links to NTSB reports on the crash.
It’s a multimedia treasure trove of all one might want to know about the doomed flight. It’s a great public service for all those, whether in Buffalo or elsewhere, who were gripped by the crash.
One can only hope that such public acknowledgment that the crash might have been prevented will lead to changes in training and staffing of airline pilots.
Good job, Buffalo News.
Categories: journalism standards · newspapers
Tagged: Good Journalism
New York state’s Open Meetings Law will get a boost if Gov. David Paterson signs an amendment to strengthen it.
The Buffalo News editorial board has urged him to do. The News writes:
The legislation includes three components. One closes an escape hatch that some public bodies have used to avoid discussing the public’s business in public. The other gives judges greater leeway in responding to violations of the Open Meetings Law, allowing them to address those transgressions without unduly harming the interests of innocent parties. Both are important revisions to what already is, by and large, a strong state law.
Most journalists are familiar with the “escape hatch” the News mentions. Some government bodies think they can circumvent the Open Meetings Law by having debates on issues behind closed doors but voting in public. This allows the public to know how their representatives have voted, but they have no sense of the debate and information provided behind closed doors. That’s not exactly the Open Meetings Law’s purpose.
With the amendment, judges would be able to punish government bodies who do this with a fine and/or other measures.
Read the amendment for yourself — and see who voted to support it – here.
Categories: Media Law · Media Law Case of the Week
Tagged: freedom of information, open meetings
I watched the Senate committee’s hearing on the future of journalism yesterday from my computer at work. Well, watched isn’t the right word. It was more listened to.
What struck me most about the hearings were two points:
- The so-called “new media” folks testifying at the hearing are dreaming if they think citizen journalism can make up for having a news organization with the power and money to have reporters dedicated to stories, issues and people. (Can you image coverage of foreign affairs?) I’m not saying the news organization has to be paper based, but news organizations are essential. We can’t count on citizen journalists alone.
- David Simon, former Baltimore Sun journalist and current Hollywood writer/producer, articulated so well what some of us print and former print journalists think. (For his full transcript click here.) One metaphor captured it precisely for me:
“The very phrase citizen journalist strikes my ear as nearly Orwellian. A neighbor who is a good listener and cares about people is a good neighbor. He is not in any sense a citizen social worker. Just as a neighbor with a garden hose and good intention is not a citizen firefighter. To say so is a heedless insult to trained social workers and firefighters.”
Thank you, David Simon. Thank you.
Categories: bloggers · citizen journalism · front page · future of journalism · newspapers
Tagged: future of journalism, future of newspapers, Senate hearing
Any guesses which state has had more than one thousand complaints about public officials refusing requests for information since 2005?
If you guessed Illinois, you are correct.
This week’s Media Law Case of the Week focuses on an excellent Chicago Tribune story citing many cases
magnifying glass
in which citizens were denied information from school and government officials — information that the citizens sought through public records laws.
Reporter David Kidwell writes:
A review of those complaints, along with dozens of interviews, reveals a culture of secrecy shrouding the machinery of your government. Public meetings are often theater, where votes are pro forma endorsements of decisions forged in e-mails and memos you will never be allowed to see.
Government records routinely turned over at the front counters in many other states are routinely denied here — the result of a notoriously weak open records law, an unsympathetic political culture and an attitude of disdain among many public servants who consider documents their own.
If you think those words are harsh, read the story. Kidwell offers ample evidence to support the claims.
And the Tribune is offering an “Open Records Help Desk,” a web page devoted to giving readers tips for requesting information and a database of complaints.
This is exactly the kind of watchdog reporting we need in this country. My only hope is that Kidwell is not among the Tribune staffers let go, and that news organizations still have enough journalists to do this work.
Categories: Media Law · Media Law Case of the Week
Tagged: freedom of information
