In Jon Stewart we trust?

“The Daily Show,” according to an article by Michiko Kakutani, is now a genuine cultural and political force. The political and social satire show, which airs on Comedy Central, brings many controversial issues to surface in an effort to bring awareness to the public.
“‘The Daily Show’ is clearly impacting American dialogue” and “getting people to think critically about the public square,” Kakatuni writes.
Host and managing editor Jon Stewart has become a cultural icon and has gained the trust of many American citizens.

When Americans were asked in a 2007 poll by the Pew Research Center for the People and the Press to name the journalist they most admired, Mr. Stewart, the fake news anchor, came in at No. 4, tied with the real news anchors Brian Williams and Tom Brokaw of NBC, Dan Rather of CBS and Anderson Cooper of CNN.

When a quote is not quite the quote

In “Quote, Unquote,” The Washington Post’s Ombudsman, Deborah Howell, discusses the misuse of quotes among journalists. Journalists frequently will “clean up” quotes to avoid “embarrass[ing] someone whose command of grammar is weak,’ says Emilio Garcia-Ruiz, assistant managing editor for sports at The Washington Post. Many sports journalists take this approach; however, Howell’s view is plain:

Quotes should not be changed. If coaches or athletes are routinely “cleaned up,” that should stop. Simply put, quotes should be and sound authentic. And The Post needs to set this particular record straight. Wise’s Portis quote should be restored to its original form. The rough draft of history is still history.

Ex-journalist gives advice from other side

Melissa Worden, former online journalist, analyzes her own personal news consumption in and out of the industry. As a result, Worden illustrates key points to marketing a site and making it user-friendly.

We all know how hard it is to find multimedia/special packages on a site when we’re IN the industry (I depend on multimedia blogs such as Teaching Online Journalism, News Videographer & the former Multimedia Shooter). Now I know how hard it is on the outside. If a reader misses seeing a special package the day it was highlighted on the news Web site, they may never see it.

URL:

Supplement or substitute? A look at the use of podcasts

In “Podcasts as a side dish, not the main course”, Mindy McAdams discusses the use of podcasts by professors as well as in the journalism industry. She gives tips as to how to successfully produce a podcast and use it to “create an audience.” A couple of examples are used to demonstrate her point:

Think outside the traditional medium and its delivery methods. Think about drive time, commuting time. Check out these two non-journalism independent podcasts and notice how they are promoted and archived:

Coffee Break Spanish: Learn to speak Spanish while you’re drinking one latte a day.
SCTRCST (Scootercast): About once a week, DaveM talks about scooters — you know, those two-wheeled vehicles that are smaller than a motorcycle and bigger than a moped.

NPR reinvents itself with multimedia

National Public Radio is focusing on reinventing itself in order to indulge its listeners in a more user-friendly experience. Included in this transformation is a revamped Web site and multimedia training for its editorial staff.
“Back in the days that there was just radio, your station was the only point of entry to all this content,” says Robert Spier, director of content development for NPR Digital Media. “You couldn’t get NPR except through your station because it was only available on radio, and radio was time and geographically bound.” Today, of course, “the user expects to be in control of his or her experience.”

Newspapers turn to video for “commemorative editions”

Anick Jesdanun reported for The Times that many newspapers created videos of the 2008 presidential inauguration for people to use a keepsake of the event.
What makes this story unusual is the newspaper industry typically assumes people would rather buy a paper newspaper for a keepsake. Now they have learned that some people might rather have a digital copy of the same information.
While most newspapers continue to print more paper newspapers as keepsakes, the Post planned to produce a DVD with the same historic inauguration information. DVDs cost less to produce than newspapers and more can easily be made upon demand, unlike print newspapers.
The article focuses primarily on print media but the use of digital media like DVD by the print industry is worth noting. This possible new trend may help newspapers survive as their revenues have fallen to record lows.

SPJ Ethical Committee details specific journalistic ethical violations

The SPJ National Ethical Committee, in an effort to help journalists follow journalistic ethical guidelines, has publicized specific accounts of journalists overstepping ethical guidelines laid out by the SPJ.
The article gives several examples from journalistic establishments such as MSNBC.com, Los Angeles Times, MarketWatch and other TV and newspaper news sources in many different cities.
The article provides stories involving journalists taking money from advertisers and the federal government to produce work aligned with their interest.
The article also talks about TV shows such as NBC’s “How to Catch a Predator” and the ethical boundaries that they hover close to. The article also talks about the ethical issue of altering photos, and draws from the Virginia Tech shooting as an example.