Tuesday, January 29, 2008
Disclosure Not Enough
Tuesday, January 29, 2008
From Clark Bell:
The always thoughtful Bob Steele makes an excellent point in a recent essay on protecting journalistic integrity when balancing competing loyalties with conflicting interests. Steele, the Nelson Poynter Scholar for Journalism Values, crafted his thoughts after reading a Jan. 20 column by Clark Hoyt, public editor of the New York Times. Hoyt addressed how a news organization should deal with a journalist's spouse or lover who is also a newsmaker. Steele believes that disclosure is a valuable form of transparency that reveals and shines light. However, he urges that disclosure be accompanied by accountability and that journalists commit to an ongoing process of examination and oversight.
To view Hoyt's column, visit: http://www.nytimes.com/2008/01/20/opinion/20pubed.html.
Steele's column link: http://www.poynter.org/column.asp?id=67&aid=136358.
The always thoughtful Bob Steele makes an excellent point in a recent essay on protecting journalistic integrity when balancing competing loyalties with conflicting interests. Steele, the Nelson Poynter Scholar for Journalism Values, crafted his thoughts after reading a Jan. 20 column by Clark Hoyt, public editor of the New York Times. Hoyt addressed how a news organization should deal with a journalist's spouse or lover who is also a newsmaker. Steele believes that disclosure is a valuable form of transparency that reveals and shines light. However, he urges that disclosure be accompanied by accountability and that journalists commit to an ongoing process of examination and oversight.
To view Hoyt's column, visit: http://www.nytimes.com/2008/01/20/opinion/20pubed.html.
Steele's column link: http://www.poynter.org/column.asp?id=67&aid=136358.
Monday, January 28, 2008
Ever Wonder How Newspapers Find 'Regular People' to Quote?
Monday, January 28, 2008
That’s just one of the questions posed to readers by the Scripps Treasure Coast Newspapers – in partnership with the National Association of Hispanic Journalists (NAHJ) – in an appeal to spur sign-ups for a new Reader Sounding Board. The Sounding Board, a list of about 200 readers, will work to “improve their community” as well as the paper’s coverage of the community. They’ll do this by expressing their views, whether on neighborhood issues or the presidential race.
STCN joined the NAHJ’s Parity Project in December 2005. Based on the goal of increasing hires of Latino journalists and improving newspapers’ coverage of Hispanic communities, Parity provides a newsroom with training in cultural awareness. The process begins with a townhall meeting around the paper’s coverage of the Hispanic community and then helps the paper tap into a database of Latino journalists when hiring opportunities arise. This three-pronged strategy, which MTF has supported since 2003, has reaped benefits to numerous print and broadcast entities. Most notably Parity’s first partner, the Rocky Mountain News, has doubled its Latino reporters in two years. Twenty-five companies are now participating. For more information, visit NAHJ’s website at www.nahj.org.
STCN joined the NAHJ’s Parity Project in December 2005. Based on the goal of increasing hires of Latino journalists and improving newspapers’ coverage of Hispanic communities, Parity provides a newsroom with training in cultural awareness. The process begins with a townhall meeting around the paper’s coverage of the Hispanic community and then helps the paper tap into a database of Latino journalists when hiring opportunities arise. This three-pronged strategy, which MTF has supported since 2003, has reaped benefits to numerous print and broadcast entities. Most notably Parity’s first partner, the Rocky Mountain News, has doubled its Latino reporters in two years. Twenty-five companies are now participating. For more information, visit NAHJ’s website at www.nahj.org.
Thursday, January 24, 2008
Vote for the First Amendment
Thursday, January 24, 2008
Which presidential candidate is most likely to be committed to First Amendment rights? No one knows exactly - but California First Amendment Coalition's Peter Scheer offers some insights. Scheer, who heads MTF-grantee CFAC, provides a teasing analysis of some of the top presidential candidates based on their past stances and actions around topics like government secrecy, FOIA and transparency.
A few speculations and questions from Scheer:
A few speculations and questions from Scheer:
- Hillary Clinton: "...impresses as someone who has thought hard about the role of First Amendment rights."
- Barack Obama: "...would his relative lack of foreign policy experience cause him to defer to the judgments of advisers who inevitably undervalue First Amendment rights?"
- John McCain: "McCain's loathing for political doublespeak and pandering, his preference for candor over popularity, would suggest a predisposition as President to conduct government affairs with a high degree of openness and transparency."
Tuesday, January 22, 2008
McCormick Tribune Fellows Highlighted in NAA report
Tuesday, January 22, 2008
MT Fellows Edwina Blackwell Clark and Sharon Prill figure big in a recent Newspaper Association of America report on trends in audience development. The NAA report “Growing Audience: Building Audience, Building Brands,” explores trends and staffing of 'audience development' initiatives, which it says have replaced 'interactive' as the current buzzword of the newspaper industry.
Blackwell Clark began her career as a reporter and now oversees 350 people as senior vice president of audience at Cox Publishing in Dayton. She says that focus has gone from studying current readers to studying those who aren't reading newspapers in order to learn more about them. Since taking on her current position in the summer of 2006, she is - remarkably - well on her way to reaching her goal of launching a dozen new products.
Prill, senior vice president of interactive media and audience development at the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, is part of the executive team that evaluates new initiatives across the organization. She recently discovered that 90 percent of JSOnline.com’s web traffic and click-throughs were actually driven through the user-generated parts of the site. As a result, the sites now place even more emphaiss on user-generated content.
The full report is posted online at http://www.naa.org/docs/Audience/building%20audience%20final%2011%201%2007.pdf.
Blackwell Clark began her career as a reporter and now oversees 350 people as senior vice president of audience at Cox Publishing in Dayton. She says that focus has gone from studying current readers to studying those who aren't reading newspapers in order to learn more about them. Since taking on her current position in the summer of 2006, she is - remarkably - well on her way to reaching her goal of launching a dozen new products.
Prill, senior vice president of interactive media and audience development at the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, is part of the executive team that evaluates new initiatives across the organization. She recently discovered that 90 percent of JSOnline.com’s web traffic and click-throughs were actually driven through the user-generated parts of the site. As a result, the sites now place even more emphaiss on user-generated content.
The full report is posted online at http://www.naa.org/docs/Audience/building%20audience%20final%2011%201%2007.pdf.
Wednesday, January 16, 2008
The Bill is Back
Wednesday, January 16, 2008
If at first you don't succeed, re-submit. At least that's the hope of state legislators proposing a high school and college scholastic free speech bill in the Washington state legislature. State Sen. Joe McDermott (D-Seattle) is proposing a bill similar to one introduced in March 2007, which guarantees editorial independence and prevents censorship for high school and college media. Last year's proposal never reached the floor for a vote.
Get the details at the Student Press Law Center: http://www.splc.org/newsflash.asp?id=1666
Get the details at the Student Press Law Center: http://www.splc.org/newsflash.asp?id=1666
Monday, January 14, 2008
An Unhappy Anniversary
Monday, January 14, 2008
Twenty years ago this week the U.S. Supreme Court sent forth a ruling in Hazelwood School District v. Kuhlmeier that continues to erode student free expression today. In the landmark case, the court ruled that principals had the right to censor school publications if they felt the content could be "reasonably related to legitimate pedagogical concerns." In that case, it meant the principal was allowed to remove articles about pregnancy and divorce in a high school newspaper.
The precedent has meant principals have felt increasingly comfortable exercising prior review and prior restraint.
"Not only has it (the ruling) changed the way journalism is taught at many schools, it has made it more difficult for high school students to learn the important lessons about democracy that come from publishing -- or simply reading -- serious newspapers," writes journalist Robert Just in the Washington Post.
To learn more, check out Just's column here: http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/01/11/AR2008011102775.html
The precedent has meant principals have felt increasingly comfortable exercising prior review and prior restraint.
"Not only has it (the ruling) changed the way journalism is taught at many schools, it has made it more difficult for high school students to learn the important lessons about democracy that come from publishing -- or simply reading -- serious newspapers," writes journalist Robert Just in the Washington Post.
To learn more, check out Just's column here: http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/01/11/AR2008011102775.html
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