GOP and Great Lakes

I'm doing Bonnie's thing this evening blogging for The Detroit News during the GOP YouTube debate. Should be interesting, this is the first post I put up for it:

This country needs a president that won't turn his back on the Great Lakes.

A 2006 Brookings Institution study concluded that investing about $26 billion to clean up pollution hotspots (Areas of Concern), protect against invasive species and address low water levels will have return economic benefits of more than $50 billion.

This funding would come primarily from the federal government through the Great Lakes Restoration Act.

Great Lakes states and governors are on the bandwagon, both the U.S. House and Senate recognize the effort and even Gov. Bill Richardson, D-New Mexico, would appreciate some clean water to steal.

Yet President Bush was quick to veto this bill that swiftly passed through Congress. Thankfully, for the first time ever in his presidency, Bush's veto was overridden by Congress earlier this month.

Grand Rapids Mayor George Heartwell got in the mix, creating a 33-second plea for the GLRA he hopes will air during the debate. We'll see if his video is chosen and which candidates respond.

It's going to be up to our next president to persevere with this important legislation that not only affects the region, but both the U.S. and Canada.

Perhaps sustaining the Great Lakes, the largest surface freshwater system on the planet, 84 percent of North America's freshwater and about 21 percent of the world's supply, will benefit the whole world.

Think Bonnie's idea will be effective? How about the debate itself?

Print vs. Internet: Round 4,839,384

Bulky, inconvenient newspapers need to give it up and surrender to the internet.

As a print journalist, I understand the fear that people in the business feel about newspapers going entirely online. They say their craft would be dead. And I admit, there is something about picking up the paper with a cup of coffee and whipping it out to read whenever you feel like it. But I'm also a person of the future. The truth is, it would be more convenient and not to mention environmentally friendly if newspapers would face the fact that it's time to start publishing completely online.

51 million people buy a newspaper every day, and 124 million still read one at least once a day. That, my friends, is a lot of paper. And a lot of garbage. Let's face it, most people aren't willing to pay the five extra dollars for a recycling bin or take an extra trip to a venue that has one. So it's time to take out the trash. Or the recycling in this case.

Most people today have access to a computer and the internet. As a journalist, I wouldn't mind posting exclusively online. That's where most readers get their news anyway. A lot of large newspapers could survive on advertising alone, and circulation rates have been down for a while. It's time for newspapers to wave the white flag.

Editing Web for Bad Vibes

With increasing popularity of news on the Web, forgetting a story may not be as simple as throwing the newspaper away.

A Poynter Institute article, written by Bob Steele and Bill Mitchell, addresses the removal of old web-based stories from archival storage. While these stories sit just a few clicks away from anybody with access to the Internet, sources complaining about fact errors and issues "not in good light" are want these gone for good. Despite ethics a journalist must follow, these "wrong" stories remain on Web space for as long as they're kept in accessible storage.

Sources think the misconstrued information embarrasses them, affects their job opportunities, and influences their customers if they are able to be seen negatively through a story. Although more personal, you may be thinking of other areas that others gain access to with only a username and password, like Facebook and MySpace.

So, lesson of the day: watch what may potentially be put on the Web, because the whole "wide world" can judge you on it.

Why not? Job Shadow story

Its a short story. I went to downtown Detroit to The Detroit News building downtown. Beautiful building, but thats not the point.
I've only been in a few newsrooms in my life. The Dearborn Press & Guide has a decent sized newsroom. Everybody has a cubicle, a few are empty, waiting for interns to fill them. A few sections have their own offices where the few writers that work the section do their business.
The State News' newsroom is a bit larger than Dearborn's, with plenty of space for everyone to work.
So when I went downtown, obviously I was expecting it to be a little larger than two smaller newspapers. When I first walked in I saw a good sized newsroom, something the size of both papers I've worked at combined with another newsroom or two thrown in for good luck. Big, just what I was expecting.
However, as I walked back to the business desk, where I shadowed, the newsroom found a way to keep growing. In fact, there was another section of the newsroom roughly the same size of the first part thrown in the back. That was what threw me off. It was impressive.
I guess that's when you know you hit the big time.

Comcast Sucks

If the headline doesn't give it away, media giant Comcast has abused its power once again.
This time the topic has absolutely nothing to do with The Big Ten Network (though the headline has everything to do with the BTN), it actually has to do with their untimely choice to move channels.
In Salem, Oregon, Comcast decided to move cable channel MSNBC to a premium package. Normally, this would be nothing to gripe about, but in recent months political pundit Keith Olbermann and his "Countdown" program have gained against self-proclaimed rival program Bill O'Reilly's "The O'Reilly Factor".
Now my griping has nothing to do with political preference, I'm a Republican but could honestly care less what either program has to say, I just am wondering why now?
Now I understand Rupert Murdoch, owner of Fox News and conveyor of Republican ideals, owns DirecTV and has nothing to do with the cable giant that is threatening to ruin the lives of every college sports fan in the Midwest (Oops, BTN again). Yet, in a time where both sides of party lines should be viewed fairly on the way to the presidential races, moving a popular news program to the premium package from standard basic doesn't make sense.
Their explanation was they were preparing for the digital switch that will be occurring in January 2009. The same digital switch that is taking place AFTER the presidential race. Yet it seems to me it would be just as easy to switch in November 2008.
Once again Comcast sucks.

Video: Another way to tell stories

In the past year, newspapers have discovered video in a big way. Clearly, many newspaper websites see video as a storytelling device and a way to reach more readers (or viewers). An article. in the American Journalism Review points out that quality is spotty, but newspapers are getting better at video. As students in a traditional reporting class, some of you groaned when you found out you would be asked to do video stories. If you have any doubts about the power of video as a way to tell stories, check out some of the papers that are doing it well. Close to home, The Detroit Free Press has become a leader in video on its website. The newspaper won its first national Emmy award for a video on Michigan soldiers in Iraq. And video storytelling is not limited to large newspapers. Look at the video stories on the .Naples Daily News website, a Florida paper that was an early adapter. The AJR article points out that veteran journalists have become video believers when they've done a story with video and sound and witnessed the reaction from readers. Some stories are simply better suited to video. Read what the Washington Post reporter says in the AJR report about the reaction to his video story on the violinist. And if that's not enough to convince you, note what the AJR article says about the growth in multimedia jobs for journalists. Bottomline: Learning video adds to your storytelling arsenal and makes you more marketable. It's a skill that you should try to master, with or without the help of a class.

Peek in a crystal ball at journalism's future

Blogger Jeff Jarvis has a provocative post on the future of journalism. Rather than suggesting doom and gloom, he sees journalists capitalizing on the broader reach they can have - and already are having - with today's technology. Although the need for printing presses may go away, the need for strong reporting won't. The Newspaper Association of America has an entire blog devoted to the future of newspapers. Check out Mark Glaser's glimpse into the newsroom of the future as well. And then to see how reporting is already changing read Robert Niles report on a teen's suicide. Although a traditional newspaper tried to withhold information, readers demanded more - and got it.

As students, you will be part of journalism's future. What do you think? Are you excited by the possibilities? Or are you - like too many in my generation - nostalgic for journalism of the past

The latest dirt on the Bush Administration

Scott McClellan, the beleagured Bush White House press secretary who resigned in April 2006, is apparently the latest politico to come out with a tell-all book on the bad things he saw and did in Washington.

His publisher, Public Affairs, carried a brief excerpt of his new memoir "What Happened" on their website containing part of McClellan's "confession" on the Valerie Plame/CIA leak case. He says both Bush and Cheney knew Plame was CIA and told him to lie to reporters.

(In case you don't know what happened, Valerie Plame's husband, ambassador and Africa expert Joe Wilson, was critical of the Bush Administration's evidence that Saddam was seeking nuclear material from Niger. Plame happened to be a CIA agent, though her level of secrecy is still being debated, and the Administration outed her to reporter Judith Miller and columnist Bob Novak. No one was actually charged with this crime though- only the Veep's chief of staff "Scooter" Libby was charged with lying about the incident and sent to jail. Until Bush commuted his sentence. Oh, and Judith Miller spent several months in jail protecting her source.)

But anyway, this raises a larger question-When a White House press secretary is told to do something unethical, should he wait until the highest bidder offers him a book deal to reveal it? OK, maybe I'm being a little idealistic here where idealism is never a sound footing to analyze what goes on in Washington. But should a press secretary stay loyal to his boss, like Ron Ziegler to Richard Nixon, or should he feel free to express his disagreement with his boss, like Jerry terHorst (a former News guy) resigning from the Ford administration when Ford pardoned Nixon?

A Job Shadow to Remember

Since Crystal and Chris decided to write about their job shadows, I choose to jump on the bandwagon and say a little about mine. I shadowed Emily Smith a staff writer at NOISE magazine. We had been emailing each other for weeks but could never get a good time to meet each other, so I thought I would have to switch people last minute, but one week we realized our schedules completely worked together and so we set up times that I could visit her at NOISE...which is inside the Lansing State Journal building in downtown Lansing.

When I got there, there were the two secretaries who asked me who I was here to see, and as soon as they paged her Emily came right down to greet me. She asked if I was ready to go? Go? I just got there and she wanted me to go? But to find out, Emily and I were going shopping for the NOISE gift guide issue!!! Least to say I was excited. Before we went shopping we grabbed some lunch at Olga's (which she paid for with that lovely company card), and informed me that she would be writing a review of them in her blog and to watch out for it. Check out there blog anyways, it's nice.
http://noise.typepad.com/noise_blog/2007/11/once-again-its.html

After lunch we went to about five stores, grabbing all sorts of items, including a serving tray, jeans and a salts around the world gift set...oh yeah bring on the sodium! Anyways, to include the whole day would take forever but the whole day was a great experience. I was most impressed with was her professionalism. She went into the stores not to shop for herself but to find what the reader might like, she quickly identified herself and who she spoke with earlier to keep a good relationship with the people she ultimately needed to help her with job. She had her business cards handy willing to give it to anyone who asked, just in case they weren't sure she was legitimate.

She was though, she was the real deal. Everything I expected a young writer to be, Emily exceeded my expectations. We are already talking about when I can shadow her again. All in all, I highly recommend it because experience is something that can't be imitated. I hope everyone had as fun a time with the people they shadowed as I did!

Successful Newspaper Cuts Jobs

USA Today announced last Thursday that they were cutting 45 newsroom jobs calling the cuts necessary because of “economic realities”.

What is weird about this news is that USA Today is actually a newspaper that is excelling in today’s world of journalism. They had increased circulation last year and usatoday.com was recently named the top news website in the country by Online News Association.

They are offering buyouts to people with more than 15 years experience at the company and less than 5 years of online experience. Basically anyone non-computer savvy is getting the boot.

Still with the world of newspapers going online and none of them making the majority of their money from online, is this just the first cut of many?

So what does this mean for the journalism students of today? As a journalism student it’s a little scary to think that getting a job out of college isn’t the end of my worries anymore because who knows how long it will be before the next cut.

Electronic competition

Recently Amazon.com launched its electronic paper product Kindle. I remember talking about the possibly of electronic newspapers in JRN 108 two years ago, but I never really expected it to become a reality so quickly. That kind of technology still feels a little sci-fi extravagant to me.
But online media continues to be a major alternative to traditional print, and this kind of innovation really threatens to date printed news as nostalgia instead of cutting-edge.
Obviously with a $400 price tag, I don't expect Kindle to abolish the print version of the New York Times any time soon. But there are some distinct environmental- and convenience-related benefits to investing.
But what does Kindle ultimately mean for us, the fledgling reporters-to-be? Are we learning a model of writing just as it's becoming outdated? Is it possible to consider a future with no Sunday newspaper ruffling over corn flakes because it's been replaced with a touchscreen?
Although, it might be too soon to tell. With new technology, if it's not brought to the mainstream through some celebrity or other, it's liable to go the way of the Sega Saturn.

Why should you care?

Good journalism is all about telling stories, whether you're writing for the web or print. Robert Niles, of the Online Journalism Review, suggests some of the assumptions we make about writing for the web are wrong. He says regardless of your platform writers must remember: "To connect with that audience, however, journalists must report thoroughly, write with authority and place all information in their reports into a context relevant to readers' personal lives." And Jonathan Dube, of cyberjournalist.net, makes similar points, at least in part. "People want to know not just what happened, but why it matters. And with all the information sources out there now, in the end it will be the sites that explain the news the best that succeed. Write and edit all your stories with this in mind." Readers simply stop reading if reporters don't explain what's in it for them. My advice: Everytime you write a story, put a sticky note on your computer that reminds you to ask: "Why Should I Care?" Remember who your readers are and make sure you answer that question.
Think of your own reading habits. Why do you keep reading some stories and not others?

It's all in the headline

In class last week, we talked about writing for the web and how it differs from writing for print. We also touched on the importance of headlines on web stories. Readers often skim stories on the web and a headline literally has only a second to grab a site visitor's attention, according to Steve Outing, a journalist and online media pioneer. Howard Finberg, of the Poynter Institute, wrote an interesting column a few years back on boring web headlines. The conclusion: If you want people to read what you write - online or in print - you need to have an interesting headline that includes keywords and cleverly captures the story. As evidence, check out the most emailed story on today's New York Times web page. It's a column by Maureen Dowd. I'm guessing the headline - Should Hillary Pretend to be a Flight Attendant? - has something to do with why it's the most emailed story today.
Do you agree? Do you decide what you'll read based on the headline? Did the Hillary headline pull you in?

Job Shadowing by the bay

I've never been to Bay City, and Friday was not the best day to go. Cloudy skies (and a 5:30 a.m. wake-up call) made me a little pessimistic about how exciting my job shadow would be.

I drove an hour and a half to the Bay City Times, where I job shadowed Jeff Kart, the environmental reporter. As soon as I called him to let me into the building (how was I supposed to know you needed a key card to get in?) and he laughed hysterically at my flustered state, I knew maybe it wouldn't be so bad.

First off, Kart is a really, really, really funny guy. I took that as a good sign because you can't hate your job and have a sense of humor, right? The workday at The Bay City Times is from 7:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. I got there at 9 a.m. so I had the pleasure of attending the daily budget meeting.

At The State News, only editors go to budget. At The City Times, reporters and editors go and then duke it out about what stories will run and why, exactly, they should. Kart taught me the art of enthusiasm. While all the other reporters sullenly mumbled about what they may or may not have ready for Monday, Kart wildly explained his story, how it was coming together and even showed off pictures that would run with it (I helped him choose which ones to show off).

After budget, which goes from about 10:30 a.m. to 11 a.m. or so, we drove to Saginaw Valley State University for a speech Kart had to cover. We got free lunch (which consisted of some kind of awkward turkey wraps with wasabi-lime sauce, heaping piles of frozen potato salad and brownies. So random.) and I got to see Kart at work.

He doesn't believe in voice recorders, so he furiously scratched down everything he felt was important for the story. When we got back, he busted out a story in about 10 minutes. Pretty impressive.

Long story short (but I guess not after all my rambling), job shadowing another reporter was an invaluable experience. If it wasn't part of the curriculum, I probably would have still done this just to see how things work out in the "real world."

Hope everyone's job shadowing was equally as entertaining, if not slightly marred by disgusting wasabi-lime sauce.

Is having political bloggers ethical?

This Poynter online article brings up the ethical question: should a newspaper be showcasing writers that have contributed to a certain political campaign? With many political bloggers not serving as professional journalists, the article also addresses the showcasing of them as well.

Poynter reporters Mallary Tenore and Naughton Fellow asked five political editors from papers around the country about the issue. Responses range from controlling the bloggers' behavior by certain guidelines set by the paper, to welcoming their partisan blog contributions regardless of what they're behavior is toward a certain political campaign.

So what do you think? Under a newspaper's payroll, should a blogger not be able to financially contribute to a campaign? Does this cause an ethical problem with the newspaper's voice or does it matter at all?

The Art of Page Design

I want to be a newspaper page designer when I grow up. Yay.

I chose to follow a different route than most people in our class by finding out what The Detroit News Presentation Editor Rick Epps does on a typical day...or should I say a very unusual day...in the newsroom.

After walking into a brass knuckle fight near downtown Detroit's Greyhound Bus Station (no I am not kidding) I took a few minutes to ponder by day at The News. Here are words to summarize the day: sports, big rooms, page design, MSU, old school and new-kid-on-the-block designers, and of course "small plates" of lettuce-wrapped goodness somewhere in the middle.

Seven designers were gone on a sick day, which according to Detroit News Design Editor Erin Sprauw, "have never happened in my time here." Five designers and a Saturday edition to make in eight hours; you do the math. Rick Epps had quite the night ahead of him to say the least. My claim to fame was helping with some minor errors on an inside sports page. Well, working on any page in The Detroit News now is not minor to me by any means.

Norman Mailer

Two-time Pulitzer Prize winner and Village Voice co-creator Norman Mailer died on Saturday.

Writing both fiction and non-fiction novels Mailer was one of the most honest and argumentative authors. He often made politically incorrect statements, but cared little about the repercussions, steadfastly holding onto his opinions.

He dismissed radical feminism and at one point in the 1960s tried to run for mayor of New York City. He wanted to make the city the 51st state in the U.S.

Mailer also had a tendency to criticize his fellow authors, among those being Tom Wolfe, Truman Capote and William Styron. He once punched Gore Vidal for criticizing Jack Kerouac.

Whether or not you like or agreed with his writings and ideas, Mailer was definitely and entertaining writer.

Student threat or sour grapes?

A newspaper publisher in Montana is crying foul over the creation of an online newspaper by journalism students at the University of Montana. The publisher says by covering the Crow Indian Reservation, the students are competing with his traditional newspaper. The online experiment, he maintains, could backfire by hurting his newspaper's ability to sell advertising. Although the students are gaining experience, he says, it may mean he can no longer afford to hire them after they graduate. The student publication is partially funded by J-Lab and is part of an experiment called the Rural News Network, aimed at covering underserved populations.
So what's your take? Is the publisher right? Have the students undercut him? Or is competition good? And is this simply a way for students to get valuable experience in a rapidly changing profession?

The Art of Interviewing

Yesterday I had the opportunity to sit in with Wards Autoworld reporters during an interview with General Motors CEO Rick Wagoner at his office atop the Renaissance Center in Detroit. The meeting required the CEO's handlers as escorts, special visitor passes, clearance through two security guards, ascending two different elevators, and permission from his personal secretary. But before we even entered the building, I knew how much planning and strategy went into such a high-profile interview.

Briefing the Soldiers:

Back at their office in Southfield, I was briefed on the intense scrutiny that created the questions. Two prep meetings were held with the three reporters scheduled to interview him. There were multiple interviewers because multiple stories would come of the interview, and each reporter was knowledgeable in a different area. They had to analyze what questions to ask, how to word them, and in what order to ask them. Although CEO's, I'm told, are generally not chasing after interviews, General Motors' Wednesday Announcement of a $39 billion loss probably played a role in how he answered questions. (Now I know why the meeting was pushed back a day.)
Reporters took steps not to step on each other's toes to answer questions by using subtle gestures and eye contact to signal who will speak next, and the only time one of them made a slight interruption, Wagoner made them know it. Eye contact and silence are key.

The "Tough Question" Thicket:

It's OK to ask tough questions, but you have to ask yourself "how tough is too tough?" If it took four months to get an interview with someone you haven't spoken ill about, how worth it is potentially pissing them off and shutting yourself out from them forever? On the other hand, don't go all soft; then you're just an unpaid public relations official. Save hot-button issues for the end.

A Lesson to Photographers:

The gossip around the journalistic campfire is that executives are a lot less candid about having their photo taken, and are in fact rather crabby about it. This was made crystal clear with Wagoner's handlers constantly reminding us of his secretary's "sore spot" for photo equipment, and the CEO's insistence that Ford CEO Alan Mulally instead be on the cover. According to Wards reporters, photographers have been asked to leave, and CEO's have walked out at will. Whether it be a hesitancy to put a smile on the face of a company facing huge cuts and losses, the executive fright of not being in control, or pure hatred of that annoying flash, photographers must keep in mind they are not welcome and be as fast and gentle as possible.

Getting in good with assistants:

All high-profile people have handlers- people who act as guard dogs from outsiders, particularly in the media. That sort of insulation demands the reporter not only build rapport with the person they're going to interview, but their assistant who, according to my dad, "decides whether you get the interview."
They have a higher turnover rate than the people they work for, so make a point of getting to know them as much as possible so you have a better shot when you need an interview.

In conclusion, tips like planning ahead, utilizing your other reporters as resources, eye contact, humility, and getting to know the assistants are key to any interview, not just the people with offices bigger than my apartment. Well, in that case I'd also recommend not getting too fixated on the picture of them with Muhammad Ali.

The basics: Key to journalism success

Digital superstar Rob Curley, of washingtonpost.com, says the key to being a successful journalist today is the same as it was 25 years ago - you have to write well. He urges students to embrace new technology and be open-minded about how they tell stories but warns that they can't forget the basics. You still need strong reporting and writing skills to succeed. If you don't believe that read this post from Dr. James F. McGrath, assistant professor of religion at Butler University. In his experience, student journalists are forgetting the basics. And that's made him leery of giving interviews to student journalists.
So what do you think? If you're writing for the web, do you need the same reporting and storytelling skills you needed to write for print?

Ken Ward knows

Ken Ward Jr., the environmental reporter from the Charleston Gazette, came to MSU last week and brought a refreshing dose of journalism with him.

By today's standards, he seems like a traditionalist. Spending months on a story that in the end shows obvious blunders by either the government or irresponsible businesses (big or small) is his forte.

What was interesting, though, was his take on what it means to be an effective enviro journalist.

Don't try to rile up the public by making wild claims about how an incident may be so terrible. I see this all too often and as a young journalist, know exactly what he's talking about because I've made this mistake.

Simply give the public the numbers. Give the facts in an historical context and let the public decide for themselves.

"Get them talking about the issue, not your story."

What's the deal and whose style can be more effective? Al Gore or Ken Ward...that rhymes.

And on another note, the notion of people actually going back and buying newspaper subscriptions again...crazy. That's like telling people to go back and eat the crust first then get to the good stuff.

False reports.

When I read this, I couldn't believe it.

What would make someone call and file a fake police report? Especially with everything that has been going on across campus with random assaults? Is it an issue of how someone is raised? Is it for attention? Does anyone have any experience with knowing who would do extreme things, simply for attention?

MSU police Sgt. Florene McGlothian-Taylor said false reports like this are seldom filed.

I personally had the opportunity to talk to a panel of Michigan State University police officers about the safety of women on campus, and what they are doing as extra protection for them. I have interviewed random female students around campus asking them if they have stopped walking alone as soon as it begins getting dark out. And almost each one of them said they never even think about walking alone. They also appreciate the e-mails sent to all of campus from the MSU police, giving them a heads up at all times.

It's just hard to grasp and comprehend: Why is all of this happening so all-of-a-sudden? Since my freshman year, I don't remember female students having to be so unbelievably careful in East Lansing.

I just want all of this to end.

Southeast Asia Gets a New Travel Mag

Despite claims by some that the travel industry has been in a slump, inter-regional travel has more than doubled since 2000 and the publishers at Travel + Leisure are using it to their advantage.

In December 2007, American Express Publishing will launch their sixth international edition of Travel + Leisure, Travel + Leisure Southeast Asia. It will be the magazine's largest edition, distributed in 12 countries and creating content to be reproduced in U.S. versions.

American Express Publishing said they trying to introduce both the U.S. and the world to aspects of Southeast Asian cultures.

I'm not sure how much of an introduction Travel + Leisure will be giving to the world since the 12 countries that the magazine will be circulated in are all Southeast Asian countries.

However I am all for more travel magazines, I think they can be a great way to learn about different places granted the content isn't all based on where the best resorts and restaurants are. So hopefully this will be a good one and maybe it will eventually be circulated in the U.S.

The Future of News

The Audit Bureau of Circulations released new numbers on the health of American Newspapers. What's most interesting is the fact that only two out of the top 10 American newspapers, USA Today and The Los Angeles Times (well, they much broke even), report gains in daily sales over the six month period in which the study was conducted. As for the Sunday edition, declines were even steeper and the only top ten paper to gain any ground was the Houston Chronicle, albeit very modest (and to be fair, USA Today doesn't do Sundays).

Another story to come out of all of this is that while newspapers are seeing declines in their print readership, they are seeing tremendous gains in online readership- a service which makes almost no money. Beside the fact that they make almost no money, online content is increasingly full of blogs, quick updates from the field, and many place for readers to post their comments.

Does all of this represent the dumbing down of the culture that we're always hearing about? Do people not have the time or the inclination to sit down and read a newspaper, instead preferring to get quick soundbites and headlines? Or is this a return to a better sort of journalism- not as disconnected from the everyday citizen and allowing reporters to write on whatever esoteric interest they have, given the fact that they have unlimited space and a much wider audience online?

The Afghanistan Abandonment

Although once the front line of the "War on Terror," Afghanistan has all but disappeared from the news media's priority list. In that time, much of the country's territory has fallen back into anti-American hands.

A 2005 report by the American Journalism Review indicated only a handful (less than 20) of full-time journalists remain inside Afghanistan, with a scant number of "satellite" journalists viewing the news from outside locations like New Delhi.

Perhaps this is why most Americans don't realize the Taliban has driven government forces out of roughtly half the territory NATO officials last year said was safe. Or that British officials have criticized U.S. Special Forces for their air-strikes, which kill civilians and complicate peaceful relations with locals.

Although some news coverage is obviously there, is it enough to make anyone talk about it? The coverage pales in comparison to that of the domestic drama from Britney Spears or OJ Simpson. Thus, we see how the conflict came to be known as "The Other War."

Beats with a snazzy network

An experiment of sorts with a live, social network contributing to reporter's beats is underway.

NewAssignment.net, an academic "think tank" of news organizations participating in an open platform with citizen journalists and professional reporters, is creating a new project to help beats.

Jay Rosen, a professor at NYU, is leading the project and speaks of it in great length in his blog, PressThink. The goal of this project, according to Rosen, is to test this idea:

"Maybe a beat reporter could do a way better job if there was a “live” social network connected to the beat, made up of people who know the territory the beat covers, and want the reporting on that beat to be better."

It would be done in a blogging format, with 12 beat reporters working with contributors outside of the newsroom.

This project could be a really cool way for reporter's to expand their horizons, in a sense, and get greater coverage than ever imagined.

It's things like this that still give me hope for the future of journalism. Who's with me?

No better time to be a journalist?

Marshall Loeb, the former editor of Fortune, Money and the Columbia Journalism Review, has an interesting take on the cataclysmic changes occurring in journalism. He suggests there is no better time to be a journalist, despite the hand-wringing going on in the industry. Yes, technology is rapidly changing the way journalists do their jobs. But ultimately journalists now have far greater reach - thanks to the internet - than ever before. Jon Friedman, of MarketWatch, also weighs in on the monumental changes in the industry in just the past decade. Who knows what the next 10 or even 2 years will bring?
Are you excited about being part of the revolution? Do you think you can have an impact in greater ways than journalists of past generations?