Freedom of the Press- June 26, 2008 Who owns freedom of the press The answer to that question is very simple: All Americans. The First Amendment guarantee of freedom of the press does not refer to the modern profession of journalism as we understand it (although pro journalism certainly enjoys this freedom). Every American has the right to publish information for public distribution. And when the World Wide Web was born, every American with access to a computer could become a publisher. You can't take back a...http://rhetorica.net/archives/006814.html Rhetorica Update- June 23, 2008 I forgot to post the napping cat photo that indicates a blogging break. I spent last week visiting family. I'm back to work today. I expect to be back to blogging almost immediately. I'll be busy the next few weeks preparing a conference paper for the International Society for the Study of European Ideas. I'll be attending the conference in Helsinki in late July.http://rhetorica.net/archives/006813.html Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds- June 11, 2008 Jay Rosen sent e-mail yesterday asking me to gloss my recent post about rhetoric, ethics, and intention. I was responding to the questions raised about how the ethics of journalism may be changing now that anyone can gather and publish information easily. The cases in question involve Mayhill Fowler. Rosen wanted me to explain a few things. What happened next was a fascinating exchange of e-mail that allowed me to completely ignore other work that I had to do yesterday and think about something.http://rhetorica.net/archives/006812.html Less Than Nothing- June 10, 2008 Can cable television "journalists" envision nothing more for themselves and their medium than live blathering Stewart nails it...again. What about slowing down I suggested just that in my rambling post about rhetoric, ethics, and intention the other day--especially when working with citizen journalists. What about TV slowing down Is it the medium of television that demands immediate live blathering or is it our (mis)interpretation of the medium's demands We know this for sure (well,..http://rhetorica.net/archives/006811.html Rhetoric, Ethics, and Intention- June 8, 2008 That could be a book title. Maybe someday it will be :-) Right now it's simply the over-grand headline on a too-short blog post about today's Ideas & Trends column in the Week in Review section of The New York Times. The column attempts a short round-up of ethical questions that spring from new media technologies. Specifically, how does our ability to gather sound and video with tiny devices, and post the product instantly to the web, change the heretofore normative ethical...http://rhetorica.net/archives/006810.html The Engine of Bullshit- June 7, 2008 You don't have to say something (specific) to say something. For example, you can inflect your voice in a particular way. SHE looks nice. She LOOKS nice. She looks NICE. These are three different statements using the same three words in the same gramatical relationship. Now, for the next step: SHE looks nice. (I didn't SAY the other one is ugly.) She LOOKS nice. (I didn't SAY she's a bitch.) She looks NICE. (I didn't SAY she's a slut.) Here's another way to say something...http://rhetorica.net/archives/006809.html Rhetorica Update- June 5, 2008 Summer is a good time to do house cleaning around the Rhetorica Network. For example, I'm updating links and fixing links. I've added a link to my blog on the Springfield News-Leader site (holler if you have any problem getting there). Rhetorica continues to function well, so I'm not planning any software or design updates. I have, however, implemented a Wordpress test blog here. I may cross post a few things just to play with it. You won't find any new or unique content...http://rhetorica.net/archives/006808.html The Great Debate...maybe- June 4, 2008 John McCain has approached Barack Obama with the idea of holding a series of town hall meetings between now and the Democratic Convention. Here is the detail paragraph from McCain's letter (doing double duty as a press release) to Obama: I propose these town hall meetings be as free from the regimented trappings, rules and spectacle of formal debates as possible, and that we pledge to the American people we will not allow the idea to die on the negotiation table as our campaigns work out the...http://rhetorica.net/archives/006807.html How Could Hyperlocal Fail- June 4, 2008 The Wall Street Journal reports that the hyperlocal LoudounExtra.com project by the Washington Post has largely failed. Isn't hyperlocal supposed to be the saving grace of newspaper journalism See if you can figure out what went wrong: Though LoudounExtra.com seemed to promise an ideal combination of innovation and marketing muscle, it has failed to benefit from the reach of Washingtonpost.com. Mr. Curley says whenever a big story breaks involving Loudoun County, the Post typically publishes...http://rhetorica.net/archives/006806.html What a Textbook Says News Is- June 3, 2008 A textbook for an introductory class in journalism ought to be able to define "news" in such a way that I can ask "what is news" on a test and get reasonable answers. I do not suppose there is a simple definition, but I do hope that news can be defined in a way that most journalists can apply the definition with some measure of consistency when judging situations that may demand public attention. I have used Telling the Story to teach JRN270 (although I'll be using an expanded version of...http://rhetorica.net/archives/006805.html |