'Gotcha' Journalism

About 20 years ago or so, there was a character Dana Carvey would play during a segment on Saturday Night Live's "Weekend Update" known simply as "The Grumpy Old Man". He would randomly rant about the direction the modern world was headed. If you have no idea what I'm talking about, look here (You might want to stop it at about the 1:40 mark--Trust me):
http://www.hulu.com/watch/4303/saturday-night-live-grumpy-old-man

I bring this up because some people might have had the same feeling listening to John McCain vent to Katie Couric during her follow-up interview with Sarah Palin. If you haven't seen it yet, take a look here: http://www.cnn.com/video/#/video/politics/2008/09/30/am.mccain.palin.gotcha.cnn

So, who or what is to blame for this era of "gotcha" journalism? Is it the individual journalists or is it the news organizations as a whole? Can it be totally contributed to what some would say as the decay of traditional journalistic values?

Some other questions also come to mind:
*If it were a Town Hall meeting or some other public function, would McCain have called out the media in such a way? Did he rant just because it was a one-on-one interview?
*What about Katie Couric's response? Does she think McCain's evaluation of "gotcha" journalism is fair or accurate?

Things Overheard in a Taco Bell Drive-up Line

So, I had just gotten out of work this afternoon, and was waiting in the drive-up at Taco Bell. I flipped around the radio, and eventually landed on The Dan Patrick Show. For those of you who don't know, Dan Patrick was a major host of SportsCenter on ESPN for years and years before leaving them recently for his own show, loosely affiliated with Sports Illustrated.
Anyway, he was discussing something I think is very pertinent to our class. A link is found at http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/danpatrick/blog/8601/

The story is about an interview between Michael Phelps (yes, THAT Michael Phelps) and Dan Le Batard, a Miami Sports Radio Host whose goal is to make every interview memorable.

Basically, Le Batard asked Phelps about the coolest thing that's happened to him since the Olympics. Phelps, who was only there to promote the Kellogg's products his face now graces, side-stepped the question by talking about the Kellogg's-related charity he had just set up. Then the interesting stuff began...

Le Batard then said, “That was a nice move there, Michael, because you just segued right into what it is that you were selling there, when that can’t be the coolest thing to happen to you since the Olympics."

Phelps mentioned Kellogg's again and raising swimming awareness or something. In reference to a less-than-savory photo of Phelps in a nightclub, Le Batard then asked, “Do you go into the nightclub with these Kellogg’s products and just drop them on the floor with your face on them?”

Phelps decided enough was enough, and ended the interview, but not before accidentally not hanging up the phone right away and saying this about Le Batard: "That guy was an idiot, that was ridiculous."

Le Batard later called into The Dan Patrick Show to defend his method of journalism, which you can listen to by following the link.

So, this brings up a few interesting questions with regards to our class:
Was Le Batard fair to Michael Phelps?
Did he press that last point too hard?
Could Michael Phelps have gone off script and had some fun with it?
Does he have a responsibility to the media to answer their questions?
Has he developed a poor relationship with the media after this incident?

New E-Magazine

Howdy, Y'all!
Just wanted to direct you towards my E-Magazine for my Comms 101 class. It's a weekly preview and review of each new episode of "The Office". Check it out at http://mortysoffice.7h.com.

I Knew I Picked A Good One!

SO, like I mentioned on here, I decided to follow the Web Site of KUTV Channel 2 News in Salt Lake City for the semester. Look what I found: http://www.kutv.com/content/news/local/story.aspx?content_id=e2110e73-ac8a-46de-ba77-c28b47b951dd&rss=991
A story on how the Utah State Government is increasingly using Twitter. How about that?

RIP Mary Garber

Touching tribute to a pioneer of sportswriting from North Carolina, Ms. Mary Garber in the Times. http://www.nytimes.com/2008/09/23/sports/23garber.html?_r=1&ref=media&oref=slogin

Since I want to be a sportswriter, I've been doing a lot of research into the lives and backgrounds of some of my journalistic idols: Buster Olney, Tim Kurkjian, etc. Many of them have a reverence for Garber, because she excelled in her field at a time when everyone was doing their best to exclude women from the sportswriting profession. Now, it seems that women reporting on sports have been popping up more and more. What an age we live in...

Building Blocks of News

For the first part of the activity, I thought it was kinda tedious, more like "Building Blocks of Snooze". (Thank you, thank you, I'll be here all semester. Try the veal.)
However, as things went on, I saw the bigger picture. Yes, the work was repetitive, but news writing itself is repetitive. These are the principles that have been tried and tested to help us succeed. So, it was good to see everything all broken down and explained in such a way that is easy to remember and actually a little bit fun.

What a Class!

Just got out of our class discussion. Boy, what a time!
I have to explain: I am not just a journalism buff, but a HUGE American history buff. Seeing just how closely these two things intertwine was fascinating for me. I know not everyone will share the same kind of enthusiasm I have for this kind of stuff, but I just thought it was a very entertaining class period.
I'll probably post again later today about the NewsU assignment. See you then!

An Odd Apology

As some of you may know, I am an aspiring sports journalist, for either print or broadcast (maybe both...tee hee). Anyway, I have been more sensitive lately to the things that sports journalists and broadcasters do and say. Probably has something to do with this class...
Anyway, I was watching the Monday Night Football game on ESPN (AFTER I went to FHE, for all of you who wish to question my motives...ha ha). It just hapened to coincide with the NFL's recognition of Hispanic Heritage Month. As such, they played the Spanish announcer's call of a play coming out of a commercial. That's where it got interesting...
Tony Kornheiser, the quasi-comic relief in the booth, said after the Spanish call, "I took high school Spanish, either he said he's not going to be caught, or please pick up my dry cleaning tomorrow." I thought it was funny, since I served a Spanish-speaking mission and I currently teach Spanish at the MTC, and know what it's like to have no idea what's going on.
Apparently, someone thought it was, in the words of the Commish, "funny faux pas, not funny ha-ha", because Kornheiser then issued this odd apology later in the game: "I said something before which I shouldn't have said, I apologize for it. Not my first mistake, undoubtedly won't be my last, but a 100% apology." Huh?
I suppose it's just Tony trying to be extra-cautious, since it isn't his first mistake: he's gotten into hot water with ESPN before over comments about their awards show, The ESPY's. Still, I think he had no need to apologize for this one. There was no malicious intent. Just shows the kind of world we live in, where everyone takes offense to everything.

Just How Specialized Can We Get?

In the Times the other day, I read about a new Internet video site named Shale.tv. The entire side is dedicated to Texas' Barnett Shale, a rich natural gas resource. The site will discuss things like "land-leasing rights, drilling legislation and public meetings of concerned citizens". Wow...
So, basically, these people believe that they can get enough viewers on this site about a huge slab of earth. I just find it so fascinating that in this time in history, the Internet has created such an access to such niche groups. There really is something for everyone. Crizazy.

Hometown Media Outlet

Just a quick post to say that I will be covering the website of KUTV, Channel 2 in Salt Lake City for this semester. I have a special connection with KUTV which will be revealed at a later time. Toodles! http://www.kutv.com/Default.aspx

Journalistic Overkill?

Howdy again! Not a whole lot of time tonight, but just a quick sports note.
I love sports. I want to be a sportswriter. That is why I am in the journalism program. As such, I watch a lot of ESPN. This week, just about every show I saw had some mention of the USC-Ohio State game, almost to the point that I was sick to see something more. No one, expected it to be a close game, and it wasn't! 35-3 USC,Fight On, Trojans! (My girlfriend is a USC gal.)
SO, the combination of the overabundance of coverage on what turned out to be an insignificant game have gotten the wheels in my head turning about Journalisitc Overkill/Over-reporting. How much reporting of a particular story is too much? Is is merely relative? What do y'all say?

Who Is a Journalist?

I reckon I should have had this as my first post, but I think it'll do right now...ha ha.

My answer to the question "Who is a journalist?" is a simple one, really. In my opinion, a journalist is simply one who seeks to inform another of what is going on/wants to have their information read. I know it's a vague answer, but it's also a very inclusive answer. It makes all of us journalists right here, right now.
Ponder on this question: Would any of us ever write anything if we did not think someone else would read it? What would be the point. This is blatantly obvious when we consider all the different aspects of media, but even writing on a personal level follows this logic, I believe. Writing a journal or diary, for instance, may seem like writing for the sake of writing, nothing more. HOWEVAH, we know that someone out there will read it one day: our descendants, our future selves, our nosy siblings or parents, etc. Whether we want to or not, we are informing them. They get to read all about how our parents didn't understand, that teachers were vampires, and that we were madly in love with a handful of different people at varying stages of our senior year of high school. For me that is why we write, consciously or subconsciously. Think of those who wrote the Scriptures. Clearly, Mormon had seen our day and knew he was writing/abridging for us, so that motivated him to do what he did. This applies to all writers of scripture, and then some. Even though something like the Song of Solomon isn't inspired writing, Solomon (or whoever wrote it) clearly wanted SOMEONE to read it, even if it was just the love(s) of his life. He didn't know it would get put in the Bible, but he knew it would be put in the hands of someone who would enjoy it.
Brining this back to us, the reason we write on this blog is so that someone else will read it and be informed (and give us credit, right Dr. Cressman?) The reason we want to go into journalism is because we want to inform others, through print or over the airwaves, of what is going on in the world around them. Whether we want to inform others for money or satisfaction is not as important as the fact that we want to be journalists so that we can inform others.
That's my story, and I'm stickin' to it.

New Beginnings and NYC

Well, I've never blogged before, but when it becomes 30% of your grade magically, I guess that gives me more than enough reason to do it. Since all you Comms 239 comrades will be spying on me at some point, I'll give a brief introduction. I'm from Alpine, UT, 22 years young. I served my mission in San Antonio, Texas, and this is my third year at the Y.
Now on to the important stuff, I guess:
In the Times today, I found a very intriguing story regarding the measurement of radio ratings in New York City (http://www.nytimes.com/2008/09/10/business/10arbitron.html?_r=1&ref=business&oref=slogin). Arbitron, the head honcho of radio ratings, is trying out a new "personal people meter", about the size of a cell-phone, which records what radio stations people listen to. In the past, they would simply have people keep a diary of sorts. The problem is that some (make that the NYC Attorney General) are concerned that not enough minorities are being given these meters.
Why are radio ratings important, you ask? Money, money , money, money! The higher your ratings, the more you can get for advertising revenue. In essence, if not enough minorities are getting these meters, their minority-themed stations won't get solid ratings, and the ad revenue drops. In short, they are getting the proverbial shaft, and they can't dig it.
You would think in a place as diverse as New York City, this kind of thing wouldn't happen. I love New York, and not because a t-shirt told me to. I've been there about a dozen times, and one of the reasons I enjoy it so much is that it gets me out of the Utah bubble and experience so many different people and cultures. Funny that even in the greatest city in the world, minorities are still being under-appreciated.
I also thought it was interesting that this article came when we were trying to get that Race and Ethnicity assignment done. Ain't that a coinky-dink?