Social Media and Television.. news

I saw this via Mashable How Social Media is Changing the Business of Television. That is so true.

The nightly new shows here have something new to offer the viewing public. See, every time I watch, I noticed that anchors have now been equip with iPads. Before they will just read the new paper and teleprompter. Now, they will will blah blah with the top headlines news and then flip their iPads, they instantly read reactions of views via twitter or FB thereby engaging the viewing public to participate. Socializing with everyone real time, we get to know the pulse and opinion. Pretty soon will probably have SNN... Social News Network. Heh.

The hyping of an idiot

I decided to blog about the loony one. Who the hell is Terry Jones? I've seen news about him in recent days but wasn't really interested. I really don't know the whole story until just last night while browsing the net for a blogging piece about 9/11.

Apparently media/ cable pundits/bloggers/ social networks hyped and sensationalized the idiot's plan to burn the Koran. Terry idiot basked the limelight trying to promote his own radicalism. He loved it. The idiot! And the media... tsk tsk.

Read these: How the media ignite Koran burning story (theage.com)
What if media had ignored Terry Jones via Mike Thomas article (Orlando Sentinel)

Microblogging Iran, Flickr..ing the Scenes, You Tube the Events and Posting on Facebook

What would those generation T (as in technology savvy) young mostly affluent people do without the social networking sites and microblogging tools? They be out on the streets together with the others protesting in more than 140 characters of invectives.

Tweeting Iran: Elex New in 140 characters or less (AP/Yahoo)
Noise Filter: Iranian Election Dispute (WHIR)

The little man (because he is...in height), re elected president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad would face even more riots and possible revolt (is it possible in a country Like Iran?) er, maybe tech revolt?

People should do tweet on the whereabouts of Al Qaeda leaders or the super recluse North Korea or what's going on in Afghanistan.

This is what they say about Twitter....

Twitter helps you become a better writer. Oh kay. You'd have to be precise because you only have 140 characters or less to tweet. But isn't that the same as sending a text message? (texting doesn't help you become a good writer) or am I wrong? Probably depends on what kind of cell phone you're using. Anyway, I do have twitter. I'm never too wordy. Hehe I am concise and I can get across the blahs I need to in 140 characters or less. Hah!

For longer sentiments, I use WP and this blog and CDX. Lemme tweet now. Ha ha

I Dreamnt of Anderson Cooper, haha

I fell asleep last night. Just a quick nap actually and boy, did I had the weirdest dream! Not sure what to make of it. Of all people, why him? Ha ha. I mean, not that it's bad or anything but why can't it be somebody like Jon Hamm!

But Anderson Cooper? He's cool. Mr 360 guy. I have no idea why he was in my dream. In the scene he was like this hotshot guy or the boss and we were working together.. not sure what kind of work. It was break time and coming back from somewhere or going to the pantry or something, we bumped in to each other and kidded around and he lifted me up and I was squeaking, giggling and stuff. Weirdness! and then we sorta hang around and ate snack and we were like comfy with each other he had his arms around me..people kept giving this knowing look. I think He he likes me. Ha ha! then we had to go back to work and then hazy stuff then I woke up. Jeez! I wonder what it means.

I just find it weird. Funny. Sweet and just..silly. I hardly even watch his show on CNN. Well, at least it's not Larry King. The horrors! Ha ha. That'll creep me out!

The Act of Being a Jounalist

I don't think throwing shoes at the Bush accomplished anything. Well, except for laughter, viral videos, online games, online popularity. So where's the accomplishment in throwing shoes? None.
Sad thing is.. he's a Journalist. Yikes.

If you really wanted to be heard and need to express you outburst against US presence in Iraq, throwing shoes, doesn't really help. Do your job and be nosy and ask hard tough question that would've made the President respond. Instead we're treated to a shoe throwing tantrum. To be a Journalist and do that says a lot about standards of being in the media and how you are as a someone trying to shed light on something or making other see what the real problem is. And isn't it that if you report something you should set a aside feelings because you wouldn't be able to put anything in perspective. Lest you be biased. I'm not sure if I'm right or wrong..but to each his own. I don't think the Journalist should be hailed as a hero. He expressed his feelings, but throwing shoes? In hindsight, sure it's funny, but it's crude to say the least. Missed that target too.

I'm laughing. The whole incident is a laugh trip.

I mean, if the shoes don't' struck, try again. Indeed. Boy, that scene played over and over with the many cable news out there. Blogged about and of course triggering may shoes jokes and what not. Oh yeah, what a day for comedians! Tons of punchlines for them.

No need for Sole...er, soul searching. Freedom is alive! Talk about freedom!

"This is a gift from the Iraqis; this is the farewell kiss, you dog!"

That's whats Iraqi Journalist, Muntazer al-Zaidi said while hurdling the shoes at the President.

When Saddam ruled Iraq nobody could even utter a word, nor write, nor do anything against him ('else they'd be tortured 0r worse.. killed), standing up for their beliefs and what they're fighting for. With the show throwing incident, it's just goes to show how freedom has come a long way. In that sense, the US and Bush can take credit for bringing back that liberty to be able to expressed opinions, albeit by throwing shoes.


Newslinks :AFP SF Chronicle DFP GlobeandMail

It's only funny when people laugh....

I guess. But nobody did...and so the repercussion.

The"Asians hate us" piece of student and opinion writer Max Karson for the CU campus press If it's war the Asians want.. it's war they'll get ignite furor among Asian Americans and spark protest within the CU community mainly because they say it's discriminating and stereotyping people from the Far East.

But c'mon, it''s a damn opinion of a student. It wasn't a serious take on racism because it did not tackle anything that's worth debating about. It's more like one of those thoughts that someone writes [publicly or not] through online journal or blog and rants whatever bugging the hell out that person when it comes to understanding cultural difference and diversity within the school community or just amongst peers. Reading the piece, it's like an attempt to be funny that didn't succeed. Lame parody, somehow.

Captured Asians will be dragged to my apartment on the Hill and hog-tied.

The Asians' reformation will begin with a 100-round beer pong tournament.

They will listen to "It's a Small World" on repeat while they play. When the tournament is finished, the Asians will then be forced to eat bad sushi from Hapa-with forks. When all the sushi is gone, they will be permitted to sleep for four hours, but the entire time I will shout through a megaphone, over and over, "Why didn't you make enough Wiis?!"

In the morning, the Asians will arrange themselves in rows, if they haven't naturally done so already. I will stand in front of them and hold up a card with the name of an emotion on it such as, "sad," or "surprised." The Asians must then make a facial expression to match the word on the card. Any Asian who remains deadpan or makes the wrong face will be tickled until they pee. When all Asians make the correct face at the same time, the game will end, but then they will be yelled at for being conformists.

The Asians will then be allowed to play "Dance Dance Revolution." However, the game will be rigged so that the Asians will receive no points, regardless of how robotically they dance.

Any Asian who tries to escape will be butterfly-netted and sent back to my apartment for another "Phase 2." Anyone caught speaking any language other than English will be kissed on the lips.

Once the Asian spirit has been broken, "Phase 3" will begin. Before we let the Asians go, we will go to their homes and redecorate them in a traditional American style. We will replace their rice cookers with George Foreman Grills, their green tea mochi with fried Snickers bars, and their rice rockets with Hummers. And booster seats.

When "Phase 3" is complete, the Asians will be released.

I actually felt that it's mostly directed towards the Japanese, Chinese and Koreans students. It's his opinions and whatever he wrote wasn't serious. Not good journalism if the opinions expressed is meant to initiate constructive approach to the problem of racism within the CU community. I don't know. Maybe there's an underlying tone to what he's trying to say. The Editor-in-chief at fault somehow for not checking enough the article before they published it. Author of the opinion column has been suspended though.

Maybe he should have just ranted his opinions via personal blog. Ha.

News links-> Romenesko, Rocky Mountain News

New word to hate: "Repurposing"

That's according to Judy Muller. Link via Romenesko. Article here

Yeouch! Got me thinking now. Hmm, I wonder if I'm guilty of"repurposing?" Eh, I don't think I am so but anyhow, my blog is just amateur wannabe trying hard to be professional but failing by long long standards plus it's personal crap hardly newsies but when I blog a certain news item from other newsources- like many online news sites- (yahoo and others, I give credit and links). I don't post anything as my own 'cept my personal dramatics and nonsensical social commentary only I would bother to blog about.

And yes, plagiarism definitely sucks and is evil. Heck one blog entry I made was plagiarized before.

Dangers of being a Journalist

It's tough being out there and covering the news especially in dangerous place like Iraq.

Correspondent Kimberly Dozier, cameraman Paul Douglas and soundman James Brolan - were reporting from outside their humvee and are believed to have been wearing their protective gear. Douglas and Brolan, both London-based, were killed. Dozier sustained serious injuries in the attack and underwent surgery at a U.S. military hospital in Baghdad. She is in critical condition, but doctors are cautiously optimistic about her prognosis. [CBS News]

Here in the Philippines, Journalist are getting killed one after the other and they didn't even have to cover any war.

It is exactly like Martial Law!

I'm pissed! disturb actually. The turn of events here and the proclamation of national state of emergency is putting paranoia in my head.

CIDG raided offices of Daily Tribune! Arrested opposition personalities! It is like a pre martial law. And it's happening again. When she declared national state of emergency, she is trying so hard to hold on to her power and will do anything not to be overthrown via military coup or another people power (which nearly happened during the so called EDSA 3). Arroyo is so scared that she's doing these things and actually is the one inciting fear and causing alarm to every Filipino.

If events like what happened this morning continues-arresting people and rading a newspaper company, warning the reporters and journalist they will be next, scaring different media outlets, then martial law is slowly happening. The ghost of martial law is happening again. This time, people will not tolerate it. The first time it happened ithe Marcos era, everybody was helpless against the dictator. Not this time!

I'm putting my own two cents worth of blogging opinions here. I sometimes fear that I better be careful of what I blog and what I say regarding her. But this is the venue for me to rant about what I think of her and the political situation of our country. Freedom of speech, the right to speak should never be stopped. I know hardly anybody reads these blogs but still with what's happening now gotta be aware of what I input here. I remember looking at my tracker and seeing an IP add coming from office of the president Yay! That was surprising. Oh well, maybe somebody browsing there.

I salute them

Media people who write the news, report the news. cover the news. They who often becomes a pawn or the ace to create fear and to bargain in exchange for something by the terrorist, has been targeted by these militia men. Ruthtless and no mercy. It's tough job. It's hard and one's life is put to danger telling and reporting the atrocities and and committed by these terrorists. They risk a lot by doing so.

Reporter for the CSM Jill Caroll weeps as she pleads for her life in a video

ABC co-news anchor Bob Woodruff and camera man were seriously injured when they hit roadside bomb.

So many others as well. Not just in Iraq but Afghanistan, Somalia, Pakistan, Philippines and a lot more countries. Many journalist had been killed and/or kidnapped already.

For being what they are and knowing how very dangerous it can be yet not stoppping to bring the news and letting that fear get in the way of what people really ought to kno. Their life put in to peril because of the war on terror and just by reporting the truth and doing so, I salute them

Changing lanes

More like changing networks. Ted Koppel has joined Discovery Channel and left ABC network and his long running Nightline show. I used to watch that show back when cable here was still cable with good channels. Hehe. One of the best documentaries I've seen was from Nightline and it was about Sarajevo after the war.

I wonder why he left the network though. Shrugs.. just blogging some media news

ABC News Anchor Peter Jennings passes away.

Peter Jennings died of lung cancer. From the New York Times ...

Mr. Jennings had disclosed that he was suffering from lung cancer on April 5, first in a written statement released by ABC and later that night on "World News Tonight," the evening news broadcast that he had led since September 1983. In brief remarks at the end of that night's program, Mr. Jennings, his voice scratchy, told viewers that he hoped to return to the anchor desk as his health and strength permitted. But he never did. As an anchor, Mr. Jennings presented himself as a worldly alternative to Mr. Brokaw's plain-spoken Midwestern manner and Mr. Rather's folksy, if at times offbeat, Southern charm. Read more about Peter Jennings death and his life via this NYTimes article

I remember how my mom (bless her soul) used to tell me that she had a crush (fondness I should say) on Peter Jennings and thinks that he's soo good looking. Yeah, hes's dapper and suave alright. Add to the fact he's one the best anchor and journalist. I remember watching a documentary special about Sarajevo(or Bosnia) after the war and genocide and it was one of the best I've seen.

Read tributes, remembrance and perspective

Newsweeek Apologizes

If you erred, you must acknowledge.

Newsweek magazine has apologized for errors in a story alleging that interrogators at the U.S. detention center in Guantanamo Bay desecrated the Quran

Newsweek Washington Bureau Chief Daniel Klaidman said the magazine believes it erred in reporting the allegation that a prison guard tried to flush the Koran down a toilet and that military investigators had confirmed the accusation.

When reporting, gotta checked re checked and checked again. I'd be outrage too if I hear or read about somebody flushing a Bible down the toilet. Not that I read the Bible everyday just that I'm a Catholic and no one should desecrate my religion by flushing something that symbolizes faith.

Shattered Lies

Just finished watching the film Shattered Glass and I enjoyed the movie. (yeah, after two years they finally showed it here in the Philippines). The film is based on the life Stephen Glass (played by Hayden Christensen) and his fabricated articles for The New Republic .

I somehow could relate to the office politics and the everyday going ons of running a newspaper. Not that I'm working for one but that my mom had been a journalist and in the media even before I was born. During the many years o of her career as a columnist/reporter and eventually becoming editor, I've seen some dirty politicking by the company she worked for and the people appointed by the government (newspaper was a sequestered one). My mom stayed true loyal until office politics drove her out of her position. She's one of the best well respected by her peers in the media business. Greed and jealousy by some of the higher ups in the paper she worked pushed her out of her job but she recovered and eventually worked for one of the Metro's popular broadsheet until her death

But anyway, read more about the work(fabricated ones..or most of it) by former New Republic associate editor Stephen Glass

http://www.rickmcginnis.com/articles/Glassindex.htm

Video blogging the tsunami disaster

The power of the internet and blogs proven again. Tsunami video blogs are a hit! Many of videos from the horrible tsunami disaster came from amatuers be it locals or tourists vacationing when disaster struck. ( many news organizations are now paying tons of dollars even for just a few minutes for their videos). It didn't matter if it were captured through cam phone either. It's been quite a success some you could watch for free but others do charge fo them now.

Web blogs and the bloggers proved that it's not just mainstream media who can offer many viewers information and videos and those wants to see for themselves what really transpired that awful day when wave of water crashed down and swallowed up many lives. Many Asian bloggers are recounting their tales nows and [video]Blogging about their ordeal.

Biased in the media..

And Bill O'Reilly Got It Right this time

If Fox is for GOP then CNN is for the Democrats.. but the problem with that is journalist, broadcasters losing some credibility in reporting what really is the truth. We are somehow lost in verbal laments and prostrate debates and the biases of media men. Where does one draw the line then? CNN show crossfire has two blabbermouths who works for the Kerry Campaign, Paul Begala and Jame Carville. A for Fox, geesh! the whole network is GOP itself.

The point here according to Frank Rich article in NYTimes is Bill O Reilly attacked CNN for keeping James Carville and Paul Begala as hosts on "Crossfire" after they had joined the Kerry campaign, he fingered yet another symptom of the decline and fall of the American news culture. Mr. Carville have argued that the line wasn't blurred here because the liberal "Crossfire" hosts are unpaid, loosey-goosey Kerry advisers and their show is an opinion-mongering screamfest, not a news program.

No matter how long the overlap between Mr. Carville and Mr. Begala's TV and campaign roles, that brand and CNN itself are now as inextricably bound to the Democrats as Fox is to the Republicans. The network has succeeded in an impossible feat — ceding Mr. O'Reilly the moral high ground. The thing is, The Bush campaign doesn't have to enlist Fox hosts for its staff since they're willing to whore for it without even being asked.

I think individuals who works for election campaign and candidates should be castigated for doing shows which ultimately affects perception and can ulimately change opinions of people especially if all they do is defend their bosse instead of being neutral.

When you introduce something new and good you deserve praises

And that's what Brian Lamb has been getting, receiving accolades for his C-SPAN Network (link via Romenesko). Full story here

We used to have C-SPAN in our cable channel but then it was replaced by some nonsense program. C'mon I'd rather watch Washington Journal(or sometimes boring Booknotes) than some silly WINS! Ugh! Hahaha.

Journalist and their political contributions

It's not only the business sectors but oh yes even the media outlets and their journalists contribute funds for their own respective choice of candidates. I think that it's wrongs because it casts doubts about their reporting. Washington Post reports that...

Such donations raise difficult questions: Do employees of news organizations give up certain civic rights? Or, in an age when polls show growing public perceptions of media bias, should the appearance of siding with a candidate or party be avoided at all costs?

"A good rule of thumb," said Tom Rosenstiel, director of the Project for Excellence in Journalism, "is, if this were known publicly, would it cause the audience to have doubt about the credibility of this person's coverage?" That, he said, is often "a judgment call."

Here in the Philippines, it's probably happening too. I mean, with the Lopezes most likely will contribute to either Noli de Castro or Loren Legarda. Mostly though it's the other way around. The politicians are the ones giving money away as sort of encouraging or enticing certain media people to write more favorable news about them. Ethics in journalism should be practiced and getting money or contributing funds to certain politicians should be forbidden.

Happy Thanksgiving!
One good article from Boston Globe and James Caroll Of Thanks and Mercy... More dead GIs over the weekend, more mutilated. More global terror as the blowback spreads. More opposition in the streets abroad. But at Thanksgiving, can't the columnist let up? War, war, war. What about all the things for which we Americans can be grateful?

Thanksgiving time! All you Americans out there, may you have good size Turkey to chow down. Hehehe. It's the time when Americans should be thankful for; Soldiers serving abroad and feeling lucky that despite the many hardships and bombings they endure they're still able to celebrate the day. And for those who have perished and has given a lot to good causes, a Happy thanks giving as well.