American Journalism: My Opinions

Monday December 03, 2007

MySpace Induced Suicide

Prosecutors in the MySpace suicide case decided not to charge anyone.  This comes over a year after Megan Meier, a 13 year old girl, hung herself after a “set-up” MySpace relationship ended.  The mother of the girl’s friend had an 18 year old female that worked for her pose as a boy named Josh on MySpace.  The mother did this to find out what Megan was saying about her daughter.

Megan talked to “Josh” a lot and developed a kind relationship with this person.  One day another 18 year old female got a hold of the MySpace password and began to talk to Megan.  Posing as Josh, the 18 year old said mean things to Megan that greatly upset her.  The girl even went as far as to say that the world would be a better place without Megan. 

Megan’s mom came home and found her sitting at the computer crying.  Her mother wasn’t very sympathetic and this upset Megan even more.  She then went upstairs and hung herself. 

I find it hard to believe that no one was found partially at fault for Megan killing herself.  I know that she did it with her own hands, but she was provoked by people that were old enough to know better.  We are talking about an adult mother and two 18 year olds here.  This was a sick and twisted thing to do.  I’m sure it started out as just being an innocent scheme to monitor what the girl was saying, but they went too far with the statements they said.  

I’m not suggesting that these people do hard time for what they did, but I think that something should be done to them.  Because of their thoughtless actions a family is without their little girl. 

Read the complete story here.

The Return of Imus

Don Imus made his return to radio this morning, eight months since being fired by CBS.  For those of you living under a rock, Imus was fired after he had a racist and feminist comment regarding the Rutgers women’s basketball team.  A huge uproar was caused in the African American community as well as with women’s groups. 

Imus did his show today in front of a live audience that paid a hundred dollars a piece to see the show.  Imus’ cast featured two new faces, both black comedians.  Who are you trying to kid Imus?  This seemed ridiculous to me because everyone knows this is just a lame attempt to show America that he isn’t racist. 

On the day he was fired, Imus and his wife spent four hours with the Rutgers players, coaches, and their families.  He apologized for his remarks countless times.  He also received Al Sharpton’s approval to return to the airways, stating that Imus has a right to earn a living.  Imus’ show has already been picked up by 17 other stations and I’m sure many more will follow their lead.

Let me leave you with a quote from Imus’ return show:  "Other than that, not much has changed. Dick Cheney is still a war criminal, Hillary Clinton is still Satan and I'm back on the radio."

Welcome back Imus.  Hopefully this time you won’t insult half of the country. 

CNN on Iran

CNN.com’s top news story today was about Iran not building nuclear weapons.  The front page of their website has an aerial picture of an unspecified region of Iran.  There is also a short paragraph that tries to get you to click the link to read the full story.  The paragraph states that Iran is unlikely to be able to produce enough uranium for a bomb until 2010 to 2015. 

So you’ve heard it from CNN, safe for another couple of years, hopefully.  This story seems like it is a false sense of hope because 2010 is only two years away.  Iran hasn’t made any nuclear weapons since 2003. 

Now don’t think that Iran is done making nuclear weapons just because it will be a couple years before they will have enough uranium.  They don’t really seem like they are willing to change their ways yet.  Proof of this is that CNN just changed the photo on their main page to the Iranian President visiting a uranium enrichment facility in 2006.  That was only a year ago, which leads you to believe that they fully intend to continue making nuclear weapons as soon as they can produce enough uranium. 

This article should be anything but reassuring.  Iran is still dangerous regardless of this news of them taking a few years off of their plan to destroy the universe.  We can all sleep at ease now…for two to seven years. 

Thursday November 29, 2007

CNN has it all!!

CNN’s website has everything you want and more from the news.  Their website has 12 tabs at the very top of the page that allow for easy browsing of different topics.  Some of the tabs they feature are: Word, U.S., Politics, Entertainment, Business, and Sports.  All of the tabs except the sports tab take you to a different page within CNN’s site.  The sports tab takes you to Sports Illustrated.com which is a CNN network site. 

The tabs make it very convenient to find exactly what you are looking for.  If you only have a few minutes to find out new election news you can simply click on the politics tab.  The tab feature is a really good idea because it greatly reduces the time it takes to find news stories that you are looking for.

Personally, I don’t get a lot of news from CNN, but since I noticed their tab feature I have been visiting their site more often.  I also like the fact that they have the day’s top videos directly under the tabs.  Videos help tell the story in a way that words alone cannot.  CNN is doing a good job of making the news interesting and easier to obtain. 

Wednesday November 28, 2007

R.I.P. Mr. Gatorade Man

In my eyes the world lost a great man yesterday.  Dr. J. Robert Cade, one of the creators of Gatorade, died yesterday of kidney failure at the age of 80.  ESPN’s online site had a lengthy article praising Dr. Cade for his accomplishments.  Gatorade has been proven to replace electrolytes that are lost from sweating. 

The article on ESPN talked about how big the Gatorade industry has become.  It was invented at the University of Florida to help give their football players a boost during games.  Word got out to other schools and they all wanted Gatorade too.  They began to make Gatorade available for other sports teams and eventually it spread to consumers as well.  Dr. Cade never imagined that Gatorade would become such a huge product. 

I personally feel like I owe a lot to Dr. Cade because I don’t know what I would do without Gatorade.  I have always loved the stuff and they keep coming out with new flavors.  I used to drink water after playing football and basketball games but it just didn’t seem to do anything for me.  Gatorade helps replenish your body with important electrolytes and sodium that you lose when you sweat.

The first batch of Gatorade was made with $43 worth of supplies and tasted like toilet bowl cleaner.  Sugar and lemon juice were added to make it more enjoyable, which is good because I don’t see a big market for a toilet bowl cleaner flavored sports drink.  That one might not be your biggest seller, unless of course your target audience is black labs and golden retrievers. 

Thank you Mr. Gatorade Man for a great creation that has grown to be the king of the sports drink market.   

Tuesday November 27, 2007

Sean Taylor's Death Coverage

One of the main news stories today was that Sean Taylor of the Washington Redskins died today from a gunshot wound he received yesterday.  Every major online news site had this story near the top of the page.  The story was also heavily covered on television news sites.

This shows you how important sports have become in the United States.  Thousands of people get killed everyday, but we usually only hear about it if they are famous.  Sean Taylor is being referred to as one of the toughest players in the NFL.  The authorities are saying that he was shot by an intruder in his own home.

The coverage on this story started out as only being about the situation at hand.  They talked about a previous break in attempt a few weeks ago and then about yesterday’s shooting.  Now the focus of the story is turning to all of the trouble Taylor has been in.  The news sites are all mentioning how he has caused trouble on and off the field since being drafted by the Redskins in 2004.

I thought it was interesting that a man was shot and killed and the media seems to be focusing on the negative side of his life.  The man was only 24 years old and he was shot for no apparent reason.  Come on media, show the man’s family a little respect and pay tribute to his accomplishments and not his down falls. 

Monday November 26, 2007

CNN's Extensive Coverage

News sites cover stories more extensively than they used to.  I have been monitoring CNN.com to see how they report major stories.  Their big story of the night was about a mother in Galveston, Texas who admitted to helping her husband beat and kill their two-year old daughter. 

The main page of CNN featured a picture of the little girl and a small paragraph.  When you click on the link it takes you to a full page of information on the story.  The top right hand corner has bullet points of the basic information.  There are also four pictures of the girl that go along with the story. 

Another link on the word Galveston takes you to yet another page of different multimedia forms of information.  The first thing you see on this page is a police sketch of the girl when they were still trying to figure out who she was.  Below the sketch are two videos that show her family grieving and talking about how sweet she was. 

The different multimedia forms help tell the story in a way words only can’t.  Seeing pictures of an innocent two-year and videos of her family grieving make you realize just how terrible this crime was.  I thought that CNN did a good job of covering this story from all angles. 

Click here to read the full story and watch the videos. 

Tuesday November 20, 2007

CNN Review

Today I decided to take a look at a leading news websites to see what they are reporting.  The site I looked at was CNN.  Their site features a lead story with a big picture that catches your attention right away.  There is a paragraph of the lead story on the front page that tries to entice you to read more.  Their top story this morning was about selecting safe toys for children on your Christmas list. 

The also have a column that lists their latest news stories.  These stories contain both major new stories and some unusual stories.  Some of the stories have out of the ordinary titles that spark your curiosity and make it almost impossible not to click on them.  One of the unusual headlines today was: “Dumpster diver eats garbage by choice”.  This article made me want to read more to find out what the whole story was.

Another cool feature that CNN has on their website is video features.  They have their top news stories on a video slide show that you can scroll through.  I like this feature because sometimes I would rather watch a video than read a story.  They also have video titles that catch your attention, such as: “Elderly guard scares robbers”. 

I will be checking back with CNN from time to time to evaluate what stories they are reporting. 

Friday November 16, 2007

300 U.S. Traitors in Canada

The Supreme Court of Canada refused to hear the appeal of two U.S. military men who took refuge in the country to avoid being deployed to Iraq.  This means that they could immediately be deported back to the United States to stand trial for going AWOL.  They said that they were avoiding deployment because they don’t agree with the U.S. being in Iraq.

The article on MSNBC.com went on to say that there are an estimated 300 U.S. troops hiding out in Canada illegally.  The result of the above mentioned trial could end up getting more of the troop deported back to the U.S. 

This article upset me because these troops volunteered to join the military but when it came time to defend their country they bailed.  They abandoned their military brothers and sisters who are risking their lives every day to protect the freedom of every American. Many military men have died in Iraq and these 300 troops in Canada are only thinking about themselves. 

Tuesday November 13, 2007

NBC's Green Week

NBC decided to think green for the week of November 4^th through the 10^th.  They gave tips on how to be more environmentally friendly.  Their entire website was transformed into a sea of green.  NBC’s slogan for this week was “Green is Universal,” which was fitting since they are owned by Universal. 

NBC also promoted their green week during Sunday Night Football.  The post-game show was darker than usually.  They decided to use candle light instead of all of their big, expensive lights that use a lot of energy.  They even mentioned how much energy they saved just from that short time that they used candles.

I thought this was a good thing for NBC to do because it showed that they are serious about conserving energy.  This created a good image for NBC, even if it only lasted one week. 

Check out some of the things NBC did for green week here. 

Tuesday October 30, 2007

Only in Iowa...

This morning I was reading the top headlines on ESPN.com like I always do and one caught my eye, “Hunter recovering after being shot in the leg by dog.”  I was curious so I clicked on the headline to read the whole article.  The next thing that caught my eye was reading that this took place in Des Moines, Iowa of all places.  It takes a really crazy story to get Iowa mentioned on ESPN unless it has to do with the Hawkeyes or Cyclones.   

Apparently the man in the story was pheasant hunting with a group of men north of Grinnell, Iowa.  The man laid his gun on the ground while he climbed over a fence.  As he was climbing the fence his dog stepped on the gun, causing it to shoot.  The man was hit with between 100 and 120 pellets in his calf.  He was taken to an Iowa City hospital for surgery and is listed in good condition.

After reading this story I went to several major news websites to see if any of them had reported this story.  I was kind of surprised to see that none of them had.  Usually bizarre stories like this get a lot of attention.  How often does a man get shot by his dog? 

I thought it was strange that this story made it on ESPN.com.  Hunting is considered a sport, but this is the first time I have seen a hunting story on ESPN’s front page.  Iowa should be proud.

Monday October 29, 2007

Bambi listed as a top 25 Horror Film

TIME Magazine came out with a list of the top 25 horror films of all time.  Most of the films on the list were either classic horror films or ones that I had never heard of.  I was baffled when I saw that number 20 on the list was Disney’s Bambi.  This is not a movie that would usually be classified as a horror film.

TIME Magazine’s reason for Bambi making the list was that it is a film intended for children and it scared them.  They claim that there are adults who saw Bambi 40 years ago and are still scarred from it.  At first I couldn’t believe this, then I thought back to the first time I saw the film.  My aunt gave it to me for my fourth birthday.  I remember turning the television off when Bambi’s mom got shot.  I was crying so hard that my mom couldn’t understand me.  However, I still don’t get why it is classified as a horror film.     

Another shocker was that this headline about Bambi was one of CNN’s top ten stories for the afternoon.  Talk about a slow news day!  

Wednesday October 24, 2007

President Colbert?

The Daily Show and The Colbert Report have been very popular among young people for several years now.  There has been a lot of talk about Jon Stewart and Stephen Colbert running for President.  People were even seen wearing Stewart, Colbert ’04 shirts before the last election.  But all of these President rumors are false, until now that is. 

Stephen Colbert announced that he would be running for President in South Carolina.  You have to be wondering if this is true or not, believe me it is.  The joke of it is that his name will be on both the Democratic and Republican tickets.  He spent the opening of his show filling out the paper work for the primary. 

The majority of the people who watch The Colbert Show are teens and young adults who would probably vote for him.  Many young people don’t get politics and they see no reason to vote.  Colbert makes politics fun and he relates to young people.  He will most likely receive a lot of votes.  A lot of people would like to see Stephen Colbert as the President of the United States.  I admit that I watch the Colbert Report, but I would not vote for him. 

If Colbert ever decides to seriously run for President on one ticket he would probably be one of the top candidates.  There are a lot of people who would probably vote for him just because it would be funny if he was elected.  This would be like the Robin Williams movie, Man of the Year.  Colbert wouldn’t be cut out to run the country.  Sure he is a smart man with political knowledge, but come on, President Colbert? 

Thursday October 18, 2007

Nebraska fires A.D. - Who's in Control?

Nebraska football has suffered back-to-back blow-out losses in conference play, which is very uncharacteristic of the program.  The University has been heavily criticized by the media and I think this helped persuade the firing of athletic director Steve Pederson.  The reason their Chancellor gave for the firing was a lack of football progress.  Football is very important at Nebraska and when they are not winning games they receive negative feedback from their fans and the media. 

The media has also been very critical of head coach, Bill Callahan.  Callahan just signed a new five-year contract a month ago but he will most likely be looking for a new job at the end of the season.  Nebraska has a winning tradition and they don’t take losing very well.  Callahan has a 26-18 record since taking over for the Huskers four years ago.  He arrived after Frank solich was fired after a 9-3 season.  Pederson was praised for this move at the time and now he is being criticized for it.

The media was also very persuasive when it came to firing Solich.  The Huskers had a good record and made a bowl game but that wasn’t good enough for their fans and the media.  They thought that bringing Callahan in would turn things around, turns out they were wrong.  Who’s laughing now Nebraska?   The answer would be Frank Solich. 

Wednesday October 10, 2007

Comedy Central as a news source??

Do you get your news from Comedy Central?  If you answered yes to this, I hope you don’t take it too seriously.  The Daily Show and the Colbert Report are watched by a lot of young adults.  These shows appeal to teens and young adults because they make the news and politics fun.  They add humor and sarcasm to serious news stories.  I’m not saying that watching these shows is a bad thing.  What is bad is if these shows are your primary source of news.  You would be surprised at how many people take what Jon Stewart and Steven Colbert say seriously. 

Everyone once in a while I will watch one of these shows on Comedy Center for a good laugh.  I try to keep up on the current news stories from either CNN or MSNBC.  It helps to know the top news stories before watching the Daily Show or Colbert Report.  If you already know the news stories, you will be less likely to believe what you here on a Comedy Central program. 

These shows can be a good thing because they get young people interested in politics and might encourage them to get involved and vote. It would be easy for teens to be influenced by these shows and think that they portray an accurate view of the news.  As long as the people who watch these shows know how to pick the truth out of a bucket of sarcasm, things are going to be just fine.