links for 2008-09-21
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via megan taylor.
Bob McChesney speaks at Eastern Illinois University
Image via Wikipedia Media critic Bob McChesney spoke Tuesday night, Sept. 16, 2008 at Eastern Illinois University. Below is the audio recording of his remarks and the Q&A session that followed. McChesney spoke for about 30 minutes about the real meaning of freedom of the press, the problems of professional journalism, and solutions to the crisis in the media. The entire audio is approx. 1:20.
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Academic Resources page working again
For some reason, the Academic Resources page was not working with the WordPress 2.6 upgrade. Now, with 2.6.1, it appears to be working again. Enjoy.
links for 2008-09-10
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Some effects cost $$$, but others are free. Check them out.
Media frenzy: the Palin files
Image by bobster1985 via Flickr For the past five days, I’ve been riveted by the media frenzy over vice presidential pick Sarah Palin, governor of Alaska. What strikes me most is the way the media – print, tv, radio, online – have rushed to fill in the details on the sketchy knowledge available about the candidate.
They say that nature abhors a vacuum. I would suggest that the media abhors a vacuum even more. Since the announcement, we’ve learned about Palin’s daughter’s pregnancy, “Troopergate,” her support for the “Bridge to Nowhere,” her husband’s involvement in the Alaska Independence Party, her lobbying for federal funds for local project, her role in a 527 for Alaska Sen. Ted Stevens, and who knows what will turn up in the days to come.
Also fascinating was the Wikipedia battle that arose from the appearance of a user “YoungTrig,” who began editing Palin’s Wikipedia entry the day before the announcement. Check out this NPR story for more details on that angle.
What to make of all this? Certainly there has been a rush from both the G.O.P. and the Democrats to “define” Palin one way or the other. But the definition is hinging on the reporting of media outlets and bloggers, responding to a wide-open v.p. pick with the type of reporting you probably wouldn’t have seen had the pick been a “known quantity” like Min. Gov. Pawlenty or former presidential aspirant Mitt Romney.
It’s too soon to see what damage all these revelations might have on the McCain campaign, but it’s fascinating to watch the media in action. Naturally, the McCain campaign has complained that the media are being “vicious and scurrilous” in their Palin stories.
I don’t really see that as the case. The media are doing their job. They are retroactively vetting the McCain vice presidential pick. They did the same to a lesser extent with Joe Biden, Barack Obama’s pick. But Biden was a known entity. He’d been a presidential candidate twice, and a senator for a long time. If Obama (who has had his own taste of the media scrutiny) had picked a little-known governor from a small (population) state, he’d have witnessed the same intense scrutiny of his pick.
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links for 2008-09-03
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Michael Wesch talks about the future of education.
links for 2008-09-01
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Who knew.
Flickr
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