This week I was assigned the task of watching the State of the Union on television while a portion of my class read the newspapers and another portion followed the blogs. It is amazing how experiences with these different media change our perception and understanding of a single event.
I enjoyed watching the speech. I typically try to watch the State of the Union because I feel like I am witnessing a part of history. Watching the speech live also allows one to note the tone and expressions of the President and gage Congress' response.
This year, I was a bit distracted by Joe Biden's odd expressions, Nancy Pelosi's apparent discomfort and my very conservative roommate’s comments on just about every point Obama made. (Apparently if your uncle went to Harvard, you're automatically an expert on public policy.)
But overall, I feel like I learned from my experience. I think the President is worried about his diminishing support and that the national focus is shifting away from healthcare. Although he alone cannot accomplish all the points he laid out, I think that he has set the agenda for what Congress will debate in the next year.
However, I thought this was not one of his best speeches. He was more caustic than usual, seemingly blaming the Senate for delaying action, the Republicans for blocking measures for the sake of blocking them and the Democrats for not moving things along.
Most of all, I was unhappy with his remarks regarding the Supreme Court decision in Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission. He had already expressed his discontent with their decision and I believe that the State of the Union was not an appropriate time to do so again.
But I did not notice Justice Alito's whispered response, "not true." While watching a live speech, it is difficult to pick up on some of the subtleties. It can also be difficult to comprehend the political implications of the different points. So I think my experience would have been enhanced by additional newspaper or blog coverage.
Next year I will most likely watch the State of the Union on television and follow the blogs and Tweets to enhance my experience and understanding.
1.30.2010
1.23.2010
Political Blogs in North Carolina
During the 2008 elections, more than 30 percent of North Carolina voters said they got their information from political blogs, according to my Citizens and Media Professor.
Last week I spent time looking at BlueNC, which leans to the left and Civitasreview, which is more conservative.
I expected these blogs to be shrill, radical accounts of extreme partisan views, but I found that some posts were credible and others were humorously satirical. Overall, I left knowing more about North Carolina politics and having a few points to share with my politically opposite parents.
Both blogs publish posts from multiple individuals, which I think adds to the site's credibility. These people share political views but express them in different ways.
BlueNC also featured a post by Elaine Marshall, the N.C. Secretary of State. She pushed for financial reform, targeting the liberal audience. Marshall, a candidate for U.S. Senate, undoubtedly is also using this forum as a tool to generate political support, critiquing Congress in order to do so. Nevertheless, her argument was well-supported and informative.
The blogger, "James" is very active on BlueNC. A lot of his posts are satiricial. One redesigns the state flag using corporate images. However, some of his posts are informative, like the one about the SOS Bill, which stands for "Stop Outsourcing Security." But his political agenda is evident when as he urges readers to contact their representatives.
I found Civitasreview to be slightly more informative. The the bloggers posted actual news (although it typically has a conservative slant) as in one post about the ABC scandals. The news is then paired with the author's opinion as well as political action regarding the issue.
Civitas seems more fact-based. Although it carries an obvious political slant, the stories do contain facts, like the timeline in the Basnight Construction piece.
Civitas bloggers appear to do more reporting, as evident in this post by Brian Balfour, in which he appears to be a well-informed journalist, using facts and links to report on the meeting.
Both of these sites were informative and useful, although their political affiliation was clear. It's easy to see why 30 percent of voters used blogs for political information in 2008, and I predict this number will greatly increase in 2012.
Last week I spent time looking at BlueNC, which leans to the left and Civitasreview, which is more conservative.
I expected these blogs to be shrill, radical accounts of extreme partisan views, but I found that some posts were credible and others were humorously satirical. Overall, I left knowing more about North Carolina politics and having a few points to share with my politically opposite parents.
Both blogs publish posts from multiple individuals, which I think adds to the site's credibility. These people share political views but express them in different ways.
BlueNC also featured a post by Elaine Marshall, the N.C. Secretary of State. She pushed for financial reform, targeting the liberal audience. Marshall, a candidate for U.S. Senate, undoubtedly is also using this forum as a tool to generate political support, critiquing Congress in order to do so. Nevertheless, her argument was well-supported and informative.
The blogger, "James" is very active on BlueNC. A lot of his posts are satiricial. One redesigns the state flag using corporate images. However, some of his posts are informative, like the one about the SOS Bill, which stands for "Stop Outsourcing Security." But his political agenda is evident when as he urges readers to contact their representatives.
I found Civitasreview to be slightly more informative. The the bloggers posted actual news (although it typically has a conservative slant) as in one post about the ABC scandals. The news is then paired with the author's opinion as well as political action regarding the issue.
Civitas seems more fact-based. Although it carries an obvious political slant, the stories do contain facts, like the timeline in the Basnight Construction piece.
Civitas bloggers appear to do more reporting, as evident in this post by Brian Balfour, in which he appears to be a well-informed journalist, using facts and links to report on the meeting.
Both of these sites were informative and useful, although their political affiliation was clear. It's easy to see why 30 percent of voters used blogs for political information in 2008, and I predict this number will greatly increase in 2012.
1.18.2010
NYT uses Twitter as a source?
We are the generation of experimental media. With Twitter, Facebook and other social networking sites replacing e-mail and definitely phone calls.
So I don't know why I was surprised to see my favorite journalist quote someone's tweet.
If you aren't familiar with David Carr, or @Carr2n, he writes a column for the Monday Business section of the New York Times that focuses on media issues including print, digital, film, radio and television.
His columns, and his biography, are incredibly though-provoking.
Monday I read his column about the demise of late night talk shows and saw:
“Gawker tv’s most essential service: letting me keep up with the late night wars even tho i don’t have a tv,” said @mattbuchanan on Twitter.
I'm not sure if I think this is a creative use of media or an unreliable source. Who is @mattbuchanan? Did Carr have permission to use this quote? Why not use his real name?
But I must say, kudos to Carr for being innovative. And thanks for adding the "on Twitter" qualifying statement. Perhaps I'll give it a try in one of my stories.
So I don't know why I was surprised to see my favorite journalist quote someone's tweet.
If you aren't familiar with David Carr, or @Carr2n, he writes a column for the Monday Business section of the New York Times that focuses on media issues including print, digital, film, radio and television.
His columns, and his biography, are incredibly though-provoking.
Monday I read his column about the demise of late night talk shows and saw:
“Gawker tv’s most essential service: letting me keep up with the late night wars even tho i don’t have a tv,” said @mattbuchanan on Twitter.
I'm not sure if I think this is a creative use of media or an unreliable source. Who is @mattbuchanan? Did Carr have permission to use this quote? Why not use his real name?
But I must say, kudos to Carr for being innovative. And thanks for adding the "on Twitter" qualifying statement. Perhaps I'll give it a try in one of my stories.
1.16.2010
How Gaston County gets news
Gaston County is a unique place. It's a mixture of "Northern Transplants," or northerners who have migrated south, and good ol' southern boys whose families have lived on the same street for five generations. We're ethnically and economically diverse and boast a suburban scene of shopping centers and cookie-cutter neighborhoods, but also farms and historical downtowns.
How Gaston County gets its news is just about as diverse as its people. I've found that my family's news sources are a pretty good representation of the rest of the county.
My father is from Ireland, and he has a slew of Irish newspapers shipped to him by his mother. They arrive weekly, wrapped in brown paper and leaving black newsprint on anyone who touches them. He also uses CNN.com for national and world news, but is not interested in local news. As he is not a U.S. citizen, he cannot vote and thus pays little attention to political news. He watches soccer religiously and knows each player and team better than his own children.
Like many people in Gaston County, my mother was laid off from her job in textiles. In order to save money, canceled her newspaper subscription. But previous to that, she read the Charlotte Observer rather than the Gaston Gazette. Now she turns to cable news channels like WSOC and FOX Charlotte, but after a 15 hour day at the printing business she and my stepdad own, she usually falls asleep midway through the broadcast.
On weekends, my mom reads Gaston Alive! Magazine, a small publication that covers food, entertainment and local events in Gaston County. I interned there this summer and although the circulation is 18,000, there is no "hard news" in the magazine, rather stories on local businesses and the arts.
My stepdad is a bit of a technology junkie. He follows @cnnbrk (CNN breaking news) on Twitter, uses Facebook and LinkedIn and watches the nightly newscasts. While networking for their business, he chats with other professionals in Charlotte and gets news from their conversations.
My stepmother gets her news from what other people tell her. She never reads newspapers or watches TV news. She uses the internet only for Facebook, which she seldom checks. Around the dinner table, my father and I will bring up news and she rarely knows what we're talking about. She never registered to vote and thus pays not attention to politics. But she's an expert on celebrity gossip, reading People, InTouch and watching E! News.
My stepsister is similar. She does not follow any professional publications, but turns to her friends for news. Although she often thinks she knows what is going on, the details are usually incorrect or missing completely.
My younger sister gets her news from her high school. Teachers bring up news topics and she is required to write summaries on "current events." Her blackberry is attached to her thumbs, and so she is always in the loop with the latest high school gossip. She watches more sports than the rest of our family and sometimes understands them.
I consider myself a bit of a news junkie. I read The Daily Tar Heel, skim The New York Times, follow a diverse population on Twitter, stalk people religiously on Facebook, read The Gaston Gazette on Saturdays, read the headlines on my RSS feeds and watch ABC news after Grey's Anatomy. I have a weakness for magazines, especially trashy tabloids, and I never miss a major awards show.
So you see, it's impossible to make a generalization about news sources in Gaston County as they vary as much as the residents. For the most part, we're sufficiently informed, but on what we are informed ranges from international news and sports to the gossip in the halls of South Point High School.
How Gaston County gets its news is just about as diverse as its people. I've found that my family's news sources are a pretty good representation of the rest of the county.
My father is from Ireland, and he has a slew of Irish newspapers shipped to him by his mother. They arrive weekly, wrapped in brown paper and leaving black newsprint on anyone who touches them. He also uses CNN.com for national and world news, but is not interested in local news. As he is not a U.S. citizen, he cannot vote and thus pays little attention to political news. He watches soccer religiously and knows each player and team better than his own children.
Like many people in Gaston County, my mother was laid off from her job in textiles. In order to save money, canceled her newspaper subscription. But previous to that, she read the Charlotte Observer rather than the Gaston Gazette. Now she turns to cable news channels like WSOC and FOX Charlotte, but after a 15 hour day at the printing business she and my stepdad own, she usually falls asleep midway through the broadcast.
On weekends, my mom reads Gaston Alive! Magazine, a small publication that covers food, entertainment and local events in Gaston County. I interned there this summer and although the circulation is 18,000, there is no "hard news" in the magazine, rather stories on local businesses and the arts.
My stepdad is a bit of a technology junkie. He follows @cnnbrk (CNN breaking news) on Twitter, uses Facebook and LinkedIn and watches the nightly newscasts. While networking for their business, he chats with other professionals in Charlotte and gets news from their conversations.
My stepmother gets her news from what other people tell her. She never reads newspapers or watches TV news. She uses the internet only for Facebook, which she seldom checks. Around the dinner table, my father and I will bring up news and she rarely knows what we're talking about. She never registered to vote and thus pays not attention to politics. But she's an expert on celebrity gossip, reading People, InTouch and watching E! News.
My stepsister is similar. She does not follow any professional publications, but turns to her friends for news. Although she often thinks she knows what is going on, the details are usually incorrect or missing completely.
My younger sister gets her news from her high school. Teachers bring up news topics and she is required to write summaries on "current events." Her blackberry is attached to her thumbs, and so she is always in the loop with the latest high school gossip. She watches more sports than the rest of our family and sometimes understands them.
I consider myself a bit of a news junkie. I read The Daily Tar Heel, skim The New York Times, follow a diverse population on Twitter, stalk people religiously on Facebook, read The Gaston Gazette on Saturdays, read the headlines on my RSS feeds and watch ABC news after Grey's Anatomy. I have a weakness for magazines, especially trashy tabloids, and I never miss a major awards show.
So you see, it's impossible to make a generalization about news sources in Gaston County as they vary as much as the residents. For the most part, we're sufficiently informed, but on what we are informed ranges from international news and sports to the gossip in the halls of South Point High School.
1.15.2010
Ciao!
A few years ago I started a blog that was more like a journal than anything. I posted religously for the first few weeks, but then gave up. So here's hoping this endeavor is more successful!
So a bit about me. As a child, I spent hours reporting on things that happened around the house. My mom had a (now ancient) Mac, with a program that would read the word I typed. In this fashion, I learned to read and write, but I must admit, my stories were pretty bad, and although the words sounded right, they were often horribly misspelled.
From an early age it was clear that I loved to write, but it wasn't until high school that I considered journalism. I joined the school paper and loved it! But surprisingly, writing for the paper led me to news design rather than a career in reporting.
My father disaproves of my career choices. He immigrated from Ireland in the early 80's and has some differnt views about the world. He thinks I should be a doctor or a lawyer. I on the other hand hate blood and cannot argue even when I know I'm right.
So I work two jobs -- at the Student Union and at Memorial Hall to pay for what my scholarships don't. It's tough, but definitely worth it. I've met some incredible people and I never get bored!
So a bit about me. As a child, I spent hours reporting on things that happened around the house. My mom had a (now ancient) Mac, with a program that would read the word I typed. In this fashion, I learned to read and write, but I must admit, my stories were pretty bad, and although the words sounded right, they were often horribly misspelled.
From an early age it was clear that I loved to write, but it wasn't until high school that I considered journalism. I joined the school paper and loved it! But surprisingly, writing for the paper led me to news design rather than a career in reporting.
My father disaproves of my career choices. He immigrated from Ireland in the early 80's and has some differnt views about the world. He thinks I should be a doctor or a lawyer. I on the other hand hate blood and cannot argue even when I know I'm right.
So I work two jobs -- at the Student Union and at Memorial Hall to pay for what my scholarships don't. It's tough, but definitely worth it. I've met some incredible people and I never get bored!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
