Pulitzer Investigations

So, recently I posted about how strangely I thought the Pulitzers were awarded this year.

I hadn't read Glenn Greenwald's post about this, until today:

http://www.commondreams.org/view/2009/04/21-6

Go figure. 

"From Édgar, 5, Coughs Heard Round the World"

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/04/29/world/americas/29mexico.html?_r=1&hp

WHYYYYYYY are we releasing a 5-year old boy's name as the perpetrator of the swine flu? Is this really necessary?????

The girl in the window

It was announced yesterday that Lane DeGregory of The St. Petersburg Times won a Pulitzer for her article, "The Girl in the Window." After many years of writing truly engaging, fascinating pieces of investigative, narrative journalism, DeGregory has received the top award in her field.

Which got me thinking, is it the top award in journalism? Should it be?

NPR noted in their article about the top Pulitzer winners this year:

"No Pulitzers were awarded for coverage of the biggest financial crisis since the Depression. And despite a rule change that allowed online-only news organizations to compete for Pulitzers for the first time, none of them won any prizes."

Also, this year the New York Times was awarded with five prizes - including their international reporting of "deepening U.S. involvement in Afghanistan and Pakistan", and the investigative reporting behind "revealing how networks used military commentators who had ties to the Pentagon or defense contractors.

Now, I wonder, is this so? Did the NYT really start all of these conversations. They seem like dialogue that would have been started by Democracy Now! years ago. I haven't been following the patterns of Pulitzers in years passed, but I am starting to wonder if they are any more credible than Oscars or Academy Awards. 

Regardless, I think that Lane DeGregory receiving the award was well-deserved. I'm just now more than ever curious about the credibility behind the Pulitzer awarding process.

A place for peace in music

Regardless of how much of an Ithaca hippie I sound like, I'm going to attempt this post anyways....

Socially active songsters are no new phenomenon but instead, continue to be a harmonic reminder of upheaval around the world. And, at times, it seems like it's the only way people will listen to it. Artists like John Legend (Show Me Campaign) and Michael Franti (Iknowimnotalone) - amongst many others - give a melodic backdrop to the stories about extreme poverty and war that are occurring around the world and at times, seem to hard to hear. Others, creep the issues into their lyrics: Radiohead, Andrew Bird, Ani DiFranco. Thankfully we have them, for the times when even Nikolas Kristof seems too whiny or we can't bare to look at one more picture of a malnourished child. Because ignoring it won't help anything - and sometimes a song seems to help.

ChickenFootStew

I stumbled across this blog, Social Upheaval, which is a part of the Progressive Blog Alliance. It seems to be a one-woman job, but there's not too much About Me included. Regardless, the self-described feminist activist includes an interesting combination of topics: ranging from economics to Jewish Voices for Peace to nuclear threats from corporate America. Plus, she's got the list of included blogs from the Progressive Blog Alliance on her page. It's encouraging to see, although she has few posts, that some women are taking the time to discuss what really matters. (versus: this)

Oprah cancels Columbine show

On Apr. 20, in the memory of the tragic Columbine shootings on it's 10th anniversary, Oprah chose to... not do an anniversary show.  The story was featured everywhere, including HuffPo. And, linked at the bottom were three similar stories:

1. A book called, "Do you know who your children are?"

2. A clever, ad-lib style letter from the Josh Sugarmann, the exec. director of the Violence Policy Center and author of "Every Handgun is Aimed at you: The case for Banning Handguns".

3. "10 years after Columbine, Elected Officials Doing Nothing is Not Working"

In an amazing way, Oprah managed to use her celebrity name to - at least on HuffPo - to direct attention to the stories that really matter, that really need attention on the anniversary of Columbine. She wrote on Oprah.com, "I decided to pull the Columbine show today. After reviewing it, I thought it focused too much on the killers. Today, hold a thought for the Columbine community..."

Oprah showed restraint and even though millions of people may have tuned into her anniversary show, maybe some of them will have clicked the link on some web page that described her canceling her show - and hopefully, click on to read about what needs to be done to prevent this from ever happening again.

Grappling to place blame for Global Warming

Two headlines placing blame for global warming were featured on different news sites today. One, managed to blame the "fatties" and the other, blamed the malnourished. 

The Sun featured a story, "Fatties cause global warming" - which Drudge stuck at the front, top of his site yesterday. I'm sure it's because the article managed to get the word "fatties" in the headline, but that's besides the point.

Across the pond, NYT featured an article, "Third World Stove Soot is Target in Climate Fight", arguing that the process of cooking family dinner in developing countries  is causing the glaciers to melt. 

Of course, it's not uncommon to read an article concerning global warming in mainstream media today. It's just getting a little frustrating to read about the variety of causes instead of the variety of solutions. How about more articles explaining what the heck all of the little numbers on the bottom of recyclable bottles mean. Or, how to compost in your own area. Or maybe, how to combat your own carbon footprint. At the risk of turning every mainstream medium into a raging environmentalist, some more articles including researchers and their helpful hints would be - well, helpful.

My apology to Lester Holt

I did not attend Lester Holt's speech on Apr. 14. I could have, but I chose not to. It's not that I have anything particularly against Holt - I suppose it's not really his fault at all that I chose not to attend. It's actually a combination of my lack of interest in broadcast journalism and my last experience with a speaker brought in by the Jessica Lavitch Distinguished Journalism Lecture Series. His name was David Muir. He looks like this: 

    and this:

   and this:

And that is all, it seems to me, David Muir seems to care about. His speech two years ago was so boringly about his success and designer wear that it reinstated in myself, in a sweeping generalization, that I did not want anything to do with being a news anchor. His narrative about his time covering post-Hurricane Katrina was this: his courage to step out, "knee-deep" in the waters and announce the breaking news. By the way, he did it in designer shoes and a suit (I don't remember the brands, sorry...). And when it came time for him to "humbly" thank the Park School for being asked to come as a speaker honoring Jessica Lavitch, he said as a young journalism student, he never imagined himself in the same fancy diggs she wore on set, hangin' round celebrity journalists like she did.

So, Lester Holt, I apologize. David Muir's speech was so underwhelming and disapointing that I couldn't sit through another speech by cocky celebrity journalist with a great tan. I also apologize if you aren't also conceited, but if you get the chance, at the next cocktail party for celebrity journalists, can you please pass on to Muir that having a busy schedule and a closet full of Armani suits isn't considered successful - or more importantly, investigative journalism.

Woo-hoo!

Thanks to Jeff Cohen for creating the excuse to get Amy Goodman and Glenn Greenwald in Ithaca and for the ability to Google the terms: "Ithaca College Independent Media", "Ithaca College Journalism", "Ithaca College Park School", etc., etc., etc. and having their names be included in some of the first featured articles. Now, I realize there are a million other reasons to celebrate the Izzy Award but at the end of the day, the whole thing was just pretty cool. Like, Bill Moyers cool. So, Thanks!

The Queen has a cause.

Perez Hilton has made his debut on YouTube, Larry King and HuffPo (among others) featured as something other than a celebrity's biggest pain in the ass.

That is, unless you consider Miss California a celebrity. Hilton recently addressed the blonde at this year's Miss USA Competition, ask her about her thoughts on extending legislation on rights to gay marriage throughout the 50 states. Her answer? 

It was about as round-about and confusing as the 2007 Miss USA Most Featured YouTube video but instead of being about maps (?), it was about a topic many, many people are concerned with today. She refused to say whether or not any states should seek new legislation, and at the very end stated that she and her family, regardless of anyone else's views, believe in the sanctity of a marriage between man and women. Right, but that's not what the question was. The question was whether or not other states should seek similar legislation to Vermont and Iowa. 

It's unfortunate that in 2009 Miss California can't stand up for gay rights, but regardless, it maybe not the first time - but a rare one - where I actually agree with Hilton. He stands by Miss California's right to her opinion, but says she should have answered in a way that would have made her a representative of everyone in the United States - including the gay community. Something like, "all states should decide for themselves" would have sufficed. Miss California made it was far as first runner-up in the pageant but has not dodged criticism on the internet.

Sen. John Kerry to save the newspapers

Yes, he can. And no, I don't mean Obama. The Huffington Post recently announced in red, bold, italicized, size 100o font (in her usual headline style) this statement: HELP IS ON THE WAY!

Following the link to what seemed like a response to a virtual smoke signal was HuffPo's breakdown of Sen. Jon Kerry's letter to "the Boston Globe family" about his plan to hold hearings in an effort to restructure the financial plan behind the newspaper business. It also sighted Sen. Ben Cardin's effort last March when he introduced legislation to turn media models into non-profit organizations.

2009 Nieman Conference on Narrative Journalism

It's 11 a.m. in Boston, N.Y. I've just spent the past five hours sitting in a rented van with two other Ithaca College students, Erin Geismar and Tricia Nadolny, and our advisor, Michael Serino. The only time I can recall stretching my legs, or being awake at all, was at the one pit stop we made a few hours back where I decided to change into my jeans. Wouldn't want to show up wearing sweatpants to a conference with "Harvard" in the title. But jeans, I guess they're okay.

Anyways, I'm going to be making a few blog posts in the near future about the topics discussed during the conference. No, it's not exactly "independent media" but it's literary journalism - some of the closest prose with independent thought found in mainstream media today. So for now, I'll start from the very beginning.

Connie Shultz, the Keynote Speaker on Friday afternoon, was the breath of fresh air I was looking for. I was ready for a crowd of fearful journalists crying out for an end to the "doomsday" they see the end of the newspaper industry being. Of course, they were all there, and at times almost crying into the microphone. But Shultz made sure to keep the conversation positive during her speech, "Why you still matter." 

She took a photo of the crowd, inviting them to cheer in response to her question: Who in this room is sick and tired of hearing about constant job loss in journalism? She sent the photo to www.poynter.org as a personal memo to Romenesko.

UNDER CONSTRUCTION

I'm considering cleverly renaming this blog, "Jenius." We'll see how it goes...