Photography can lie

Try it

http://www.newseum.org/berlinwall/commissar_vanishes/index.htm

Plus epochal Soviet photos:

http://www.borodulincollection.com

50% Good News Is the Bad News in Russian Radio

Check out this article on the New York Times about how the media is being maneuvered in Russia before the next elections:
50% Good News Is the Bad News in Russian Radio

America at a Crossroads

Hey guys:

I should have posted this earlier but PBS has been showing an incredible series called America at a Crossroads, and I thought you guys would find it as fascinating as I have.
Here's the link to the program information on the web:
http://www.pbs.org/weta/crossroads/?campaign=pbshomefeatures_1_americaatacrossroads_2007-04-20
Tonight is unfortunately the last night of the 11 part series.
I've missed a couple so I intend to download all of them and watch them on my computer. Once I've done that if anybody wants to borrow my dvd, you're more than welcome to.

journalists and public discourse

Hey guys,

I found an article talking about what responsibility journalists have for the level of public discourse. The e-mail conversation between the Poynter faculty mentioned many cases we talked about in class, including Don Imus' racial comment, a story on NYT that some bloggers call for better manner on blogs, and the 2008 presidential election. They seem to agree that journalists should do something to promote a more civil public discourse. If so, besides suspending Imus for two weeks, what else can media organizations really do, especially on the virtual world?
http://www.poynter.org/column.asp?id=67&aid=121124

Iraq: Why the Media Failed

I found a good article on the failure of the media before the Iraq War to disseminate information from the government. It's a good example of the media manipulation discussed in several of our texts for this week (Terkildsen et al., Manheim). If you don't have a Salon subscription, I think you can access it through the free access link.

http://www.salon.com/opinion/kamiya/2007/04/10/media_failure/index_np.html

Blogs Around the World

The London Times has an article about the growth of blogs, and it looks at numbers across the world. Here are some of the findings:

-Japanese is the dominant blog language and English is second

-People in Japan, U.S., and England blog quite often

-People in China blog occasionally, but more frequently than those in France and Russia

-Three blogs are created every two seconds

Panel Discussion on Abraham Lincoln's position on Slavery

Hey guys;

Thought you might be interested in this. I'm going to try make it to this lecture in between work. Hope to see you there.

- Danny

APRIL 6 -- Panel Discussion:
How did Abraham Lincoln's position on slavery affect Missourians?

Arvarh Strickland, Professor Emeritus in History, will moderate this panel discussion. Panelists will include State Historical Society of Missouri Executive Director Gary Kremer, Lincoln University Associate History Professor Debra Foster Greene and Lincoln University History Professor Antonio Holland. This event will take place on Friday, April 6, 2:00-3:30pm in the Ellis Library Colonnade. MU Libraries contact persons: Cindy Cotner and Geoff Swindells.

Time and Place
Date: Friday, April 6, 2007
Time: 2:00pm - 3:30pm
Location: Ellis Library Colonnade
City/Town: Columbia, MO

NYT Multimedia

Hey guys:

I found this on New York Times online and it just rocked my socks.
It's an interview called "Good, Bad and Ugly" with Dr. Zombardo who did the Stanford prison experiment back in the 70s. But more impressively I just love the flash player style NYT.com is using and I think it's going to set the stage for multimedia online. I also love that you can double click on any word and it will give you a definition of the word. Anyway here's a link to the video:

http://video.on.nytimes.com/

Enjoy!

Amazing pics... about war and not only war

http://www.worldpressphoto.com/index.php?option=com_photogallery&task=blogsection&id=17&Itemid=146&bandwidth=high

Talk about sweating the bucks!!!

Hey guys. Found this article in NYT. Thought you might get a good laugh out of it.
http://thecaucus.blogs.nytimes.com/2007/03/19/the-clinton-spin/

Blogs versus the Press

The LA Times had a column a few days ago that dealt with the rising importance of blogs. It is entitled “Blogs can top the presses.” It argues that blogs can impact what shows up in the traditional media, as has happened in the current controversy surrounding the firing of the federal prosecutors. The face of journalism is clearly changing.

Marriage of Politics and Journalism

The LA Times has an article today entitled "News media and politics: an uneasy union." It deals with the difficulty of some journalists to report on presidential politics since their spouses work for one of the candidates. An interesting media and politics issue to consider and watch.

Hagel Video

Hi all:

It's great to finally use this blog. Pretty fun stuff. Professor Winfield mentioned Chuck Hagel in class on Wednesday and I was looking around for anything about the announcement that really wasn't an announcement and washingtonpost.com has the video. In my opinion, it's a great advertisement for him to the public that he is thinking about jumping into the pool, yet he's still testing the waters. I do agree, very frustrating stuff for journalists. Enjoy the weekend.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/video/2007/03/12/VI2007031200482.html

Mike S.

U.S. Voter Turnout Debate

For those interested in learning more about the voter turnout debate we discussed last night, I recommend this article:

McDonald, M. P. & Popkin, S. L. (2001). The myth of the vanishing voter. The American Political Science Review, 95(4), 963-974.

In outlining their argument about the necessity of examining the voting-eligible population (VEP), instead of the voting-age population (VAP), McDonald and Popkin argue that "the ineligible population is growing faster than the eligible population, which gives rise to the perception that voter participation is decreasing" (p. 963). They also show that the 26th Amendment, which in 1971 lowered the voting age from 21 to 18, had a significant -- and negative -- effect on turnout in the United States.

Enjoy,

Sam

That’s the time to discover who you really are )))

As I said in the class tonight, some sociologists consider gender to be not a biological categorical (Male vs. Female) but rather continuous variable. Gender somewhat 'varies' on the scale from Male to Female depending on social behavior of an individual. You can be more masculine or feminine. Or even androgynous or undifferentiated.

It’s funny; however, it can help better understand personalities of women in politics, men in kitchens, etc.

A short version of the test: http://www.okcupid.com/tests/take?testid=9417365772332679709
The original version: http://www.neiu.edu/~tschuepf/bsri.html

Have fun!

Ted Sorensen Weighs In

We've mentioned him a few times in class, so I thought folks might be interested to see that former JFK adviser Ted Sorensen has endorsed Barack Obama for the 2008 Democratic nomination. Here's a link to The Politico's coverage:

http://www.politico.com/blogs/bensmith/0307/Sorensen_Endorses_Obama_Conjures_Kennedy_Jabs_Clinton.html

See you Wednesday,

Sam

Bill Clinton earned $31million speaking fees in five years

I remebered one day in the class we talked about the ex-presidents' life after their presidency. One question is how much they earned for their speeches. One article in Washington Post did a fantastic job on this. The reporter not only found the number- Bill Clinton earned $31 million speaking fees from 2001 to 2005, but he also mapped where he gave those speeches. So you can have an idea how much Bill Clinton charged for each speech in different places.
http://projects.washingtonpost.com/2007/clinton-speeches/

Yes, I am here!

Hello Politicos,

You guys are great! I am a little concerned that you are trying to do too much on these projects. That is why I hope you will try to do as much as possible before Spring Break so that I can help you.

Your ideas are great! Just now they need to be manageable.

Take care, BHW

Especially for social constructivists :-)

Beautiful article! Beautiful!

http://www.centerforbookculture.org/context/no10/hall.html

When I was an undergrad, I wrote a paper on the Soviet press coverage of the West during the Cold war. In Soviet newspapers of 50-s, there was a special genre of ‘anti-bourgeois’ caricatures. There are two of them for you ))) I found them online. Unfortunately, there were no name of the newspaper and the year when these pictures were published.

Picture # 1
- Where is your salary?
- I gave all my money to pay for the apartment.

In FRG, as well as in other capitalist countries, the apartment rent is incredibly high. 20% increase is expected in this year.

Picture # 2

The worker shows the note: "Must work!"

Below: "Common market."

According to day-to-day reports of information agencies, unemployment grows inevitably. It is the real disaster for working people of the West. In the countries of “common market,” 10.2 millions or 9% of employable population do not have jobs.

Memos from NYT and LAT editors for 2008 presidential campaign coverage

NYT: "For the first time, a central political desk will surpervise coverage for the newspaper and the web... Newspaper and online journalism will get equal emphasis"
http://www.laobserved.com/archive/2007/02/nyt_politics_goes_webby.php

LAT: Bicoastal political desks (one in Washington and one in L.A.) will be in charge of this presidental coverage.
http://www.laobserved.com/archive/2006/12/lat_gears_up_for_2008_cam.php

Getting the discussion started...

Yesterday, I watched, again, the documentary film "Control Room". Despite it documentary value, the film raised in me different questions... some of them painful! As I am living here for now, the question about truth is starting to add up to these painful questions. What is truth? Amidst all this fast-speeding world, the way the world is going... where can we find truth? Is it good to know the truth? Or sometimes, do we have to stop seeking truth, because it is scary and hurtful?
Is truth the complexity of the Palestinian-Israeli conflict? the suicide bombers and occupation? the wall? Or is it the obscure reality of women, children and men suffering on both side?
What is the truth about what Darfur? Is it the ugly politics? or the the daily killings of people there?
What is the truth about Iraq? Is it what we see in the news? Is it the decision to show bodies of the dead? Or is it the daily stories that are disregarded by the media? Is it the story of Sabreen (Iraqi woman), who finally spoke about the act of rapping her by Iraqi forces, not once, nor twice, nor thrice, more than that? Is this the truth?
Do politicians act upon truth? Or do they construct a bubble of truth that serves their individual and/or partisan endeavours? Do journalists cover the truth? Which truth are they covering? Are we to surrender to this argument that truth has a face, a color, and a flavor? Can we still know and make knowable those hidden truths about the state of the world today?

Wish you all can contribute :D
Saleem

John Rushing's Spin - The Art of Selling War

Dear All

John Rushing is the former press officer of the American Forces in Qatar. He was a main character in the Jehane Noujaim documentary film "Control Room" of 2004, which has depicted the coverage of Al-Jazeera of the the start of the Iraq war. Recently, Rushing has resigned and he has taken a position as an anchor at Al-Jazeera international, which broadcasts in English. The following two links are from his show, and they address the politics and media relations at times of crises.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Sm4g7ujkiO0
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ulzhdxdj9cY&mode=related&search=

Ther is also a speech by Jehane Noujaim, who is the director of "Control Room", and she talks about the role of visuals in bringing people together, and sort of peace building. This video is a speech she as given upon recieving the TED award.
http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-5169354334045642012&q=control+room+al+jazeera&hl=en

Enjoy

Frontline - News War: Secrets, Sources and Spin

Hey guys:

There's a new Frontline on on Tuesday, February 20, 2007, at 8pm. It's called News War: Secrets, Sources and Spin. Click on this to open a link to see more information on the show.

It's seems like it's going to be interesting. Plus I'm a Frontline addict. They have the best documentaries on TV in my humble opinion.

Changing Media

The New York Times has an article today about how the Internet is changing radio. The piece is entitled "Is Radio Still Radio if There’s Video?" With these changes it may be harder for scholars to make distinctions between different types of media. It also shows the power of the Internet in changing how news is communicated.

Pr. Putin sets the agenda )))

Hello. It would be very interesting to know what you think about this:

BBC version (short): http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/6350847.stm

RIA Novosti version (long): http://en.rian.ru/world/20070210/60519251.html

Some critisicm of Mr. President emerged in popular culture

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9eDJ3cuXKV4&eurl

World's oldest newspaper goes online exclusively

In this AP wire article on msnbc.com the oldest newspaper in the world went exclusively online.

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/16993434/

Just a little clarification, Tidningar does not mean tidings as the article states, it means newspapers.

Greetings...Polish style!

This is in response to Uceh's comment. There's a story in the Polish diplomatic circles. I don't know how truthful it is but it goes something like this:

A Polish ambassador who didn't speak English that well was sent to represent Poland in the UK sometime in the early 80's. The British Prime Minister at the time invited the Polish ambassador to a dinner reception where he welcomed him.

PM: Welcome ambassador, nice to see you.
Ambassador: Thank you very much. How do you do?
PM: Well, thank you.

At this point the ambassador sees the PM's wife behind him and asks:

Ambassador: How do you do, your wife?

The PM thinks it over briefly.

PM: It's really none of your business!

"Empty" Minded Minister

An erstwhile Nigerian foreign minister was said to have arrived for an international summit and was asked by a reporter what his country's position on the issue was. His reply: We've not adopted a position yet. I have come with an empty mind!

"New Media and Political Participation"

I just wanted to draw everyone's attention to a Brown Bag discussion taking place Monday:

Brown Bag
presents:

"New Media & Political Participation"
Lars Willnat, Associate Professor, School of Media and Public Affairs, George Washington University
Candidate for Director of Graduate Studies

Willnat will discuss his research on the impact of "new" media on political participation in the USA, Hong Kong, Indonesia, and Malaysia from a comparative perspective. The study is based on the assumption that new media, such as online news or political blogs, offer an important, alternative way of discussing politics especially in societies that have more controlled mass media.

Noon
Monday, Feb. 5, 2007
TUCKER FORUM – 85 GANNETT HALL

We all received this in our e-mail this morning as well. Hope to see everyone there!

Professional Blogs

Hey talking about professional blogs from yesterday's class, check out this article on concerning possible flaws in the new Microsoft Vista: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/technology/6320865.stm.

The list of the most popular blogs

http://www.rightwingnews.com/special/topblogs.php

About blogs

Dear friends,

There are a couple of links for you to compare:

http://dailykos.com - 'independent' political blog

http://blogs.columbiatribune.com/politics - political blog as a part of a newspaper

Also it would be useful for today's discussion if you read articles about blogs published in last issues of CJR and AJR.

Best regards,
Anastasia.

Another great Blog from MU

Hey guys:

Prof. Davis who runs the Freedom of Information Center here at MU has his own blog. It's at http://foiadvocate.blogspot.com/. Thought you guys might want to read his thoughts on the latest developments on the freedom of speech.

- Danny

Hey folks, let's share our thought here!!!

Welcome, guys!

Let's get ready to rumbbbbbbbbbble!!!

Welcome to the J9018: Media & Politics Blog at the University of Missouri - Columbia.