Video of teen’s beating sheds light on gang violence in Chicago
Nov. 20, 2010 In 2009, 16-year-old honor student Derrion Albert was beaten to death two blocks from his high school in one of Chicago’s roughest neighborhoods. Albert appeared to have been at the wrong place at the wrong time and gotten caught in between two fighting rival gangs. The next day, a reporter from Chicago’s […]
Favre’s “sexting” scandal: Worth paying for?
Nov. 20, 2010 What’s your problem? Deadspin website editor A.J. Daulerio paid an unnamed person an undisclosed amount of money to receive materials connecting Minnesota Vikings quarterback Brett Favre to former New York Jets game day hostess Jenn Sterger. The materials included voicemails allegedly left on Sterger’s cell phone, which Favre has since confirmed, and […]
Bomb victims compared to zombies
Nov. 20, 2010 Several British newspapers used a quote inspired by Michael Jackson’s “Thriller” video to describe the looks and actions of victims following the July 7, 2005 bombing of a London subway. The exact quote from a police officer on scene reads, “It was like Michael Jackson’s Thriller video. They were just covered in […]
A medal for fear
Nov. 4, 2010 On the days leading up to the “Rally to Restore Sanity and/or Keep Fear Alive” on the National Mall in Washington, D.C., the Internet and media outlets were buzzing with anticipation. The rally, which was being thrown on Oct. 31 by Jon Stewart, host of “The Daily Show,” and Steven Colbert, host […]
Picking on an orphan?
Sept. 4, 2010 The Society of Professional Journalists states that one should show compassion for those who may be affected by news coverage and that one should also be especially sensitive when associating with children and inexperienced sources. “To be sensitive when seeking or using interviews or photographs of those affected by tragedy or grief,” […]
Why, Georgia: How far is too far?
Sept. 4, 2010 A journalist’s number one duty is to report a story with all the facts for the public to know. But is there a point where the reporter tells too much and you wonder if that was necessary, or better yet ethical to tell? Should a reporter ask themselves is this too embarrassing? […]
Telling the truth? Being sympathetic? Doing both?
Sept. 4, 2010 It’s true that reporters must write about unfortunate events such as murders, thefts and kidnappings. But where is the line of telling the truth and being sympathetic? The question is, can a reporter do both? In an article in The Buffalo News, it was reported that seven out of eight victims in […]
The case of the missing caddy
Sept. 4, 2010 Golf tournaments tend to be fairly easy events to cover. Follow the players, chart the score and get some interesting quotes afterwards. Unless something major happens; such as a penalty to a leading player, a play off, or someone collapsing on the back nine most golf stories for paper or web tend […]
Should drug companies sponsor journalism seminars?
Aug. 30, 2010 Any introduction to journalism class will tell you that a conflict of interest is a cardinal sin of journalism. It seems that a few of today’s journalists skipped that lecture. The drug-manufacturer Pfizer is paying for 15 journalists to attend a four-day cancer seminar this October, according to an NPR report. The […]