EXTRA! EXTRA!

I think that all sectors of the news media industry are coming to this same conclusion at different times...It's Not Enough to Just Write.

News is multimedia, film, photo, sound AND the written word and to thrive you've got to do it all.

Right now we have a bunch of journalism neophytes tripping over their own skills trying to put stuff out there on the web that looks like news. What we're missing are the principles of reliable information transmission. Tommy J. aged 21 in Sarasota, FL may have taken a few film classes and taught himself how to use iMovie or Final Cut Pro but that doesn't make him a journalist, or does it?

We've stumbled into an era in which anyone with a camera and a computer can make the news. It used to be that something would happen, local tv stations would dispatch a reporter and cameraman out to the site, they'd interview some yokel that witnessed the event and the viewers wait for the report from the newsroom to verify the facts.

The yokels have eliminated the middle man. We can get our news directly from the source. What that lacks is fact checking, complete coverage and integrity. That's not to say that all iReporters out there are trying to deceive the viewers, but that with so many means of transmission it's hard to tell which sources to believe.

At the same time traditional journalists have been clinging to the principles they learned in J-school without considering the real effect of the digital revolution. For most newspapers, I think it's too late. They didn't change gradually with their readers and now they want public pity for the fate that has befallen them. Give me a break.

However, as most should or will realize, without newspapers we lose the institutions that have upheld (and funded) journalistic integrity. With them go the online journalists that still find their funding on the outside. What's the solution?

As with all equilibriums, the two halves will have to meet somewhere in the middle. Where the two cross, I'm still not quite sure. But I'm certain that the news media revolution has just begun. The rise of the new media brings the fall of the old and in the years to come we will see it rebuild itself - who will be the leaders? who will teach the followers? We shall see. Now IS the time to seize the day!

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Don't Ask, Do Tell.

Under the new administration there has been a lot of buzz about removing the "Don't Ask. Don't Tell." policy which restricts homosexual enrollment in the armed forces, enacted during President Clinton's first days in office.

As it stands, homosexual soldiers are barred from enlisting and can be dishonorably discharged from the military if his/her sexuality is revealed. Needless to say, I believe any policy that restricts an individual's right to serve and defend his/her country on the basis of sexual preferences is ridiculous.

I'm not going to get on a soap box and preach equal rights till the cows come home. There are plenty of more passionate, well-informed supporters out there that can do so much better than I can. What I like to do is think about the cause and effect of policy change and get your feedback on the same issues (though it has been hence forth been sparing at best).

I predict that "Don't Ask. Don't Tell." will be repealed within a year. Proponents of its eradication will rejoice in the streets (for like a day). When the smoke clears we will see more state legislatures taking a serious look at the way they treat homosexuals with local laws, including the Gay Marriage issue.

At that time it will be more commonly be called the Marriage Rights Act or something equally politically correct. Prejudices may not subside, and in fact some will become even more inflamed, but hopefully not more vocal. All groups will start to realize that they can no longer use archaic and inherently religious tenets to restrict the actions of fellow citizens.

Most of those prejudices will probably only be purged from our society as their believers grow old and die, but such is the same with other prejudices. For those who never benefit from "a more perfect union" their lives will be vindicated in the freedoms of those who follow.

OK. That was a little soap box-y. Sue me. Equal rights for all! Yahoo!

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You're Fired! Who Cares?

Are we becoming immune to job-loss stories on the news?

It seems like every other story covers a company shutdown, mass layoffs or soaring unemployment. At first I was sympathetic, then I tried to avoid the stories. Now, I barely notice them.

When every other feature shows a family man who can't feed his kids or a single mother working two jobs just to put food on the table, we become accustomed to the suffering. Many news outlets have found unique angles to the same story, but even those lose their novelty as this economic crisis steams on.

Do these stories remind us that we are not alone? Do they show that there are others worse off? Are these stories meant to motivate us to help others in our communities? Whatever their purpose it seems to be wearing off.

Keep an eye out for a shift in job-less coverage. Unemployment is going to get worse before it gets better. I hope media coverage doesn't do the same.

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It's My Grand Old Party and I'll Cry If I Want To

A lot of Republicans are wining about the loss of their popularity over the last 6 months and have launched a campaign to meet with Americans to resolidify the Republican platform and its following.

Wahhh! Nobody likes us.

What did you expect? Your platform is built on archaic, social issues that limit individual rights, the former head of your party spent the last 8 years running this country into the ground, destroying our international reputation and plunging us into debt as a result of unsuccessful economic policies and the funding of two wars (neither of which we are winning), and you're still touting a regulation-free financial sector after the complete collapse of Wall Street and the banks at the hands of a bunch of white collar plutocrats who face no consequences for their soul robbing actions.

I can't figure out why anyone is still following you. Except that I know that the bread and butter of your party are those "real-Americans" who you've conned into following your party for the past decade who for whatever reason believe in Republican values when not one Republican tenet works in their favor - save keeping gays from receiving marriages licenses.

I believe in a multiple party system and choice and a difference of opinions. I don't want to see the Republican party disappear. In fact I am on par with some of the economic ideals passed down to us by Smith and Mises, like letting a failing business go out of business if its not responding to public demand. I don't agree with much else, but I can see how some people would.

For now Dick Cheney and Carl Rove can do all the crying they want. It won't be until Republicans suck it up, take a step back and reconsider the veracity with which they pursue some of their policies and then proceed in a more organized and conscientious manner that more Americans will start listening again.

Stop straining to find a leader and start doing good things for Americans with the power you do have. In time, a leader will emerge that represents your values with his/her actions AND words. I hate to say this but George W Bush is the only republican doing anything productive by starting a library of the same name. It sounds ridiculous but maybe other Republicans should finally start following his lead.

Start libraries, not wars.

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