Bloggernaut

2006-04-27T23:37:00.000-04:00

Research pays off? Yahoo news reported that a scientist was able to teach a bird grammer. It seemed kind of unimportant to me. It definitely didn't seem like it should be a headline. It made me more upset that research money is being used on studies like this.

2006-04-26T10:32:00.000-04:00

Fox News has recieved lots of scrutiny for their practices. The documentary 'Outfoxed' looks at how "Fair and Balanced" the news station actually is. Once accusation is that the reporters just read whatever the corporate heads want them to read, and there is no actual reporting going on. If this is true, then President Bush made a great choice in choosing Fox anchor Tony Snow as his new White House press secretary. Though his title has changed, there may not be a great difference in occupation.

2006-04-25T10:54:00.000-04:00

Wreckless writing. One of Yahoo.news' headlines today was 'Heavy coffee drinking doesn't harm heart.' The lede to the story read: "Go ahead and have that second cup of coffee -- or third, or fourth. A study published on Monday shows heavy, long-term coffee drinking does not raise the risk of heart disease for most people." Later down in the article there is a quote from a researcher saying they can't know for sure if this is the case for everyone so you might not want to drink that much coffee...
The problem is that most people don't read entire articles. What the majority of people probably got from this was: Coffee is good for you.

2006-04-19T10:00:00.000-04:00

Oxymoron for the record books. Yahoo.com featured a story today on a jumbo-shrimp. Reportedly, the shrimp (almost a foot long) may be the largest ever seen by man. Biologist bought the shrimp from the fisherman who caught it for $800 so it could be studied.

2006-04-18T22:10:00.000-04:00

The Kellogg's test for newspaper writing should also apply to other news... in particular the home page of a news website. As you scroll down the CNN.com web page on April 18th you see a graphic image of a man just out of face transplant surgery. This made my stomach turn. At the very least, the site could tell you images were available if you clicked a link, rather than just leaving it up for the whole world to get sick.

2006-04-12T09:53:00.000-04:00

Slow day for news? On a day when top headlines include: Flight 93's (one of the hijacked 9/11 planes) cockpit audio recording will be played for the first time publicly today, and a Strike back against large non-native snakes flourishing in the Florida Everglades... Yahoo News' feature story was: What's the world's most expensive sandwich? (The answer is $118) This should appear lower in the headlines. There is much more important news that should appear first.

2006-04-11T21:58:00.000-04:00

What is a planet? With more and more information coming in on UB313 (also nicknamed Xena) there is more and more debate over what qualifies as a planet. Xena, an icy mass, is slightly larger than Pluto. Some believe, for this it should be the 10th planet... others say pluto should be eliminated from the group and there are really only 8 planets in our solar system.

2006-04-06T12:15:00.000-04:00

STOP FAKE NEWS! There are often complaints about Public Relations pieces posing as fake news on news shows. Today the Center for Media and Democracy will be speaking to the FCC Commissioner Jonathan Adelstein at a press conference pleading for change in regulations.

2006-04-05T20:38:00.000-04:00

CNN reported a story where a mother to be was beaten up at her own baby shower as a brawl broke out. I was impressed that the writer was able to write this article without editorializing... who brings a gun to a baby shower?... who hits the pregnant hostess with a stick? This world is crazy!

2006-04-04T14:08:00.000-04:00

Too soon for a 9/11 movie? That is the question surrounding the upcoming movie United 93. Many successful movies are based on major historical events. Undoubtedly 9/11 fits into this catagory, but many feel the event was too recent (not because the movie will be unsuccessful, but it will be too hard to watch). I think it is perhaps too soon, but the producers want to make sure they are the first to capitolize on this event. I don't know if there is a timetable someone should have to wait, but this doesn't feel right to me. I remember seeing how WWII vets were in tears because the realism of Saving Private Ryan struck a chord with them... this was decades after the end of the war. We are not even 5 years removed from 9/11, I can only imagine the feelings this movie will conjure up.

2006-03-29T17:03:00.000-04:00

CNN had a story about immigration. As in many similar stories, it focused on how
immigrants were taking the jobs of Americans. It is well documented that immigrants often occupy jobs that Americans will not do (whether it be for reasons of difficulty or pay).

2006-03-29T01:19:00.000-04:00

TOTAL ECLIPSE! First one since 2003, and the last until 2008! However, this scientific phenomenon was not outstanding enough to be front page news on CNN.com... (What's up with that?) Yahoo.com and MSN.com both had it as a front page headline.

2006-03-22T17:00:00.000-04:00

March Madness! We are half way through the 'madness' and down to the "Sweet Sixteen." As I keep myself posted on how teams are doing and how it affects my brackets, I think about how many options one has to compete in choosing the 'perfect' bracket. It amazes me how many online pools there are to enter. You can compete against friends, strangers, for fun or for money. I have to wonder what all these efforts of setting up pools and 'bracketology specials' could be used for though.

2006-03-22T10:51:00.000-04:00

Is going to the Super Bowl worth 5 years in prison? In a slightly obscure story, Tank Carter (brother of Pittsburgh Steelers safety Tyrone Carter) decided to miss his court date to watch his brother play in the Super Bowl. Tank Carter was originally facing 6 months for driving with a suspended license. Tank Carter said knowing what he knows now, he would have still gone to the Super Bowl. I have not heard at all about this on TV, but only saw a link on the ESPN site. This seemed like a story TV news would usually jump on.

2006-03-21T23:02:00.000-04:00

As I looked at CNN's homepage today, I couldn't help but notice how frank, and fully summarizing headlines were. "Crocodile kills humanitarian professor," "Crowd kills man for hammering on deity," and a video link to see: "Treetop cat falls 80 feet -- shakes it off." Looking through the headlines, I did not feel very compelled to read these articles, because I feel I've already heard the story. I think I would prefer headlines to be a little less revealing, that would probably spark more interest in me to want to read one of these articles.

2006-03-15T16:56:00.000-04:00

There is alot of media criticism of the United State's play in the World Baseball Classic. There is an expressed tone of 'disappointment' with the team's play. I don't know why the US was considered a favorite by so many (since the majority of marquee players in the MLB are Latin American anyway) but they do not deserve such criticism since they have only lost two games! It is not as though they are getting blasted by every team they play.

2006-03-14T23:01:00.000-04:00

Empty Promises. As a media watcher (and sports fan) I have a problem with the way ESPN has been covering the futures of quarterbacks Drew Brees and Daunte Culpepper. As of Thursday last week, reporters said their next teams would definitely be known in the next 24 hours... As 24 hours came and went, no news. On Monday, at 6:00, they said "we'll know within the next 2 hours" keeping sports junkies glued to their tv's and checking online for the breaking news... still nothing. Reporters should not say they'll have definitive information at a certain time if they really won't.

2006-03-02T14:50:00.000-04:00

ESPN has been showing a news feature of Jason McElwain, a 17-year-old senior at Greece Athena High School. McElwain scored 20 points (going 6-10 from the 3pt line)playing only in the last 4 minutes of the game... That's not the story... This was the first and only high school game he has ever played in... That's not the story... This was McElwain's first and only game he was ever on the roster because he's been the team manager through out high school... Still, not the story... The story is McElwain was diagnosed with autism at the age of 3. Upon hearing this miracle story, now many production companies want to make a movie out of this story. Disney is one of the big names in the hunt for rights to produce this movie. I liked the hearing about the story on ESPN... I don't like the fact that these movie companies are trying to economically capitalize on this great story.

2006-03-01T10:22:00.000-04:00

In Bonnie's Mediafrenzy this week, she discusses how some are upset on the title NPR uses for President Bush. In reports, NPR will call him President Bush on the first mention then change to Mr. Bush after that. Many view this as disrespectful. Bonnie thought this was kind of funny, but I tend to understand how the listeners of NPR feel. Whether someone agrees with or likes the president or not, he is still the president. There are past presidents who are not thought so highly about, but they are still referred to as "former president ________." However, I was less upset once I read that this has been NPR's standard procedure since the Ford Administration. I still feel they should call the president "President _____," But it would not seem they are using 'Mr.' out of blatent disrespect for the current president.

2006-02-28T11:54:00.000-04:00

Hurricane force winds hit the United States again this Monday but this time in California. As a Florida native, I know my regional national disaster threats (hurricanes, and perhaps flooding). It was my belief that Californians had earthquakes and mudslides to fear... not hurricane force winds! I would like to know more why there are such intense winds on the west coast, and how unusual (or if I am mistaken, how usual) this is. I have yet to see such reports.

2006-02-23T12:23:00.000-04:00

I think Jay Small was a little too critical of Wikipedia in his article on February 16th. He tells that the online encyclopedia is slightly less accurate than the Encyclopedia Britannica but his major concern is misinformation purposefully put on the site. Where I agree this is a serious problem (and agree with his conclusion that all information should be re-checked through other sources), I think he Wikipedia is better than Britannica in that when there is misinformation found it can be quickly and easily changed. If there is an inaccuracy found in the Britannica, they do not resupply you with an updated version. Also, it is much easier to find information quickly in the online Wikipedia.

2006-02-22T17:13:00.000-04:00

I'm tired of hearing excuses for the American olympians. This years team was supposed to be the best the United States have ever sent out of the country to compete. They are currently 2 gold medals out of first place overall (4 total). I don't feel like this is so bad. But since people (especially Americans) expect the United States to win EVERYTHING, the media is full of news on why we don't. I'm tired of hearing these excuses. Tell me if we win a medal, if we don't, I don't want to hear why not.

2006-02-21T23:15:00.000-04:00

A story I haven't seen get much coverage is the most recent occurence of man vs. beast. What seems like a story from the show "When Animals Attack," a Canadian woman (all five feet and 90 lbs. of her) fought off a 8 foot 700 lbs. polar bear that was 'sizing up' her kid. Usually stories like this, (or like shark attacks) are very publicized... but this story I did not find much coverage of.

2006-02-16T14:58:00.000-04:00

ESPN is cosidered the leading provider in sports news. Personally, I love them. The corporation is thriving with multiple television stations, ESPN radio, ESPN the magazine, a newly developing cell phone division, and their website. What kills me is, with all the money they are making, do they really need to close off so much of their web page to people who are not willing to purchase 'ESPN insider?' I don't want to have to pay for news! Shouldn't news be free?

2006-02-15T21:41:00.000-04:00

In a recent CNN article, it suggests that law enforcement shows (like CSI) could be helping criminals better understand how to cover up crime scenes. I would have liked to see some substantial evedince to back this theory up. (Like if there is an increase in cases where certain evedince is being cleaned up.)

2006-02-15T15:35:00.000-04:00

One would think that the governing party of the United States would have some of the best public relations people working for them. However, since Vice-President Cheney's accidental shooting of a hunter, there seems to be a lack of coaching taking place. Cheney is unapologetic, and perhaps standoffish about the incident. I would have expected him to express how sorry he is this horrible accident happened (even if he isn't because his behavior represents the leaders of the US) yet, he doesn't seem to care.

2006-02-09T15:33:00.000-04:00

In a recent blog Jeff Jarvis complained that there is a lack of words in the English language which causes problems for people looking for domain names. I disagree. Most people don't have know the meanings (or existence) of all the current words in the English language. Also, I like the creativity people have in coming up with 'hybird' words. (Words spelled incorrectly, or multiple words melded together.)

2006-02-08T17:05:00.000-04:00

NHL players and hockey legend Wayne Gretzky's wife are being linked to a mafia-run gambling ring. So far there are no allegations of them betting on hockey, but rather football and basketball. I thought the coverage of this on msn.com was pretty incomplete. There was no information on what is going to be happening to those accused... Will there be player suspensions? arrests? jail time?

2006-02-07T23:09:00.000-04:00

I usually have respect for CNN and their news coverage. However, I must question why they would put a Brittany Spears headline on their front page. The article is about how she was driving with her son on her lap. The story gave me deja vu of Michael Jackson hanging his baby over a balcony railing. However, Brittany Spears is not much of a 'celebrity' anymore. She doesn't make albums or go on tour... she doesn't seem very famous anymore. Why is she a front page of the web-site headline?

2006-02-02T11:05:00.000-04:00

Messenger pigeons are back? Scientists have created equipment which is strapped to pigeons which will 1) sample air pollution and send reports back to laboratories and 2) take aerial pictures. The equipment has GPS so the scientists will know where the pigeons are.
I was surprised there were no attached links to this story that animal rights groups were opposed to this, or that this shouldn't be allowed.

2006-02-01T21:56:00.000-04:00

Apparently the theme of this year's winter Olympics is: 'it's Miller Time'... as in Bode Miller. The US downhill skier has been in most major news circuits since telling 'Sixty Minutes' he has skied drunk acouple weeks ago. Can the news please stop giving Miller air time. He compete's in an unpopular sport... He makes unproven accusations (like Lance Armstrong uses steroids)... he has not done anything of importance... and yet he keeps appearing in the news.

2006-01-31T23:40:00.000-04:00

On January 29th at a bull fight in Mexico City, a bull jumped out of the arena into the seats of the staduim. It injured many spectators, including one woman with a six inch gash in her chest. As I watched highlights on ESPN, and read about the incident in articles, there was a complete focus on the amazing leaping ability of the bull rather than what is going to be done to prevent something like this from happening again.

2006-01-26T11:00:00.000-04:00

Scientists 're-discover' the world's smallest fish. This article on CNN.com talked about the discovery of a new species of fish that lives in very acidic waters in Indonesia. What I felt was more interesting and perhaps news worthy, was not that this fish beat out the previous record holder by .1 millimeters, but that the discovering scientist said he actually came across this fish 10 years ago... and just assumed it was a "member an already existing species."

2006-01-25T15:26:00.000-04:00

In an attempt to help trim the issue of obesity in West Virginia, all of the state's 157 middle schools will get the video game "Dance Dance Revolution" to promote exercise. Within the next three years, the school board hopes to get the game at all 753 public schools in the state. The thinking is the video game will appeal to some students who do not like to play in sports, and hopefully get them to exercise.
It seems crazy to me for a school board to spend money on video games to get kids to exercise when any P.E. coach would tell you they could use the money to help get more equiptment to interest kids. Perhaps schools should try removing junkfood from schools first.

2006-01-23T01:29:00.000-04:00

With the movie Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest coming out in the next few months, many are getting excited to see the sequal to the first swashbuckling - action/adventure movie. The movie is thrilling for its setting (amongst other reasons)... it takes you back to a time when there were pirates about... looking to pillage and plunder.
Then... this weekend... there was the news release that the US Navy had chased down a suspected pirate ship off the coast of Cambodia.
This left me with just one question in my mind: There are still pirates?

2006-01-19T15:11:00.000-04:00

The United States government received a lot of flack for their original decision that Cuba would be banned from the first World Baseball Classic. It now appears they will change their stance, allowing Cuba to enter, so long as they do not profit from the event (as that would violate the longstanding embargo the US has with Cuba.)

2006-01-18T21:11:00.000-04:00

In an extremely regulatory league, where players get fined for anything from hitting an opponent to violently to not wearing the correct length socks... It was assumed Joey Porter would definitely be fined for his conspiracy theory accusations directed towards the referees in the Colts vs. Steelers divisional playoff game. (Porter claimed the refs were trying to fix the game so the Colts would win.) However, on January 18th, the league decided Porter would not be fined. I find it interesting that the league stands behind their sock length rules stronger than they do the rulings of their officials.

2006-01-17T23:30:00.000-04:00

GINA HOLLAND of the Associated Press reported on the Supreme Court's ruling that decided Oregon doctor's who were prescribing lethal amounts of drugs to terminally ill patients did not breech any federal drug laws. I found it interesting that that in her writing Holland gave herself the liberty to say the Bush administration was 'in the wrong' for persuing the Oregon doctors. As a reporter I would have expected she would not let what seems to be her beliefs on the issue come out in the article.

2006-01-12T20:44:00.000-04:00

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