Focus on Less to Accomplish More

Not one for New Year's resolutions, I still plan to tack this "How to Simplify" blog post by "Zen Habits" master Leo Babauta on a bulletin board where I can see it every day. Babauta wrote this timely reminder on setting priorities with small businesses in mind, but individuals will benefit as well.

Spelling out a mantra for success in this Mashable post, he offers these tips for focusing on higher-impact tasks:

• Ask yourself: what one project will have the biggest impact on my future ... ? Focus on this.
• Every day, pick three most important tasks to complete, and do them before anything else.
• At least one of the most important tasks should move that high-impact project forward.
• Delegate lower-impact tasks that still need to be done. Only allow yourself to focus on the highest-impact tasks.

It doesn't get much simpler than that. As I mentioned at the outset, his advice is geared to entrepreneurs but there's no reason students and the rest of us can't do the same. And where he suggests delegating lower-impact tasks, you could delegate a limited amount of time, say 15 minutes, to those lower priorities.

He sums up this part of his article nicely:

Each day, choose three tasks that will have the biggest impact, and do those first. Any other tasks you get done that day will be gravy.

As one of the first respondents to Babauta's post commented: It's simple but timely advice "in today's cluttered fast pace world."

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(Photo credit: "fast pace world" by Jennifer Buehrer, courtesty of Flickr.com)

What's Your Brand? Do You Stand Out?

I was meeting with a friend today and the conversation turned to "personal branding." People recognize that success stems not only from developing skills and expertise, but also from others seeing you as a "go-to" person in your organization, whether it's a business, non-profit group or volunteer project.

With that in mind, check out the Personal Branding Blog by Dan Schawbel. In the past week alone his blog focused on "personal branding secrets," improving your blog, and using your brand to get into the college of your dreams.

It's good stuff. And I'll be sharing it with my journalism students this term as they launch their blogs and refine their own brands.

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(Photo credit: "fiddling with black and white" by Splodgy Pig, courtesy of Flickr.com)

Why We're Teaching Students to Blog

At LBCC we're jumping into blogging with both feet. We're primarily doing it because it is one of the skills that the next generation of journalists will have to master, especially as the media gravitates more toward the Internet and all the various platforms (i.e. blogs, social networks, Twitter).

Alfred Hermida of Reportr.net lays out the case for colleges to teach blogging in this post on MediaShift. As he notes:

"The blog has emerged as a powerful platform for journalists to provide context, analysis and interpretation, often including behind-the-scenes information that does not fit into the structure of a traditional news story. It has also provided journalists with a way to communicate with readers in a more conversational and informal tone, rather than in an abstract voice of authority."

We started blogging last term in the News Reporting class. The results were mixed, with some students picking up on the assignment while others struggled to get into the routine. Some of the results can still be seen in the "Student Blogs" section of this blog.

Winter Term we'll be expanding blogging to both the Feature Writing and Photojournalism classes. In Feature Writing the students will choose particular topic areas on which to focus throughout the term, while the Photojournalism students will use the blog as sort of an ongoing portfolio of their work, including background about their various photo projects.

I'm looking forward to both these term-long workshops.

(Photo credit: "What No One Ever Tells You About Blogging" by andyp uk, courtesy of Flickr.com)
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Free Speech and the Internet

Jeff Jarvis, the one behind BuzzMachine, makes a compelling case for free speech on the Internet in this interview. As you'll see, he's an eloquent advocate of the First Amendment and why those who want to censor the Internet need to rethink their position.

Watch and appreciate.

Note: This video, an interview on the CBS program "Eye to Eye," is kind of dated, but you never know where or when you are going to stumble upon a gem.

Newspapers 2.0: Reinventing the Media

Newspapers, it would seem, are rapidly coming to the end of their press run. It's shocking to many just how fast the bottom has fallen out of the industry. (Penny stocks, anyone?)

As they struggle to continue their print editions, newspapers are joining in the scramble for the elusive online business model that will keep them the premier information providers in many markets.

In today's edition of MediaShift, Mark Glaser surveys the alternative business models that newspapers are trying in order to survive into the next decade.

Obviously, newspapers spent way too much time counting their profits and not protecting their information franchises over the past decade. Now faced with reality, most still don't get it. It's not just about making the transition from print to online, but evolving to become the go-to source of information and related services in their markets.

Which brings me back to Charlie Beckett's notion of "supermedia," where journalists and consumers collaborate through a variety of evolving media, including Facebook, e-mail, Twitter, and whatever comes next in the social networking revolution. I don't think it's enough for newspapers to evolve into and create local "portals," which just look like another place to hit readers with ads.

Media entities -- for-profit and non-profit alike -- have to find new ways to add value for some next-generation audience of media consumers. A daunting challenge, indeed.

Other industries have had to reinvent themselves, and not everybody has survived. Why should newspapers be any different?

Note: This just in ... study shows just how cautious newspapers are toward new media. See Reportr.net.

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(Photo credit: "The Newspaper on the Press" by Vin Crosbie, courtesy of Flickr.com)

Oregon Snow - Dec. 17, 2008

Here are some more snow scenes from around Oregon, courtesy of Flickr.com:


"Work's over, time to go play in the snow!" by sean dreilinger.


"The Storm" by ishkamina


"Ski Morrison" by The One True b!X

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Oregon Snow - Dec. 15, 2008

"Oregon Snow" by 1001 words

This is one of the hundreds of photos posted today on Flickr.com that chronicle Oregon's first snow of the season. Some others include:

• "First Snowstorm of the Season" by kightp
• "Fanno Creek" by merrick monroe
• "IMG_1913" by dnkemontoh

What got me thinking about searching for these photos is Charlie Beckett's discussion of "networked journalism" in his book, "Supermedia: Saving Journalism So It Can Save the World."

Chapter 2, "Is It a Bird? Is It a Plane? No! It's Supermedia!" includes an interesting flow chart showing how the media and readers work collaboratively to cover a breaking news story. The story evolves through the use of Twitter, Flickr, e-mail, Facebook, Web sites, and personal blogs compiled by journalists along with readers -- all simultaneously contributing words, sounds and images.

So, Monday my family and I are in the middle of a snow day -- Oregon's first storm of the season -- and wondering what the rest of the state looks like. Television news is great if you don't mind waiting til some station gets around to it, and the focus naturally is on Portland or Eugene. The newspaper arrived late this morning and the next edition will arrive and be buried on my driveway tomorrow morning. And the newspaper's Web site isn't much help.

In contrast, I can get hundreds of different pictures from around Oregon via Flickr. And my Facebook account is alive all day with reports from friends who are either enjoying the day or coping with travel. With some additional online searches, I can find all kinds of information that's more relevant to my family and neighbors.

As Beckett notes: "The public will help choose, research, produce, and disseminate the journalism. ... Networked journalists have to be aware of the potential resource this kind of platform offers, both in terms of information gathering, but also in building a consumer community."

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LBCC: Sign Up for Winter Term Journalism

Winter term will be busy at LBCC when it comes to journalism. Three classes are on the docket:

• Feature Writing (JN217): Sure the lead and nut graf still matter, but we're not stopping there. We'll venture into commentary, reviews and other fun explorations, including expanded blogs. MWF 11-11:50 a.m.
• Photojournalism (JN134): Taking photos for print and online publication. Going beyond landscapes to show people in action... WF 9-10:50 a.m.
  
• Media & Society (JN201): Take a tour of the media, where's it's been (Newspapers are so last millennium!) and where it's going (What? You don't have a blog?!). TR 9-10:50 a.m.
  

The number of seats available is shrinking fast. Don't be left out. To register online, start here.

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(Photo credit: "Paparazzi 1" by JAG1, courtesy of Flickr.com)

Social Networking 101

So you've started your own blog, you're on Facebook and you're building your connections on LinkedIn. Now what?

If your goal is to "build your brand" or that of a group to which you belong, Mike Fruchter has provided an excellent checklist of all you can do to become a player in the world of social networking. In "35 Tips for Getting Started with Social Media" he provides a checklist full of great reminders, such as No. 31:

"Be omnipresent on all the networks. I should be able to find out about your latest happenings, and or statuses if I am browsing your Facebook profile, Linked profile, Twitter or FriendFeed stream."

And for those less adventurous than others, Mike offers this encouragement in tip No. 21:

"Don't knock it until you tried it at least once. Be open to trying new multimedia applications that enable self promotion, audience engagement, brand retention and participation. Experiment with podcasting, creating video, slide shows, or creating and posting any type of original user generated content."

I gotta go, I've overlooked some items on the list...

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"Am I too Old for Facebook?" Find out in this blog post from September.

(Photo credit: "Thoughtful" by adrenalin, courtesy of flickr.com)

End of Term Humor: 'Font Conference'

If you haven't seen this short on CollegeHumor.com ... enjoy.

See more funny videos and funny pictures at CollegeHumor.

Thanks to Greg Dewar, editor-in-chief at the Commuter, for finding this gem.

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Blogosphere 2008: Who's Out There Anyway?

Who blogs? A new survey by Technorati breaks it all down.

For the quick overview, see the fine summary -- "What We Now Know About Blogs" -- on Mindy McAdams' blog, Teaching Online Journalism.

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Give Thanks for The First Amendment

Each term I get several opportunities to teach about my favorite journalism topic -- The First Amendment:

Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.

Those 45 words kick off the Bill of Rights to the U.S. Constitution and became law on Dec. 15, 1791. James Madison, fourth president of the United States, is revered as the Father of the Constitution and the Father of the Bill of Rights.

One of the activities that I share with my students is the fun and informative First Amendment Challenge (at least that's what I call it) hosted online by the Student Press Law Center. Students are always somewhat surprised by what the First Amendment does and doesn't protect when it's put into practice. Take the quiz and you'll see what I mean.

My aim by the end of the lesson is to have them join in my cause as a First Amendment zealot. Or at least to give thanks that they live in a country where they are free to think and say what they want. That's something for which I'll again be grateful this Thanksgiving.

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(Photo credit: "First Amendment Rally" by Luke Redmond, courtesy of Flickr.com)

Tips for the Social Networker in Every Journalist

These fine reminders on "social media" for journalists come courtesy of Alfred Hermida at Reportr.net:

1. Be human: Mass media was based on the notion of reaching millions of people with one message. As a result, that message often came across in an impersonal, corporate voice. Social media provides an opportunity to be more personal, informal and conversational.
2. Be honest: Be transparent and open about what you are doing. Social media is about genuine relationships and anyone trying to fake it is likely to be found out very quickly.
3. Be involved: Journalists should not approach social media by thinking, “how can I use this for a story”. Social media should be part of your job, not an add-on or something to be used for a story and then abandoned.

My advice to journalists is to be part of the social web, to live the social web.

Well put.

Hermida is leading a seminar today on social media best practices at a day-long event organized by CBC Vancouver. I'm looking forward to the follow-up. Meanwhile, check out the workshop blog.

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Status Report: Online Campus Media

Thank you, Bryan Murley, for your MediaShift update on one of my favorite journalism topics, the evolution of online campus media. In "College Media Has Come a Long Way Online" Murley provides links to a number of innovative online operations on campuses nationwide.

It's instructive to see what the next generation of journalists is doing out there. What surprised me was that 36 percent of college newspapers are not yet online, according to a sampling done by Bob Bergland, a professor at Missouri Western State University. What are they waiting for?!

As our own students at the Commuter have discovered since launching their improved Web site this past summer, having an immediate and seemingly limitless outlet for their journalistic and creative endeavors is not only strengthening their skills as journalists but building a new and exciting "community of interest" at Linn-Benton Community College.

It's exciting to see students engaged in trying new forms of expression and discovering that journalism is alive and well, despite what they've been led to believe by some of the old-timers in the profession.

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(Photo credit: "Media Training" by noodlepie, courtesy of Flickr.com)

Go Ahead, Check Out 'The Daily Wrazz'

Looking for a good blog about music, or just something that's fun to read? Check out The Daily Wrazz by Cory Frye.

As Cory writes in his debut post from a few days ago: "'The Daily Wrazz' is dedicated to culture of all kinds. There are no guilty pleasures here, just pleasures, period."

I've known Cory since he was a part-timer writing "scurrilous" movie and music reviews for the weekly Entertainer section of the Corvallis Gazette-Times. Those days may be long gone, but not Cory's unbridled enthusiasm for culture as well as the written word. Take today's post, for example. I'm no fan of Christina Aguilera, but I enjoyed Cory's take on whether she "Keeps Gettin' Better."

Cory notes in his intro piece:

All my life, whenever someone’s asked about my favorite music or whatever, my stock answer is “Anything I can get my hands on.” It’s not a serious reply, but actually, it is. I love noise. I love visuals. And as a consequence, although I’m acutely aware of the cultural divisions between high and low, I’ve somehow never made that distinction for myself. To this day I don’t understand how someone couldn’t like, say, professional wrestling and jazz (the “Wrazz” of this blog’s moniker) and be knowledgeable about both.

I'm looking forward to the coming attractions.

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Crowdfunding: The Next Era of Journalism?

How much would you pay to hire a journalist to report and write a news story that matters to you and your neighbors? Several groups are now experimenting with "community-funded journalism," which relies upon online donations to enlist the skills of a journalist.

Several interesting write-ups on the concept can be explored, starting with a post by Mark Glaser on MediaShift, who begins:

Bands do it. Filmmakers do it. President-elect Barack Obama made an artform out of it. "It" is crowdfunding, getting micro-donations through the Internet to help fund a venture. The question is whether crowdfunding can work on a larger scale to help fund traditional journalism...

He puts the spotlight on two efforts, one in San Francisco called Spot.us and the other in Northfield, Minn., called Representative Journalism, which is funding one reporter to cover the town of 17,000 residents.

Spot.us was the subject of a New York Times article in August. Crowdfunding may not be the answer to newspapers' revenue ills, the article notes. Then again, nothing else seems to be stemming the tide of newspaper cutbacks and layoffs.

As New York University journalism professor Jay Rosen notes in that story:

“The business model is broken. We’re at a point now where nobody actually knows where the money is going to come from for editorial goods in the future. My own feeling is that we need to try lots of things. Most of them won’t work. You’ll have a lot of failure. But we need to launch a lot of boats.”

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(Photo credit: "Reporter" by alex-s, courtesy of Flickr.com)

Eugene Weekly: Newspapers Don't Get It!

On the heels of a New York Times article stressing the imperative of newspapers and the rest of the media to change or perish comes a good shout-out by Eugene Weekly in its weekly Slant column. It began by noting the recent SPJ conference, "Building a Better Journalist," and continued:

"Excellent presenters from around the Northwest focused on how news organizations can reinvent themselves. Lots of talk about Web sites, blogs, YouTube, Twitter and new 'economic models' for success, but little discussion about how journalism itself is to blame for the financial woes of traditional media. Give the public lively, compelling, relevant content and they will stick with you. Give people superficial, predictable stories and recycled press releases and they will flock to something more stimulating, such as Jon Stewart, Stephen Colbert, Bill Maher , or conservative talk radio. National content in print form is yesterday’s news, so political junkies turn to interactive political Web sites."

As I shared this take with students in my Media & Society class at LBCC nods of agreement spread around the room. After all, they don't read newspapers, but they are media consumers and big on the Internet.

Eugene Weekly concluded: "Newspapers need to rise to the challenge with better content, rather than dumb down and pander to their shrinking advertiser base."

For more on this topic, see my blog, "Journalism: A Return to Its Partisan Roots?" from earlier this week.

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p.s. Fans of U.S. Rep. Peter DeFazio and his no-nonsense approach in Congress will find much to like in his Q&A with Eugene Weekly.

(Photo credit: "Reading Over His Shoulder" by Point-Shoot-Edit, courtesy of Frickr.com)

Newseum Shares Front Pages to Remember

Thanks to my LBCC English Department colleague Greg Rathert for reminding me of a great resource not just for newspaper junkies. Every day the Newseum displays newspaper front pages from around the nation and around the world.

They are always particularly striking on "big" news days, such as elections and other events. It's fascinating to see how other parts of the country perceive the news, and how the media shares that news with its readers.

And if you've never been the the Newseum, be sure to include it among your stops the next time you venture to Washington, D.C. It's well worth the trip.

Election 2008: Proud to Be an American

Now that Election Day has finally arrived, where can you go for the latest results online? Reportr.net has compiled a list of sites and links to find out the latest in the race to the White House.

And if you haven't seen it yet, a must-see site is YouTube's "Video Your Vote" Channel, which now has more than 750 videos chronicling, voting, voting problems, notable voters... It's a great reflection of our democracy in action.

Everywhere you look, it seems, and on the radio, TV and online, people are excited that Election Day is here. Optimism has replaced yesterday's cynicism and the endless flow of negative campaign ads. Yes, many are touting their guy -- Sen. John McCain or Sen. Barack Obama -- but more than that you can feel how proud people are to take part in the democratic process, and to be an American!

I'll be spending my afternoon hanging out with the student journalists at The Commuter, the student newspaper at Linn-Benton Community College. For many of them this is their first Election Day, which tops any holiday when you are a journalist. Few places can match a newsroom for the excitement of covering the election's outcome. By noon the staff already had set up additional computer monitors to project the results as they come in, and they were posting updated election stories on their Web site.

I'm excited to see how engaged my students, and young people in general, are in this election. I'm hopeful their involvement will continue way past Election Day. That's a positive vote for America.

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(Photo credit: "Vote!" by ktpupp, courtesy of Flickr.com)

Journalism: A Return to Its Partisan Roots?

Last week students in my Media & Society class engaged in a discussion of journalism's partisan roots, discussing how many newspapers in colonial America got their start from political parties and "radicals" who opposed the King of England. They were interested in the tale of John Peter Zenger, whose arrest for "seditious libel" and subsequent release paved the way for the First Amendment, freedom of speech and freedom of the press.

Later they talked about journalism's conversion to "objectivity" in the early 1900s, and the continuation of that mantra to today. Then we got into a discussion of Bill O'Reilly, Keith Olbermann, Jon Stewart and Stephen Colbert.

"Not a lot of objectivity there," they agreed. However, they also agreed that these "journalists" have developed a healthy following, if not always a healthy adherence to "objective" reporting. And the students seemed to agree that these journalists have generally fulfilled their mission in serving their respective audiences.

For example, the students readily agree that Stewart and Colbert are satirists more than journalists. Nevertheless, they have succeeded in raising awareness during the presidential campaign and have spurred many young people to get involved in politics. And that's a good thing.

So I just saw a post on Social Media discussing the apparent return of partisan journalism. The post was based on a New York Times article, which notes that many news outlets can attribute their success and growing audience to their own partisanship that is on display for all to see.

While these partisan news outlets grow in stature and audience, newspapers are withering, in part I think because their readers aren't particularly interested in their claims of objectivity. They know where the newspaper's staff stands on the issues, and that's great if readers agree. If not, why bother when they can get the news from someone who shares their political outlook.

As my students reinforced, perception guides much of what we do, why should news consumption be any different? People will trust those they perceive have similar biases. Maybe it's time for newspapers to stop with the charade of objectivity, call things as they see it, stir things up, and perhaps they'll rediscover an audience of eager readers.

LBCC Students Share Tales of Journalism

About a half dozen students from Linn-Benton Community College ventured to the SPJ conference -- "Building a Better Journalist" -- last weekend at the University of Oregon.

What did they think? In addition to picking up various tips from the pros on reporting, interviewing and writing, they were inspired to do better journalism.

As they discovered, despite some recent media woes, this is an exciting time to be a journalist with opportunities opening up all around them, especially on the Internet.

But don't just take my word for it. Check out blogs by Lydia Elliott and Max Brown. To find out what other young journalists are thinking, take a look at their newspaper, The Commuter, and its lively blog list. Finally, students in LBCC's news reporting class have been experimenting this term with some blogs of their own.

All of them reflect the enthusiasm that's motivating our next generation of journalists.

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Better Headlines for the Search Engine Era

When it comes to getting your news story seen and read, writing a clever, enticing and informative headline still makes all the difference, whether your story is on the front page of the newspaper or vying for space on Google News.

A panel of journalism and online experts discussed the difference between "traditional" journalism and online news Saturday at the University of Oregon as part of a day-long conference, "Building a Better Journalist," organized by the Oregon and Southwest Washington Chapter of SPJ.

"News Google Can Use" featured Rachel Anderson of Anvil Media in Portland; Rob Smith, editor of the Portland Business Journal; and UO journalism professor John Russial.

While print publications can still attract "eyeballs" with clever headlines along with attractive photos and graphics, online journalists have to keep search engines foremost in their thinking. More specifically, headlines and story content must focus on nouns -- the traditional people, places and things -- that are going to land content at the top of the Google search list.

So, for example, a vague headline that proclaims "Candidate's supporters crash opponent's visit" doesn't stand a chance of being noticed against one that lets readers know "Merkley supporters crash Smith's Oregon campaign visit."

"You just need to think about it from a different perspective," said Anderson, who gave session attendees a crash course on search engine optimization, including emphasizing keywords in headlines as well as stories.

Why does it matter? Because online you need eyeballs to drive revenue, and the higher your content rates on various search engine lists the more likely readers are to click through and see ads that accompany the story.

Russial, who teaches editing and headline writing, reminded the audience that coming up with quality headlines that attract readers hasn't changed with the advent of the Internet. "Writing headlines is not trivial. You have to put some thought into it."

In many instances, he added, straight-forward "search engine headlines" are better simply because they tell the news. That should be a good reminder for all journalists, regardless of their medium.

Overall, about 100 people attended the conference, including journalism professionals and students from around the region.

Sign Up for Great Journalism Seminar

Don't miss a great opportunity to learn about journalism and hang out with the pros next Saturday, Oct. 25, at the University of Oregon in Eugene.

The Society of Professional Journalists is hosting "Building a Better Journalist," which will feature keynote speaker Stephen Engelberg, managing editor of the non-profit investigative newsroom ProPublica, and Les Zaitz, one of Oregon's top investigative reporters. Other topics include blogging, covering politics, interviewing, and reporting for multimedia.

The gathering begins with registration at 8 a.m. at the University of Oregon's School of Journalism and Communication, and concludes with a social hour at 5:30 p.m. Some of the state's top journalists will be leading the various sessions. Best of all, students pay only $10!

For more information or to sign up, see spjoregon.org.

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(Photo credit: "Reporter Notebook Prototype" by ShutterCat7, courtesy of Flickr.com)

Who needs a TV anyway...

This week my Media & Society class discussed the continuing monopolization of the media, network broadcasting and cable TV in particular. Thinking about the "next generation" of media consumers, we got to talking about hulu.com.

If you haven't checked it out, take a look. Besides online feeds of popular shows such as "The Daily Show" and "The Colbert Report," consumers will find a variety of other programs, both old and new. The other night it ran a live feed of the debate between Sens. McCain and Obama. Movies also are part of the mix.

A recent BusinessWeek article noted that hulu.com already is exceeding 100 million video streams a month, second only to YouTube. While consumers have to "endure" a few commercials -- far fewer than usual -- at least they can choose the pitch they'd like to see, including a movie trailer.

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(Photo credit: "hulu.com" by alexanderwrege, courtesy of Flickr.com)

Tape Recording Interviews and Oregon Law

One of the first questions student journalists ask each term is whether they can or should use a tape recorder or digital recording device when they go on interviews. Yes, I always tell them, but be careful.

First, you can't always count on your batteries or the quality of the recording, which means you should always take notes as well. Second, you may not always have time to listen to the transcript, so it's good to become a faster note-taker.

Most important, get permission from the speaker if he/she is not in a public setting where they may expect that somebody in the audience is recording their remarks. The same goes for telephone interviews. In Oregon, reporters, and anybody else for that matter, must get the permission of the person at the other end of the line before recording the conversation.

For a copy of the Oregon law, see the useful state-by-state guide provided by the Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press.

At her "Teaching Online Journalism" Web site, Mindy McAdams has a useful guide for reporters on recording telephone calls. It includes a list of new gadgets you can get to enhance the quality of recordings so they too can be posted.

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(Photo credit: "Talking on Phone" by rd76pag, courtesy of Flickr.com.)

From the Mouths of Babes...

Kudos to Corvallis Gazette-Times reporter Theresa Hogue for another great blog post!

She found the inspiration for today's gem in a CNN iReport that quizzed kindergartners about the presidency and the campaign between Sens. John McCain and Barack Obama.

It just goes to show, maybe we did learn everything we need to know in kindergarten.

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(Photo credit: "ST/BORF" by ND or not ND, courtesy of Flickr.com)

Debate: Are Blogs Good for Democracy?

I'm looking forward to reading a series of blogs posted this morning on the topic "Are Blogs Good for Democracy?" They were generated from a meeting between Arianna Huffington and the Yale Political Union.

The meeting focused on the question, "Resolved: Blogs Are Good for Democracy." According to the link in the Huffington Post, the guest speaker suggested blogs do indeed support democracy because they challenge the conventional wisdom.

After a "spirited debate," the question was approved by a vote of 33-22.

The Post article includes links to blog posts by four of the Yale students. I was alerted to the story by a post on the Social Media blog.

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(Photo credit: Arianna Huffington by eyeliam, courtesy of Flickr.com)

LB Students Launch Their Blogs - Cool!

ALBANY, Ore. -- Students in Rob Priewe's News Reporting and Writing class at Linn-Benton Community College embarked on a bold new adventure this week, creating blogs that they will use during the term to share their thoughts about journalism, writing, current events and ... whatever.

It's the first time LBCC journalism students have used blogs as part of their curriculum, Priewe noted after class Friday.

"I'm excited to see where this experiment takes us," he said.

Student blogs come on the heels of the student newspaper, The Commuter, launching a new Web site over the summer. Both projects fit into the larger goal of better preparing young journalists for careers in the fast-changing media, Priewe said.

He's got 12 students in his News Reporting class, which meets three times a week on the Albany campus. While the students are very familiar with MySpace, Facebook and other aspects of the Internet, most of them are new to blogging.

That didn't deter them, however, from jumping right into it with their first posts. Some of the students commented on their first week of classes, while another offered an opinion about whiny sports fans. One student even had a comment quickly turn up from afar, making the students even more curious about the medium.

"We're still working on some of the ground rules," Priewe noted. For now, the mantra is simply "don't post anything you wouldn't want your mother to read."

Check out the "JN216 Blogs" to the right, and you can see for yourself what the students come up with.

(Photo credit: "STS115: Moments into the Launch of Atlantis" by mocr, courtesy of Flickr.com)

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Am I too old for Facebook?

I’m glad to find out that I’m not the only forty-something who wonders if he might be too old for Facebook. My apprehension was reaffirmed this week by JD Lasica on his Social Media blog, where he drew attention to a Salon.com column by Michael Martin.

Essentially, Martin’s column boiled down to this: Bad things can happen to well-meaning oldsters (aka those over 30) when they hit the wrong keyboard command. And these things are bound to happen more often to those of us who have a hard enough time resetting our digital alarm clocks and finding the volume control on the master TV remote.

Filmmaker Kim Bowen lived a nightmare after she mistakenly sent a less-than flattering video clip to all her Facebook friends. Unfortunately, her friend list also included co-workers and business associates who she wished didn’t know she existed after the aforementioned clip made its rounds.

Which brings me to my own Facebook phobia. In my role as a media instructor, it’s essential that I know about MySpace, Twitter, Facebook and other social networking sites that are having such a profound impact on media and communication. But when it comes to networking, I prefer the old-fashioned forms, especially face-to-face meetings and phone calls.

I’m not as adept at the witty repartee that I enjoy seeing my friends exchange via Facebook. When it comes to Facebook, I’m the equivalent of a freshman wallflower at the high school dance – I want to be out there dancing but I just don’t know the steps.

So for now, I’ll continue to think twice, even three or four times, before I hit the send key. And as my wife reminds our teenagers, never post anything that you wouldn’t want your mom to see…

(Photo credit: "Return of the Nightmare Vision" by left-hand, courtesy of Flickr.com)

Facebook Nightmare: Block Party Bummer

Beware the power of social networking. A student at my alma mater found out the hard way what happens when a fun idea gets posted on Facebook, goes viral, then gets out of control.

Jimmy Lemke, a student at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, thought it would be fun to organize a block party and generate some spirit among the 29,000 students who attend the urban campus. So he tentatively arranged the Sept. 20 gathering and announced the details on Facebook. That was in the spring.

By summer the number of people interested in showing up had approached 5,000, setting off alarms with neighbors and campus officials, according to the story at jsonline.com, the Web site of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. They feared the sort of drunken riot that has occurred elsewhere, including one attracting more than 10,000 people called the Mifflin Street Block Party, held near the UW-Madison campus.

Hearing reports that the local SWAT team might be called and that he might be expelled for encouraging the event, Lemke has tried for the last month to dissuade those who insist on showing up. We'll see if he succeeds.

It just goes to show how powerful word of mouth and social networking have become. And how quickly things can go awry.

(Flickr Photo credit: "Spinning Out of Control" by ortizmj12)

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Blogging in the Classroom: “Can I Say That?”

As a journalism instructor at a public college, I consider everything I say in class “on the record.” Whatever I say in class should be open to public scrutiny, and not just by the students who pay to take my class.

Now that we’re into the age of blogging, who knows where my name and comments might show up. That’s why it’s fascinating to read the story posted by Mark Glaser on MediaShift, which follows up an article about social media and journalism by New York University student Alana Taylor.

Glaser discusses the tension that followed Taylor’s criticism of her NYU professor, who she thought was behind the times in teaching the students about new media. Glaser then went on to explore the nature of blogging and free speech in the classroom. His story has generated two dozen additional comments (as of 3:30 p.m. PST Thursday, Sept. 18), many of them insightful, others inane.

Among the messages this makes clear is the changing nature of communications and the responsibility we have in higher education to share and model behavior for our students. We can’t expect to ruminate on the First Amendment, free speech and freedom of the press and in the next sentence tell student journalists “you can’t report that.”

I can’t wait to share this discussion with my classes this fall, and brace myself for whatever they choose to share on their own blogs.

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Check Out the Commuter Online

If you haven't already done so, take at look at the Commuter online. The Commuter is the student newspaper at Linn-Benton Community College.

This summer a group of five students -- Greg Dewar, Lydia Elliott, Brandon Goldner, MaryAnne Turner and Elliott Duke -- took a blank shell and transformed it into a colorful, provocative, newsy and opinionated online site.

As the start of fall classes nears, the students are looking forward to more fully developing this experimental site, including adding their own news videos. So, stay tuned.

(Photo credit: Oregon Country Fair by Greg Dewar)

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Blogs Worth Checking Out

Now that you’ve started your own blog, why not take a look at some others that are worth reading regularly.

Here are some suggestions:

Mindy McAdams, a journalism professor at the University of Florida. The focus of her site is online journalism, and features a lively discussion of journalism in the news on a daily basis. For example, she featured coverage of the Republican and Democratic conventions and how photojournalists are creatively using the Internet to display their work. (If you want to see a good example of what students are doing, see Alana Taylor's blog, which earned a mention from Mindy.)

Bright Green blog by Eoin O’Carroll of the Christian Science Monitor. As the blurb says: “A future of poisoned oceans, withered crops, and irate polar bears is nobody's idea of a good time. It's clear to anyone who is paying attention that our civilization is due for an upgrade. Bright Green covers the news, ideas, opinions, and trends littering the road to an environmentally sustainable future.”

Theresa Hogue’s blog in the Corvallis Gazette-Times. Theresa’s topics range from pop culture to politics, and she almost always has at least one observation that will make you laugh out loud. Not to mention lots of cool photos and video clips. For diehard fans of the OSU Beavers, the GT also is home to informative blogs by Cliff Kirkpatrick and Brooks Hatch.

The Daily Score, presented by the Sightline Institute in Seattle. Here's a place to find interesting, informed and provocative discussions on topics such as energy, growth, pollution, traffic and other concerns of daily living in the Northwest and beyond. (In the interest of self-disclosure, know that I do occasional online editing for Sightline and didn't even blink on this shameless plug for the good of the order.)

Look for additions to this list from time to time…

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Where Does Obscenity End and Art Begin?

What separates free speech from obscenity? When does government have the right to prosecute an American for exercising her First Amendment right to freedom of speech?

Nationally syndicated columnist Leonard Pitts Jr. revived the debate for readers of the Oregonian, which published his column Sept. 1 under the headline "A fine line between art and obscenity."

In his column, Pitts writes about Karen Fletcher, 56, a Pennsylvania woman who was sentenced to six months of house arrest, probation and a $1,000 fine after writing about rape, torture and the murder of children. However, her online stories were fiction, which she said she wrote as a way to cope with sexual abuse she suffered as a child. She was prosecuted under federal obscenity laws.

As Pitts notes: "... You have a woman doing a repellent thing with no discernible social value. By all available evidence, Fletcher's imagination is a garbage barge ripening under the sun. The world of arts and letters -- the world, period -- is not diminished by the loss of her work.

"On the other hand, you have a writer prosecuted -- in America! -- for something she wrote. That demands a ruminative pause if not, indeed, a full stop."

Later, Pitts poses the question: If offensiveness is reason enough to restrict free expression, then what protects the work of writers such as Stephen King ("Pet Sematary") or Vladimir Nabokov ("Lolita")?

"What is the line where obscenity ends and art begins? And who gets to say?" In the end, Pitts writes that he's not ready to trust government to decide.

This example is a great conversation starter when students and others consider the First Amendment and the freedoms it grants in our democratic society. It mirrors a discussion question tackled by students in JN201-Media and Society: Some people believe the First Amendment grants individuals and the media too much freedom of expression, what do you think?

It's often surprising how students first react to this question, and the lively discussion that ensues. I'm encouraged by the thoughtful consideration of this question by students, and the range of the debate as they consider free expression in an increasingly complex and often divided society.

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Stop, Drop and Fight Back

As college students return to campus this fall, the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel featured just the kind of story that will be of interest to students, faculty, staff and parents alike -- What are colleges doing to prepare those on campus for a shooting?

It's a grim reality, but after incidents at Virginia Tech and Northern Illinois, it's something that many campuses are trying face head on. What's most interesting in this story is how the University of Wisconsin-Whitewater is making awareness part of the orientation received by all incoming freshman.

The 20-minute video and program, "Shots Fired on Campus," not only shows students how to take cover and make a barricade against a shooter but also how to fight back if needed.

This would be an ideal story for local journalists to adapt for college students, staff and community members in the Albany-Corvallis area.

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Tips for Blogging

So, your instructor has required you to start a blog. Now what?

It's time to get writing. Since our subject is News Reporting and Writing, your posts can relate to journalism, reporting, interviewing, storytelling, the news media, newsmakers, media law and ethics, privacy, the Internet, election coverage … you decide.

Perhaps you'd like to share your news story, transcribe an interview, or comment on another story you read (and include a link to that story). Comment on the election, campaign issues or coverage of the candidates. Tell about the challenges you face as a journalist.

Here are some tips on blogging from Kurt Greenbaum, online news director at the St. Louis Post-Dispatch:

• Just do it, and often. While he recommends daily, shoot for several times a week. As Kurt notes: "The whole point is to develop a community of readers around your blog. ... If you don't show up regularly, they won't either."
• It's OK to write less. Or as Rob always says: "Less is best."
• Keep it conversational.
• Welcome comments, and respond if you feel compelled. After all, one of your goals is to engage others in a conversation.

See Kurt's article for more.

My bottom line is that you pick subjects that you find interesting and have fun with this assignment.

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(Photo credit: Sarah Palin at the Republican National Convention, Sept. 3, provided by NewsHour)

Welcome!

This blog was created as a tool for students and others involved in journalism at Linn-Benton Community College. More to come...