My Sentiments Exactly!

"Hi and Lois" courtesy of King Features Syndicate

It's not often that a comic strip attracts undue attention from me but yesterday's edition of Hi and Lois appeared to take a page directly out of my day-to-day life.  In the two panels above, we see a short but succinct representation of the current transition of the newspaper industry from a paper-based paradigm to one with an online domain.  'Thirsty' Thurston, on the left with his impartially branded laptop computer, represents the future of information distribution to consumers.  Hiram "Hi" Flagston, on the right with an equally impartial newspaper, is a fan of the more traditional medium.

Guest Paper: Skywrighter

While not technically a 'guest' publication, I wanted to take this opportunity to highlight a publication that I peruse on a weekly basis here in the Dayton suburbs.  As an Air Force retiree, I have access to the local Department of Defense military installation (Wright-Patterson Air Force Base) and the Skywrighter (a play on words alluding to both the base's name and to two of the three men it was named after--Wilbur and Orville Wright) serves as the base's official 'newspaper'.

Recent Journalism-related Articles

I haven't done this in a while but I am mentioning two articles that I read in today's edition of the New York Times due to their ties to my current field of study.

The first reviews the current struggles at the Washington Post, the Times' true competitor for the the title of "America's paper of record," as they contend with the financial issues surrounding all traditional news outlets in the wake of the Internet's intrusion upon previously successful business models. 

Poll Suggests Global Warming is No Hoax

(NOTE: this piece was an assignment for my current JOURN 300 class.  We were tasked to conduct a sidewalk poll to practice doing 'cold' interviews.  I was to interview 10 strangers to get their answers to two questions:  

QUESTION #1– Do you believe global warming is a hoax?

QUESTION #2– Why?

Below is the finished 499-word article.)


Poll Suggests Global Warming is No Hoax
by JoB!
February 5, 2012
Indianapolis

Seven out of 10 people responding to a recent informal survey doubt that global warming is a hoax, mirroring levels seen in recent polling conducted by CNN and MSNBC on this issue. 

A/V: Dayton Hosts Candidate Gingrich

Former US House Speaker Newt Gingrich, flanked by his wife Callista, speaks to a standing-room only crowd at Dayton's Memorial Hall on Tuesday afternoon.

In a strong indication of Ohio's rapidly approaching 'Super Tuesday' primary, the first of the four remaining Republican presidential contenders recently visited the state to woo supporters in the 4-week lead-up to their March 6th contest and its prize of 66 convention delegates.  Former Georgia congressman and US House Speaker Newt Gingrich stopped in Dayton Tuesday afternoon as part of a 2-day, 4-city campaign swing through the state.  About 300 people packed into the front lobby of the city's Memorial Hall to hear the candidate outline his personal positions on a variety of issues as well as how they differ from his other competitors for the GOP nomination and to President Obama if he is his party's choice. 

Indy Visit

As you can see by the dearth of blog entries here, I've had some personal and professional issues that impacted the 'free' time I was anticipating last month.  However, one of the things I was planning on doing did happen last Friday when I paid a visit to Indianapolis to take in the sights and sounds of the Super Bowl's pre-game festivities.  Attending the NFL Experience and strolling through the city's Super Bowl Village were my first and, with the infrequency of games in northern US cities, probably last opportunities to do that in my lifetime.  It was expensive ($20 for parking, another $20 for admission to the convention center, an ATM demanding an $8 service charge to withdraw money) and crowded (an estimated 1.1 million visitors for the 10-day affair) but I feel that it was worth my time and effort to go.

So Now It Really Begins...

Since this photo was taken in September, the number of Republican presidential candidates has dropped to six

There are very few certainties in life but if it is a year that is divisible by four, you can bet with little reservation that a US presidential contest is in full swing as the new year is ushered in.  2012 is no different from its predecessors in 2008, 2004 and the turn of the century in 2000. I've been taking some time off from my journalism studies during the winter break period but I haven't been ignoring what is playing out in the print and television media.  In the spirit of full disclosure, I will admit that I am a political 'junkie' and follow the activities of the federal government to the degree that some subscribe to Las Vegas gaming odds on sporting events and the various rationales on which those predictions are based.  Since I moved around so much during my adult life, I don't have the same level of fanaticism  towards state or local politics (although some races--and politicians--do capture my attention from time to time).

A Look Back at 2011

December 31st and January 1st of every year are traditionally the days that we reflect upon the passing year and plan for the coming year.  While the latter is enmeshed in resolutions and possibilities, the former is concretely secure in the passage of history and the year 2011 provided plenty of that.

My collage above (courtesy of Zuma Press, NBC, CNBC, the AP, UPI and others) represents just a sampling of the biggest stories carried by traditional "mainstream" media outlets as well as the "new" ways we get our news in this second decade of the 21st century (Facebook, Google+, Twittter, Digg, Pulse, etc.).  Except for the killing of Osama bin Laden (depicted in the center frame) which I believe was the year's top news story, I did not rank any of the other activities/events of the past 12 months (clockwise from upper left):

It's Simply Human Nature

(NOTE: this piece was the final assignment for my recently completed JOURN 201 class.  We were tasked to postulate where we see journalism heading over the next 10 years or so when common people can communicate across physical, virtual and ideological 'battlelines'.  We were instructed to write a magazine-style article that was limited to 1,000 words.  My submission came in at 995.  The instructor's comments were "excellent as far as you went".  I finished the course with an 'A' and am looking forward to the next course which starts late next month.)


It’s Simply Human Nature
Social networking success links back to humanity’s most basic need

People have really gotten comfortable not only sharing more information and different kinds, but more openly and with more people - and that social norm is just something that has evolved over time.
- Mark Zuckerberg

It appears that the co-creator of Facebook, the world’s most popular social networking website, may have tapped into a primal necessity that still influences modern man.

In an age where many people have less discretionary time to maintain their numerous life relationships, the Internet now provides a medium to facilitate an online 24/7 presence to those we want to remain in contact with and to connect to others with similar interests or backgrounds. 

Unscheduled Trip Back Home

 Four days...1200+ miles...and 12 newspapers!

As I mentioned in my previous posting, a death in my extended family had me undertake a long-distance 'road trip' earlier this month.  It was an unexpected event so I had very little time to prepare for the 500-mile drive to arrive in time for the funeral.  To keep my previous blog promise, I finished my post on the Herman Cain campaign stop in the wee hours of the 1st and turned in for a couple of hours of sleep before heading out of town early that same morning.  On the way out, I stopped for gas and liquid refreshments and picked up a copy of the local paper to compare my online work to that produced by Dayton Daily News staff writers Lynn Hulsey and Justin McClelland.  Satisfied that I hit all the salient points of that visit, I cracked a smile at the register, paid for my goods, and strapped myself into the driver's seat for the long ground trek ahead.

Another (Prolonged) Online Absence

 

As the famous fictional late-night editorialist Roseanne Roseannadanna (pictured above) used to say, "it's always something" and that phrase can be used to cover my last four weeks.  Right after promising to end my blogging procrastination (and posting my Herman Cain work), I had a death in my extended family that required me to be out of town for four days. 

Driving over 1200 miles over that span, I returned to face a looming deadline for my end-of-course article that required a one-day extension request for submission (I did get an "A" for the paper and the course).  Add to that pressure my job duties/responsibilities and you can see how I could let the better part of the month of December get away from me.

I'm currently enjoying an extended end-of-year vacation and I will restart my blogging regimen in the next day or so.  One of the things I'll comment on is my trip and I will also post my JOURN 201 final article for your reading pleasure.

A/V: Cain Campaign Visits Dayton

A defiant Herman Cain addresses an enthusiastic crowd at the Dayton Marriott

Despite dropping poll numbers and increasing scrutiny of his personal conduct in the press, Republican presidential candidate Herman Cain wowed a highly partisan gathering during a visit to Dayton, Ohio on Wednesday afternoon.  During this second stop of a day-long swing through the state, Cain stayed on his campaign message, touting his trademark '9-9-9' tax plan and other conservative-friendly talking points to an overflow crowd at the city's Marriott hotel.

Procrastination Strikes (Yet Again)

 
I am trying to get back into a regular posting routine but it is somewhat difficult right now.  For example, I was working on a post last week to commemorate the 48th anniversary of the JFK assassination and how that event helped create the television media we have today but I let it sit too long.  Even when I could have linked in the recent death of Tom Wicker, the New York Times White House correspondent, and his on-scene coverage of that horrific day, I lollygagged on the item and allowed it to lose its 'immediacy' with my readers.  Not meeting even 'soft' deadlines is not a quality for a budding journalist to aspire for.

You're Welcome!

I had a pleasant surprise this morning when I opened up my copy of the Dayton Daily News and saw a 'teaser' article at the bottom of the front page.  Julia Wallace, publisher of the newspaper, announced to the paper's readers that the Sunday circulation for the official reporting period from March-September 2011 had increased, the first such gain in the past 10 years.  She thanked the readership and directed us to go to the above page (AA4), where Jana Collier, the paper's editor-in-chief, explains the recent changes.

Everything Old is New Again

(NOTE: this piece was the midterm assignment for my current JOURN 201 class.  We were tasked to take one of the main historical subjects from our Stovall textbook and compare it to contemporary journalism/communications today.  We were instructed to write a magazine-style article that was limited to 1,000 words.  Mine came in at 994--if the Facebook entry was considered a 'graphic'.  The instructor's comments were "excellent analysis and written well".  So far, so good.  For my Twitter followers, the Williams interview was the one I kept 'tweeting' about back in September.)


Everything Old is New Again
Rapid communication continues to evolve from 19th century inventor’s dream


A patient waiter is no loser -- Samuel F.B. Morse, 6 January 1838

At first glance, these two messages appear to be totally unrelated.   The former is the first telegram transmitted in the United States over a short distance in New Jersey; the latter is the initial urgent posting to a Facebook page created by a 32-year old woman responding to a looming natural disaster in northeastern Pennsylvania.

The 1838 message was an historic moment in the evolution of human communications while the more recent one being a single status update by just one of over 800 million users and groupings residing on the world’s largest social networking website. 

Although separated by over 170 years in time and 120 miles in distance, these disparate dispatches are indeed linked through their respective sender’s aspiration for instantaneous communications in pursuit of their personal and altruistic goals.