July 31st, 2008
Archive for July, 2008
July 31st, 2008
Complaints Update: July 2008
To date, the Minnesota News Council has received 34 complaints in 2008. Four complaints were filed by people who had been mentioned by name in the news; the rest of the complaints were of a more general nature (click on images to enlarge).
A sample of public concerns about the media:
“It was an accident.” A woman complained that a story on a fatal drunk-driving incident was unfair to feature comments from the family of the deceased that accused the driver of murder.
“What about the Native American community?” A man from a local reservation complained that the Minnesota media does a poor job of covering the American Indian community.
“I don’t watch the news for cheap-shot comedy.” A man complained that TV-news commentary on Vatican proclamations was offensive to Catholics. The station apologized, “Our newsroom comprises many faiths, and our families even more. We regret any misunderstanding.”
“Audaciously stolen!” A man pointed out that a newspaper columnist borrowed heavily from a student newspaper article without citing the source. The newspaper did not respond.
“She defamed my family’s good name.” A woman complained that a staff editorial falsely implicated her brother in domestic abuse through a lengthy, personal diatribe.
“Can you believe this lead?!” A man complained that the opening paragraph of a newspaper story stereotyped Muslims as terrorists. The article was changed online just a few hours later to remove the reference.
July 31st, 2008
Are traditional standards of journalism applicable in the Digital Age?
Earlier this year, the Twin Cities media confronted the issue of whether or not to name a suspect before charges had been filed. With reports of the arrest of a 22-year-old man for a fatal shooting in March, local news outlets debated whether to release the suspect’s name before he had been officially charged with a crime.
July 31st, 2008
Don’t Undersell New Media
The media has always preached a healthy skepticism of fads, but don’t underestimate the power of new trends in online journalism. The fact that news of Tim Russert’s death last June broke on Twitter and Wikipedia before NBC lent a new authority to nontraditional forms of internet news.
Some intriguing new projects in online journalism are worth a look.
July 30th, 2008
Bill Moyers at Reform Conference: How the Media Affects Democracy
“Ads, celebrities, nonsense, and propaganda” have replaced much of “the news we need to know,” Bill Moyers told attendees of the National Conference for Media Reform earlier this summer. At the conference, which was held in the Twin Cities, Moyers spoke of the need for fearless journalism that tells “the story of America that leaves no one out.”
July 29th, 2008
Public Hearing: August 21, 2008
Join us for our next ethical exercise with a panel of journalists and members of the public on August 21. All public hearings are free and open to the public, and held over the Thursday lunch hour.
This month, we will discuss a complaint from a state legislator who alleges that his local newspaper is partisan. The paper stands by its work and says that the contested editorial decisions were made in the interest of balanced coverage.
July 29th, 2008
The Media in Beijing 2008: New Freedoms or Lip Service?
With the summer Olympics due to open in Beijing in August, Chinese media censorship has become a worldwide concern. While the Chinese government has thawed some existing restrictions for foreign journalists, the International Olympics Committee has agreed to examine China’s policies in light of a recent charge that authorities blocked media access to the website of Amnesty International.
Does China’s relaxation of media control for the Olympics truly represent progress or is anything short of full media freedom a farce?
July 25th, 2008
“Your Television Will Be Colorized” lecture on race in TV comedies
Friends of the Minneapolis Public Library and Marquette Financial Companies are presenting Your Television Will Be Colorized: Black TV Comics; Riffs on Race in August as part of The People’s University, a free lecture program at the downtown Minneapolis Public Library. The sessions, which will be led by a professor from the University of Minnesota, will take place August 6, 13, & 20 from 6:30-8 pm.