Archives for the 'Media and Journalism Issues' Category
What happened to “so what, who cares?”
Sure, I like my star-studded news. I might even glance over the US Weekly at the supermarket’s checkout line or watch Access Hollywood at home—although I prefer The Soup. But I have a limit. And that limit has been reached. In today’s entertainment section of the Chicago Tribune online, one headline ran:
“Angelina Jolie Gets on [...]
Overly friendly is the word
“Overly friendly” is fast becoming the new “activist judge” or “staying the course:” words or short taglines that are repeated so much that they become an identifiable message dealing with an identifiable issue; identifiable just from one or two words.
Of course, I am talking about Mark Foley’s “overly friendly” e-mails to a congressional page. But [...]
What if turns reality for Obama
I have heard many times that if Oprah Winfrey would endorse a presidential candidate, it would make all the difference. It is a dreamy what if scenario and maybe the ultimate endorsement. To my knowledge, Oprah has never endorsed a particular candidate. Until today. In a move that might well prove to be a very [...]
Metrosexual response and other updates
Mark Simpson has a different take on last week’s Business Week article about the metrosexual. And as usual, he makes some excellent points. I said before, I was particularly content with the sentence “Oh yes, and he acquired the feminine persona we’ve become familiar with,” as I understand that he acquired this persona because of [...]
The metrosexual in Business Week
A couple of months ago, I received a call from Nanette Byrnes, senior writer for Business Week. She was doing a story on the metrosexual and wanted to interview me. Yesterday, I saw the article was not only published, but it was the cover story! All excited, I started to read the article, but, alas, [...]
Two blogs, two exposés on journalism ethics
It started with a blog entry and today it was on the influential MusicalAmerica.com: a story about the struggle for ethics in the advertising/editorial realm of magazines. The editor of Fanfare magazine responds to a pitch from a musician to review a recently recorded CD:
“Please note that if you don’t advertise, your CD may still [...]
Metrodaddy enters blogosphere
I just discovered “metrodaddy” Mark Simpson has a new blog. I’ll be keeping an eye on this one, as it should offer an interesting take on consumerism and masculinity. His latest word invention is sporno, as in sport and porno. I wonder what advertising agency will take this word and twist and turn it next.
Controversy [...]
Anti-astroturfing campaign
Australian public relations bloggers Trevor Cook and Paull Young have started an Internet campaign against astroturfing. Astroturfing, as in fake grassroots, is an unethical practice that harms the transparency of communication. Astroturfing is the real-world version of the Internet’s sock puppet, in which an existing participant in a discussion creates an alter-ego to support his [...]
More on masculinity
“Anything but cute (Dodge),” “Restore your manhood (Hummer)” and “I am man, hear me roar (Burger King).” These are only three examples of the latest language used in advertising. Although marketers and advertisers have repeatedly raped and ultimately killed the metrosexual a good year ago, they still seem to be scared of its ghost. In [...]
A survey of classical music critics
Columbia University’s National Arts Journalism Program and the Music Critics Association of North America today released a new study into classical music critics, covering demographics, psychographics and ethics.
Through Artsjournal.com I came upon the National Arts Journalism Program Web site a couple of days ago and decided to print “Reporting the Arts II” to read on [...]
