A look at days of yore

Here's a cool journalism recruitment video from the 1940s. My, how things have changed.

Why social networking is cool

I resisted joining Facebook and MySpace for quite sometime, but caved last year. I'm glad I joined those programs (but wonder what I could do with all the time I've wasted on them). One thing that truly amazes me is how many friends of mine know other friends of mine independently.

Case in point, last night I was trying to find a Web site for a band my friend Adam used to play in. I found it and, lo and behold, the new bass player is a friend of my buddy, Trip. Today I saw that Trip joined a group celebrating the hilarity of my friend, Dan. Didn't know they knew each other. The bass player was a member of this group. Then I clicked on the profile of someone in the group and saw that this person was mutual friends with Trip and a former co-worker.

What a small green orb.

"I went to j-school for this?!?!?" Part II

From somewhere in Idaho comes a gross story that requires the reporter to say "leave a log." Seriously, folks. I'm sure this is important to that community, and I'm all for using creative language, but this somehow seemed inappropriate to me. And the visuals are just plain nasty. I guess if you've got to cover this, you've got to do it with a sense of humor.

"I went to j-school for this?!?!"

From the Ozark region of Missouri comes an in-depth look at a different organization. This affliate, the poor bastards, did a report on a group at Missouri State University called the Church of the Flying Spaghetti Monster.

At no point in the report was there a hint of humor. Everything was done with a perfectly straight face. Seriously, how could this reporter not lose it when he said that the group believes natural disasters are a result of fewer pirates in the world?

Where's the integrity? This story would do better buried in the Onion.

CSU editor should have been fired

J. David McSwain, the editor of Colorado State's Daily Collegian paper, got lucky this week. He's keeping his job after coming up fire for a two-word editorial chastising President Bush.

He should have been canned.

I am all for editorial freedom and I deeply believe in the First Amendment, but McSwain engaged in buffoonery that further tarnishes the reputation of journalists. The editorial, which read "Taser this: FUCK BUSH," was ostensibly in response to the tasering of a University of Florida student at a John Kerry event. Let's be clear: Bush didn't taser the kid. Overaggressive campus cops did and, despite your thoughts on Bush, he didn't encourage their behavior.

So the political statement is lost in a mixed metaphor of sorts.

Why should McSwain be fired? Quite frankly, the editorial was a grab for attention, not a provacative statement. Newspaper editorials should be thoughtful accounts of opinion, not trigger-happy zingers that have no literary value. The paper provided a disservice to its readers...and continues to do so, as advertisers jump ship.

McSwain proved to be an irresponsible editor and that's why he should have been fired.

Times-Pic photogs recount Katrina

I came across this incredible video put together by the New Orleans Times-Picayune. It's very well-done, and chronicles the experience of the paper's photographers during the storm. I visited NOLA in April for work and was blown away by how desolate it was and by the destruction that remained. I can't begin to fathom what it was like to be there for the big storm.

CNN can't be serious

I was just watching CNN when a promo for their early morning program "American Morning" ran. In it, the network bragged that it has the most news stories per hour (SPH) than any other station. A news organization, bragging that it shows the most news. I think the Daily Show zinged on this a while back, but I think it's pretty absurd.