The Daily Show's Street Team is totes hip

The Daily Show's Demetri Martin was trying to tap into the heads of youth voters, and decided a Street Team was in order. I don't know...I'm not a big fan of turtlenecks...

Americans hate the media less

Even though the majority of America still hates the commie-pinko-liberal-right wing-agenda setters in the "MEDIA," they hate us less than in the past. A Zogby poll reveals few surprises: Republicans hate the media more than Democrats; blogs are important, but not that important; old people don't use the Web. Here's the rundown, via USNR:

—Although the vast majority of Americans are dissatisfied with the quality of journalism (64 percent), overall satisfaction has increased to 35 percent in this survey from 27 percent in 2007.

—Both traditional and new media are viewed as important for the future of journalism—87 percent believe professional journalism has a vital role to play in the nation's future, although citizen journalism (77 percent) and blogging (59 percent) are also seen as significant by most Americans.

—Very few Americans (1 percent) consider blogs their most trusted source of news or their primary source of news (1 percent).

—Three in four (75 percent) believe the Internet has had a positive impact on the overall quality of journalism.

—Sixty-nine percent believe media companies are becoming too large and powerful to allow for competition, while 17 percent believe they are the right size to adequately compete.

—More Republicans (79 percent) than Democrats (50 percent) feel disenchanted with the media.

Ernie Pyle's Miami connection

I came across a sad and amazing story the other day. A new photo of one of my heroes, Ernie Pyle, was found. It's his death photo. The picture shows Ernie, with a trail of blood leaking out his mouth, arms folded on his chest, lying in a ditch on Ie Shima.

I've been to Pyle's home in Dana, Ind. I've read his books, and biographies. I have pictures and advertisements with his picture. His G.I. Joe watches me when I write. It was like seeing a friend's picture.

But I noticed the article quoted James Tobin, the author of "Ernie Pyle's War," a biography that came out a few years ago. I own the book, and have always loved it. Turns out Tobin, who used to write for the Detroit News, is now a professor at my alma mater, Miami University. Man! I wish I'd been able to study under him. But I'm an old-timer now. (He also used to work at The News with one of my current professors, Christy Bradford, who used to be managing editor).

It was a circle of coincidences. I still get shivers when I see that photo.

Snarking is hard

Man, it's hard to be snarky all the time.

That's one of my biggest challenges when I blog here and over at THINK. Blogging is a medium that allows, nay encourages, a little snark, a little attitude. But when you're blogging about Mike Huckabee, and you're just a lowly little man like me, it makes it difficult. Huckabee is a funny name, for sure, but I'm not sure what I can add to the conversation in terms of snark.

I like to throw out the occassional zinger in my daily life, but there's a lot of pressure to do it on the blogosphere. I'm no Wonkette, I know that. We'll see if I can get funny.

I love "The Wire"

Since the demise of "Journeyman," HBO's "The Wire" has become my newest can't-miss TV show. I'm not one for crime dramas. I've never seen "Law & Order" for more than a few minutes, and none of its counterparts have ever been boob tube destinations for me. But, "The Wire" is just good.

And I think I know why I like it so much. It's the newspapers, stupid!

After, no other show on television gives any play to newspapers. There was Bravo's short-lived "Tabloid Wars," but that was over pretty fast.

"The Wire," in case you didn't know, details the crime-ridden world of Baltimore from the eyes of gangsters in the street, cops tired of bureaucracy and the Baltimore Sun, fighting its own battle with the city and the business.

One of the reporters, a self-aggrandizing young newsie named Scott Templeton, scares me. He wants to be good, really good. So do I, but Templeton's moving towards a dangerous plateau. After moving to the Sun from the Wichita Eagle and then the Kansas City Star, Templeton's stuck. And his frustration at making it big is causing him to have some severe ethical lapses.

He's begun fabricating conversations with a serial killer who is murdering homeless men. The serial killer, of course, is a fabrication of the police department's homicide unit, which needs more manpower. It's a train wreck waiting to happen.

Last week, Templeton used a pay phone to call his cell phone, then made up a conversation with the killer. My heart jumped when I saw it. It's scary for me to see someone make such a terrible decision. After all, I'm taking an ethics course right now.

I only get emotional during select TV programs -- "Ed," for one. Great show. -- but I'm so mad at this guy. He's bright, he's young, he's got a future and talent. And he's throwing it away. Look, a lot of reporters have dreams of being great fiction writers. But the newsroom is not the place.

I'm interested to see how this mess will play out. My guess is that Templeton joins the Journalism Hall of Shame.

Live Vlogging: A summary

Whoa. Yesterday was pretty cool. I live vlogged all day long, using a sweet Nokia N95 phone sent to me by MTV, and using software from Flixster to upload live to the Web. When it worked, it was amazing. But there were a few glitches in the Matrix, and I'd guess the majority of my interviews are zooming around in cyberspace somewhere. But the ones I posted were good, and the energy in the caucus was amazing. Not to mention how innovative this project was.

Every Street Team member in a Super Tuesday state was blogging, vlogging and reporting throughout the day. We had streaming coverage from our states all day long. It was off-the-cuff, it was raw, it was good, fun journalism. Not even CNN or NBC can say they did what we did. I didn't see them in Kansas, that's for sure.

Check out ChooseOrLose.com for our coverage, but be aware that the videos are being archived offline on Friday, Feb. 8.

More to come!

A throw-away question

Tonight Sen. Clinton held a national town hall meeting, where she answered one question per Super Tuesday state; all the states were linked up via satellite, and supporters met at central locations. Here in Kansas, people gathered in Wichita. Originally they were supposed to meet at a bar and grill, but I believed they moved to a theater.

Anyway, for the first time in my life, I watched the Hallmark Channel, which broadcast one hour of the Senator's give-and-take with fawning supporters. And at 9 p.m. on the dot, Hallmark switched back to its programming. And I still hadn't heard the question that Kansas would ask.

So I rushed back to my room and visited Clinton's Web site, which was streaming the remainder of the program. Finally, it was Kansas' turn.

And what a strange question it was. Last week I was on a conference call with Sen. Clinton's main backers here in Kansas, and they said they'd have to think of back up questions in case all the good ones -- you know, health care, the war, education, etc. -- were taken. Well, they were.

Kansas asked the dubious and curious question of how Sen. Clinton would tackle a national rail system, a la the Bullet Train in Japan or EuroStar in Europe. Seriously?

Clinton was overjoyed at this question (and all the others, for that matter). The Giants fan said she loved trains (!) and would definitely consider looking into creating a national rail system. *Sigh*

I, for one, was not surprised this square state didn't make it into the broadcast. I don't know how they organized it, but it may have something to do with delegates, because North Dakota and Delaware were two other states that didn't make it on-air.

I like trains -- my friend Blair and I took a lovely Amtrack ride from Chicago to Ann Arbor once. But I'm not sure that's the question on everybody's minds this presidential race.

I guess I'll find out tomorrow, when I'm live vlogging Super Tuesday!