A few reminders about the blog

Class, congrats on getting your photos cropped, sized and posted.

A few other gentle reminders: This blog counts toward your class participation grade. I've been copy editing all of your posts to clean them up for style and grammar, but I'd like you to go into your bios and copy edit them for grammar, punctuation, capitalization and AP style. You're aspiring journalists, and as such need to start taking care with all these points. Please, also, fill in missing words in sentences.

Also, a reminder that you're required to start at least one thread of conversation about media coverage or ethics or current media problems in this blog. Six of you have done so. The rest of you have one week left!

See you Monday morning for our trip to washingtonpost.com.

Invasion of Privacy

One of last night's assigned articles, "Is it Appropriate for Reporters to 'Lurk' in Online Chatrooms?" really got me to think. I thought it was unethical to enter a place where people think they can anonymously post personal information, and then use their personal information to further one's career.

And it isn't just journalists; isn't it a bit unethical for schools or businesses to search prospective students or employees' Facebook pages?

Obama's Foreign Agenda

A few months ago, a commercial aired on television for Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kddX7LqgCvc). It preyed on the fears already established in the minds of the American public concerning national security and, for parents, the safety of their children. It implied that Democratic candidate Barack Obama would not be a good president because of his inexperience, making Clinton the obvious choice on that point alone.

In response, Obama sponsored a commercial that said, "...in the real world, it's judgement that matters" http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9BvyF351RS8&feature=related-- not just experience.

However, according to The Washington Post, Obama traveled to Afghanistan and Kuwait, and is going to Iraq to meet with officials. After that, he is going to Jordan, Israel, Germany, France and Britain to meet other officials and leaders.

It seems that Obama is trying to get some experience to combat the statements of his opponents that say he does not have much experience in foreign affairs. Is Obama trying to gain the trust and approval of America? Is he trying to prove himself worthy of the Oval Office? More importantly: Will the American people notice and take that into consideration for the 2008 elections?

Helpful or Detrimental?

Do Web sites like mediareporttowomen.com and womensenews.com help level the playing field in journalism, or are they a detriment?

Can having a news organization made up solely by women and solely for women be considered discriminatory in its own right?

Does having these segregated organizations sustain the disparity between men and women in journalism?