Journalists Worried Financial Pressures Are Hurting News Quality
By WILL LESTER, Associated Press Writer
WASHINGTON - Journalists are growing more concerned that bottom-line financial pressures are "seriously hurting" the quality of news coverage, according to a survey taken at a time when news organizations face increased competition for readers and viewers.
A majority of national and local journalists say they think financial pressures are hurting coverage, said the survey released Sunday by the Pew Research Center for the People & the Press.
"Journalists are in a glummer mood than we've found them in the past," said Andrew Kohut, director of the Pew Research Center. "That view is much more prevalent where cutbacks have happened."
The number of national journalists who think bottom-line financial pressures are hurting coverage was 66 percent this year, compared with about 40 percent in a Pew survey from 1995.
Just under six in 10 local journalists were more worried about financial pressures hurting quality, compared with one-third in 1995.
More than half of the executives at national news organizations said increased business pressures are "just changing the way news organizations do things."
Tom Rosenstiel, director of the Project for Excellence in Journalism, said a news media study earlier this year found many news organizations have cut staff.
"We found that most sectors of the news media, other than online and ethnic media, are losing audience because there is so much more competition," Rosenstiel said.
About half of those whom Pew surveyed from newspapers and magazines said they have seen reductions in the size of their newsroom staff in the past three years.
Despite these concerns about cut, about seven in 10 news professionals say the management in their news operation is excellent or good.
National journalists were more likely than a decade ago to say there are too many factual errors in coverage, while local reporters were less inclined to say that was a problem.
A majority of journalists of all backgrounds and different type of operations said they do not think plagiarism is more widespread now, despite widely publicized cases in the past year.
The survey found a reduction in the number of journalists who think news reporters are too cynical and many now think they are too timid.
More than half of national journalists say the press has not been critical enough of President Bush (news - web sites). Local journalists were about evenly split between thinking the press is not critical enough or is fair in its treatment of the president.
Nearly eight in 10 in both the national and local news media say that not enough attention is paid to complex issues, similar to Pew's findings on this question in 1995 and 1999.
A majority of news professionals say the emergence of the Internet has made journalism better, especially because it has improved research methods.
The survey was taken from March 10 through April 20 of 547 national and local journalists, both print and broadcast. The sample was chosen from national directories of staffers, editors and executives at newspapers, magazines, wire services, national networks and local television stations from the 100 largest markets.
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On the Net:
Pew Research Center: http://www.people-press.org
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Someday, maybe even someday soon, I'm going to uncork a full-scale rant about this.
EDIT: Apologies for the millions (AND MILLIONS) of reposts. I kept getting "Connection closed by remote server" errors and eventually gave up.
Monday, May 24, 2004
Thursday, May 20, 2004
Illinois-Chicago Diary (End of Season 1)
NCT Tournament
No. 1 East: Temple
No. 1 Midwest: Illinois
No. 1 South: Tennessee
No. 1 West: Florida
(5) Missouri beat (12) Butler 86-68 in the West Region. Form held through the first two rounds except for 13th-seeded VMI knocking off Georgetown in the first round in the Midwest. Kentucky killified Pepperdine, 102-35, in a second-round game. Then things got weird. Maryland beat the holy hell out of Temple in the East semifinals, while Arizona upset Florida in the West final. They went to the Final Four with top seeds Illinois and Tennessee.
Seton Hall beat Iowa 79-78 to win the ACT.
NCT Final Four:
Tennessee 82, Maryland 79
Illinois 70, Arizona 59
NCT Championship:
Tennessee 80, Illinois 59 (Tournament MVP: Tennessee SG Matt Jamison)
Offseason
First, we say goodbye to three invaluable seniors:
SF Danny Jones (11.3 ppg, 5 rpg) — will not graduate (1.86 GPA); the epitome of senior leadership
C Damon Williams (8.5 ppg, 5.9 rpg) — very dependable; classic “did the little things” guy
G/F Mark Correa (8.8 ppg, 3.6 apg) — will not graduate (1.82 GPA); did yeoman’s work at three positions because of all the injuries
Competition for Jones’s small forward spot is wide open. Fields and JUCO transfer Jared Street look like the favorites, but Wagner did some good things when pressed into service in midseason, and recruit Sean Keyes could sneak in as well. Larry Greer, Williams’s backup last year, will likely take over at center. The staff’s biggest priority this offseason is getting guys straightened out academically. The two major injuries we had (Miller and Scott) were freak injuries and couldn’t be helped. Losing two players for key stretches because of grades is something that CAN be helped.
Gabriel Ichaki was drafted in the second round by San Antonio with the 55th overall pick. He is compared to Malik Rose. In the “Hey! I Remember You!” category, Georgia point guard Donny Keady went 28th to the Lakers.
Mills got job offers from Detroit, Miami of Ohio, Kent State, Central Michigan, Toledo, Wichita State, Eastern Illinois, Ball State, SW Missouri State, and Northern Iowa. He rejected them all. “I’m here for at least five years,” he says. “A lot of them were offering me a ‘fresh start.’ I just got HERE.”
When offseason training came around, we wanted to do some specific things. We increased Greer’s conditioning so he’d be able to handle the extra minutes from moving into a starting role. We greatly increased Fields’s conditioning because we don’t know if he’s going to win the starting SF job or not. We wanted to make White smarter and hopefully not get into foul trouble so much, as well as drop a little weight. Muhammad’s inside game needs work (as he will likely have to start at either PF or C the year after this), though he has a fine outside shot (44.4% on 3’s last year) for a 6’10” Muslim.
Mills retained all of his assistant coaches, mostly because there wasn’t anybody better out there.
No. 1 East: Temple
No. 1 Midwest: Illinois
No. 1 South: Tennessee
No. 1 West: Florida
(5) Missouri beat (12) Butler 86-68 in the West Region. Form held through the first two rounds except for 13th-seeded VMI knocking off Georgetown in the first round in the Midwest. Kentucky killified Pepperdine, 102-35, in a second-round game. Then things got weird. Maryland beat the holy hell out of Temple in the East semifinals, while Arizona upset Florida in the West final. They went to the Final Four with top seeds Illinois and Tennessee.
Seton Hall beat Iowa 79-78 to win the ACT.
NCT Final Four:
Tennessee 82, Maryland 79
Illinois 70, Arizona 59
NCT Championship:
Tennessee 80, Illinois 59 (Tournament MVP: Tennessee SG Matt Jamison)
Offseason
First, we say goodbye to three invaluable seniors:
SF Danny Jones (11.3 ppg, 5 rpg) — will not graduate (1.86 GPA); the epitome of senior leadership
C Damon Williams (8.5 ppg, 5.9 rpg) — very dependable; classic “did the little things” guy
G/F Mark Correa (8.8 ppg, 3.6 apg) — will not graduate (1.82 GPA); did yeoman’s work at three positions because of all the injuries
Competition for Jones’s small forward spot is wide open. Fields and JUCO transfer Jared Street look like the favorites, but Wagner did some good things when pressed into service in midseason, and recruit Sean Keyes could sneak in as well. Larry Greer, Williams’s backup last year, will likely take over at center. The staff’s biggest priority this offseason is getting guys straightened out academically. The two major injuries we had (Miller and Scott) were freak injuries and couldn’t be helped. Losing two players for key stretches because of grades is something that CAN be helped.
Gabriel Ichaki was drafted in the second round by San Antonio with the 55th overall pick. He is compared to Malik Rose. In the “Hey! I Remember You!” category, Georgia point guard Donny Keady went 28th to the Lakers.
Mills got job offers from Detroit, Miami of Ohio, Kent State, Central Michigan, Toledo, Wichita State, Eastern Illinois, Ball State, SW Missouri State, and Northern Iowa. He rejected them all. “I’m here for at least five years,” he says. “A lot of them were offering me a ‘fresh start.’ I just got HERE.”
When offseason training came around, we wanted to do some specific things. We increased Greer’s conditioning so he’d be able to handle the extra minutes from moving into a starting role. We greatly increased Fields’s conditioning because we don’t know if he’s going to win the starting SF job or not. We wanted to make White smarter and hopefully not get into foul trouble so much, as well as drop a little weight. Muhammad’s inside game needs work (as he will likely have to start at either PF or C the year after this), though he has a fine outside shot (44.4% on 3’s last year) for a 6’10” Muslim.
Mills retained all of his assistant coaches, mostly because there wasn’t anybody better out there.
Tuesday, May 18, 2004
A Few Corrections
According to the new ads for the McDonald's Adult Happy Meal, it's actually a step monitor, not an actual stepper. Which makes sense, as I don't know how you'd fit an aerobic step into a McDonald's bag. Still, though.
And my headlight problem has been a pre-existing condition ever since I bought the car - new - six years ago. It's the first time I've been failed for it. Dad was appalled. So I'm going home Wednesday to have him look at it and see what can be done.
And my headlight problem has been a pre-existing condition ever since I bought the car - new - six years ago. It's the first time I've been failed for it. Dad was appalled. So I'm going home Wednesday to have him look at it and see what can be done.
Thursday, May 13, 2004
A Day Out
All of this would have happened yesterday but I had to work overtime last night.
Car inspection time! The inspection station's half an hour away from my house. Then you have to practically drive through a maze to get there. I absentmindedly took my keys with me when I got out of the car.
And I failed the inspection.
You wanna know why?
There is water in my left turn signal.
I know. I don't get it either. I don't know how water gets in there. I also don't know how to get it out. The worst thing is they slap that "REJECTED" sticker on your windshield and I gotta drive around with that until I get it fixed.
Then I go to CVS and Brooke Burke's on the cover of the new FHM looking at me like "Do I make you horny, baby?" and I'm all "Is the Pope Catholic?" So you're damn right I picked that up.
Across the parking lot to McDonald's. They're going to be phasing out the Super Size, you know. And I guess this is part of their plan to try to appear more "health-conscious", and I assume it's only at Selected Participating Locations, but this one had an ad for an Adult Happy Meal... with an aerobic step counter.
People, I couldn't make this up if I tried.
Last stop: The car wash. It would've been my first stop but the place was full and I didn't want to wait. It's one of those self-service deals with the change machines and the hoses. And when you're done, the timer thanks you in five languages.
Car inspection time! The inspection station's half an hour away from my house. Then you have to practically drive through a maze to get there. I absentmindedly took my keys with me when I got out of the car.
And I failed the inspection.
You wanna know why?
There is water in my left turn signal.
I know. I don't get it either. I don't know how water gets in there. I also don't know how to get it out. The worst thing is they slap that "REJECTED" sticker on your windshield and I gotta drive around with that until I get it fixed.
Then I go to CVS and Brooke Burke's on the cover of the new FHM looking at me like "Do I make you horny, baby?" and I'm all "Is the Pope Catholic?" So you're damn right I picked that up.
Across the parking lot to McDonald's. They're going to be phasing out the Super Size, you know. And I guess this is part of their plan to try to appear more "health-conscious", and I assume it's only at Selected Participating Locations, but this one had an ad for an Adult Happy Meal... with an aerobic step counter.
People, I couldn't make this up if I tried.
Last stop: The car wash. It would've been my first stop but the place was full and I didn't want to wait. It's one of those self-service deals with the change machines and the hoses. And when you're done, the timer thanks you in five languages.
Monday, May 10, 2004
Sublimely Successful
Yep. Blogger's relaunch gave me the excuse I needed to finally get around to changing the layout of the ol' blog.
The new comments have replaced the old ones, and I'm not sure if the old ones will work. Though I guess it's not a catastrophic loss.
What do you think?
The new comments have replaced the old ones, and I'm not sure if the old ones will work. Though I guess it's not a catastrophic loss.
What do you think?
Sunday, May 9, 2004
Thursday, May 6, 2004
Not-So-Pleasantville
WTFMF.
My reporter friend Maddie broke this story on Monday. Since then, it's snowballed into a national story. And it's literally everywhere. It was in the first segment of PTI yesterday (Tony wanted the coach fired, I think, while Mike wanted the kid's father to "go caveman" on his ass), and it got about 90 seconds on Tough Crowd.
It's bad enough that this moron coach went out and did this in the first place. But what's even worse, I think, is that he called the kid's house to make sure he showed up at the awards banquet.
Think about that. Essentially, he set him up.
Completely destroying the trust a child should have for an authority figure in the process, to say nothing of the obvious humiliation the kid feels/felt. This jackhole was a coach? And teaching Special Ed students? I don't care if the kid was a "crybaby" or not, if you're a coach - ESPECIALLY if you're a coach - You. Do. Not. Do. This. Anyone who's this insensitive to kids doesn't need to be teaching anyone. Fire his ass.
And don't think I'm not also aware of the sociological issues of black youths and the need for positive father figures and male role models that this brings up. I'm simply not qualified to discuss them with any authority. But I will say thank God this kid's father had the good sense to be outraged and say, "That's some bullshit" and spoken up about this and gotten it publicized. I wouldn't have blamed him if he'd kicked the coach's ass. I'm not sure I could have stopped myself from kicking the coach's ass if I was in his position, and I'm the least violent person I know. My dad would've kicked the coach's ass. Assuming he got to him before my mom did.
My reporter friend Maddie broke this story on Monday. Since then, it's snowballed into a national story. And it's literally everywhere. It was in the first segment of PTI yesterday (Tony wanted the coach fired, I think, while Mike wanted the kid's father to "go caveman" on his ass), and it got about 90 seconds on Tough Crowd.
It's bad enough that this moron coach went out and did this in the first place. But what's even worse, I think, is that he called the kid's house to make sure he showed up at the awards banquet.
Think about that. Essentially, he set him up.
Completely destroying the trust a child should have for an authority figure in the process, to say nothing of the obvious humiliation the kid feels/felt. This jackhole was a coach? And teaching Special Ed students? I don't care if the kid was a "crybaby" or not, if you're a coach - ESPECIALLY if you're a coach - You. Do. Not. Do. This. Anyone who's this insensitive to kids doesn't need to be teaching anyone. Fire his ass.
And don't think I'm not also aware of the sociological issues of black youths and the need for positive father figures and male role models that this brings up. I'm simply not qualified to discuss them with any authority. But I will say thank God this kid's father had the good sense to be outraged and say, "That's some bullshit" and spoken up about this and gotten it publicized. I wouldn't have blamed him if he'd kicked the coach's ass. I'm not sure I could have stopped myself from kicking the coach's ass if I was in his position, and I'm the least violent person I know. My dad would've kicked the coach's ass. Assuming he got to him before my mom did.
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