The Good The Bad and The Ugly: Our Beloved J School (Cont.)

The Ugly…

So why is newspaper circulation at an all time low? The Blogosphere? Maybe. I’m leaning towards cause its boring! How do I know this? Because I have normal friends who tell me so. I hate to break the news to all the journalist (and all those aspiring to be ), but its true.

I can hear all you transparency-loving reporters asking me where are your statistics? Data? Cause people tell me so. Am I the only one who knows people that play sports every weekend, fall asleep playing the PS2, and get ridiculously drunk at least once a week? Before you judge, guess what, they are all college educated with decent jobs.

 While society and the world around us have changed, the writing in journalism has refused to evolve with the times. People read fewer newspapers because it feels like reading a Shakespearean play. News writing today is too structured with very little fluidity. Why can’t we say “F*** the pyramid, I like hexagons better!”

 Our J school is supposed to represent the future of journalism, yet I see no new innovative writing methods being taught. I respect the professors chosen to teach the school, but what about getting someone who is a pioneer in new writing techniques. How about someone from less traditional media like the Village Voice?

 Quality of news does not have to suffer because it has seeds of creativity that would engage those who fall asleep with the PS2.

 Interactive journalism seems to be a step towards the future. While blogs might be last forever they will never eliminate paper based newspapers (this argument is for another post). The reason some readers are moving from newspapers to blogs is not because of the technology, but because many blogs are written with an engaging fluidity.

 A method has to be discovered that mixes the elements of quality news and engaging creativity.

 The school should be planting these seeds to get more average readers involved. Instead it seems as we could be creating a whole new generation of robotic journalist writing for the pseudo-intellectuals of Wall Street and Park Ave.

 

 

 

 

The Good The Bad and The Ugly: Our Beloved J School

The Good

…well the lockers are cool. That’s beside the point. Every new endeavor is going to have it’s up and downs; but considering it’s our future (and most importantly my future), I hope it stays on the upside.

Let me start of with the good. Just to get the obvious out the way, the tools and technology we have available are great. There are going to be glitches and breakdowns, but they are much as part of life as the ridiculous media coverage of Paris Hilton. Deal with it. The campus itself offers a place for everyone. There are plenty of places to hang out and chew the fat – you know, talk about how “awesome” we all are. Most importantly, they are also comfortable areas to sit by yourself to focus on whatever you’re working on.

I love the student to professor ratio in my craft class. We have two professors for 12 students. Greater individual attention, two professional perspectives, flexible out of class hours, double the ass kissing – are just some of the advantages of this one-two punch. Also, with logistics in mind, the interactive and ethics class (while larger) is still a nice size.

Speaking of ass kissing, the staff in a word is nice. Even though there are 50+ students, it seems as if every student gets every bit attention as the next one. Recently I had a close death in the family and was forced to return to my native Spain for the weekend. My professors along with the administrative staff were supportive and patient. The character of a school is built upon its staff, our school seems to shine in this department (trying not to sound cheesy). From what I’ve seen, a lot of them (including the Dean) know each and every one of us at some deeper level than just our name. It makes it sort of hard to not believe we are part of something special.

The Bad…

I know this is Grad school. The curriculum was probably modeled after another J school’s and it’s supposed to be challenging, but am I the only one who feels a bit overwhelmed. We have multiple weekly deadlines. The argument is, that so do reporters. The main oversight is that reporters can engulf themselves in a specific story. I personally can’t do that because I have various stories/projects/interviews due, coupled with the fact I’m in a classroom for 20 peak hours during the week.

(Full disclosure: not original idea, cant’ remember the student’s name who came up with the following).

Even though the librarian has done an excellent job in the Research tools class it would be a great idea to incorporate the material in an orientation workshop instead of a full-blown class. A lot of what is covered is mundane and basic. For those who continue to have trouble after the orientation, some sort of mentoring service for research could be set up. Our reporting skills can only be as good as our research skills; I’m not denying its importance. It should be assumed that research is to a Masters student of journalism as algebra is to a Masters student of Business.

I don’t have a solution, but something has to be done about the neighborhood beats. I know it’s a staple of journalism schools and it help develop basic skills, but something has to be done. I feel like they are a bit mundane. We are forced to create stories in which none exist. It’s sort of the journalist mantra to find the “nuggets” of stories and then build on them. It could be that maybe I’m not a true reporter at heart, but honestly has anyone found a story that would minimally get borough wide attention. Out of curiosity I’ve been trying to read ledes of people neighborhood stories and (through no fault of their own) the stories looked boring. Which brings me to my final point.

 The Ugly…(to be continued)

If this isn’t news, I don’t know what is.

Finally, a vote for the third Presidential Impeachment…well, not exactly.

While this would’ve been sweet news for many Americans, it’s not entirely true. The Senate is planning to hold a vote addressing President Bush’s methods on eavesdropping and its legality. It’s not for an impeachment but rather a sort of indefinite pardon for the President. (The vote itself is so ridiculous; it sounds like it straight out of a SNL skit).

Unofficially it’s the Spectre/Cheney Bill. You can read all about it here.

“A law which makes it an option — rather than a requirement — for the Government to obtain a warrant before eavesdropping is about as meaningless of a law as can be imagined.” Glenn Greenwald hits it right on the head.

Regardless on your stance on the bill, WHERE IS THE MEDIA COVERAGE? I happen to stumble onto this from randomly searching technorati. Why isn’t this front page material? Our last President was impeached on obstruction of justice and perjury, while our current one is being virtually pardoned. Yet, not even the traditional left wing media make it notable. Here is an example of a New York Times search result.

When are we going to realize that Suri is NOT Baby Jesus? We need to get our priorities straight.

The Patriot Act – Love it or hate it, the name is ironic.

If there has been an ongoing national news story since 9/11, this is it. I’m not here to argue for or against the much-debated Patriot Act. In the spirit of journalistic integrity, objectivity, and just plain curiosity I just wanted to take a (very) quick look at the semantics of the Act.

After some initial research, (to much of my surprise) I find out the word “Patriot” is actually an acronym. The long-winded official name is as follows: Uniting and Strengthening America by Providing Appropriate Tools Required to Intercept and Obstruct Terrorism Act of 2001.

*On a side note, “props” have to given to whomever came up the name. It’s a ridiculously clever multiple entendre.

So what exactly are some these “tools?” The most controversial, Title II, are laws legalizing the interception of private civilian communications. It pretty much covers all forms of communications — email, to phone lines (wirelessly and landlines), to text messages and fax – from those individuals the enforcement agencies deems a threat.

Title II further states that these surveillance tools can’t be used in violation of the First Amendment. A quick recap of what the First Amendment is:

Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.

It seems as if the Title II holds up well against the First Amendment. Just for the heck of it, let me pick out another Amendment. Title II has no mention of the Fourth Amendment but it’s as follows:

The right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be violated, and no Warrants shall issue, but upon probable cause, supported by oath or affirmation, and particularly describing the place to be searched, and the persons or things to be seized.

Hmm, Title II has no mention of the Fourth, yet there does seem to be some relevance. Why the neglect?

My knowledge of American History is a bit shady at best. But from what I can recall a Patriot was anyone during the American Revolution who fought against the whims of an intruding body. So how would real Patriots like George Washington and Thomas Jefferson feel about the Patriot Act? There definitely is irony in the air.

***For those thinking I took a side, I’m just arguing the name itself is ironic. I could very well believe that times have changed and like everything else the Bill Of Rights needs to adapt.

Woohoo, I’m finally online! (My pursuit of the elusive Internet)

Let me start off by saying that I EFFING HATE VERIZON.

So I just moved to a new place in Yonkers (that’s just north of the Boogie Down Bronx for the “newbies” in town). I was in the process of moving all my junk when it hit me that I overlooked two essentials every crib shouldn’t be without.

First and (in retrospect) definitely not foremost, an Internet connection. Secondly, a new toilet seat.

Being the info junkie that I am, I prioritized by seeking out on finding the Internet provider that’s RIGHT for ME. In other words, something cheap. Instinctively when thinking of the words “cheap,” and “internet,” I searched the airwaves with my shiny new laptop for any wireless signals. I literally scaned from every nook and cranny of my basement apartment searching for a signal. I only picked up one. All I can say is damn DarthVader26 and the apparent use of the Force to block me out of his router.

Next, NetZero came to mind. According to a D train ad, they offer unlimited online minuets for only $9.95 a month. Sounds sweet. There were a couple of problems though. One, their sloth-like 56k speed sucks. Among other things, hindering my ability to OCASSIONALLY infringe on some copyright protection laws. Probably the greatest NetZero downfall, I would need to set up a land based phone line with a phone company and incur all the cost that come with it. Yeah, definitely not good or an option.

All this thinking had begun to take its toll on me. I’ll admit it, when stressed with decisions like these, sometimes its just good to “sit on it.” Problem was, I couldn’t do that either. Damn priorities.

Now I was confronted with the age-old question of DSL vs. Cable. I decide to call Verizon first just because James Earl Jones is their TV personality. Why do you ask? Simply because Mufasa was the greatest movie character, EVER. But I digress…

According to the pleasant Verizon customer sales representative Robert, I could get broadband speeds up to 768k for only $14.95 a month. Pretty friggin good. Problem was I needed a landline to set this up. I’m liking what I’m hearing though, and figure I can convince the owners of the house (distant relatives of mine), to sign them up for it and I’ll pay for it each month.

Since I generally hear wonders about cable, I call Cablevision (the owners of MSG and the disaster called the NY Knicks) to make me an offer I can’t refuse. After about a 30 second conversation with their rude sale representative I promptly hang up on his country bumpkin behind.

So it’s decided. Verizon’s 768k package it is. After easily convincing the house owners of my plans, I call Verizon to set it all up. Here is where the problems started.

I tried getting Robert back, hoping to credit him with the sale. Instead I’m told that’s not possible and I have to deal with some young (and rather attractive sounding) rep. Fine. I just wanted to get this thing over with. Somewhere between the time I was connected and the time I hung up, I was convinced of upgrading to the new Verizon Fiber Optic Service (FiOS).

According to the new plan, I would get a whopping speed of 10 Mbps for a flat rate of $29.99. For 10 more bucks, it was sure as hell worth it. Ha! We’ll see.

In order to receive the new service, a Verizon crew had to come the house to set it up for the new wiring. The journalist in me should have asked what exactly does “wiring” mean. But I didn’t. With the owner’s permission, I gave them the green light. Big mistake. I was told they needed to come to the house twice to complete the installation.

First day I didn’t need to be there. Great, I needed the whole day anyway to harass people in Washington Heights about their trial and tribulations of the community. This wasn’t exactly a fun day. Lets just say this city definitely has some characters in it. But that’s a whole other rant.

So I get back home later that evening to find that the front yard looks like a reenactment scene from World War 1. They were literally two trenches (about 5 feet deep/ 3 feet wide) running parallel to each other running from the street to the edge of the house. I’m the first one home, increasing my anxiety two fold. I frantically called Verizon, and after a 35-minuet hold (funny how there was no hold for sales), I try as coolly as possible to get some answers.

Apparently no one knows what the hell is going on. Even worse, the manager told me they don’t even see a scheduled service date. Now this was total BS, considering I knew that date was my service appointment for wiring and it so happened the front yard looked like gophers ran amuck in it.

I was told they get back to me. In the meantime the owners of the newly landscaped yard were on their way home and I had no explanation for it.

Needless to say when they got home, I was royally screwed. Let me tell you, even Saddam Hussein’s Iraqi hole looked good right about then. As I imagined they both went into ragging fits that were borderline seizures. And yet, I still had no explanation.

I called Verizon again later that night, and still no word on what had happened. I tell my lovely landlords that Verizon is going to come and fix it the next day. Just to try and hold them over.

I bought myself an extra day with my little fib. The next day came and still no word on what the hell happened. Damn I effing hate Verizon.

Eventually 3 days past and I get a call from the grass mutilators. I finally get some answers. Evidently Verizon hired a 2^nd party company to do the grunt work. To have the FiOS installed, a tube with the fiber optic cable had to be connected from the house to their main line. The thing is, some streets have the fiber optic box, along with the telephone cables and other lines above ground on the telephone polls, while other streets have them buried underneath. Guess what I have. Basically all we needed was a fiber optic line running from the box on the telephone pole into the house.

Why would you start digging if you see the lines above you? Why? Just doesn’t make any sense.

So after about a week of Verizon hell, trying to explain the whole fiber optic phenomena to my patient homeowners (who’s idea of modern technology are dishwashers) I’m finally online! Not only that, my Internet line is more juiced than Bonds pre-Canseco literary genius.

Looking back, I can’t help but wonder if I had prioritized differently could all of this been avoided. I for one do believe in karma. Now I’m back to where I started (albeit with Internet), deciding whether to get a closed front or open front seat.

Hmm — decisions, decisions…