Buying Into The War

Use this space to comment on Bill Moyer's film. What ethical issues did you see arising for the journalists in covering the war? What do you think journalists should have done? Or do you think they covered it appropriately?

Use this space to comment on Control Room!

I hope you enjoyed this film. Control Room gives you an opportunity to think about several topics: how a broadcast newsroom operates; how journalists do their work during a war; the issue of objectivity; and, as a viewer, how the subject of war is presented, depending on the geographic place in which you live.

I offer four questions below that you can choose from. But if there is something else you would like to discuss, do it. I am looking for responses that are about 300 words in length (or longer), that give specific examples from the film as support, and that offers some insight or interesting point to offer to the rest of us.

1. Can you compare this documentary to Outfoxed in terms of media bias? Are there any similarities between the two? Do you feel that Control Room is a biased documentary? If yes, please explain. If no, please explain. Provide specific examples from the film to support your viewpoint.

2. Answer this question only if you knew something about Al Jazeera before you saw this film. What was your impression of this Arab news station before you saw this film? Where did you get this impression? Be as specific as possible. Has your impression changed at all since viewing the film? If not, why not? If yes, then explain why. Please provide specific examples from the film to support your viewpoint.

3. Consider one of these quotes from the film:

"History is written by the victors" - is this true? Do you agree? Give examples. How does journalism impact this writing of history? Does it at all? What can journalism do to ensure history is accurately written?

"This is the only true journalism in the world" - do you agree with this statement that the kind of journalism practiced by Al Jazeera journalists is the only true journalism in the world? How so? What do other journalists, such as U.S. ones, need to do, then, in order to practice this true journalism? What would you do as a journalist to be a "true" one? Give specific examples from the film to support your answer.

4. One of the issues in the film is about whether journalists should even locate themselves within a war zone. The military says no; it's unsafe. They cannot guarantee that they will not accidently bomb or injure a journalist, as they did with Tarek. First, do you think the bombing of Al Jazeera was an accident? Why or why not? Support your position with info from the film. Second, how exactly should journalists cover a war? Explain why your position would work in protecting a journalist's life while still getting needed information to the public. Provide examples from the film and from other wars, if you can.

OutFoxed, the movie

Use this space to comment on the movie, Outfoxed. Use the following questions as guidelines:

1. What was your overall reaction to the film?

2. Do you agree or disagree with critics who claim the film is too one-sided and uses questionable sources? Why or why not? Give specific examples.

3. Is Fox the worst? Or is all media like this? Back your answer up with specific examples.

4. Even if you think the movie was too biased, did you get anything out of it? Tell us what you learned about the media from this movie.

Photojournalists Cover Katrina

Post your reactions to the documentary here.

About Daniel Pearl...

You've probably heard about the Almighty Heart film, with Angelina Jolie, who portrays the wife of Daniel Pearl, the journalist who was killed in the Middle East a few years ago. I thought you might be interested in checking out the movie's website for more information about the events leading up to Pearl's death. In addition, if you click on "In Memoriam," (across the top of the screen), there is an map of Iran and surrounding areas that you can click on to read about other journalists who were killed in this line of duty.


http://www.amightyheartmovie.com/

Sports Blogger Tossed Out of Game!

Here's an interesting situation: a sports writer for the Courier Journal in Louisville, Kentucky was tossed out of a NCAA baseball game because he was blogging the game to the newspaper's internet site. Officials feel blogging is just like a "live representation" and shouldn't be done.

Here's a link to the article, in case you are interested. I don't get the NCAA, though. Couldn't any spectator sitting in the stands use a cellphone or Blackberry or some other device to blog the game? And what's the difference....if the television stations are broadcasting the game, what's the difference if an official reporter blogs the game to their internet page? Is it because of licensing? Perhaps the blogger hasn't paid enough to sit in the press box and do this...at least not as much as the television stations.

Feel free to comment if you want....



http://www.courier-journal.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=2007706110450

Freedom of Speech in High Schools

I found this article about a Wilton, Ct. high school theatre group who was not allowed to perform their play about the war in Iraq...so they ended up performing it in New York City in front of a much larger audience! From a freedom of speech perspective, I thought you might find this article interesting. What's also interesting is that I thought this was over. I thought it was okay now for Americans to critique the war if they wanted to. I don't know if you remember, but right after 9/11, there was a lot of pressure for people to remain quiet and support the war, no matter what, because it was considered unpatriotic to do otherwise. Since then, things have changed; even some members of the press have apologized for becoming complacent right after 9/11 and not asking the right questions or daring to criticize. So it's interesting that 6 years later, we still have this attitude around.




http://www.alternet.org/rights/54077/

Journalism News

I've provided a link to a website that might interest you. The site features a collection of journalism stories from around the world. Many of the stories have come in across the "wire" or Associated Press or Reuters news services.

I thought you might find it fascinating to quickly scroll through the list and see what is happening in the field of journalism around the world...China...Africa...Pakistan. This provides an interesting angle from which to view the status of journalism worldwide.

Feel free to post any reactions to what you have read!


http://www.topix.com/news/journalism

Al Gore and the Media

Former Vice-President Al Gore spoke at the We Media Conference in New York City on May 23, 2007. The text of his speech is listed below. In his speech, Gore speaks quite frankly about why Americans are no longer actively engaged in what is happening in our country and around the world and he blames some of this inactivity on the media. Print journalists are not covering the news as they should - objectively - and newspapers are more concerned with the bottom line, so they are hiring few reporters and allowing less money for investigative kinds of reporting. Television is the most popular news source in this country and yet it does not encourage "conversation" -- it's a one-way medium that does not allow people to discuss or debate the issues.

What do you think? Do you think Americans have become passive and lethargic in their opinions about what is happening in our country and the world today? Do you think the media has influenced this passivity? Skim through the speech and let me know how you feel!


http://www.breitbart.com/article.php?id=D8D2IU703&show_article=1