My blog is worth...

My blog is worth $1,129.08.
How much is your blog worth?

Hm. I could use the money.

Ah, I guess I'll keep it.

I totally did this from my cell phone, walking around the UT campus.

The Successful Passing of the Iraqi Constitution... Did YOU Know About It?

Iraqi officials announced today that a new constitution has been passed by voters in the country, helping to set a foundation for the future of Iraq and actually bringing us one step closer to getting the heck out of there.

Do you think anyone cares? Did you know about this?

If you looked at any of the American mainstream media sites, you might have thought that it was just another bomb going off. You may have never even seen the link, as it is overshadowed by stories of CIA leaks and photos of Britney Spears' baby.

What was one of the greatest steps in the liberation of Iraq has been overshadowed by the plethora of links we immerse ourselves in everyday. However, it should be the job of the mainstream media to bring forth those links as relevant and world-changing, and they have failed. With the MSM so engulfed in their anti-Bush rhetoric, self-serving routines, and spotlight cravings, it seems that the important stories are being left in the dust.

I've taken a few screen shots of various MSM sites, to give you an idea of what I mean.

CNN:


FOX News:


With these two screen shots, we see a story of restoring order in Iraq dominated by pictures of chaos and disorder. CNN dares to present the story with a picture of a bomb going off on the day of the vote. I don't deny that any bombs went off; I don't deny that there is still violence in Iraq. However, the mainstream media prefers to focus on the sensational, the violent, even the deadly, rather than presenting a story of a positive event that may change the course of an entire country.

Unbelievably, FOX News is no different. While FOX News is known for being more slanted to the right, their eagerness to display the sensational and violent is the same. Next to this story, they show Iraqis holding rifles and police cars in the midst of disasters.

There are two sites that stood out as a good example of presenting the passing of the Iraqi constitution in a good light:

MSNBC:


BBC:


MSNBC has done an amazing job showing the success of the vote and the positive light that it shines on Iraq's future. On the homepage of MSNBC today, the main photo is of an Iraqi man and an Iraqi woman placing their votes. Underneath the headline "Constitution OK'd," we see that 79% of votes went in favor of the constitution. 79%! What an overwhelming majority that no one else bothered to report!

The BBC also did a good job of covering the story, if you can find it, that is.

In the story, we see a picture of an Iraqi hand placing his/her vote in the election. It focuses on the story at hand, rather than other (also important) stories about violence and hatred. Because the BBC is an international news organization, I see here the importance of an absensce of American political bias when publishing such an important story.

To top this all off, it seems that the Today Show completely ignored the story and only presented stories on the CIA leak and the 2000th death in Iraq. The Political Teen has posted video of this morning's Today Show, which includes an interview with Tim Russert.

The MSM has become so entangled in politics of persuasion, the decline of the Bush administration, and the violence in Iraq (BY Iraqis!), that the positive stories have yet to shed their light.

The Political Teen posts video from FOXNews Interview with Rush Limbaugh

I always find situations like this so fascinating:

A radio host.

Interviewed on a television news program.

And the video is posted on a blog.

Interesting interaction between the different news media.

Randall's to close my store!

The Randall's store that I've worked at for about 6 months now (after transfering from another store where I worked for three and a half years) will be closing:

Randalls/Tom Thumb said Tuesday it's closing 26 Texas stores as part of a cost-cutting and market repositioning move.

The Houston-based unit of the Safeway supermarket chain says its closing 16 Randalls stores in the Houston area, nine in the Dallas-Fort Worth area and one in the Austin market by the end of the year. That'll leave 62 stores in the Dallas area, 36 in the Houston market and 14 in and around Austin.

Randalls/Tom Thumb says many of its affected employees will be eligible for severance benefits and outplacement services.

Yep, that "one in the Austin market" is my store.

I have a kind of loyalty to Randall's; after working for the company for nearly four years, I'll be sad to see this store close. I hope Randall's can stay afloat despite the competition from big bad H-E-B.

I'll be sticking with Randall's, though, probably moving to another store... but the idea that I could be losing my job is worrying.

A Soldier Speaks to the MSM

Michelle Malkin haslet us know about a soldier's post on his blog in which he describes his experience talking to the president, an event that has been snubbed by the MSM as "staged."

First of all, we were told that we would be speaking with the President of the United States, our Commander-in-Chief, President Bush, so I believe that it would have been totally irresponsible for us NOT to prepare some ideas, facts or comments that we wanted to share with the President.

We were given an idea as to what topics he may discuss with us, but it's the President of the United States; He will choose which way his conversation with us may go.

We practiced passing the microphone around to one another, so we wouldn't choke someone on live TV. We had an idea as to who we thought should answer what types of questions, unless President Bush called on one of us specifically.

Worth reading.

Question 4? I think.

Use the resources below to locate a podcast of interest to you. (CAVEAT: Be sure to find a podcast that is related to either your topics for your individual projects topic, your group project topic, or a podcast that is directly relevant to the content of the course). Write a review of the positives and negatives of the podcast in terms of content and delivery. Be sure to comment on the relationship of the podcast to citizen journalism, user generated content (UGC) or do it yourself (DIY) media.

I decided to download the CNN News Update Podcast, which updates every hour. Each episode is short (the latest is just under two minutes long), and read by someone who obviously has professional experience in journalism. It is clear, to the point, concise, and sounds much like the hourly news updates you can hear at News Radio 590 KLBJ (from ABC News).

As I was subscribing to this podcast with iTunes, the logo for the show really jumped out at me:



It looks like CNN is trying to appeal to a younger, more tech-savvy audience, which is a great positive that we see in podcasting. With mainstream media outlets branching out into DIY media, those that are comfortable with these new media will run into CNN as well. From what I heard of the CNN podcasts, they are keeping their professional journalistic style, but presenting it in a way that will appeal to the newest generation of newsreaders.

As far as negatives, it seems that the CNN podcast could be too short for my taste. After they read one major news story, comment on the weather, and so forth, I start to wonder, "Where is the rest?" There is also nothing that makes me want to keep listening to this podcast, as there are already so many other resources that I can find the information that they are reading to me. If CNN wants to stand out as a podcast, they need to find something unique and engaging.

Although, there is some good all of the options that are available through podcasting. As readers are so diverse in interests and needs, CNN is just one of the many resources that offer to fulfill those needs.

Freedom of Speech at its Finest

As I was walking to my Jesus in American Culture class at the University of Texas a little over an hour ago, I was taken aback by this prime example of the exemplary education I am receiving here at the University:



Silly, I know. I just HAD to take a picture, though.

Maintaining a blogger's place in journalism

Robbie over at Urban Grounds makes his case for a blogger's place in journalism:

I have the formal educational background and an extensive and relevant resume that would qualify me as a journalist. I use those skills and experiences to observe, investigate, and report on current events, personalities, and other newsworthy stories. I publish my writings on an electronic, publicly-available media, which has been branded, marketed, and copyrighted. Paid advertising allows me to operate this blog at a net profit.

To me, he makes the point that citizen journalism is more about CITIZENS than MSM journalism even in its ideal state.

Way to go, Robbie.

Ann Coulter on Bill Maher from the Political Teen

The Political Teen has posted a video of Ann Coulter on Bill Maher's show to discuss several different topics, the major topic being the Supreme Court nomination of Harriet Miers. They also touch base on Bill Bennett, George Bush, and the New Orleans looters.

It's not Ann Coulter at her best (I believe she really is a comedian more than anything else, though she makes a few good points here). She does, however, point out that being Black doesn't make one a criminal, that Harriet Miers was a terrible choice for the Supreme Court nom, and that George Bush has turned his back on his supporters, something that Bill Clinton didn't even do when he was surrounded by scandal.

While most people tend to turn their faces away at the sight of Ann Coulter, or mindlessly bash her without hearing what she has to say, I this discourse between Coulter and Maher is worth watching. I also have a new appreciation for Maher, who is actually willing to bring such a strong opinionated woman onto his show and discourage his audience from booing her.

And I just have to say that she is such a beautiful woman.

"In da Bginnin God cre8d da heavens & da earth."

USA Today reports that the Bible Society in Australia has launched a Bible written for cellphones that will reach "people of all ages, backgrounds, and interests."

I'm sorry for these people that need cell phone language to understand such simple literature.

Daily Gaggle

You can now read a daily comic, Gaggle, at the bottom of the page every day. Thanks so much to News Busters.

For all you baseball fans out there

Laurence Simon at TBIFOC is keeping track of who's rooting for whom in the final days of the baseball season. I'm listed under the Astros, whom I'd like to see play the Red Sox for the title. That would be a fun one.

On a side note, TPIFOC is one of my new favorite blogs out there--it's an interesting mix of politics, local Houston news, humor and... CATS? So addicting.

Blogs with forums: discussion catalyst or hierarchy inducer?

The Political Teen now has a forum for his readers to use, and I think of it in two conflicting ways:

1. The larger area for readers to become editors; his audience can now more easily discuss and disect what he posts.

2. The comments that people make are now seperate from the post itself, further separating author and reader.

So which is it?

I just have to say that I love The Political Teen because he is constantly posting videos, and I don't have cable. I miss cable news so much.

Bloggettes: How Women Have Taken Blogging Into Their Own Hands

While most can agree that the Internet is where we can find the future of journalism, it is still questioned whether a woman's place is in front of a computer, as it had never been so traditionally. When we think of the term "computer geek," we are most likely going to see a white male.

So why have women, after for so long having been caught in the jail cell of traditional roles of society, taken the blogging phenomenon by the throat and run with it?

In their book "Taking Their Place: A Documentary History of Women and Journalism," Maurine Beasley and Sheila Gibbons say that the Internet is the way in which women will take hold of journalism and make it their own:

Many possibilities exist for more reporting about and for women. Within the last decade, a new media player has emerged: the Internet. It has enabled women to create their own sites of specialized information, along with online publications and messaging capabilites that greatly expand the amount of information available.

In addition to the specialized information that women can read as well as publish, it seems that the Internet itself can even be a specialized forum for women, who are the majority of bloggers, according to the 2004 Time Magazine article "10 Things We Learned About Blogs" by Chris Taylor.

Men may have taken the lead in the early (read: geeky) days of blogging, but that's not the case now. According to a survey of more than 4 million blogs by Perseus Development, 56% were created by women. More bad news for the boys: men are more likely than women to abandon their blog once it's created. Call blogging a 21st century room of one's own.

So, as blogging has left it's geeky (as Taylor calls it) stage, and new blogging software has become available, it has become much, much, much easier for women to become part of the blogosphere.



According to Dan Hess (in Investor Business Daily's 2005 article "Nearly 1 In 3 Web Surfers Visit Blogs" by Doug Tsuruoka), a research analyst for comScore Networks, women are part of a movement to specialize blogs, a trend that is shaping Internet journalism itself:

We've done research over the years that show a strong affinity between women and community-oriented content. Women tend to go to community sites that have a shared interest like health and wellness, parenting and other sites. It's a continuation of a pattern for women to visit blogs written by other women.

Such specialized sites, such as Blog Sisters, are bringing more dedicated, interested audiences to the blogosphere. The founder of blog sisters, Jeneane Sessum, says it best when she expresses why she believes blogging is so meaningful to women:

Today the net and weblogging are helping women recover their voice. Recapture what they mean, uncover, stop hiding, reclaim their voices. Resound.

In some ways, weblogging is a "Do-over" of our childhood. Complete with a new set of blog brothers and blog sisters. As David Weinberger says, we're "writing ourselves into existence."

In the end, the emergence of the Internet and citizen journalism in the form of blogging has brought women to the forefront of non-traditional media, because for so long women have been trapped in the more traditional roles of submission and modesty. Women have found their voice through the simplicity, convenience, and communal aspects of the Internet.

Test

Sun Microsystems

"Please join Scott McNealy, Sun Microsystems Chairman and CEO and Dr. Eric Schmidt, Google Chairman of the Executive Committee and CEO as they discuss a new collaborative effort between the two companies."

There will be a live Webcast at 12:30 Central time.

I hope I remember to watch.

Yahoo! takes the lead

The Seattle Times reports that Yahoo! will be building an online library that publishers agree with, which is what Google has been struggling with quite a bit lately.

The Open Content Alliance, a project of Yahoo! and several other partners, plans to provide digital versions of books, academic papers, video and audio.

Much of the material will consist of copyright material submitted by publishers and authors, said David Mandelbrot, Yahoo!'s vice president of search content.

Other participants in the alliance being announced today include Adobe Systems, Hewlett-Packard, the Internet Archive, O'Reilly Media, the University of California and the University of Toronto.

You can find the search engine here. It's own description:

The Open Content Alliance (OCA) represents the collaborative efforts of a group of cultural, technology, nonprofit, and governmental organizations from around the world that will help build a permanent archive of multilingual digitized text and multimedia content. Content in the OCA archive will be accessible soon through this website and through Yahoo!

The OCA will encourage the greatest possible degree of access to and reuse of collections in the archive, while respecting the content owners and contributors. Contributors to the OCA must agree to the principles set forth in the Call for Participation.

Have I mentioned that I'm a senior in college and I've yet to check a book out from a library in my college career?

Bridging the Gap in the Digital Divide

Business Week has an interesting article about the Digital Divide and how major companies like Google, Yahoo, and RadioShack are looking to help bridge that gap.

...a host of high-tech giants -– from Advanced Micro Devices (AMD ) to Yahoo! (YHOO ) –- this week have unveiled plans for doing just that. AMD on Oct. 3 said it will partner with RadioShack (RSH ) to bring low-priced computers to the developing world. The device, called the Personal Internet Communicator, was originally developed for markets underserved by the computer industry and is widely available in Mexico, India, Brazil, and the Caribbean.

I don't know what I would do without the Internet, or even my computer. I commend the efforts of these companies and hope that they can offer a world of information to those poorer countries.