Common Readers Mentality

As I was reading The New York Times today I came across a section where I found myself falling to the common reader's mentality that the book always talks about and we have also discussed multiple times in class. I was reading an article about the chairman of General Motors entitled, Chairman of G.M. Reportedly Quits In A Deal For Aid. When I got to the end of the writing on that page I became frustrated because the article continued on page B1. This simple thing made me mad because the article did not only continue on another page but in a whole different section of the newspaper. I never before had found myself really frustrated with an article, but for some reason this got to me.

After realizing that I had just acted in this manner, I sat back and thought about what it is like to be the reader of an article instead of the 'brains' behind it. I had to laugh because we have talked many times about how readers like their articles to be short and to the point, how they don't like to be inconvenienced. That is the best word to use in order to express how i felt, it was an inconvenience. I continued to read the article but now had a different mind-set as a writer because of that experience.

Sunshine and shadows

The News-Press editor, Terry Eberle, has an editorial this a.m. about Lee County Schools preventing photographers from attending local proms. Eberle said he wanted to publish photos from the events as a way to "help the students celebrate the moment" and gives the district a good lashing for refusing the paper's request.

Eberle comes as close as he can to saying the newspaper wouldn't turn this into an opportunity to publish scandalous or gotcha photos (though do note that he DOESN'T say the paper would withhold publication of negative images), and there are indeed some interesting problems this offer must have raised for the school district that make me sympathetic to Eberle's argument. But I wonder if Eberle has fully thought through what the NP would do if, in their capacity as co-celebrants of Lee County High School proms, photographers DID stumble across a drunken brawl or students passing a joint around or engaging in other activities that wouldn't ... well, ... help the students celebrate the moment so much as get them in serious trouble and heap scads of bad press on the district.

I'll reserve my own thinking on this question for class discussion, but what are your thoughts? I'd like to see some thoughtful comments on this one, since it gets to precisely to a problem we've been discussing all term: what are the reporter's ethical commitments and obligations? Is the prom photographer from the NP primarily a fellow citizen of the school district helping students celebrate, as Eberle implicitly contends, or an independent journalistic documentarian obligated to depict the fuller scope of the event - warts and all? And what happens if the event goes south and the photog's citizen role is pitted against her role as a journalist?

Pride and Prejudice and Zombies

I saw that my friend had ordered this book, and I thought that maybe it was a joke, or some kind of book of essays. I never expected to see it on NPR, and I definately didn't that that it was actually Pride and Prejudice re-written. I think this is amazing. I can see the point of view of people that are/will be upset by it, and I get that. This is a classic book that has been popular for a long, long time. To take it and make a joke out of it by adding zombies into it might seem a bit..disrepectful. I, on the other hand, love zombies and all things horror. I like the story of Pride and Prejudice, but I do find it somewhat boring. I will be picking this book up at some point.

Kindle 2

I found an interesting article on MSN.com today as I was scrolling through affairs and events. It was titled Book End by Jacob Weisberg and written about the Kindle 2 which is the newer addition of the e-book which was created back in 1999. The Kindle 2 is basically a hand held computer than enables us to connect with the world via Internet in yet another way.

There were many interesting points in this article that caused me to sit back and think. The first was how Jacob Weisberg, the author, started off the article in first person, referring to himself alot as well as saying "you" quite often. Also in the opening paragraph Weisberg seems to use an anecdote but what threw me off was the anecdote was at the end of the opening paragraph laying the grounds of a story rather than in the beginning.

Besides these writing choices I found the article to be extremely interesting to help me to truly understand the technological day and age that we find ourselves in today. Weisberg talked alot about how books are soon going to be losing popularity as newspapers and magazines are. That print will soon not have the credibility that it once held. He even used an interesting analogy saying that "You can't curl up with a laptop" which is true, showing a realization that books do have an upper-hand on laptops and 'the kindle 2.'

I just find it extremely interesting that we continue to produce these new ways to surf the Internet and stay 'connected' with the world when in reality these developments and advances are only creating a diversion instead of enhancing our writing world. It's mind blowing to wonder what the new inventions of the century will be as time goes on and technology continues to advance.

Overexposure

In a CNN.com article by Bill Schneider, it is said that critics are wondering if Obama is being over exposed, appearing on Leno, 60 Minutes, ESPN, and the virtual town hall all in one week. In this session, I am not concerned with our new president's frequent appearances as much as how these venues are raving for his time. Obviously, for the media, Obama has become the golden goose, both his graceful and clumsy moves becoming front page news. What will the press do when its free access to the president becomes limited? Will there be an outcry? At some point he's likely to want a closed door meeting, and what then? Will the articles covering secrecy show faith, or bitter suspicion? I honestly hope he keeps up the publicity, and I hope the media can handle the situation with objectivity if he has to cut them off.

Fake IDs

Matthew Kramer was charged on Thursday for making fake IDs in Durham. Kramer was a gradutae student at the University of New Hampshire. According to the article, "Liquor Enforcement officers and police say they confiscated 11 fake N.H. driver's licenses, computer equipment, a laminating machine and bar code encoders." Police became suspicious when a lot of fake IDs were being found in Durham.

Communication and Technology

It is really amazing how far technology has gotten people places. According to the article in the New York Times, it helped put Obama in office. The article has great sources and quotes, but I found it a little drawn out. Obama is planning on taking the interent by storm, and has already started by posting videos on the infamous website, YouTube. I believe that this is a great way to get messages out to young people. It makes it more accessible and more young people will become involved and interested in important issues. The only factor about this that has my concern is the fact that anything that does not involve technology is getting pushed out of the picture, like hard copy newspapers for instance. Although having messages get to the American people through technology is a good idea, I do not believe that all other forms of communication should be ruled out. If they are, there are going to be problems getting messages across to the older generations that lack tech-savvy skills or refuse to conform.

Obama Virtual Town Hall

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/29892857/

President Barack Obama held the first ever virtual town hall meeting, addressing internet questions. The article attached covered the night's highlights and told about Obama's responses. It is organized into an inverted pyramid, which works well for news events.
Many are wondering whether or not this direct communication with the public is edging out the media. I feel it does step on the media coverage, not allowing any room for investigation of Obama's plans. But it's a positive thing. We are lucky to have a president that directly speaks to the public. Journalists no longer must pry and dig for a bit of information. This new medium goes right to the people. It cuts out the middleman, but its convenient and revolutionary.

Restaurant Chains Take a Hit

Looks like Outback Steakhouse is goin' down unda.

With current economic changes and fluctuating prices, restaurants are trying to stay afloat by lowering their prices so they can sit more customers at their tables. Places like Outback Steakhouse. Chili's, Applebees and T.G.I Friday's are making deals and cutting check amounts so both the consumer and the business can benefit.

I read this article online and was happy to see that major chains are taking charge in this time in need. The country is in recession and sometimes a meal out of the house does the trick. Restaurants not only create a sense of socialization and camaraderie, but serve the servers of today's economy. A restaurant meal is not the most important thing in life, but sometimes it turns a week day into a weekend and a night on the couch into a night on the town. I just took my parents out for their anniversary this evening to Longhorn Steakhouse and it was really a great way to celebrate for a reasonable price. We, as consumers, see eating out as a fun, social event where we can catch up with friends or spend time with family. Now, with the new deals and price cuts, we can have our cake and eat it too. Literally.

Wall Street Journal to focus on newswires

Five days after the Seattle Post-Intelligencer moved its etymological in-joke onto the internet, Wall Street Journal journalists are being asked to focus on breaking news over a sister wire service rather than their in print newspaper. That simpler, more concise articles posted over a constantly updated electronic medium have become the economic basis over which WSJ reporters are judged is perhaps a good indicator of journalism’s future.

In the memo, Mr. Thomson [managing editor of The Journal] wrote, “Henceforth, all Journal reporters will be judged, in significant part, by whether they break news for the Newswires.”

The Dow Jones Newswire caters to financial professionals who need constant updates on business news in a simple, quickly digestible format. A similar reformatting for broadsheet stories is being pushed by the News Corporation which owns WSJ.

Obama's Special Olympics Remark

Going along with my earlier post about Obama going on Jay Leno's "Late Night Show" last Thursday night, I figured I would follow up with a blog as to how the show went for President Obama.

When Jay Leno asked the President how he was doing in the bowling alley which is in the White House, Obama replied noting that his highest score was 129. President Obama then followed up this statement by making a remark saying how that score was good if one was competing in the Special Olympics. After this remark was made, Obama called the chairman of the Special Olympics before the show had even aired to apologize for his rude remark.

What I came to think about, however, after this whole incident was how big of a deal the situation would have been made into had it been a celebrity or athlete rather than the President. It is understood that the President is held to much higher standards for obvious reasons than say a celebrity, however they are still held to a higher standard. What baffles me is that I don't see the comment as being made a big deal had it not been the President.

I am also left wondering if this comment is going to take a toll on his role as President or if people will be able to look at the context in which it was said in as well as the atmosphere and be able to let the comment go. It is hard to mix politics with comedy and entertainment, so one is not going to be professional the entire time; right?

Polotics and Late-night Programming

Last Thursday night, March 19, President Obama went on "The Tonight Show with Jay Leno." This move by Obama has come to be the common conversation holder over the past few days; both leading up to the event as well as after it happened. What made it such a big step or big deal was that no President had ever gone on a late-night program before.

Obama went on Leno to discuss the future of our economy where he would hopefully reach out to a more conservative older crowd while also bringing in millions of viewers for himself as well as NBC.

I found it very interesting that in an economy that seems so structured and consumed by stereotypes and boundaries that politics and entertainment were being mixed. When you bring politics to entertainment the topic seems to lose some of it's serious tone because of the contextual difference between the two subjects. Not only this but entertainment attracts a different variety of people in comparison to politics. However, this bold step by Obama went to show that he is a man who is for the people and he is willing to do what he needs in order to reach out to us as a society.

I really enjoyed this article found on cnbc.com entitled "Obama on Leno: Politics Meets Hollywood." The author Julian Boorstin did a great job of intertwining politic lingo with comedian/entertainment lingo. The article was very serious yet had a laid-back tone to it because it was relating to Jay Leno and late-night television. One of my favorite lines she wrote read "Leno's couch usually hosts celebs pitching upcoming movies; now Obama, a unique type of celebrity, is pitching the economic future of the nation. " I loved how she gave the vision of Obama as a celebrity yet still made it presentable for the President of the United States.

The Media as the Nation's Guru

Yesterday I checked NPR, and found out all about the world's shampooing history, and a little more about hair care. The story is called "When it Comes to Shampoo, Less is More," and mainly focuses around the damaging affects of daily shampooing (yawn).

What I found interesting was the way the story attributes a change in America's shower habits to a story published by the New York Times in 1908. Americans were shampooing once a month before that, the story suggested once every 2 weeks, and now, Americans on average shampoo 4.59 times a week.

The change was gradual, but it was the media who initiated it. In fashion, politics, and personal hygiene, I would not underestimate the nation's openness to suggestion or the power of a trusted media. Also, as journalists, we should all take this into account, knowing the effect our words can actually have.

Student Loans

Many companies that issue student loans don't require payment until after graduation. That is now changing. Sallie Mae, "the nation's largest private student lender", is now changing its policy so that students have to make payments on their loan while they are still in school. The article states, "The upside is that the cost of a private student loan will be cut by about 40 percent, said Jack Hewes, chief lending officer for Sallie Mae, which is based Reston, Va." Also, students will pay back their loans in a shorter amount of time.

One last trip

Actress Natasha Richardson, 45, passed away yesterday due to serious head injuries after falling on a ski slope while vacationing with her family. She was well-known for both her theater and film roles, and was also a Tony Award-winning actress. To get the full story, I opened the USA Today in hopes of finding greater details. After typing in her name in the search engine, I came across an article called Remembering Natasha Richardson, 1963-2009. I was interested in the 5 w's of the story but was skeptical when I read the article's lede:

"The freak accident that killed Natasha Richardson at 45 would have been shocking had it happened to any healthy young woman. But the vitality, dexterity and discipline that distinguished Richardson's acting make her death — the result of brain injuries sustained during a skiing lesson on a beginner's trail outside Montreal earlier this week — all the more cruelly ironic."

Instead of being sympathetic and a tribute to this loss of life, I felt the writer dampened the event of her death with words that did not grant justice to her existence. The lede did get to the nut graf of the article, but it took more than a sentence-and-a-half for the reader to get the answer behind Richardson's death.

The second paragraph in the USA Today article then states:

"For Richardson, those assets were in part inherited traits. She was a member of one of British acting's most prestigious families: daughter of director Tony Richardson and actress Vanessa Redgrave, sister of Joely Richardson, granddaughter of Michael Redgrave and Rachel Kempson, and niece of Lynn and Corin Redgrave. Richardson also was married to an esteemed actor, Liam Neeson, with whom she had two sons, Micheal, 13, and Daniel, 12."

Instead of praising her personality, contributions and accomplishments, the writer almost immediately flows right into a list of family members that were also famous and respected. I found this transition a little puzzling: Does the world only care about who we know instead of who we are? Richardson's last trip was with her family and my thoughts and prayers go out to them, I just wish this USA Today article focused more on the people she effected and her zest for entertaining audiences everywhere.

Twittermania

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/21134540/vp/29772038#29756189

This video from the Today Show can be considered fluff news. But I found it informative and interesting. Recently, everybody seems to be discussing Twitter, a social network that is a hybrid of text messaging and blogging. It sounds like a useless way to communicate faster.
What I noticed about this report was how well organized it was. It begins with an introduction to the website, then follows with several bits of information ranging from the type of language used on the site to which celebrities use it. This spot is organized in the inverted pyramid style, laying out the information about what it is and following with smaller facts.

Why teach journalism?

A good question. Cary Tennis hazzards an answer:

I'm not even sure that stable employment is good for young journalists. Journalists exercise power. Ideally, they exercise that power on behalf of the powerless. If they know nothing about what it is like to be powerless themselves, they may come to exercise their considerable power on behalf of the already powerful.

As to the conventions of story form and lingo that are often taught in journalism school, and as to the many artifacts and customs that make up our lore, we are tradespeople and we are proud of what we know how to do. We like our tools and our lingo. But we must be smart and nimble, and if we remain sentimentally attached to the artifacts of our trade in the face of massive technological change, then we are no better than GM.

So I do not think it is such a terrible thing that your journalism students are entering an uncertain world. It's the kind of world that is ripe for enterprising journalists. It is the kind of world that needs to be reported on and explained.

The whole thing is worth a read.

Bush Administration Used Torture

http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=101943735
Everyone knew this was true, but now it's offical. So, I wonder if action will be taken and they will be found guilty of war crimes. They clearly are, and something should be done about it. I think it is typical that you won't find this kind of news on CNN. There are certain things that CNN just doesn't want to post. And it's not that theyre not political. Of course they are. They just don't want to say something bad about good ole' Bush. When it becomes more public they will post it. I hope they are found guilty and have to spend some jail time. Just because you are the president or work for him does not mean you can get away with torturing people.

Phoenix is Crazy

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/29663159/

The attached article is a poorly written examination of Joaquin Phoenix's shenanigans. It begins with a direct command to its readers. Then it transitions to a nutgraf describing a recent altercation between the actor and an audience member. Following the event, it adds some quotes from a close source regarding his wackiness.
After that article wraps up, it addresses Matt Damon's critique of the Academy, then a look at Twitter and the recent box office. Overall, the entire piece is sloppy and random. It tells the audience what to think. There are too many biases.

Shooting in Germany

Yesterday a teenager in Germany killed himself and fifteen people. He had told others about his plan to kill on an internet chat site.

"Heribert Rech, the state interior minister of Baden-Württemberg, told a news conference that an unidentified person wrote on the German-language chat room that he had access to weapons 'and I will go tomorrow morning to my old school and do a really nice barbecue. You will hear from me tomorrow.'"

The gunman's name is 17-year-old Tim Kretschmer. According to the article, before the shooting took place Kretschmer posted on a web site and said, "I am sick of this messy life. Always the same. Everyone makes fun of me. No one recognizes my potential. I am serious."

Kretschmer was seeing a therapist for his depression but had decided to stop going. He took one of his father's guns to do the shooting and ended up killing himself in a "Volkswagen dealership".

RNC Chairman Michael Steele rumored to face a no confidence vote, segregationist to be elected in his place.

Michael Steele, the first African-American RNC chairman, is rumored to be facing a no confidence vote instigated by Katon Dawson, chairman of the South Carolina Republican Party.

This follows several media 'fiascos' on Steele's part; the largest being when Steele attacked radio show host Rush Limbaugh's hope that Obama fails. This catfight ends as suddenly as it begins. Limbaugh's response succinctly summarizes the RNC's concerns - by showing even the slightest support towards Obama, Pelosi, et al., he jeopardizes the GOP's chances in the 2012 election. Should Obama's economic plan fail, some feel his defeat is certain, though not in the way Limbaugh expects.

But the art of political gaffes is hardly limited to talk show disputes.

Steele's victory "marks a step away from the balkanized Southern white ethos of the party," Marc Ambinder [CBS News chief political consultant] said.

[...]

"We have been mis-defined [sic] as a party that doesn't care, a party that's insensitive, a party that is unconcerned about minorities, a party that is unconcerned about the lives and the expectations and dreams of average Americans," Steele said. "Nothing could be further from the truth."

Ironic words given Steele's current position: facing down Katon Dawson, loser in the RNC Chairman election and a man who entered politics in order to fight desegregation.

I’ve always been involved in politics. And I guess it goes all the way back to my school career and education. I, in the 1960s was a product of school segregation, where we took our schools and completely disbanded them, and made racial equality. Fifty-Fifty. And the kids had no choices. They closed Booker T. Washington, Blease [sic], down here. A pretty good school.

Government reached into my life and grabbed me and shook me at the age of fifteen. I remember how blatant it was that government just thought that they knew better, that government just thought they knew better what to do in my school.

The RNC's first elected African-American chairman is under the threat of replacement by a man who lived in a whites-only community for the last dozen years. Whether or not Steele understands the main motivation for his sudden political climb (hint) and whether or not someone who bends like a limp noodle in the face of conflict is at all fit to run a major political party, this is not the greatest way to shed accusations of racial insensitivity.

Certain fringe elements of the Republican party, perhaps the ones whom Limbaugh jokingly calls "informed, involved, engaged and caring", have drawn fire for their own ugly, inflammatory remarks during the 2008 presidential election. Michael Steele's election marks a supposed change wherein the GOP transforms into an equal opportunity racial utopia but instead the rumor mill is pushing for Katon Dawson, loser by eight votes, to oust him because they don't think he can handle the job.

For the record, Katon Dawson is hardly more qualified.

They made America a better – different – place. But you go look at the people... A protégé of mine, Lee Atwater. Lee Atwater was in his early thirties and one of the most powerful people in the country, with an office in the White House.

Dawson fails to mention that Atwater, apprentice and former RNC chairman himself, capped his infamous career by touting racism as a major political goal of the GOP's southern strategy.

Atwater : ''You start out in 1954 by saying, 'Nigger, nigger, nigger.' By 1968 you can't say 'nigger' -- that hurts you. Backfires. So you say stuff like forced busing, states' rights and all that stuff. You're getting so abstract now [that] you're talking about cutting taxes, and all these things you're talking about are totally economic things and a byproduct of them is [that] blacks get hurt worse than whites.

''And subconsciously maybe that is part of it. I'm not saying that. But I'm saying that if it is getting that abstract, and that coded, that we are doing away with the racial problem one way or the other. You follow me -- because obviously sitting around saying, 'We want to cut this,' is much more abstract than even the busing thing, and a hell of a lot more abstract than 'Nigger, nigger.'''

Luckily, this no confidence vote is just a rumor so far. One that Dawson has denied. It seems the RNC might continue its own image reconstruction. Whether or not Dawson can convince a single African-American to vote for him may in fact be a moot point either way.

Slumdog Millionaire sweeps the world

Eight Academy Awards (including Best Picture and Best Director). Four Golden Globes. Five Critic's Choice Awards. Eight BAFTA (British Academy of Film and Television Arts) awards. And the list goes on for Slumdog Millionaire since the beginning of this year and also throughout 2008. Did the critics get it right this time? Does Slumdog live up to its' awards list? After experiencing the film four times in theatres, I feel no award amount can fully grant justice to the brilliance of this movie and I fully agree with motives behind the academies. It's always satisfying when a masterpiece is recognized.

The USA Today reported that Slumdog has already grossed over 217 million dollars in the box office and is still selling tickets across the globe. For the first time in a long time, my favorite movie of all time is extremely praised in the media, including newspapers, television broadcasts, radio broadcasts and online reviews.

"Slumdog Millionaire is one in a million."

"Four out of four stars."

"With dazzling, magical realism and vigorous storytelling, the film has an enchanting power, fusing a fairy tale quality with gritty realism. Yet even with interwoven surrealistic images, the story portrays cultural accuracy. In a highly charged, intensely Technicolor world, there is poverty and privation but also laughter and hope, accentuated by the tribute to Bollywood musicals during the final credits."

All of these quotes come from an article posted on the USA Today's website by journalist Claudia Puig. They are truly sincere comments and completely sum up the movie like an ordinary watcher like myself would say. If you haven't seen it already, Slumdog Millionaire targets every emotion you could ever experience. It's a film that will truly change your life and I'm glad the critics gave it the recognition it deserves.

People see God as just another person

http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=101617951

This can be taken in many ways. Personally, I do not believe in God. I see it as people creating God, and therefore seeing Him as the same as them. I think it is ironic that this study was posted on the same day that Obama singned the bill to make stem cell research easier, and not as resticted. This is a start to keeping religion separate from science. The side that does believe in God, however, sees it as God being equal to them. He is supposed to be a companion, and we are created in "His" image.

The newsless front page, or not

A blogger asks, whither the five Ws on a recent Wash Post front page. And the WP editor responds.

Cowboys Release Owens

This past Christmas, my brother and I swapped our presents underneath our Christmas tree and to our surprise, we both opened up a Cowboy-blue Terrell Owens jersey in our size. A little more than two months later, Owens is now reported to be released from the Cowboys and is now a free agent. Needless to say, today was a depressing day in the Mundy house.

My dad called me out of my room first thing in the morning to listen to the developing story of T.O. 's release and after watching ESPN for a few hours, not one reporter/sports anaylst believed this was a bad move. I know T.O. causes a lot of drama and I know he doesn't have the cleanest track record, but as a Cowboy fan he was fun to watch and my favorite player.

The country definitely didn't agree. ESPN asked the nation if they would want T.O. on their team and every state rejected him. This made me wonder: Does personality outshine talent in every case?

Jerry Jones, owner, president and general manager of the Dallas Cowboys, said his personality had nothing to do with his decision to let Owens go. However, ESPN reporters had different opinions to why Jones made the move. At the age of 35, T.O. doesn't have too many career runs left and will probably play in September with another team, but reporters felt his behavior was too unruly and that is why Jones cut the strings. I thought this could be true, but T.O. is #2 in all-time receiving touchdowns just behind Jerry Rice. That's a heavy statistic to swallow...and one to pass-up.

All day I kept squinting at the television, hoping the news was just misread or misreported. My wish didn't come true. Reporters in Dallas and across the country elaborated on this new information and even interviewed Cowboy teammate Terrence Newman. But after listening to every side of every reporter, I began to believe that Jones did release T.O. because of his personality. However, I didn't get the real story until I heard the words from Jones himself. Why do reporters report information they know will stir up the audience, even if they know the information is stretched? Jones' interview posted on the Dallas Cowboy website plainly stated his reasoning behind Owens' release and should have been the key source for all ESPN reports. Jones let T.O. go not because of who he was off the field, but his lack of performance on the field this last season. As a Cowboy fan, I wish they went to the mouth of the source rather than the minds of the analysts. True fans deserve the truth, right?

USA Today spends two years, finds nothing conclusive. EPA to spend $2.5mil in factchecking.

USA Today's science fair project, whose lead is the best foreshadowing, begins with a cliche, slides into a noncommittal half truth and finishes with a self congratulatory pat on the back.

The EPA has promised to investigate air quality outside of 50 to 100 schools where pollution might pose significant health risks. Whether or not they will use charcoal badges, the main process used by USA Today in their testing, was not mentioned. Considering how one unrelated consultant asks that charcoal badge air testing be 'avoided like the plague' and a second a bit more clearly explains that they actually underestimate environmental pollutants, I doubt it.

But thats evidence for you. Or rather the journalistic appearance of evidence. USA Today's real kicker is their computer simulation which shows 435 schools where the air outside appeared more toxic than the air outside a closed Ohio school - a simulation so accurate that three states have already tested and found nothing. Nothing.

What were they supposed to find? 'Elevated levels of chemicals' such as those found via charcoal badges and pumps in a joint effort between USA Today and John Hopkins University. Should parents be afraid? The answer is a very definite maybe. After all, "no one knows for certain what's in the air". Not even the USA Today, whose champion of the hour was a sample of chromium. The paper thoughtfully failed to follow through on its investigation and tell us whether this chromium was the 'relatively harmless' variety or the hexavalent airborne AIDs version. Scientifically valid testing, though, is the job of the EPA. The EPA, according to USA Today, is at fault here - its regulators are not required to check for 'hundreds of the most dangerous chemicals' (Note: Yes they are.)

This little oversight on the EPA's part may be why they are checking 50 to 100 schools for 'elevated levels of chemicals'. That's around 1/7th of the 1st percentile of toxic schools. I can only imagine why the EPA would be so lazy. Maybe its because it's being prodded into action on account of a bunch of 'maybes'. USA Today's little 2-year-old science fair project has done nothing but been proven wrong by independent testing - something the paper admits in its story and then protests with all the puerile vindictiveness it can muster.

EPA Administrator Lisa Jackson's bewildered clay face speaks volumes. The EPA's hand is forced. $2.5 million will be sacrificed in the name of half-assed journalistic research. This $2.5 million dollar fact checking operation will cover only 1/7th of the most at risk schools.


If you want to check up on the old alma mater to see if you have cancer, feel free; I've already checked most of the area high schools. If you're frightened by loud noises, quick movements and your own shadow then you South Fort Myers and FMCS alumni may want to contact a doctor.