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.