Another slow news day so far. So slow, in fact, the instead of blogging about news, Greta Van Susteren simply asked commenters to post what their plans are for today.
However she did post an interesting blog called Journalism Swine Flu, which criticizes journalists for their treatment of Sarah Palin. Van Susteren says that she supports challenging Palin on issues, but making fun of her or attacking her personally without offering any real criticism is cowardly.
Van Susteren feels that more and more journalists are falling into the trap of the herd mentality, which she calls the "swine flu virus of journalists." As more journalists joke about Palin, their colleagues are blindly joining in and following the crowd without caring that what they're doing isn't true journalism. She adds that even if the journalists don't agree with Palin, they should focus on challenging and investigating her, rather than making inappropriate personal attacks.
I definitely agree with Van Susteren here. Journalists should stick to reporting the facts, and any irrelevant personal commentary should be left out. There is no need to attack Palin personally if you disagree with some of her views. Instead, journalists could simply explain why they disagree and possibly offer up some alternative viewpoints for consideration.
In other news, some of the most interesting Twitter reports have come from Rachel Nichols, who is covering today's Cincinnati-Pittsburgh NFL game for ESPN. Nichols has been down on the sideline for the whole game, talking to players and gathering injury reports. She reported on some of the trash talking going on between Bengals wide receiver Chad Ocho Cinco and Steelers wide receiver Hines Ward, and about the Bengals promising to "go ham" on the Steelers, which apparently means to "cause mayhem." It was fun to follow along with this while actually watching the game.
Showing posts with label Twitter friends. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Twitter friends. Show all posts
Sunday, November 15, 2009
Saturday, November 14, 2009
Saturday's Tweets
I'm assuming that most of the journalists that I'm following have the weekends off, because there wasn't a lot of tweeting today. There are only a couple tweets worth mentioning.
Greta Van Susteren did post an interesting idea on her blog. She suggested moving the upcoming trial of Khalid Sheikh Mohammed from New York to Guantanamo Bay. Apparently, the trial can be in any civilian federal court, so Guantanamo Bay would be an option. The problem with this would be juror selection, as transporting the jury members to Guantanamo could be a problem. If that wouldn't work, Van Susteren suggests using a less populated state, such as Montana, to avoid the organizational problems and potential terrorist threats that could result from having the trial in a large city like New York.
The second most interesting story is one that Phil Elliot was able to give a semi-eyewitness report on. Elliot first tweeted that there were 45 police cars, two satellite trucks, and a helicopter on his block in Columbia Heights (Washington D.C.). Shortly after that, he linked to an article provided by one of his followers which reports that a seven year old boy had been shot and killed. The neighboring streets had been shut down while police searched for the shooter.
Greta Van Susteren did post an interesting idea on her blog. She suggested moving the upcoming trial of Khalid Sheikh Mohammed from New York to Guantanamo Bay. Apparently, the trial can be in any civilian federal court, so Guantanamo Bay would be an option. The problem with this would be juror selection, as transporting the jury members to Guantanamo could be a problem. If that wouldn't work, Van Susteren suggests using a less populated state, such as Montana, to avoid the organizational problems and potential terrorist threats that could result from having the trial in a large city like New York.
The second most interesting story is one that Phil Elliot was able to give a semi-eyewitness report on. Elliot first tweeted that there were 45 police cars, two satellite trucks, and a helicopter on his block in Columbia Heights (Washington D.C.). Shortly after that, he linked to an article provided by one of his followers which reports that a seven year old boy had been shot and killed. The neighboring streets had been shut down while police searched for the shooter.
Friday's tweets
Yesterday proved to be a pretty interesting day, but today was a different story. I could only find a couple tweets worth sharing.
The first comes from a reporter not on my original list of 10 journalists, Amber Hunt from the Detroit Free Press. She linked to an article that she wrote, which describes a case in which a man was killed over a $10 baggie of marijuana. Brandon Ebel, 16, of Warren will face up to life in prison after being convicted of second degree murder in the death of 46 year old Michael McCarthy. McCarthy had stolen a bag of marijuana from Ebel, while he was at his father's home. Investigators said that the bag was worth no more $10, but that was enough of a loss for Ebel to lead him to recruit three friends and kill McCarthy. One of the friends agreed to plead guilty to a lesser charge and testify against Ebel. One other teen is awaiting trial, and the other is awaiting sentencing on a lesser charge.
I thought that it was amazing that someone would be willing to kill another human being over something this insignificant. I guess some people just have a lack of respect for human life, and are pretty clueless about the severity of the consequences of their actions.
Phil Elliot links to a story that is much more positive: Vice President Joe Biden serving food to the homeless in Washington D.C. Biden made an unannounced visit to the Father McKenna Center near the U.S. Capitol, where he helped serve fish sticks to the homeless men who had gathered there for lunch. Biden said that he also helps out at homeless shelters back in Delaware, and that doing so reminds him of how real the problem of homelessness is.
These are the kind of stories that cause me to regain a little faith in humankind, especially after reading Amber Hunt's story that I mentioned above. It's a nice reminder that there are still some good people out in the world who like to help out the less fortunate.
The first comes from a reporter not on my original list of 10 journalists, Amber Hunt from the Detroit Free Press. She linked to an article that she wrote, which describes a case in which a man was killed over a $10 baggie of marijuana. Brandon Ebel, 16, of Warren will face up to life in prison after being convicted of second degree murder in the death of 46 year old Michael McCarthy. McCarthy had stolen a bag of marijuana from Ebel, while he was at his father's home. Investigators said that the bag was worth no more $10, but that was enough of a loss for Ebel to lead him to recruit three friends and kill McCarthy. One of the friends agreed to plead guilty to a lesser charge and testify against Ebel. One other teen is awaiting trial, and the other is awaiting sentencing on a lesser charge.
I thought that it was amazing that someone would be willing to kill another human being over something this insignificant. I guess some people just have a lack of respect for human life, and are pretty clueless about the severity of the consequences of their actions.
Phil Elliot links to a story that is much more positive: Vice President Joe Biden serving food to the homeless in Washington D.C. Biden made an unannounced visit to the Father McKenna Center near the U.S. Capitol, where he helped serve fish sticks to the homeless men who had gathered there for lunch. Biden said that he also helps out at homeless shelters back in Delaware, and that doing so reminds him of how real the problem of homelessness is.
These are the kind of stories that cause me to regain a little faith in humankind, especially after reading Amber Hunt's story that I mentioned above. It's a nice reminder that there are still some good people out in the world who like to help out the less fortunate.
Thursday, November 12, 2009
Thursday's tweets
Lou Dobbs is still dominating the Twitter talk today, but a lot of the focus is on who will replace him. Phil Rosenthal was the first to comment today, linking to an article which announces John King as Dobbs' replacement. King will move from his Sunday morning show on CNN, "State of the Union," to Dobbs' time slot, weekdays at 6 p.m.
Phil Elliot links to another article which provides some insight into what type of program King will have. King plans to have a nonpartisan talk show that will welcome all points of view, which is exactly what CNN was looking for in a replacement for the controversial Dobbs.
Rachel Maddow posted a link to the stimulus tracker, which as she says, is a fun way to waste time. This site keeps track of how all the money from the stimulus package is being spent. They have data from every state, and from counties within the states. It was interesting to see how this money is being spent in Michigan, and Oakland County in particular.
Ciara O'Brien continued her video game obsession by posting four video game related articles, including one that updates yesterday's post about Microsoft banning modified Xbox consoles. She added two others on sales of the new game, Call of Duty 2: Modern Warfare both in the U.S. and the U.K. She added one more interesting article on how video games are being used to hopefully spark interest in history among video game fans.
Rachel Nichols tweeted about the day's biggest sports news: the firing of the New Orleans Hornets' head coach, Byron Scott. Scott was fired after the NBA team started the season with a 3-6 record. She added a second tweet mentioning that Scott had done a lot of work helping New Orleans recover from Hurricane Katrina, and that he would be missed.
Phil Elliot links to another article which provides some insight into what type of program King will have. King plans to have a nonpartisan talk show that will welcome all points of view, which is exactly what CNN was looking for in a replacement for the controversial Dobbs.
Rachel Maddow posted a link to the stimulus tracker, which as she says, is a fun way to waste time. This site keeps track of how all the money from the stimulus package is being spent. They have data from every state, and from counties within the states. It was interesting to see how this money is being spent in Michigan, and Oakland County in particular.
Ciara O'Brien continued her video game obsession by posting four video game related articles, including one that updates yesterday's post about Microsoft banning modified Xbox consoles. She added two others on sales of the new game, Call of Duty 2: Modern Warfare both in the U.S. and the U.K. She added one more interesting article on how video games are being used to hopefully spark interest in history among video game fans.
Rachel Nichols tweeted about the day's biggest sports news: the firing of the New Orleans Hornets' head coach, Byron Scott. Scott was fired after the NBA team started the season with a 3-6 record. She added a second tweet mentioning that Scott had done a lot of work helping New Orleans recover from Hurricane Katrina, and that he would be missed.
Wednesday, November 11, 2009
Wednesday's tweets
The one story that has been covered by more than one of the 10 journalists that I chose is the sudden resignation of CNN's Lou Dobbs. Robert MacMillan, Phil Elliot, and Phil Rosenthal all have commented on Dobbs, with Elliot and Rosenthal both referencing this New York Times article.
The article states that Dobbs is resigning immediately after nearly 30 years at CNN. Dobbs announced that Wednesday's show would be his last. Dobbs, whose recently expressed views on immigration have sparked controversy, apparently did not inform some of his staff members of his decision until today. His sudden departure has caused some people to wonder if he is leaving for another network. Dobbs said only that he is considering a number of options and directions, adding that he will let the people know when he decides what his course will be. Video here:
In other news, Jon Heyman has been tweeting all day about what's going on at the baseball general manager meetings. So far today, Heyman has made tweets about the Mariners signing Ken Griffey Jr., the Nationals naming Jim Riggleman as manager, and trade and free agency rumors. Also, Ciara O'Brien posted some interesting articles about Microsoft banning gamers from Xbox Live and plans to design a digital cloud that would float over London.
The article states that Dobbs is resigning immediately after nearly 30 years at CNN. Dobbs announced that Wednesday's show would be his last. Dobbs, whose recently expressed views on immigration have sparked controversy, apparently did not inform some of his staff members of his decision until today. His sudden departure has caused some people to wonder if he is leaving for another network. Dobbs said only that he is considering a number of options and directions, adding that he will let the people know when he decides what his course will be. Video here:
In other news, Jon Heyman has been tweeting all day about what's going on at the baseball general manager meetings. So far today, Heyman has made tweets about the Mariners signing Ken Griffey Jr., the Nationals naming Jim Riggleman as manager, and trade and free agency rumors. Also, Ciara O'Brien posted some interesting articles about Microsoft banning gamers from Xbox Live and plans to design a digital cloud that would float over London.
Twitter friends project
My selection of 10 journalists:
Jon Heyman (Sports Illustrated)
http://twitter.com/SI_JonHeyman
Phil Elliot (Associated Press)
http://twitter.com/PElliottAP
Robert MacMillan (Reuters)
http://twitter.com/bobbymacReuters
Ben Wedeman (CNN)
http://twitter.com/bencnn
Phil Rosenthal (Chicago Tribune)
http://twitter.com/phil_rosenthal
Rachel Nichols (ESPN)
http://twitter.com/Rachel__Nichols
Ciara O'Brien (Irish Times)
http://twitter.com/ciaraobrien
Greta Van Susteren (Fox News)
http://twitter.com/gretawire
Rachel Maddow (MSNBC)
http://twitter.com/maddow
Justin Hyde (Detroit Free Press)
http://twitter.com/justin_hyde
This is my account:
http://twitter.com/jt2387
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