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Rock music: The Broadway show

David Herrera — Tue, 06 Apr 2010 23:45:33 +0000

On impulse I registered for an NPR account to comment on a Monitor Mix blog post asking: What albums would you turn into a Broadway show? I volunteered “OK Computer,” Godspeed You! Black Emperor’s “Lift Your Skinny Fists…”, and Elbow. What would you suggest?

Getting Web design critiques

David Herrera — Thu, 01 Apr 2010 23:30:09 +0000

You may have noticed below that I’m looking for feedback on this site’s redesign. I still am, but it’s great to know that there’s a community of designers out there who are willing to offer critiques, too. All you have to do in return is look at some of their sites. Web Designer Depot rounds up some of the options.

Sometimes I think the Huffington Post stretches things

David Herrera — Thu, 25 Mar 2010 01:26:25 +0000

Screenshot below from their home page this evening:

I thought that was precisely their job description, but I guess it could also mean SCREAMING HEADLINE.

(Here’s the story in question, with the more moderate headline “Supreme Court Justices Breyer And Scalia Explain Their Opposing Views.”)

Robert McChesney on press subsidies

David Herrera — Wed, 17 Mar 2010 03:28:10 +0000

I have lots of respect for Robert McChesney (see his “Labor and the Marketplace of Ideas: WCFL and the Battle for Labor Radio Broadcasting, 1927-1934”) but his recent interview on PBS’s NOW is almost embarrassing. He’s on the show to argue in support of increased subsidies for the press — which isn’t a terrible argument in itself, but surely it can be made without chanting, ad nauseum, “the Founding Fathers!”, “the Founding Fathers!”

Note also the irony in the message at the bottom of the video window: “Did you know? Viewers like you are our largest single source of support.”

(Thanks to Bob Moser for the link.)

Washington Post: Speak only when spoken to

David Herrera — Fri, 29 Jan 2010 01:53:12 +0000

We discussed some institutional legacies of journalism in one of my classes today, such as the idea that the newspaper or the broadcast anchor holds authority over what’s important in the world; the idea, as Walter Cronkite might have put it, that mainstream media control “the way it is.”

Wouldn’t you know it? That view reared its head in the Washington Post:

“I don’t think it’s appropriate for a reporter in our newsroom to be challenging the views, or challenging the integrity, of our editorial board”

speaketh Liz Spayd, the Post’s managing editor.

A reporter challenging authority? Perish the thought!

Supervertical?

David Herrera — Wed, 20 Jan 2010 14:40:17 +0000

From a recent story on paidContent:

PBS has confirmed its plans to create a stand-alone news website in partnership with its local New York affiliate, WNET. … The company describes the site as a “supervertical” that will allow PBS to aggregate all of its news and public affairs content along with content from other partners.

Can anybody explain the “supervertical” concept? Please do so in the comments.

All of the possible definitions I know for “vertical” lead me, I suspect, in the wrong direction: That the site will aggregate reports from its CEOs down to the janitors, for example, or that its home page will take a very long time to scroll down.

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Incoming!

David Herrera — Fri, 04 Dec 2009 05:24:00 +0000

The New York Times reports that the CIA plans to increase its use of pilotless drones over Pakistan.

I’ve found fascinating the ongoing use of these drones. If you’d like to learn more, I suggest starting with Jane Mayer’s recent New Yorker article, or Wired for War, by P.W. Singer (who’s quoted in the CIA and New Yorker articles).

Journalism: worth philosophy’s time?

David Herrera — Fri, 27 Nov 2009 04:01:43 +0000

Should people study the philosophy of journalism? Take it away, Brian Leiter:

As to why “philosophy of journalism” is not a major topic of philosophical study, I would have thought the answer obvious: it’s not a central or substantial intellectual or cultural practice, unlike science, art, or law.

John Merrill or Clifford Christians et al. might disagree. But, I dunno. What do you say, journalists? Can you defend your profession?

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