A Must-Read -- But I Didn't Write It

I normally try to come up with original material, but this post from the Editor's Log is just too brilliant. I sadly cannot link directly to the post, but it's easy to find.

Just go here and look for the post from February 25 entitled "Editor to journalist: Find something else to do."

Think you want to go into journalism? You need to read this post.

That's Amore

Tonight I spent three hours watching The Fellowship of the Ring -- with two couples. Two very, er, affectionate couples, at that. There was one other single person there (I actually do have a lovely girlfriend, Megan, but I was on my own tonight).

Having a sixth-wheel there didn't help all that much. I did my fair share of squirming as the lovebirds cuddled, whispered, and giggled.

Oh well. That's amore.

Objectivity

I came across an interesting post the other day while reading John Robinson's blog. An unhappy reader had expressed disappointment with the Greensboro News and Record's "biased" sports coverage.

 Said the reader:

"I am so sick and tired of the Greensboro Daily News' obvious bias when it comes to your so-called sports coverage. Whatever happened to objective reporting? And not just in the stories but in the placement of stories. Any journalism 101 class teaches that a newspaper should be fair to both sides."

This argument for objectivity is invalid because it assumes that objectivity and fairness mean the same thing. But they don't.

 If you are objective, it means that you are not influenced by personal feelings or opinions. No one is objective because it's impossible to be. No matter how hard you try, you will always bring your own unique worldview -- a professor of mine calls it "luggage" -- to your writing.

So all a journalist can do is try to be fair. To be fair is to treat both sides the same, despite your inner bias. It doesn't mean you try to deny the fact that your biases exist, only that you suppress them for the sake of integrity.

Bias is a fact of life. Objectivity is a myth. The day journalism 101 classes teach students to be objective is the day they teach them not to be human.

Global Warming

Where I am, it's currently 9 degrees outside. Add wind chill and it feels like 1 degree. An hour and a half north, school is cancelled because little kids would get frostbite halfway through recess. Darned global warming.

Music Spotlight: Wilco

A little jazz. A little folk. A little acid-rock. Chicago-based rockers Wilco have been bending genres since the release of their debut record "A.M." in 1995.  The sextet's latest effort, "Sky Blue Sky," boasts a refreshing tracklist -- from the haunting "Impossible Germany" to the breezy title track to the bluesy "Hate It Here." Frontman Jeff Tweedy is a great vocalist and a gifted songsmith with a knack for out-there rythms and impossibly catchy melodies. Wilco does have a penchant for extended jams, and some may consider this self-indulgent -- yet fans of the Grateful Dead and Phish will appreciate the quick, melodic guitar solos that comprise the jams. Listeners with greater-than-average attention spans should check out the Grammy-nominated* "Sky Blue Sky." 

Learn more about Wilco at wilcoworld.net

*Best Rock Album

Journalism #1

I became addicted to blogs in mid-January. Since then, I've asked four or five other journalism students if they read blogs or have their own. None of them do. I've heard that a journalist should write daily to nurture creativity, and it makes sense.

Still, many student journalists limit their writing to the campus newspaper. These are the students who are content to learn their trade without really doing it. Theory is fine, but it means nothing apart from application.

Of course, application is impossible without inspiration. A writer needs something to write about. But stories don't just fall out of the sky -- that's why I'm such a big fan of blogs. There are so many blogs out there, each with a unique spin on things. I often publish my own post in reaction to something  I read in another blog. The blogosphere is such a great resource, every journalist should take advantage of it.

Journalists, consider this post an admonition.

White Noise

There was a time when people actually listened to music. In those days, listening to the radio was an activity. We've all seen black and white photographs of familes gathered around the console radio, listening to Tommy Dorsey or Duke Ellington or Benny Goodman. Music was special, a privilege, and people treated it as such by giving it their complete attention.

Those days are long past. Music is no longer an activity, but rather a suplement to our other activities. We "listen" to music while we eat. Or while we study. They now make iPod armbands so we can "listen" to music in the gym, and waterproof radios so we can "listen" to music in the shower. We might "listen" to music because it helps us concentrate. We might "listen" to music just because we can't stand silence. The fact is that nowadays we "listen" to music for practically every reason except for the sake of listening itself.

The post-modern craving for efficiency is clearly the source of this trend. We want to do lots of things at once, so we get our music to go, and we don't want to be distracted by annoyances such as other people, so we block them out with earphones. We apparently want a greater quantity of life. Well that's obviously impossible, as everyone gets the same twenty-four hours in a day. But we still try to get more out of life, and in doing so sacrifice the quality of our life. For example, you could cook a microwave dinner and have it in two minutes - very efficient - but you would be left with a mediocre dinner. The same principle applies to music. The more efficient we make our "listening" - by combining it with other activities and so on - the less we will enjoy it. 

Music has much to offer, but not if we limit our "listening" to the gym and the shower. Perhaps post-modern listeners will learn to prefer quality over quantity, enjoyment over efficiency, and - as in the good old days - make listening an activity.

Numbers Game

8,000,000:

Copies sold of Hey Jude, the Beatles all-time bestselling single.

9:

Weeks spent by Hey Jude as the number one single on Billboard's Top 100.

6:

Days taken for Hey Jude to become a certified gold record.

5:

Countries in which Hey Jude achieved number one status.