Native ads aren’t as clear as outlets think
This article addresses something that I think is very relevant in today’s society and that is branding things so people think they are consuming one thing, while in reality it is something published with different intents and often times the consumer is unaware. While I think this is a problem, we all know corporations are out for one thing, and that is economic success, and many achieve conveying there products through native ads. I think that while it is a very widespread issue that creates problems it is hard to monitor because it is just out there in so many forms and is often times hard to even differentiate from other types of ads. I think the most important quote from this article is as follows: “The gravest threat is to the media themselves,” said Bob Garfield, co-host of On The Media and a MediaPost columnist. “With every transaction, publishers are mining and exporting that rarest of rare resources: trust. Those deals (with advertisers) will not save the media industry. They will, in a matter of years, destroy the media industry, one boatload of shit at a time.”
Editorial Guidelines
I think that these guidelines seem pretty common sense but it is a good thing to document for future reference. I think that its interesting that there are these guidelines and how some companies can follow them yet still create ads that are often able to be confused for editorial items. I oftentimes encounter ads that work to look like editorial items in magazines like Cosmopolitan and find myself starting to read them until I come across the line that states its an advertisement. Below is the link with the full list of guidelines for future reference. http://www.magazine.org/asme/editorial-guidelines
Yet again, ABC has disclosure problems
While it is seen unethical is the journalism world to pay subjects of stories and interviews, I don’t see how people are surprised by the act. In todays society money talks and in most cases is the only way to get people to talk. We often hear of media paying celebrities for photos of their wedding or newborn baby, so what’s different in paying subjects for personal photos? While I do agree that it may have been proper for the payment information to be disclosed to the public I wonder and question if it would have changed anything? I don’t believe that the output, or input of information would have changed greatly and I don’t think that it is that big of a deal. Im interested to hear others opinions on this topic and what others think the issue with the payment may be?
Cooperating with the Government
I think this case study posed an interesting argument on when cooperating with government is needed and who is responsible for the majority of the cooperation. In the prison standoff mentioned in the article I don’t think that the government was asking anything unreasonable by urging media not to publish names in hopes of protecting all parties as one of the major codes of ethics is to minimize harm. I think that in other scenarios that cooperation can be a bit more cloudy because someone will know something and leak some information and people will want to know more. I think as long as the request is reasonable than it should be respected to the extent that it will do more good than harm to not disclose all information immediately. I also think in regards to people creating rumors around lacking evidence is something that will inevitably happen and media can avoid this by disclosing enough information that the story line is clear without producing harm.
Michigan Needs a New Voice: Challenging Censorship in the Wolverine State
This article goes along with a case that we discussed earlier in class, therefore a lot of the background information on this issue was previously discussed in the RN. I think the act that is being discussed in Michigan is of grave importance as I agree with the author that the majority of schools administrations does look down upon on the importance of journalism in schools. I think the common sense approach is honestly common sense, but in both public schools and universities common sense is a thing often forgotten. In regards to the particular article mentioned about the hookah pen article, it provided no harm to anyone and actually addressed a legitimate concern. Personally, having many experiences in high school where my speech was limited in both yearbook, and broadcasting I see how it is a rising issue, and how even the faculty that advises these groups suffer from the reach of the faculty too. I think that if this act passed it would be a reassuring action for all young journalists, and I would hope other states would follow.
Terrorists Strike Charlie Hebdo Newspaper in Paris, Leaving 12 Dead
I think that this article is just another example of extremists in our world today that threaten the safety of all in their surroundings. Im not sure if there are more crazies now than in the past or if they are just covered more in the media today than in the past? Regardless, it is quite frightening that we live in a world with people like this. I think what these two Paris born Muslims was unthinkable, even if Hebdo offended them. I mean come on, Hebdo offends everyone at some point.
Political Polling’s Unfavorables Are on the Rise
This article made me more aware of the corruption and how politicians use polling to advance there cause. honestly, prior to this article I kind of just took polling as an honest representation of peoples opinions and never thought how it could be used to alter opinion. I also found it interesting how such a big operation, like Gallup, found their own practices so corrupt and came clean about them. I cant believe that they were noble enough to withdraw themselves from reporting on the presidential race in fear of credibility.
http://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2015/10/gallup-poll-2016-presidential-primary-fivethirtyeight/409531/
Horse Race Coverage & the Political Spectacle
This article was quite lengthy and addressed many of the ideas mentioned in the above piece. Due to its length I will post the link for future reference also. I think that horse racr journalism has come to be the only way to report on politics today because everyone wants to strike it big with there story I think that the most important idea in the entirety of this piece was as follows:
63% of the campaign stories focused on political and tactical aspects compared to just 17% that focused on the personal backgrounds of the candidates, 15% that focused on the candidates’ ideas and policy proposals and just 1% of stories that examined the candidates’ records or past public performance.
http://bigthink.com/age-of-engagement/horse-race-coverage-the-political-spectacle
I enjoyed this class discussion a lot since it dealt with an issue that we see everyday now since the presidential campaigns are in full swing even though we don’t vote for an entire year. The hot topic presentation about horse race journalism and how different media outlets portray election results and public opinion was interesting because it even brought light on things we are being told today and helped open my eyes further to even the fact that we cant even believe things about the election because everyone has some sort of motive.