So you want to be a published journalist? Assignment Zero takes the field of journalism and opens it up to all budding writers. By posting an ‘assignment’, the editor of Assignment Zero gives multiple individuals the ability to post reports on the topics. Multiple reports on a topic will make all interpretations represented.

The question this raises for the media major is, how will this effect the profession in the future. Is this a fad or the future?

For more information, see the New York Times article ‘All the World’s a Story’

While Wikipedia has always been a lighting rod for criticism, the latest Media coverage concerning the website has left its staff and supporters in crisis.

First, Middlebury College’s History Department banned the use of the site in papers and exams. This after a serious factual error was quoted by numerous students on an exam–their communal source was Wikipedia (Read the Middlebury College weblink concerning this issue) .

Now the latest scandel to rock the website is the fact that a ‘Professor of Theology’ who published thousands of entries on the site is in fact a college dropout. This has led Wikipedia to change its policy and philosophy concerning authors (Read the CNN report on this issue).

So what is the moral in all this? Well, although I personally love Wikipedia for it overall high quality, I would NEVER consider it for serious research. Trivia—yes, Scholarship–no.

Finally, the bias of Wikipedia has been questioned by users who feel there is a liberal slant. To counter this Conservapedia has been created to represent the Conservative point of view.

The yearly contest for ‘Person of the Year’ at Time Magazine has take a strange turn this year. The December 25, 2006 issue has named ‘You’, the computer user, for this honor. Acknowledging that we have not only embraced the Information Age, but are changing the Revolution and also every aspect of Society. The issue of ‘Digital Democracy’ is discussed with an amazing group of individuals profiled. Also articles on Web 2.0, the digital camera’s force on the Web and YouTube make this issue a must read for all interested in the Media issues of today.

• Time’s Person of the Year: You

• Power to the People

• The Beast with a Billion Eyes

• It’s All About Us

• The Gurus of YouTube

By now you should be aware that the book and television contracts for the O. J. Simpson “If I Did It” has been cancelled by Rupert Murdoch after the media firestorm of the last two weeks.

Check out the November 27, 2006 Newsweek (pp. 38-41) article “How Low Can You Go?” to view the passions that have again resurfaced concerning this case. Also carefully check out the prose of the article. Remember our discussion on bias, and levels of bias? Observe how the reporters blast the reader with their opinions. This article is only available in paper at this time so ask for the issue at the Cohen Reserve Desk.
Below are the latest articles on www.newsweek.com on this ongoing controversy.

NEWSWEEK

• Families Press for Details on O.J. Deal • Fox Cancels O. J. Deal • Judith Regan: Why I Gave O. J. a Book Deal • Does O. J. Confess in New Book? • Gallery: Revisiting the Murders

Thoughts to ponder:

Who dropped the ball in gauging public and media reaction to this issue?

Consider the millions of dollars involved, what finally changed the situation for Murdoch?

What influence did Bill O’Reilly, Geraldo Rivera and Larry King coverage have in altering Murdoch’s decision?
Finally should public outcry kill a story?

The television series Lost and its revolutionary use of the latest media formats is discussed in this week’s Time (October 2, 2006). “Why the Future of Television is Lost” explores the use of the Internet, ipods, Tivo and DVDs to enhance the viewer’s experience. Author James Poniewozik also explore the economic benefits to the networks in committing to this new type of entertainment.

Like Chicken Little’s claims, the end is being predicted–this time for the newspaper. Since the dawn of television many Media experts have predicticted the demise of the daily newspaper. In Michael Kinsley’s article “Do Newspapers Have a Future?” in the October 2, 2006 edition of Time once again the issue is discussed, this time with some interesting potential business models.

This last week has seen a series of interesting article of the website MySpace. I have included links to the articles, however you might need to go via the CCNY proxy.
First, check out the September 16, 2006 New York Times article concerning the people behind My Space. The article covers a controversial report that alleges that the founders of the website came from companies involved with three evils of the web: spam, spyware and adware.

What’s Online: The Story Behind MySpace

U.S. News & World Reports’ Cover Story for September 18, 2006 was a series of articles: “What Parents Need to Know About MySpace.” Besides the usual panic button approach, there are also some facinating insight concerning the culture of MySpace. If you get a paper edition of the magazine, be sure to check out ‘Profiles Encouraged,’ which deconstructs a MySpace page for the nonuser. Four of the articles are linked below:

How To Invade Their Space

Decoding MySpace

Click Notes

Make It Predator-Proof

****A special thanks to our CCNY Library Intern Kathleen for her assistance with HTML coding.****