BARBS

Here are a few things I am wondering about after the news events of this week:

1. If (when?) most (all?) journalists are soon to be come independent “backpack” practitioners — you’ve got all the tools, you’re on your own, good luck! — who will rescue those who, either through youth, inexperience, stupidity, or sheer bad luck, find themselves under arrest and in big trouble? What if, say, they not only don’t work for an actual organization with actual resources and support systems; but also don’t happen to work for a guy who happens to know the former President of the United States? What then? Say what you will about (mostly) corporate-owned “old media” companies (I know I certainly do); they do have systems in place for preventing what happened to Euna Lee and Laura Ling, and when it does happen, they have a bunch of back channels for protecting their people and getting them home safely (yes, I know there are exceptions; see, e.g., Daniel Pearl).

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I’ve been finding lots of good stuff out there as I spin around the Googles.

On why it’s premature to give up on journalism education: here’s a Q&A with CUNY’s J-School Dean Steve Shepard, who’s really talking the “new media” talk these days. Then there’s this good analysis from my former college classmate Will Bunch, who now runs the Attytood blog, in an OJR piece entitled “Don’t Dismiss Journalism Schools Just Because Newspapers Are In Trouble”:

“You can look at it two ways,” Bunch says. “The core values of journalism aren’t really changing. You have to understand what makes a good story, how to report it, and how to report fairly and with integrity. It was the exact same with Joseph Pulitzer’s newspaper 150 years ago or with newfangled websites. That hasn’t changed.”

“What is radically different are important secondary things that schools have to account for. Journalists today need to understand that news is now a two way conversation between you and the audience. Don’t talk down to the audience. Audience members are active participants—they comment on stories, participate as sources, and provide information and tips. Schools can maintain their core values and work on that.”

“Schools also need to teach that journalists need to think as entrepreneurs. You don’t just write a story; you have to find an audience for it. That’s been ignored by many journalists, and it’s critical today.”

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Well, I never did get the audio I promised in my post from earlier this week (truth is, I forgot to dog my editor), but here’s what I filed today for Sirius OutQ News. The anchor lead-in, which you won’t hear on this cut, says:

LGBT legal groups are very worried about a new federal lawsuit filed in California challenging Proposition 8 as a violation of the U.S. Constitution. National legal correspondent Barbara Raab has the story.

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It has been a busy and historic day on the legal front on both coasts.

This morning, President Obama made his first nomination to the U.S. Supreme Court. I was asked to do a short voicer for SiriusXM OutQ Radio News. I will post the MP3 if/when I get it, but here’s the text of what I filed:

The early reaction by lesbian and gay groups to the nomination of federal appeals court Judge Sonia Sotomayor has been positive … but also cautious, and short on detail about what her views have been on LGBT-related issues or in specific cases.

The Human Rights Campaign issued a statement saying, “We are confident that Judge Sotomayor has a demonstrated understanding and commitment to protecting the liberty and equality of all Americans.”

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Here’s the text and audio of a short news report I filed on Friday for Sirius OutQ Radio News:

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My friend Matt Coles is the Director of the ACLU’s LGBT Rights Project and he just sent out an excellent analysis of what he sees as the legal and political landscape for same-sex marriage after the high court ruling in Iowa and the legislative action in Vermont.

He explains that, contrary to the anti-marriage crowd’s nightmare scenario, “Iowa and Vermont will not be the start of same-sex marriage all over the country”:

Some week.  The Vermont legislature voted to let same-sex couples marry, and the Iowa Supreme Court decided that it is unconstitutional not to let same-sex couples marry.  Together, these two events are a much needed shot in the arm for marriage.

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This weekend’s challenge was to cover a news event using the Marantz 660 audio recorder, and choose three snippets of sound to help tell the story.

The event was a rally on Saturday afternoon at Sheridan Square to protest what organizers call “an overzealous and illegal effort to close down adult video stores in Manhattan.”

The new York Police Department has been found to be engaging in the false arrests of gay male patrons of these stores, charging them with prostitution. The cops then cite the establishments for condoning illegal activity and the City sues to shut them down as public nuisances.

–Coalition to Stop the Arrests!

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