Journalism Grad Student
Archive for November, 2009
GlobalPost Dabbles in Mercenary Journalism
Nov 24th
NPR has an interesting story about the journalism model behind GlobalPost, a new foreign-news site geared toward an American audience.
It raises a lot of interesting questions, but the most intriguing aspect of GlobalPost is its paid journalism venture called Passport Custom Research. The Web site markets the service thusly: “a focused, timely, and cost-effective solution to your international business research needs. We deploy our global network of credentialed journalists to find authoritative answers to your urgent questions. The result is greater business certainty, at a speed and cost that beats the competition.”
From NPR:
Perhaps most daringly, GlobalPost charges private clients thousands of dollars to commission specific reports for their own reading. In one instance, the investment analysis firm Riedel Research wanted information on credit card use in China. David Riedel, a GlobalPost reader who is president of the company, said he recently signed up his firm to pay for 10 such reports next year.
That use of journalists’ energy might raise eyebrows among purists. Sennott and Balboni say they have created safeguards to protect the integrity of their reporters and their news outlets. First, they do not tell the reporters the identity of the client. Second, the pieces are intended to report, not advocate. Third, while clients have exclusive rights for several weeks, GlobalPost ultimately retains the right to publish any material it uncovers. And fourth, under the terms of the contract, it can always return the money and publish immediately if the news is hot enough.
Executives say they simply have to find new ways to pay for original reporting by driving up Web traffic and creating new streams of revenue.
“We think that kind of unbiased, fair, balanced, well-researched information has unique value,” says Sennott. “America needs more eyes on the world.”
And Sennott and his colleagues say they very much hope they have hit upon the way to pay for those eyes to stay focused on events in distant lands.
It’ll be interesting to see if this type of thing takes off. Personally, I don’t see anything inherently wrong with journalism commissioned by outside groups, as long as the safeguards described by Sennot are upheld. But it does raise some serious questions.
Does this type of thing fly in the face of the independence principle or is it possible to do commissioned journalism and still stay true to those core values?
Enrollment Surges at Maryland Community Colleges
Nov 24th
Despite a recession that has brought statewide funding cuts across the board, one sector of Maryland’s higher education system is booming.
According to a November 18 report by the Maryland Higher Education Commission, total fall enrollment in colleges throughout the state increased by 5.2 percent since 2008. The increase was driven largely by a spike in community college enrollment that made up more than two-thirds of the total growth.
The number of students enrolled at Maryland’s 16 community colleges jumped to 140,031, a 9.3 percent increase from last fall. By contrast, enrollment went up 3 percent at public four-year colleges and universities and 2 percent at private schools.
Community college officials throughout the state say the growth is the result of a combination of different factors, but the economic downturn is the main reason for the dramatic rise.
“The economic recession is causing people from a number of different directions to head for community colleges,” said Dr. Clay Whitlow, the executive director of the Maryland Association of Community Colleges.
Adults who have had their careers disrupted by the downturn are turning to community colleges for certifications and credentials that can help them find employment or change jobs. Many students just out of high school who may have planned on attending a traditional four-year school are opting to save money by spending their first two years at a community college and then transferring elsewhere to earn a bachelor’s degree.
Hope Davis, a spokeswoman for the Community College of Baltimore County, said that while the economy is certainly a big factor, some of her school’s 14.1 percent growth – the highest in the state – is a result of recruitment and marketing efforts that specifically highlight those transfer opportunities. Students are looking at a choice between paying $2,500 for their first two years at a community college and paying $25,000 for the first two years at a four-year college, said Davis.
Dr. Margaret Taibi, the dean of Student Development Services at Prince George’s Community College, says that it’s difficult to tell just how many students are choosing to go to community college because of the poor economy.
“I can’t give you a number on it,” said Taibi. “But I can tell you that it’s more than I’ve ever seen, and I’ve been here for 20 years.”
The recession has brought both feast and famine for community college administrators. Even as demand continues to rise, funds are becoming increasingly scarce.
Funding typically comes from three different sources, according to Whitlow. The state contributes 25 percent, the counties contribute roughly 33 percent, and the rest comes from student tuition and fees. As both state and county budgets become tighter and revenues dry up, community colleges are feeling the pain.
In August, Gov. Martin O’Malley cut approximately $10.5 million in community college funding from the state budget, a 5 percent reduction for fiscal 2010. Because enrollment is so high, many students are finding it difficult to sign up for the classes they want to take because the schools simply don’t have the capacity to keep up with the demand.
The community colleges were spared in the most recent round of state budget cuts announced last week. Whitlow says he hopes it’s a sign that the state government has recognized the impact that community colleges can have on the economy.
“We have to be willing to accept our fair share of the pain,” said Whitlow. “On the other hand, we also have to be supported, because so many students need our help right now. We’re an important part of the solution to getting people back to work.”
Scenes from the super bowl of freedom
Nov 13th
This post is a little late, but here are some pictures from Rep. Michele Bachmann’s “House Call” rally at the Capitol last week, which she dubbed “the super bowl of freedom.” The Minnesota Independent also has some quick videos I put together from the rally.
Baltimore Crumbling
Nov 4th
I took this picture during a trip into the Oliver neighborhood in Baltimore as part of my Urban Affairs Reporting class. There are whole blocks of houses like this, right next door to blocks where people are living. It’s just one part of what we’re exploring in our semester-long project in Baltimore. Watch for more on that soon…
Tweeting NY-23
Nov 4th
I became a full-blown twitter believer last night. Dave Weigel’s tweet about the NY-23 election results from inside the campaign headquarters of Conservative candidate Doug Hoffman told me the contest was probably over long before anybody was willing to call it for Owens.
Politico took notice today, in a piece titled “For election insight, Twitter beats cable.”
Political junkie Mike Murphy couldn’t get his fix while flipping through the cable networks Tuesday night.
“With a few exceptions,” Murphy told POLITICO, “like [James] Carville on CNN or [Karl] Rove on Fox, I didn’t see people who know anything about elections.”
But the Republican political consultant found another outlet to scratch the itch: Twitter. The social networking platform, Murphy said, “was a better place to watch the election.” And after a while, he decided to participate with non-stop Tweets of his own.
For hardcore lovers of politics, Twitter served up the real-time nuts and bolts of campaigns racing to the finish line. Top political reporters like NBC’s Chuck Todd tapped away for hours as results came in. Meanwhile, the Washington Independent’s Dave Weigel provided constant, on-the-ground dispatches from New York’s 23rd congressional district, with Twitpics inside Conservative Doug Hoffman headquarters as the tide changed toward the Democrats. With each precinct reporting, journalists and junkies offered quick takes, both amusing and analytical.
The cable networks broadcast the news, and had reporters like CNN’s John King, who went deep on each race on CNN’s Magic Wall. But they also featured a motley assortment of analysts and partisan guests who sometimes seemed to have little familiarity with the races in play and might have turned off anyone hungry for more sophisticated insight.
While the pundits on TV were droning about this and that, Weigel was tweeting pithy insight about the returns from specific districts that beat anything that could be found on cable.
In one of my journalism classes today, we had a discussion about Twitter and the ethical questions it raises. Do you tweet people’s offhand remarks? Should unflattering details observed by a reporter be tweeted or should they be kept secret?
I say tweet first, ask questions later.