Editor’s Note: This editorial was produced in association with New America Media, a national association of ethnic media, and was published by ethnic media across the country this week to bring attention to the urgency of immigration reform.
In an earlier blog, my ignorance was obvious. Why were those legislators primping and strutting as if they were immune to the disgrace mounting and mounting before them? The news media, I surmised, weren’t going after them savagely enough and should start treating them the way that news organizations treat perps when they perp walk.
So, I found a good explanation.
If so, check out Hannah Levine’s latest.
Meanwhile, I’m about to gag, though I do wonder how all those psychic mediums missed this one. I wonder if AC 360 plans to interview any.
[So, I'm emailing some for a response]
Mom called me around 9 a.m. September 11, 2001, to tell me that a plane had crashed into the World Trade Center.
“Turn on the television,” she said.
I wrote the original text for this post  (well below the picture) a few hours before I watched the Tuesday 10 p.m. and 11 p.m. news; I’m not sure what was specifically bothering me then regarding the news coverage, probably that it was inadequate. Now, I guess I would have liked to have seen reporters getting in the faces of politicians and asking serious questions or asking serious follow-up questions to the lame responses from the few pols who wanted their faces in the evening and late evening news.
Viewers have been getting the typical unchallenged, wishy-washy responses, i.e. sound bites, allowed by TV reporters in the field. Most sound bites are awful.
I think now, on reflection, I wanted to see reporters assailing the pols the way it is done with perp walks.
From New America Media Executive Director Sandy Close:
For the first time, New America Media is asking ethnic media across the country with whom we work to take a collective editorial stand on an issue that directly impacts the lives of millions of our audiences: Immigration reform.
I’m reading news coverage of the D.C. metro crash that happened yesterday. There are, of course, some clear distinctions in the reporting styles and manner of main NYC news organizations and the Washington Post.
I’ve been experimenting with a variety of strategies regarding media devices and so-called social networking media like blogging, youtube, facebook, myspace, UWIRE, twitter, Current TV, et. al., so that, one, my classroom instruction, and two, my professional interests/goals, can try to keep up with the burgeoning technological advances in communication, i.e., the dissemination of news and news-like information.
I’ve been doing this as D:F/M gurus seem committed to D:F/M being as far behind innovation and creativity as an academic department can be during these robust times. I also have been experimenting with new forms of news-narrative-storytelling, such as in my feature writing class for the last few semesters (though the course should be named in-depth reporting or something even more imaginative).
