All the President's Men

Since we spent most of three class periods watching the film, this blog will be worth 90 points.

Be sure to address everything. Each part is worth 10 points. One sentence will not give you full credit. Be thorough — like Woodstein!

Your thoughtful, well-written discussion is due by 11 a.m. Wednesday, March 29.

Part 1 — What did you learn about newspapers and journalism from watching the film?

Part 2 — What did you learn about how reporters do their jobs? What surprised you?

Part 3 — What is your impression of Woodward and Bernstein? Include a discussion of their tactics/methods.

Part 4 — What is your impression of Ben Bradlee? What was his importance to this story?

Part 5 — How have methods of journalism changed since Watergate?

Part 6 — Was the Washington Post right to pursue the story the way it did? Why or why not? How did ethics come into play?

Part 7 — What effect have Woodward and Bernstein had on journalism and society?

Part 8 — What has been the effect of the Watergate story on society?

Part 9 — Do you see parallels between Watergate and what's going on in Washington today? Explain why or why not.

Evaluating news sources — Due Monday, March 13

Using the Evaluating News Sources handout from class, choose five media outlets from across the political spectrum — one or two from the left/liberal side, one or two mainstream and one or two from the right/conservative side.

You are already reading The New York Times for two weeks, so that can be one of your five.

Compare/contrast the coverage of one day's news across the five outlets. How is the news alike? How is it different? Were some items left out? Why? Can you tell where the media outlet lines up (liberal, conservative, neutral)? How and why?

Do this for two days, so you'll have 10 total observations. Post those here, and in conclusion, tell me whether you think the chart is accurate.

Due by 11 a.m. Monday, March 13.

The New York Times — Due Wednesday, March 15

Read The New York Times for the next two weeks. Copies are available all over campus. You don't have to read every word of every page, but I want you to look through every section, keep up with the news and read further into the stories that interest you.

Report back by Wednesday, March 15.

• — What do you like about the NYT?

• — What do you not like about the paper?

• — What can a good newspaper do that social media or television news cannot?

• — How do you compare the NYT to your news app that you used for the earlier assignment? What pros and cons are there to each?

• — Would you recommend the NYT to others? Why or why not?

50 points due by 11 a.m. Wednesday, March 15.

Chapter 4 outline: Newspapers

Chapter 4
Newspapers

n  Journalism in the Making

Ø  Wrestling with commercial
interests & political powers

Ø  Evolution of free press

Ø  Battling censorship
and commercialism

Ø  Social responsibility & ethics

n  Newspapers Emerge

Ø  Corantos, early newsletters

Ø  John Milton: ‘Marketplace of ideas’

Ø  1690: 1st colonial newspaper

Ø  American publishers criticize British rule; Zenger case (1733) – Libel defined

Ø  First Amendment

n  Diversity in the Press

Ø  Newspapers reflected diverse political views

Ø  Native American press:
Cherokee Phoenix

Ø  African American press:
Freedom’s Journal,
North Star (Frederick Douglas)

n  The Penny Press

Ø  1800s: better printers

Ø  Growing literacy

Ø  New York Sun: 1st low-cost daily mass newspaper

Ø  Attracted advertisers

Ø  More content; less partisan

Ø  Rise of telegraph & AP

n  Following the Frontier

Ø  Newspapers expanded westward

Ø  Coverage of Civil War (1861-1865)

Ø  Then, ‘New journalism’

n  Lively, sensational;
crusading against corruption

n  First newspaper photos

n   

n  Yellow Journalism

Ø  Late 1800s; rivalry between publishers Pulitzer & Hearst

n  Nellie Bly’s exposés

Ø  Hearst’s Journal  pushed U.S. into war vs. Spain?

Ø  Importance of advertising

Ø  Decline in journalists’ ethics

n  Responsible Journalism

Ø  Journalism grew as respectable profession

n  By-lines

Ø  Focus on social conditions

Ø  New York Times resisted sensationalism, stressed objectivity

Ø  Muckraking exposés and the Progressive era

n  Newspapers Reach Peak

Ø  Peaked as a mass medium between 1890 and 1920

Ø  2,000 U.S. dailies in 1900

Ø  562 American cities had competing dailies in 1900

Ø  Merges & chains cut numbers

Ø  Hurt papers’ quality, diversity

n  Professional Journalism

Ø  Rise of journalism schools

Ø  World War I and II

n  Censorship

Ø  Competition from radio, TV

Ø  Fewer than 30 cities
with two newspapers

Ø  Rise in community papers

n  The Watchdogs

Ø  Journalists keeping an eye on government mistakes

Ø  Cuban Missile Crisis, civil rights, Vietnam War (Pentagon Papers)

Ø  Watergate coverage led
to Nixon’s resignation

n  In the Information Age

Ø  Newspapers surviving despite economic downturn

n  Print and digital audiences are growing

n  Revenues & circulation upswing

n  Less profits than in the past

n  In the Information Age

Ø  Facing challenges

n  Ad competitors (Craig’s List)

n  Free news online (Google, blogs, Facebook)

n  Charging fees for online reading? (NYTimes)

n  Citizen journalists

n  Technology Trends

Ø  Newsgathering, CAR

Ø  Convergence

Ø  Production, printing

Ø  Online & mobile newspapers

n  Customized papers; ‘Daily Me’

n  Kindle and cell phones

n  Twitter and blogs

n  The News Landscape

Ø  Mass audiences still exist for traditional sources

Ø  Wall St. Journal and USA today

Ø  Some papers online only

Ø  Joint operating agreements

Ø  Suburban, alternative papers

Ø  News services, syndicators

n  Turning the Pages

Ø  Newspaper sections

n  International, national, local

n  Editorial and commentary

n  Sports, business, lifestyles, entertainment, comics

n  Classified advertising

Ø  Trend: less ‘hard’ news

n  News Websites, Citizen News & E-Newspapers

Ø  Mobile device usage

Ø  Newspaper websites attract 110 million visitors a month

Ø  Preference for leisurely consumption

Ø  E-readers increasing news distribution

n  Chain Ownership

Ø  Vertical integration

Ø  Local market monopolies

Ø  Buyouts, break-ups,
acquisitions, bankruptcies

Ø  Conglomerates

Ø  Citizen news, local websites

n  Are contributors journalists?

n  Media Literacy

Ø  Monopoly paper may reflect single editorial perspective

Ø  Gov’t. has relaxed ownership restrictions

Ø  Cross-ownership now OK

Ø  Joint operating agreements
may preserve newspapers

n  Freedom of Speech

Ø  Newspapers more protected
than radio or TV in U.S.

n  Can take unpopular stands

Ø  Other countries: Journalists
censored, fired, even killed

n  1,000 killed in past 10 years

n  Murder of Daniel Pearl

n  Ethics

Ø  Accuracy, objectivity

Ø  Report without favoritism

Ø  Ethics linked to credibility

Ø  Newspapers correct errors

Ø  Some reporters plagiarize
or fabricate information

Ø  Anonymous sources

n  Right to Know vs. Privacy

Ø  Treatment of public figures

n  Report private behavior?

Ø  Libel: false and defamatory

n  Private citizens protected

Ø  Tabloid journalism

n  Sensational coverage

n  Pay sources for information

n  Being a Good Watchdog

Ø  With newsroom layoffs, less investigative reporting

Ø  Blogs’ watchdog role

Ø  How to define news

Ø  Editors as gatekeepers: helping people make sense of the ‘information glut’

Writing Assignment No. 1 — Compare two issues of the Arkansas Gazette

200 points, due by 11 a.m. Wednesday, April 5 — NO EXCEPTIONS!!!!!

500 words (minimum), typed, double-spaced, turned in in class.

You must staple to your paper copies of the microfilm illustrating the issues you address.

Before you decide which issues you would like to compare, read some background here:

http://www.encyclopediaofarkansas.net/encyclopedia/entry-detail.aspx?entryID=2344



Here is the assignment:

Compare two issues of the Arkansas Gazette. The first should come from a date between 1819-Oct. 29, 1986 (family ownership); the other should come from the Gannett era (Oct. 30, 1986-Oct. 18, 1991, the final day of the Gazette).

In your paper, compare both the newspaper (media) as well as society. You might look for color, size of type, size of columns, ad content and display, word choice, subject matter, size of headlines, separation of sections, etc. Don't just look at the front page; look all the way through and include your observations. For example, is there a separate editorial section? Are there letters to the editor? If so, how many? What are some subjects addressed? How much sports coverage is there? Is there a separate business section? Is there much international news? Etc.

Do you see evidence of family vs. corporate ownership?
You should have an introductory paragraph and then three paragraphs addressing a different topic of comparison. Your concluding paragraph should sum up what you found and also include your personal observations. What do you like about the editions? What do you dislike? What can today's media learn from these two editions?

Come see me if you have any questions.