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The Bulletin -- Oct. 29, 2008 (#965) Program: Wallace Westfeldt on TV Campaign Coverage To understand what is happening in television or print, one has to understand the environment. Advancements in technology have changed the way we get news.
At the center of this technological shift is the Internet. That said, before booting up the Internet where up-to-the-minute world news is at our fingertips, Westfeldt still wakes in the morning preferring the newspaper. “We all want to read about our local happenings first,” said Westfeldt. A Career in Journalism: Mr. Westfeldt commented on the shift in journalism careers. He spoke about the old ways. “We learned how to write a declarative sentence, drop all adjectives from the writing and do it quickly,” Westfeldt said. Some of the “news”, he said, is shockingly subjective and clearly unedited. In his view, there is nothing more important in the career of a good journalist than having a good editor. Bloggers and TV: Mainstream media generally produces fair quality reporters and sends them out to capture the news. Westfeldt acknowledged the growing blog movement—a phenomenon about which he said, “Bloggers are like mosquitoes. They’re all over the place.” Though they write without filters or editors, Westfeldt said, bloggers are often very helpful in representing a full story. And, bloggers have their place in campaign elections. Who else but the late night politically-minded bloggers could have found Sarah Palin and blogged her straight to the White House? Westfeldt has little qualm with these so called citizen journalists—he only wishes they would be edited. Accountability in Journalism: Who is accountable for the mainstream work? Westfeldt said itt is a difficult question to answer, but accountability usually falls on publishers and editors. Reporters, such as Katie Couric and Brian Williams, also have a role. Westfeldt noted that both Couric and Williams’ interviews with Governor Palin lacked basic follow up questions, which are the foundation of all quality journalism. The same issue turned the election’s debates into “fluffy talks.” Neither party wants their candidate in an unpredictable format where public scrutiny could harm their image. The scripted questions and responses leave much to be desired. Westfeldt referred to other European countries in which a team approach is used in debates. This format allows information to be covered by those best able to accurately speak on a given topic. America may be better served if this was integrated into our own political debates. Television Has Its Place: The past two months have seen a wonderful crossover as Saturday Night Live makes parodies of leading politicians. Undeniably, Westfeldt said, these entertainment skits continue to have a profound influence on the reporting and potentially the polls. Economy and Journalism: All of the major papers are cutting back on staff, said Westfeldt. NBC in the early ’60s covered Africa with one man who was based in London. Westfeldt predicts the same will happen with all papers. Television is doing better, though some programs deserve to fail (i.e shouting talking heads). Still, Westfeldt is optimistic about the future and believes small papers have a better chance of surviving than big ones. Papers such as the New York Times, Washington Post and Chicago Tribune are all cutting back. As internet technology is more universally used, it is likely that widely read papers will be strictly online resources in the next ten years. Q: Can you comment on the difference between journalists and bloggers in terms of credentials and perhaps credibility? Q: With the increase in early elections. How can journalism expect to effect the polls? Q: With all of the “fact checking” groups out there, do you see an increase in investigative journalism? Q: Who was your favorite interview? Q: Why do papers choose to endorse politicians? Q: BBC is taking over the world. They seem to have a person on the spot in the most remote areas. Is BBC a different kind of animal now? Q: Do you think McCain and Palin posed certain terms in order for Brian Williams to get his interview? Is that why he had so few follow up questions? Announcements:
Happy Thoughts:
Guests: Sibyl Kiroy (Paul Connley); Ronna Bosko (Rose Anderson) Visiting Rotarians: None Fines: A dollar for everyone not wearing a pin. Another candle burning for:
Upcoming ProgramsWednesday, Nov. 5, 2008
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