Tag Archives: Journalism Ethics

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Remembering Newton Minow

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“I invite each of you to sit down in front of your own television set when your station goes on the air. And stay there for a day. Without a book; without a magazine; without a newspaper; without a profit or loss sheet; or a rating book to distract you. Keep your eyes glued to that set until the station signs off. I can assure you that what you’ll observe is a vast wasteland.” – Newton Minow at the NAB in 1961.

It was supposed to be a challenge to the industry as a way to use the most powerful medium of the time. Newton Minow passed away from a heart attack on May 6th at 97 years old. Despite being known for stating TV being a “vast wasteland”; he was in fact a TV junkie. Minow was a pioneer in television standards and was the head of the F.C.C. where he was known for “public interest”.  He was also behind developing the idea behind modern day broadcast debates of the Presidential candidates. He helped pave the way to the modern day public broadcasting.

He spoke to WGN-TV in 2017 suggesting local journalists being skeptical, hold the government accountable without being cynical.

He was alive to see this all disappear on all mediums, not just broadcast TV, but cable and never mind social media and an FCC that is selectively regulating the signals, and is not holding the license holders or the broadcasters in the same way as Mr. Minow did back in the day.

WGN-TV did this well done report, given Mr. Minow’s connections to Chicagoland, and it’s also their 75th anniversary on the air.

May he rest in peace and aspiring broadcasters to take a page of the past to implement in the future to hopefully make mass media have some credibility again.

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Ideas

Advice for ALL Journalists Pushed into the Autism Beat

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The following is quoted DM sent by me to a local reporter in the Boston area in late 2021. As of 2023, the unidentified reporter no longer works in the industry, as that individual has a school aged child diagnosed with said condition. The quoted paragraph may be modified to eliminate shorthand words seen in DMs.

“I think the best way when reporting on the subject is to always come off in a hopeful tone because ‘diagnosis were [used to] bring hope’ and for whatever reason in recent years a diagnosis makes people (or the families) hopeless.

2nd you can’t please every group. A lot of the ‘self advocates’ [or #ActuallyAutistic types] are on the higher end and they can’t be pleased. You’ll always have haters on social media sadly to say. For me I understand both sides, but I cannot think it’s even morally or ethically proper to assume anyone who can’t speak is not intelligent by any means. I have been exposed to many ‘lower functioning’ autistics and I can tell you there is brain processing going in there. I think it’s important to shine that light (the journalistic sense not the Autism Speaks sense) on the individuals and ensure they get a fair voice, especially by the journalists. No matter what functionality, they should have the same right for a comment like the ‘typicals do.”

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Vlog: On Journalism and Masculinity

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It’s official: Masculinity is a crisis, but instead of trying to address, you’re attacking the most vulernable groups, the most sacred groups, men, young dudes, etc. Whether you’re fringe and cringe pickup artist, or a mens fashion youtuber that’s a woman, or a “feminist that loves men” and hosts a podcast – ALL of you are creating a ongoing toxic culture! Watch for a 38 minute video of where I came, how 2021 came to be, and how 2022 has been something that in 2017, would rattle my cage, given all the baggage I still carry. to. this. day!

 

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Is it OK to Tag your Parent Company on Social Media? NO!

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Since I was out of the office for most of July for the rebuild of my workspace; I ran across this Tweet from a now former WGME meteorologist that is now at @Hearst-owned WMUR-TV in Manchester (the most disliked station per to the @MinifigNewsguy.)

I thought it was important to let the new guy know what to expect that not all people north of Boston are stupid and unaware of the media industry…

Matt Hoenig was confused, well what do you expect for a kid that I could been his babysitter understand? He’s now at WMUR-TV where no one in the building has a brain!

I felt my tweet was clear, this “Ryan” doesn’t understand the industry. What can I say about Maine? I’ve been there, and it’s a dumb state. I don’t go there often, it’s Connecticut is my most traveled state outside of my home place of the 603…

It is not incoherent nonsense… two days later, Steve Scott, from WCBS radio, pulled the curtain of the very same thing I was calling out on the WMUR-TV weather boy…

As much as I am a media nerd unlike that Mainer “Ryan”, I understand that the parent company has no business being tagged by a journalist’s Twitter. Who in the hell in corporate about a rank and file/unionzed air talent? They Don’t. And why are you alienating your audience with the suckups of a faceless enterprise? We know who you work for, and those who don’t don’t want to know. 

This is my belated “Eat the Press” rant since I haven’t had the chance to sit down on my Mac and write a 300 word rant about the industry of a technical outsider with insight to the industry.

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Storytime! The Discovery of an Apparent [incompetent] MSNBC Contributor, Double Standards, and the fears of Journalism Being Rigged by Activists

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Let’s start at the top of a few things. One the underlying tone is if someone on camera drives you so nuts, it must be personal, like a post in April, it’s the What Has This Individual Done to You Personally? Second is a real-time discovery of this individual from late November of 2021 to present. Third, in the fair-disclosure, I had attempted to contact this individual in a number of ways, spread out in months. Fourth, if there is appearance of any plagiarism from another blog, it’s because I have written about this individual as well over there, the other site is acting as a decades long personal repository of my invisible disability myself with a journalistic instinct and the injustices of family support, the support agencies, and the ignorance of the general public and recovering from narcissistic abuse from some male people once in my life.

Originally I had made this a series of Tweets on Friday, July 22nd, and it got all messy in order. I am sticking to that

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