The Quill articles from October 2005

The Quill archives from October 2005

Thoughts on coverage of Hurricane Katrina.(FROM THE EDITOR)
October 1, 2005... A former editor once told me that news is what people are talking about. The older I get, the more I understand it. And that's unfortunate. People talk about Michael Jackson and Martha Stewart. They talk about Scott Peterson and the BTK...

Katrina may have restored balance.(Hurricane Katrina may have begun to restore some balance to journalism)
October 1, 2005... Hurricanes, like all storms, are one of nature s ways to restore balance. Hurricanes draw warm moisture from over-heated ocean water and flail it across thousands of square miles of atmosphere, in a bid to restore thermal balance. But...

The Betty Gage Holland Award: honoring, protecting integrity of public dialogue on America's college campuses.
October 1, 2005... Outstanding efforts by college journalists to protect the integrity of public dialogue on American campuses are honored in an annual award sponsored by the James M. Cox Jr. Institute for Newspaper Management Studies in the Grady College of...

Program gets professionals, students together.(DEVELOPING MINDS)(Editorial)
October 1, 2005... Quill's annual education issue (August 2005) reflected a familiar lament of newspaper editors--namely, that new J-school graduates are not prepared for real-world journalism. Editors, professors and students could argue about the merits...

Pump patrol.(off beat)(gasoline-powered cars and gas mileage)(Brief Article)
October 1, 2005... When it comes to gas mileage, hybrid vehicles such as the Honda Insight (61/66 mpg) and Toyota Prius (60/51 mpg) are unbeatable. However, not everyone is ready to jump on the bandwagon of hybrid vehicles that run on a combination of gasoline...

Save and conserve.(off beat)
October 1, 2005... Whether you are concerned about the environment or just want to keep a few extra bucks in your pocket, follow these tips to get better gas mileage. * Keep your spark plugs clean and replace them according to manufacturer specifications....

Tricks and treats.(off beat)
October 1, 2005... If you have a Halloween party coming up, give these journalism-related costume ideas a try. * Clark Kent/Superman. * Jimmy Olsen, complete with vintage camera and fedora. * Dress as a fish wrapped in your favorite newspaper. ...

Journalism joke of the month.(off beat)
October 1, 2005... When a visitor to a small town in Georgia came upon a dog attacking a young boy, he quickly grabbed the animal and throttled it with his two hands. A reporter saw the incident, congratulated the man and told him the headline the...

In the eye of the storm: as Hurricane Katrina smashed the Gulf Coast, hundreds of reporters rushed to cover the disaster and ensuing aftermath. Here are just a few stories from those involved in the crisis.(Cover Story)
October 1, 2005... I was gone for two weeks, covering the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina. In those 14 days I learned more about journalism, human nature and myself, than I had in my lifetime. But, reality didn't hit me in the face until the moment I...

SPJ, SDX help students displaced by hurricane.(COVERING HURRICANE KATRINA)(The Society of Professional Journalists, the Sigma Delta Chi Foundation)
October 1, 2005... The Society of Professional Journalists and its supporting foundation, the Sigma Delta Chi Foundation, are making up to $25,000 available to journalism students who are forced to relocate to another college or university due to Hurricane...

Citizen journalism continues to surge; new technology blurring the lines between journalists and their audience.(COVERING HURRICANE KATRINA)
October 1, 2005... Surrounded by 5 feet of water, 1,200 people were trapped at Charity Hospital in New Orleans, Paula Rhinehart told her readers. "They're having to stack the dead bodies outside on balconies because the disease and stench could cause more...

Getting involved is better than 'stony detachment'.(WEIGHING THE IMPACTS)
October 1, 2005... As journalists, we know better than to get involved in a story we are covering. But what does that mean, exactly? Some reporters will say not getting involved means you should always be totally detached--an observer, never a participant....

Tragedies call for time to put life in balance.(MASTERING THE ART)
October 1, 2005... Today your life could change dramatically. * Your spouse or significant other decides life without you is better than life with you. * Your child, your parent or perhaps even you discover a terminal illness has invaded your body. ...

Interviewing victims often the hardest part of reporting.(MASTERING THE ART: NARRATIVE WRITING)
October 1, 2005... Like everyone in the United States, I've been glued to the television set watching haunting images coming out of New Orleans in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, The work of our peers, the photographers and reporters who plunged into the...

Media must work to balance news that feeds stereotyping.(VARYING THE VOICE)(media coverage of African Americans)
October 1, 2005... Hurricane Katrina caught us at our best. And she caught us at our worst. Journalists stuck with the story with courage and commitment. They dealt with immense time pressures, physical deprivation and exhaustion. And just like others across...

Off the record: as SPJ and others fight to protect reporters' rights by supporting a federal shield law, experts debate what journalists should do to gain public support.(FEDERAL SHIELD LAW)(Society of Professional Journalists)
October 1, 2005... This past summer, journalists received a jolting reminder of the possible consequences for promising confidentiality to a source with the jailing of New York Times reporter Judith Miller. During an investigation into who leaked the identity...

Member profile.(Richard Johns)(Interview)
October 1, 2005... When it comes to Richard Johns, some aspects of his life remain lesser known. For one thing, he claims to have a general "fear and respect" for snakes. He also says most people don't realize he is a first generation born American/Hungarian....

Hooper honored for military work: SPJ leader presented with highest military awards given to civilians.(Society of Professional Journalists, Hooper Ed)
October 1, 2005... KNOXVILLE, Tenn. -- SPJ member Ed Hooper has been awarded two of the highest military awards given to civilians. Hooper was awarded the Navy s Meritorious Public Service Award, and Aug. 9 was proclaimed "Ed Hooper Day" U.S. Rep. John J....

Preview Forum offering tailor-made fall program.
October 1, 2005... SPJ's newest partner, Preview Forum, is offering its fall program that can be tailored to your community. "What We Know About You: Privacy, Security and Community Concerns" looks at how our lives have changed following terrorist attacks and...

Gratz, panel discuss use of confidential sources.(Society of Professional Journalists President Irwin Gratz )
October 1, 2005... SPJ President Irwin Gratz was in Cleveland on Aug. 17, participating in a discussion on the use of confidential sources by reporters at the City Club of Cleveland. Gratz was on a panel that included Linda Foley, president of The...

SDX names award winners.(Sigma Delta Chi Foundation)(Brief Article)
October 1, 2005... Kate Riley, an editorial writer for The Seattle Times, is the 2005 recipient of the $75,000 Eugene C. Pulliam Fellowship for Editorial Writing presented annually by the Sigma Delta Chi Foundation. Riley's project will focus on the...

SPJ applauds release of Judith Miller.(HEADLINES: NEWS OF OFFICIAL SOCIETY ACTIONS)(Brief Article)
October 1, 2005... Sept. 30 INDIANAPOLIS -- The Society of Professional Journalists is cheered at news our colleague Judith Miller has been released from jail. But it remains troubled at the time she was forced to spend behind bars. Society President...

Questionable procedure: deciding who should be covered by a federal shield law.(FEDERAL SHIELD LAW)
October 1, 2005... When the U.S. Supreme Court ruled in 1972 that the First Amendment doesnt protect reporters from testifying before criminal grand juries, Justice Byron White wrote that recognizing such a privilege would create "practical and conceptual...

Journalism's new bottom line: more than ever, media companies and their profit margins are undermining the purpose of our profession.(FINANCIAL PERSPECTIVE)
October 1, 2005... Downsizing of reporters, once a taboo topic, is covered regularly now in trade magazines and discussed openly at academic conferences. Consequences are debated, too, including unclear boundaries between news and opinion and old and new media...

Will your job be outsourced? As foreign journalists become better trained in American media practices, there is a possibility journalism jobs could go the way of manufacturing.(FINANCIAL PERSPECTIVE)
October 1, 2005... A few months ago, the New York Stock Exchange and IBM made a big joint announcement about a new technology platform. There was nobody available in my newspaper's offices to cover the event, which was taking place just a few blocks away. ...

Pentagon seeks to hide more Abu Ghraib photos. (COLLECTING INFORMATION.(Column)
October 1, 2005... Call them Abu Ghraib Redux, or the 87 Photos and Four Videos the Government Doesn't Want the World to See. One thing's for certain: a cadre of tax-payer-funded Pentagon lawyers would prefer to find a sympathetic activist judge willing to...

Report: government secrecy growing.(FOI IN-BRIEF)(Brief article)
October 1, 2005... A report found government spent $148 creating and storing new secrets for every $1 in revealing old ones, The Associated Press reported Sept. 4. The secrecy report card created by OpenTheGovernment.org found that 15.6 million new...

FEMA criticized for censoring coverage.(Federal Emergency Management Agency did not allowed reporters to take pictures of those killed by Hurricane Katrina )(Brief Article)
October 1, 2005... Free-speech groups criticized FEMA for asking reporters not to take pictures of those killed by Hurricane Katrina and refusing to allow them on the boats recovering victims of the storm, Reuters reported Sept. 8. Larry Siems of the PEN...

Texas paper files complaint over data.(Corpus Christi Caller-Times filed a case against the Texas Department of Family and Protective Services over the release of information on cases of child abuse )(Brief Article)
October 1, 2005... The Corpus Christi Caller-Times has filed a complaint against the Texas Department of Family and Protective Services over the release of information on cases of child abuse or neglect, The Associated Press reported Sept. 1. Caller-Times...

Google shuts out online news site.(Cnet News.com criticized Google for its potential to make personal information available on public Web sites)(Brief Article)
October 1, 2005... Google has refused to talk to Cnet News.com for one year after the technology news site published personal information about Google CEO Eric Schmidt, the San Francisco Chronicle reported Aug. 9. Cnet Editor In Chief Jai Singh told the...

Court denies access to student test scores.(Iowa Test of Basic Skills)(Brief Article)
October 1, 2005... In the latest ruling of an eight-year legal battle, the Texas Court of Appeals ruled that the Iowa Test of Basic Skills scores for Dallas public school students were not public records, the Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press...

Judge: ask detainees about releasing names.(United Staes Department of Defense )(Brief Article)
October 1, 2005... Federal District Judge Jed Rakoff ruled the U.S. Department of Defense must create a form to ask Guantanamo Bay detainees whether they want their names released to the public, The Associated Press reported Aug. 29. The ruling comes in...

Gag order in police case overturned.(Philadelphia Daily News )(Brief Article)
October 1, 2005... A federal appeals court ruled against a blanket gag order on information from a case against the Pennsylvania State Police Department, the Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press reported Aug. 29. The decision overturned a ruling by...

Awards highlight worst use of 'plain English'.(Plain English Campaign)
October 1, 2005... The Plain English Campaign, a British group that promotes clarity in writing, grants awards internationally for the best and worst communications of the year. It attends especially to "public information" and in addition to its overall Plain...

Putting professionalism in the freelance profession.
October 1, 2005... Some of you may recall a column by Byron Calame, The New York Times public editor, from Aug. 14 called, "Outside Contributors: In The Times, but Not of The Times." If you missed this column and you are a freelancer, I suggest you Google the...

What purpose do academic journals really serve?
October 1, 2005... Of the more than 7,000 refereed academic journals published in the United States each year, a good-sized bookcase of those deal with journalism--newspaper research, media ethics, journalism education, mass media, you name it. Make room on the...

Be prepared for changes ... lots of them!
October 1, 2005... At the end of last year, my news director sent the staff a year-in-view e-mail. In it, he talked about what we'd accomplished and what we could expect in 2005. He said staff changes would be inevitable in the next year, as is the case in any...

California Assembly votes for federal shield law.(Brief Article)
October 1, 2005... By a vote of 70-0, the California Assembly adopted a resolution urging Congress to enact a federal shield law, Editor & Publisher reported Aug. 30. "The lack of a federal shield law undermines our ability to protect freedom of the press...

University plans new journalism institute.(University of Missouri )(Brief Article)
October 1, 2005... The University of Missouri broke ground on a $31 million journalism think tank, The Associated Press reported Sept. 1. According to AP, the Reynolds Institute is named after 1927 Missouri journalism graduate Donald Reynolds and will be...

Reuters journalist killed by U.S. military.(Waleed Khaled of Reuters Group PLC)(Brief Article)
October 1, 2005... The U.S. military admitted killing a Reuters journalist and said the action was "appropriate," Reuters reported Sept. 1. Maj. Gen. Rick Lynch told Reuters: "That car approached at a high rate of speed and then conducted activity that in...

Wikipedia becoming hot spot for breaking news.(Brief Article)
October 1, 2005... Wikipedia, the online, collaboratively created encyclopedia, is overtaking traditional news sites as the most popular source of information about breaking news, Reuters reported Sept. 6. According to Reuters, 350,000 people have...

Jamieson, Williams named Dart fellows.(Robert L. Jamieson Jr. and Philip Williams awarded fellowship by Dart Center for Journalism and Trauma)(Brief Article)
October 1, 2005... Robert L. Jamieson Jr., a columnist for the Seattle Post-Intelligencer, and Philip Williams, a reporter for the Australian Broadcasting Corporation, have been named recipients of the 2005 Ochberg Fellowship awarded by the Dart Center for...

Deaths.(University of Guam associate professor John Wittmayer died )(Brief Article)(Obituary)
October 1, 2005... University of Guam associate professor John Wittmayer died in early August during a visit to see family in North Dakota. Wittmayer taught at the university for 15 years. He started as an instructor in August 1989 and was promoted to...

Correction.(Correction Notice)
October 1, 2005... Kyle Niederpruem is the sunshine chairwoman for Indiana. She can be reached at (317) 634-0349; she can no longer be reached at the work number listed in the September issue of Quill.

Journalism: awards * fellowships * internship * scholarships.(SPECIAL ADVERTISING SECTION)
October 1, 2005... AWARDS The New York State Society of Certified Public Accountants Excellence in Financial Journalism Award 3 Park Avenue New York, NY 10016 Contact: Lois Whitehead, NYSSCPA Public Relations Manager Phone:...

Message from SPJ's Executive Director.(Society of Professional Journalists)
October 1, 2005... AS THE 2005 EDITION of The Journalist was going to press, Hurricane Katrina had just pounded the Southeast, leaving hundreds, possibly thousands, dead and countless others homeless. As the media moved in to report the devastation and bring...

SPJ on the battlefront.(Society of Professional Journalists)
October 1, 2005... THIS SECOND EDITION of The Journalist presents another collection of tales about high-profile journalism by high-profile journalists. Some of these professionals--Dan Rather, Christiane Amanpour--have parlayed their enormous popularity and...

Inflaming Islam: the editor of Newsweek examines the story that unleashed anti-American riots across the Muslim world.(desecration of Koran, Guantanamo Bay)
October 1, 2005... JOURNALISTS ARE USED TO COVERING scandals, not being in the middle of them. So when that happens, it is sobering--and instructive. Recently, Newsweek became the subject of front page headlines and ferocious cable news and Internet chat over a...

From the heart of Bush Country: an intimate view of the Texas White House from The Waco Tribune-Herald.(George W. Bush)
October 1, 2005... WHENEVER PRESIDENT BUSH descends upon Waco for a stay at his nearby ranch, television screens split throughout Central Texas in a gesture almost akin to a 21-gun salute. Whatever and whoever is on TV immediately cedes part of the screen to...

The press in a time of Bush: intimidation and the sense of fear in the collective mind of the profession.(George W. Bush)
October 1, 2005... JOURNALISM IN THE UNITED STATES is undergoing a sea change. And journalists are going to have to fight to keep their heads above water and maintain the ethics and standards that have always distinguished our profession. The problems are...

On the frontlines: 22 years of drama and history covering the great events, the imposing figures of our time.
October 1, 2005... AS I WRITE IT HAS BEEN an extraordinary time for the world. On April 2, 2005, Pope John Paul II died after a long illness and one of the longest papacies. His life had spanned the crucial events of the 20th century: Nazism, Communism and, of...

Tsunami: healing: beyond courage, beyond tragedy, God.
October 1, 2005... HE WAS A TALL, SLENDER BOY, with dark hair, cut short, and a dark horizontal-striped polo short. I had noticed him during the children's dodgeball game, perhaps the gentlest enactment of that sport I'd ever seen. Nasir was 12, the age...

A difficult faith: a journalist considers the challenge of covering religion.
October 1, 2005... When a cabinet secretary tells me something is true, and that a new administration initiative is going to work, I can ask him how he knows, and why it's going to work. I can make a contrary case, marshal facts that undermine his or her...

The Bloomberg News revolution: from its inception, an act of daring and genius on the frontier of financial reportage.(Company overview)
October 1, 2005... ON THE THIRD WEDNESDAY of November 1989, while writing a story for The Wall Street Journal, my phone rang. "Hi, it's Mike Bloomberg," he said. "I need some advice." Knowing the 48-year-old chairman and president of the eponymous...

High velocity journalism: inside washingtonpost.com where the web has created a new generation of online journalists working around the clock.
October 1, 2005... I STILL VIVIDLY REMEMBER the day in 1993 when I told my colleagues at The Washington Post that I was departing to take a job with the company's now media unit. Reaction was split: half thought I was insane: the other hall thought me merely...

From the newsroom of GW's The Hatchet: Washington student journalists in the thick of it.(George Washington University)
October 1, 2005... "SOMETHING HAPPENS HERE." That's the phrase used by George Washington University on its admissions pamphlets to tout the school's location in downtown Washington, D.C. That's what drew me to GW as a freshman in the fall of 2001. And it's...