News Cut Category Archive: Media

In the picture, pick out the journalists. You can click on the image to make it larger.

Even in the relative calm when this picture was shot, it's difficult to determine who is a journalist, who is a protester with a camera and who is actually a protester but is saying he/she is a journalist.

Add a little action into the mix, and smaller credentials aren't much help.

A news release from the people in charge of the police today appears to suggest that the police aren't going to waste much time this week trying to determine who's a real journalist, and who are the posers.

Law enforcement responsible for security and public safety in the Twin Cities area would like to remind members of the media of the proper procedures for staying safe during unlawful assemblies. When police officials request the breakup of an unlawful assembly by announcement to the gathered crowd, that order applies to all individuals, including the media. A quick and orderly dispersal is more likely to help people, including media personnel, stay safe and avoid arrest.

Because still cameras, video cameras and other recording equipment are commonplace at large events or gatherings, it can be difficult for law enforcement and others to differentiate between credentialed media, un-credentialed media or others who may carry similar equipment. While law enforcement in no way wishes to restrict First Amendment rights, members of the press must also follow police orders to protect their safety, the safety of police and others.

(Photo via Getty)

Two area bloggers are doing a bang-up job (that's probably the wrong phrase) documenting the two major protests that have degenerated into scuffles with police in St. Paul over the last two days.

The Adventures of Johnny Northside blog has a compelling blow-by-blow description (that's probably the wrong phrase) of the action outside Mickey's Diner:

At 10th7th and St. Peter, in front of Mickey's Diner, a group of protesters taunted police. At one point, police appeard to push the crowd or lunge at the crowd. A half-filled plastic water bottle came sailing through the air toward the officers. Police appeared to spray something into the crowd, but no distinctive pepper spray odor was apparent. There was a discussion among some members of the crowd whether "bunk gas" was being utilized: something made to seem like pepper spray to scare off a mob, but without much actual physical effect.

Meanwhile, highly-regarded local blogger Aaron Landry documented the scene on Monday at one of St. Paul's hot spots -- Jackson Street -- where he and a friend convinced a woman to give them a ride out of the danger...

The most unnerving moment was on our way out. A man in a gas mask stood in front of the SUV staring at our driver to her the face, refusing to move. The ugly face of terrorism was standing in front of her vehicle. She froze, with her hands on the wheel and did not honk or try to move. It was a frightening scene. I yelled, "go around him" and Stacy opened her door and yelled, "Get the **** out of the way, we're press" and another man yelled, "if you're press, ****ing cover this!" Meanwhile, the mob was coming up behind us.

Stacy's a concert photographer, lawyer and music blogger. I'm an IT Manager for a design firm, social media consultant and blogger. We were doing citizen photojournalistic roles and the situation changed where we decided that our safety was more important than covering the event.

Both blogs are an example of journalism at its finest, especially during a difficult story. They both also prove that the written word remains the most powerful medium.

(Update) Media watcher David Brauer has an excellent first-person account from AP photographer Matt Rourke, who was detained on Monday, but who's gotten little notice because his parents didn't name him Amy Goodman.

... is the group of people waiting to get into the taping of The Daily Show in St. Paul. If those people had a sense of humor, they'd all bring kiwi fruit in with them.

No, but it's playing in prime time anyway, and it's not going to change now.

Yesterday's announcement that Sarah Palin's daughter is pregnant came because of "rumors spreading on the Internet" that the youngest child of Palin was actually that of Sarah's daughter.

The controversy has raised questions about how well Palin was vetted by the McCain campaign.

But there's a more important question: Who's vetting Daily Kos, where the rumor picked up steam, was regurgitated and was never properly checked out?

There are, as you might expect, dueling reactions to the "new journalism" today, but it's mostly based around the "old journalism." Should the mainstream media have paid any attention to the rumors?

No, says media critic Dan Kennedy. But he lets Kos off lightly:

Who was hurt by Daily Kos? No one, really, because there's all sorts of misinformation percolating in the tubes (I thought an Alaska reference would be appropriate). What you hope is that the solid stuff will rise to the top, and that it will be proven or debunked. And if it's debunked, it ought to be done somewhere other than in the mainstream media.

As for what "millions of people" who know about the rumor would think if the media stayed silent, well, I don't hear any complaints over the lack of an investigative series on 9/11 conspiracy theories. Most people are smart enough to understand that the media would not shy away from a story like Palin's fake pregnancy if it were true and could be verified.

PoliGazette (in the Netherlands), however, sees little role for the "new journalism"

... it is too late to backpeddle, apologize and move on for those who brought up this
subject and who have now already done tremendous damage to Palin's image and reputation. After all, in the end rumors are heard by many more people than the news that the rumors are false.

The issue itself speaks ill, not of Palin but of the blogosphere and partisan 'citizen journalists' who are more than willing to publish stories that unfairly destroy a person's good reputation, simply because doing so may help their favorite candidate or because it will help them get some more hits.

Howard Kurtz of the Washington Post pushed Markos Moulitsas (the creator of Daily Kos) on the subject and got the stock blogger answer to questions surrounding what defines responsible journalism for "citizen journalists."

"Our people are doing the vetting. Even if some of it is hitting dead ends, other ones are striking direct hits," Moulitsas says. His role, he adds, "is to sit back and let the citizen journalists do their job, and I amplify the stuff that shakes out.":

In other words, if you throw enough stuff against the wall,some of it will stick. Moulitsas focuses on the stuff that sticks. Others says the danger is the amplification and effect of the stuff that doesn't.

Many bloggers like to point out that other bloggers will "fact check." But that didn't happen in this case. Nobody in the blogosphere investigated the rumors, or made phone calls, or lifted much of a finger to confirm (or deny) a damaging accusation that turned out to be entirely incorrect.

The Daily Show is being created. The show has taken over the basement of the McNally Smith College of Music in the History Theatre, 10th and Exchange streets downtown.

Early gossip on tonight's show. The show will focus on today's protest march which is happening just outside the taping area. Staff, however, is watching it on TV.

(More later)

Twitter, the "micro-blog/instant messaging" program is proving to be an excellent way to follow the convention from a variety of perspectives.

For the delegates/bigshot view, check out @sanuzis. It's coming from Saul Anuzis, the chairman of the Michigan Republican Party. The delegation is also writing a blog, but it's nowhere near as interesting as the Twitter feed.

However, we do get word via that blog that the Michigan delegation is starting a blood drive at the Northland Inn, where the delegation is staying. The drive, of course, is directed at the victims of Hurricane Gustav, although it seems that the only people in harm's way are the TV reporters, standing out in the middle of the street, telling us to get out of harm's way.

Another state party chairman -- Chris Healy of Connecticut -- is Twittering (tweating?), but mostly just to call attention to the blog posts Healy is writing (Today a Medal of Honor winner spoke to the delegation).

For the well-connected-but-not-a-delegate view, the A-List is headed by David All, a Washington communications consultant (@DavidAll).

Meanwhile, on the other side of the coin, Twitter gets props from media analyst David Brauer, for coverage of Friday/Saturday police raids.

For comedy -- the intentional kind of comedy -- you'll want to follow @TheInDecider. It's Michael Kraskin of The Daily Show on Comedy Channel. He, too, is also writing a blog.

If you've got a favorite, please add it below. (And please use html to do so if you can)

At the Science Museum in Minnesota this (Sunday) morning, the political media aristocracy is holding court, discussing the elections and their role in it.

David Brauer is Twittering about it and is providing the salient take-aways.

Last week on Midday, St. Paul Mayor Chris Coleman and Minneapolis Mayor R.T. Rybak discussed the value of next week's Republican National Convention in promoting the Twin Cities on the national stage. For that, they'll have to impress the thousands of journalists who'll be arriving in town, most of them by way of Denver. And they'll be comparing this city (Denver) with the Twin Cities.

We're starting now. This (above) is Theresa who was one of the volunteers at the giant media party thrown at an amusement park next to Pepsi Center tonight. Her job? She was assigned to stand next to a large trash bin, in which trash was being thrown into three receptacles. The city is pushing for a zero-waste convention, and reporters aren't particularly bright, apparently, when it comes to determining whether the half-eaten shredded pork is recyclable nor not.

She's originally from the Seattle area and then moved to the Mojave Desert with her husband to work for a mining company. She was in the human resources department and was given the task of recruiting people to work for the company. When she found the Mojave Desert a tough sell, they moved to Salt Lake City, and then to the Denver area.

She, like all the volunteers I met, was nothing if not enthusiastic and outgoing. It'll be a challenge for Minnesotans. Outgoing isn't in our state motto. We'll be delighted to welcome visitors, as long as they talk to us first.

As of last month, the Twin Cities organizers were still 1,000 volunteers shy of the goal. One of the problems with this sort of thing, of course, is you never know where you'll be assigned. I talked to one volunteer who had hoped to get some bartending work at the media party. She was clearing our dirty plates instead. No matter, she said. Her husband is involved in logistics for several events this week and she's expecting to pitch in. As it turns out, she's a social worker in Denver who handles problems with Section 8 housing.

The media party

It's the largest party during the convention. An estimated 9,000 media types showed up at an amusement park next to Pepsi Center for free music, booze, food, rides and fireworks. MediaNews, the same company that runs the St. Paul Pioneer Press, blew a reported $1.5 million on the affair to put a happy face on the people who are going to write about the company's hometown (it owns the Denver Post).

Traditionally, the dominant media in a convention city hosts this party. But this year the cash outlay raised eyebrows because publisher Dean Singleton's company is in free fall, just sold its Connecticut newspaper operation to raise cash, and is expected to undergo "restructuring" soon now that its bond rating has been reduced again.

Neither the Star Tribune nor Pioneer Press decided to sponsor the media party in Minneapolis next Saturday night. It'll be held along the riverfront near the Guthrie. My colleague, Kerri Miller, suggests it'll be far more elegant, but we'll see whether media folks craving free food and free beer will judge elegant to be better than a free ride on the bungee jump.

Media watcher David Brauer raises the key point of all of this. Should the media be taking something for nothing? Is this any different from the politicians getting freebies and food from major corporations?

(Photo by Nikki Tundel)

If, the next time the Pioneer Press lays off a generous portion of its staff, you see the local media pulling its punches on the story, you'll have the answer.

Cameras

As you might expect, those cameras that have sprouted on light poles around downtown St. Paul, are all over downtown Denver as well. No one seems to be complaining. Tonight the head of a group of lawyers that's in town to make sure people's civil rights aren't violated, said the cameras will be useful in documenting any incidents.

Media interviewing media

The Uptake's Chuck Olsen has the most fascinating setup. You see something interesting, you fire up your phone-gizmo (it's technical talk!), record your interview, press a gizmo that sends it back to... wherever... and somehow it ends up on The Uptake's Web site some seconds later.

The lengths to which some people will go to get their stuff embedded on News Cut!

Chuck and I had a spirited conversation some weeks ago on News Cut, We disagree on a few things about the media, but agree on many, many more. He's a good man and a very talented documentary producer. It was a pleasure to run into him and even more so to have a half hour or so to sit and chat about how he does what he does.

That's a fascinating local angle -- or maybe it's only fascinating to media types -- surrounding the affair that John Edwards has finally admitted to with vlogger Reille Hunter.

Local filmmaker Chuck Olsen (The Uptake) had some footage of Hunter in a film he shot. He posts a still image of her here, and wrote:

She was very outgoing, maybe even flirtatious, but really nice. I asked how she got the gig filming webisodes, and she said she met him in a bar and they clicked, and she proposed some online documentary showing his authenticity. She told me about some Hollywood sitcom writing and other weird projects she'd been involved with - nothing I'd ever heard of.

Chuck's Twitter page documents how quick the big media moves in to wrap up the rights to the photo.

Edwards statement on the subject reads like a Microsoft Word template for political apologies. There isn't one, of course, but there probably should be.

In 2006, I made a serious error in judgment and conducted myself in a way that was disloyal to my family and to my core beliefs. I recognized my mistake, and I told my wife that I had a liaison with another woman, and I asked for her forgiveness. Although I was honest in every painful detail with my family, I did not tell the public.

I was and am ashamed of my conduct and choices. With my family, I took responsibility for my actions in 2006, and today I take full responsibility publicly.

As for Ms. Hunter's video capabilities, judge for yourself:

Where men are concerned, there really are two Americas: those who cheat and those who don't.

Edwards isn't running for anything now, of course. But a lot of folks saw him as an attorney general candidate in a Barack Obama administration.

We've gotten a lot of praise over the years for the MPR Select A Candidate quiz that's intended to get people to know, at least, the names of the people running for office. In Chicago, the same idea is behind a novel way to introduce people to news anchors at WBBM in Chicago -- the "Which anchor are you?" quiz.

Some of the answers are pretty lame. For example, under the question "Who do you most admire?" the answers are "My mother, my grandmother, Martin Luther King Jr., and Mother Theresa." Fathers? That's so Public Radio, I guess. (Like Select A Candidate, the options are only as good as the answers given by the candidates, err, anchors)

Apparently I'm most like Rob Johnson, whoever the heck he is. But he's got nice hair and good teeth, so that's encouraging. It's a pity he doesn't think much of old Dad.

How long do you think it'll be before WCCO picks up this idea?

Update: There's a flaw in this. It would appear it's predetermined what anchor you're matched with. There may, in fact, be no relevancy in your answers at all. Too bad. With the SAC quiz program, I could set something like this up for MPR's hosts in a couple of minutes. Hmmm....

The Museum of Broadcasting today announced the 2008 inductees into its Hall of Fame today.

Jason Davis
of KSTP TV's On the Road

Lynn Dwyer
"Roundhouse Rodney"

John Gordon
Voice of the Minnesota Twins

Ron Handberg
of WCCO TV and WCCO Radio

Brad Johnson
Twin Cities Radio Program Director & Sales Leader

Chuck Knapp
Twin Cities Morning Show Host and Program Director

David Knutson
of KDLM / Leighton Enterprises

Chick McCuen
of WCCO TV and WTCN TV

Pat Miles
of KARE 11 and WCCO

Mel Paradis
of Paradis Broadcasting

Distinguished Service Award
Marion English Watson
of KUOM Radio and the University of Minnesota

My post last week about the economy struck a nerve, judging by some of the comments that were posted.

The question is whether the constant drumbeat of negative economic news creates an impression that the economy is worse than it really is. Keep in mind, that's a far different statement from saying the economy isn't in bad shape; it is.

A poll out from Rasmussen today says 50% of those surveyed think the media is making the economy seem worse than it really is. This is despite the face only 34% think the U.S. "has the world's best economy.

Only a quarter (25%) think reporters and media outlets present an accurate picture of the economy and 18% believe they actually portray it as better than it is. Just 34% trust reporters more when it comes to news on the economy, and 32% see stockbrokers as more reliable.

A plurality of Americans (41%) similarly believe that the media has tried to make the war in Iraq appear worse that it really is, while 26% say reporters have made it look better than reality and 25% think they've portrayed it accurately.

This poll is one of several Rasmussen released today, purporting to show the media are biased -- or at least that people think they are.

I can't help but point out the breathlessly delivered "investigation" last night by KSTP on air safety requirements for the upcoming Republican National Convention....

.. contained an awfully lot of facts available to News Cut readers 2 1/2 months ago.

What will happen if a pilot strays too close to the Xcel?

This...

First the fighter jets will try to contact the pilot by radio. Then they'll get serious by dropping flares. Then they'll get really serious.

And, no, the pilot of the plane above wasn't being stupid. He was flying along -- legally -- when the pilot of the fighter jet asked if he would mind being used for intercept practice.

Conservatives have been fairly consistent in the last few decades, railing -- as it were -- against public radio and light-rail.

Who knew that one could be used to get rid of the other?

Jeffrey Dvorkin, who once was the National Public Radio ombudsman, writes on his blog today that the radio folks are worried that mass transportation will lead to a decline in radio, especially public radio.

But there is one aspect that deserves a little mulling - the complex relationship of Americans and their automobiles. People who were stuck in their cars during their long commutes to and from work were captives of NPR programs. After all, there is only so much of Blue Oyster Cult that can be endured.

During my stint as NPR's Ombudsman (2000-2006), I noticed that a lot of email came in around 9 am local time. I concluded that listeners who heard the program in their cars would arrive at the office, steamed about something they had heard. They turned on their computers and fired off an email usually to express some level of exasperation about NPR's "Morning Edition."

Dvorkin points to an article in the Toronto Globe and Mail. In it, Richard Florida declares the era of urban sprawl over.

While we are in the early development of this new economic geography, one trend is clear: The history of economic development and of capitalism revolves around the more intensive use of urban space. The coming decades will thus probably see greater concentrations of people, increasing densities, and further clustering of industry, work and innovation in a smaller number of humongous cities and mega-regions globally. Alongside that will come ever more concentrated economic opportunity and deepening social and economic divides between people and places.

Florida doesn't exactly say that this new economic age will eliminate the long commute and then -- as Dvorkin theorizes -- public radio.

I always got a cheap laugh when I said that NPR's success was based partly on the listeners' addiction to their cars and that there would be trouble if people decided to start taking the bus. Hence "public radio hates public transportation."

It's a beautiful day in St. Paul, so we're spending it indoors.

PublicRadio Camp is in session. MPR and MinneBar/MinneDemo pulled together the best-and-the-brightest from the online world, just to try an experiment on changing the way information is used.

High falutin' stuff, to be sure. And, like any experiment, it may succeed, it may fail, but ultimately something will come of it that may impact how you process information. The results may pop up on some of the more innovative Web sites.

The larger group has broken down into groups of various interests and they've been given a CD full of data -- audio of an unedited interview with a band on The Current, for example. Each group is kicking around ideas in such areas as user-generated content, political information, maps, using timelines, media sharing, laying content out in a different way, etc.

There are some Twitter feeds among the group members and I'll try to find a link to them.

In the meantime, stop back from time to time and see what they've come up with.

Updates

This group -- Jon Gordon and Julia Schrenkler of MPR are shown -- is noodling on user-generated content. Bruno Bornstein points out an important element of this. Media companies who want to do user-generated content, are going to have to "share the secret sauce," and give the audience -- you -- access to servers and content that traditionally companies have guarded. But when you think of it, what could be more public than that?

I was just with this group diagramming how a radio story is produced. Now we're talking about worldwide editing, and trying to figure out the challenge of meeting standards, without beating the creativity out of the author.

Note to self: Check with this group later.

This is the flaw of having your News Cutter telling you about this stuff. I'm decidedly not tech savvy. But these folks (above) are considering the power of metadata. They're talking about geocoding, for example. One of the notes on their board says "violent agreement." We'll check back.

update 10:45 Twitterers here (Tweeters?) include Andy Beger, the brains behind apps such as Select A Candidate (@thrym), @juliaschrenkler; Phil Wilson (@philson)

10:54 a.m. - This group has selected Neuvo Radio as its idea. I have nothing against radio, of course. I've been in it in one fashion or another for 35 or so years, but I long ago stopped thinking it was going to carve out a significant new role in the American media landscape. As one of this group's goals is "keeping/making the medium relevant," I'll keep an open mind.

But I bet what they come up with makes some use of online. We'll see. It's worth noting this group has -- at least for now -- the most members.

11:09 a.m. - The folks who were working on data have apparently merged with the "visualization group.

By the way, how would I feel with I were an old-school newsroom editor/executive? Not too good. We -- the societal "we" -- are just now beginning to recognize that "news" and "content" is becoming much more collaborative. "The people" have the tools and, for the most part, the knowledge. Traditional news media has said "we'll tell you what the news is when we've finished it." But those days are ending and it's alternately frightening and exciting to go through this change.

Take this blog, for example. And take last night's weather posts. It's run by a media company, of course, but it had no problem directing you to other media that had information (like that Willmar photo). That wouldn't have happened 5, 10 years ago; media companies were interested only in the content that they developed themselves. Now expand this a bit, and add non-traditional media sources. Voila!

Can standards of integrity and traditional journalistic values survive this? Of course. How? I don't know.

By the way, if you're looking for the model of today's event. You can read about it on the Minnov8 site.

11:27 a.m. -- Did I mention what a gorgeous day it is in Minnesota?

11:38 a.m. - One question I've been thinking about. How do you accomplish opening up this era of a more collaborative media environment, and not have it be more Twin Cities dominant. Outstate Minnesota -- possibly by choice -- is disconnected from this process as it exists now. Is it that outstate Minnesota isn't interested? Is it that the infrastructure doesn't exist. I think there are tons of stories outside of the Twin Cities and this process is perfect to get to them.

11:47 a.m. The "data" group has broken off from the "visualization" group again. I still don't know exactly where they're headed, but from the looks of things, it's going to be interesting.

I was just remarking to Phil Wilson (remaincomm) that this is the group that makes me think that if I'd paid more attention in school, I could've made something of myself. The gentleman in the black is Ivan Stegic, known on Twitter as @ten7. It takes 5 -- maybe 6 -- seconds of talking to him before you realize he's a genius.

12:26 p.m. We're wrapping up with a "science fair." The various groups are telling us what they came up with.

The "Fun with Data" group -- Says MPR needs an API (application programming interface). All of MPR's content and data could become available to all who desire it. The API would have a location, timerange and a keyword. People could use the API to develop applications surrounding MPR content.

"I think there's a lot of cool applications," Ivan said. "You could generate a cloud of words that describe content and the size of the words vary depending on their importance. You could draw a rectangle on a map and then see what all the words are for an area on a map that are important to that community. The API would reveal all of the relevant information. They could be articles or Twitter feeds. As you move a rectangle around on the map, the words would change."

Jon Gordon wonders whether MPR produces enough "localish" content to create geographic specific content. But with collaborative content, users could contribute to this. I
Bob notes: This is really an example of media companies are going to have to think in a new way -- that their content is part a whole, and not the whole.

User generated content - MPR is a "well-oiled journalism machine," so the idea is to give people tools to create content in general and, possibly, for MPR. The group went over the current process by which content is created, and analyzed where the collaborative point is. One big idea was creative copyediting. Also putting the editorial process into the hands of people, whether or not they contribute it to MPR. A key part of this is a how-to guide somewhere on the MPR site regarding how to write, produce, interview, edit etc. "It's franchising an idea," Julia Schrenkler said.

"There are a lot of things to think about in considering a story," Renee Schaefer said. What form does a story take? Is it better online? Different on the radio?

Part of this isn't really difficult. What if, for example, we simply told you -- the audience -- what stories we were working on and then asked for help. In some ways we do that now, but the editorial process happens behind closed doors.

Jason DeRusha is, perhaps, the media member doing this on a small scale now with his Good Question, segment.

If people were to contribute content to MPR -- or anyone else -- how do they get paid? Do they get paid? Maybe it's a different way of being a Public Radio member.

Where this process can make a difference, is the ability of the public to produce follow-up stories. Presently, we put out a story and then move on to another, but there's usually a wealth of information that comes back to us as a result of a story that should find its way almost immediately into another story.

Visualization group - If you're a regular blog reader, you've probably seen these applications (I think the NY Times does this) where a group of keywords get larger and smaller based on their importance. This group considered an idea where what people are talking about would make itself apparent online.

WCCO is doing something like this outside of its building in Minneapolis, with a series of projected words and such that change as the "tone" of the news changes.

This was demonstrated with something called "wordle."

So one of the people here created a version of this with colors. He took various MPR RSS feeds and found the words that occurred most often and assigned importance via colors.

These would change from minute to minute and hour to hour. Someone remarked this is the new version of the old "weather ball."

Here's an example of this sort of visualization:

code_swarm - Eclipse (short ver.) from Michael Ogawa on Vimeo.

This is called "code_swarm" that represents a collaborative software project, showing people involved and changes made.

Neuvo Radio group - Keeping radio relevant. The group says it morphed into opening up radio and production and distribution mechanisms to users to create their own content and disseminate that content.

Jon Gordon had a "radio coffee shop" idea where people could go not only to have coffee, but also to use computers and other equipment to create radio, which would then be broadcast. This is an easier process now with the advent of high-definition radio.

Phil Wilson outlined ideas for radio to become a more integrated member of the community. "What was interesting was we started talking about that could happen, and Jon and I joked about taking the 'dying medium of radio' and the 'dying industry of libraries' and putting them together."

Wilson says as they talked, they realize all of this comes down to more user involvement. Is the future of radio as a social media? "It has to be more controlled by the audience," he said.

Another idea was an audioi stream of some fashion from a place like MPR that people could download as raw information, and use it to create their own stories.

An example: the MPR series on University Avenue. It would've been even more relevant to people on University Avenue, one presenter said, if part of it were written by a resident. So why not make elements available to initiate that follow-up story. That's not to say the original wasn't relevant -- it was, to a wider audience.

Here's an interesting idea outlined by Wilson: Getting radio away from being enslaved by the clock. "Does Future Tense really need to be on at the same time every day? What if it moved around from day to day?"

It was a fascinating four or five hours and, ideally, will result in more noodling on the changing media around us. Perhaps we can start in the comments section below.

Update 2:54 p.m. At Julia Schrenkler's suggestion, I ran News Cut through wordle:

That would make a great coffee mug.

Not to throw water on things but on the way home today I remembered hearing a conversation in the newsroom this week. One person was asking another person what's the point of having text-messaging on a cellphone.

I'm going to write this, and I'm going to walk away from the computer knowing there's a 50-50 chance it'll be outdated within seconds.

Such is the nature of the "now you see me, now you don't" personality of Jesse Ventura, who has been floating the notion that he's going to run for Senate in Minnesota.

The Ventura watch began this morning when ABC News is said to have reported he's definitely in. But links to the story -- a blog post -- regurgitate the "he may be in" data that we've gotten pretty used to up here in flyover country. The ABC story is said to have attributed things to David Welna of NPR (Jesse doesn't talk to any local media except, perhaps, Gary Eichten). Welna's interview doesn't yield a lot that we haven't heard before -- lots of factoids you can take to the bank if you don't mind the distinct possibility that they'll bounce.

Today's flurry then set Ventura up perfectly, giving him an opportunity to stay in the news cycle without actually doing anything other than denying anything's changed, by saying he was speaking hypothetically.

Nobody can play the media like Jesse Ventura.

Is Ventura using Brett Favre's playbook? Or is Favre using Ventura's?

Memo to KSTP (Channel 5): Don't mess with the Iron Range.

A story last night, purported to be an "investigation," asked how many taxpayer dollars are being spent to keep Ironworld, the Iron Range tourist attraction open. "Even if you've never heard of it, it's costing you money," the station said.

The story raised the dander of Iron Range writer Aaron J. Brown:

KSTP makes it sound like the state taxpayers are paying for Ironworld when that is just not true. Mining taxes pay for Ironworld and these taxes are paid by the mining companies in lieu of local property taxes. These funds are funneled through a state agency, Iron Range Resources, but the money belongs to the region, not the state. So the people who have the right to be angry about Ironworld are the residents of Iron Range cities, and most of them recognize the unique role Ironworld plays in preserving and sharing Iron Range culture.

.. and...

But none of that came through in the story. Instead, Reporter Bob sticks a microphone into the face of strangers in the Twin Cities and asks them if they've "heard of Ironworld." They hadn't of course, but then again not many Iron Rangers have "heard" of KSTP. Then he sticks the microphone into the face of Iron Rangers and the worst he could find was someone who hadn't been to Ironworld in "a couple years." When's the last time you paid to go to the zoo, Bob?

For a little history on the IRRRB, including background in the politics of it all and the criticicism that the "taconite tax" has been used for things outside its original mission, see this 1999 MPR story.

There was a story floating around this weekend that makes a wonderful exercise in ascertaining the difference between solid newspaper reporting and TV/video news fare. Perhaps the medium really is the message.

One story, one news organization. Two different messages and tones -- one that is relatively scholarly,and one that is simply meant to scare the devil out of you.

See if you can figure out which is which.

The Associated Press story documents the increase in routine maneuvers at airports called "go arounds," which -- as the name implies -- is when a pilot decides to abort a landing and go around for another crack at it. This can be warranted when another plane hasn't cleared the runway or the approach just isn't to the pilot's satisfaction.

Here's the "print version" carried by many newspapers (the Star Tribune carried a severely edited version of it). Nothing you're about to read will make any sense if you don't click the link and read the full story.

Here are the take-aways from this version of the story: