One Foot on the Ladder

Making the transition from news junkie to journalist is a strange experience. I have insight now that I never imagined when I was just watching political shows and bumming around on the Internet - and there are a few guilty pleasures from my fangirl days that I can't get away with anymore.

Here are a few of the things I've learned:

• Controversial issues have a tendency to split into obvious, polarised and ultimately unhelpful factions. Reporters ought to find a different way to frame the debate while still getting ratings and page clicks. Good luck with that, reporters.
• Everyone thinks their favourite story should be on the front page or at the top of the news hour. Don't even try to please them all - but have a good reason for your decision.
• Humour, sarcasm and moral indignation are fun, useful tools that can backfire spectacularly.

How To Fumble a News Story

I've been watching with interest - and not a little frustration - the recent evictions of Occupy protesters in the States, and how the possibility of federal involvement in the raids has been covered by the media. 

You dig through the debate at your own peril by now, but here's what I've pinned down.

More than a dozen cities moved to evict Occupy protesters from their campgrounds earlier this month, all acting in the space of ten days and using similar tactics. Department of Homeland Security vehicles were spotted at a number of the evictions, including one in Portland.

Later Oakland Mayor Jean Quan revealed to the BBC that she participated in a conference call of 18 cities before the wave of crackdowns began. There was another set of conference calls headed up by the Police Executive Research Forum.

Rick Ellis, a reporter for the (somewhat dodgy) news aggregate site Examiner.com, said an unnamed Justice Department official told him on background that local police agencies had received tactical and planning advice from Homeland Security, the FBI and other federal police agencies.

Review: Steve Jobs

Originally published in The Dominion Post's "Your Weekend", 26 November 2011.

Since the death of Steve Jobs on October 5, the stories surrounding him have taken on a life of their own, linking Jobs with everything from the glories of American capitalism to the rebellious spirit of the Arab Spring. Fortunately, biographer Walter Isaacson has the skill and insight to tell the story of an extraordinary person on a human scale.

Drawn from over 40 exclusive interviews with Jobs over two years, along with interviews with his family, friends, colleagues and competitors, Steve Jobs: A Biography pays tribute to a modern genius while avoiding the notorious “reality distortion field” that surrounded him throughout his life.

Open and reflective during his struggle with cancer, Jobs gave Isaacson his full co-operation and urged people to be honest about his mistakes.

The book starts with his childhood in the San Francisco Bay area and follows his career from beginning to end. At each step – co-founding Apple with Steve Wozniak in his father’s garage, revolutionising personal computers with the Macintosh, creating animated movies at Pixar or tackling the music market with iTunes – Jobs strived to combine cutting-edge technology with art and imagination.

Sex and Infotainment

Today our journalism tutor Jim Tucker started the class with “Well, we’re famous, maybe for all the wrong reasons” – kicking off an argument that lasted all morning.

He’d just been interviewed by RadioLive’s Marcus Lush over a poll he’d posted to Whitireia’s news website, NewsWire, asking readers “Which politician would you like to go to bed with?”

The poll went viral after conservative blogger David Farrar tweeted the link and posted it to his Facebook page, and soon the comments were flooding in.

Journalist and former ACT MP Deborah Coddington was furious. “I find that so bloody offensive. Is this what this country has come to? The people we vote for are nothing more than something to consider mating with?”

By this morning the sex poll story had only gotten bigger (ha ha) with coverage from RadioLive, Newstalk ZB and the New Zealand Herald.

Jim insisted that the poll was meant to show the superficial nature of political reporting, to get NewsWire some attention and to “have a bit of fun”. Half the class thought the whole thing was hilarious and couldn’t see why anyone was complaining.

Michael Moore vs Jon Stewart

This article recently made the rounds through pundit fandom and sparked a few arguments, as I'm sure the author intended it to:

Just as one is likely to hear criticism of [Michael] Moore in liberal circles or carefully qualified appreciation, i.e. “I like him, but I wish he wasn’t so strident,” one will never hear any blasphemy spoken against the idol of modern, urbanite, educated liberal culture, Jon Stewart.

It’s impossible to understand the hatred of Moore from the cocktail party and faculty lounge scene of the liberal establishment without also understanding the same politically impotent group’s love for Jon Stewart. Understanding the juxtaposition of Moore and Stewart reveals the true depths of the failure and soullessness of modern American liberalism.

Personally I think Stewart is much more likeable than Moore, but I found myself nodding my head at the observation that many Daily Show fans don't like embarrassing displays of emotion or undignified tactics - things like LGBT activists glitter-bombing anti-gay politicians.

Outing the Ringers

The usual clever take from Jay Smooth on media coverage of Occupy Wall Street:

The Rise of Maddow

Fresh from winning an Emmy for her coverage of Afghanistan, Rachel Maddow is on the cover of the Hollywood Reporter, promoting her show, her cheap blazers and her upcoming cameo in the new George Clooney movie.

It's like Fangirl Christmas.

A few things, though.

Whenever there's a big feature about Rachel, the writer is almost certain to emphasise how nice and friendly she is. Which is true, I'm sure; and it is good to see a cable news host who is civil with her guests even when she disagrees with them.

But just because she doesn't yell or call people names doesn't mean she won't skewer her guests to the wall when the situation requires it, as Rand Paul can tell you: