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Jun

14

Training & the threats against bloggers

Filed Under Blogroll, Media, Tech, Writing | 2 Comments

Interesting article about training for bloggers from…Society of Professional Journalists with commentary by Clint Brewer, current president of the national SPJ and Robert Cox, the champion of Media Bloggers Association:

Non-journalists entering the world of blogs, online feedback forums, online videos and news Web sites provide information that newspapers and other media can’t or don’t. But many are now turning to professional journalists for help with dilemmas they’re facing: When is something libelous? What’s the difference between opinion and news? And how do you find public documents?

About a dozen would-be reporters navigated the basics of journalism at a recent training offered by the Society of Professional Journalists in Chicago. The group plans similar seminars this month in Greensboro, N.C., and Los Angeles.

Just a way to make a buck?

Roy Peter Clark, a senior scholar at the Poynter Institute in St. Petersburg, Fla., which supports working journalists, praised the effort to offer training to so-called citizen journalists.

“I think that what we’re moving toward is some king of positioning between amateur and professional,” Clark said.

Amateurs have long contributed to professional news reports, including the film of John F. Kennedy’s assassination and photos from the Virginia Tech massacre last year, Hurricane Katrina in 2005 and the tsunami in Southeast Asia in 2004, Clark said.

Now, many distribute their content on their own, and some have gotten into trouble, said Clint Brewer, the national president of SPJ.

So what’s the point?

Robert Cox, president of the Media Bloggers Association, said more than 100 judgments valued at $17 million have been handed down against bloggers over the last three years – about 60 percent for defamation, 25 percent for copyright infringement and 10 percent involving privacy.

“It’s the tip of the iceberg,” Cox said. “Bloggers are being asked to write checks. The threats against bloggers are very real. The costs are very real.”

But what I really want to know more about is this project:

Geoff Dougherty, editor of the Web site ChiTownDailyNews.org and a presenter at the SPJ program, is trying to prevent that by offering his reporters online training.

With a $340,000 Knight News Challenge, he’s creating a team of 77 to report on the smallest of meetings in every city neighborhood – gatherings that mainstream news organizations don’t cover.

“I see us in five years as the go-to source for Chicago news,” said Dougherty. “It’s a big goal.”

Wendy – have we heard anything yet?

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By Jill Miller Zimon at 3:29 pm June 14th, 2008 in Blogroll, Media, Tech, Writing | 2 Comments 

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Jun

14

Ohio resident takes town to federal court for political yard sign restrictions

Filed Under Campaigning, Civil Rights, Courts, Debates, Elections, Government, Law, Ohio, Politics, Voting, WH2008 | 7 Comments

No, not me and not Pepper Pike. I’m holding out great hope and expectations that my city will do the right thing, which includes being logical, reasonable and respectful.

And please note, this is a non-partisan issue. The person involved here appears to be a McCain supporter and the case involves Coalition Opposed to Additional Spending and Taxes, or COAST, not a group endeared to liberal causes.

The Columbus Dispatch writes today about Harrison, Ohio:

Burns sued Harrison in U.S. District Court in Columbus on Monday, arguing that the city’s rules on political signs limit free speech. Those include the 30-day-rule and a 16-square-foot size limit. Temporary, nonpolitical signs can be up for any duration and be large as 50 square feet.

…

He and the Coalition Opposed to Additional Spending and Taxes, or COAST, have convinced nearly a dozen southern Ohio communities, including the city of Cincinnati, to repeal similar ordinances. Finney filed a similar lawsuit Wednesday against the city of Piqua, north of Dayton, charging that the city’s sign restrictions restrict free speech.

Here’s the real silliness re: why waste Harrison’s residents’ taxes, or Columbus residents or Pepper Pike’s:

In 2004, Dublin and Granville dropped time limits on political signs because they feared lawsuits. A year before that, Columbus agreed not to enforce rules on political yard signs after the Constitution Party of Ohio sued.

Columbus’ rules, which remain on the books, include fees and 60-day limits. City Attorney Richard C. Pfeiffer Jr. hopes the City Council will rescind the rules.

This year, the American Civil Liberties Union has sued or threatened to sue over sign ordinances in Pennsylvania and Virginia and is urging the communities of Silver Lake and Bath Township in northeastern Ohio to junk requiring a deposit of $5 per yard sign.

U.S. courts have repeatedly upheld the right of residents to display yard signs, most recently in U.S. District Court in Maryland.

“There’s no way the (Harrison) ordinance can survive,” said David A. Goldberger, professor of constitutional law at Ohio State University. He pointed to a 1994 U.S. Supreme Court ruling that the Missouri city of Ladue may not restrict noncommercial speech on yard signs more than commercial speech.

“This is really what the First Amendment is all about,” Goldberger said.

I really pray that the residents and elected officials in my town can come to an agreement to drop the one political yard sign per household restriction and not waste any more time or money or energy on this, given the track record in fighting for upholding this aspect of free speech.

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By Jill Miller Zimon at 2:10 pm June 14th, 2008 in Campaigning, Civil Rights, Courts, Debates, Elections, Government, Law, Ohio, Politics, Voting, WH2008 | 7 Comments 

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Jun

14

Ashland, Ohio to be featured as Town of the Week on NPR*

Filed Under Announcements, Cleveland+, Culture, Media, Ohio | Comments Off

Just heard it as the dart flew on Michael Feldman’s Whaddya Know?.  You can listen here.

:53 – Next times it’s Ashland, Ohio!

If I were Positively Cleveland, the Ohio Department of Development or, of course, Ashland, Ohio, I’d be sure to get buzzing.  It’s a great five to ten minute spotlight on a different place in the U.S. each week on Feldman’s show.  They ask for the best places to go, where would you take a visitor and so on.

Go Ashland.

* Just to be clear, this show is actually distributed by PRI, Public Radio International and Wisconsin Public Radio.  But it’s broadcast here on WCPN which is an NPR-affiliate.

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By Jill Miller Zimon at 1:19 pm June 14th, 2008 in Announcements, Cleveland+, Culture, Media, Ohio | Comments Off 

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