PressEthic

Just one video camera, or cell phone, can document what no one else sees. Those images can be posted on the web or emailed and reach an audience of global proportions. The capability, and potential, technology places in the hands of individuals can move governments.

FOX News, last night, aired a sidebar about the gap between parents and teenagers in their usage of text messaging. SMS is yet another method, and conduit, for communication but also for information and a new kind of journalism.

Kenneth Jautz, a CNN executive interviewed by The New York Times, discussed the decision to move "from news to views." The article, "With Brash Hosts, Headline News Finds More Viewers in Prime Time," delves into programmatic changes at CNN, shifting their prime-time news coverage to shows hosted by talking heads with clear political agendas.

Online media, the convergence of multiple formats including audio, video and script and the nascent promises of technology yet to be invented all promise to eclipse the current media landscape and shed a dawning light on the new age of information. But let's not forget, this has been said before.

We all know. We've heard about it, read about it, maybe even someone we work with asked, "Did you hear about that guy from 'Seinfeld'?" Well, really, aside from those in the know, or perhaps who live in New York or Los Angeles, Michael Richards is "that guy from Seifeld." Kramer. Now, he rants. The rant, and the apology, and the subsequent apology and the news that Richards will be seeking counseling, was carried by all the major newspapers, and MSNBC, and CNN and . . .

Surfing through CNN.com, the online presence of the Los Angeles Times and the Chicago Tribune - and in a hurry - I was more frustrated than usual by the intrusion of advertisements. This small, square screen on my lap is My Space, that is, my work place, my main conduit for communication and information and where I look to relax.

Thanksgiving, spent this year in New Jersey instead of Michigan, still brings memories of my days growing up on a gravel road in a small rural town. I'll be in touch by telephone today, but, as I watch the Thanksgiving Day Parade on television, and flick between the various news channels, I am struck by the vivid disparity between this reality, cable connected and wired, to the very different routines and lives of many - family included - in the Midwest, and elsewhere, in this country.

The Five Man Electrical Band was onto something in the seventies with their number three billboard hit single, "Signs." The lyrics strike an astounding chord with todays heavily commercialized and advertised landscape across American media. The New York Times ran a story, above the fold front page, on November 14th about another proliferation - political signs.

Two self-ascribed neutral media watchdogs have come out with reports showing a conspicuous left-wing bias in major media coverage of the recent election. Before nodding off to sleep or quickly passing over to the next blog, we've heard this all before, think for a moment how refreshing it might be - or perhaps dangerous - if politicians, organizations even individuals would just say, "Hey, I'm not neutral at all, I call it like I see it, and I see it from my own point of view."

USA Today's Peter Johnson blogged recently on the effort major media networks are plying into online forums in an attempt to reach new audiences. What I am unsure of, however, is if they realize many in the 'new audiences' they are trying to reach are actually disengaged viewers who left.

Darfur. Usually followed by a noun such as 'conflict' or 'genocide,' or sometimes preceded by the clause 'ethnic cleansing,' I hesitate to use any of them. I am not sure if there are adjectives or nouns adequate to describe how blood clots in the dust, how many hundreds of thousands of people have been killed in just this one area within just a few years, or what it is like, daily, to live in the squalor for the thousands more who are trying to leave death behind. Technology brings the message home.

Newspapers and dailies that serve an ethnic minority may prove to be the bastions of paper circulation, although many also have an online presence. All paper-based media is currently threatened by spiraling circulation numbers and decreased newsstand sales, however, there are populations who turn more resolutely toward a press that reflects a linguistic and cultural affinity with their readership.

Newspaper circulation numbers are steadily declining. There will be a point where the demands of readers - market demands - will meet with supply and a type of print equilibrium will be reached. The question, however, is what will that paper look like unfolded on your lap?

A few days from now, on November 5th, Nicaragua holds its national election to select a new president. One of the front runners is Daniel Ortega. Remember him? The current U.S. administration certainly does. And, certain newspapers are repeating the dogma of the Bush administration much as they did during the Reagan years.

The Daily News ran a story on October 20th about Hillary Clinton's conspicuous choice of wearing a cross. The piece seemed balanced enough, touching upon the religion and preferences of other, potential, presidential candidates. However, in light of discussion in the media about Mitt Romney being a Mormon I wonder if this is the media bellwether of coverage to come.