PressEthic

An Illinois jury recently awarded damages to the chief justice of the Illinois State Supreme Court, who sued a local newspaper for damaging his reputation in a column. But when the head of a state's judiciary is the plaintiff and unidentified sources are involved, is it really just a simple case of libel?

This may be kind of old news for some of us, but an article in last Friday's New York Times is a testament to how much the world of media and advertising is changing. In response to the way Americans have learned to zone out commercials or fast forward, marketers are now turning advertisements into their own television shows and movies. Advertisers have become so fed up with smart consumers that they're turning the tables on us, and this doesn't seem to be going away any time soon.

A strange media moment gets stranger still.

If you were OJ Simpson interviewer Judith Reagan, and you wanted to release a statement about your motives would you give an exclusive statement to The Drudge Report?

And what a statement!

Barbara Walters hit a new low tonight with "30 Mistakes in 30 Years," a "Barbara Walters Special" about her lessons learned from thirty years of interviewing celebrities on her segments. Not suprisingly, the "lessons" were anything but educational. But it made me think of a larger issue, one that we have touched on in class: can talk show hosts and tv anchors be considered "journalists"?

Google may be smug about their latest video-streaming acquisition, but recent reports have suggested that executives are also wary of the dark days the YouTube investment will bring.

A digitally edited photo of ABC news anchor Elizabeth Vargas in the December issue of Marie Claire magazine has stirred up some controversy with both the newswoman and her network. The picture in question depicts Vargas sitting at her news desk, smiling for the camera, and ready to report the news – all while breastfeeding.

Why is American coverage of the Middle East so different from coverage elsewhere?

This excerpt discusses New York's potential law to ban underage drinking at home.

This brief account chronicles South Africa's recent bill legalizing gay marriage.

With the midterm elections over and Democrats winning back the majority in the House and Senate – pending previously scorned Joe Lieberman – the purported liberal media should be dancing in the streets. Just ask Howard Kurtz.

In an alarming verdict that some say will have a “chilling effect” on journalism, a jury found an Illinois newspaper columnist guilty of libel and awarded the judge that sued him $7 million.

When sites like Google News make the news more accessible and convenient for the masses, is the public any more informed, or simply more entertained?

The American editor-in-chief of the South China Morning Post, one of Asia's largest English language daily newspapers, is in a difficult, and rather humorous, predicament.

Around 80 of his employees are petitioning for his dismissal after he fired two of their colleagues last week. His beef with the newly unemployeds was over a gag-newletter they produced to celebrate a long-term colleague's retirement. Apparently this sort of mock-tribute is traditional is some newsroom cultures. The front page of the joke-paper in question had a headline that ran:

Michael Jackson performed "We Are the World" for two seconds at the World Music Awards angering critics who thought he was going to be performing "Thriller". It's interesting to me that when journalists cover entertainment stories... even on CNN they always have this negative tone. Not that I care about Jackson's performance in the least but why is caddy journalism tolerated when dealing with celebrities? I am not talking about publications such as US Weekly or television stations like the E! Channel that we expect to present horrible journalism for the shock factor but the CNN.com article was just ridiculous.

As journalists struggle to keep news relevant without sacrificing their standards, panelists at Columbia University offer insight into the future of this field. Their advice: "Update your business model and you can keep your journalistic values."