PressEthic

The media world is still a business, a corporation and it has to protect the interests of those who support it.

In a New York Times article Sunday, Monica Davey explained the unfortunate illness that has affected some Americans as a result of consuming California-grown spinach contaminated with E. coli. She paints a harrowing portrait of a young child who, stricken with the sickness, asked his parents whether he was going to die.

The Time's coverage of the detainee bill accord on Friday focused on the "victory" of three Republicans fighting to change some of the details of the proposed bill, while placing less importance on the real issues at hand.

"Of the 20 major media outlets studied, 18 scored left of center, with CBS' "Evening News," The New York Times and the Los Angeles Times ranking second, third and fourth most liberal behind the news pages of The Wall Street Journal. Only Fox News' "Special Report With Brit Hume" and The Washington Times scored right of the average U.S. voter."

A recent study done by the Knight Foundation finds that teenagers are becoming increasingly interested in the news. An article on Poynter discusses it:

When it comes to using the Internet, high school students not only pay attention to the news, they like traditional news sources more than most might think.

By nationality, I’m a Brit, and on September 11 I didn’t know what to do with myself. So I watched Loose Change, a documentary about the direct links that can be made between 911 and the American Government, which made me wonder if I should be doing more of my own research.

How do you report on an argument about the future?

Unintended consequences of Chavez's speech -- Chomsky's book selling like hotcakes

Female news anchors have been excessively analyzed in the news lately, with Katie Couric taking over the CBS evening news and Meredith Viera moving to The Today Show. As media pundits have critiqued these women’s every move, rating fluctuation and outfit change, one female newswoman has created a stir of controversy that is getting less attention.

Each year, especially during election season, hundreds of political polls are conducted by universities, think tanks, pollsters and news organizations. Some ask the same question, but come up with different results. How does a news organization choose which one to report? Or are they on shakey ethical ground if they don't report on all results?

Two San Francisco Chronicle reporters, Mark Fainaru-Wada and Lance Williams, were sentenced to 18 months in jail for failing to reveal their source in the BALCO scandal, while two superstar players -- Barry Bonds and Jason Giambi -- invovled in illegal steroid use continue to play in Major League Baseball.

After days of largely positive media coverage of the military takeover of Thailand’s government, a few hints that not ALL welcome dictatorships emerge

The LA Times staffer I picked -- embedded with the 3rd Infantry -- wrote some worthwhile stuff.

The images they captured are compelling examples of valuable journalism produced by embedded journalists.

Can you smell land?