When Google announced plans to start chatting, I was a little skeptical, for them that is. They are trying to break into a realm that already has some well-established players like AOL, Yahoo, and MSN.

I recently read a fantastic article spotlighting image in the media. The piece used various parallels – from A Million Little Pieces author James Frey to Madonna – to explain how we, as consumers, use a double standard to judge the honesty and integrity of a media personality’s persona relative to their person.

"Hey, I know you, we're Facebook friends! Of course, I've never seen you but.." If anyone thinks the previous statement is weird/slightly stalkerish, raise your hands. Thought so. Yes, it is a weird statement, but the most disturbing part is, something like that is not so outlandish in this day and age.

I admit it. I have a MySpace account. Acquired recently, this will be the last of the mess of networking sites I subscribe to, mostly because they have little utility (and also 'cause I think I've reached the maximum age limit or something).

Since when does staged competition make for better television than actual competition? I was reading a New York Post article about dismal ratings for NBC’s Olympics coverage compared to other TV shows.

In the past month or so more ink has been spilled in American newspapers than blood in Middle Eastern streets over the controversial cartoon depictions of Mohammed, some of which that ran in a Danish newspaper last September. Unfortunately, the vast majority of that ink went toward words rather than the images of the cartoons themselves.

The other day I saw a commercial for Pontiac. The commercial told customers to google “Pontiac” and to browse their site before heading to the dealership. It’s nice to see that companies are catching on to the generation that loves to do as much shopping online as possible.

Oprah Winfrey is slowly but surely taking over the world. She has, over the past two decades of her career, gradually expanded her empire to the point where people idolize her. She has arguably one of the most watched shows on television, multiple magazines, and now you can add a radio program to that list.

The previous two posts on freedom of speech and media congloms are useful segues into a rather frightening thought: just how far is the Internet from a fate akin to the likes of other media such as radio and television?

Through all of my studies of the media, more often than not I am reading or hearing about the evil of media conglomeration. Some say fewer voices will be heard if the media is in the power of a few, especially those that are focused on making money more than disseminating news.

A superhero message board made me think deeply about freedom of speech. To summarize what happened, a member of the dc commics message board "toonzone" named Disney Boy or DB posted his thoughts on Superman.

So Jessica Gawker (Jessica Coen for all you media hounds living under a rock) came into NYU to talk to a bunch of students about journalism last week, and formalities aside, it was astounding.

In a recent discussion, I was asked if I though the internet was a place. Well, I don't know. But if it is, I was informed that maybe the Disabilities Act should apply to this virtual world.

In his January 29th New York Times op-ed, newsroom veteran Ted Koppel, perhaps for the first time to date, identified the true enemy of America's rich journalistic tradition of democracy: big business.

Last September, the Danish newspaper Jyllands-Posten published several cartoons caricaturing the Prophet Muhammad in various ways. Wikipedia has created the ubiquitous post.

We were wondering to ourselves what we should write about for our first blog entry. “The Super Bowl just happened,” we said, “so we could do something on commercials. Or perhaps something from our love of tabloid headlines.

I check ESPN.com more than I check my e-mail. It's become a bit of an compulsive thing for me. The site is constantly being updated, and almost always has something of interest for me. But here's the catch, they've started this new program, called ESPN insider.

Every now and then, I like to indulge in my girlie side. I grab my bottle of nail polish in “Rouge Diva,” my copy of Vogue, and set my iPod to the appropriate music: No Doubt, Alanis Morissette, Fiona Apple.

When Angelina first started sporting the baby bump that launched a thousand ships, I saw pictures – the day of. When Nick Lachey was partying with Ms. Kentucky USA, I saw pictures – the day of.

When virtually anyone can set up a website and even make a profit, what prestige will a degree from NYU, Columbia, or any other school hold in the future? It is a question of credibility, for one, but also of the value of our educational institutions.