Dr. D's HTC blog http://www.scrippsjschool.org/blog/index.php?blogID=15 This is about opportunities, events, and other interesting stuff for students in the HTC Journalism track en-us http://blogs.law.harvard.edu/tech/rss graphic reactor 2.3 ’A Blue Island in a Sea of Red,’ or, the Power of Images http://www.scrippsjschool.org/blog/post.php?postID=63 debatin http://www.scrippsjschool.org/blog/post.php?postID=63 During and after the elections, we've seen a lot of maps, and most often, they looked like this:

- or like this:

.

And for those, who did not get it from the picture, the title at the bottom reads: Athens County a blue island in a sea of red.

What's wrong with this picture? Let's put it this way: If you'd write the premises of this picture as an argument in a text, it would be called a faulty argument, a fallacy. Because you'd state that it is ok to represent the amount of elements in a given space by the size of this space, even though the size of the space has nothing to do with the amount of elements in it.

Complicated? Well, what it means is that we've become accustomed to accept a geographic representation of population numbers. If you look at an electoral map of Ohio or the US, you would think that it is almost impossible that the Democrats won the elections. Sure, we all know that population density matters. But the manifest message of all these territorial maps is different.

This is why some people have created population cartograms, in which the sizes of states are rescaled according to their population.

The site techpresident.com has a cool flash animated electoral map that morphes from territorial representation to an accurate electoral vote representation, which at the end looks like this:

.

(watch the animation here)

Mark Newman, a physicist from the University of Michigan, created an even cooler set of cartograms, which keep the overall landmass intact while representing the actual popular and electoral college votes. The popular vote map, for instance, looks like this:

-

Check out his cartograms at http://www-personal.umich.edu/~mejn/election/2008/.

Why is this important? Because it's a good example for how a particular perspective--in this case geo-territorial representation--creates an implicit argument, and with it: media bias.

]]> 2008-11-15T21:38:00-05:00 What is HTC anyway, and why are we doing it? http://www.scrippsjschool.org/blog/post.php?postID=58 debatin http://www.scrippsjschool.org/blog/post.php?postID=58 As you may have noticed on the J-school's front page (see section Scripps News) our HTC freshwoman Taylor Mirfendereski has produced a fabulous video report for CNN on the Honors Tutorial College (HTC).

It can be viewed here:

The piece gives a good overview of this amazing academic opportunity, but it also shows that not everybody may enjoy the challenge and self-motivated learning style that HTC students are expected to bring to the table.

Part of the HTC experience is a stronger focus on the scholarly side of your education. It culminates in an honor's thesis, written during the senior year. Another part is the ongoing dialogue among students and among students and professors.

Talking about dialogue -- if you're in the HTC journalism program, don't forget that we will have our quarterly HTC Journalism meeting on Nov. 6, from 5:00 to 6:30 P.M. in Baker Center 237.

We'll have pizza and soft drinks, and talk about thesis plans and related issues. Our current seniors will give you a quick rundown of their thesis projects.

We will also watch/discuss some videos on covering the environment and how to make the invisible visible.

]]> 2008-10-30T16:55:00-05:00 What Does Journalism Have to Do with the Financial Crisis? http://www.scrippsjschool.org/blog/post.php?postID=53 debatin http://www.scrippsjschool.org/blog/post.php?postID=53 Recently, I've been thinking a lot about what journalists have to say about the financial crisis. Good economic reporting is rare, but not unheard of.

I love good narrative journalism and one of the best is "This American Life" on NPR. The most fascinating story I heard recently is Another Frightening Show About the Economy, which is not yet available for download, but an abbreviated version is available as

"The Week America's Economy Almost Died"
http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=95099470
NPR, All Things Considered, September 26, 2008

An excellent explanation of the crisis and a great example for good journalism.

Here are some more pieces that I found both impressive and helpful:

1. Bailout Clash: 200 Economists Vs. The Senate
http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=95224933
NPR, Planet Money, October 1, 2008

2. Global Pool of Money Got Too Hungry
http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=90327686
NPR, All Things Considered, May 9, 2008

3. Stopping a Financial Crisis, the Swedish Way
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/09/23/business/worldbusiness/23krona.html
NYT, September 22, 2008

4. Why Bail? The Banks Have a Gun Pointed at Their Head and Are Threatening to Pull the Trigger
By Dean Baker - September 29, 2008, 6:09AM
http://tpmcafe.talkingpointsmemo.com/2008/09/29/why_bail/

Dean Baker also has a very interesting blog on economic reporting
Beat the Press

]]> 2008-10-2T04:08:00-05:00 Want to know more about environmental journalism? http://www.scrippsjschool.org/blog/post.php?postID=50 debatin http://www.scrippsjschool.org/blog/post.php?postID=50 As you may have read in the Scripps Notes, I will be driving to the annual conference of the Society of Environmental Journalists from Oct. 15.-18.

Please let me know if you're interested, and also if you'd need financial support to attend the conference.

I am very excited about this conference, not least because it will focus on mountaintop removal in the Appalachians, a topic that I have been following closely for quite some time.

Among the highlights of this conference is a day tour to the Kayford Mountain, an infamous mountaintop removal site.

Photo by Vivian Stockman, OHVEC.

Almost Level 1: Cutting Down Mountains for Coal
Kayford Mountain, about an hour south of Charleston, WV. Notice how the massive dragline is dwarfed by the scale of the operation.

6:00 a.m. departure, lunch included, $30 fee
Larry Gibson's piece of Kayford Mountain used to be the lowest peak for miles. Now it's the highest. There's no better place to see the effects of mountaintop removal coal mining -- a practice that is feeding a growing demand for coal and leveling wide stretches of Appalachia. See an active mine and hear from people who live near the mines and the processing plants and coal trucks that serve them. See mine reclamation and hear from industry representatives who'll tell you why what they're doing is good and necessary.
Driving time -- 6 hours total. But there will be beautiful scenery, informative speakers, and documentaries on the way.

Source: http://www.sej.org/confer/vatech/agenda.htm

]]> 2008-09-26T17:11:00-05:00 Why Facebook is an Iceberg... http://www.scrippsjschool.org/blog/post.php?postID=48 debatin http://www.scrippsjschool.org/blog/post.php?postID=48 ...was one of the questions I answered at the Poynter Media Ethics Workshop, held on Sept. 18 at Kent State University.

My presentation on Facebook and Privacy was part of the panel Online 101: What Students Need to Know About Snark, Social Networks and Survival in Cyberspace.

Click on "session 2" to see the video.

]]> 2008-09-21T04:49:00-05:00 Fall ’08 and yet another blog? http://www.scrippsjschool.org/blog/post.php?postID=39 debatin http://www.scrippsjschool.org/blog/post.php?postID=39 Welcome back, HTC journalism students -- and of course, a special welcome to our new freshmen and -women.

I will be writing this blog occasionally to inform you about special events, meetings, and opportunities, or to throw out some ideas and suggestions for discussion.

The first special event I'd like to mention is the Poynter Media Ethics Workshop at KSU (Kent, OH) on September 18. Its topic is Online Journalism, Blogging, and the Internet.

I will drive up to Kent the day before the conference (leaving around 2 PM) and could take up to 4 students with me. It's FREE for students, but you must register ahead of time.

If you're interested, let me know a.s.a.p. As far as I know, KSU has set up some inexpensive accommodations for the night (I'll let you know more soon).

More info at http://ksumlc.com/events-activities/2008-ethics-workshop/

Oh, and before I forget it... I will give a presentation on "Facebook and Online Privacy" at the workshop.

]]> 2008-09-21T04:45:00-05:00 KSU Ethics Workshop on 9/18 // Update II http://www.scrippsjschool.org/blog/post.php?postID=42 debatin http://www.scrippsjschool.org/blog/post.php?postID=42 Here's more specific information about overnight accommodation at the workshop (for the night of Sept. 17/18):

Kent State University Inn, 330-678-0123, walking distance to campus, $68 per night

Days Inn @ I-76, 330-677-9400, 3 miles from campus, $60-75 per night

Super 8 @ I-76, 330-678-8817, 3 miles from campus, $50-65 per night

Also, if you're having difficulties finding a place to stay you may also contact

Christopher S. Sledzik
Kent State Graduate Student
Miami University Alum 2007
Cell: 330-687-8807
www.transarcticexpedition.com

The website for the Ethics Workshop is at
http://ksumlc.com/events-activities/2008-ethics-workshop/

]]> 2008-09-6T16:26:00-05:00 Update on KSU Ethics Workshop, Sept. 18 http://www.scrippsjschool.org/blog/post.php?postID=41 debatin http://www.scrippsjschool.org/blog/post.php?postID=41 I just heard that the Poynter Media Ethics Workshop does NOT provide dorms for students who want to attend.

However, there's a number of inexpensive motels and hotels in town, and given the fact that there's no fee for students, it is still a good deal. Super 8 at I-76 has rooms with 2 queen beds for $50-65 per night. Days Inn at I-76 has rooms with 2 queens for $60-75 per night.

Again, please let me know if you want to attend. Also, I'd need to know who has a car and who needs a ride...

]]> 2008-09-3T15:06:00-05:00