Charming the Reporters

With a 64 percent disapproval rating on how President Bush is handling his job as president (American Research Group, Inc.), it is rare to find an enthusiastic Bush supporter nowadays especially in the liberal loving city of San Francisco. But in Journeys with George, a 2002 documentary about Bush and his gang of reporters on the campaign trail, it is hard not to find President Bush (Governor, at the time)…as hard as it is to admit…likable.

Pushing all bad Bush politics aside, I found myself laughing at the boloney loving Bush, and thinking he’d be a fun guy to throw a beer back with. Throughout the documentary it is clear that the filmmaker, Alexandra Pelosi, Nancy Pelosi’s daughter, likes Bush too, as she falls under the charming spell of the relaxed cowboy from time to time. But in the end, despite Bush’s best rhetoric, Pelosi still ends up voting democratically (good girl). Pelosi didn’t allow her vote to sway from politics to personality, but it makes me wonder, how much a good joke or a friendly smile figures at the ballot box? According to Max Brantley, editor of the Arkansas Times, the charm factor is dishearteningly significant as a slew of national journalists find it more relevant to report on personality rather than policies.

“I’ve really been surprised at the utter absence of reporting that’s been done on Mike Huckabee,” said Brantley in an On the Media interview last week. “There are very legitimate issues on the national stage, whether it’s his fair tax proposal or his stance on some social issues, that deserve some examination, but they’re been put to the side to focus on his jokes and his charming manner and his pardoning of a Rolling Stones guitar player.”

Brantley has reason to be concerned, as he feels that his former Arkansas Governor and current red-hot Republican Presidential candidate is unfairly avoiding national criticism due to his likability factor. In the interview with Brantley, Bob Garfield host of On the Media, summed up Brantley’s complaint by saying, “Huckabee, he says (Brantley), has become the newest darling of the National media without any due diligence. He (Brantley) cites, for instance, a laundry list of Huckabee’s brushes with the Arkansas Ethics Commission, something he wishes those national columnists would take the time to learn about.”

These national columnists include the New York Time’s David Brooks who called Huckabee “funny and engaging,” while New Yorker magazine’s Hendrick Hertzberg finds Huckabee’s rhetoric, “almost impossible not to like.” Brantley finds the lack of actual reporting on Huckabee, a politician he is all too familiar with, to be a disservice to the public. After all, shouldn’t we, as the potential voters, be more concerned with Huckabee’s past mishaps (i.e. using his mansion operating account as a personal expense account when he first become Governor) rather than if he is funny or not? “I think the Bush record didn’t get fully and completely reported until his second term,” said Brantley, who is hoping that history doesn't repeat itself. The last thing the United States needs is to vote for another “funny” president who would be fun to have a beer with…look how well that turned out.

Are Bloggers Journalists?

If you are a part of the conversation in the new web 2.0 world sooner or later you will journey into what is becoming a classic debate (at least in the study of journalism)- should bloggers be considered journalists?

The debate crept its way into my Journalism Ethics class this Wednesday as we began the discussion with Rebecca Blood’s guidelines for bloggers:
1. Publish as fact only that which you believe to be true.
2. If material exists online, link to it when you reference it.
3. Publicly correct any misinformation.
4. Write each entry as if it could not be changed; add to, but do not rewrite or delete, any entry.
5. Disclose any conflict of interest.
6. Note questionable and biased sources.
Blood believes that these six standards are the “sufficient” means to which blogging should be conducted and considered credible. A particularly nice point that Blood makes on the difference between blogger and journalist is, “rights have associated responsibilities; in the end it is an individual’s professionalism and meticulous observance of recognized ethical standards that determines her status in the eyes of society and the law.”

In other words, if you are going to fancy yourself a journalist than you better conduct yourself in an ethical and professional capacity (in which you can be held responsible) by not only Blood’s standards of “believing” what you write to be true, but by knowing what you’re writing is true through a systematic approach of researching your topic and gathering sources and opinions just as any other print journalist would.

Furthermore, I find it outlandish for someone to completely dismiss the idea of bloggers being considered journalists when there is no clear distinction of what constitutes a journalist. There is no journalism license as there is for lawyers or doctors there is no bar to pass or MCATS to Ace, so why discount citizens who are responsibly reporting relevant and provocative information via a blog?

Ultimately, you cannot label all bloggers as journalists or all bloggers as non journalists. It should be viewed only on a case-by-case blog by blog distinction. You can label Joshua Marshall of Talking Points Memo a journalist, but I would be hesitant to say that my friend’s anonymous blog about their weekly routine is up to journalism’s standards.

The Ethics of Privacy

Privacy…an aspect of life that us “ordinary folk” often take for granted. Typical America isn’t plagued by fears of someone rummaging through our garbage and analyzing our latest Safeway purchases. Nor are we in a constant state of worry over what people are saying about us, thinking about us, and seeing of us. But this isn’t America. This is Hollywood, where nothing is typical. It is where celebrities are flocked by herds of ferocious photographers and reporters, as the aspect of privacy goes straight out the door. But how far is too far? What are the ethics of invading the privacy of the rich and famous?

Perez Hilton, a blogger who has become famous for blogging, would say they are fair game. He happily flaunts the flaws and misfortunes of celebrities by showing the latest panty-less party of Britney Spears and the naked naughtiness of Vanessa Hudgens. Hilton isn’t the only one, as the industry of celebrity obsessing has grown to an obscene degree with the Usweeklys, Peoples, and In touchs of today’s newsstands. Last March, the celebrity news blog Gawker.com began taking advantage of the Google Maps tool to show exactly where and when a star was spotted just moments after a sighting.

But for celebrities, the industry of obsessing over their everyday routines is invasive and often dangerous. Earlier this month, video obtained by tmz.com showed George Clooney scolding paparazzi for driving recklessly while following him on his motorcycle. "What they're doing is illegal," said Clooney in an interview on Entertainment Tonight. "It's high-speed chases and they're competing with each other. They're not trying to catch me doing something stupid, they're trying to create me doing something stupid. You don't get to break all these laws and then say, 'I'm just doing my job.'" And although some would argue that they asked for this, because they are in the spotlight, it is the degree to which it has been taken, that has gone to far. "You can drive all you want, you can take my picture all you want, but what you cannot do is put people in danger," said Clooney.

I admit, that the consumption of these magazines can be a guilty pleasure (only People for me!), in which the average girl can phase out the stresses of their daily lives and contemplate that of others. However, I fundamentally disagree with the lengths to which it has been taken and believe that the youth of today’s generation should be concerning themselves with issues of true importance (like the Iraq war, our upcoming election) in which the invasion of privacy is a necessity in furthering our social education.

A New Semester = A New Class Blog

To find out what is happening in Professor Robertson's American Journalism Ethics at USF check out the class blog.

It's Finals-Have a Laugh

In case you haven't already seen it-or if you can watch it multiple times without it ever getting old (like myself) here is The Landlord. Featuring Will Ferrell and Adam McKay's (director and co-write of Anchorman and Talladega Nights) two year old daughter, Pearl.

Conan Comes to SF

Would you be herded like sheep into a caged claustrophobic line for at least five hours on bustling Market Street? Would you be forced into a chaotic stampede within the famous walls of the elegant Orpheum Theatre? And would you do all of this for a lanky redheaded man who enjoys horny manatees? I would- And I did. But this wasn’t for any man-it was for Conan O’Brien.

For one week only Conan O’Brien moved his famous string controlled hips out west to San Francisco to tape his show, Late Night with Conan O’Brien. The NBC show, which airs from 12:35am to 1:30am, attracted 3,000people (who emailed for the free tickets months in advanced) a day to the Orpheum Theatre to see celebrity guests, which ranged from the raunchy Robin Williams and Snoop Dogg to the creative genius of George Lucas. I was lucky enough to attend Monday’s show, which featured actor Dana Carvey, comedian Jasper Redd, and musical guest the Arctic Monkeys.

When the Emmy award winning O’Brien made his way to the set, which featured an elaborate replica of the Golden Gate Bridge, he easily joked, “we had a replica of the bay bridge but it collapsed,” the audience erupted into a roaring frenzy. “I can’t explain the energy that was going through the room,” said 2nd row fan, Jason Palone. “I lost my voice by the end.” The ecstatic cheers reached deafening levels for a video short of O’Brien sightseeing in China Town, pretending to be a tour guide at the “penis tower (Coit Tower),” and loudest of all, was when O’Brien went to the Full House house in Alamo Square and was greeted by Danny Tanner himself (Bob Saget).

The rowdy and reactive crowd was so loud that O’Brien was quoted later that night by NBC11 saying, “tomorrow we are going to encourage the crowd to start drinking two hours before, so by the time they get here they are in nap mode.” But the cheers could not be subsided even with O’Brien’s signature “simmer down my babies,” when O’Brien and Marin County resident and Saturday Night Live Alum, Dana Carvey, who wasn’t promoting any project, burst into the songs “San Francisco (Be Sure to Wear Some Flowers in Your Hair)” by Scott McKenzie and “Lights” by Journey.

A Transgender Transamerica Building driving a Trans Am, the endorsement of Sam Wong’s restaurant in China Town, traffic insights on “Late Night Talk,” and trips to the winery bliss of Napa County, made Late Night with Conan O’Brien an unforgettable San Francisco treat. The tailor-made San Francisco pokes and jokes could only be heard on the shows during April 30th to May 4th but it’s never to late for insomniacs, night owls, and camera happy tourists visiting the Big Apple (where O’Brien is based), to catch the charismatic Conan for some late night laughs.

Butter and Egg Days Parade

Mouths watering, taste buds buzzing with delight, and stomachs brimming over our jeans to the point of unbuttoning. What sinful combination always hits these marks? Butter and Eggs. The quaint town of Petaluma, California understands the capability of butter and eggs and relishes in it every year as strollers and straw hats cluttered Petaluma Boulevard for their Butter and Egg Days Parade.

Situated in the winery bliss of Sonoma County, Petaluma, has been celebrating their agricultural heritage and close-knit community with the Butter and Egg Days Parade for the past 26 years. This year on a sticky 80 something Saturday, the theme of the parade was “Super Town, Super Heroes,” with the fire department, who is celebrating their 150th anniversary, as the grand marshal. Other parade floats and participants included Boy Scout troops, Churches, Banks, High School cheerleading squads, Vietnam vets, and a group of mothers who were representing their soldier sons that are serving in Iraq.

But before the two hour parade got under way there was cow chip throwing contests, a multitude of arts and crafts for the kids, and the Cutest Chick Contest, where parents were given the guilt free pleasure of dressing their toddlers up in fluffy feathered frocks. Despite the cuteness of these kids the highlight of the parade was celebrating the Petaluma Fire Department, which is the third oldest Fire Department in California. Because of this landmark year for the Fire Department, 20 firefighting vehicles which ranged from modern to historic, paraded throughout town as firemen traded their hoses for squirt guns to relieve the fiery heat. And as the sun began to set behind the Petaluma hills, hotspots like McNears changed the atmosphere from parade to party as Petalumans spilled out onto the streets with red cups in hand.

Awwwing at the ‘cutest chick,’ sucking down some cold brewskys, and leisurely viewing float after float makes for the community warmth only found in small towns and at the Butter and Egg Days Parade in Petaluma.