Anal-ysis

As an extra credit assignment for my mass media law class, we read a New York Times article by David Barstow titled, "

Behind TV Analysts, Pentagon’s Hidden Hand

Catchy, ain't it?

Here's my response -- I figured it deserved a chance to be read by someone other than Sig Splichal...

--The underlying point of this report is that the government is essentially embedding Pentagon war analysts to preach “the good news” to the public. Not only does this go against the entire notion of democracy, but it is quite offensive to find out we’re being duped. As journalists, we desire the truth (or at least we should). As citizens of the United States of America, we expect the truth. But to be fair, you would have to be deaf, dumb and blind to think the media accurately and fairly portrays what is currently going on.

The legal issues that arise in this article deal with freedom of information (FOIA) and access to public records. I found it interesting that the New York Times successfully sued the Defense Department for 8,000 pages of previously unreleased documents. We, as part of the media and the public, have the ability (if you have the $) to retrieve what is rightfully ours. Thankfully we let NYT reach into their own pocket and not ours.

As journalism students, we know the media is an active watchdog over government. We trust this -- otherwise we may as well be an aristocracy. Possibly the most disturbing fact provided by David Barstow’s reporting is that there is a reciprocal relationship between the war journalists and government officials. The exchange of [sometimes classified] information is treated as a gift instead of an expectation. Journalists feel compelled to please these information donors by giving them good press.

The questions is whether or not these journalists will recite the journalistic code of ethics before preaching something that may very well be nonsense. “Several analysts acknowledged they suppressed doubts because they feared jeopardizing their access,” Bartow said. And there is no doubt in my mind that this form of bribery has occurred during every war.

Now, what is the solution? Can we ensure that all future war analysts are actually reporters and not public servants? Is it possible to fight back in hopes of obtaining the truth? Maybe we, as Americans, simply CAN’T HANDLE THE TRUTH (circa ’92-A Few Good Men)! The truth is a frightening, my friends. We should enjoy the fresh air while we can.--

Summer is here, and it is here to stay...as I will try, I hope we (whoever "we" may be) stay in touch.

The time has come...to say goodbye

Classes are out, summer is in the air, and we're still unsure of where this world is heading.  Without CNJ 442 under my belt, I'd be about as certain as my future in journalism as the nation is about our economy.  Fortunately, I am confident that I have learned new skills such as web production, video editing with Final Cut Pro, and most importantly enhancing my ability to tell a story (isn't that what journalism's really all about).  

Every minute I spent on the class truly made me grow as a person/writer/professional/etc.  I know I may sound repetitive, but it is difficult to get such a true point across.  With the creation of this blog to building my own portfolio page to gaining 46+ [current] members of CommTogether, I definitely have something to show for it.

Next semester I will be taking over the new position of WEB EDITOR for Distraction Magazine which will involve first creating a website and then controlling what content goes on the site.  On top of that I will begin my tenure as Opinion Editor for The Miami Hurricane.  I honestly cannot imagine myself committing to these enormous tasks without the boost I've received from Chris Delboni and her CNJ classes. 

Overall, the only thing I can say about this class [442]  is that it is REAL WORLD.  It is the most professional, practical and pragmatic (ooo, I like that word) class in the SoC.  I believe the future of this class will truly be a sign of convergence, having multiple classes working as one to create a final multimedia piece that is sure to win awards.  You must shoot for the stars in order to get off the ground -- that's what I've learned.  

first and foremost

This is my original web video bio for my portfolio site. It didn't end up working for my site because it leans more towards a video blog than a video bio. I thought it deserved a chance to be seen...enjoy:




My next blog will be explaining what I learned CNJ 442 (online media) and what changes I believe should be implemented.

Here it is.

Wow, I apologize for the extraordinary delay. It's been over a week since I've shared my thoughts with my possible readers. No excuses.

Just as a side note: (if you go to University of Miami) pick up the second addition of Distraction. If you don't know what Distraction is, it is a student-run publication that does, as is should, give you a few moments to get away from the stressful life we all lead.

Next semester, as managing editor, I hope to create a website for Distraction. The website will enable a larger audience to enjoy exactly the same (plus supplementary) material only UM students, faculty and staff get a chance to see.

On another note, CNJ 442 has created a communications social network called CommTogether (you better get that Beatles reference). I began inviting anyone an everyone who I believed would participate and truly enjoy the mode and mindset of constant communication. Of the 30 some-odd people I invited was Rabbi of ChabadUM (Jewish organization) Mendi Fellig.

Within 15 minutes, I received a text message, then a telephone call from Mendi describing what a terrific idea he thought it was.

The ideas began flowing.

One network we decided to create was a closed network strictly for board members. Another was an open network for anyone to join. This concept of constant and immediate communication makes it so much easier for organizations to communicate. In the coming months, semesters, years, I am sure this idea will change the way companies, organizations and whatever else, runs. Objectives will become easier to accomplish and goals will be that much closer to start.

Argghhh (like a pirate) 2

I suggest looking at this website: 10 ways the internet will die.

It is quite comprehensive and creative in that it explores many details that some of us may have never even contemplated. It discusses several possibilities of "online pirates;" but not in the sense of pirating music. Hackers, thieves, villains -- they all exist in cyberspace; which is pretty interesting to think about. Back in the day (or even still today) pirate ships would dock at specific port city's. These cities would become known for their evil attributes and subsequently deemed the "bowels of Earth."

Now that cyberspace has offered the possibility of spaceless space, or cyberspace, these same [types of] villains can go above and beyond anything you or I have ever imagined.

Soon, if not already, they will be able to hop over your firewall and send your Norton AntiVirus into the depths of cyberhell.

You may feel nice, warm and cozy now, but when your credit card bills are out the roof and your identity is obtained and used by groups of villains, I promise you won't feel the same.

If the government can tap your phones, read your emails and even watch your instant messages, then why couldn't the smartest of evil men and women do the same?

My intent here is obviously not to scare you, although I am well aware I may be doing just that. In fact, I believe if you live your life scared, nothing will get accomplished. Rather, I intend to inform you so when and if something so terrible as your identity being stolen happens, it won't come as a surprise.

Good Luck, and enjoy>>

Argghhh (like a pirate)

It seems as though the cat is out of the bag. "Oh no! Fault cannot be admitted! That would make us...ahhh...failures."

Well indeed it would. But who has ever perfected anything on the first try? I'm pretty sure that for every new and upcoming concept/idea/invention/creation/convergence, there is a gestation period in which logistics are tweaked and kinks removed.

If you haven't already figured it out, I am hinting at the fabulous concept of converging CNJ442 with CVJ341. Chris Delboni and Dr. Michelle Seelig should be proud, even honored to have ignited a spark that WILL change the University of Miami's journalism programs forever. I am not trying to say that they reinvented fire, that is not even the intention. The intention is to use that fire to make an oven. Inside that oven are two cute little guinea pigs (ie. CNJ/CVJ classes).

*I don't know who eats guinea pigs, but just follow me.

So we have two guinea pigs in an oven and if their cooked incorrectly, the meat might be raw or even burnt. Wow, that was a terrible analogy, I thought I had something in the works, but I guess not. What I'm trying to say is that the concept is ingenious, but the time was not taken to work out the minor details.

These minor details seemingly grew to into confusion, frustration and apathy which lead to an arduous string of blaming. Just thinking about it sort of makes me want to scream, but the lesson to be learned here is that it DOES NOT hurt to try. If you don't try, the ball will never get rolling and we'll be stuck in this infinite state of static technology. Boring.

Who wants that?

Whole New World.

Thinking of the future, several questions hover over most University students' heads.  

1. What am I going to do in a year or two when I graduate?

2. How will I be able to put food on my table?

3. Is there a balance between work and pleasure (ie. will I enjoy my job)?

...etc.

Well, as my junior year comes to a close, I have to start looking at my options.  My father has connections in the business world, but do I really want to take that (simple) specific route?  Or do I want to follow my dream and make money using my written words?  Is there some sort of way to combine my ability to be clear, concise and correct while earning a decent living?

I've been thinking about this for some time now, and I was thinking that any connections I may have now cannot possibly know what the future holds and how this converging world of ours will look in five, ten, fifteen years.

Think about it.  We are the first generation that will truly be able to see, and be apart of the absurdity to come.

Legal or not? That is the question

A former journalism professor of mine, Sam Terilli, graced us with his cynical presence in room 3033 at the School of Communication (SOC). Ironically beginning his discussion with the question "Why blog," Terilli put on his lawyer hat and gave some personal insight into the world of tomorrow. "SOC asked me to write a blog," he said. "But I don't know why." In some sense, he is absolutely right. Then he proposed the question that, I think, made most of my classmates (including myself, excluding Greg Linch) squirm a little. "How many people read your blogs?" ...Silence. Actually with Google Analytics you can find out. To date, I have had 60 people come to my blogspot. I'm not quite sure how that is supposed to make me feel, but hey, its better than zero. Terilli compared blogs, in general, to online journals, with its sole purpose to give people a chance to vent. But I disagree with that. Blogging is multi-directional. There are many channels of understanding that lay between the writer (me), and those 60 lucky people out there in this world wide web of chaos. Even though 50 or so of those people that have come across eStablishment probably made a typo somewhere, it is still incentive to keep writing. Maybe someone's life will be changed after reading an ever so meaningful blog post...even by accident.

But, to be fair, there are some boulders you have to watch out for when putting words in a public forum. Defamation, for example, even by accident, could bring repercussions like fines (sometimes 5 or 6 figures ($)), or even jail time; meaning: don't piss off the wrong guy (or gal). Unfortunately for us lowly writers/bloggers, the Communications Decency Act of 1996 holds us entirely responsible. According to section 230, if a company or website provides access for people to publish, they are immune.

This leads to an ongoing discussion of anonymous posting. Sites like JuicyCampus.com (*be warned) allow for the most vile, inflammatory speech known to human kind. Well, the problem is, if you are defamed, where to point your finger. Legally, you can't blame JuicyCampus. They are just a host. The other side to this argument is first amendment based. A fundamental part of our society is being able to speak anonymously. If you break off the leg of a table, the table shall fall...you follow.

So, as the weekend begins, keep these things in mind and maybe try and exercise your right to speak anonymously. And by no means am I endorsing Juicy Campus.

Home Sweet Home

Finally back in the States and it feels good to take a deep breath of American air. Not that I didn't have the most incredible time, but its good to hear your native tongue after a week of being submerged in a frenzy of French, Spanish, Portuguese, and Dutch. I apologize for not being up to date with photo's from my trip, but the 48 hours leading to my arrival in the US was quite hectic. Just to give you a little idea the last 24 hours consisted of a 6 hour bus ride from Amsterdam to Lille, France, a one hour train ride from Lille to Paris, then it took me about 40 minutes to find the right metro to go from Gare de Nord (Paris North) to Charles de Gaulle Airport. From there, the airport floor in front of American Airlines became my home for 8 hours before I was able to board my plane and sit there for another 9 hours. Whew. Now I have a terrible kink in my neck and cannot look to the right. But that is for another time, another place.

In regards to the lifestyle of a backpack journalist...honestly, it was extremely tough. Trying to maintain an unbiased viewpoint of the various cultures all while taking it in at such an incredible rate was the hardest part. My Nikon D70s proved too bulky to carry around at all times so most of the photos were taken on a small digital camera. This is just one small lesson to be learned from a week long+ trip that I am still attempting digest. For now, though, I have only memories to adjust my thoughts, but I am sure, after the jetlag settles, there will be much to discuss.

on-the-go

My first thoughts as a "backpack" journalist (this is my first on-the-go blog, using my iPhone)... I'm sitting in a bar in Lille with no Americans for miles. For some reason, it feels quite homey. The bartender, Lou Lou can speak the same amount of English that I can French--pathetically minimal (considering the four years of French I took in high school). I manage to order a drink and out of pity, Lou Lou makes a faint attempt at small talk.

Staring off into space I realize I'm looking at a bright yellow sign that reads, "Quand l'ordre est injustice, le desorde est deja un commencement de justice." I guess those four grueling years of French class paid off in some way in that I am fairly certain the translation goes: "When order (law) is unjust, the disorder is just the beginning of justice." I'm not sure if I like the quote, or just my ability to comprehend it, but I think it is getting at something powerful. It is an optimists way of seeing the world today. It is a comment on the natural cycles of society and life. As the economy in the U.S. can very well be an example, decline is only the beginning of rise, and that is what we shall see soon enough.

To bring this to journalism, specifically online: the rise and growth of internet journalism "...est deja un commencement de justice." It is an exciting time in the history of the world, and we should look at it that way. Enough pessimism, it never did anyone any good.

de France

Here are some photographs of Lille I took earlier today, enjoy...

Lille

Some anonymous friendly locals having a tasty beverage

There is much more to come. My adventures in western Europe have only begun and I intend to share all that is appropriate with you.

FYI

Just a heads up to all you lovely readers out there:  I will be in Europe until Monday the 17th.  Currently I am in Lille in the north of France and will be in Amsterdam from the 14th through the 16th.  

Downhill Slope

There is an idea/concept that I have wanted to explore in detail. I believe I have mentioned it in a previous context, that the idea of internet lingo taking over, and being woven into colloquial speech, is a problem in our society. Currently, the topic is being discussed by hundreds of language experts worldwide. In an essay titled "'Whatever': Is the Internet Destroying Language," written by American University professors, they ask "Is electronically-mediated communication a linguistic free-for-all, or are there shared rules that users either follow or violate?"

This brings up a good point. I think the easy answer is that it depends...but depends on what? In the case of an online journalism blog for, lets say, an online journalism class, appropriate, linguistically-correct diction should be mandatory. On the other hand, all electronically-mediated communication has the potential to mash up the language. It is each and every one of our duties to preserve the words and the way we use these words to make meaningful sentences.

If there is one distinction to make between citizen journalists and those calling themselves citizen journalists, it is that the followers of all linguistic rules are the true journalists. Everyone else who has the nerve to call themselves a journalist or even commentator and then mess up the language should be ashamed.

So my main point, I think, is that the preservation of language is vital to the transforming world of electronic media. If "Murphy's Law" is always true, then in 5-10 years CNN, MSNBC, FOX, etc. will be indistinguishable from tabloid magazines such as Star and the National Enquirer. I don't think anyone wants that (at least not anyone interested in material such as this).

Mr. Ricardo Lopez

Thursday February 28th, the day before the glorious day of the leap year, Ricardo Lopez, a multimedia journalist, along with Candace Barbot from the Miami Herald visited room 3034 at the University of Miami's School of Communication. CNJ 442, my online journalism class was graced with their presence and were spoken to about the art of videography.  Having created several videos to go along with print stories in the past, I was able to gather plenty of information from Ricardo's lecture.  

In particular, the Lemonade Kid grabbed my attention.  Ricardo mentioned that he did not know where or when this video was shot/published.  First of all, the audio is perfect.  It convinced me that a lavaliere microphone was the only way to go.  From very wide shots (VWS),  to extreme close ups (ECU), the mind behind this video knew exactly what he was doing.  Beyond the post-production, the specific shots were all purposeful and made a difference in the audience's perspective...

To move on to another topic, I was assigned "Television" for a multimedia package project.  I plan on covering the UMTV show "Off the Wire."  To be completely honest,  I have never listened to or watched "Off the Wire," but after reading some commentary, the award winning, late-night comedy show seems to grasp a large audience and "explores the irony and idiosyncrasies of pop culture, politics, and college life.  Local Miami personalities, live antics, witty jokes, and original comedy sketches are the cornerstone of the show which is taped before a live studio  audience."  

I am excited to work with this ambitious group of students and hope it will produce an authentic, valuable, piece of media that will dispense the culture and ideas they are attempting to portray.  

As my handful of readers should already know (as per the title/caption) eStablishment is meant to be a forum used to discuss the new and developing world of eVerything. I was thinking about it, and although the "e-world" is eVer so present, so is the "iWorld."

Yes, we all know of iPod, iPhone, and iTunes, just to name a few, but there is actually an entire iWorld, not directly related to Apple. There is iRace, a company that created virtual horse racing where subscribers worldwide can place bets, we have iLight, a company dedicated to perfecting accented LED lighting technology, and the list continues...

*Note: I actually just searched the lowercase letter "i" in front of random words. Most were plug-ins and add-ons for Apple products, but I suppose the "i____" format isn't patented.

There actually is an iWorld that exists, but unfortunately the site gives little insight on what their product is. Actually, all they say is that it will be a high speed, highly functional search engine.

See for yourself...iWorld.

But beyond all of the accented lighting/virtual horse-betting nonsense, the most important thing to realize is that a trend is quite obviously being set. People have been picking up on it more and more rapidly and soon enough our entire lives will be prefaced with "i."

So be sure, if you choose to follow the trend, you do it with true intentions (I had a friend who attempted to start up the website "iPorn"--self-explanatory). And no, money and fame are not true intentions.

how long do we have to wait to see...

How do you think the internet is affecting the way news organizations cover events? We've heard it hundreds of times now that the meaning of timeliness has come to describe events that are happening RIGHT NOW. No longer can you print something that happened 12 hours ago. No way, the readers have already read it 2-3 times by then. The change in meaning can either go one of two ways:
1) We develop ways to get what is important directly to the reader ASAP. I think in the near future, journalists will be writing their stories via mobile phones while they are in the heat of the moment and then upload it directly to a server. Actually, I would be surprised if this wasn't already occurring.
or 2) Simply put, chaos. The entire business goes down the drain. Everyone will be putting eVerything on the web and good content will be indistinguishable from the bad.

Now I consider myself quite cynical, but I actually wonder what would follow if the latter happened. The concept of the fourth estate aka watchdog would disappear entirely. Broadcast companies would spew lies to the public and no one would know the difference. Maybe that's already happening. I guess in some sense I believe in Murphy's Law: whatever can go wrong, will go wrong. But at the same time we could be heading to an undeniably futuristic and intellectual period of journalism.

Only time will tell...

Clear and Present...

I dug up an article on Digg.com entitled "What the Social Web Looked like in the 90's."  Pretty much the general idea was to compare and contrast some specific aspects of the futuristic lifestyle we lead to the closest possible correlation in the 90's.  Here are my 2 favorites:

1. Before YouTube... there was "America's Funniest Home Video's"--That made me laugh because I was just watching a Bob Saget stand-up special and by God

does he have a dirty mouth.  

But think about it, not that I think YouTube is the new America's Funniest, but YouTube is the second most visited site on the web.  AFHV was up there on TV, but it was mostly, if not all  nonsense.  YouTube has social value.  There is nonsense, but there's also some of the highest valued content on the web.  

2. Before Digg... there was your local newspapers "Top Stories of the Year" issue--What now?  Now we have a website in which the most popular stories of the moment are constantly being put up for everyone else to read.  It is slightly cyclical if you think about it... if everyone is checking out Digg and Digg displays the most read articles, then the most read articles will be read by everyone checking out Digg... I hope that makes sense to anyone else but me.  But it's genius.  The only questionable step in the process is how to make people knowledgeable about the website.  

These are just some reminders of the good ol' days.  

To relate this to online journalism (I'm going to start calling it OJ), change is occurring.  We are living a transition and we are part of the transition.  We can assist the transition or make it a rocky road to success.  It is up to us.  The next generation of journalists are here and they're here to make a difference.  We have grown up with this technology and understand how to make it work.  We will make it work. 

Communication Week 2007 10am Panel

I'm going to try something new...I believe Greg Linch has successfully attempted to "live-blog" before, so why not give it a go? (updates have been going on throughout the weekend, so it is not technically live... but it was at the time)

10:02am-The morning after Thursday night is bright and hot. The sun warms the drunken soul and brings it back to life. Ricardo Lopez is setting up what seems to be a multimedia presentation. Students are awaiting anxiously for the workshop to begin...

10:07am-Panelist introductions:

Ricardo Lopez-Miami Herald Visual Journalist

Will Payne-current.tv Outreach Associate

Brent McDonald-New York Times Video Journalist

10:25am-6 or 7 of us followed current.tv employee Will Payne outside to talk about video. Beyond the technicalities, there are four main guidelines to creating a stimulating video/documentary:
1) Character
2) Information
3) Movement
4) Conflict
As self-evident as this may seem, few people are aware of these basic guidelines than one may think. At the end of the day, storytelling is something that is communicated orally, so when submitting or editing a video, close your eyes and listen...does the audio make sense logically? Do jumps from one interview to another make sense? These are some questions to ask yourself according to Payne. The only thing that matters, he said, is content. "When you have great content, people take notice."

11:00am- Re-group in Wolfson 2055. Panelists had a chance to show us some of their own work. It may seem obvious that 3 "new media" journalists would all show video, but I was surprised that little else was mentioned (ie. Print).

11:30am-Part II of the panel begins. Joining the previous three panelists are Suzanne Levinson, who graciously treated CNJ442 with her presence only 2 weeks ago, and Phil Lewis, Vice President of the Naples Daily News.

The next 1 1/2 hours consisted of the panelists sharing their ideas and opinions on the future. It seems as though there is nothing else to think about but what comes next. The fact is that we do not know and we will not know until it actually arrives. But for now, we should all accept the fate that things are changing, and all of those old timers in the media world that refuse to assimilate will soon be retiring and making way for next generation. The kids of this next generation will change the way news is portrayed, sold, and consumed. The one common thought amongst all the panelists, and myself, is that content is the key to success. If you hustle to get the best content, you will be an incredible journalist.

In the Now

I was contemplating life yesterday, and among all of its infinite wonder, I realized that the most important thing is the present. Yes, global warming may destroy Mother Earth, and yes, we probably should not have been dumping toxic waste in the middle of the country, but as a man wiser than myself once said, "Such is life."

Such is life, such is life, such is life. The reason this thought sped across my mind came from a combination of my public speaking class as well as the almighty Instant Messenger. In class, we did an exercise in which each student stood up and had to speak for 1 minute without using a filler. A filler is something you subconsciously say such as "uh" or "um" or "like" or "you know," etc. (Believe me, you use them more than you think...). So 60 seconds is quite a long time when consciously trying to do something you didn't even realize you do. Anyway, it made me think about how mangled colloquial American English has become and how I want to do something about it.

Back to Instant Messenger: I was talking to a friend and she was using all these fillers in her typed messages (I will put the fillers in bold).

Me: Hey, how are you doing?
Her: I mean, I'm ok.
Me: Ok doesn't sound good...
Her: These girls are like being so rude to me

etc. etc.

It really made me sad to see the language written out like this. In the same conversation I was also thinking about the fact that each message is an instantaneous portrayal of oneself through written language. That girl, for example, was made to look like a "dits" or a "bimbo" in those two messages when in fact, she has a 4.0 GPA and was valedictorian of her graduating high school class. Who would've known.

Online journalism takes hold in a similar way. These blogs, for example, are instantaneous responses to the outside world that are being shared with anyone and everyone. Each reader is making a momentary observation which will, in turn, evoke emotion about the writer.

I don't believe that I have any answers to give, or even questions to bring up at this time, but the instantaneous portrayal of oneself is something interesting to think about.

So what is next? It seems as though the entire universe is rotating in the same direction, in complete unison. Let me explain: originality is fading. Movies for example--if I were to take a guess at what percentage of new films released are remakes, I would say 50-60%. I think there is one of two explanations:

1) People are lazy

2) There are only so few ideas floating around this universe and they have all been thought up before.

That may be little extreme, but take technology--we cannot even comprehend what is coming next, but no matter what, there will always be what I like to call "combo-ventions." Quite simply a combination of multiple inventions. I think it started with the camera-phone, but maybe that is when I first picked up on it.

I'm rambling...

Convergence Journalism (back on track)--there is no better way to combine all of the incredible technologies that society has been perfecting over hundreds of years, than to jumble them up in a logical sense and create a multimedia story.

Allison Diaz has perfected all the skills needed to create one of these sensational stories. Using Audio, and still photography, she is able to tell a story emotionally and honestly. It was interesting to talk with her and hear first hand what it is like to be a recent graduate trying to make ends-meat.

The use of audio in a multimedia story can not only compliment the still photography or video that it is layered upon, but also act as the glue holding together the entire story.

The Significance of Insignificance

To explain the title:  I've always liked opposites and the way things work for and/or against each other.  I was thinking about blogs recently and how there are millions upon millions of people out there on the World Wide Web typing away everything from nonsensical gibberish to intensive political analysis.  Most of the blogs out there are not and will never be read by another human being, (hence the insignificance) but the simple fact that there are millions upon millions of people needing to express their mind is, in fact, significant.  It represents a trend that is being followed by so many out there.  Why write something that no one will read? Because at the same time everyone might read it!

I was reading a New York Times article about a song that Black Eyed Peas singer will.i.am produced in support of Barak Obama; the star-studded music video was released on YouTube and was an instant success.  Here's what the Time's editorial observer Andrew Rosenthal said:

"This song is a prime example of how user-generated content sites are undeniably affecting voter engagement this election cycle.  Purchasing four and a half minutes of national airtime would have been near impossible, but the Internet can reach that highly sought youth audience gratis." 

And boy is he ever correct!  Added just three days ago, the video already has over 1.3 million views on the initial post alone.  What more could a presidential candidate ask for than free, unrequested advertising by 30 recognizable Hollywood faces.

Check out the video here

It is real

I found it interesting to find out the other day that the "comments" section of The Miami Herald website is the second most visited part of the site.  This proposes an excellent and progressive concept that moves one more step closer to citizen journalism.  I believe that more and more the voice of the common man will want to be heard, and eventually, need to be heard.  It will be the watchdog of this country.  

For some reason I have this strange belief that although the media is supposed to be the fourth estate, the government has some hand in what they say.  It goes completely against the the idea of the first amendment and negates the watchdog concept, but  if this is true, which I am not saying it is, then the public will search long and hard for an outlet; that outlet being blogs (possibly).  

Content Content Content...

Even before the knowledge of time, people have been speaking their mind. Although sometimes suppressed by the powers that be, ideas consume and spread amongst the people in which they pass by. The forum in which this speech is given has changed through time, as it continues to do today. But, whether it be through editorial, blog, or even classroom note-passing, thoughts need outlets.
Today, blogging is that outlet. Some say that bloggers are the closest comparable writers to journalists in the late 16th and 17th century. Now, this theory proposes several concepts that can be discussed in great detail with much research. But, if it is true that modern bloggers resemble the journalistic mindset of, say, Benjamin Franklin, then how did one spread those ideas? It is hard to say because circulation back then was limited, and the literate population even more so.
But now that everyone with the ability to visit this blog, or any, can most likely read, how and why do we want pass our ideas on?
These are all questions being posed by the academic world that can only be answered with time.
Another idea I would like to bring up is the correlation between blogging and reality TV. I am not quite sure what the connection is, but, as far as I can remember, they exploded in our face around the same time.
This, among many other things, will be the topic of this blog called eStablishment. Everything today is "e" something; eHarmony (dating), eMail, eCommerce, etc. Our world is becoming "e," and once again, only time will tell what this means.