Research Methods

Question 1: Weather Story #1
Q: Name the costliest hurricane in the United States since 1900.
A: Hurricane Katrina was the costliest hurricane that took place in the U.S. since 1900.
Q: When and where did it occur?
A: Hurricane Katrina hit southeast and southwest Florida, Louisiana, Mississippi and Alabama in Aug. 2005.
Q: How much were the damages?
A: Hurricane Katrina cost $81,000,000,000 in damages.

Source: National Hurricane Center
http://www.nhc.noaa.gov/Deadliest_Costliest.shtml

Question 2: Weather Story #2
Q: Find a site that offers good tips on earthquake preparedness.
A: The U.S. Geological Survey Web site offers very useful tips on what to do before, after, and during an earthquake, a list of frequently asked questions and links to other earthquake preparedness Web sites that cater to more specific audiences (ex: Preparedness tips for families with children).

Source: USGS
Useful tips from USGS: http://earthquake.usgs.gov/prepare/
FAQs: http://earthquake.usgs.gov/learn/faq/?categoryID=14

Links for specific audiences: http://earthquake.usgs.gov/learn/topics/?topicID=25&topic=Preparedness

Question 3: Plane Crashes
In Colorado (from 1/1/09 to 12/31/09):
Q: How many fatal crashes occurred in the last year?
A: 4 fatal crashes. 1/11/09 in Hayden, 1/15/09 in Wray, 2/1/09 in Elbert, 7/9/09 in Similia.
Q: How many nonfatal crashes occurred in the last year?
A: 41 nonfatal crashes.
Q: If the type of plane or company involved has had more than one fatal crash in the last year or two, check the record of that company using the same query site.
A: N/A.
Q: In 2000 the NTSB conducted a major investigation of an airplane crash in which 88 people died. What was the airline?
A: Alaska Airlines.
Q: In 2006 how many people died in the crash in Lexington, KY?
A: 49 people died.

Source: National Transportation Safety Board
For the first three questions: http://www.ntsb.gov/ntsb/Response2.asp (from 1/1/09 to 12/31/09 in Colorado)
For the last two questions: http://www.ntsb.gov/ntsb/major.asp

Rathergate: mistakes and lessons learned

Sep. 8, 2004 will forever be remembered as Memogate/Rathergate, or the day when CBS aired a 60 Minutes Wednesday report that scrutinized President Bush’s National Guard service just two months before the presidential election. The report focused on documents that were allegedly written by Lieutenant Colonel Jerry B. Killian, Bush’s commander. The documents alleged that President Bush disobeyed orders and received special treatment during his service in the National Guard.

Almost immediately after the report aired, bloggers began questioning and investigating the authenticity of these documents. Several experts, including Joseph M. Newcomer, concluded that the documents could have easily been forged in Microsoft Word due to the ease at which one could copy and paste the allegedly typewritten text. Other bloggers picked up on, contributed to, and spread word that the alleged documents that CBS’s report was based off of were forged, and soon bloggers were demanding for an explanation from CBS.

Facing the pressure of bloggers who questioned their transparency, the network fired Producer Mary Mapes, Executive Producer Josh Howard, Senior Vice President Betsy West, and Senior Broadcast Producer Mary Murphy. However, the most significant change in CBS’s staff took place when longtime anchor Dan Rather resigned a few months after the report aired. Although Rather had not been involved in any of the research for the story, he joined CBS in defending the documents’ authenticity for about two weeks following the broadcast. To this day, many CBS viewers allege that Rather’s resignation is a direct result of his false claims.

It is my belief that if a reporter wants to deliver a message and connect with their audience, the message better be credible. The problem with Rathergate is as simple as that—a lack of credibility. I’ll admit that from a business standpoint, with the struggling state of today’s media, media conglomerates are doing everything they can to improve ratings and increase revenue, and to them that means breaking the next big story before someone else does. However, if conglomerates pressure reporters to race to throw together stories that are based on rumors and half-truths, the public is going to start to see those networks as no more than greedy rating-grabbers who cannot be trusted and will ignore their coverage.

If there’s one good thing that came out of Rathergate, it’s that many networks and news publications are trying to be more careful about fact checking and more transparent. If the media continues on this path, they might just strengthen the public’s trust in the truthfulness of their reporting. After our discussion in class about blogging’s effect on the media over the last century, I believe that blogs may be another tool journalists can utilize in their quest to increase credibility and report the truth. Ronald Reagan once said, “Trust, but verify,” but in relation to the media today and blogging, as a citizen or as a journalist, I wouldn’t even go that far. As a reporter reading a blog post, I want to know just as much about a blogger’s sources as any news reporter’s. As we discussed in class, blogs can be a good source for stories, so long as reporters—in taking a new, more complex angle on the event or situation presented in the post—carefully investigate the information the blogger cites.

To be honest, as a journalism student who really values truth and transparency in today’s media, incidents like Rathergate horrify and embarrass me. One of my primary reasons for choosing a career in journalism is rooted in my desire to be a whistleblower like H.L. Mencken, Bob Woodward, Carl Bernstein and Joseph C. Wilson. I want to publish accurate reports that are strongly supported by careful research and proven facts. I want to “afflict the comfortable,” as Mencken once said, and inform citizens of injustices that are taking place everyday within our country so that they can take those reports, form their own opinions and make their own decisions. However, if reporters in today’s media continue to rush stories (in other words, trade in careful fact-checking for higher ratings), I’m starting to question what the nature of the journalism industry will be like in two years when I graduate. Although I’ve had my heart set on a career in journalism for over six years now, do I really want to enter into an industry that values ratings over the truth? I’m hopeful that over the next two years, reporters and networks will strive to produce more accurate reports not only to increase my trust in the media, but also to increase the public’s.

Design*Sponge

As an out-of-state journalism student at the University of Colorado, my heart speeds up momentarily every time I come across something that reminds me of my home in the Pacific Northwest. So naturally, when I first visited Design*Sponge, I lit up as I read Wednesday’s post about a Portland-based design studio called Parliament.

After I finally peeled my wide-eyed self away from the pictures of the gorgeous wood floors and log-stacked wall that give Parliament’s studio its Pacific Northwest vibe, I started seriously exploring Design*Sponge. After examining the first page, I was especially impressed by the fact that this blog gives readers a comprehensive look at every aspect of design in today’s world. It doesn’t matter whether or not a reader knows anything about design and visual aesthetics; posts on Design*Sponge cover everything from interior design (home makeovers, office layouts, product reviews and mini trends) to city guides to do-it-yourself projects. There’s even a recipe section!

Design*Sponge is written primarily by Grace Bonney, a Brooklyn writer who contributes to design-based publications like CRAFT Magazine (do-it-yourself projects), Domino Magazine (interior design—when it was still being published), In Style and Better Homes and Gardens, among others. Bonney’s design knowledge also earned her a spot on the Martha Stewart Radio Show and Good Morning America. While Bonney writes a majority of the posts, Design*Sponge is pieced together by a dozen or so writers and editors. Some of the other writers that contribute to the blog include Derek Fagerstrom and Lauren Smith, who write a do-it-yourself column; Kristina Gill, who runs a recipe section; and Amy Merrick, who focuses on products that were inspired by books or movies.

With Design*Sponge, Bonney, along with her team of writers and editors, opens up the world of design to anyone who might want to learn more about any aspect of it. Bonney and her writers use their knowledge of and passion for design to point out to readers what they think are the most interesting and creative products, projects and layouts. That being said, a majority of the posts seem to focus on promoting designers’ products, although a reader with a greater knowledge of and patience for design—as well as a hefty piggy bank—may appreciate Design*Sponge more than others.

Even without much of a foundation in design, readers will immediately notice—as I did—how the Web site draws them in. With its lace-on-textured-fabric layout that makes you want to reach out and touch your screen, bright sidebars, big, bright pictures, and relaxed style of writing, Design*Sponge is an interesting blog that readers could spend days on without running out of content. I encourage you to check it out—although you may want to hide your wallet before you do.

Returning to the truth

Today’s international news coverage not only focuses on the earthquake that hit Haiti on Tuesday, but also on Rush Limbaugh’s response to the natural disaster and commentary on the country itself.

In Wednesday morning's press conference, President Obama addressed the nation on relief efforts that were already underway and how the government planned to proceed in Haiti in the coming days.

“Military overflights have assessed the damage, and by early afternoon our civilian disaster assistance team are beginning to arrive,” Obama said in the press conference. “Search and rescue teams from Florida, Virginia and California will arrive throughout today and tomorrow, and more rescue and medical equipment and emergency personnel are being prepared."

On his Wednesday show, instead of reporting on the tragedy that had just taken place in Haiti and the relief effort, Limbaugh decided to criticize Obama’s actions and excite the Conservative base against the president. Limbaugh dismissed Obama’s relief efforts for the Haitians as little more than currying favor with the African American community.

“They’ll use this to burnish their, shall we say, ‘credibility’ with the black community—in the both light-skinned and dark-skinned black community in this country,” Limbaugh said on his Wednesday show.

With Americans becoming increasingly sick of the two parties not coming together to work on our nation’s issues, here is yet another example of someone who had a political ax to grind and decided to try and use it to hit Obama over the head. Limbaugh, like many others in the media today, took an international tragedy and turned it into political diatribe.

In fact, this is a phenomenon we’re seeing increasingly in today’s news. Last year in my Principles of Journalism class, Professor Yulsman told us that a journalist’s primary obligation was to tell the truth. Once upon a time, a journalist’s duty, first and foremost, was to inform citizens about disaster, crime, the government’s actions, and other noteworthy current events that might impact their lives in some way.

However, in today’s media, some people choose to take advantage of the news and use it to criticize the opposing team. Every time the president takes a stand on something, no matter how good or bad his position is, there is always someone there to criticize him. It doesn’t even matter if the issue is political or not; when Obama ordered a hamburger with Dijon mustard last May in Virginia, the Chicago Tribune clucked disapprovingly as Sean Hannity and Laura Ingraham criticized Limbaugh Obama of being elitist.

Walter Lippman was completely correct in saying that "the task of selecting and ordering the news is one of the truly sacred and priestly offices in a democracy." Journalists like Lippman and H.L. Mencken, who were watchdogs of truth, would be rolling over in their graves if they could see the way people like Limbaugh have bastardized it. But in a 24/7 cable news environment that encourages shouting more than it does thoughtfulness, its unfortunate that radio talk show hosts like Limbaugh can use the news as a platform for their own egomania.