Shameless Self Promotion
Today I had the opportunity to shoot a photo I’d been thinking about for some time. The university really didn’t possess good photos showing its planetarium so my student worker Alicia and I took care of that.
Alex Mak controls the program in Ritter Planetarium on the campus of the University of Toledo. (©2008 Daniel Miller/University of Toledo)
News sources that are Web based have been fighting for legitimacy and against being pigeon-holed into categories such as “bloggers” since they first came into being.
I’ve always been of the opinion that it’s not the medium that determines the value of the news source but the talent and professionalism of the writers that create the content. Unfortunately, the rest of the world has been slow to come to this realization. The results range from companies refusing to grant credentials for trade shows and send press releases to Web journalists, starving them of the information they need to cover stories.
There are indications that things are chaging though. This year, in recognition of their power to shape public opinion, one of the largest electronics trade shows (CES) issued special credentials for bloggers. Whether or not this entitled them to equal treatment with journalists, I can’t say but the conduct of one Web news source (that was actually media credentialed) has the possibility to erase this small bit of progress.
Because I’m pretty much a tech nerd, I pay some attention to the electronics industry by reading Web sites like gizmodo.com. In the course of reading its coverage of this year’s CES show, I ran across a piece titled, Confessions: The Meanest Thing Gizmodo Did at CES. It was a video showing the journalist using a device to remotely turn display screens off. It doesn’t sound so bad until you realize that the screens were in use by companies who paid to have a display at the show and most egregiously during a Motorola press conference.
Since the banning of the journalist from future CES events and the justified admonishments from other media sources, the Web site responded by calling the journalists “protectors of corporations” and claiming that “this industry, defined by pranksters” has become too serious.
It should be obvious from that last comment where the trouble lies. Apparently Gizmodo has confused journalism and the marketing departments in the electronics industry. The people at the Web site don’t realize that real journalists have a responsibility to act ethically and professionally. Professionals don’t intentionally disrupt their sources for childish giggles. (As a sad side note, the prank wasn’t even funny, it was just mean.)
Gizmodo claims that “Our prank pays homage to the notion of independence and independent reporting.” What utter garbage. This cowardly attempt at justification can’t excuse the abuse of the trust given to them with the credential.
In its refusal to issue any form of apology, Gizmodo seems to be daring CES to ban the entire site from receiving the privilege of being issued credentials. Since the Web site doesn’t see the need for its representatives to act professionally, either before or after the fact, I hope that’s exactly what happens.
Toledo earned an ugly win over Ball State at Savage Hall Sunday afternoon. Here are a couple shots.
Toledo Forward Mohammed Lo blocks a shot against Ball State. (©2008 Daniel Miller/University of Toledo)
A group of young fans enjoy the view from courtside. (©2008 Daniel Miller/University of Toledo)