The Dark Side of Black Friday

Black Friday is the busiest shopping day of the year. People will crowd and cram into tiny lines like cattle in order to purchase the latest gadgets and gizmos. However, I do not think that this topic should make headline news. When I looked at the newspapers the day after Thanksgiving, there were countless headlines of the trials and tribulations of Black Friday shopping.

However, I looked at the photos that accompanied the stories, and some of these photos depicted the darker sides of Black Friday better than the article could. Parents will drag children out at 3 a.m. to get toys and the latest designer clothes before everything sells out. This photo depicts a child sleeping in the cart while her mother shops for Christmas presents. I understand that giving and buying for others is important during the holiday season, but is it really necessary to bring sleeping children along? To me, the photo depicts irresponsible parents, not thinking of children’s needs and wants.

Photojournalism is quickly advancing into a popular and useful form of new media, and sometimes a picture is worth more in meaning and appreciation rather than an article. In this context, I think a photo showing the darker side of Black Friday is 10 times more effective than an article.

Rating: Escape the Royal Navy

I Hate Headlines

I’ll admit right up front that this is a ridiculously tiny issue in the grand scope of journalistic issues and/or problem and probably reflects a personal failing on my part. However, the Rochester Democrat and Chronicle put a headline on an article that is just so damned empty headed. Rochester-area retailers hope deals attract buyers

Really? Retailers want to attract buyers, eh? I don't believe it. What's all this newfangled hocus pocus about selling things? It's for the birds, I tell you.

A headline of this caliber deserves a promotion. From now on, the editor responsible for the headline will be dubbed Lieutenant Obvious.

While, the headline isn't quite as bad as my all time favorite from USA Today a few months back, recent wolf kills alarm activists, it's still pretty bad.

Now, I'm not that rough on headlines, honestly, and I know for a fact that I'm a terrible headline writer (a quick look at my posts shows that) don't expect the most clever of witticisms on each and every story, but coherency would be nice.

Deserted Piano means...?

Police found a missing piano in the woods near Harwich, Massachusetts. Fantastic. And this makes headline news because...?

While police have no leads as to why the piano is there, and there might be an interesting story behind it, why such a big deal? Making headline news on cnn.com, you'd think this story had some sort of great piece of American history attached to it. What was attached to this piano was nothing more than a bench. Positioned as if someone intended to play it. Well that's cool. Maybe there is a ghost waiting for this ghost piano...

Rating: Walk the Plank. Kicking this piece off because it lacks relevancy

All Glory to the Jesus Moth out of East Texas

Not to stay on a religious kick, but here is another older religious themed story, this time from KLTV 7 out of Texas. The image of moth to the right was taken from the guys at KLTV 7.

Here's the deal, a guy finds a moth and the patterns on its back seem to create a face, presumably of Jesus. As it happens, the local media picks up the story a little and throws it up on the Web site.

To her credit, reporter Courtney Lane has a little bit of fun with the short write-up. She mentions the image of Jesus being found on just about one of everything recently, but the best part of the whole thing? Check out the poll asking if the pattern on the moth resembles Jesus or not. Really seems out of place to just ask readers, “hey guys, you think this bug has the holy visage of Jesus on it's back? Yes? No? Somebody who isn't Jesus?

I guess it looks more like Skeletor.

Anyway, props, too, for the interview subjects in not taking the moth too seriously.

No, the story isn't vital in any sense of the word, but the way the story is played shows the reader that right up front.

Rating: Wine and Wenches all around.

Spears straddles the zone

It’s the same story: Another celebrity promises to clean up his or her act. Who cares? Every day it seems like one celebrity or another is promising to start a clean bill of health. Celebrities promise to no longer drink while driving or do drugs to cope with their stressful, hectic lives. This was one of the big headlines for today on Yahoo! News, and this makes me extremely disappointed.

This article makes bad journalism because it is not newsworthy. Britney Spears claimed that her recent breakdown helped her become stronger. Now she is apparently ready to “get back in the zone.” The writer tries to evoke sympathy for Spears, but this does not work. The article should not have been written because it is only a matter of time before Spears has another crisis. She has had so many already; it is hard for me to believe she really wants to change.

Celebrities continually promise to become better, yet I think their promises are fake. They do not seriously weigh the fact that their consequences have actions, and because they are rich, they are able to buy their way out of jail and therapy. People are facing genocide, war and terrorism, and all the American public cares about is Britney’s newest reform project. Wake up America, there is life outside the celebrities.

Link: http://news.yahoo.com/s/eonline/20081118/en_top_eo/69377

Rating: Black Spot (Death!)

Welcome to Post-Apocalyptia

This one is a bit old, over at AlterNet but I couldn't resist the opportunity to point out a classy example of nutterism. Rather than tell us how crazy the individuals are, the writer allows the members of this “Joel's Army” to say, just for themselves, just how oddball their beliefs are.

It's easy to decry a religious group such as this as being merely ridiculous, especially if the writer is working over the Internet. Casey Sanchez, however, delivers such choice quotes as:

"I believe we're headed to an Elijah/Jezebel showdown on the Earth, not just in America but all over the globe, and the main warriors will be the prophets of Baal versus the prophets of God, and there will be no middle ground," said Engle. He was referring to the Baal of the Old Testament, a pagan idol whose followers were slaughtered under orders from the prophet Elijah.

This quote, and a dozen or so others, allow the reader to evaluate the position held by the group. It gives the article a certain degree of objective ambiguity. Sure, a rational person wont consider moving toward the end of the world as a particularly coherent idea, but the author leaves all interpretation in the readers hands.

Rating: Found a Treasure Map

The AP does it again

Today I realized that I criticized what is supposed to be one of the highest quality news organizations more than I criticize any other news medium/news source. I thought about it and reviewed my posts that have basically blasted them out of the water and I kind of felt bad that I have bashed on them so much. However, all of my reasons for criticism have been 100 percent, completely legit. So, now I don't feel as bad.

Is it just me, or do other people find numerous things wrong with the AP's reporting? I seem to do it a lot. I do this on a daily basis though. It's not just me purposefully looking for things wrong in their articles. They just make a lot of mistakes. I don't know whether it has to do with sloppy editing because it's online, or what. I just know it's bad.

And, my job is to point this out. So, today I am not critiquing any articles. I guess I am critiquing my own blog posts about other news sources, namely the Associated Press.


The Associated Press can be put out to sea with nothing but a leaky raft and some cheese for sloppy reporting.