Friday, May 27, 2005

News Anchor Shows Blatant Bias or Just a Freudian Slip?

In an interview with Sen. Trent Lott (R-MS), Fox News anchor David Asman showed what appeared to many as a blatant show of support for a specific political viewpoint. According to Media Matters, Asman was responding to Lott's suggestion that Senate Republicans had the necessary votes to invoke the so-called nuclear option and that such a step was necessary. The anchor then asked Lott why Republican senators had compromised on the issue. Why compromise, Asman asked, "if we should have done it and if we had the votes to do it." Asman clarified that it was "you guys in the Republican party" who had the votes.

From the May 25 edition of Fox News Live:

ASMAN: You're the chairman of the rules committee. Did Senator [Bill] Frist [R-TN] have the votes to end the filibuster?

LOTT: I believe that he did. It would have been very close. We would have probably gotten a 50-50 tie vote, with the vice president breaking the tie. Perhaps we'd have had 51 before it was over. I do think it's a rule that should be in place because what the Democrats have been doing is not, you know, protecting a rule, they have been causing something different. The filibusters on a serial basis, federal judicial nominees to the appellate courts, was unprecedented for 214 years. So, to put that rule in place saying that it only takes 51 votes to confirm these judges was something I thought we should do. Remember now --

ASMAN: So, Senator, if we should have done it and if we had the votes to do it in the Senate -- if you guys in the Republican Party did -- then why did you need a compromise?

LOTT: Well, you know, I would argue that we probably should have gone forward with the vote, all things considered.

As a former anchor and reporter, I know that it is possible to have a little slip of the tongue. It would seem, however, that an anchor at such a controversial network which has long been reported as biased, might take extra precautions to keep his tongue in check.

Thursday, May 26, 2005

TV Stations Say Minorities Are Not Counted in New Ratings System

According to an article in today's Washington Post, the majority of major broadcast stations in the D.C. area are asking Nielson Media Research to halt the launch of its new ratings system because they say it undercounts minority viewers.

A few notes on communicating in the "digital" age

I was reading a document that was created by a high school student the other day. And my thought, which has been recurring for some time now, was - don't they teach English in our schools any more?

Of course, they do. I have many friends who are teachers and they work very hard. It's not their fault. What I believe might be to blame, at least partly, is the device you are using right now to read this fabulous blog.

The internet has many wonderful things to offer. One of those tools is the electronic mail (email) system we all use today. However, instant messaging, chat rooms and text messages have changed the way we write. In our professional lives, it remains important to write well, even when sending email.

So, here are a few tips that I remind myself of from time to time before I hit the send button:

  • Start with your salutation. For example, if you are sending an email to John, begin the e-mail with John (followed by a comma, hyphen or colon), then skip a line and start the body text of the e-mail. It isn't necessary to begin with a Dear John. It is a good idea, however, to avoid using the familiar Hey, Bob or Hi, Bob or Yo, Bob as your salutation.
  • Capitalize the first word of each sentence. We were all taught this in elementary school, but e-mail has encouraged some unfortunate writing habits, and this is one of the worst.
  • Know when to use contractions. Acceptable contractions include you're for you are, isn't for is not and it's for it is. Not acceptable are those new instant messaging abbreviations such as u for you, lol for laughing out loud and 2 for two/too. Also, avoid abbreviations like thx for thanks. The same goes for e-hieroglyphics like :).
  • NEVER USE ALL CAPS. It's as though you're yelling at the reader.
  • Avoid overusing the exclamation point!!!
  • Always close the e-mail with a complimentary closing. That is, a closing such as Sincerely and a signature. Also, unless you are on a first-name basis with your reader, always use your first and last name in the signature, including your title and telephone number. Most email programs offer a standard signature option. This will save you some time.
  • Whenever possible, have someone proofread your e-mail. This is a good habit to adopt even for the shortest e-mail messages. We're human, so unintentional mistakes are inevitable. Take a second to run the spell-checker. And watch out for common grammatical mistakes such as subject-verb agreement errors.
  • If no one is available to proofread your writing, the best thing to do is to read your e-mail out loud. You'll be surprised at how often you can catch those annoying little errors just by reading your writing aloud.

Thx.


Tuesday, May 24, 2005

The trends continue...

A few days ago, Morgan Stanley told print publications that its ads must be removed immediately from any edition that contains "objectionable editorial coverage." Now, another mega-company is doing the same.

According to AdAge.com, the online version of Advertising Age, a copy of a memo on the letterhead of BP's media-buying agency, WPP Group's MindShare, states that the global marketer has adopted a zero-tolerance policy toward negative editorial coverage. The memo cites a new BP policy document entitled "2005 BP Corporate-RFP" that demands that ad-accepting publications inform BP in advance of any news text or visuals they plan to publish that directly mention the company, a competitor or the oil-and-energy industry.

Soon, the CEO of Wal-Mart will want to sit on the editorial board of the New York times. What's even worse, is that they'd probably let him.

Sunday, May 22, 2005


"The Donald" - On Broadway? Posted by Hello

Ok Donald, there comes a time when you just need to say NO.

I realize Donald Trump is in the midst of a really good run, but at some point, one just has to say no.

The news out of New York City is that "The Donald" is in talks with reality show guru Mark Burnett regarding a new project. Are you sitting down? The project is a new stage musical based on the hit TV series "The Apprentice."

Trump announced the news on the May 19 season finale of the NBC series. The creative team for the musical, which is scheduled for a spring 2006 bow, is being assembled.

About the musical, producer Burnett said in a statement, "'The Apprentice' is a compelling drama that has touched a chord with television audiences all over the world. I had a vision for a dramatic story within 'The Apprentice' that I knew would work on a Broadway stage. This is not a spoof or a satire, it is a love story set to 'The Apprentice' as a backdrop. Once I met Barry and Fran, I knew we had the perfect partners to make this a reality."

Come on...he can't be serious...can he?

What frightens me even more is the prospect of Omarosa in a leading role.