Kathlyn Clore

I love the “Get the lab” remark at the end.

Problem is, this is just a cute skit. What does it have to do with Jim Beam?

Scroll through the comments at this AdAge brief. They indicate Jim Beam has terminated its contract with the agency that produced this.

One facet of American journalism I wish was different was the way we look at bias and objectivity.

I see a lot of benefits to the British newspaper approach, which sees papers like the Independent and the Telegraph exhibiting clear - but documented, explained, transparent - biases. I know what perspective I’m getting when I read one of those papers. And that’s a good thing. News events and stakeholders don’t exist in a vacuum; sometimes its helpful to read an article that has a (transparent) point of view rather than lose some color in favor of a more bland perspective.

Taking a further (and slightly sideways) step back, don’t most American media have the bias of being American anyway?

I really am glad Internet media have ushered in an era where transparency is perhaps going to be more important that objectivity.

Some Fox News viewers feel that way about their television news.

This video ran on Dutch TV.

I like the presenter’s chart. He does a good job showing first the results from this week’s vote in the Netherlands, then moves on to showing what the results mean in terms of seats in Parliament.

Short, sweet, informative.

Also, Reymond Frenken’s EUXTV is doing a great job covering the results. He has a playlist available below.

There seemed to be a major dearth of international coverage on CNN this weekend.

Granted, I don’t have a television in my apartment. But I did get in front of the tube for about 45 minutes Sunday at a local fitness center (long enough for content to begin repeating itself). I also hopped on to CNN.com Saturday afternoon to browse their video section.

I didn’t notice much of anything in-depth about the violent post-election problems in Moldova, protests in Georgia or the extreme unrest in Thailand.

For news about those events in particular, I have been relying on the many feeds in my Google Reader (is it possible to follow the news without RSS anymore?) in addition to videos from Russia Today.

The only international story happening on CNN, it seemed, was the dramatic Navy Seals rescue of an American man being held by pirates.

Yes, this is a good story… But I really find it sad that Americans cannot inform themselves about world events via national news channels. These broadcasters have really become (at least in the U.S.) entertainment platforms.

I am about halfway finished reading the book International News Reporting: Frontlines and Deadlines. The book explains a lot about how the news “works” (a lot of info I wish my media-bashing boyfriend would read!) and makes the case for why professional journalism (something apart from citizen journalism) is important and will continue to be necessary - especially breaking news, analysis and war coverage.

What I’ve re-realized is just how much footage I see on CNN and BBC comes from freelancers. I am always conscious of how much newspaper content comes from wire services, but I’d forgotten that the same goes for broadcast journalism (a term I once heard a managing editor describe as “an oxymoron).

I particularly liked Chapter Four, on freelance journalism, written by a famous (at least in the industry) cameraman called Vaughan Smith. He founded Frontline Club.

He writes that working for an employer (i.e., being employed by a newspaper or station) is for journalists tantamount to sacrificing, on whatever level, journalistic purpose in its essence.

“ But it is still remarkable how many highly intelligent journalists lose their capacity for critical analysis when considering their own industry and profession. For which too few assume any responsibility,” he writes.

A few pages later:

“Journalists can choose to work on the outside, and freelance journalism, unfiltered and fettered, when conducted skillfully and with integrity, though its reach may be shorter, is journalism’s highest form.”

I gotta say, I have the utmost respect and admiration for freelance journalism, which I normally associate with international stories. The journalists who pursue that work remind me of crazy athletes I’ve interviewed who make a hobby of Ironman Triathlons. They (the athletes and hardcore freelancers) are people who often neglect the personal relationships in their lives to pursue their ‘mission.’

But also, I often find that these people have sidelines in other work. Or they are financially supported by a family member. Or they’re older journalists who established themselves by working for, well, the establishment.

I can’t really decide if I agree with Smith’s premise that being employed fulltime sacrifices journalistic integrity. I think this outlook is certainly worth consideration but may be entirely too academic.

Regardless, reading Smith’s chapter reminds me of a short interview/chat I did/had last year at DNA2008 (Bernd produced the video):