Civic journalism slides posted

I've posted the PowerPoint presentation on civic journalism here. You'll also find it under "Course documents," at right.

"A Hidden Life" online

If you were unable to join us in class on Monday, please watch the "Frontline" documentary "A Hidden Life," which is online here. We will continue our discussion of it for about another half-hour tomorrow. Specifically, I want to go a little deeper on the issues of undercover reporting and the outing of closeted gay men and lesbians.

Former ombudsman to speak

Our guest speaker on Thursday, April 3, will be Richard Chacón, former ombudsman for the Boston Globe. Several of Chacón's columns are included in the reading for next week.

I'm flagging this now because I want to stress how important it is that you attend. Your last major writing assignment, other than the take-home final, will be to cover Chacón's talk and write a news story based on what he tells us, as well as some other information that you will gather.

"Religion in the News"

I want to call your attention to a panel discussion that will be held next Wednesday, April 2. Titled "Religion in the News: What Future Reporters and Editors Need to Know," the discussion will take place in the Ballroom at the Curry Student Center from 11:45 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. This would make a good extra-credit assignment. Panelists will be:

• Benjamin Hubbard, chair emeritus of comparative religion at California State University, Fullerton.
• Debra Mason, executive director of the Religion Newswriters Association and director of the Center for Religion, the Professions and the Public at the University of Missouri, Columbia.
• Munir Shaikh, executive director of the California-based Institute on Religion and Civic Values.

The moderator will be Prof. Stephen Burgard, director of our School of Journalism and author of "Hallowed Ground: Rediscovering Our Spiritual Roots."

Should you choose to cover this as an extra-credit assignment, please write a 600- to 700-word news story in which you quote at least three people. Since there are three panelists, that ought to be easy. Stories will be due at the beginning of class the following Monday, April 7.

Tom Fiedler, Gary Hart and political sex

Our guest speaker today will be Tom Fiedler, retired executive editor of the Miami Herald, who led the Herald's coverage of Gary Hart and Donna Rice in 1987. I could not have imagined how appropriate the timing would be when I asked Fiedler to speak: We are now being deluged with political sex scandals, from former New York governor Eliot Spitzer, to current New York governor David Paterson, to new revelations about former New Jersey governor James McGreevey.

There are three relevant pieces of reading for today's discussion:

• Joan Vennochi's op-ed column in today's Boston Globe, in which she interviews Fiedler about the Paterson matter and under what circumstances the media ought to pry into the sex lives of politicians.
• The American Heritage summary of the Gary Hart drama that I shared with you on Monday.
• A longer piece published by the Miami Herald on May 10, 1987, that details the stake-out that led to Hart's being confronted. (Actually, this seems to be the top of a still longer article.)

I'll give you a chance to read Vennochi's column in class. Please be prepared to have a dialogue with Fiedler. The public rightly has high expectations when it comes to the personal behavior of our political leaders. On the other hand, there's a serious case to be made that it's nobody's business as long as public money isn't being spent.

Then again, the question of whether public money was involved is an issue with all three of the current gubernatorial sex scandals.

Media bias presentation now online

I've added last week's PowerPoint on media bias to the course documents at right.

Extra-credit assignment — correction

The deadline is Thursday, March 20. See below. My apologies.

Extra-credit assignment

If you would like to boost your grade a bit, here's something you can do about it. I also think you'll find this to be an interesting assignment. To cap off our discussion of media bias, I would like you to write a 600- to 700-word essay (the length of an op-ed column) on a mainstream news organization and whether you think its news coverage is biased.

Please cite three examples of this organization's news coverage to bolster your case. I'm specifying news coverage because I don't want you to cite a columnist or an editorial as an example. Offer your argument, and explain why you have come to the conclusion you've reached.

You can conclude that the news org you're looking at is biased or not biased. For example, the Fox News Channel is widely viewed as tilting conservative, and the New York Times to the left. Maybe you disagree and can come up with three instances to show why.

If you choose to do this assignment, and I hope you will, it will be due at the beginning of class next Thursday, March 13 20. You do not need to give me copies of your examples — your essay alone will be sufficient.

Looking for media bias

For this Thursday, I have a brief assignment for you. Please find an example of media bias in a newspaper, magazine, Web site or radio or television program. Write two or three paragraphs on why your example demonstrates bias, and whether you think that bias leans toward the liberal or the conservative end. Staple it to the clip of your story.

If it's a broadcast story, you need to give me a copy of the transcript (from LexisNexis, perhaps?) or a URL so that I can watch or listen myself.

This will count toward your class grade.

Jeff Jacoby on media bias

This coming Thursday we'll hear from Boston Globe columnist Jeff Jacoby on the subject of liberal media bias. As preparation for Jacoby's appearance, I would like you to read three of his columns. They are:

• "The Media's Anti-Gun Bias," Jan. 17, 2000
• "Yes, Virginia, There Is (Still) a Liberal Media Bias," Dec. 12, 2002
• "Iraq's Good News Chronicle," Sept. 22, 2005

I'm really looking forward to having Jacoby speak to us, and I hope you are, too. Please come ready with questions.