"Write now is good."

Want to improve education? A news hunt may lead the way

Photo: "365÷52 Day 4: My Year in Playmobil 1/52"  by brotherxii

This week, I am co-hosting an education news hunt over at NewsTrust, a site which rates quality journalism. Through February 8th, readers and reviewers at NewsTrust will submit as many articles on education as they can find for the entire community to review and comment on.

Question: So, how could a hunt for news actually improve education? 

Answer: Increase knowledge on a topic = increased power to affect change.

Throughout the news hunt week, people who participate read many articles and greatly expand their knowledge about education. By submitting and reviewing the articles, reviewers become more discerning about which articles are best, and which information is most relevant. Participants read others' reviews, also, taking in other community member observations and opinions, adding another dimension to their own understanding of the topic.

By the end of the week, reviewers have immersed themselves in a week-long, community-led exploration into the current state of education worldwide. Because so many people participate, the collective mind critiquing these articles covers vast ground, learns more and becomes "smarter" about the topic; thus, so do participants.

If we become more knowledgeable about the complex issues behind education, we become empowered to help our local schools. Fortified with newly found facts and viewpoints on education, news hunt participants could participate more in their local communities. NewsTrust provides a continually refreshed resource of the best, most current education articles as a reference.

The state of education affects all members of society. With a landmark education stimulus package in the U.S. on the cusp of being implemented, now is an exciting time to focus on crucial issues which certainly will determine the quality of our future.

Interested? Click here to submit articles and start reviewing.

Also, on the right-hand side of this blog, I feature a NewsTrust widget. If you're a "news hound" (Thanks, Dale!) who would like to feature links to quality journalism on your blog, click here to get this feature.

Any questions? Leave a comment and I'll answer them.

Do you know how to vote? This year, it may be a bit tricky

Photo: "Vote Here Vote Aqui" by myJon

As far as public service announcements go on this blog, I rarely feature them. There are so many worthy causes, my blog would no longer be about its focus if I wrote about all the other topics I cared about.

Today, I make an exception.

Election protection is, unfortunately, a necessary aspect of voting because in 2008, U.S. voters are still faced with a number of impediments to casting their ballots for candidates:   

-- long lines
-- lack of paper ballots at crowded precincts
-- incorrect voter rolls
-- unhelpful or ill-informed precinct staff
-- electronic voting machines which function incorrectly and/or flip votes

*** As of evening November 3rd, the group Election Protection reports that already 100,000 calls have come in to report problems with voting.

Some have also used deceptive tricks during this election season in an attempt to deter voters:

-- fliers which claim that one's voting precinct has moved to a new location, when it hasn't
-- pamphlets or phone calls that falsely claim, due to overcrowding at the polls, the Republicans vote on one day (the real election day) and the Democrats vote the following day (too late to have their votes recorded)
-- blatantly false and inaccurate "robo calls": recorded messages that spam landlines with lies and distortions about candidates

In case you were wondering, acts of voter suppression are criminal offenses.

In an ideal democracy, everyone should be able to vote quickly and easily, on machines that work in polling places staffed by knowledgeable and helpful professionals. We should be able to leave the voting booth knowing that our vote was registered and will be counted, not worried that it may be hacked away or mysteriously lost or miscounted due to machine or human error — or because of someone's underhanded political agenda.

If you're in the United States and over the age of 18, then you have either voted before in an election or have a basic idea how to do so. Still, knowledge is power, so please take note of the following information; this election will have a historically high turnout, and you may be placed in the position of having to defend your right to vote.

1. At any time, please call toll free 1-866-OUR-VOTE to report voting problems you are having.

2. On Twitter, use "#votereport" to contact the Twitter Vote Report, who will in turn, contact the appropriate group about your specific problem.

These articles detail what voters may be up against both in early-voting states and on Election Day, Tuesday, November 4th:

° "Web Hands Voters Power" from The Baltimore Sun
° "Voters Receiving Misleading Robo Calls in Ohio" from CNNPolitics.com
° "Citizens, Media Use Social Media to Monitor Election" from PBS's MediaShift
° "'Tis the Season for Tricking Voters" from Yahoo! News and the Associated Press
° the "Voting Problems" site from The Huffington Post
° "Misleading Calls in Virginia Caused by Computer Glitch" from CNNPolitics.com
° "Video Your Vote" project from YouTube and PBS

If you have any questions, please leave a comment and I'll do my best to answer it or refer you to the right source.

No questions? Alright, then. Let's vote! Every vote counts — especially yours!

Going on a news hunt

NewsTrust.net (Your Guide to Good Journalism) and The Huffington Post's OffTheBus have joined forces on a ground-breaking citizen journalism project. Everyone is invited to participate. From the NewsTrust blog:

Think of this 'news hunt' as a scavenger hunt for good journalism on John McCain. All week, from Monday, June 2nd, through Sunday, June 8th, we will collectively review hundreds of news articles and opinions about the candidate, using the NewsTrust review tools. Together, we will rate the news based on quality, not just popularity -- by evaluating each article's fairness, sourcing, context and other core principles of good journalism. This focus on quality information and news literacy can help us all make more informed decisions as citizens, as well as re-build the trust that has been lost between the news media and the public.

For the past two nights, I have read and reviewed a few articles. Using the media literacy review tool which pops up next to the article has helped guide me to evaluate the articles. Bias in journalism exists, and this tool helps identify it. The more people get involved in this, the more media-literate people there will be — a key component of a healthy democracy and society.

This testimonial about NT highlights some key features about this beta site:

"It's hard to think of another site quite like NewsTrust ... The fact that they are a non-profit whose only agenda is gathering quality news is probably the secret to their success -- in terms of integrity and objectivity, I can't think of a source I'd trust more." — Christopher Mims - Scientific American

This short tutorial provides a basic overview of how NT works:

NewsTrust could really benefit from additional participation from writers and bloggers (hint, hint).

Politweets—Political expression, in 140 characters or less

Photo: Courtesy of Politweets

How much can you say in 140 characters or less? If you're a writer and aren't using Twitter, a free "microblogging" platform, I suggest you give it a try. It's fun. You'll engage in surprisingly interesting and perhaps meaningful conversations. Also, it will challenge your writing.

I'm a firm believer that in order to say more, you have to say it with less. If you write on Twitter and update every day, you give yourself the exercise of having to say what you think in relatively few words. There is no room for excess and wordy dregs. Twitter users distill their facts and opionions; 'Net-speak abbreviations like LOL and BRB, and emoticons like :-) will only get you so far. Carefully chosen words will bring you home.

This brings me to Politweets, a Twitter skimming site which collects "tweets" that mention U.S. presidential candidates' names, and then presents them on their site. You'll be amazed how much people can say given such tight writing parameters. I've written an article about this social media phenomenon on the Huffington Post's OffTheBus:

Politweets — All the News That's Fit to "Tweet"

It's democracy in action. Political conversations have taken on a whole new twist, thanks to technology and innovation.

UPDATE: This article is cross-posted at techPresident. If you're interested in how technology is affecting the presidential elections, take note of this blog.

Related posts:

° It's time to get on "OffTheBus"
° Will the next U.S. President be a blogger?

Will the next U.S. president be a blogger?

Photo: Walter Cronkite on television during 1st presidential debate between Ford and Carter, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania /Public Domain. Credit: O'Halloran/Library of Congress [VIA PINGNEWS]

How will blogs, YouTube, Facebook, websites and other forms of new media affect the 2008 U.S. presidential elections? Read my first post on the Huffington Post's OffTheBus to find out:

Campaign '08 Online: The Not-So-New Media

I interviewed Matt Rosenberg, Group Director of Media and Entertainment at Organic, about this topic. He provided some very relevant insight into how these new forms of digital communication are both clouding and clarifying presidential candidates' messages.

Read all the illuminating details here.

Related post:

° It's time to get on "OffTheBus"

It's time to get on "Off The Bus"

 

Attention, writers interested in covering the U.S. presidential elections in 2008. Read on about an opportunity to be a vital part of Off The Bus—Campaign Coverage by People Who Aren't in the Club:

Do you obsess over politics? Are you tired of the same-old horse race coverage? Do you enjoy writing or making videos?

Then you might be exactly who we're looking for.

OffTheBus, a renegade citizen media effort co-sponsored by the Huffington Post and NewAssignment.net and a nationwide network of citizen journalists, is looking for campaign correspondents. Responsible for covering and examining presidential campaign and grassroots activity, especially in their own backyards, our correspondents will provide an alternative look at the upcoming election. Correspondents will also be featured prominently on OffTheBus, as well as on the Huffington Post.

A bit more about us. Our goal is to provide the most authentic account of the 2008 presidential election contests. Unlike traditional political reportage, we make no assumption that leader boards and point ticks in the poll tell anything of value about the real stories behind an election cycle. Instead, we think you—with the unique perspective you bring that is distinctly NOT part of the journalistic machine—can provide a much better account of what this election looks and feels like...

If you're interested in signing up or have any questions, go here.

I'll be writing for Off The Bus, and I'm so excited about being part of the media coverage for what will definitely be an intense, fascinating election. When I post there, I'll cross-post here.

Thanks for the stories, Mr. Vonnegut

Kurt Vonnegut (November 11, 1922 — April 11, 2007)

His book "Cat's Cradle" had a huge impact on me when I first read it in college. I gleefully read it many more times. His story made me feel that he deeply enjoyed writing, and that inspired me to write.

The New York Times is running a detailed obituary on his life and work.

Here's the Wikipedia entry about him.

"And so it goes."

What we don't see is significant.

Photo: Paparazzi originally uploaded by Bmass

These week's Sundays Scribblings prompt is "in the news."  

We see
every shoe change
endless mate swapping
private nose picking
closed-store shopping
divorce settlements
scandal unpaid rent
hotel rooms destroyed
many dollars spent
drug-fueled binges
secret trysts
feuding best friends
and handcuffed wrists.

Yet conflicts flare nearby and wide
With innocents caught between all sides.
Thousands are clearly traumatized —
Even in their own homes, they cannot hide.

These stories should be in the news
So we could witness different life views.
Perhaps to move from war to peace,
Info-tainment "news" must start to cease.

It's all the souls I do not see,
Those missing thoughts and feelings free,
That make me deeply uneasy.
Invisible stories most concern me.

For more takes on the "in the news" prompt, check out this week's Sunday Scribblings.

Bonus link: I wrote a post about a group called Reporters Sans Frontieres (Reporters Without Borders) highlighting Internet censorship in thirteen countries just before I learned the Sunday Scribblings prompt. If you're interested in another "in the news"-type post, click here.

How was your Shutdown Day?

Did you participate in Shutdown Day? If so, what was it like to live without your computer for 24 hours?

I'm writing a follow-up article on Shutdown Day's results, so if you'd like to share your experiences with it, leave a comment.

(I'll post about my experiences later this week.)

China likes my blog.

Censorship fascinates me. In fact, if something has been censored, I'll look even more closely at it because I want to understand why the censors made their decisions.

On principal, I don't agree with censorship, especially when it's a government trying to keep ideas, philosophies, and concepts away from its citizens. So when I read about the site Great Firewall of China, I absolutely had to see if the Chinese government had banned my blog from being read in China.

After typing in my URL and waiting a few minutes, I was told that my blog is indeed acceptable:

But will I get banned after writing this post? Stay tuned.

Thanks, BB!