Here's a byline I didn't anticipate seeing at the Tehran Times: Fidel Castro.
The newspaper prints Castro's resignation statement as though he were an opinion columnist, and never identifies him as the dictator/president/head cheese in Cuba. It is interesting to see how keenly Iran follows political movements of other countries they see as being anti American, keeping close tabs on these future potential allies?
Thursday, February 21, 2008
Oil is to blame for... Anchorage
Found this Anchorage Daily News headline scanning Google for news about oil: Wednesday's oil, gas, gold and zinc prices. I think its a nice example of how local regional news can be. Elsewhere, most people only read about oil prices - especially now with the price hovering around $100/bbl. But in Anchorage, you can read about the price of oil in relation to the other resources in the state. These prices are noted daily, that's how vital they are to the interests of the citizenry.
In the story of Big Oil, we don't frequently hear about the blue collar mechanics at the bottom of the industry. This series of Alaskan articles touches on how tightly they are connected to the market.
In the story of Big Oil, we don't frequently hear about the blue collar mechanics at the bottom of the industry. This series of Alaskan articles touches on how tightly they are connected to the market.
Wednesday, February 20, 2008
A lot of writing on the chalkboard
Today we wrote on the chalkboard and I realized that I have horrible cramped handwriting.
We also learned about the push-pull effect - the "everyone already knows this, and no one cares" reasoning behind not reporting on certain aspects of foreign policy. Overall, "everyone in the process is guilty".
I am wondering a little bit about questioning the motives of the media, foreign policy officials, the government, etc. Yes, the media has an agenda. Many agendas - competing agendas, even. But everyone has an agenda. I feel that a better day-to-day standard of information screening is to assume that all information is biased and tainted, regardless of its source. Instead of trying to navigate all the twists and turns on the LA Freeway (following all the advantages, agendas, frames, disincentives, etc), why not just heap grains of salt and consume it all? Possible outcomes include (1) a more critical approach to news, (2) overwhelming cynicism (3) heart attack - sodium is bad for you.
We also learned about the push-pull effect - the "everyone already knows this, and no one cares" reasoning behind not reporting on certain aspects of foreign policy. Overall, "everyone in the process is guilty".
I am wondering a little bit about questioning the motives of the media, foreign policy officials, the government, etc. Yes, the media has an agenda. Many agendas - competing agendas, even. But everyone has an agenda. I feel that a better day-to-day standard of information screening is to assume that all information is biased and tainted, regardless of its source. Instead of trying to navigate all the twists and turns on the LA Freeway (following all the advantages, agendas, frames, disincentives, etc), why not just heap grains of salt and consume it all? Possible outcomes include (1) a more critical approach to news, (2) overwhelming cynicism (3) heart attack - sodium is bad for you.
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