McGuire on Media

Category Archives: Uncategorized

Let’s not let Medill Innocence Project be another Hazelwood

October 27, 2009 – 5:52 pm

I cannot remember anything about the day in 1988 that the Supreme Court issued its decision on Hazelwood School District v. Kuhlmeier. I cannot remember if my newspaper made a very big deal out of it, but the decision embarrasses the heck out me 20 years later.
The Supreme Court ruled in Hazelwood that high [...]

By admin | Also posted in Investigative Journalism, Journalism education, Media ethics, Newspaper legal issues | Comments (2)

Trying to find the right band-aid when the wound is gushing

October 13, 2009 – 5:15 pm

My students have been particularly engaged by Paul Saffo’s reference to the “Schumpeterian moment.” There is a distinct possibility they just like the word, but I think I see real light bulbs go off in their energetic minds when I talk about Saffo’s echo of the Joseph Shumpeter thought that we’re in a moment that [...]

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Students are smarter than they get credit for and they need to sell you on that

October 5, 2009 – 5:29 pm

It happened twice again last week and I decided somebody has to yell the truth louder.  Two more people over 50 decried how little students know. The usual “we’re on the road to perdition” lectures followed with the whole smugness and superiority package.
Translated, what the baby boomers are really saying is that students “don’t know [...]

By admin | Also posted in Journalism education, Online journalism | Comments (2)

Some tidbits on ESPN.com/newspaper threat, Don Ohlmeyer and Pat Forde

September 29, 2009 – 6:04 pm

My old friend Phil Meyer called it right when he commented in this article about ESPN.com entering Chicago. Phil called it another “nail in newspapers’ coffin.”  ESPN’s spokesman, Paul Melvin took a much politer tack.  “As a company, we are fans of newspapers, and not believers they are going away. They face challenges that will [...]

By admin | Also posted in Business of journalism, Journalism education, Newspapers, Online journalism, Sports journalism | Comments (5)

Trying to find the right tone when "left wing technologists" grab all the attention

September 24, 2009 – 3:29 pm

Perhaps the wisest thing I read this summer was this fine articulation of an idea I’ve been talking about for months. Rick Edmonds, the media business guru for Poynter Online wrote this: “Put another way, a transition to robust digital options and aggressive experimentation are still good strategies for newspaper organizations. But I might tap [...]

By admin | Also posted in Business of journalism, Future of journalism, Journalism education, Newspapers, Online journalism | Comments (3)