In the new film “Richard Jewell,” reporter Kathy Scruggs (played by Olivia Wilde) meets an FBI source (played by Jon Hamm) in a bar. She presses him for information on a suspect in the Atlanta Olympics bombing. The FBI agent gets annoyed with her persistence. She puts her hand on his upper thigh, leans in, and he whispers the information: “We’re looking at the security … [Read more...] about Woman reporter portrayed as tired trope in new Eastwood film “Richard Jewell”
Opinion
Journalism failed the young editors and staffers at The Daily Northwestern–not the other way around
Too easy. That’s how fast the anger and confusion came from those who reacted negatively to the apology offered recently by the editor and staffers of The Daily Northwestern for their coverage of former Attorney General Jeff Sessions’ campus appearance. But the extreme measure of removing well- and fairly sourced photos, removing a protester’s name in a vital act of … [Read more...] about Journalism failed the young editors and staffers at The Daily Northwestern–not the other way around
Left poses historic challenge to campus free speech and press
Today’s college journalists are caught in the vortex of an important national debate that threatens the vibrancy of free speech and free press on campus. Limiting the vigor of speech and the press damages society’s capacity to hear the voices of protesters and undermines the university’s role as a forum for open thought. Here are the forces at play on student … [Read more...] about Left poses historic challenge to campus free speech and press
What is lost if photos are pulled to save subject’s pain?
Imagine if the world had never seen that photo of a young Mary Ann Vecchio screaming out in raw emotional pain over the body of Jeffrey Miller, shot dead moments earlier by National Guardsmen at Kent State University in 1970. Student journalist John Filo’s iconic, Pulitzer-winning photo arguably helped hasten the end of the Vietnam War. The protest at Kent State on May 4, … [Read more...] about What is lost if photos are pulled to save subject’s pain?
News business is about death and imagination
I want to tell you a story about covering Congress in 2002 that doesn’t feel that long ago but my 18-year-old students at Columba College in Chicago would assure me otherwise. I wasn’t too much older than that when I started working for The Washington Post after graduate school. I was young, ambitious, serious and rigidly “old school.” I was covering several financial … [Read more...] about News business is about death and imagination
