Joe Pollack dead at 81
Joe Pollack, sports writer, movie, food and theater critic and long-time writer and supporter of the St. Louis Journalism Review died Friday morning at his home in Clayton. He was 81.
Category: Media
“Pink Slime” the stuff hamburgers, hot dogs, and this week’s news are made of
The so-called “pink slime” can be found in hamburgers, tacos, hot dogs, and this week it was a primary ingredient in news stories. Similar to the larger discussion on the safety of this ground meat additive, it is debatable as to whether or not these news articles will have a positive or negative affect; or if they are just filler.
The media frenzy was triggered by a March 6 story on ABC News about an announcement from the U.S. Department of Agriculture regarding the purchase of 7 million pounds of ground meat containing pink slime. This meat is destined for school lunch rooms across the country.
Media quick to respond to disaster
Harrisburg, Ill. became the latest town to face the media spotlight that comes after near total devastation. An EF4 tornado struck Harrisburg in the early morning hours Feb. 29 changing the town forever. Six people died during those tragic few minutes and more than 100 were injured.
Local media were on the scene immediately. All three television stations in the area quickly dispatched reporters to the area.
Judge rules eavesdropping law unconstitutional
A Cook County judge became the second state judge in Illinois to rule that the state’s tough eavesdropping law is unconstitutional. The judge said the law, which makes it a felony to record audio without the consent of all parties, criminalizes potentially innocent conduct.
The Gateway Journalism Review followed this story for over a year. Here are some of the previous stories posted on the issue:
Academic freedom or a step too far?
A controversy is brewing at DePauw University.
On Feb. 29, the DePauw, the college’s student newspaper, ran a story about visiting assistant professor Mark Tatge. During his investigating reporting class, Tatge tried teaching his students about public records. He pulled out a 17-page packet that he handed out to his students, detailing the arrest of sophomore Alison Stephens for four misdemeanors involving under-aged drinking. (DePauw story here)
The packet was full of public documents, including her Facebook and Twitter profiles, the police report and court proceedings. After Stephens found out about the class, she told her parents and her parents complained to the school.