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"Tell the chef, the beer is on me."
In search for new revenue streams and business models ... let's be creative!
ars technica :: Ars' science articles link to the academic papers that are being discussed, and based on reader comments, people have a clear interest in looking over the publications. Unfortunately, that interest often runs into a significant hurdle, one that can be summarized as "they expect me to pay $30 to read that?" Now, Cambridge University Press, an academic publisher, is experimenting with a system that might get a few more people reading its products: it's offering to rent access to the articles.
Continue to read John Timmer, arstechnica.com
Yeah, wouldn't happen. But should it?
The always interesting Wannabehacks posted yesterday stating that The industry isn't doing enough to support student journalists. The post really should have been titled The Guardian isn't doing enough to support student journalists as it takes a pop at the frankly risible prize the Guardian is offering for its Guardian student media award:
[T]he quality of prizes has diminished year on year: "Seven weeks of placement with expenses paid (offered 2003-2006) is a good way to spend the summer. Two weeks of self-funded work experience is an insult to supposedly the best student journalists in Britain."
It's a fair point. Just how good you have to be to actually be paid to work at the Guardian?
Maybe we are being unfair to the Guardian though. Why do they need to carry this stuff? I know plenty of students who don't want to work for the Guardian. So why don't more papers step up? If it's about spotting talent then shouldn't every media org have a media award?
Truth is there is a bit of black hole out there when it comes to awards. Aspiring journos could be forgiven for thinking that there is very little on offer between that letter writing competition the local paper runs for schoolkids and the Guardian awards. There are actually quite a few – the NUS student awards for example. But none with the direct association of the Guardian awards.
But maybe it's not about the award. The wannabe hacks post (and the letter it references) suggests that there is more a problem of expectation here.
The Guardian is a very attractive proposition to many aspiring journos. In a lot of respects it plays on that strength; it presents itself as a like the paper where things are happening. But there is a danger that things like competitions exploit that aspiration and begin to suggest a slightly dysfunctional relationship - aspiring journos trying their best to please the indifferent and aloof object of their affection.
Show them the money.
This isn't just a print problem. The truth is the industry has a bit of problem of putting its money where it's mouth is when it comes to student journos.
As an academic I see more offers of valuable experience than paid opportunities in my inbox. They tend to coincide with large events where industry doesn't have the manpower to match their plans for coverage. In that sense there is no secret here, the industry is living beyond its means and it's increasingly relying on low and no paid input to keep newsrooms running. But student journo's bear the brunt of that. Yes, they get experience, but not much else.
No return on investment
Of course the flip-side to that argument is that many of those who enter the competitions would happily benefit from the association but don't put back in. I wonder how many people who enter the Guardian student media awards have regularly bought the paper rather than accessing the (free) website? You could argue the same when talking about work experience. How many students actually buy the product they aspire to work on?
But the reality is that, regardless of how much is put in, if you court an audience, you have to live up to their expectations – unreasonable or otherwise.
This is happening at a time when those same newsrooms are reporting on the commercial realities of education and how students need to demand value from their investment. As someone trying to respond to those expectations, perhaps I can offer some advice. Perhaps the industry need to reflect on their advice to prospective students the next time they reach out or connect with student journalists. Just how much are you expecting them to invest in your newsroom and what's the return?
By yveshanoulle On Flickr
What follows is the text from a lecture on Ethics and online I delivered to third year journalism students a few weeks back. I'm putting it online for a few reasons. It's here to be pulled to pieces, it's nice to be transparent and it's also here to force me to write something new next year! The tone is deliberately challenging, I hope, to stimulate debate.
The title of this lecture is virtual ethics in the era of wikileaks. It may be hard to see what the wikileaks saga has to offer us outside of the rarefied atmosphere of political journalism or easy to write it off as an internal debate. But it makes a good example for what I'm more interested in – does the web change the way we behave as journalists?
In thinking a little broader, I have a few key words that relate to journalism and I want to think about how they might relate to the web.
Let's start where your reader does with a word that goes to the heart of any debate concerning anything starting with wiki(pedia,leaks) is TRUST
Can you trust what you read? Can you trust people to tell you the truth? Can you trust that people are who they say they are? Can you trust where the information comes from?What are their motivations?
Trust is one of those things goes to the very heart of our identity and role as a journalist.
Despite all the evidence to the contrary, as Journalists, we claim that you can, in fact should, ʻtrust us'. But why? Why trust journalism rather than a free agent like Assange? What can we offer?
Well, one reason you will hear, is that the information that journalists provide you with has gone through a rigorous ʻprocess'. A process that journalists have been trained for: Trust us, we are professionals.
That ʻrigorous process' is the mechanical reflection of our commitment to accuracy, balance and fairness – The way we report, the use of sub-editors and editors, are built in to the structures of journalism organisations.
But I would argue that it's the structure (and longevity) of the industry more than its value that has helped consolidate this as a defining feature. Rather than reflect any consistent, measurable commitment, it has become self-defining. Its also become self-defending.
It seems that any challenge or or attempt to qualify this definition of a journalist is taken as a challenge to the whole industry. So we have journalism defined and defended by journalists.
This is (one of the many areas) where the web throws a spanner in the works.
The web is place where the mechanical processes of finding, reporting and presenting information are available to anyone. You know the score; everyone can be a publisher! Something that was once the preserve of media organisations alone.
That process is no longer unique to journalism.
A key part of that carefully constructed and refined definition of what makes a journalist is unpicked. Which gives rise to a question:
Are those people who publish on the web journalists?
It seems that when we talk about the web and journalism we can't avoid getting in to the argument of what a journalist is. In my experience it often starts (and ends) by trying to explain why everyone else is not a journalist.
Regardless of the motivations, many this is a pretty tired debate. But I do think it has some resonance with our topic. So let me rephrase it as:
Should those people who publish on the web have the same privileges and protection journalists?
There obviously are protections and benefits to being a journalist. Wikileaks claims it's a journalistic organisation with all the protection that offers. But the US have declared Assange a 'political actor' rather than a journalist. An attempt to circumnavigate those protections?
You only need to read Vanity Fair on 'The man who spilled the secrets' to see that many in the industry are happy to point out why Assange and wikileaks isn't journalism.
Maybe I need to change that question round and make it more and direct.
What makes you a journalist?
I don't think we can argue that it is the process. It can't be about how we do it. Even at their most arch (and pompous) it seems that journalists are prepared to accept that even though it's not journalism "it works under the same rubric" In other words, many ʻnone-journalists' on the web follow exactly the same processes to create content as journalists do. But they aren't real journalists…
Call them…Citizen journalism; UGC; amateur journalists.
All terms that have been used to define the difference between ʻthem and us'. Without, it has to be said, consensus or success. But that last one, amateur, is interesting to me. It suggests that a person may do everything a journalist does but not professionally.
So something other than the process then, sets journalists apart; Makes them professional.
Perhaps it's a commitment to TRUTH.
Jane Singer identifies a commitment to truth as one of the ʻcentral normative aspects of professional journalism'. But, as Singer points out, even the idea of what constitutes truth is dynamic.
If we were to argue that truth is represented at all,the best we could say is it is represented by the individual journalists view of what is true. Not for example, what a government or individual may tell them is true.
A journalist, as Walter Williams said in 1908 in his Journalist's Creed, is compelled to
"write only what he holds in his heart to be true".
A bizarre throwback to virtue ethics in a profession where where the regulation suggests journalism is much more about consiquentialism.
In less prosaic terms a journalist:
"Strives to ensure that information disseminated is honestly conveyed, accurate and fair" (NUJ code)
Accurate. That's truth, right?
But couldn't it be argued that the ʻamateur' also does this?
Anyone can write a blog post and claim that they believe ʻin their heart that it is true'. You can dump thousands of pages of top secret memos on to the web because it's true. Can't you?
In striving to tell us the truth anyone could provide us with a huge array of quotes and sources of information to support their view. Just as a journalist might. Right?
Now you could argue that they may also choose not to strive as hard as they could. They could choose to ignore some facts and not apply any balance or fairness. But so could a journalist.
In their defense , we might say, is that the journalist has a level of responsibility for what they produce.
As professionals, not only is it their responsibility to admit if something is wrong but they will have to explain why – they are accountable for their work. This is often presented as a stark contrast to the online world where responsibility and accountability could be seen to be in short supply.
Critics dismiss the pyjama clad,self obsessives, who answer to no one. Their content, the 'spewings and rantings of very drunk people late at night'! People who publish without a thought to the risk - An accusation levelled at wikileaks.
But those who embrace online will claim that the network will decide. The responsibility and accountability lies in the collective. Nothing can be hidden. Everything is explored.
But is that really accountability?
There would seem to be no punitive impact on those who do not tell the truth; who don't
act responsibly. Not like journalists…?
By agreeing to codes of conduct (in principle, if not in practice) – the professional ideals -by being accountable, journalists are compelled to be responsible. Aren't they…?
The structures and hierarchies of media organisations mean that accountability comes with the ultimate sanction – get it wrong, get sacked. Don't they…?
Taking those codes at face value could lead to an underlying belief that professional journalists only reside in media organisations (and by extension, not online). Not simply because you are paid (the most common reasoning in the 'why am I a journalist and your'e not debate) but because, within that organisation, there is a professional and structural oversight that holds individuals accountable. The 'establishment' polices itself.
This form of internal-accountability is often underlined and amplified with the claim that journalists have a social responsibility as a profession to serve the public good. The fourth estate argument. It's a position that is often used to defend a higher status for journalism, justify the light touch legislation it is subject to and enable that self-policing.
But the lack of legal requirements to obey the codes of conduct and the punishment for failing to meet the standard is often less than obvious. (see page 94!)
Whilst most journalists agree that they must take responsibility for their actions, as an industry, journalism seems reluctant to answer for their mistakes. (Sanders p150) whoever is asking. They claim the internal system is enough. I would go a step further and say seems that they will actively avoid any effort at outside regulation.
This is where the lines of a corporate responsibility (the self-regulation of the industry) and a more personal responsibility blur. Any attempt at external regulation challenges the autonomy of the journalist – As I suggested before, the journalist should not (in fact can't be) answerable to anyone in their pursuit of truth.
It's a position that is easy to maintain, if, at challenging times, responsibility is interchangeable between journalist and journalism and accountability rests in such a ʻlight touch' form of self-regulation that is essentially internal.
But the internal nature of that 'regulation' means it lacks transparency and that's where journalism begins to butt heads with the online world.
Transparency is a presiding watch word for those who work on the web. Jane Singer argues that is to bloggers (our 'anti-journalist') what truth is to Journalists. In fact ʻtransparency' is a standard by which the ʻquality' of work online is often measured and made accountable.
The links and sources used to support an article online – the "huge array of quotes and sources of information to support their view" that I mentioned earlier- are there for people to check. Online, we lay out all of our 'working out' and people can hold us to account by questioning which sources we pick and how we use them.
That's something more than the bland reading of transparency as a "fealty to dumping material in to the public realm" But it raises some interesting questions around fairness and balance. Interesting debates about Objectivity.
Those who practice 'online' are often accused of bias and seen to lack any of the recognisable elements of balance claimed by journalists. But, in their defense, they are almost brazen in their desire to tell you that.
This is in stark contrast with the traditional media. Where the gatekeeper model is still held to be the norm. Somewhere, behind closed doors, one person decides what is news and we rarely, if ever, get to question their actions or motivations. In fact it's an industry that seems to pride itself on secret connections, unnamed sources and off the record dealings
Consumers can only infer balance and objectivity.
We have to piece together the motivations of a newspaper owner from a broader context. Detect the bias from the omission of content rather than the content presented. Just as critiques would claim we must do with wikileaks. Yet objectivity is often cited as a central tenant of journalism.
But even the industry is having problems with the idea objectivity. Increasingly the traditional commitment to Objectivity is questioned.
Some will 'blame' the web for leading journalism astray -
"wikileaks sets the bar. Tempting [journalism] to shock. And awe through more intimate revelation"
Objectivity has been described as the 'bastard child' of journalism; an unobtainable ideal which (in this web world) is at odds with our audiences demands and a barrier to successful business models.
The name Fox News has become synonymous with a move towards subjective journalism - the 'foxification' of news. An organisation that claims to practice journalism but seems to ignore one of its core tenants. The argument is that, in a multi-platform world, this would be offset with a 'free market capitalist ' approach to objectivity – the market becomes responsible for objectivity through competition.
And here is where the industry and the world of the web really start to kick-off.
An increasing lack of objectivity and apparent lack of accountability (or visible evidence of accountability working) is bound to attract those who place so much value on transparency.
So we shouldn't be surprised that the mainstream media finds itself the target of scrutiny from a myriad of online sources. Tracking, testing and challenging its output everyday. Self-appointed watchdogs (or watchblogs) will take it upon themselves to hold the journalists and journalism to account.
And true to form the media response is to ask who watches the watchblogs? If they are unaccountable, is this fair?
If one of the defining features of journalism is its accountability to the public – by virtue of the professional practice it claims- then the answer has to be yes.
Journalists are no different than other ʻprofessions' that claim service in the public good – the public interest. Medics, politicians, police, all have their work analysed to within an inch of it's life by journalists, more often than not, the gloves are well and truly off. So why not journalists?
For an industry nervous of accountability and committed to individual autonomy this is a strange, painful and sometimes, very personal exercise. Many resist it. But the web makes that impossible.
Like it or not, the medium means that content and the discussion around it is public and uncontrollable. People will talk about you if you are listening or not.
Resistance is there. Indeed the normal mode of engagement is one of threat. Some journalists are very public in their disgust at the apparent compulsion to invite readers to 'tell me what you think of what I've written'. Perhaps they believe that journalism is not about listening to people but listening to what the journalist thinks. But it shows that journalism is more than capable of resisting the re-drawing of the lines of accountability and the emphasis on transparency – even in the face of what can seem like staggering inconsistency.
So what does this say about the definition of journalism.
Essentially it suggests that journalism is a recursive definition:
Who is a journalist? Someone who does journalism.What is journalism? Something done by a journalist…
It's journalists who get to decide what journalism is. And because large media organisations have lots of journalists, they are the ones who exert most influence in defining it's norms. They are the ones who play the biggest part on defining the practice, and the moral and ethical constraints.
So it isn't the web changes things. It has neither the power (or, collectively, the will or desire) to do that. It's the journalists reaction to it that shapes journalism
So, as a journalist:
Now try and answer those questions without resorting to examples of when others have done it.
When it comes to ethics, virtual or otherwise, we (journalists) make the rules.
But, we should remember that public will hold us to our own rules – rules that we are very good at applying to others- using the whole range of new tools available to them. Journalist may feel they are best equipped to judge public interest but the truth is that the public is now interested in us.
So if the web means anything for journalism ethics it means that we have to stick to our rules regardless of the situation, in spirit and in action. As much as we may feel that is unfair or a loss of control. That's not their fault; we makes the rules. We police them. We decide who is and who isn't a journalist.
If we don't, regardless of what we may feel is an entirely appropriate level of accountability, we will lose our credibility.
When you are the only game in town credibility can be seen as a right not something that is earned. But the changing media landscape has pushed it the fore. The web means we now need to pay more than just lip-service to Trust and credibility in what we do. We need to be seen to practice what we preach. I think that will turn out to be the most valuable and defining feature of a journalist in an online world.
Many think that sticking to the journalistic rules will hold us back. That whilst we ʻplay by the rules' (if we ever did) the 'web' will ride roughshod over us. And what they hell, they are our rules aren't they? (The argument for our fox news approach to objectivity) But is that really what we want?
The Wikileaks saga tells us that there is a place for journalists and media organisations. Even Assange recognised that. He needed that credibility. But when the exclusive was threatened (for all parties) the result is hardly a shining example of working together.
Assange would have you believe journalists will happily invite you in to the tent but just as quickly stab you in the back and throw you out when they have what they want. Journalism would have you believe that this is what happens when you work with people who don't understand journalism!
Are we really happy to leave our professional standards to the worst of ego-journalism and let the market decide? Is that really what the web has forced journalism to become?
Of course not.
We need to maintain our independence, focus on our social responsibility (take that fourth estate role seriously) and embrace the transparency of the medium. If we do that our journalistic processes and codes will be a massively valuable asset. A credible journalist as something separate and meaningful from a credible blogger. But we have to learn to measure that by what we do, not by what we do to others or others might get away with.
Journalism needs to do that because I think that journalists are best placed to be a much needed credible source of information in a world where information is plentiful but trust, it seems, is in short supply.
Note: The inclusion of wikileaks to the title and content was at the request of the module leader to fit with the seminar reading and topics. I think, it does raise some interesting issues but as I (hopefully) argued in the lecture, it doesn't really matter what example I'd picked. It's how journalist behave with respect to their own definition that counts.
It's new year so let me indulge in a little bit of wishful thinking for the coming year.
Im imagining that my local weekly newspaper, owned by a large media group, comes up for sale (or they are in a mood to be persuaded to sell). I manage to get the university to put their hands in their pockets and buy it lock, stock and barrel. I staff it with the nearly 200 journalism students in our department. I get the marketing students and management students to handle the commercial side – sell ads etc. The computing and design students build and develop my site to include audio and video created by the boradcast journmalists and numerous media related courses. The law department help with the legals and all the profit gets pushed in to the community ( the university is a charity after all!)
This dreamy-eyed wishful thinking was prompted by an email from (digital)Dave Cohn of spot us fame, announcing the revival of a little endeavour from years ago – The Carnival of journalism.
You can read Dave's description of just what the hell this carnival thingymabob is . But in brief it's a kind of curated, collective 'think' about a subject that changes each month.
This months topic :
The changing role of Universities for the information needs of a community: One of the Knight Commission's recommendations is to "Increase the role of higher education…..as hubs of journalistic activity." Another is to "integrate digital and media literacy as critical elements for education at all levels through collaboration among federal, state, and local education officials."
Okay – great recommendations. But how do we actually make it happen? What does this look like? What University programs are doing it right? What can be improved and what would be your ideal scenario? Or is this recommendation wrong to begin with? No box here to write inside of.
For those of you not familiar with the Knight foundation, it's a US, philanthropic organisations that invests in projects and individuals who are challenging, developing and changing news. Something that I'm intensely envious of over here in the less philanthropic UK.
The fact that we don't have a Knight foundation (and outside of noteable investments by some companies, I don't think we ever will in that form) doesn't diminish the impact a lot of what Knight has funded on our thinking in the UK. Knight projects have often served as totems for the big concepts in digital journalism – crowd sourcing and funding, link journalism for example. I'm sure the next round of projects they fund will see a slew of data journalism related ideas to match the explosion of interest in that area. So it's not unreasonable to assume that outisde the specific references to states etc., the general assumptions they express are ones that would chime with a UK audience.
The role of universities
Unpicking the general premise doesn't just cause me to daydream, it also raises some really interesting questions and, for me it comes down to two distinct areas.
The first one is an easy: A vital one. In that sense it's the same one we have always had; preparing students for the world outside of education. But a special case could be made for universities and digital literacy.
In the UK, the last ten years have seen a concerted effort (by the last government at least) to put more young people in to university. More students than ever engaged with higher education and the numbers of undergraduate grew and grew. At the same time, the web went mainstream and has continued to grow at a massive rate. the result? A generation of students experiencing 'digital' for the first time, at university.
We couldn't look to there experiences at school as a base on which to build their digital literacy. Students had to learn as they went. We were all trying to assimilate things like Google and search. We all had to work out how to manage the fallout when students interactivity with Facebook went wrong. We all learnt together.
This coming September will see, what i think, will be the first cohort of proper digital natives through our doors. They will have had some time to assimilate digital on to they way they work and live, across platforms. We can honestly start to look across their whole education and expect to see digital run through it. Everyone has a stake. So what role for universities now?
Critcial or employable?
Many would say that it is for universities to ensure that our graduates understand how to be more critical. To see the broader context and impact of digital not just the personal (selfish) benefit. Knight allude to that in their views on digital literacy. In a more uncharitable frame of mind I might say that what many would like to see is a form of benign indoctrination to the primacy of traditional media output….
You could also say that it's for us to teach students to apply that critical and practical knowledge to a specific discipline – to prepare them for work in a digital world. That last expectation is one that, as a j-prof, I feel most pressure to meet and it takes me to the second element – the role of j-schools.
Experience has shown me that much of the expectations of j-schools comes from industry and it tends to be driven by what they need right now. (even if thats not whats right)That makes them no different from any other industry a student may enter from uni. They want something of value to them – a useable employee or a working business model. So there is an expectation that we will use our time moulding students and focussing our research to areas that are industry relevant. A not unreasonable position to take for a vocational trade such as journalism.
The underlying tension there is that the expectation often comes with little or no respect for the critical element of what we do. Many have know time for those that think about journalism, only those that do.
Filling the gap left by traitional media
But there is also another, creeping, expectation that the Knight foundations statement amplifies. J-schools could or maybe should be there to fill the gaps left by the media. The insinuation being that where large media orgs have failed, specifically in the area of community engagement, somehow we are best placed to replace them. Somehow, it is our responsibility to replace them.
Do I agree with that? In some respects it doesn't matter, it's happening. But I do think that the consequences could be interesting.
I return to my little daydream. I think that it ticks a lot of boxes when it comes to engagement and community. It also ticks a lot of boxes when it comes to the vocational side of what we do. But I'm pretty sure that it would also have the editor of our local daily on the phone, crying foul, before the first paper hit the streets.
So, when the whole area of unis 'responsibilities' comes up for debate we need to ask: Are we playing our part or are we filling a gap? If we're filling a gap then should we be sensitive (commercially or otherwise) to those who left the gap in the first place?
After all, if we do our job in the general area of digital and media literacy, what story do we have to tell to our students and what is the traditional media role in that.
Note: In writing this I want to make a few things clear. There are no plans to sell (or buy for that matter) our local weekly. These are my views, not the universities. Lastly I followed my own little rule of not reading any of the Carnival posts already up on the site. So if this one repeart others, I'm sorry you had to read it twice!
I'm going to try and share a little of what I do each week with the students and now that teaching has settled in a little bit after freshers it seemed a good time to start.
This week I wanted to get all the students thinking about some of the issues that contribute to the 'changing media landscape' that we have to function in as journalists.
For my second year, Digital Newsroom students I picked on process.
The lecture was really about how the process has changed because of digital. So I took a very basic view of the process – find, research and report – and looked at where in the process digital had made an impact. Here are the slides from my lecture (a bit cryptic without notes I know – come to the lectures!)
I started by saying that the reporting part was where the real medium specific stuff really made itself known (the mechanics of output for a particular platform). Given that we are platform agnostic, this was not where we wanted to be. Maybe the first parts where more generic? More about broad journalism.
In truth, the process is no longer that discreet. In a multi-platform world we can't simply focus on one 'point of delivery' when the point of delivery is changing all the time. By rights we are (and should be) generating content all the time; what Robin Hamman called turning process in to content. (I've written on that issue before.)
But in stumbling along to that conclusion we looked at how digital allows us to inject input from 'communities' in to the early parts of our process. We also started to explore the pros and cons of that involvement – legal, ethical and practical.
As a conclusion and starting point for more discussion later on, I picked out three 'keywords' that I wanted them to think about.
All of which, in some form, have contributed to the changing media landscape in which we practice, regardless of medium.
I didn't see the thirds year print students this week as they were putting together their first newspaper (1st. week back. No hanging around). But the time I spent with our post-graduate newspaper students looked at similar issues to the second years.
I started with a little debate. I split the group in to two. One side took the position "newspapers will die in five years". With the other side getting "newspapers will survive the next five years". As you can imagine interesting debates ensued. Including the position that newspapers weren't even used to wrap chips in anymore(and the wonderful statement that headed this section), countered of course by 'you can't wrap your chips in an ipad'.
It was great to see that the range of debate broadly mirrored the industry concerns(or you may see it as a sad reflection of the echo chamber!) and that the students took a admirable middle ground. Passionate but realistic.
For them, the list of things to ponder was longer but similar:
I also included Profile/engagement on the list but that became a broader discussion of brand and identity. Something that began to touch on the deeper issues of professionalism and ethics.
If this week could be summed up in a nutshell it would be "nothing is simple anymore". We don't just simply write for newspapers ( or make TV/radio etc) – we have an eye on multiplatform. It's not as simple as just talking to the community anymore – we interact. Everything is made more complex by technology and the influx of digital. Some of it is in our control. Some of it isn't.
What we can't avoid is that some of that pressure lands on the journalist, right from the point they engage with a story, regardless of where it ultimately ends up. It may not be your employer who brings that pressure to bear. It may be the audience…
PS. Just in case you thought that we do nothing practical they also started (or, in the case of the second years restarted) blogs (platform up to them) and google reader. The postgrads got their beats and patches to play with and got to explore their hyperlocal/patch site.
Image from tim_ellis on Flickr
Twitter through up an interesting link to NYU's Journalism Handbook for Students: Ethics, Law and Good Practice. I was particually taken with their Ethics pledge which all students are expected to sign or "The final grade for a student registered in a journalism course will not be submitted to the Registrar".
It begins with:
As a New York University journalism student, you are part of a community of scholars at a university recognized for its research. A scholar's mission is to push forward the boundaries of knowledge; a journalist's mission is to serve the public by seeking out and reporting the facts as accurately as possible. Good journalists and scholars share a commitment to the same principle: integrity in their work.
By signing this ethics pledge, you agree to maintain the highest standards of honesty and foster ethical behavior at all times. Anyone who fails to uphold these ethical standards has committed a serious violation of this agreement. Penalties can range from an F on an assignment to a failing grade in a course to expulsion, depending on the decision of the instructor in consultation with the Institute's Ethics Committee.
Serious stuff. The idea that an ethics comittee within an institution would consider, and rule upon, proffessional ethics outside of the purley academic is challenging but, I think, right. Behaviour like Plagiarism is cited as the kind of behaviour that breaks the pledge and could get you hauled up.
Now we take plagiarism serioulsy but it's an academic issue, there are serious punishments, but academic none the less. The ethics comittee oversees research activity. We also hammer home the Society of Editors code of conduct etc. But I'd love it to be more directly asssociated with the professional ethics of journalism – more proffession based.
Defining a digital journalist.
The pledge chimed with me as I'm updating my Digital newsroom class for this year. The class handbook includes a page that outlines the 'module ethic':
This module is not about defining a digital newsroom.
This module looks at the way digital and online practice affects newsrooms
and how that, in turn, changes and develops individual journalism practice.
We will explore this by :
- Looking at the context in which digital and online practice has
developed and how that has changed newsroom practice
- Looking at the tools used and evaluating how they can be used to
create content.
You will use one to inform the other in a way that suits your practice.
As you do this module there are two things to keep in mind.
- We are platform agnostics: You can be a newspaper, radio,
magazine, TV or online journalist and still be digital
- We are consumers and providers: Think about what it takes to
produce the content you use everyday.
But most of all, remember: You are a digital journalist!
Whatever their motivation for getting in to journalism, whichever media they see themselves working in, understanding how digital tools and practice can fit in to their practice is what being a digital journalist is all about. That last bit is a given whether they like it or not.
I can't get students to sign-up to it and if they ignore it there is no 'ethos panel' but at least we start from a common ground.
Image credit: WCN247 on flickr
Recently I came across an interesting new blog called Wannabe Hacks. (@wannabehacks) It's a group blog from three people all taking a different route in to journalism. It's an interesting idea and one worth watching.
So it was a nice coincidence to see my name, along with Paul Bradshaw in one of their tweets.
@digidickinson @paulbradshaw Can anyone tell us the perceived perks of an undergrad journo course over doing non-journo degree? skills etcAugust 20, 2010 2:35 pm via webwannabehacks
Wannabe Hacks
An interesting question. Any answer I give is bound to be viewed as biased. After all teaching undergrads is what pays my mortgage. But I'm going to give it a go.
Any discussion about the 'value' or 'perks' of a degree in general will always stray in to the area of the inherent value of a university education.
I enjoyed David Mitchells take on this in the Observer. I liked this summing up in particular.
Except in the case of a few very vocational degrees, university isn't about what you learn on the course, it's about how that learning, how living and studying somewhere new, changes the way you think and who you are. Instead of forcing kids to make binding career choices at 17,higher education is supposed to give students who would benefit from further academic development a bit of space in which to find themselves. People who are allowed to do that, statisticians have noted, tend to earn more than those who aren't.
There is so much I agree with there. But I found myself nodding at the line "students who would benefit from further academic development".
University is not for everyone. Not because some people are not capable or intelligent enough. It should be just one of the environments that are available to encourage and develop people. Of course the shame of it is that for a good while a University has become one of the only environments to develop. No more apprenticeships or on the job training any more – especially in journalism. Worse still they seem to have been steadily belittled and undervalued in recent times.
That means good journalism degrees have found themselves in that 'few' that Mitchell talked about. They are vocational courses, training people to work in journalism because, increasingly journalism orgs won't.
That is one of their greatest 'perks'.
I won't go as far as to say that journalism undergraduate courses are the 'best of both worlds'. But a good course will give you all the skills you need and the time to experiment with them in an environment that is geared towards your experience. A chance to find yourself, yes. But also a chance to develop skills and find your voice.
But (and this is a big but) there is cost to a degree. It's not just in the very real and important issue of money. It's in the amount of time and effort you put in.
Given three years in which to establish yourself and prepare for work, you have to keep an eye on where you want to go. At some point university is going to finish, so what are you doing to give yourself some 'exit velocity'
Perhaps you are starting a hyperlocal news site or blog about your experiences. Maybe you have joined journalism.co.uk's young journalism group TNTJ. Perhaps you write for your local newspaper or do shifts at the local radio station. Maybe you even work on the student media at your uni. All of that takes time. Time you could be in the bar finding yourself. But that's journalism.
So, given my biased position, I think the perk of a journalism degree is time. You have three years and if you are outward looking and engaged nothing you do will be wasted.
The other side
In saying all of that I don't want to give the impression that I see Journalism degrees as the only way to become a journalist. The idea of taking a first degree in a subject like economics or law and then doing a postgraduate in journalism is one I think has a huge amount of merit. As does going through the front door and getting a job with a media organisation or even starting your own blog/publication/podcast and building an audience. Plenty of people would advocate the university of life route over a journalism degree. But then the it always suprises me what skip-loads of extraneous horse-droppings get talked about the whole issue these days :)
Big cameras at the Frontline
As I was leafing through the Guardian on Saturday morning I came across an article with the rather alarming headline
Google news tax could boost local papers, report says
Google and other websites that carry news they do not produce should be taxed and the money generated used to prop up local newspapers, says a report which warns control of the media is concentrated in too few hands.
I tweeted it and got a number of interesting replies:
The report comes from the Carnegie trust UK's commission on Making Good Society. It does indeed set out a suggestion for Industry levies citing Institute for Public Policy Research research that a 1% levy on pay TV providers of 1% "bring in around £70m a year"
A similar fee imposed on the country's five mobile operators could generate £208m a year. Making Google meet its full tax liability in Britain would boost the pot by a further £100m.' The same IPPR report argues that 'such sums could save many local newspapers and web sites from closing down, could stop the destruction of local and regional news on ITV and could help new media start-ups to plug these gaping holes in public service provision – all without the taxpayer having to stump up any more cash and without having to raid the licence fee.'
But the report also makes it clear that the money would come with something of price
Levies on the use of aggregated material have the potential to generate significant revenue to support the production of new public service and local content, involving civil society associations. If this form of funding were to be explored, changes in regulation would be needed to ensure that revenues go to original news producers and not just to those who present and disseminate material. Original news reporting needs to be supported so that it is financially viable; this could require charging those who are not authorised to use and distribute this material.
Not quite free money from a google tax.
The whole report makes for an interesting read (I mean genuinely interesting not that other academic definition of interesting)
It's pretty wide ranging but it singles out "democratising media ownership and content as one of it's four main areas where "a stronger civil society could make the most difference"
A whole chapter (chapter 3) is devoted to trying to understand the pressures and drives on news production and the impact that has. They are clear that technology plays a key part citing radical cultural shifts associated with pervasive technology and the rise of 'digital natives;' as an uncertain driver of change. But the discussion is a bit more broad ranging:
…[D]espite the proliferation of online platforms, more of the news we receive is recycled 'churnalism' and aggregated content. Trends of concentration in media ownership and increased pressure of time and resources have narrowed the sources from which original news derives. Moreover, the centralisation of news production and neglect of local issues has particular repercussions for access to information across the UK and Ireland, especially in the devolved nations.
And it's clear where the problem is:
…the central issue affecting traditional news providers is not the decline of audiences or interest in news, but the collapse of the existing business model jeopardising the democratic role of journalism. According to the National Union of Journalists: 'The media industry is essentially profitable but the business model is killing quality journalism.'
Media concentration.
When I first read the Guardian article I bristled at the idea of a google tax of newspapers. Why? Because we would essentially be propping up commercial organsiations who still work at a profit. It would be akin to a bail out. So I found myself drawn to the areas of ownership and centralization in particular. The report is pretty robust here.
The challenge of creating original content and the diminishing number of newspapers is further compounded by the concentration of media ownership in relatively few hands…..with four dominant publishers controlling 70% of the market share across the UK
That concentration of ownership and the influence it exerts is cited as a "key obstacle to transparent policy-making which incorporates a sustainable role for civil society associations" Which comes from the 'continuing and intimate relationship between key corporate interests and policy-makers; a relationship whose bonds are rarely exposed to the public'
Their suggestion seems to be that the Scott Trust/Guardian model is more likely to serve the development of a pluralist media landscape than a purely commercial one. But it sounds a note of caution
While independent funds directly supporting journalism can come with strings attached and endowments are not immune from economic pressures, philanthropic funding can help preserve journalistic independence and secure guarantees on public service content.
General suggestions.
The big ticket suggestions like tax breaks and levies are balanced by some more specific suggestions that form the main discussion of the chapter.
Their ideas for strengthening transparency include the suggestion of a Kite mark that shows no dis or mis-information. Good luck with that one.
But back to funding, the last three points are interesting in themselves.
When they talk about enhancing the governance of the media they say that"
"All news organisations in receipt of public funding should actively engage with the public and with civil society associations, through their governing bodies as well as through their daily practice."
Which could only really mean the BBC right? But in developing the suggestion of redirecting the revenue flow they:
…want to see new funding models explored: for example, tax concessions, industry levies or the direction of proportions of advertising spend into news content creation by civil society associations, or into local multimedia websites.
The price of public money.
My reading of the report was that nothing comes for free. In an earlier chapter the financial sector comes in for a real battering. But though the media orgs are more delicately handled the implicit message is still the same. All the money that could come from tax breaks, funding and other sources comes at a cost. That cost is de-centralisation, openness, stronger regulation and in transparency (a phrase that seems to disappear mid report to be replaced by integrity)
Would be nice but I can't see it happening.
"Tell the chef, the beer is on me."
"Basically the price of a night on the town!"
"I'd love to help kickstart continued development! And 0 EUR/month really does make fiscal sense too...


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Comets encountering these precincts must be perplexed to decide between the two potentates claiming their allegiance, and perhaps on occasions pay their court to each in turns, throwing out tails, as they do so, in all sorts of anomalous and contradictory directions.
Creative people, as I see them, are distinguished by the fact that they can live with anxiety, even though a high price may be paid in terms of insecurity, sensitivity, and defenselessness for the gift of the "divine madness" to borrow the term used by the classical Greeks. They do not run away from non-being, but by encountering and wrestling with it, force it to produce being. They knock on silence for an answering music; they pursue meaninglessness until they can force it to mean.rollo may
There is, moreover, very little sense in preventing young people from giving expression to their ideas on the pretext that they have less experience than have older persons. There are many who may live a thousand years without encountering experience of any value. It could only be in a society of persons equally gifted that such an idea could have any meaning.otto weininger
Taking offense has become America's national pastime; being theatrically offended supposedly signifies the exquisitely refined moral delicacy of people who feel entitled to pass through life without encountering ideas or practices that annoy them.George Will
At a very early stage in history we are encountering "survivorship bias" - the fact that only the best results tend to show up in the history books.
The theory that the struggle between Bolshevism and Menshevism is a struggle for influence over an immature proletariat is not a new one. We have been encountering it since 1905 in innumerable books, pamphlets, and articles in the liberal press. Martov and Trotsky are putting before the German comrades liberal views with a Marxist coating...
In this business one becomes a connoisseur. I can now see that [Jim] Carrey is a virtuoso, [Chris] Farley is at least hard-working, [Adam] Sandler is hopeless and Pauly Shore bypasses all categories to achieve a kind of transcendent fingernails-on-the-blackboard effect. His appeal must be limited to people whose self-esteem and social skills are so damaged that they find humor, or at least relief, in at last encountering a movie character less successful than themselves.roger ebert
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God's Hotel by Victoria Sweet
Review by Barbara Shorrock
Have you ever wondered how health care worked before the dawn of modern medicine with its antibiotics and intravenous procedures and levels of specialists with computers and advanced technology? Suppose you had the chance to compare how medical care is conducted today with how it was managed in the middle ages?
For 20 years, Dr. Victoria Sweet M.D. found herself working at Laguna Honda in San Francisco, the last of the American almshouses, created to treat the "sick poor". Also known as God's Hotel, it was a kind of shelter, halfway house, rehabilitation centre, hospital for the chronically ill, farm, and greenhouse. Having read a book written in the twelfth century by Hildegard of Bingen, a nun, theologian, and medical practitioner, Sweet had the opportunity to compare Laguna Honda's "slow medicine" with the "fast medicine" practiced in the current acute care hospitals in the USA. Out of this experience came a fascinating book, God's Hotel, which chronicles her experiences and study of the differences between medicine then and now.
Imagine an institution with almost 1800 patients, some who recover and go home, some who will live out the balance of their lives here. Everyone has been discharged from a modern acute care hospital to complete treatment in this place. Imagine open wards with 30 beds, each with a window that opens, a solarium at the end of the ward, all visible to the head nurse presiding over the entrance, and doctors who visit each patient daily or more frequently. Imagine, if you can, a doctor who has no time constraints, who can spend hours taking your history and exploring your condition, observing your body and listening to your story in the interest of giving you the most appropriate care. Perhaps she determines that your original diagnosis was in error, and your treatment will be for something else entirely, because she has had the time to consider other possibilities.
Victoria Sweet takes us through her two decades of service in this place, as well as her study of the medieval manuscript and subsequent PhD, telling us of patients who taught her how to practice medicine at Laguna Honda/God's Hotel. These patients each taught her something she did not know before meeting them, and she shares these stories with the reader.
Time stands still for no one, however, and the old almshouse form of treatment ultimately has to morph itself into modern health care. New budgets involve more administration and less nursing staff; studies by management companies result in changes ruled more by insurance companies than caring doctors. Yes, studies are done and reports created without interviewing either patients, nurses, or doctors. New laws give psychiatric patients the right to refuse medications with often unfortunate consequences. Step by step the original buildings are replaced by modern ones, along with modern techniques and procedures. Some of this is good and appropriate, of course, but along the way, most of the older methods of treatment are discarded for more economical modern ways. Dr. Sweet regrets many of the changes, as do we, the readers. Once progress is set in place, however, there is no going back.
If you appreciate a historical perspective on the nature of medicine in our time, and relish a peek into the lives of her patients at Laguna Honda, you will like God's Hotel by Victoria Sweet.
Check back every Sunday for our featured Sunday Book Review.


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Impaired driving, or at least the interception of it, appears to be at an all-time high, according to the final 2018 figures from the Thunder Bay Police Service.
With the conclusion of the Festive RIDE season, the police service is reporting that 178 people were arrested for impaired operation of a motor vehicle in 2018, up from 175 in 2017. That figure, however, is consistent with the significantly increased number over the past few years. In the first half of the decade, the number of impaired drivers arrested per year averaged 120.
Of special interest in 2018 was the increased occurrence of drug-impaired driving. The Service, having invested in additional Standardized Field Sobriety Testing and Drug Recognition Expert training for officers, has seen the benefits already, with an exponential increase in the number of drug-impaired drivers detected.
In the first half of 2018, only 4 individuals, or approximately five per cent of drivers, were arrested for drug-impairment. The rest were charged with alcohol-impaired driving. In the second half of 2018 alone, however, the number of drug-impaired drivers ballooned to 23, or nearly 23 per cent of all impaired drivers.
That figure is expected to continue to grow as further training of officers in 2019 will improve the Service's ability to remove these dangerous drivers from the roadways.
Some of the key figures from 2018 are as follows:
- The average age of an impaired driver was 35
- The youngest driver arrested was 16; the oldest was 77
- 72% of impaired drivers were male
- The highest blood alcohol concentration recorded was 397mg of alcohol per 100mL of blood –nearly 5 times the legal limit
- 41% of impaired drivers were involved in a collision
- The 2:00 am hour saw the greatest frequency of impaired drivers (15%)
- Nearly 40% of impaired drivers were caught between midnight and 4:00 am
- Almost half of impaired drivers were arrested on the weekend
Distribution of impaired drivers was fairly ubiquitous throughout the city, although the downtown cores did host a slightly elevated share of the incidents.
The Service will continue its efforts in 2019 to reduce impaired driving through public messaging as well as focussed projects. Please report any incidence of impaired driving to the police and help make our roads safer for everyone.


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Moon Down
Moon Down offers courses in wild mushroom foraging, Christmas wreath making and bushcraft and survival programmes.
Our courses are held in the beautiful countryside on the Kent/Sussex border, based at our rural venue near Bells Yew Green. Our site boasts full classroom and conference facilities, restaurant area and parking set in over 150 acres of beautiful Wealden countryside.
Our Wild Mushroom Foraging courses are led by John Wright, acclaimed author and a regular contributor at River Cottage. John visits our site for 2 days in October; the day includes a 3-course lunch and refreshments.
Join Eve, our professional florist, for a hands-on one-day course on how to make an original traditional Christmas mossed wreath. Moon Down will provide a variety of natural materials and instruction that will enable you to construct your own original door wreath. The course includes 2-course lunch and refreshments.
Bushcraft/Survival Courses – Moon Down can arrange a group-exclusive booking for either a 1-day or 2-day survival/bushcraft course that will include shelter building, food from the wild, fire and knife skills.
Please visit our website www.moondown.co.uk or contact us for dates and more information on the above courses.
Free wi-fi
c/o Team Dynamics International, Court Lodge Down, Hawkenbury Road, Bells Yew Green
Tunbridge Wells


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Live Caricatures at venues around London
I HAVE DRAWN hundreds, if not thousands of live caricatures at venues around London (you can see the results of some of my bookings in the gallery above). One of the delights of being an on-the-spot caricaturist is that you get to travel. And you get to see the inside workings of buildings, establishments and venues that most people never see.
Hotels such as the Grosvenor House in London are frequent arenas for my particular brand of corporate entertainment. Spreading farther afield, Cliveden, Tylney Hall, Leeds Castle, The Grove, Brocket Hall, Guildford Cathedral, St James' Palace, The Natural History Museum, Hatfield House, Hampton Court and many others have been on this caricaturist's itinerary.
Then there are all the small, provincial venues, from Travelodge hotels to rickety, plywood church halls, each leaving particular memories along with the myriad parties I have attended in private houses, sometimes to simply draw eight people sitting at a dinnertable!
The memories of such events is augmented by the associated travel experiences. Returning from one party at an Oxford college, I somehow managed to put diesel petrol into an unleaded tank (this is meant to be impossible) and ended up having to be rescued by a tow truck on the side of the M40 in Oxfordshire.
Just let me corner you alone in a pub one night and I could regale you with these and many more stories from the life of a live caricaturist!


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Home > Susana Borrás
Susana Borrás
Department of organization, Copenhagen Business School
Susana Borrás is Professor of innovation and governance at the Department of Organization at Copenhagen Business School (CBS), Denmark. She has published extensively in international high-ranked journals and publishers. Her most recent book is "Holistic Innovation Policy: Theoretical Foundations, Policy Problems and Instrument Choices" 2019, Oxford University Press, with Charles Edquist.
For almost five years she acted as Head of the Department of Business and Politics at Copenhagen Business School (2011-2016), leading 50 researchers and setting the research and teaching strategy of the Department.
Over the last two decades Susana Borrás has advised governments and institutions at international and national levels on matters of science, technology and innovation policy. Among other, she is currently the member of advisory boards of 5 international scientific journals; of the Danish Academy of Technical Sciences (ATV), and of the Scientific Advisory Board of the Centre for European Studies, Sciences-Po Paris, France. In the past, she was board member of the Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm (2013-16) ; member of the group of experts who conducted the mid-term evaluation of the EU's FP7 (2010), which served as a basis for the political discussions that lead to the new EU's framework, the so-called "Horizon 2020" ; and member of the Danish Research Policy Council, advising the Danish Minister and Parliament (2010-14).
She has a solid teaching experience at all levels of the university system: undergraduate, graduate and postgraduate levels.
Susana Borrás holds a Masters degree (licenciatura) in political science and sociology from the Autonomous University of Barcelona, Spain ; and a PhD degree from the European University Institute, Florence, Italy.
Research interests
Susana Borrás conducts research on the interaction between governance and innovation. As a social scientist, her specific research interests are in the field of innovation policy and governance. One of her leading questions is, what governments can do to foster socio-technical innovation in the economy, and how research and innovation policy can be designed to more problem-solving addressing grand challenges. Understanding that governmental action is embedded in a democratic governance context, issues of social legitimacy, policy learning, as well as organizational dynamics are inescapable questions for transformative innovation.
Research project.s you intend to pursue at the CEE
Her current research interests are:
- The dynamics and instruments for transformative innovation policy, addressing grand challenges
- The transformative role of the state in the governance of socio-technical change
- Organizational capacity for transformative change
- Scale-up and diffusion processes in digital urban solutions
- The features of policy innovation labs across countries
To know more
Contact: firstname.lastname@example.com


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AbleData does not produce, distribute or sell any of the products listed on this website, but we provide you with information on how to contact manufacturers or distributors of these products. If you are interested in purchasing a product, you can find companies who sell it below.
The Swivel Tube Assembly is interface hardware designed for positioning a wheelchair headrest. The Swivel Tube Assembly attaches to the recessed area of the headrest. OPTIONS: A custom made Swivel Tube Weldment is available. DIMENSIONS: Available in 4-, 6-, or 10-inch lengths. COLOR:Both the original and the custom made options are available in black and stainless steel.
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How often do you feel you want to have the right product in the market place and you haven't been able to identify the mediums through which you will be able to successfully launch your product line in the market? bestseomarketing provides yourself with greater advantage so as to make sure you are able to develop certain strategies to promote and market your product line.
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Slots Time Machine Game App
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Other games from TapBlaze include Emoji Talk, My Ice Cream Shop and My Cake Shop apps, which have been downloaded by millions of users worldwide. Emoji Talk is a fun talking game app that let's users choose different emojis (emoticons) and make funny emoji videos. My Ice Cream Shop lets players make tempting treats with hundreds of different ice cream and topping combinations. My Cake Shop allows users to unleash their inner pastry chef by creating literally thousands of different cakes for any occasion.
About TapBlaze
TapBlaze serves as the mobile app development division of Los Angeles-based Lai Systems, LLC. TapBlaze is a self-funded, profitable, mobile gaming company started in July 2012; their games in the Android and iOS markets have been installed in millions of devices to date. When asked about the firm, co-founder and CEO Dr. Anthony Lai states, "Our vision is to build an enduring franchise that gamers will still be excited about a decade from now… We strive to develop high-quality apps that our users will find entertaining, fun, and useful. We believe our attention to detail, commitment to customer satisfaction, and expertise in the mobile marketing space will make our apps stand out."


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Marva Collins Dead at 78
Chicago education activist Marva Collins has died.
She was 78.
According to the school founder's son, Collins died Wednesday night in South Carolina.
Collins started West Side Preparatory School in Chicago Garfield Park neighborhood in 1975. She also founded the "Collins Method," a style of education that focused on phonics, math, reading, English and the Classics.
Unfortunately, West Side Prep closed its doors in 2008 due to a lack of funds.
Collins' work at Westside Preparatory was turned into a movie in the 1980s. She was sought out for her expertise in the field of education by parents, fellow educators and even President Ronald Reagan — who courted her for secretary of education.
The school, which focused on high-risk children, garnered national attention for its soaring achievements.
Our condolences go out to Ms. Collins loved ones at this difficult time.


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Join the Movement
With an increased emphasis on automotive electronics and intelligence, Drive World with ESC offers electrical and mechanical engineers foundational education, networking, career guidance, and supplier information to get ahead. Whether you're developing mobility technologies in advancing industries like automotive, or you're looking to sharpen your skills around IOT and connected devices, you have to be a part of the movement at Drive World with ESC.
Coming Soon
Registration for Drive World opens in April 2019. Please complete the form and we'll notify you by email when online registration becomes available. We look forward to seeing you in August.
We are not currently accepting registrations for attending the 2020 event. Please complete the form below, and we will notify you by email when online registration is available.


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Posts tagged 'Family'
Excerpt from "Who Wants to Marry a Savant?"
My heart is the size of a whale—not a whale's heart—an actual whale.
Excerpt from "Who Wants to Marry a Savant?"
When the fuck did I become a feminist who fantasizes about being a stay-at-home mom?
Sure, I understand that those identities aren't mutually exclusive. However, the depth of my longing for that lifestyle absolutely confounds me.
I mean, I felt beyond relieved when I made it to 30 without getting knocked up or hitched. In fact, it used to really turn me off when men (or women, for that matter) seemed too focused on marriage and procreation, those loathsome heteronormative constructs.
I guess I'm at a different point in my life now. A point where my biological clock and socioprofessional disdain have converged.
This juncture distresses me on an existential level: more than ever, I don't feel like the captain of my own voyage.
Double Back Flip on Crappy Diving Board with Torn Meniscus
"Me doing a double back flip with a torn [meniscus] on a crappy diving board at Turner Falls in Oklahoma."
-Alex Davis, July 28, 2008
Excerpt from "Safe Mode"
Like a tulip shoved under a giant heat lamp, my upper body wilts beneath yet another wave of depression and grief. More than five years have passed since Lisa's death, but I've become increasingly unable to withstand her absence.
I spend the next six hours coding, hoping this attempt to shed the blues (so blue it's black) may result in productivity. I find myself humming a tune the oldies station hasn't played in years:
Please lock me away
And don't allow the day
Here inside, where I hide with my loneliness
I don't care what they say, I won't stay
In a world without love
Excerpt from "Who Wants to Marry a Savant?"
"I mean, I want a two-story house with a white picket fence, 1.78 children, and a friendly dog."
"So do I," replied Gina Q.
"But one of those things you and I can't have."
"Says who?"
"Says biology."
"We could adopt or try other options."
"But it's not the same."
"Social Darwinist."
"Highbrow snob."
"Closed-minded philistine."
"Feminazi bitch!"
Apparently, I had gone too far (as if calling me a philistine wasn't crossing the line). Gina grabbed her keys and slammed the door in my face.
Death Perception
I'm back in Texas to visit my family and friends, and today would have been Alex's 25th birthday. They say losing someone gets easier with time, but I am not convinced. Sure, the pain is no longer acute (most of the time), but it seems to have seeped into every fiber of my being. I can feel it within my marrow, in the roots of my teeth, and on the soles of my feet.
When I first learned about death, I remember staying up at night and crying. The thing I struggled to process was the fact that I would probably live to bury my parents. I wanted to die before they did so that I wouldn't have to endure that kind of loss. I never really thought about losing my brother.
Almost two years ago, I moved for the first time since Alex passed away. On one hand, it was nice to get out of Portland because it was there that I received the horrible news. On the other hand, he was still alive when I moved there in October 2008. What I am painfully realizing is that every literal and figurative move I make from this point forward will occur without his earthly presence. That's unsettling to really think about.
My last few visits to Texas didn't feel as depressing as I had anticipated. It almost seemed like Alex was in summer school or on some fun trip. It felt like he simply never came back from college. Sometimes I caught myself eagerly awaiting his return, but I would inevitably remember that he's not coming back.
Since the last time I came home, my mom moved from the house we grew up in. Now it's clear he's not coming back. I don't even get my hopes up anymore.
I often feel sorry for myself. Then I feel bad about feeling sorry for myself, and then I feel justified. But sometimes I embrace my sadness. It is here to stay, and it's an important part of me. At a certain point, the grief becomes so profound that it seems to transform into an empowering, enthusiastic force that propels me upward and forward. Maybe that's what happens when we die: the agony and injustice and bullshit of this life launch us into a euphoric, boundless ascent.
Goodbye for Now, Boyfriend
I just found out that our beloved cat, Boyfriend, died yesterday. He was at least 12, but we'll never know his exact age because he just started coming by our house one day and eventually decided to stay. He was blind in one eye and had a cute little birthmark on his lip. Boyfriend was a pacifist, a diplomat, and a master snuggler.
It's been over a decade since I lost a pet and less than two years since Alex died, so Boyfriend's death is really difficult for me. I like to think I'll see him again, though, and I find solace in that hope.
When asked whether animals have souls and could experience an afterlife, author and veterinarian James Herriot replied, "If having a soul means being able to feel love and loyalty and gratitude, then animals are better off than a lot of humans. You've nothing to worry about there."
Cats really are just little people in fur coats.


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Roll Over! Suggestions For Education Your Dog
Several persons would like to train their pet dogs but believe it can be too tough petvacationinfo. This stems from a lack the vital dog training knowlege. Preserve on reading to find out some basic principles of dog training.
There are many various approaches that may be utilised to crate instruction your dog easier. As soon as in the crate, be sure you praise them to show that what they did was excellent.
Rewarding your dog correctly and generously is the key to training.Giving them treats at the proper time and using the right quantity is crucial. That is mainly because a dog doesn't to understand what it can be being rewarded for after they don't acquire their treat in the correct time.
Ensure that that your dog stays awake and active often. Dogs can very easily get bored fairly conveniently.A dog is extremely tough to train.Your dog will be extra relaxed and willing to listen in the event you maintain them well exercised. Go for long walks or runs with your dog on a regular basis.
Try to not reinforce terrible behaviors out of your dog by accident.This means denying your dog with consideration or treats or consideration for something he need to not be performing. When the dog jumps at you, do not encourage him by slipping him a morsel 1 evening or allowing other folks to complete so.
A great deal of owners factor coaching is really a one time occasion.
Don't ever use shock collars and similar coaching devices. They usually don't function at the same time as advertised and their expense is hardly ever justified. They could also discourage great behaviors as they inhibit your dog to become confused about all their behaviors.
Choose a set phrase for house coaching your dog to do his small business. Any time you are outside with the puppy, say "Elimination Device…Activate!" or whatever phrase you chose to call his consideration to the task at hand.
You need to teach your dog how you can stroll while on a leash. This will help to keep both his security and yours when you take him on walks.
Ensure that to provide your dog gets a good amount of physical exercise in addition to scheduled instruction and potty break sessions. A dog who has received lots of exercise is happier and sufficient play time will be a satisfied dog.
Hopefully the expertise that you simply gained from this article might be capable to help you be a lot more confident inside your dog instruction. The material above is very helpful, but take into account that there is certainly lots additional facts readily available.


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I just want to know that, is there a way by which we can create a chat application in a structure where server it self ping client machine & send him it's message received.
I have checked various chat applications and all are working in the same way where a request from client machine is send to server to check messages received & if a message is exists there then it collects that message & shows on chat window (in some application this is done by using AJAX).
I want a system where all clients need not to request to the server to check their contents, because this will create extra unnecessary overhead on server machine.
Any Idea ????????????
I have checked many open source chat scripts but they all don't supports my idea as i said:
"server it self ping client machine & send him it's message received" it will only happened when a new message is received by server for a client (ofcource when client is online).


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2013 Satanic Reflection by Aleister Nacht
I'm back in the cozy confines of my home overlooking the Gulf of Mexico. For those who noticed my…
2013 Satanic Reflection by Aleister Nacht
I'm back in the cozy confines of my home overlooking the Gulf of Mexico. For those who noticed my…
I thought I would share some profound (…….maybe not really profound but it sounds good) knowledge with Satanists of all ages. Satanism is more than just rituals, sex and magic; although there is plenty. I will attempt to share my thoughts and feelings on various "normal everyday subjects" in the next few posts.
I am old; not prehistoric but certainly not young enough for my body to repeatedly forgive me for abusing it. For instance, I like a glass of wine (or two) in the evening as I watch the sun set over the Gulf of Mexico from my large windows. In my youth, I could drink all night, chase girls (all night) and shoot smack while maintaining a full class load; finishing my graduate classes summa cum laude. Now, if I have more than two glasses of wine, it feels like I was run down by a truck.
I was once involved with a 22-year-old young lady ten years ago. She was excited to be with me at first; perhaps a novelty. As time went by, our age difference began to become a chasm. She wanted to party every night and that was exciting to me at first; perhaps a novelty. 🙂 She would get drunk and crazy which was fun for the first 10 minutes or so but really began to be a rerun of a really bad movie. I ended the arrangement and she went back into the college "party scene".
Our paths crossed 2 years later, we had dinner and ended up in my bed. She made a comment that was quite refreshing to hear. She said "Older men know how to really pleasure a woman. Younger guys think they do but they really don't".
Oh, Nice! 😉
I know what the surveys and studies reveal about men and their sexual peak. That may be true for the majority however, at 46, I cannot get enough! I spend a lot of my leisure time with beautiful and intelligent women……..intelligent being the operative word. Intelligence has always attracted me to a woman much faster than silicone breast implants. As one of my dear friends says "You want to be able to have a woman on your arm at social events without people thinking 'Where did he pick her up, on the corner?"
From a Satanic man's point of view, there are some things that will crash a relationship (new or established) faster than you can say "blow job". Here are a few………….in my humble opinion.
1. Possession is 9/10 of the Law – Just because a woman is great in bed and has charm does not mean I want to marry or have her "own me". Some women view a wealthy older man as a "real catch". Financial security and the things that decades of hard work bring will not be shared with a "gold-digger". Most successful men at my age are not, and will never be, desperate for female accompaniment or sex. Those misguided ladies who decide to "move into" my life after a couple of enjoyable evenings are rudely awakened when I cease to call.
2. Cervix For Sale – After a pleasant rendezvous or two, a proposition to make the dream of fatherhood come true. As I have stated before, I want to be a father one day. I have reached the point in life where I am no longer scratching and clawing to the top and have time to spend with my legacy however, I immediately abort the relationship! This is not the way I envision this important, life-changing decision being made.
3. Nature, Nurture and Emotional Blackmail – The world is a tough place and life can be hard………….I know. Nothing has come easily to me and it is like that for the vast majority of people on this dirt ball. Some insecure men may be looking for "someone to take care of" however, the majority of us are not. Guilt is a powerful and effective tool that SHOULD HAVE NO EFFECT ON A SATANIST! Once recognized by the Satanist, the cause of such guilt should be quickly removed, including the roots. Satanists should never be victims of the sad story, the "woe is me" communications or "Weep Fest"!
4. Dropping By To Invade My Privacy – I have a gate at the end of my driveway. I have a gate for a very good reason. It is not to "keep me in"; it is to "keep the unwanted out". I do not appreciate the "drop in" without notification. When a drop-by buzzes at the gate, Izobella kindly rejects them. If they begin a long-winded justification, she turn the intercom off. Once she tells me about the incident, end of relationship. BTW, I will write a blog post dedicated to Izobella in the future. She has worked with me for many years and her life story is very inspiring!!
5. Fatal Attraction = Relationship Fatality – This point works correlates well with Point #1. Emotional instability usually manifests through comments, outbursts, sarcastic remarks, etc. The root causes of this antisocial behavior stem from insecurity, resentment, jealousy, desire to own / control the person and desperation. I do not find any of these attributes to be attractive or desirable, thus……………
I hope you find this information to be of use.
Until Next Time,
Satanism Books by Aleister Nacht
Last night's blog post: Theistic Satanism
In our world today, it seems as if people need labels to clearly identify, categorize and segregate people and ideas. Without a label, every person must attempt to understand the particular person or topic; a label makes it so much easier for those who do not wish to invest time nor thought to form an opinion. After all, such analysis will only lead to ………….."a label".
Labels almost always remove doubts and objectivity, replacing a bias that is difficult to "get past" for the majority of people. The media (speaking of bias) sells their agenda with labels, resulting in the populous viewing a person or topic a certain way…….the way the media wants the subject matter to be viewed. I am not a conspiracy theorist; just an attentive realist.
Since the release of my new book Sanctum of Shadows, I have received many emails asking if my Satanic theology is based upon Theistic Satanism. Well, I suppose if I must be painted into a corner and "labelled", Theistic Satanism is a label that "feels pretty damn good". Magnum Opus confesses the existence of Satan and demons as real and our worship is centered around the communication techniques used to facilitate our collective Will through Satanic Rituals. That sounds straight forward, right? I believe this is very similar to the Theistic philosophy so I do not deny the 'label'.
We embrace rituals and ritualistic communications, magic and most importantly, the acquisition of Satanic knowledge. A Satanist must grow, learn and always seek enlightenment because there is not a PhD level of Satanism; there are just individuals who have studied longer and have been exposed to more life experiences than others. To belong to our family, you must never rest as you will never reach the pinnacle of the Satanic Spire. This was an element that attracted me to our 'brand' of Satanism. I continue to practice rituals and record results in a Satanic grimoire, as any student should. My magical power is perhaps more developed simply because I relentlessly and tirelessly pursue and experiment with the things I have learned over the years. If you are not devoted to the craft, you will never become proficient; and without proficiency, there will never be new discoveries or uncharted territories explored. The basics must be learned before discovery can be truly experienced.
I always enjoy drifting off to sleep while thinking about the successes of the day and pondering the challenges of tomorrow so let's ponder this; if you do not do anything to further your Satanic knowledge (theistic or other) before tomorrow night, you will have lost 24 more hours of your existence on this dirt ball and will have nothing to show for it. So if you want to spend another day of your life without a plan or firm call to action, that is obviously your prerogative however, you only have a certain number of days to learn or waste………
Yes, I will agree with that statement. I am a realist and I will not smear honey on a turd……… lipstick on a pig is still a pig. I often receive these long emails explaining everything but the root cause of a person's problem. As the person dramatically dances around the 900 pound gorilla in the room, please be aware that MY LIFE IS TRICKLING AWAY SO PLEASE GET TO THE POINT!! Self examination can be cruel or shrouded in roses; this is really up to the spinner of the web. Objectivity can be painful however, those who are brave and well-adjusted enough to accept fact over fiction will be able to take evasive actions in a timely manner to change the course of his / her life. The individual wanted me to coddle, hold their hand and tell them it "is not your fault" should ensure it "is not his / her fault" before asking for my "honest opinion".
If you believe (or perceive) this post is a "rant", you have truly missed the point. Yes, I can be a major pain in the ass and as compassionate as a scorpion with a cricket however, if I seem to strike a nerve that makes a person get off their ass and begin living, well, that is worth the price of admission. I offer over 3 years of "free information" on my blogs and have covered many topics that searchers will experience in their lifetime; just because I have experienced those very same problems. I do have compassion of those who are searching for answers and are willing to do the research to get them where they are needing to go but there must be the willingness and resolve for any Satanist to succeed in their chosen endeavor. The bow of the boat must remain pointed toward the destination or old, salting sailors would call that "being lost". Set your objective and diligently pursue the knowledge that will open the gate to the next level of learning.
I invited a sweet young lady last night to share a bottle of Remy Martin XO Exellence and a view of the fireworks from my living room balcony. As we sipped and watched the nightime sky light up, she asked "What is your unfulfilled dream, do you have one"? Without thinking, I innocently revealed my wish by replying "To have children". She smiled and said "I can help you with that". No, she can not help me with that. I have often thought about the future "mother of my children". I may never meet her but if I do, I will know immediately. She will have certain attributes that make her standout from anyone. I will know.
The Satanist will experience that same feeling when experiencing the enlightenment he / she has searched for so long to find. The simple revelation of somethings can be worth the wait and knowledge that has been pursued for what seems like 'forever' is immediately recognized although never heard of before. Keep searching and never surrender to time or lack thereof.
Until next time,


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Beautiful and Easy Design
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Accounting software with all the time-saving tools you need to grow your business.
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Rigo ERP captures the business flow and anyone with basic business concept can use the system with minimal training. In most of the cases no debits or credits are required – knowledge of business is enough to correctly record business transactions.
Document and Comment
Attach important documents with your vouchers for future reference. Use the document library to search and view documents and attachments. The system has inbuilt document/voucher comment features to record your note or comment.
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Assign only the required level of authority to employees and managers. You can set location, time and days of system access. Use document approval features for better check and balance. Strong transaction control and detailed document history with easy to track report minimizes errors and fraud.
Easy to Understand Reports
Financial reports are easy to locate and read by even non-financial people. The software not only makes it easy for accountants; it makes it very easy for owners to know the exact/real-time position of business, cash balances, dues and receivables. When you can read financial statements clearly; you can make better informed decision for your business.
Purchase Order to Pay
Prepare, approve and e-mail/print Purchase Order from the system and track the order through out the purchase to pay life cycle: Requisition – PO – GRN - Quality Check - Bill - Payment
Stock Management
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