Fridays are generally a day of regret for me: I look at my long list of what I hoped to accomplish and despair at how few items I’ve struck through. In the spirit of transparency, and maybe sparking a little conversation, here are some media-ish pieces I’m hoping to read and think about this weekend.
The big, splashy Guardian package about the questions asked at Republican debates looks like it was a fun project. One early thought from skimming it: the project leader, NYU journalism prof Jay Rosen, lands some strong points about the questions moderators don’t ask. But I’m struck by, with the notable exception of education, how closely the breakdown Rosen and his students found echoes at least one poll of the public’s policy priorities. Jobs and the economy are important to 86 percent of Americans, according to Pew. Climate change, to 25 percent. “Of the 22 items tested, environmental protection is one of the lowest GOP priorities, along with such issues as improving transportation infrastructure and campaign finance reform,” Pew writes. So maybe the moderators got it about right for Republican audiences? This is going to be a joy to dig in on; I’d like to talk with Rosen about it, too, once I can fake like I know what I’m talking about.
Tyler Jones’ piece on Arlington, Va., blogger Scott Brodbeck has been scratching at my Instapaper queue since Monday. As a veteran of two disappointing local-news startups (TBD and Microsoft Sidewalk), I’m fascinated by the ways in which hyperlocal Internet journalism might lead us to the promised land. Brodbeck is a force of nature, someone whose blog I feel like I have to read even though I don’t live in Arlington. Is a one-person operation the right scale?
The Sun on Sunday! I have one question: Will my grannies-in-law in Edinburgh trundle out to buy this? My Blighty RSS feed is filling up with Sun stories; good thing Monday is a holiday here.
Other URLs I haven’t got to yet that my mouse will be sniffing at:
- Alex Weprin’s interview with CBS’ Clarissa Ward on reporting from Syria.
- This piece on the proposed Bay Citizen-CIR merger. Related: I will try to listen to the Wronglers album, featuring departed Bay Citizen patron Warren Hellman.
- Cliff Schechtman‘s appointment as executive editor of MaineToday Media‘s newspapers.
- This piece, about someone living out my fantasy of a life without screens.
- Susan Greene on doing investigative journalism on one’s own.
And plenty more! This first week at Poynter has opened my inbox to a firehose of suggested content sure to make me feel bad about my to-do list forever. I hope you’ll keep suggesting stuff, below or to tips@poynter.org. I’m abeaujon@poynter.org if you need me.
