" 'The main consideration for covers is, what will draw attention?' said Kenny Irby of the Poynter Institute, a journalism think tank in St. Petersburg, Fla. 'There's no question that people will pay a lot of attention to this cover.'
'The issue, Irby said, is one of context. The photo is accompanied by the headline: 'How Do You Solve a Problem Like Sarah? She's Bad News for the GOP -- And For Everybody Else, Too.' And that leads to a whole different interpretation, Irby noted, than if you were looking at it in Runner's World, where it originally ran in August.' 'The image is not sexist,' said Irby, who specializes in visual journalism. 'The words are more damaging and questionable. The powerful pairing is the issue. Why did they use this photo -- where half the frame is her legs -- when they had thousands to choose from?' In his own opinion, Irby said, 'It's a pretty underhanded shot at her credibility. ">
" 'You can get messages in front of people without ever paying the fairly expensive cost of getting it aired," said Poynter Institute media analyst Al Tompkins. Tompkins said social media also allow politicians to bypass the press and respond instantly to news. 'You can reach people directly without media intermediary,' Tompkins said. 'When you’re doing Facebook or Twitter or whatever, you don’t have to stand for questions.' But, Tompkins said, all politics is still local and there's nothing more important than meeting and greeting voters. 'You will not win the New Hampshire primary by Twittering,' Tompkins said."
"Rick Edmonds, media business analyst at The Poynter Institute for Media Studies in St. Petersburg, Fla., said the Goldwater Institute and other non-traditional outlets offer a preview not only of the future journalism landscape but of journalism as a career.'There are a lot of experienced journalists, both investigative and otherwise, who are out on the streets due to the cuts newspapers have made,' Edmonds said. 'At the same time, a number of efforts are being made that combine non-profit groups and philanthropists to fund them.' "
" 'The idea that this is a good investment isn't crazy, and advertisers do like it when you improve the print quality, but it's very hard to see into the future of this business,' said Rick Edmonds, a media business analyst at the Poynter Institute, a school for journalists. 'I think we're getting into a period where the industry is divided into those papers that retain their presses, and print other papers as well, and those that shut down their presses and outsource printing.' "
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