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A dozen sites
I'm diggin'

1. You can lay subtitles or text bubbles on video -- any video. I will be using this to teach about storytelling.

2. Canon responds to the Nikon D90 with its own SLR still camera that records HD video.

3. Why do 97 percent of this railroad's workers get disability checks?

4. I now use Utterz to file audio reports. You can use your computer's mic or any phone. It's simple and would be a great reporter's tool.

5. I used Monitter to monitor what people said on Twitter about Ike. Just change the subjects to whatever you want to look out for.

6. I'm reading all about the Nikon D90, which shoots photos and HD video with the same $1K body.

7. Qik streams live video straight from a cell phone.

8. This fall many PBS stations will air this documentary on whether there is a water crisis in the Southwest.

9. This site watches TV and Web mentions of candidates. It also monitors Tweets and more.

10. The first look at the $179 Google phone.

11. Instead of scheduling meetings by e-mail, everybody can work out a time and date online.

12. Here are tons of GREAT tools that will help you find anything on flickr.

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EDITOR'S NOTE: Al's Morning Meeting is a compendium of ideas, edited story excerpts and other materials from a variety of Web sites, as well as original concepts and analysis. When the information comes directly from another source, it will be attributed and a link will be provided whenever possible. The column is fact-checked, but depends on the accuracy and integrity of the original sources cited. We will correct errors and inaccuracies when we become aware of them.

Covering Obama's Race Speech

Senator Barack Obama's speech today offers a glimpse inside black churches and how they are different from primarily white congregations. Obama tried to explain how black churches represent more than the faith life of their members, serving as outreach centers for entire communities.

Covering Race and Diversity

By Tom Brune, Newsday
and Lynne K. Varner, The Seattle Times

Think and think again.
Start with a broad focus and narrow it to a pinpoint. Don't stop at the obvious. Ask basic questions and challenge perceived notions.

Go deep.
Push yourself beyond preconceived notions. When the conversation with coworkers and the subjects of the story become uncomfortable, you're just getting started.

Embrace complexity.
Seemingly simple ideas or issues usually have deep, many-layered roots. Complex does not mean confusing.

Pierce the language.
Don't settle for spin, hints or symbols. Ask people what they mean and why they think what they are saying. Listen to their answers and keep pushing them.

Write thoughtfully.
Be explicit, clear, direct. Represent everyone mentioned in the story fairly and fully. Make sure you are saying only what you want to say and not something inadvertent. Think through how your headlines, approach and language will affect readers.

The speech sought to explain Obama's relationship with his minister, who has been the focus of media coverage recently because of sermons he delivered years ago suggesting that blacks continue to be mistreated by whites and that the United States brought the 9/11 attacks on itself. Salon points out why Obama should not have been surprised by the Rev. Jeremiah Wright's statements.

Obama noted in his speech that race has been an issue in a presidential campaign that has taken a "particularly divisive turn" recently as videos of his longtime pastor have spread. During his speech, he spoke about the importance of unity, saying, "I chose to run for president at this moment in history because I believe deeply we cannot solve the challenges we face unless we solve them together."

Story ideas

The black church experience. How do different congregations interact with the community as a whole? There are some who say black churches are in some ways the embodiment of black communities. The Rev. Wright issue may have something to do with how seldom whites venture into black churches. In an opinion article, The (Chicago) Sun-Times said:

Wright's words also reflect the disparity many blacks feel between the promise of America and their daily reality.

"This righteous anger is about making America accountable to its own creed," said Dwight Hopkins, a theology professor at the University of Chicago Divinity School and a Trinity member.

Parishioners in black churches across America hear similar language from the pulpit each week, typically delivered in a larger, positive context -- as it was at Trinity -- that no 30-second sound bite could catch. Wright's message is not about black superiority or separatism, but about self-determination, about blacks doing for themselves.

The "anger" issue. Obama said there is a real anger issue among blacks and many whites. Explore the anger. Obama sought to put Rev. Wright's controversial comments into a deeper context as a way of explaining where Wright was coming from:

"Legalized discrimination -- where blacks were prevented, often through violence, from owning property, or loans were not granted to African-American business owners, or black homeowners could not access FHA mortgages, or blacks were excluded from unions, or the police force, or fire departments -- meant that black families could not amass any meaningful wealth to bequeath to future generations."

Posted by Al Tompkins 2:23 PM Mar 18, 2008

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