THURSDAY, MARCH 30, 2006
Friday Edition: Jill Carroll's Release
Almost three months after she was kidnapped,
Christian Science Monitor freelancer Jill Carroll's captors
released her. Carroll has also had her work from Iraq published in the
American Journalism Review,
U.S. News & World Report, the Italian news agency
ANSA, the
San Francisco Chronicle, and other U.S. dailies. She had previously worked as a reporter for
The Jordan Times in Amman.
She was interviewed several times by National Public Radio. The Monitor said the release was not the result of negotiations. She is the fourth Western hostage to be released in the last eight days.
Her abduction is a reminder of the dangerous work journalists are performing in Iraq. Here is a list of journalists from around the world who have died in Iraq.
Jill Carroll joins 38 other journalists who have been kidnapped in Iraq. Click here for background information on the other cases.
The Committee to Protect Journalists provides this analysis of just how dangerous Iraq is for journalists, with this analysis of journalist deaths so far:
By Year:
By Nationality:
- Iraqi: 48
- European: 9
- Other Arab countries: 3
- United States: 2
- All other countries: 5
By Gender:
By Circumstance:
- Murder: 34
- Crossfire or other acts of war: 33
Responsibility:
- Insurgent action: 42 (Includes crossfire, suicide bombings, and murders.)
- U.S. fire: 14 (CPJ has not found evidence to conclude that U.S. troops targeted journalists in these cases. While the cases are classified as crossfire, CPJ continues to investigate.)
- Iraqi armed forces, during U.S. invasion: 3 (All are crossfire or acts of war.)
- Source unconfirmed: 8
By Job:
- Photojournalists: 21 (Includes still photographers and camera operators.)
- Reporters and editors: 35
- Producers: 7
- Technicians: 4
By Location:
- Anbar province (Fallujah, Ramadi): 4
- Nineveh province (Mosul): 11
- Baghdad province: 33
- Saleheddin province (Samara): 4
- Basrah province: 3
- Diyala province (Baqubah): 2
- Arbil province: 6
- Karbala province: 1
- Najaf province: 1
- Sulaymaniya province: 1
- Unclear: 1
By embedded status:
- Embedded: 4
- Non-Embedded or "unilateral": 63
Type of news organization:
- Working for international news organization: 34
- Working for Iraqi news organization: 33
Highest death tolls among news organization:
- Iraq Media Network (includes Al-Iraqiya, its affiliates, and Sabah newspaper): 9
- Al-Arabiya: 6
- Reuters: 4
- Kurdistan TV: 4
Fungus Worries Contact-Lens Wearers
Who knows if this is a bigger story, or "just a Florida thing"? But it appears to have national and even international implications. The (South Florida) Sun-Sentinel reported:
In an outbreak that so far has puzzled health officials, a potentially damaging fungus is infecting the eyes of a small but growing number of people in South Florida and elsewhere who wear soft contact lenses, Miami researchers said Wednesday.
The fusarium fungus typically strikes soft-lens wearers only rarely, but a dozen in South Florida have been infected since January in the biggest reported outbreak in the country, a chief at the University of Miami's Bascom Palmer Eye Institute said.
Federal health officials are working with local officials to investigate outbreaks here and in other states.
"We have no idea why this is happening to contact lens wearers," said Dr. Eduardo C. Alfonso, an eye surgeon and chairman of ophthalmology at Bascom Palmer. "I'm getting phone calls almost every hour from people around the country seeing infections among people wearing contact lenses."
In a typical year, Bascom Palmer sees an average of 21 patients with fusarium infections, virtually all among people with eye trauma that lets the fungus penetrate the cornea, the eye's clear protective coating. Only a few patients infected since 2000 have been lens wearers, Alfonso said. But so far this year, the center already has seen 21 cases, 12 among lens wearers.
The fungus poses a small but real worry for the estimated 29 million Americans with soft lenses. One possible explanation, Alfonso said, is that soft lenses that are not cleaned well may not let enough oxygen reach the eye, causing small damaged areas, especially when worn for long periods of time.
"When you wear a contact lens ... it creates a little trauma on the surface skin of the eye, so the fungus can get in and cause an infection," Alfonso said.
People typically are infected by touching their eyes with fingers that have come in contact with the fungus, or if the fungus gets on the lens. The fungus is common in soil and plants in tropical regions like South Florida. It can also survive in colder climates.
To reduce the risk of infection, Alfonso said, he recommends that wearers clean their lenses well and not wear them while sleeping, even those models approved for overnight use.
In February, health officials in Singapore reported 39 cases of fungal infections among lens wearers, and three cases were reported in the New York metropolitan area. In recent days, Alfonso said, he has heard from eye specialists in Tampa, Atlanta, Texas and California who also had cases.
The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is aware of the outbreak and is working with local health officials to figure out what is happening, CDC spokeswoman Christine Pearson said. At least four research projects have started in the past four weeks in Florida and other states, Alfonso said, and Johns Hopkins University eye specialists are tracking the outbreaks.
Americans Swearing More
A new Associated Press/Ipsos poll found that Americans are swearing more these days. See the poll top-line results here. [PDF]
Nearly three-quarters of Americans questioned last week -- 74 percent -- said they encounter profanity in public frequently or occasionally, according to an Associated Press-Ipsos poll. Two-thirds said they think people swear more than they did 20 years ago. And as for, well, the gold standard of foul words, a healthy 64 percent said they use the F-word -- ranging from several times a day (8 percent) to a few times a year (15 percent).
iPod Volume Control
This week, Apple relseased a new download that allows people to limit how loud their iPods play. Earlier this year, The Associated Press reported that a Louisiana man sued Apple, saying the iPod can play so loud that it can cause hearing loss. Of course, one has to wonder if parents who do not even know what their kids are downloading will take the trouble to install volume controls.
And while parents are limiting their iPods, kids could get around the new settings by downloading their own counter programs, like this one.
The Wall Street Journalrecently reported that audiologists worry that the popularity of in-the-ear devices will lead to a wave of young people who will soon show up at their offices with hearing loss:
Hearing specialists at centers such as the House Ear Institute in Los Angeles, Children's Hospital Boston and the American Academy of Audiology say the effect they are seeing now may be only the beginning, because accumulated noise damage can take years before it causes noticeable problems. "We're only seeing a few teenagers with hearing loss at this point," says Brian Fligor, director of diagnostic audiology at Children's Hospital Boston. But, he adds that many others may have subtle hearing loss that they have yet to recognize, "and by the time they do, they'll have done substantial damage."
The issue hasn't been well studied, and no one knows for certain how much hearing loss might be attributable to music players. But concern over the risk is helping drive an increasing market for headset styles that minimize noise exposure. Sony, Panasonic Corp., Etymotic Research Inc., Shure Inc. and Bose Corp. produce sets that aim to block out background noise, so you can hear the music better at lower volumes.
Research is also beginning to explore the risks associated with recreational listening and seek to determine safe volume limits and exposure times, including studies at Children's Hospital Boston.
"We have really good information on how much noise exposure you can have over time," says Jennifer Derebery, an otolaryngologist at the House Ear Clinic. "But we have absolutely no idea if those levels are valid for a direct feed of sound into the ear."
The concerns are emerging as sales of MP3 players explode. Roughly 38 million MP3 players were shipped to U.S. retailers in 2005, according to forecasts by the research firm IDC, and an estimated 28 percent of the U.S. population owns a player. Apple controls about 70 percent of the MP3 player market, according to the research firm NPD Group. At peak levels iPods can hit volumes close to 115 decibels, research has found -- a level that falls somewhere between a chainsaw and jackhammer -- but all MP3 players pose an equal theoretical risk.
Local TV Removed from NFL Sidelines
You might find this little note from The Detroit News interesting.
Local television affiliates were removed from the sidelines under a policy adopted Tuesday by the owners. They no longer will be allowed on the sidelines during games, which prevents them from shooting footage to show on news and highlight shows.
Tom Lewand, the Lions' chief operating officer, said the league wanted to protect its property rights and remove some of the congestion on the sidelines.
Late Thursday, The National Press Photographers Association reported:
Many of the rumors affiliate TV news directors and sports producers are hearing about being completely shut out of NFL coverage appears to be not true.
NFL owners voted unanimously Tuesday to pass the NFL’s Broadcast Cooperation Resolution, which bans affiliate television photojournalists from shooting from the sidelines during game play. NFL spokesperson Steve Alic told News Photographer magazine today, “The impetus for this was the unauthorized use of game footage that the NFL has seen most recently posted on a television station’s Web site. Use of game footage on Web sites is unauthorized. It’s been a big problem, especially recently. So the resolution’s goal is to curtail unauthorized use of game footage,” Alic said.
"Local reporting of national sporting events relies on photographers shooting in a style that represents local expectations," NPPA president Alicia Wagner Calzada said today. "By denying local television stations acess to the sidelines they are in essence denying the viewers in the area the type of sports coverage to which they have become acustomed. The bottom line is, it's not the photographers who suffer from this decision but the local viewer, a move that could ultimately backfire by alienating the very people the sports franchise depends on for financial support: the sports fan."
NPPA past president Todd Stricker, a sports photojournalist in San Antonio, TX, reacted to the NFL owners’ vote by saying, “There are already all kinds of limitations to the credential agreements that we sign allowing us to shoot from the sidelines. If the NFL wants to limit game action footage from being used on Web sites, then just make that part of the credential agreement and enforce it legally."
TV photographers are pretty upset about this. This is the discussion board of one of the more popular TV photojournalism sites, b-roll.net.
This is just another in a long series of restrictions placed on news photographers who are not part of the live game coverage. It has been getting tougher for years, as you will see in this column, written in 1998.
New NFL Limits on Celebrations
NFL team owners also voted for new limits on end-zone celebrations. The new rules allow a single player to dance around, spike the ball or dunk the ball over the goalpost. But he has to do it alone.
The AP reported:
"We want to eliminate where one man celebrating becomes more than a spontaneous action," said director of officiating Mike Pereira, whose crews will hand out 15-yard unsportsmanlike conduct penalties to offenders -- although the official has to warn a player before throwing the flag.
That includes anyone going to the ground to do their thing, or group celebrations. So no sit-ups by T.O. No grabbing the pylons as if they are putters. No multiple chest bumps.
Pereira noted an increase in such shenanigans in youth and high school football [players,] who regularly emulate the pros.
Read It, Hear It: Washington Post Radio
I enjoyed listening to the launch of Washington Post radio yesterday. They were heavy on reporting the Jill Carroll story, the immigration story and the President's trip to Mexico. The station promised to give background and the mechanics of how reporters get the stories they report for the paper and Web site.
You can listen to it here. The station's motto is "because there is always more to the story."
A very familiar face/voice anchors the late afternoon shift. Bob Kur, a former NBC correspondent, joined Washington Post radio.
The Washington Post radio is the latest attempt by a newspaper to get multimedia.
The Jerusalem Post, years ago, started this newspaper/radio trend with Jerusalem Post radio.
Meanwhile, the Naples (Fla.) Daily News is working on a program-length vodcast that will appear online and on the local cable station.
We are always looking for your great ideas. Send Al a few sentences and hot links.
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 upon the accuracy and integrity of the original sources cited. Errors and inaccuracies found will be corrected. Posted at 9:43:56 PM
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