The Elements of Journalism: What Newspeople Should Know and the Public Should Expect by Bill Kovach and Tom Rosenstiel is a landmark publication which elucidates the core principles and practices of Journalism. The authors describe some of the ways in which the profession has changed in our society over the years. They decry the failure […]
Let’s be honest. America is not exactly the happiest place in the world to live. Not by a long shot. A complete list of all the causes would take up another entire column. Needless to say, a lot of people are pretty miserable right now. A study published by the United Nations Sustainable Development Solutions […]
The late comedian Bill Hicks and I had lot in common. Among other things, we both shared a morbid fascination with the assassination of President John F. Kennedy. One of Bill’s funniest stand-up routines dealt with the reactions he used to get whenever he brought up the subject: “I love talking about the Kennedy assassination, […]
Part 1 Pulitzer-Prize winning Journalist Alex S. Jones – not to be confused with that other Alex Jones – warns readers in his seminal book, ‘Losing the News,’ of the dangers which news organizations face in regards to accountability and public trust. He worries that the core values of journalism are under serious threat and […]
Part 2 Scholars such as Lance deHaven-Smith and Mark Fenster have advanced the study of conspiracy theories by revealing the ways in which valid questions about activities of the power elites in the US have been abrogated by simply applying the term ‘conspiracy theory.’ The pejorative use of the term dates back to a CIA memorandum […]
Some thoughts on ‘Losing the News’ by Alex S. Jones In ‘Losing the News’ by Pulitzer-Prize winning Journalist Alex S. Jones, he warns of the dangers that news organizations face in regards to accountability and public trust, and he worries that the core values of journalism are under serious threat. I would have to agree with […]
Mainstream news organizations in America are nothing more than propaganda outlets for the One Percent. The US is currently ranked a lowly 46th on press freedoms in the most recent ‘Press Freedom Index‘ according to the organization Reporters Without Borders (Reporters Sans Frontieres). RSF is the world’s most respected press freedom organization. Their mission is […]
An article on the Pew Research site caught my eye the other day. It was called “Social Media and the ‘Spiral of Silence.’” I found the story very enlightening in regards to the Orwellian world we currently inhabit. The study demonstrated the tendency of people – especially young people – to not speak up about […]
Coping with the loss of a beloved pet can be an incredibly painful experience, which unfortunately most of us will have to endure at some point in our lives. No matter how many times I’ve been through the misery of watching one of my feline children die, it never gets any easier. My wife and […]
Jason Darensburg's Blog-o-rama 