The news broke this afternoon:

Weiner resigns in wake of sex photos scandal
By KAREN ZRAICK and ANDREW MIGA, Associated Press
NEW YORK – Seared by scandal, New York Rep. Anthony Weiner announced his resignation from Congress on Thursday, done in by lewd photos he took of himself, sent to women online and then adamantly lied about after being caught.

Weiner finally feels some of the professional consequences of the choices he made. My hope for him and others is that they learn the value of considering consequences before making decisions or taking action.

His scandal also highlights how social media has changed the world, by speeding the dissemination into the public eye of comments, thoughts and mistakes that, a couple of generations ago, could have been downplayed or contained.

I wish Weiner and his wife well. I wish he had learned from the mistakes of others before him. That just doesn’t seem to occur as frequently as one might wish.

Any current or former journalist understands that pursuit of a story might be risky. The level of risk depends on the circumstances surrounding the story and how the journalist must gather facts and quotes.

Although some people see decisions to embed journalists into battles or war zones as being a stunt, in addition to being legitimate journalism, no one can deny that these journalists are taking risks. The recent news of the sexual assault against CBS correspondent Lara Logan drives that home.

This article by Lauren Wolfe of the Committee to Protect Journalists is a must-read if you want to better understand the risks that some journalists take in the course of documenting world events.

Makes me want to spend more than 50 cents on the newspaper that prints those stories. How about you?

         1893 predictions--Did they come true?

This particular blog post recalls the March 25, 1893 predictions of four Newark Daily Advocate journalists as to what the world would look like 100 years in the future.

In this post, I’ll comment on some of those predictions. In my next post, I’ll make some predictions of what the world will be like 100 years from now, and invite you to add your predictions to the list.

Here are four of the predictions that I felt inspired to comment on in this post. I’ve emphasized the portion relevant to my comments:

Prediction:
“So called temperance legislation is a temporary aberration of well meaning but narrow minded men and women with whom sentimentality supplants reason, and who actually thinks morals are an affair of legislation. One hundred years hence personal liberty will be more than a phrase. When it is a fact sumptuary laws will be as impossible as witch burning is now.”

My comment: If we would make all drugs, all conduct legal, our nation would eventually resemble Raccoon City from the movie, “Resident Evil.”

Prediction:
If the republic remains politically compact and doesn’t fall apart at the Mississippi river, Canada will be either part of it or an independent sovereignty, and the northern shore of the Gulf of Mexico will be the Riviera of the western continent.

My comment: Maybe, if not for a couple of storms we know as Hurricanes Katrina and Rita. Take likely natural disasters into account when predicting the future, people.

Prediction:
“I guess that there will be great political and social changes in our country before the year 1993, and that these changes will be advantageous to the community at large. I guess that before the next century shall end the functions and powers of our government will be greatly enlarged; that railroads, telegraphs and many other things now held as private spoil will be public property; that law, medicine and theology will be more reasonable than they now are; that the inventions and discoveries will be greater than we have ever yet had, and that the welfare of mankind will be higher than it is in this age of confusion.”

My comment: Sorry, Newark journalists of yore, We’re STILL confused! So much for the theory of evolution–mankind hasn’t changed.

Prediction:
“Every person of fairly good education and of restless mind writes a book. As a rule, it is a superficial book, but it swells the bulk and it indicated the cerebral unrest that is trying to express itself. We have arrived at a condition in which more books are printed than the world can read. This is true not only of books that are not worth reading, but it is true of the books that are. All this I take to be the result of an intellectual affranchisement that is new, and of a dissemination of knowledge instead of concentration of culture. Everybody wants to say something. But it is slowly growing upon the world that everybody has not got something to say. Therefore one may even at this moment detect the causes which will produce reaction. In 100 years there will not be so many books printed, but there will be more said. That seems to me to be inevitable.”

My comment: This was a wise observation that does hold true today. Thank God for bloggers, all of whom have something to say, and who don’t mind saying it (grin)!

The laughter and memories were flowing like the kegs of college days long ago. After the celebration of life on Saturday for former Eastern Illinois University journalism professor Dan Thornbugh, a group of EIU journalism graduates and teachers reconvened at Roc’s, a Charleston mainstay of drinking and life-altering conversations.

During a brief lull in the conversation, Tess Norton, a colleague from the Eastern News days in the late 1970s, suddenly exclaimed loudly to me and everyone else in the bar:

“I know who you look like…Rahm Emmanuel!”

Your personal politics aside, would YOU want to be likened to a man whose reputation as a mean-mouthed, political mad-dog proceeds him wherever he claims to live on any given day?

Tess insisted that she only means that my face and hair resemble Rahm’s. I don’t see it; how about you?

If Rahm Emmanuel and I were seated together at a White House dinner, would people get us confused?

Have you ever been likened to someone when that comparison wouldn’t necessarily be considered a compliment? How did you handle it?

Among the solicitations, updates and other items in my personal email inbox on Thursday, one mattered most:

Subject: [Eiujou] D.T. has died

Professor Emeritus Dan Thornburgh, the founder and former chairman of the Eastern Illinois University (EIU) Journalism Department, died at the Odd Fellow-Rebekah Home in Mattoon, Ill., where he had been in hospice care for a few weeks after undergoing surgery for a broken hip.

As the news spread, my journalism school friends began circulating emails with their reactions to the news, and their memories of D.T. This blog is where I’m most comfortable leaving my thoughts, and I needed a little time to sort through the feelings and to recall some of my experiences with this wonderful man/professor/leader.

In October 1976, I walked for the first time into the office of EIU’s daily student newspaper, the Eastern News. (Its name was changed some years later to the Daily Eastern News.) The newspaper’s editorial, advertising and pre-press production functions were housed at that time in the basement of the Student Services Building.

The newspaper’s faculty advisor, John David Reed, and veteran student editors filled me in over time regarding the history of the EIU Journalism Department. It is not an exaggeration to say that much of what I took for granted as a freshman journalist—the facilities, the faculty, the curriculum, the daily newspaper, even the journalism major and department—derived from the vision and determination of D.T.

The photo of me and D.T. that accompanies this post was taken in April 2009 at the 50th annual journalism student recognition banquet. D.T. was honored that night for his many contributions to the EIU Journalism Department, the university, and the city of Charleston. Speakers included former Illinois Governor Jim Edgar and newspaper publishers, editors and reporters.

It was D.T. who organized the first student recognition banquet 50 years ago, and he was a former Charleston City Council member, served in the local Rotary Club, and was named Charleston “Outstanding Citizen of the Year” in 1971.

Personally, I learned a few important lessons from D.T.; perhaps none as important as his example of being an engaged member of the community. He helped me to understand that a journalist didn’t have to disconnect from the people and organizations around him; in fact, those connections could make a better, more rounded journalist—and a better human being.

D.T. used his understanding of local history, politics and people to bring context to stories and issues. I remember times when he would pull me aside to provide insight into a story I was pursuing. As he spoke, his soft blue eyes, occasionally crackly southern Illinois twang and warm chuckle would mesmerize me. It felt like I was being schooled by a combination of Andy Griffith, my grandfather and Ben Bradlee.

I didn’t get many As in my college coursework. That was partly due to my declining interest in classroom learning, and more likely due to my desire to spend time at the Eastern News office or a local bar like Ike’s, Sporty’s or Roc’s.

But I earned an A in Communication Law, which was taught by D.T. He made the course relevant and challenged us to debate, think and learn. That A is more a testament to D.T.’s teaching style than to my effort.

Before you submit this as proof of D.T.’s case for sainthood, let’s add that D.T. could be stubborn. When his vision for the Journalism Department or the Eastern News differed from someone else’s, sparks could fly. But that passion never led to the kind of gutter-sniping, vitriolic language and insinuations that has marred popular debate in the United States over the past 20 years.

I don’t look back at my time and experiences with D.T. through a rose-colored lens. I use a journalist’s lens, where the pros and cons, facts and half-truths, lies and distortions are sifted, refined and reported with an eye toward truth and accuracy. That’s how D.T. would want it. That’s how he taught it.

This story ends with the death of a good man, a positive contributor to society, and a credit to the journalism profession. But because of D.T., many thousands of important stories will continue to be written in the decades to come.
-30-

I happened to see on Yahoo! that today is World Press Freedom Day.

According to Yahoo!:

Bloggers are included in the list of journalists being celebrated on the Yahoo! site, including:

• Wael Abbas - Egypt–Blogger and human rights activist who blogs at Misr Digital
• Amira Al Hussaini - Bahrain–Journalist, editor, and blogger
• Yoani Sánchez - Cuba–Philologist and blogger known for her critical portrayal of life under the Cuban government

I thought it was interesting and slightly amusing that Wael Abbas was the first journalist listed by Yahoo! under the heading, “Celebrating Journalists.” Yahoo! had shut down two of his Yahoo! email accounts, calling him a “spammer.”

To all of my friends in journalism, today is your day. Write on!

This blurry photo of me with former Eastern Illinois University (EIU) Journalism Department Chairman Dan Thornburgh (DT) is so appropriate. The photo was taken on April 25, 2009 during the annual EIU Journalism Department Banquet.

Why is the photo appropriate? Because DT had trouble remembering who I was (it had been a few decades since we last talked with each other), and because the years have passed in a blur.

This year marked the 50th anniversary of the department’s founding, led by the tireless efforts of DT and those who followed, including John David Reed, James Tidwell and John Ryan.

I’m an EIU Journalism grad, and served on the university’s daily student newspaper, eventually having the honor of being named one of its editors. I’ve drifted away from EIU over the years, just as I drifted away from newspaper reporting.

Being back on campus last month was very meaningful to me, and seeing former classmates and instructors was great. Some things that I can share with any students who are graduating this year:

• Hold onto the friendships you’ve made. The people who seem so special to you now, really are that special.
• Keep your ego in check. You may have excelled at school, but don’t make too much of it. Down the road, you will remember the accomplishments, but they will have been overshadowed by others. The benefit isn’t usually from creating something that lasts, but learning how to create something worthwhile wherever you are at that point in life.
• Don’t stop learning. I graduated from college nearly 30 years ago, and if I hadn’t kept up with communication tools, techniques and trends, I would have been as useful and appreciated as an IBM Selectric Typewriter.

IABC Executive Board Vice Chair Mark Schumann, ABC, just wrote a post about the demise of the Rocky Mountain News newspaper in Denver, CO (USA). I commented briefly on Mark’s blog about my own perspective, but want to expand a bit here.

I was born in 1958 and grew up when newspapers were the dominant source for complete news coverage. Radio news reports, to me, were the irritating, five-minute interruptions that always seemed to come just when I was starting to enjoy the latest rock or pop hits. TV news was visually interesting at times, but otherwise flat and stiff.

Reading the newspaper was a family affair. I remember squirming next to my older brothers and sister, to find a spot on dad’s lap, while he read the Sunday comics to us–and often had to explain the joke. As I grew older, we discussed the local and national news (Chicago is never short of controversial news!), and savored the razor-sharp writing and reasoning of columnists like Mike Royko.

My brothers and I delivered newspapers to earn money. One of the benefits of a morning paper route, that just barely countered the daily 3 a.m. wake-up, was the time spent reading the newspapers after the route was finished. There, in the agency’s poorly lit, barely heated back area, I would sit on a wooden shelf/bench and take my time, devouring just about every word in the two daily newspapers.

As Mark mentioned in his post about the Rocky Mountain News, there was something about the smell of newspaper ink on my hands that I just loved. The ink got into my blood, and I pursued journalism as a college student at Eastern Illinois University.

The journalism professors there were required to have worked previously as a professional journalist. I heard first-hand stories of life as a newspaper reporter: the exciting and rewarding, and the mundane and frustrating. I even got to get ink on my hands again, while helping to print and distribute the daily student newspaper as a fill-in volunteer when the regular press crew or delivery staff weren’t available.

I spent a summer working as an intern at the Decatur Herald & Review. Then when I graduated, I accepted a position there as a reporter/photographer. Although my bosses and coworkers were some of the finest people I have ever met, I left the paper after only one year, because I “wanted to see some mountains.”

I called a college friend and told him that I was planning to move to Denver. That friend said, “I’ll call you back in a few minutes.” When he did, he told me that he had decided to move to Denver with me!

We used the Rocky Mountain News to look for work. My friend was more dedicated, and quickly found a very good job. Me, not so much. After a few months spent laboring at some fun, but not lucrative, “jobs,” I moved back to Chicago, leaving behind a love of the mountains and newspapers in Denver.

Just last night, I discussed with my wife whether we should cancel our subscription to the Chicago Tribune. We just don’t read it much, and unopened newspapers too often get tossed in the recycling bin. But there is something about the physical newspaper—and the journalists who worked so hard to publish it—that makes it nearly impossible for me to let go.

But times have changed. Perhaps nothing says that better than the fact that the links I have provided here to the newspapers all go to electronic web pages. You won’t get ink on your fingers from typing in the URLs. Maybe that should make all of us a little sad.

Journalists, bloggers and some corporate legal departments are concerned about a recent ruling by a federal appeals court that may lead to changes in libel law.

As reported by Boston Globe reporter Jonathan Saltzman, the Feb 13 ruling by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the First Circuit in Boston would allow a former salesman at Staples to sue the company for libel. The former salesman, Alan S. Noonan, believes that he was libeled by an email sent by a Staples vice president to about 1,500 employees stating that the salesman had been fired for violations of company procedures regarding expenses reimbursements.

According to the Boston Globe reporter:

Although the decision did not involve a news outlet, it has alarmed journalists, bloggers, and media law specialists, who worry that it could discourage news organizations from pursuing true stories that might cast subjects in a bad light.

When I was a journalism major at Eastern Illinois University, I paid attention during Communications Law class. I knew that I might have to walk a delicate legal line some day, and wanted to understand how far I could go in telling the “truth” without fear of being successfully sued for libel.

This current case has an interesting twist because the judges drew upon a relatively obscure 1902 state law when reaching their decision to allow the libel suit to proceed. That 1902 state law says truth is a defense against libel unless the plaintiff can show “actual malice” by the person publishing the statement. But the definition of “actual malice” is not the same as the one taught in j-schools.

I remember learning in Comm. Law that before a public figure can overcome a journalist’s First Amendment right to free speech in a libel case, “actual malice” has to be proven. That would mean that the journalist acted in reckless disregard for the truth, or knew a published statement was false.

But the Staples suit benefits from Massachusetts law that defines “actual malice” as “malevolent intent or ill will.” According to the Boston Globe story:

Noonan might be able to persuade a jury that the company demonstrated ill will; the Staples vice president who sent the email had never referred to a fired employee by name in a mass email before, and jurors might conclude he “singled out Noonan in order to humiliate him,” the court wrote.

So although people like the appellate lawyer for the fired Staples employee point out that the ruling applies only to lawsuits by private figures against private defendants—and not journalists—journalists are taking note. The Boston Globe reports that 51 news organizations have filed a friend-of-the-court brief saying that the decision, if allowed to stand, “will create a precedent that hinders the media’s ability to rely on truthful publication to avoid defamation liability.”

At EIU’s daily student newspaper, the Daily Eastern News, our motto was, “Tell the Truth, and Don’t Be Afraid.” I hope that this ruling does not impact journalism students in the future, who might be told in Communication Law to “Tell the Truth, But Not If You’re Going to Get Sued.”

My thanks to Evan Hill and the EIU Journalism list-serv for passing on this news.

The graphic to the left features (from left): John Ryan, advisor of Student Publications at my alma mater, Eastern Illinois University, Charleston, Ill.; Jim Tidwell, chairman of the Journalism Department at EIU; and Rick Popely, reporter at the Chicago Tribune and an EIU journalism alum.

The latest CommaKazi Speek podcast features interviews of these two former and one current journalists (the two former journalists teach journalism at Eastern Illinois University in Charleston, Il). We discuss the current state of journalism and what the next wave of journalism graduates may face.

I conducted the interviews on July 18, after a charity golf outing at EIU, my alma mater, to benefit the Gene Seymour Journalism Scholarship. (No thanks to me, my foursome managed to win third place.)