MEMO

I think that the most financially feasible was www.irunthistown.net. I think that the creator pinpointed a hole in the market for a specific group- beginner to intermediate runners. I really like the idea of the different maps for runners based on location, type of terrain and elevation. I do not run, but a lot of people in my family do and I think that they would really appreciate this feature. My family members also often discuss what kind of shoes they should buy, so I know that they would use this feature on the site. I also think that aspect of the site has the most chances of bringing in profits. Maybe she could set up something like A store but with shoes and other running accessories to make a profit. I think that this has the potential to make a lot of money. My only concern is that the desire to profit from the sale of shoes and running accessories does not affect the unbiased reviews of these products. That will negatively impact their fan base.

I think that the “honorable mention” is www.all4girls.com. When I was younger, I would have loved a website like this. Also, since younger generations grew up with the Internet, they are more likely to use it a lot more than older people. This should boost the visits that they site gets daily.

I think that both of these sites, along with many others proposed over the last 2 weeks, have a good chance of being successful.

Is "The View" Considered Journalism?

I really hope not. But the Elizabeth Hasselbeck/Erin Andrews controversy made me think. If Hasselbeck had made her "joke" on Letterman, Leno, The Soup or Chelsea Lately, none of the public outcry would have happened. In fact, I think we can pretty safely assume that the exact opposite would have happened. People would have laughed at it because it was originally considered a joke. (And while I don't agree with what she said, Hasselbeck did have a point about some of Andrews' costumes. Most sports journalists would never wear them in public, especially on one of the most watched shows in the country).

A lot of people complained about the venue that Hasselbeck chose to make her joke. I consider

"The View" to be one of the worst shows on television. But, do some people consider it to be real journalism? If they do, they really need a dose of reality. The women on the panel are about as qualified to talk about current events as I am to discuss nuclear fusion. So, what's wrong with Hasselbeck making a joke (in poor taste) on "The View?" It's just a bunch of middle aged- old ladies gossiping. Gossiping involves jokes.

Why is this Relevant?

This has got to be one of the most useless stories I've ever read. It has pictures (with really stupid and pointless captions) of the alleged Times Square bomber, Faisal Shahzad's, Connecticut home. What is the audience supposed to learn from these pictures? Yes, he lived a "normal" American suburban lifestyle. Yes, he ended up allegedly trying to blow up a van in Times Square. Aren't terrorists supposed to blend in so that they don't draw attention to themselves? What good does showing Shahzad's child's room do? How is that supposed to help Americans understand what happened? Why don't we focus on the political implications and the reasons why this happens?

CNN and CBS to Team Up?

I'll admit with the finals rush that I haven't been keeping up with the news as much as I'd like to. However, I did read this on Perezhilton.com of all places. (If you want the same story from a more legitimate source, here it is) I will be the first to admit that it's embarrassing that I got this from Hilton's blog first. However, it's also very interesting that the entertainment blogger decided that this was an important enough story to post on his blog. While he does occasionally post real news stories on his blog, it's usually when something really bad happens (like the shooting in Binghamton). The only "real journalist" that he's mentioned on his site recently is Anderson Cooper, and it was only because there was a picture of him at the gym or something.

Hilton's editorializing of this story is the especially interesting part. This is the quote that I found to be most telling: "And the best part of the merger would be that the networks wouldn't need any government approval, so as soon as they are ready, they can move right into it."

I understand a blogger not wanting to have the government involved in journalism, but at the same time, wouldn't someone who has taken part in independent media want more voices out there?

PBS

I remember watching shows like Sesame Street, Wishbone and Reading Rainbow on PBS when I was younger. They were my favorite shows and I was always so upset when they did those telethons to raise money. They seemed like the lasted forever and always interrupted my favorite shows. Plus, the people on tv would always use things like stuffed animals of Cookie Monster and Big Bird to try to get the kids to guilt their parents into donating. I also remember that my mother HATED PBS's annual fundraising attempts. (I think it's because it turned me into a whiney brat for a few days).

Over winter break I was watching one of my little cousins and she turned Sesame Street on. It instantly made me feel really old because I didn't recognize it at all. It has changed so much in the 15 or so years since I watched it. I don't think it changed for the better, either. I remember the Sesame Street of my childhood being much more educational than what my cousin was watching. This definitely is a problem for PBS.

As stated in the article, their shows are not high quality television by any stretch of the imagination. I don't watch PBS- ever. I did watch one of their Frontline documentaries for a class once, but I watched it online. I also wouldn't have watched it if it wasn't assigned. PBS really needs to get rid of all of the ridiculous programming that they have to get a larger viewership.

America's broadband problems...

I will openly admit that I don't understand a lot of the technological jargon used in the debate over internet speed and net neutrality. I knew that the U.S. was way behind on broadband speed, but I had no idea that it was this bad. It's embarrassing how far behind the U.S. is.

Even more frustrating, however, is that Ithaca College has the worst internet system of any college I've ever been to. (When I visit high school friends at other colleges I'm amazed at how fast their internet is.). Students pay a lot to go to IC, and the free internet that is provided isn't even able to load a Youtube video in a reasonable amount of time. How is that supposed to foster good research skills?

I really hope that Obama doesn't focus just on health care (which I admit is very very important) and does have time and support to dedicate to broadband speed and net neutrality. They're both really important issues that need to be addressed to increase the United States' ability to compete on a global scale.

Bill Clinton's "love child"

When I read Drudge's coverage of President Bill Clinton's "love child," I had trouble understanding how he got away with such bad journalism.

My favorite part is:

"Could Bobbie Ann Williams and her sister be blackmailing the President of the United States with outrageous and false claims of sex for money and the pregnancy that resulted?

What becomes immediately obvious to the viewer watching the videotaped confession is that this is clearly not gossip, rumor or anonymous charges being maliciously directed at a politician.

Bobbie Ann Williams does not hide her face in shadow when she names Bill Clinton as the father of her son.

And there is something sad and lonely about the woman's story the way she tells it."

So basically, he's analyzing video footage that he doesn't provide his reader with. Perpetuating untruths isn't a great way to get your name out there in a positive way.

For example, USC's Annenberg School of Communication (fun fact: it was my top choice for college. I got in but they're really bad at giving out financial aid), posted a time line of this whole fabricated story. Since when do tabloids inspire actual legitimate news outlets to run with a story? My roommates and I are addicted to supermarket tabloids (they're our guilty pleasure). I just read a story about how reality "star" Kourtney Kardashian is leaving her boyfriend/ baby's father. Does that make it newsworthy, important or true? No. This was clearly a larger scale issue when a tabloid had way too much influence on "real" journalism to the point that some mainstream media outlets lowered themselves to tabloidism.

My take on the Fowler incidents...

I should probably start this blog by revealing my biases. I love the Clintons. I supported Hillary in the election (not only voted for her but made calls and campaigned for her too). I love both of the Clintons, but even I will agree that there are things about them that are probably not entirely legitimate.

With that being said, learning about the second Fowler incident really got me upset. I probably would have forgiven her if this was the only journalistic indiscretion that she's had. However, if you add this incident with the Obama one, and I really start to question her integrity. She had 2 possible (depending on who you talk to) breaches of journalistic integrity during one election cycle. Both of these had major impacts on the election.

I think the reason that this upsets me more is that I feel like Hillary was really judged way too much on what Bill said. The smartest things haven't always come out of Michelle Obama's mouth but the media didn't focus on it as much as they did whenever Bill said something dumb (which I will admit, he does need to shut up more). The thing with politicians is that a lot of the time when a controversial quote comes up, their general message is acceptable, the way they word it is not. The media needs to focus more on the message and less on the wording.

Dear Musicians, it pays to connect with your audience

Radiohead came up with a pretty awesome way to sell their latest record, "In Rainbows." Before reading the article, I had heard of their brilliant idea before. It got me thinking, why don't more musicians do what Radiohead did?

I thought of an example of something similar. Before John Mayer released his latest cd, Battle Studies, in November, he turned his official website, run by his record label, into a blog so that he could share his recording and writing experience with his fans.

Before his cd was released, he gave us snippets of lyrics, videos and pictures from his process. He took us through how he decided the album art to why he put songs in the order that he did. It was really interesting.

While we still had to pay $13 for it when it came out, those who ordered it online from his website get a code to preorder tickets for his tour before anyone else. Another fun feature on his website is that he has every show professionally recorded, that way, when you get home you can download the tracks from his concert that you were just at (for free!).

He wrote:

Here's what Battle Studies is.
(Apologies for cellphone internet. Heavy media comes tomorrow...)

It's a house,
in a clandestine location,
that's being converted into a music studio.
No, not a music studio.
An entire music experience.
A living, breathing, ever-evolving organic space that contains every part of the record making process.
Everybody involved has left their comfort zone. Including myself.
I need to be disoriented again.

I'm going to share as much as I can with you throughout the entire process. Notes, lyrics, sounds, pictures, ideas, videos.

Tomorrow we look at some new guitars and I explain the approach in detail...

I hope you'll like it.

JM

Is a Journalism degree really worth it?

The following quote that we discussed in class today touched upon something I realized about a month into my freshman year at IC.

"The issue is not writing. It's what you write about. One of my favorite columnists is Jonathan Weil, who writes for Bloomberg. He broke the Enron story, and he broke it because he's one of the very few mainstream journalists in America who really knows how to read a balance sheet. That means Jonathan Weil will always have a job, and will always be read, and will always have something interesting to say. He's unique. Most accountants don't write articles, and most journalists don't know anything about accounting. Aspiring journalists should stop going to journalism programs and go to some other kind of grad school. If I was studying today, I would go get a master's in statistics, and maybe do a bunch of accounting courses and then write from that perspective. I think that's the way to survive. The role of the generalist is diminishing. Journalism has to get smarter."

This is exactly why I realized that I needed to be a double major at IC (I declared my politics major sophomore year). I remember calling my parents during my Intro to Journalism class especially, complaining that any idiot could learn how to use an AP Style Book. It's unfortunate, but it's true. I didn't see much value in spending $45,000 a year to have a professor show me how to look up when to abbreviate words and when to write them out in their entirety. So many of my Park classes since then have done the same exact thing. Last semester in News Editing we had AP Style quizzes just like we did in Intro to Journalism, News Reporting and Writing 1 and News 2. It's become increasingly frustrating and, in my opinion, an insult to our intelligence as students. I think that journalism programs (or at least this one, since this is the only one I've ever been involved in) make journalism so mechanic that it makes it easy to lose your passion for it.

I think that for undergraduate journalism programs to remain relevant, they need to require their students to pick up a second major so that they're "experts" on something else. I know that Park makes all of its majors have a non-communications minor, so they're taking a step in the right direction. However, more needs to be done because anyone can write, it just matters what you write about and how you do it.

TPM

The story about Josh Marshall and TMP made me thing about what's "wrong" with mainstream journalism.

Like I've mentioned before, I no longer aspire to be a journalist (though, with this economy, who really knows what any college student will do after he or she graduates?). However, back in high school, I loved journalism. There was one thing that frustrated me though. My school paper's advisor always tried to talk us out of doing stories that were controversial. And, if we were allowed to do them, they had to be "fair and balanced, showing both sides equally." Well, sometimes, in the real world, some sides are blatantly wrong and don't deserve equal covered to defend themselves. This is definitely the case in TPM's attorney scandal.

I think that this is the key argument in the story about TPM is this paragraph:

"The Internet hasn't improved everything but it sure has done wonders for the cause of investigative reporting. Good muckraking, after all, is driven by the thing that is missing from so much of today's "fair and balanced" objective newspapers, and that is passion -- the passion of people who can reach more readers more quickly and more cheaply on the Web, the passion that is fueled by interaction with readers, and the passion of journalists or bloggers who want to work harder and faster because there are readers gobbling up their reporting as fast as they can dish it out."

CNN Politics

Today I watched CNN as I was getting ready for class. I noticed a few things-

1. There were penguins on set running around for absolutely no reason whatsoever. They were really cute, but they served no purpose.

2. CNN was advertising how it's the "channel to watch for politics." Then it said, "CNN Politics: Sponsored by Exxon Mobile." How can CNN even begin to pretend to be an unbiased media source when a major gas company is sponsoring it? I remembered that Professor Cohen mentioned in class that gas companies often sponsor ABC, CBS and NBC evening news. I know that for the media outlets it is a lucrative practice, but it so deeply compromises their ability to be unbiased in such an important aspect of American politics. This is so frustrating to me but I don't see it stopping anytime soon.

Censoring Journalism

This story really made me upset in some ways, and cautiously optimistic about the state of journalism in others. I've realized since my freshman year of college that journalism probably isn't the right career path for me, but I still remain very invested in its future.

Very few things make me as mad as when journalism is censored, especially here in the United States. Not allowing bloggers to go to executive sessions is comparable to censoring them.

I think that this is such an important to me because in high school my journalistic work was censored a lot. My senior year I served as editor of the school paper. I did some investigative work and discovered that my high school was locking the restrooms during the class periods, which is illegal according to New York health codes. I tried to get my story published in my school paper, but the principal and superintendent wouldn't let it be printed. So, I sent the story to The Buffalo News, who did print it. (I tried to find the whole text of the article, but you have to pay to access it. You can see a part of it here. Or just search www.buffalonews.com for Christine Pearl)

This situation worked out in my favor, because not only did way more people have access to my work in The Buffalo News than would have seen it in my school paper, but I also got paid for my work. It did give me a taste of what hate mail was like, however. But despite the scary letters I received and the way some teachers treated me for giving my school a "bad reputation," I realized that it was absolutely worth it to get my message out there.

Now, back to the Oregon story, I applaud SPJ for standing up for the rights of bloggers. It takes brave people to stand up for people who otherwise wouldn't have a voice.

True Fan

I sat down to think of who I'm a true fan of. It took me about 2 seconds to come to a conclusion. Then, I asked my roommates who they thought I was a true fan of. We all agreed... I'm definitely singer, songwriter, guitar player John Mayer's true fan.... with comic Kathy Griffin being a close second.

Both of these performers are pretty mainstream, so I doubt that my dedication as a fan has little to do with their overall success. However, I do help boost their ratings and numbers. I now have realized how much money and time I have dedicated to being their fan. For John Mayer, I've been to two of his concerts (with tickets costing about $60 a piece), bought every single cd the day it came out (he released his fifth album, Battle Studies, in November. I may have skipped class to go buy it...) and own both of his dvds. I also make sure to dvr most of his television performances and I follow him on twitter (and I HATE twitter). As far as Kathy Griffin, I legally purchased both of her cds on itunes (as opposed to illegally downloading them) and bought her book the day it came out. I own one of her comedy specials on dvd and went to go see her perform at RIT in February. Looking at all of this in writing makes me seem a little obsessive, I think, but I find both performers to be extremely entertaining in their own right.

So the next logical question is why?

As far as John Mayer's concerned, I love his music. Love it. It always cheers me up when I'm upset and I find his lyrics to be very relatable. One of my best friends is also one of Mayer's true fans and has said the exact same thing on multiple occasions. There is a John Mayer song to go with nearly every situation one finds themselves in.

As for Kathy Griffin, the stories she tells in her comedy routines also make her seem like a normal person, complete with flaws. She tells her stories in a way that makes her relatable too (as well as very vulgar, but that's a different issue). She does stupid and embarrassing things, just like everyone else.

So, as a consumer of entertainment, I think that I tend to appreciate reliability and realness in my favorite performers, whether they're comics or musicians.

Mark Finkelstein's Lecture

Mark Finkelstein's visit made me think (beside the political philosophy thing). Before I got to Park, I never even considered that being a professional blogger could be considered a practical career choice.

As a college student slated to graduate in May 2011, the economic recession is incredibly scary. What am I going to do when I graduate? Should I try to find a job? If so, as what? Should I sink more into debt and go to grad school? If so, what should I study? As a journalism and politics double major, I have quite a few options to me, and I've probably considered almost all of them (media lawyer, journalist, press secretary, working for the government, and then there is the random maritime law career that my uncles adamantly suggest... all of the time).

The one career choice that I have for sure eliminated is journalist, at least in the traditional sense. I worked for The Buffalo News in high school and know for sure that it is not something that I ever want to do again. For whatever reason, I continue to watch CNN every morning, despite the fact that it is almost physically painful. So, maybe blogger is something that I should consider adding to my list of career options.

My Political Philosophy

I found Mark Finkelstein's challenge to the class to write 2 paragraphs about our political philosophy to be extremely interesting, particularly since I am a politics and journalism double major. So, considering I've spent most of my time at IC taking politics classes, I should be able to do this, right? Wrong.

I mean, don't get me wrong, I am pretty set on my beliefs on the core issues, universal health care, abortion, gay and lesbian rights and marriage, etc. However, my time at Ithaca has made me question some of my political beliefs and how I view them. For example, when I graduated from high school, I thought that I was very, very liberal. I had a very conservative Republican U.S. Government teacher that I would constantly argue with. This made me assume that because I didn't agree with almost everything that he said, that I must be very liberal. Then I got to IC and realized that this wasn't the case.

I remember in my Ideas and Ideologies of Politics class, we had to take a political compass test and share the answers with the class. I was the most moderately placed person in the class. I still leaned to the left, but I discovered that I was more socially liberal and economically moderate.

Mr. Finkelstein's class today really got me thinking. I think that the way I define my political beliefs is by what I don't agree with. I objected to everything Mark said about health care reform. Both of my uncles are extremely conservative Republicans. I think more about my political beliefs after I talk to them than in almost any other situation. I need to think about this more in other situations so that eventually I'll be able to write my 2 paragraphs.

Vietnam

I think that I have a unique perspective on the Vietnam War. My parents are older than most people my age so my dad is actually a Vietnam veteran. He served in the Navy during Vietnam. While he was never deployed to Vietnam, I still grew up listening to his stories about the political climate in the United States during this era.

I didn't learn a lot about the Vietnam War in high school (It wasn't on the AP US History exam, so it wasn't covered in class) but I always had the unique perspective of being the daughter of a Vietnam vet. My dad joined the Navy to avoid being drafted into the Army. He explained how tumultuous the debate on the draft was and how scary it was growing up during the time of the Vietnam War. He told me that there was a lot of tension between the young men who "manned up" and served their time in the military and those who were draft dodgers (which is why he HATES Bill Clinton). He always says that although the reasons that the war was fought to begin with were not honest, it was important to serve because it was required of the men in his age group.

There was a quote in the Streitmatter chapter about Vietnam that I thought to be especially interesting. "The first real step toward peace would be a realistic acceptance of the fact that our political ideals are perhaps to a great extent illusions and fictions to which we cling out of motives that are not entirely honest." I think this goes along with what my dad has always said. The United States had no business in Vietnam and it took people way too long to realize that.

Gay and Lesbian Rights... and the Mafia?

I thought that the gay and lesbian rights chapter in the Streitmatter text was extremely interesting. I think that this is because I can relate to it the most. I'm straight, but I have a lot of gay friends. Also, my family is Italian American and I have a few distant family members who were hit men for the Mafia. Therefore, I thought the relationship between the gay and lesbian community and the Mafia was an interesting tie-in that I would never have considered until I read this chapter.

This chapter also introduced me to and gave me a lot of respect for the editors of Gay, Jack Nichols and Lige Clarke. I think that they had the right idea in promoting non-violence and supporting political reforms. What I particularly liked was that they did not support the gay county in California. I am all for gay rights, but I do not understand the logic in a minority group further isolating itself from the mainstream society. I am glad that the editors and staff of Gay were practical enough to realize that concrete political reforms were a more practical solution that a gay county.

I think the whole gay rights movement in the United States (stemming from the 70's until now) can be summarized in the quote by Martha Shelley, "We didn't agree a lot, but we always gave each other respect." I know that a lot of people believe that homosexuality is morally wrong, but they should at least respect their fellow human-being, regardless of sexuality. If you don't support gay marriage, then don't have one. But respect what the gay community has worked for and what they stand for.

Sexual Freedom in the Victorian Era

I thought that Chapter 4, "Promoting 'Free Love' in the Victorian Age" in the Streitmatter text was very, very interesting. I think this is because before I read this chapter, I had no idea that it existed.

I was also very torn when I read this chapter. I agree with the core belief of the movement that a woman should be able to leave her husband if she is unhappy or in danger in her marriage. I applaud the people who fought to make divorce possible for American women.

One of the most poignant stories in this chapter is in the one about a woman whose husband forced her to have sex with him after she experienced injuries in her groin from giving birth. The forced intercourse severely injured her and ripped her stitches from child birth. To me, this is absolutely disgusting and brings up an issue that is still hotly debated today. Is it rape if a woman knows her attacker and has been intimate with him in the past? To me, that answer is yes. "No" means "no." Always. Unfortunately, even now, a woman's sexual past is often deeply scrutinized during rape cases. I find this to be irrelevant.

However, the part of this that really upset me was the actions of Victoria Woodhull. Her promiscuous actions and her using her sex appeal to gain success helps give successful women the same stereotype. Obviously, this is not always the case and it has a negative impact on other women's careers who don't sleep their way to the top.

We Need More George Seldeses in the World

After studying some of George Seldes in History of Mass Media and now Indy Media, it has become more and more clear to me that journalism needs more people like Seldes.

Every morning before I go to class, I watch CNN as I'm getting ready for about an hour. The stories that pass as news on CNN at times honestly astounds me. Just the other day, I watched as a story about an elderly woman crashing into a DMV during her road test was repeated twice in an hour. While it was an entertaining story, it had no news relevance to anyone outside of that town. No one was hurt. It led to no social chance. It was simply sadly funny and ironic. Why isn't CNN covering things that are more socially relevant? The sad answer to that is obviously viewer ship. Fluff stories that are funny attract more viewers. Also, fluff stories are often easier and faster to produce. Honestly, I think the work is worth it to spread news that has importance to the world.

Maybe news outlets should listen more to Seldes' many different words of wisdom... one of my favorites being that "uphill battles were intrinsic to doing good journalistic work."

"A Woman Should Have the Right to Control her Own Body"- Margaret Sanger

After reading all of the assigned chapters in "Voices of Revolution" by Rodger Streitmatter, the one that stuck out to me the most was Margaret Sanger's quest to bring birth control options to American women, especially those living in poverty. I found this chapter to be interesting for a few reasons. First, Sanger had a comfortable life with her husband and children. She sacrificed a lot to bring birth control to the poor women in New York City. She even left her children for a year when she was exiled to Europe. Secondly, I feel like she had the most tangible results out of any of the dissident reporters we've studied so far. While all of them were truly great people who made an impact in the world, Sanger set up the groundwork for Planned Parenthood, an organization that continues to help women with family planning issues.
Another reason that I respect Sanger so much is her belief that a family should only have the amount of children that they can afford (anyone remember the Octo-mom's financial troubles?). This belief is something that I completely agree with and is part of the reason that I support the use of birth control and am pro-choice. While Sanger was against abortion (and I don't really blame her, conditions then we a lot more unsafe than they are today), I believe that ultimately, we agree on the same idea. Women, not the United States government, should have the right to control their own bodies. I am grateful that someone was willing to fight for the things that my generation often takes for granted.

French Ministry v. Bloggers

When I read this article, I was really shocked at the punishment that one can receive in France for “public insult toward a member of the ministry." An $18,000 seems excessive to me. Also, all Dominique Broueilh did was call politician Nadine Morano a lier. Don't most people assume politicians lie part of the time anyway?
Also, being called a lier is the least of Morano's problems. There is video online (click here) of her dancing rather inappropriately with young male supporters to a Black Eyed Peas song.
It seems to me that politicians in general, specifically French ones in this case, do not want to take responsibility for their actions and poor choices. It's a good thing that the Internet is making it necessary that they will have to start.

Fashion Blogging

I generally make it a rule not to read fashion blogs (the closest I come is my guilty obsession with Perez Hilton), so after I read the New York Times article "Bloggers Crash Fashion’s Front Row," I did some research on Tavi, the blogger mentioned in the article. I went to her blog, and from what I read, it seems like members of the fashion industry have been really critical of her. However, based on my limited knowledge of her, I have respect for her... or as much respect as I can possibly have for a fashion reporter of any kind. Personally, I find writing about clothes and fashion to be so ridiculously frivolous when there are so much more important issues to worry about. And, not to stereotype, but those involved in the "fashion community" generally seem to all resemble Meryl Streeps' character Miranda Priestly in The Devil Wears Prada-self absorbed with an overly inflated opinion of one's importance and contribution to the world. Tavi seems different.

However, with that being said, Tavi seems like a fairly down-to-earth teenager that started a blog purely for the personal enjoyment and satisfaction that comes from it. And then, industry leaders like the editor of Elle are personally attacking some poor 13 year old girl? Really? I mean, I don't doubt that she has a fairly loudly heard "voice" on the Internet, but she's 13. It seems to me that the staff of magazines like Vogue and Elle are more threatened by her than they let on.

I think Kelly Cutrone, known for her work at People's Revolution and for her new reality show on Bravo! said it best: "Do I think, as a publicist, that I now have to have my eye on some kid who’s writing a blog in Oklahoma as much as I do on an editor from Vogue? Absolutely. Because once they write something on the Internet, it’s never coming down. And it’s the first thing a designer is going to see.”

UConn Coach v. The Blogger

I should probably preface this blog entry by saying that I am a huge sports fan (hey, I'm from Buffalo... it's required!) and I have the upmost respect for professional and college athletes, coaches and staff. However, I also think that most sports stars are grossly overpaid.

The UConn men's basketball coach Jim Calhoun exploded at blogger Ken Krayeske at a press conference last year. Krayeske asked Calhoun about the fact that he is the highest paid state employee in Connecticut when state employees are being forced to take pay cuts due to the failing economy. Calhoun's arrogant and insensitive answer really bothered me. In the time of an economic recession, shouldn't someone who is earning millions of dollars take a little pay cut so that those less fortunate have an opportunity to make a living? I don't deny that he's successful and works hard, but so do people with lower profile jobs. I found Calhoun's explanation that he "wants to retire" to be especially troubling. Lately, fewer and fewer people are able to have that luxury. There are people starving to death and living in poverty around the world. For him to imply that he needs millions of dollars to have a comfortable retirement is sickening and insensitive.

I respect the fact that Krayeske had the ambition and nerve to ask a question that quite frankly needed to be asked. While he enjoys a freedom that mainstream journalists don't have, he probably should have gone about asking his question in a different way. Personally, I think that I am less confrontational than Krayeske is, so I absolutely would have worded the question differently. I would have said something like, "In a time when there are budget cuts all over the state and many are struggling financially, do you think that your salary also should have taken a cut like others' have?" And then I would have expanded on there based on what he said. However, based on the Youtube clip of Calhoun that I saw (I don't really know anything else about him- I'm not a UConn fan), I don't really think that there was a way that you could ask him that question without him exploding and acting like a pompous jerk. He seemed to have a very arrogant and confrontational personality so there probably was no way to ask the question without him getting upset.

However, it was a question that needed to be asked. I think other sports figures need to answer the same question.