Shattered Glass: A Shattered Mind, A Shattered Life

The story of Stephen Glass is just another story of someone romanced by ideas of success and fame. I think the most tragic aspect of his downfall (according to the movie) was his habit of lying to cover-up other lies and mistakes. His faulty cover-up technique was ultimately the most damning thing about him. Had Glass simply come forward and admitted, “Yes, I cooked those stories. I’m sorry,” he might have left The New Republic shamed, but with his dignity. As it were, he embarrassed himself, his editor, his friends and the magazine.

However, I am not so quick to blame Glass completely for his mistakes. Yes, he committed one of the biggest crimes one can commit in journalism, but it was ultimately The New Republic’s fault for printing stories they didn’t absolutely know to be true. It seems that the staff trusted his notes and referred only to them for fact-checking. Had anyone called the phone numbers he provided or tried to confirm names and places, surely red flags would have flown into the air.

An Incredible Birth, An Incredible Surgery

This story is both tragic and triumphant. Lakshmi Tatma, a 2yo Indian girl underwent surgery to remove what was, in fact, remnants of an undeveloped twin sister attached to the lower region of her body. Not only did the young girl have an extra pelvis, she also had an extra set of arms and legs. The surgery lasted 27 hours.

Although for many, such an abnormal birth (conjoined twins occur once for ever 200,000 births) would be tragic, some members of the family’s village hailed the young girl’s body as a reincarnation of the multi-limbed Hindu goddess Lakshmi (from whom the girl got her name) who brings wealth to her followers.

Lakshmi is currently still on a ventilator, but doctors seem optimistic about her recovery. If Lakshmi does survive without further complications, it will be a miracle, seeing as 75-95% of conjoined twins do not live long due to complications in organ-sharing.

Front Page of The Times Very Disturbing

When I went to timesonline.co.uk today, the front page was plastered with murder. Headlining was "Eight die as school murder comes to Europe" and right beneath it was "I heard Meredith's dying screams, says suspect." At first, I thought these two stories were related because of how they were layed out on the page. But they are, in fact, to separate tragedies.

You can read the "Eight die" story here. Pekka-Eric Auvinen (the killer), 18, began by posting a video to Youtube wearing a shirt declaring "Humanity is Overrated" and points his gun at the camera and says, “I, as a natural selector, will eliminate all who I see unfit.” Within hours, he went to Jokela High School in southern Finland and shot dead five boys, two girls and the headmistress and wounded about a dozen more. He later failed in his suicide attempt.

The "Meredith's screams" story is here but the part I want to focus on is here. A friend of mine from high school is quoted in it, so it makes this whole mess a little personal. For anyone who's tried to even follow this event, it's a huge, nasty mess. I'm not sure what elements of it are more scandalous than others. Essentially, an American Amanda Knox is a suspect in the murder of British student Meredith Kercher in Italy. There is a lot of evidence that Knox and her boyfriend had been lying to the police about their involvement (or alleged lack thereof) in the murder. Knox and her boyfriend have posted several MySpace stories about rape, fetishizing and glorifying it--which makes them bigger suspects in this investigation since there is evidence Kercher was held down by one person and raped by another before she was killed.

Sex Ban on the Airbus A380

First of all, I must say that if I miss anything about living in London—and this would be the ONLY thing—it’s The Times. If you aren’t familiar with this quirky, but very respectable English paper, browse it online sometime. Brits have a slightly different view of what’s newsworthy and amusing than we do that’s refreshing.

This article from The Times responds to the sex ban in the new double suite-airplanes. If you haven’t heard about the new Airbus, essentially it’s taken passenger comfort and luxury to the next level, providing rooms with beds (which can be raised and lowered as chairs) and other amenities for those willing to pay. O.K. Fine. Maybe they’ve gone a bit overboard. But now Singapore Airlines has implemented a strict ‘no sex’ rule. Two questions: 1) Why would you fly a jet with beds in it if you’re concerned about on-board coitus? 2) How will this ban be enforced? patrols every five minutes?

If you have nothing better to do right now, read the whole thing here.

Aging and Gay

I feel like focus on LGBT rights today primarily focuses on youthful expression and challenging concepts of the ‘normative’ family. But the experience of aging and elderly queer people is rarely (if ever) brought to light. LGBT Aging Projects are emerging around the United States to address the prejudice many older people are suffering in nursing homes and assisted-living centers today. This article cites specific examples of the depression, mistreatment, and isolation many older LGBT people are facing. Some have even committed suicide rather than live in such an uninviting environment. The article quotes that there are an estimated 2.4 million LGB ‘out’ Americans over the age of 55. These issues have to be seriously dealt with now or the LGBT community will be in much more trouble when the youth of today reach senior status. I really, really encourage everyone to at least glance at this article here.

Sheriff Shoots Six

This is The Times’ (of London) coverage of the Crandon shooting. I chose to highlight this article because it shows how international some news becomes. I was particularly surprised to see this article featured in The Times. It wasn’t front-page news, but did have it’s own front-page link.

I enjoy The Times as well because many articles illicit a powerful response from readers who are free to post in the “Have Your Say” section beneath the text. This story has 19 current comments, most of which are much more than just a few sentences. The featured three come from very different points of view. The first is a North Yorkshire man criticizing American gun treatment. The second is a Wisconsin man blaming the British for their past violence in America and mentions the increasing crime rate in the UK. The third is a Parisian suggesting that the American democratic system lacks general control. This is just a sampling, but they are all fierce and interesting. I suggest you take a look here.

Man seeks shared custody of severed leg

I had to share this one in light of some of the more novelty-focused articles we’ve been discussing.

In short, a North Carolina man (Whisnant) found a leg in a barbecue smoker and, for whatever reason, wants to keep it. But it gets stranger. The leg belongs to a South Carolina man (Wood) who, after losing it in an airplane crash, stored it in the smoker. (Did you just say “what?” out loud to yourself? I did too.) Apparently Wood wanted to be buried with the leg when he died. After spending time in the freezer, the leg was dried out, wrapped and kept in the smoker—which consequently went into a storage facility when the Wood was evicted. When he couldn’t pay the rent, the facility began to sell off his items, and Whisnant happened to buy the smoker. There are more details if you’d like to read them here.

Osborne 'to cut inheritance tax'

As we prepare for our press conference, I think it is important that we note professional examples of how to cover public announcements and the like. Though the politics and importance of George Osbourne’s promises and claims are well over our heads as people uninvolved in the UKs domestic politics, the structure and technique of the article is promising. It begins with a multiple-element lead, immediately addressing what is at stake (and therefore why the reader should care) and identifies the subject as an important Tory leader. The lead is then followed by some important information about how the cut would be accounted for and how the Lib Dems responded. An interesting feature of this article is the two bold headings, “Death duties” and “Family fund.” In such a dense piece of reading, this division of subjects helps the reader to stay focused on the article as a whole, as well as the various topics discussed.

You probably won't want to, but you can view the full story here.

Is the FCC neglecting to uphold it's promises?

In this article from The Seattle Times, an interview conducted by Ryan Blethen suggests that the FCC is failing to uphold its previous commitment to serve public interest. In achieving "the greatest, most entertaining media in the world," have we marginalized real-world issues and risked the future of journalism? Or is this truth a positive one, a celebration of freedom from total government control over the media? As students of journalism (assuming there are a number of you who would like to make a career out of it), it is imperative that we be active members of this dialogue in the private realm. This is not just an issue of what’s appropriate, but an issue of what’s legally allowed. Jonathan Adelstein (FCC Commisioner) shares his thoughts here.