Wednesday, October 28, 2009

Future Of Journalism

Harvard put on a talk about the future of journalism last night.
Here's my notes from the event. Here's what the Crimson (Harvard's newspaper)
had to say about the event.

What We Know
1. Journalism Matters
2. Current advertisement for newspaper models is broken
3. Economic sustainability is key
4. Multimedia is the future of journalism

9 Basic Elements of Journalism
1. Journalist's first obligation to tell the truth
2. Journalist must be loyal to citizens
3. Essence of journalism is a discipline of verification
4. Its practitioners must maintain an independence from those they cover
5. It must serve as an independent monitor of power
6. It must provide a forum for public criticism and compromise
7. It must strive to make the significant interesting and relevant
8. It must keep the news comprehensive and proportional
9. Its practitioners must be allowed to exercise their personal conscience

My thesis topic

I am following an idea exploring the different options of lunches for elementary school-age children. My interest peaked when I read about the $1 billion overhaul that President Obama plans to distribute to better school lunches. I'm hoping to talk to people at several schools, and I'm writing to their principals to find out more about their programs.

My originally idea was about adults and nutrition, but my thesis adviser said that I was too passionate on the subject matter to write objectively on it. We both decided it would be best to focus on children since I don't have as big of a bias on this subject matter.

I plan to go and watch schools during lunch period and also to talk with principals, parents, government officials, and nutritionist about lunch program at their schools. I also will go and watch a parent shop for lunches at a grocery store, follow a cafeteria worker as she prepares food, and eat lunch with children during lunch hour.

Since no one has written extensively about the subject matter, and depending upon what I discover, I may seek to have my report included in a publication that explores educational issues.

Push-Up Challenge


Ever do a hundred push-ups in a row? Me neither. This website shows you how you can build up your strength to do it. Each week they increase the amount of push-ups based on your activity level and how many you can do from the beginning. I'm starting at week one and will do a hundred by the holidays.