You need to return your equipment in order to get a final grade….

Steve

MSNBC’s First Read has this dispatch today:

Obama’s First Test With The Left: The news that Obama is the one mainly responsible for the wrist slap that Lieberman is expected to receive — as well as the continued speculation that the president-elect is inching closer towards selecting Hillary Clinton as his secretary of state — is really going to test Obama’s base.

Many of the true believers aren’t going to be happy campers. Then again, with some pundits suggesting that Obama’s initial moves (picking Rahm Emanuel as his chief of staff, courting the Clintons) don’t really signal the change he promised to bring to Washington, isn’t it precisely change that Lieberman is about to go unpunished? After all, one of Obama’s messages was to put the bitter partisanship of the last 16 years behind us. Does anyone think that a Clinton or a Bush Administration would be as forgiving?

Also, as Maureen Dowd wrote on Sunday, Obama bringing in Hillary as his secretary of state doesn’t represent the return of the Clintons; it says the opposite. “If you have a president who’s willing to open up his universe to other smart, strong people, if you have a big dog who shares his food dish, the Bill Clinton era is truly over.” One more point about Lieberman going unpunished: Could Obama truly meet with McCain yesterday in a sign of bipartisanship as Obama and Senate Democrats plotted to take away Lieberman’s gavel at the Homeland Security committee? By the way, imagine what this week would be like in the press corps had a more severe Lieberman punishment been on the docket. Talk about your drama.

Check out Maureen Dowd’s column:

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/11/16/opinion/16dowd.html?_r=1

New York Times today:

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/11/18/us/politics/18clintons.html

Politico:

http://www.politico.com/news/stories/1108/15703.html

Deb Howell is the ombudsman for The Washington Post.  She wrote this column on the election.   So far, the column has received more than 1,300 comments.  Read the column and skim the comments and weigh in with your thoughts here.

Steve

Be prepared to do short presentations on your projects today.

Steve

Christina Mills, a journalism alum who currently runs the Massachusetts
Governors office internship program, will be on campus this Thursday at 2 p.m.
to meet with students interested in an internship, either in Boston or in the
Governor’s Springfield office, for spring, summer or next fall.

These internships are wide-ranging and include working in the cabinet offices.
They offer a great chance to get involved in state government policy and
communication and build your resume.

If you are interested, please sign up on the sheet on BJ Roche’s office window.
Location to be announced.

If you’re interested in doing this, stop by my office and I can give you some more details.

Steve

Study Multimedia next summer in Italy or Northern Ireland
The San Francisco State University Journalism Department and the Institute for Education in International Media (ieiMedia) will co-sponsor two multimedia study-abroad programs next summer. Students from all universities and majors, as well as recent graduates, are welcome to apply for programs in:

• Urbino, Italy (June 30-July 30, 2009)
• Armagh, Northern Ireland (July 15-Aug. 16, 2009)

Both towns are off the beaten tourist track, allowing students to immerse themselves in the local culture. Students will learn various aspects of digital storytelling — including photography, video, writing for the Web, blogging and Web design — and will produce an online multimedia documentary about the local community (see InArmagh.net and InCagli.net for examples of work from previous years). Students will also study Intercultural Communication and Irish history and culture (Armagh) and Italian language (Urbino).

Students and recent graduates from other schools and majors are also welcome to apply. Applications are due Feb. 1 and will be considered on a space-available basis after that.

Cost: $4,475 plus airfare

For more information and an application for Urbino contact UrbinoProject@gmail.com; for Armagh contact ArmaghProject@gmail.com

About Armagh, N. Ireland

Situated on the Irish Republic‘s border, Armagh is a city rich in culture and history. It was here that St. Patrick reportedly built the first stone church in 445 and two cathedrals in his name still tower over the city. With 15,000 residents, Armagh has a wide range of attractions: museums, national parks, historic castles and houses, a modern theater, a university, Ireland‘s only planetarium, and numerous restaurants and pubs. Activities include golf, fishing, bicycling, and hiking. Armagh is served by public transportation and is one hour from Belfast, two from Dublin, and three from Galway.

Classes will be held in the AmmA Centre, a multimedia creative learning centre in Armagh. Students will live in the Armagh City Youth Hostel,a modern facility with private baths. Some meals will be provided, and students will have access to a large communal kitchen, as well as laundry facilities.

About Urbino, Italy

Urbino is a picturesque Renaissance hill town and the capital of the Marche region, a beautiful but little-touristed region of Central Italy. The city’s impressive Ducal Palace houses one of the most important collections of Renaissance paintings in the world. The artist Raphael was born in Urbino (in 1483) and visitors can tour his family home, which is now a museum. Other attractions include a small botanical garden, a medieval church and a 14^thcentury fortress offering stunning views of the town and the surrounding hills.

The University of Urbino, founded in 1506, will provide classroom space as well as housing. Students will live in a residence hall; all meals in the university dining facility are included.

For more details see www.ieiMedia.com.

Here’s a link to the tutorials that I use for my multimedia journalism class.  Any and all questions you have about editing audio, video, slideshows are answered there.

Steve

We seem to be seeing more stories like this one cropping up in the final weeks.

Also, check out Howard Kurtz’s piece today on this and Politico’s take as well.

Problems, issues, concerns with such stories? Or not? Weigh in…

Steve