Google health protects the privacy of health information...
"except in certain limited circumstances.."
-uhm. no thanks.
May 19, 2008
June 25, 2007
Robots replacing farm workers
It apparently is not far off, and how will this affect the illegal immigration debate.
May 30, 2007
A well hidden piggy bank
The state has more than $5.1 billion in Unclaimed Property. Here's a searchable database on the state controller's Web site. I'm probably the only one that doesn't have anything there.
May 22, 2007
You have got to be kidding?
And what did Claremont learn from the reaction that Pomona received when it sent a threatening letter to a local blog? Apparently nothing.
From the DBulletin: "Former Claremont Mayor Diann Ring said she thinks the blog in her city is potentially heading toward litigation as well.
The Claremont Insider - also penned by an anonymous blogger - writes about Claremont city officials and the "goofy, too-serious, power types that run most of the town's service organizations, charities and city commissions."'
-- This all started with local blog Foothill Cities getting a 'cease and desist' letter from Pomona for posting reasons about its city manager resigning. It was overreaching by the city. And that's just from the experts. The city of Fontana should be the model for how to deal with blogs with the mayor and others posting: "Fontana's Director of Public Works Curtis Aaron also logs into the forums with regularity and answers the residents' questions.
"Most of 'em are usually people speaking out about something they don't understand or are frustrated with," Aaron said. "If there's something going on there that's an issue, we don't wait for it to get out of hand. We keep an eye on the blogs, and ... we can get on it right away."'
May 10, 2007
Local coverage from afar
We always get complaints about our local coverage, sometimes deserved, sometimes unrealistic, but is this the answer?
UPDATE:
Foothill Cities picked up on the "new" way of local reporting, and LAObserved gives them a nod.
March 19, 2007
Just because they're applying, doesn't mean they know what's coming.
March 18, 2007
This is going to be fun.
March 15, 2007
Newspapers and local blogs
Claremont Insider makes some interesting points about the growing power of local blogs and how they are becoming part of the solution in covering communities.
"It's a different time, though. There are other ways for communities to communicate and share information."
Traditional newspapers no longer have the resources to cover all of our local communities as well as we should. It's something I believe and have said before.
March 14, 2007
Assignment Zero
The idea: "an attempt to bring together professional writers and editors with citizen journalists to collaborate on reporting and writing about the rise of crowdsourcing on the Web. Inspired by the open source movement, the goal of Assignment Zero is to develop a working model of an open newsroom."
- I might still have a job if this takes off, but I don't know about reporters.
March 6, 2007
Hiring citizen journalists.
March 4, 2007
The Richard McKee experiment
I've known Rich McKee for a few years now, and I still don't quite understand why he so zealously advocates the ideals of open-government.
He is a Pasadena City College chemistry professor, served as president of the California First Amendment Coalition and recently resigned from Californians Aware. For nearly 20 years, I think, he has challenged local municipalities and public agencies to follow the Ralph M. Brown Act and the Public Records Act. This includes filing lawsuits that he almost always won, forcing them to follow the law.
As part of our attempt to get more community voices in our paper, Rich, a La Verne resident, has become a columnist of late. It gives him a chance to spread the word about local open-government issues, and gives us unique opportunity to educate the public.
It's an experiment because Rich has to stay a chronicler and stay away from being a newsmaker. The transition so far has been smooth. But he becomes outraged quickly when he thinks someone has disregarded open-government laws, so it should be fun. Here's his latest column.
February 19, 2007
Diamond Bar also posts it's meetings.
One city I'm familiar with and has always been forthright with its documents also posts its meeting's online. Unfortunately, I'm still trying to figure out how to post it to the blog.
Youtube hosts Azusa candidates
Azusa City Council candidate forum on youtube.
Monrovia City Council
We see so many cities that make it difficult to see their agendas or get documents. When a city actually gives the public even more access, it should be applauded. Monrovia is the only city I know of that posts its city council meetings on the Web. (hat tip to foothillcities)
February 14, 2007
Cool photo and here's the story.
January 18, 2007
Obit by video
Art Buchwald, celebrated humorist, died Wednesday. He was 81 and sick for a the past few months. In a video interview, he starts of saying "hi, I'm Art Buchwald and I just died." That's an interesting way to go in our appetite for news.
January 15, 2007
San Gabriel Valley TV brought to you by.....
Us.
- Why not? The Star Ledger in New Jersey has already started a station on the Web, akin to Youtube except specifically for the New Jersey area. The Garden State has to get their news from New York-based stations, which means it's NYC-centric. It's a smilar problem that we have here in the Valley. TV rarely covers stories out here, so there is a need. We already have a twice-daily Webcast that we hope to eventually use for breaking news as well.
The Star's Mission, "New Jersey needs a television station to call its own. Programmed by New Jerseyans, for New Jerseyans. TVJersey has no broadcast towers, no satellites. It doesn’t even have a studio. But it has you. And what you produce, we’ll promote. Just tag your videos on youtube with tvjersey, and we’ll find them. (We’re going to start using some other services soon.) We might find them even if you don’t. And you can always send us ideas and links at video [at] tvjersey dot com. Together, we’ll build the TV station we deserve."
December 22, 2006
Missed this one on citizen journalism
"What you're seeing is a radical new way of doing journalism. We're back to the time of the lonely pamphleteer or the tramp printers in the Europe," said Philip Meyer, Knight Chair in Journalism professor at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill...
I close every semester by saying, 'I've just taught you journalism as it was practiced in my day. The journalism in your day is going to be different,' " Meyer said. " 'It's up to you to invent it, please don't mess it up.' "
December 4, 2006
What are you trying to say?
Newspapers are falling in love with blogs, sometimes hurting the newspaper.
November 29, 2006
Hearing from experts about Healthcare
Arnold Schwarzenegger is expected to make 2007 the year of healthcare. The Sacramento Bee has a blog dedicated to hearing from experts about solutions. It's moderated by the dean of California political blogs Dan Weintraub
November 26, 2006
Giving you what you want and what you need
Editorial dicusssions for the front page sometimes center on what stories readers want as opposed to information they need. One former editor of mine said a paper's mantra should be "tell them something they don't know but need to know." Most times the story fits both, but occasionally the choice isn't all that clear. Crime stories are usually the most read but the information they relay is not always that important. The biggest worry for some is that if we decide our stories in a popularity contest we become a tawdry gossip rag or, as politics editor Gary Scott says, fetish-based journalism. I don't agree with Jeff Jarvis that news has already gone tawdry, but I thought the numbers that show what the BBC wants us to read as opposed to what we want to read is interesting. The NY Times also has an interesting popular story page as well.
November 20, 2006
West Covina webcam
Trolling around online, looking for interesting stuff from the San Gabriel Valley, I came across a Web cam that apparently looks over the Westfield Mall in West Covina. I think I see the Washington Mutual Bank that stands
in front of Barnes and Noble. I have no idea why it exists, but they have it.
November 19, 2006
Commenting on news stories
As part of a continuing move toward more online interaction, the newspaper has put comment links on the bottom of stories. Other newspapers have also dipped in this pool, sometimes without success. Ventura County Star eventually went back to giving comment links. I think it gives our online readers one more reason to become engaged.
November 18, 2006
Another local soldier dies
In the past month, we have had the uneviable task of publishing stories about the death of soldiers killed in Iraq. Friday, reporter Jennifer McLain was at Ontario International Airport where Sgt. 1st Class Rudy Salcido was brought home. Some might question whether we should be covering these stories, but no matter what side of the war you are on, the deaths of San Gabriel Valley natives need to be acknowledged. Most families have welcomed us, some have not, and we take a family's feelings into account if we do cover the story. But I do think there needs to be a way of publishing stories about the soldiers who are over there now, and not wait until they are brought home to be buried. I'll be working on that in the next several weeks.
October 30, 2006
John Kerry, Youtube and a 'botched joke.'
The national flareup over former (maybe future) presidential candidate John Kerry's remarks about education at Pasadena City College gives a glimpse into the 24 hour news cycle. Shortly after Kerry told the students that if they were able to navigate the education system, they could get comfortable jobs - "If you don't, you get stuck in Iraq," he said to a mixture of laughter and gasps," it was on Youtube and ringing around the blogosphere. National newspapers were mentioning our sister paper, the Pasadena Star News, which covered the event, and prompted President Bush to slam the remarks. We talked about it again in our editorial meeting this morning to see if it should have prominent play - which would make it three days in a row. A “botched joke� it may be, but with the carnivorous Internet news hole, this is the type of fury that may come to a city hall near you as more people get a hang of new media.
UPDATE: Kerry apologizes.
October 28, 2006
Investigative reporting gone bad
Part of our challenge online is how to create revenue. Some reporters have migrated with the backing of investors like this one. This is not advocacy journalism at its best, but 'gotcha' reporting at its worst and slimes all of us.