I got my “Today in History” feed this morning and saw two things that jumped out at me:

Today, June 12, is the anniversary of:

1. The murder of Nicole Brown Simpson and Ron Goldman in 1994, and
2. The 1963 killing of Medgar Evers.

Now in the normal world — that world outside the shouting heads of cable news and the blogosphere — the killing of Evers and the issues around that killing are much more important. Yet, I will bet all the money in my pocket against all the money in your pocket that the anniversary people will talk about on the MSM and in the blogs is the Simpson killing.

Let’s compare the two.

Evers:

During World War II, Evers volunteered for the U.S. Army and participated in the Normandy invasion. In 1952, he joined the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP). As a field worker for the NAACP, Evers traveled through his home state encouraging poor African Americans to register to vote and recruiting them into the civil rights movement.

Simpson:

The case involves a famous former football player and a dream team of lawyers.

Yep, the Simpson case is so much more important. (Please note the sarcasm.)

Want a good discussion of journalism ethics?

Start with the questions raised by Michigan State Senator Bruce Patterson:

“What’s the definition of a reporter? I haven’t been able to find out? What’s a reporter? What’s a journalist?” Patterson said. “I thought you had to have a degree in journalism but apparently not. I could retire and be a journalist.”

The problem is that this “small government, less intrusive” Republican wants to scrap the First Amendment and license journalists.

Michigan Considers Law to License Journalists

Anytime the government takes the power to license who can be a journalist is the time when the government begins controlling the news. The governments that “pride” themselves on ensuring professional standards for journalists by requiring licenses to report  — China, Cuba, Iran — are also those governments that are the most repressive.

Does this Michigan state senator really think that his proposal is constitutional? Actually, he does. And that means he needs to re-read the Constitution and the relevant Supreme Court rulings.

So how does one determine who is a good journalist?

There are some simple guidelines: Be fair. Be accurate. Provide context.

Anything else is window dressing. I know highly educated people who can’t do those three simple things. And many others with “lesser degrees” who excel at it.

So, journalism students: What are your responses to Patterson?

The other day I posted a couple of notes about the new Pew Research Center’s Project for Excellence in Journalism report on new and old media.

• Pew report shows gap in international views of old and new media
• Pew Report: Old Media/New Media

I saw in that two key issues that journalists and their bosses should be paying attention to.

1. New media depends on old media — or at least good old fashioned journalism.
2. People are interested in international news but are getting it from non-US sources.

Without good old fashioned journalism — multiple sources, checking facts, providing context — the news content of the Internet becomes opinion pieces instead of journalism.

The numbers speak for themselves. U.S. newspapers and broadcasts make up three-quarters of the items linked by American bloggers.

Web only generated material being passed on accounts for less than 1 percent.

So there is a value to professional journalism. The issue is finding a way to get paid for it. And that is what has to be addressed quickly.

On the other point — international news — the survey showed that foreign news — actual non-USA news items, rather than US foreign policy or military issues — was the second most blogged item. And yet people largely depended on non-US media outlets for this news.

There is an interest in news from other countries. Some of it frivolous. But most of it useful to understanding what is going on in the world.

The interconnection of local and global economies and societies no longer gives us the option of remaining isolated between two oceans. There are always local links in an international story and an international link to a local story. It just takes a reporter and editor with a view that extends beyond the city limits to see the connections.

The DC SPJ website (oops, almost wrote “web site”) has a new piece on events that changed the way we do journalism.

Well worth a read.

Transformational moments in new media history

I just posted an item on the DC SPJ blog site talking about Live Labs’ latest cool item: PIVOT.

The posting includes a video from PIVOT’s developer Gary Flake.

You should look at it, if for no other reason, it will introduce you to what appears to be a great way to get better context for your stories.

Digging out data and making sense of it