'Death of a President': Controversial British TV

British TV drama depicts fictional Bush shooting
By Adam Pasick

LONDON (Reuters) - British public broadcaster Channel 4 is courting controversy with what it calls a "shockingly real" television drama about a fictional assassination of President George W. Bush.

"Death of a President," shot in the form of a documentary, will use a blend of archival footage and computer-generated special effects to portray Bush in October 2007 arriving in Chicago during an anti-war rally.

In the film, Bush is shot to death by a sniper, and the investigation quickly focuses on a Syrian-born man. It will air in October on Channel 4's More4 digital channel, as well as at the Toronto Film Festival in September.

"It's a pointed political examination of what the war on terror is doing to the American body politic," said More4 boss Peter Dale at a press conference on Thursday.

Promotional materials described the program as "a thought-provoking critique of the contemporary U.S. political landscape."

Dale acknowledged that the program will be controversial but maintained that it was a sophisticated work meant to spur debate.

"I'm sure there will be people upset by it," he said. "I hope people will see the intention as a good one."

Channel 4, which is publicly owned but funded by advertising, was criticized last week by outgoing ITV Chief Executive Charles Allen for its reliance on reality TV shows and "shock docs."

More4's autumn schedule also includes "The Trial of Tony Blair," a satirical program about the future resignation of the British Prime Minister.


© Reuters 2006. All Rights Reserved.


Tags: British TV, Death of a President, President Bush, Politics, Media 101, Media by Sistrunk

Workers terminated via email and text messages

U R fired :(

RadioShack employees at the Fort Worth headquarters received an e-mail Tuesday morning telling them they were laid off, effective immediately. Management experts expressed surprise at the company's use of electronic notification instead of face-to-face meetings with supervisors. Click here to read the story. In the interest of balance, lick HERE to check out RadioShack's recruitment page.

Meanwhile, an employer in the U.K. has taken electronic firing to another level. It decided to "sack-by-text message" when it terminated a store worker. The worker's cell phone beeped, giving her the bad news. According to The Associated Press, the "company defended the sacking-by-text message as a way to keep modern."

USA Today invited readers to share their own stories about getting "sacked." Click here to read their comments.


Via: Scatterbox by Steven Silvers


Tags: Communication, Internal Communications, Corporate Communications, Email, Text Messaging, Internet, Technology, Termination, Firing, Human Resources, Business, Media 101, Media by Sistrunk

More insight into the emotional toll of Katrina

Is there a right way or wrong way to commemorate devastation?

Our blogging friend, Dr. Deborah Serani, is quoted in Psychology Today, in an article that examines the emotional aftermath of Hurricane Katrina. Serani, a psychologist and member of the New York Disaster Counseling Coalition, tells how such observations may lead to "trauma reactions." Click here to read the story.


Tags: Katrina Anniversary, Katrina, Hurricane, Mental Health, Psychology, Deborah Serani, Media by Sistrunk

Emotional devastation surfaces from Katrina

Study: Storm survivors find will to live

Mental health problems roughly doubled in the months after Hurricane Katrina, but thoughts of suicide among those with mental health problems actually decreased, according to a new study. That surprising finding might be due to a high level of optimism and resiliency among survivors, the researchers at Harvard University said.

Nearly 85 percent of the survivors faced a major financial, income, or housing loss, and more than a third endured extreme physical adversity after Katrina struck a year ago and flooded 80 percent of New Orleans, the survey showed. Nearly 23 percent encountered extreme psychological adversity.

About 25 percent reported having nightmares about their experiences -- a figure that rises to nearly 50 percent for people who lived in New Orleans.

Not everyone is convinced by the Harvard findings. The deputy psychiatric coroner in Orleans Parish, La., claims that suicide rates tripled in the months after Katrina. Meanwhile, a New Orleans psychiatrist says that in recent months, many of his own patients seem to have lost hope. Allan Coukell examines the issues for National Public Radio.

Related: Katrina: Then and Now (USA Today photo gallery)


Tags: Katrina Anniversary, Katrina, Hurricane, Mental Health, Media by Sistrunk

Five signs your blog post is going horribly wrong

Blogging tips to live by

So you've written your latest post, and you're waiting for comments. After you've put your heart and time into your work, the worst thing you want your readers to say is: "What was that all about?"

Clear, concise writing is essential to good blogging, especially if you're trying to build your readership. Copyblogger offers some surefire writing tips to keep your audience engaged.


Tags: Blogging, Blogs, Writing, Media by Sistrunk

Not everyone is kicking Pluto to the curb

Group of little people take up the cause

Pluto the dog made his debut in 1930 -- the same year that a 24-year-old American astronomer, Clyde Tombaugh, discovered what until now was called the ninth and outermost planet. It should come as no surprise, then, that Walt Disney characters have taken up the cause of the heavenly body that got the boot. Agence France Presse has details.

Related: A planet always, Now they'll have to tell the fifth-graders

Tags: Pluto, Space, Astronomy, Science, Media by Sistrunk

In step with 'the last sage'

Schorr muses on news as he enters his ninth decade

It seems as if I've been listening to National Public Radio's Daniel Schorr forever. Schorr is about to turn 90. I'm a little younger. (smile) So, indeed, I have known the presence of this celebrated journalist all my life.

Schorr, the surviving member of Edward R. Murrow's legendary CBS team, was well into his news career when I was born. He eventually left CBS when, at the request of Ted Turner, Schorr helped to create the Cable News Network. He went on to work as CNN's senior correspondent. During my own career in public radio, the Schorr's familiar voice was ever-present.

Even as he approaches 90, Schorr shows no signs of letting up. The man described as "the last sage" took time out of his schedule recently to talk with Washington Jewish Week.


Tags: Daniel Schorr, National Public Radio, NPR, News, Media, Washington Jewish Week, Media by Sistrunk

A unique opportunity for authors

Blogger invites writers to venture into a new market

Shirazi of Light Within has started a series of posts about books and their authors. Shi is inviting authors to write blog posts about their books, telling essentially everything about their writing process – the central idea, what triggered them to write, and the message they're attempting to convey. Authors are also encouraged to describe their experiences during the process of writing and publishing process. And, of course, everyone wants to know more about the writers themselves.

Shirazi describes this as "a sort of virtual book tour into a new market and fun." Authors wishing to participate may send their posts (and related images) to sajshirazi@gmail.com.

Tags: Authors, Books, Publishing, Writing, New Markets, Light Within, Media by Sistrunk

Gates Foundation lends money for newspaper purchases

A new take on philanthropy?

The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation has reportedly pumped funds into a privately held media company. Several organizations, including the Gates Foundation, lent a total of $350-million to MediaNews Group for its purchase of four newspapers: the Contra Costa Times; The Herald, in Monterey County; the San Jose Mercury News; and the Pioneer Press, in St. Paul, reports The Associated Press.

The Gates Foundation awarded about $1.36 billion in grants last year, much of it for public health initiatives in developing countries. In the United States, its donations focus on education and technology in public libraries.

The foundation's loan to MediaNews is part of a broad investment portfolio designed to fund the endowment. Most of the foundation's money came from donations of Microsoft Corp. stock from Bill Gates, the software maker's co-founder and chairman.

In June, billionaire investor Warren Buffett, the world's second-richest man behind Gates, announced that he would begin giving about $1.5 billion a year to the Gates Foundation, essentially doubling amount of money the philanthropy awards each year.

Related: Forbes.com

Via: Philanthropybeat


Tags: Newspapers, Gates Foundation, Philanthropy, Media, Media by Sistrunk

Teacher's lounge goes global

Web journals become the new fly on the wall

It was only a matter of time. Teachers have entered the blogosphere.

Many teachers' blogs are merely personal journals or opportunities for professional networking. But look out for the ones that are technology's answer to the teacher's lounge - complete with professional chit-chat, catty remarks about colleagues and - gasp! - gripes about students.

On one level, blogs are little more than personal journals posted on the Internet for all to see. They provide a forum for teachers to share ideas with colleagues around the world or simply talk about themselves and others. However, taking a wider view, the sometimes funny, sometimes intense blogs paint what may be the rawest portrait seen of the teaching profession – a profession that definitely appears to be in transition.

Selected examples of blogs by educators:

http://publiceducationdefender.blogspot.com
http://historyiselementary.blogspot.com
http://anonteacherblog.blogspot.com
http://shrewdnessofapes.blogspot.com
http://transformeducation.blogspot.com
http://www.xanga.com/Huerter0

For more examples of teacher blogs, click here. If you'd like to add to this list, post your favorite teacher blog in comments.

Dennis Fermoyle, by the way, tells me that USA Today is planning to publish a report on teacher blogs this month.


Tags: Blogs, Blogging, Teachers, K-12, Education, Writing, Media by Sistrunk

Is your laptop a fire hazard?

Dell rushes to address battery issues

Dell, the world's largest personal computer maker, announced on Tuesday its biggest recall in its 22-year history, saying the lithium-ion batteries made by Sony could smoke and catch fire. The recall involves 4.1 million notebook computer batteries.

The action could cost Sony Corp. anywhere from 10 billion yen to 50 billion yen ($85-$430 million), hurting the Japanese electronics maker's short-term earnings and its brand image, analysts said. Yet, as it mobilizes to execute the largest PC recall in U.S. consumer history, Dell is getting high marks from marketing experts for the speed and efficiency of its response. Videos of computers erupting into flames recently began showing up on websites and making viral rounds.

Company executives have posted several long blog reports. On the company blog, executives have apologized to "all affected customers" and invited comments. So far, the site has received several responses.

Dell, previously slow to respond to consumers, has quickly mobilized a massive effort to address its customer's computer battery issues. The company's moves to quickly to correct the problem may even result in long-term benefits for the brand, according to Advertising Age .

Notebook users whose batteries have been recalled will find it challenging to go mobile. But as long as you're using your AC power cord, you're safe.

Related: List of Dell laptop batteries recalled, Dell replacement laptop batteries to take weeks to arrive


Tags: Dell Recall, Dell, Sony Corp., Laptops, Computers, Technology, Media by Sistrunk

Tips for successful TV interviews

How to improve your nonverbal skills

If you grant television interviews, you're automatically going to think about what you plan to say. But what you don't say can be equally as important. Make sure your nonverbal performance is as good as your verbal skills. Generally speaking, nonverbal performance can be described as all the gestures, expressions and postures that are used in the process of communication. So what does this mean? Here are some do's and don'ts:

DO:

- Sit up straight
- Make good eye contact with the reporter
- Keep your eyebrows up and smile when appropriate
- Lean forward
- Keep your hands folded on your lap or on the arm of your chair when not talking
- Pay attention to the person who is talking (mentally and visually).

DON'T:

- Fold your arms
- Make fists
- Dig your fingers into arms of chair
- Pick your cuticles
- Tap your fingers
- Fiddle nervously with pencils or other objects
- Slouch
- Swivel back and forth in a swivel chair
- Touch or play with the microphone

According to psychologist Marco Pacori, "gestures and speech are inseparable." This is true with TV interviews, as well as with other forms of public speaking. Remember these tips, and you'll look confident in front of the camera.

© 2006 D. C. Sistrunk – All rights reserved


Tags: Nonverbal Communication, Public Relations, PR, Media by Sistrunk

Education conference encourages 'one team, one goal'

Parents + Involvement = School Success
Missouri News


When St. Louis area educator and author Carletta Washington talks about the importance of parent involvement in education, you canÂ’t help but see and hear her passion. It's in her voice. It lights up her eyes. At the drop of a hat, she can offer parents at least a dozen ideas to parents who want to help their children succeed in school.

Washington (pictured left) is organizing a unique back-to-school conference designed for parents, educators and anyone else with an interest in children. Education 4 All presents "Parents + Involvement = School Success" on August 19, 8:30 a.m. - 4 p.m., at the Sheraton Clayton Plaza Hotel, 7730 Bonhomme Ave, St. Louis, Missouri.

"This conference provides a unique and comprehensive approach to school preparation," said Washington, who is also founder and CEO of Education 4 All Inc. "Different activities are scheduled - from breakout sessions to opportunities for networking."

The event features Jeffrey Forrest, parent and senior pastor, Blessed Hope Bible Church. Forrest, like Washington, believes that strong, consistent parent involvement gets results.

This event acts as a forum on a number of critical issues in education, such as:

- No Child Left Behind
- Standardized Testing
- Reading Development
- Character Education
- Media Literacy
- Internet Safety
- Career Development


Washington believes that all levels of education are important, including preschool. She is the author of Educational Reform: The Role and Responsibility of School, Parents, Students and Communities, published by Prioritybooks Publications of St. Louis.

"Parents must realize that children across the globe are preparing for college and careers at an early age," Washington said. "It is not okay for our children to wait until their senior year in high school or sophomore year in college to decide what they want to be in life. Our job as parents is to prepare our children for success every day."

One of the center pieces of the conference will be an in-depth forum on parent involvement. A variety of panelists, each bringing a unique prospective to education, will participate. The conference welcomes four special guests: Jessica Z. Brown, Gateway Media Literacy Partners; Tina Grimes, president, Success Academy LLC; Michael Herron, outreach specialist, St. Louis Black Leadership Roundtable; and John Oldani, executive director, Cooperating School Districts of Greater St. Louis.

Local authors and vendors will be on hand to offer resources to parents in areas such as literacy and healthcare. Small breakout sessions will cover parenting, college and career preparation, college athletes and recruiters and the state of urban education.

Education 4 All Inc. is a nonprofit organization providing positive solutions in the areas of student achievement, parental involvement, staff development, and school and community relations.

For more information about the "Parents + Involvement = School Success" conference, click here.


Related: Book advances the platform for education reform


Tags: Parent Involvement, Back-to-school, K-12, Education, Education Reform, Student Achievement, Education 4 All, Carletta Washington, Media by Sistrunk

New blogger on the block

Mahmoud Ahmadinejad joins the blogosphere

Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad has written his first blog post. In it, he describes his impoverished upbringing.

The site attempts to be interactive, with sections for comments, questions from readers, and opinion polls. The blog can be read in Arabic, English, Farsi and French. Flags located on the upper right side of the site offer readers the opportunity to choose a language.

It is not yet clear how well Ahmadinejad's blog will be received. User figures already appear high. Thousands have taken part in the online vote. BBC News has more on this story.

Via: Green Data


Tags: Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, Iran, Blogging, Media by Sistrunk

For the writer in you

Learning how to handle criticism

Feeling hurt because a critic cut your masterpiece to shreds? You're not alone. Criticism and bruised egos are inherent in the communications and publishing business. In a recent article, award-winning author Bonnie Boots offers valuable tips on how to cope with cranky critics. Thanks to Shirazi for the heads up on this gem.

• Writers Can Grow to Be Comfortable with Criticism

Tags: Critics, Criticism, Writing, Publishing, Books, Media by Sistrunk

Gulf residents persevere a year after hurricanes hit

Life after Katrina's devastation

They said she was too frail. That the mold growing on the warped walls of her flooded house would make her ill. That she shouldn't bother since her mottled, mud-filled home would likely be bulldozed anyway.

But Willie Lee Barnes, who recently turned 94, didn't listen.

Click here to read more.

In New Orleans, the infrastructure remains damaged. Nearly 60 percent of homes and business are still not receiving electricity or heating gas. Only three out of nine New Orleans hospitals have reopened. Only 56 of 128 public schools will enroll students this fall.

The city itself still has no master plan.

Those attempting to rebuild their homes have yet to be told how high they will have to raise them. And it's still unclear if the city's patched levees will hold back future floods.

Still, even in the worst-hit neighborhoods, where homes were ripped from their foundations and spit into the street, and where mattresses still lie impaled in the branches of trees, the rebirth is taking place.

While Barnes has chosen to deal with Katrina one way, other Gulf residents have found alternative solutions to cope. Images of the hurricane aftermath are alive on the Internet.

Hundreds of Katrina-themed videos are hosted by YouTube and other video sites, ranging from montages of storm-damaged streets days after the hurricane to more recently created works that show that life is still far from normal.

For some, the movie projects are driven by a desire to share stories that aren't covered by traditional media. Creating and sharing the videos help them find closure.

Sites like YouTube.com, Ourmedia.org and Clipshack.com make it easy for users to watch and share original videos at no charge. Though Katrina-related content is available on other sites, none comes close to the more than 950 movies available on YouTube.

It's no surprise that many families who lived through the trauma of the hurricanes are experiencing flashbacks. Painful memories are triggered. Dr. Deborah Serani offers some great tips on how to cope with trauma and flashbacks.


Tags: Katrina Anniversary, Katrina, Katrina Videos, Hurricane, Media by Sistrunk

Could you pass the 8th grade?

Try this back-to-school quiz

Are you as smart as an eighth-grader?
Take this eight-question online
test to find out. No cheating!

Tags: Back-to-school, quizzes, Education, Media by Sistrunk

The power of popular

Helping girls cope

One of the issues many teens deal with is keeping popularity in perspective. For many girls, gaining and maintaining self-confidence seems to be a particularly daunting challenge. How can parents help? Ruth Peters offers some advice.


Tags: Popularity, Teenagers, Kids, Self-confidence, Parenting, Education, Media by Sistrunk

Desegregation now. Segregation tomorrow?

Examining the changing face of public education

Harvard University's Gary Orfield, director of the Civil Rights Project at Harvard University, has been documenting school segregation in national reports. He has followed the last decade through the Civil Rights Project. His most recent study, "Racial Transformation and the Changing Nature of Segregation," coauthored with Chungmei Lee, analyzes up-to-date research about current school resegregation trends.

According to the report, when data were first collected in the late 1960s, white students made up more than 80 percent of the nations' public school students. Today that number is only 58 percent. Latinos are currently the largest minority group, comprising 19 percent of public school students. (African-Americans currently make up 17 percent, Asians are 4 percent, and Native Americans are 1 percent.)

Orfield and Lee predict that "within a decade there will be fewer than half white students in our nation's public schools," and that "the end of the white majority will lead to a nation of schools without a majority of any one racial group."

Hanna Bordas goes into detail in an article for Ed., the magazine of the Harvard Graduate School of Education.


Tags: Education, Desegregation, Segregation, Resegregation, Educational Equity, Education Policy, Urban Education, African-American, Latino, Civil Rights, Civil Rights Project, Harvard University, Gary Orfield, Media by Sistrunk

Women still playing catch-up in the executive suite

No. 1 problem

If the numbers in a new study are accurate, it could take 40 years for there to be an equal number of women and men in Fortune 500 corporate officer ranks. According to Catalyst, a nonprofit research and advocacy organization that studies women at work, women continue to be underrepresented in top corporate leadership positions.

Is something holding women back? Amy Joyce takes a look.

Related: Rate of Women's Advancement to Top Corporate Officer Positions Slow (pdf), Census of Women Top Earners (pdf)


Tags: Women Executives, Fortune 500, Business, Leadership, Culture, Media by Sistrunk

70th dog year celebration

'Blues Clues' celebrates milestone

On Sunday night "“Blue's Clues"” celebrates its 10th anniversary with a prime-time special, "“Meet Blue'’s Baby Brother." The show is scheduled to air at 8 p.m. Eastern.

This acclaimed series on Nickelodeon is about a powder blue dog, appropriately named Blue, who leaves paw-print clues to help her live-action human master. More importantly, she helps her millions of preschool viewers solve a mystery.

As the title indicates, Blue has a brand-new sibling. The mystery in this hourlong show is just who that lucky puppy is. As the New York Times reports, this special has "childlike charm to spare."


Tags: Blue's Clues, Children, Nickelodeon, Television, Preschool, Education, Media by Sistrunk

New program allows online book browsing

HarperCollins steps up Internet presence

Book publisher HarperCollins said Thursday it was launching a feature on its site called "Browse Inside," which would allow visitors to peer inside the works of some of its most notable authors. The company initially announced last year that it planned to digitize its catalog of books.

Like Amazon.com's "Search Inside!" or Google's Book's search program, HarperCollins'’s initiative allows readers to replicate in cyberspace the experience of going to a bookstore and flipping through a few pages before buying a book. By controlling the digitization, HarperCollins would also control how the books are is distributed.

Some of the publisher's most prominent authors will be digitized. By next year, HarperCollins expects to have nearly all of its titles available through the service.


Tags: Online Books, Books, Publishing, Media by Sistrunk

AOL to offer free Web services

Company steps up the pace for online ad dollars

AOL on Wednesday said it will give away e-mail, software and other Web services for free to high-speed Internet users in a bid to boost online advertising sales. The Internet provider said it would continue to offer its slower dial-up Internet access but will not aggressively market the service.

The AOL transition is set to be completed in early September, and the services to be offered for free include e-mail, instant messaging, a local phone number with unlimited incoming calls as well as safety and security features.

AOL is the online division of the world's largest media company, Time Warner. The Internet provider is undertaking its fourth overhaul in five years. Time Warner has faced pressure from shareholders to extract more value out of AOL and boost its own share price, which hit a two-year low in July.

AOL had already made clear it was interested in changing into an ad-supported Internet network providing information and entertainment to users, migrating away from an Internet access business that continues to lose subscribers.

Related: Will Less Be More for AOL?, AOL to Offer 5GB of Online Storage


Tags: AOL, Internet, Technology, Media by Sistrunk

7:00 a.m.

Spirited poetry/prose by Cecilia

If you're looking for a dose of inspiration or a place to escape, one of the best sites to visit is clearcandy daily. There, Cecilia is "Mistress of the Universe."

This is not the first time I've written about Cecilia, who is not only a talented writer but a sweet spirit. Today I read one of her posts that really resonated with me. Check out 7:00 a.m. Then explore Cecilia's archives. You'll be glad you did.


Tags: Creative Writing, Prose, Poetry, clearcandy daily, Media by Sistrunk