Journalism or Activism?

An interesting story from the kids in the WOWO news room. 

A news story that, apparently, is also a call to action. 

The question really is, did WOWO merely cut and paste another press release......or is WOWO now practicing activist journalism?

While the reader is not instructed to act, per se, the inclusion of an active link in the story gives an advantage to one side and over the other. 

Before anyone gets their bowels in an uproar, a reliable source indicates this was merely a case of "cut and paste" journalism and not an attempt at activism. However, the Maven wonders why the story is still active and viewable.  

21Alive Doesn't Have A Clue....

If you read the news story, it's clear that 21Alive has no idea what they are talking about.

The first sentence of the story is untrue. The Indiana Toll Road does NOT have a new owner. It is still owned by the State of Indiana, as it has always has been.

What has a new owner is the company leasing the Toll Road from the state. 

Once again the media takes a simple story and makes it a confusing cluster-foxtrot. That's how they roll.  

It's a sad commentary on the media and journalism when this guy knows more about owning vs leasing than our local news media.

Now, That's Reporting....Not!

It's no secret that the city's chest-thumping, self-promoting beacon of news and information, Marconi-award winning radio station does little or no original news reporting. Instead the once-revered WOWO news room merely regurgitates the work of other media outlets "from our partners in news at (21Alive, the Journal-Gazette, the Hooterville World-Guardian, etc)". 

WOWO also has an annoying habit of passing off press releases as their own reporting. 

Here's a text-book example: 

So, what's wrong with this? While it's not criminal, it is lazy, it's bad journalism, and to some in the business might say it's fraud. While the Maven won't go quite that far, the Maven will agree that it's lazy and does not serve the audience well because it's not an honest attempt to inform and entertain, it's merely going through the motions of being a public relations megaphone for IFPW. 

The Maven has always concluded that the Marconi judges must have been well-toasted (read: drunk) during the judging for this "award". 

.

15 Finds Out? Sure

Just one question. 

Will WANE TV also report how the media has historically bent over backwards to coddle and protect Glenbrook Square in their news coverage, always at the expense of the "other mall" on the South end of town? It's gone now. 

The double-standard has become legendary. A purse-snatching, sexual assault, or shooting was always reported as occurring at "Southtown Mall", but a purse-snatching, sexual assault, or shooting on the North end was always reported as occurring "in the 4200 block of Coldwater road". 

Glenbrook's big ad budget, and the threat of losing it, has colored the news coverage in Fort Wayne for decades. 

And WANE TV was an integral part of it.

If we are going to point fingers at who is screwing Southeast Fort Wayne, let's include everyone. 

Poor Taste or Agenda-Driven?

The Maven cannot decide. Was this morning's headline announcing Tom Smith's primary election loss just poor taste, or another sign of the Journal's continued bias? 

Whatever the case, the Journal is just being the Journal.