Wednesday, January 28, 2009
Increasing Budget Cuts
Talks of recent budget cuts affecting WSU continue to increase as time goes on. According to a press release, WSU President Floyd, Provost and Vice President Bayly notified university deans, vice presidents and chancellors to prepare for an additional 20 percent cut. What is in danger of the budget cuts? A private source said that everything is on the table, anything could get cut. I have not confirmed yet, but a source said that University of Washington is freezing new student admissions. What does this mean for student admissions at WSU? What about new graduate students? What will the new budget plan entail? How big of a hit will academics take in ratio to administration, university beautification projects, campus lighting, and other non-academic areas? What can the individual do to help?
Monday, January 26, 2009
Cancer and Alcohol Research Reveals Potential New Therapies
According to a WSU press release, in a study regarding malignant melanoma and alcohol consumption, “it was discovered that increased alcohol consumption resulted in decreased spread of the cancer into the lungs of mice,” but it did not extend their lives. Researcher Gary Meadows, director of Washington State University’s Chronic Illness Research Center was awarded a five-year, $1 million grant last fall from the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (NIAAA) in part to try to explain the mechanism behind this paradoxical discovery. What is the explanation? Do they have it in part or in full yet?
The press release notes many of the known health aspects of increased alcohol consumption, and provides several others as well. Meadows and assistant professors in the College of Pharmacy say they will use the grant to answer several questions regarding the links between cancer and alcohol. What answers do they hope/think they will find?
The press release also mentions a vaccine treatment in development for melanoma and a few other tumors. What does this entail? What are the key components to this development? Is it strictly preventative or can it be used on patients who already have cancer?
What do these discoveries mean for WSU, for alcohol consumers, for Meadows?
Murrow College to assume management of KWSU/KTNW
According to a WSU press release, in an effort to maximize resources and increase efficiency, WSU President Elson S. Floyd has directed that the operation of the university’s two public television stations, KWSU/Pullman and KTNW/Richland, consolidate under the Murrow College by Feb. 1.
What does this mean for the stations? Will the station content remain entirely under student control or will the transfer of the stations directly under a school program create an opportunity for censorship by the administration? What directly prompted this decision by President Floyd?
In the press release, Dean of the Murrow College, Erica Austin provides several of the benefits to the students.
“As a college, this is a move that will allow us to harness our academic vision of developing a model teaching experience, much like that of a teaching hospital,” Austin said according to the press release. “Students will be afforded the opportunity to greatly enhance their classroom experience through their participation in a real, operating television studio.”
In the press release, station manager for KWSU and KTNW, Warren Wright, concurs with Austin. But what do the students currently involved think about the change?
Are the WSU public radio stations next?
What does this mean for the stations? Will the station content remain entirely under student control or will the transfer of the stations directly under a school program create an opportunity for censorship by the administration? What directly prompted this decision by President Floyd?
In the press release, Dean of the Murrow College, Erica Austin provides several of the benefits to the students.
“As a college, this is a move that will allow us to harness our academic vision of developing a model teaching experience, much like that of a teaching hospital,” Austin said according to the press release. “Students will be afforded the opportunity to greatly enhance their classroom experience through their participation in a real, operating television studio.”
In the press release, station manager for KWSU and KTNW, Warren Wright, concurs with Austin. But what do the students currently involved think about the change?
Are the WSU public radio stations next?
Wednesday, January 21, 2009
News Organizations
aljazeera.com
I have usually considered Aljazeera to be one of the most unbiased news organizations. However, I say most, not completely, because while they do not appear to have taken a general right/left stance on politics, they do clearly disapprove of the manner in which President Bush handled things in the Middle East. They also use slanted words and phrases at times like, "Historical Mystery of Bush's Presidency," and "Will Bush’s legacy turn out to be an everlasting adoption of a phrase that endlessly justifies an ongoing drain on our nation’s purse strings for weapons, occupations, and invasions?" Aside from these, the website seems to offer a fairly well balanced account on the happenings of the region. There is substantial coverage of the U.S. election, but to the degree of what that means for that region, and it is not top news. As, I have noted in the past, I think that this news organization bears similarity to the coverage that Murrow gave during WWII, but in a different way. It tends to cover both sides equally (equal air time), but perhaps not in the same light. I choose this organization first for well-rounded coverage of the war rather than its politics.
Foxnews.com
This site's front page shows a picture of Obama celebrating, with the headline "Dancing the Night Away." The other story headlines regarding the election and other news read straight to the point, without bias. However the juxtaposition of face time those have in relation to the photo and its caption, "President and first lady twirl their way through 10 all-star inaugural balls into the early morning," slant the overall appearance of the site. It is clearly conservative. The other headlines give equal coverage to the election, and other news regarding the country. There is also plenty of text in relation to photos and ads. Murrow would not approve of this layout in combination with word choice, because it paints a biased picture of the President's actions. Coverage of the inauguration speech and actions the President intends to take should have dominant attention. Details about the dancing and celebrating should not be front and center.
New York Times
This site is very easy to navigate. The tabs take you to news, arts, opinion etc. From there, you can navigate to more detail. I.e. news-world-Asia pacific etc. There are a lot of ads, which can be a bit distracting, but there is also a lot of print. The front page is a collage of election coverage. The articles seemed to be in a positive light. Navigation tabs are stacked on a sidebar. There really aren't many stories not concerning the election, featured on the homepage. If you click on "Today's Paper," the front page is the same, for coverage. The world news page gives a more well-rounded variety of coverage. The U.S. News page also offers more of a variety of national coverage than the front or home pages. Murrow would approve that the articles of the home and front pages are relevant and address differing angles on the new Presidency. He may criticize the lack of variety in news stories on display. I enjoy the New York Times as a well-written, well-investigated news option. The arrangement of stories may be a bit biased, but the stories themselves tend to be critical and well-rounded.
I have usually considered Aljazeera to be one of the most unbiased news organizations. However, I say most, not completely, because while they do not appear to have taken a general right/left stance on politics, they do clearly disapprove of the manner in which President Bush handled things in the Middle East. They also use slanted words and phrases at times like, "Historical Mystery of Bush's Presidency," and "Will Bush’s legacy turn out to be an everlasting adoption of a phrase that endlessly justifies an ongoing drain on our nation’s purse strings for weapons, occupations, and invasions?" Aside from these, the website seems to offer a fairly well balanced account on the happenings of the region. There is substantial coverage of the U.S. election, but to the degree of what that means for that region, and it is not top news. As, I have noted in the past, I think that this news organization bears similarity to the coverage that Murrow gave during WWII, but in a different way. It tends to cover both sides equally (equal air time), but perhaps not in the same light. I choose this organization first for well-rounded coverage of the war rather than its politics.
Foxnews.com
This site's front page shows a picture of Obama celebrating, with the headline "Dancing the Night Away." The other story headlines regarding the election and other news read straight to the point, without bias. However the juxtaposition of face time those have in relation to the photo and its caption, "President and first lady twirl their way through 10 all-star inaugural balls into the early morning," slant the overall appearance of the site. It is clearly conservative. The other headlines give equal coverage to the election, and other news regarding the country. There is also plenty of text in relation to photos and ads. Murrow would not approve of this layout in combination with word choice, because it paints a biased picture of the President's actions. Coverage of the inauguration speech and actions the President intends to take should have dominant attention. Details about the dancing and celebrating should not be front and center.
New York Times
This site is very easy to navigate. The tabs take you to news, arts, opinion etc. From there, you can navigate to more detail. I.e. news-world-Asia pacific etc. There are a lot of ads, which can be a bit distracting, but there is also a lot of print. The front page is a collage of election coverage. The articles seemed to be in a positive light. Navigation tabs are stacked on a sidebar. There really aren't many stories not concerning the election, featured on the homepage. If you click on "Today's Paper," the front page is the same, for coverage. The world news page gives a more well-rounded variety of coverage. The U.S. News page also offers more of a variety of national coverage than the front or home pages. Murrow would approve that the articles of the home and front pages are relevant and address differing angles on the new Presidency. He may criticize the lack of variety in news stories on display. I enjoy the New York Times as a well-written, well-investigated news option. The arrangement of stories may be a bit biased, but the stories themselves tend to be critical and well-rounded.
Monday, January 12, 2009
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
