Move over Anna and Britney

Have you heard about Anna Nicole? What do you think about Britney returning to rehab for the third time? Most people would immediately know what I'm talking about. But who can say they know about the recent happenings in Iraq? Not many.

An article on the St. Petersburg Times site claims the happenings with these two ladies' lives is considered news. I'm not going to argue against that statement, however, it has been blown way out of proportion and received more than enough media coverage. The objective of being a journalist is to report information to give citizens enough information to be part of a community. Why would someone have the necessity to know all the minor details on these two celebrities in order to function in their community? The action in Iraq and even news about the most recent Iowa snow storm serve to be more important news, since these events are directly related to us as citizens.

The news about Anna and Britney once was hot and fresh news, but it's now cold and stale. It's old, so people should get over it. In regards to the utility system, people would benefit more by being kept up to date with more daily news, than being constantly bombarded by all this old celebrity news. I definitely feel like this celebrity news is getting in the way and taking up a large portion of space that could and should be used for more urgent news that's going on in our world.

Polish name pun equals no fun

The New Yorker magazine featured a satirical cartoon making shots at a Polish name. The publication of this cartoon has left many people enraged.

The drawing by veteran cartoonist Bob Weber appeared in the Feb. 19 issue of the magazine and depicts two kids chatting at a bus stop with the caption, "My parents named me Zbigniew because they were drunk."

Zbigniew is a well known Polish name. Why couldn't the cartoonist come up with a totally off the wall name? Or something that was actually related to the act of drinking? Here's a good one. "My parents named me Bud and my middle name is Weiser because they're alcoholics." No one would be offended and Budweiser beer would actually get its name advertised. It's a win-win situation.

However, in this case, people of Polish decent are greatly offended. What is the cartoon saying? Polish people are drunks? Polish people are stupid? Polish people have outlandish names? The list could go on for miles.

"I'm assuming the person who drew this hates Polish people," said Anna Doda, a music store owner who has been in the U.S. for 20 years.

The cartoonist is guilty of breaking the rights ethical system, which claims individuals have rights to not be discriminated against in regards to their race, gender, class, age, sex, and/or handicap.

Wishful craze over graves

Would you pay money for a magazine loaded with obituaries? The New York Sun and the Wall Street Journal think they've stumbled across a booming new idea they want to put into action next year.

Obit calls itself "the hottest thing in periodicals since the golden years of Esquire and Playboy, that will leave an indelible mark on American society."

This magazine, The Obit, will contain obituaries as well as the "latest innovations in longevity and health", which will lead to discussions of death. Profiting off the baby boomers generation with this mind frame is rather disturbing. Come on, this magazine's purpose is to make money off the loss of many loved ones. There are way too many areas in which the publication of this magazine could ethically go down the tube. First of all, the Obit would have to have written consent from the families of the deceased person to have their obituary published. In most cases, it will also be hard to convince families The Obit staff does not seek to take advantage of their loss. Respect of families is a huge issue that needs to be dealt with as well.

I find this issue greatly relates to Machiavellian thoughts. People lie and are greedy. Appearance is everything. In this case, it appears to elderly people they're buying into something worthwhile, when in actuality they're being used for their money.

The Obit just seems downright depressing. Who wants to read about others who died and the idea death soon awaits you? Elderly people should be spending money on retirement plans, not wasting it on nonsense magazines. Once The Obit gets off its feet next year, I predict it will dig its own grave and be buried and forgotten.

Rape article ensues more pain to victims

The Recorder, a student newspaper at Central Connecticut State University, recently has caused several students raging anger and pain because of their "satirical" article about rape. Editors of the paper claim the article was expected to be interpreted in a lighter manner across campus.

While reading about this tragic journalism mishap, I failed to find any information that the opinion editor was even remotely trying to bring attention to the issue of how women can protect or stop themselves from being a victim of rape. The whole article basically listed how rape benefits the victims, especially fat and ugly women. If anything, the only message the editor seemed to get across was that the victims ask for it.

In a statement released Thursday afternoon, Jack Miller, university president, said the article crossed the lines of journalistic freedom. "Rape is a profound violation of body and spirit, and to make light of it, even in satire, is abhorrent," Miller said. "We need to be sure that students understand that such hateful speech is not protected and simply is not worthy, on any ground, of publication."

This article violates several ethical values and it makes one wonder what exactly these journalism students were thinking when they published this article. In regards to advocacy, there was no sense of responsibility at all. A responsible writer would have at least added a side note that the article was satirical and may be found offensive. Or they could have atleast taken the time to end their article on a more serious note stating the fact that rape is a horrendous act that needs to be taken care of. This is also closely tied to honesty. This article was nowhere close to having high standards of accuracy and truth. Independence is just about the only value accounted for with this article. The editors will be held accountable for their actions.

Overall, this article was unfair. They should respect opinions of those who were victims. Publishing this piece also goes against the rights value because it discriminates against those who are/were rape victims. You wouldn't see an article making fun of mentally handicapped children or people with cancer, so why would this be an exception? You're just asking to get burned if you publish an article making fun of situations or issues that are incredibly sensitive.

Oops, you all look alike

Have you ever gotten your name misprinted in the newspaper? How about having your name as an error simply because of your race? Unfortunately, this seems to be a common mistake that has been noticed by several readers of Rolling Stone, New York Times, Washington Times, and Washington Post. A web writer, David Mills, posted a column about this racist mistake that has been seen way too many times in the media.

The people we're talking about here aren't just semi-famous people. They are big stars in the music industry, movie industry, and the list goes on. Writers for any of the above media outlets ought to have hired editors/proofreaders who are capable of catching simple mistakes like these. But for some reason they are slipping up.

“A review of the concert film ‘Fade to Black’ in Weekend yesterday misidentified a star appearing in the film with the rapper Jay-Z. She was Foxy Brown, not Lil' Kim. Because of an editing error, a picture caption misidentified the singer dressed all in white. He was R. Kelly, not Jay-Z.”

It links to that old racist trope of “they all look alike.” And I simply can’t imagine the media so frequently misidentifying white people of similar status (nor can I find evidence of it).

This may seem like a pure coincidence, but it has been caught by so many people that it has to brought into the spotlight. Looking at this issue from an ethical viewpoint, frequently misprinting black peoples' names is violating the ethical system of rights. Blacks, too, are insured of ethical rights without being discriminated against.

Confined website password leads to arrest

Lancaster County Coroner G. Gary Kirchner was caught red-handed breaking the law by giving access to a county website that is supposed to be restricted. This website has recordings kept by the coroner, fire officials and emergency responders.

Kirchner was accused of breaching the security of the 911 communications center Web site and violating the public trust "to help a small group of reporters gain an edge over competing media outlets."

Two opposing coaches of a game wouldn't show the other coach their secret play, so why would Kirchner give reporters access to the county website? It's plain cheating. This situation also makes one ponder if the reporters had an ethical relationship with Kirchner in the first place. What did Kirchner get in return from these reporters?

Kirchner's punishment abides by the rule of utility. His arrest was done for the good of the public. If everyone knew the password to the county site then private information could fall into the wrong hands of people.

Who can we trust today? Hobbes says we need firm control from a strong leader. In Kirchner's case, the Leviathon is the police department who made his arrest. People are greedy, nasty and brutal and therefore can't be trusted with private information.