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T 
 
Meeting
 Tuesday, 5:00SCRIPPS 111
Healthcare Discussion
 A publication of the Ohio University 
Society of Professional Journalists
The future remains uncertain for the outcome of the current mediashield law bill within the ranks of Congress. The bill, known formally asthe Free Flow of Information Act, has been stalled in the Senate JudiciaryCommittee for some time now. The Obama administration has recentlysent proposals to the bill, however, that some say would weaken itscurrent protections for journalists.
The Free Flow of Information Act would offer signicant protection to journalists against being forced to reveal their condential sources andmaterials by federal subpoena in court. If passed, it would be the rst
federal shield bill of its kind in the country. While 49 states have sometype of shield law either through statute or common law, the extent of protection differs across the country.The desire for a strong media shield bill has grown out of the numberof cases where reporters have been forced to reveal their sources.
The bill’s rst form of legislation was proposed back in 2005 and
now has spanned four years in the making. It met with some success in
2007. It was passed by the House on Oct. 16, 2007. The measure laterdied within the Senate, only to be re-born again in 2009. The currentHouse bill (H.R. 985) has now passed for the second time, and the Senateversion (S. 448) has been awaiting decision. Some critics of the bill claimit would extend too many privileges to journalists. Tom Hodson, Director
and Associate Professor of the E.W. Scripps School of Journalism, thinks
otherwise. He has had experience dealing with media law in Ohio as both
a judge and practicing attorney, and he has represented several mediaoutlets.“Anytime you can enhance the watchdog function of journalism,it helps the general public to obtain information they might not get
otherwise,” Hodson said. “The public benets more when journalists are
allowed to do their job without fear of going to prison forsource violation.”With theadministration’s newrevisions, it is unclearwhat will happen nextwith the legislation.The administrationhas voiced oppositionto a bill that wouldprotect journalistsfrom revealingsources dealing withmatters of nationalsecurity. Their newproposals to the bill are considered by many media organizations asdetrimental to the legislation’s current protections.
According to Hodson, there are many problems still left to be
resolved. “The actual nature of the bill is far from set in stone,” he
said. “There are many different issues still out there for denition and
resolution. It’s hard to predict what exactly the bill will be like.”
The Free Flow of Information Act is supported by more than 70media organizations across the country, including the Reporters
Committee for Freedom of the Press and the Newspaper Associationof America. One of the largest media coalitions behind the bill is the
Society of Professional Journalists with more than 10,000 members.
The organization has been behind the bill since the beginning, travelingregularly to capital hill to lobby for the bill. Its members have also
raised $30,000 to support a campaign for the passage of the legislation.
“We [SPJ] are not very happy to say the least with the [Obama]administration’s decision,” said Kevin Smith, national chapter SPJ
President. “With the new administration, we were hoping to nally get
somewhere with the legislation. Their decision is very unfortunate.”Smith recently sent out a press release condemning the Obama
administration’s changes to the bill. He is also urging SPJ members
and other journalists to voice their support for the bill by contacting
the White House directly. “If the President could receive at least 1,000
letters from our members in support of the bill, it would really help himto stand up and take attention,” Smith said.
Hodson also believes a federal shield bill to be extremely vital. “If 
you look at the states who have shield laws, they have worked very
well for some time now,” Hodson said. “It’s about time that the federal
government catches up.”
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Shield Law Bill Awaits Its Fate
 The Free Flow of Information Act remains within Congress, as many journalists lobby for its passage.
 story 
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Rachel Swalin art 
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 Rohan Kusre
Inside
Inc.
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Healthcare News
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Internship Info
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How to Keep a Blog
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Print: Alive and Well
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S
 
 A publication of the Ohio University 
Society of Professional Journalists
The Great Healthcare Debate: A Closer Look 
 story 
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Cameron Glover  art 
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Rohan Kusre
SCRIPPS
NEWS
 With the Obama administration making waves in the political realm, the media continue to report on the issue. What effect will the coverage have on viewer opinion and the ultimate result of the healthcare bill?
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Healthcare: The word is everywhere. Whether one knows exactly
what it means or not, there is no avoiding it. From newspapers tomagazines and television to the Internet, practically every media sourcehas been reporting some coverage of the Obama Administration’shealthcare plans and debates. But is there such a thing as too muchcoverage? Better yet, can the amount of coverage affect a person’sopinion about it?The Society of Professional Journalists will be discussing these
questions and more in their next meeting tonight at 5 p.m. in Scripps111. Kevin Zieber and Gina Edwards, both programming directors for
SPJ, will lead a forum focusing on the way that the media is portrayinghealthcare, whether there is a bias in the media coverage and what theresulting coverage is doing to the image and reputation of the media and
 journalists. Zieber and Edwards will give a brief background on media
“buzzwords” and show several video clips portraying examples of fairand poor coverage.“It is a huge issue about which few people seem to have even the most
basic understanding,” Zieber said. He suggests that a possible problem
for reporting on the issue, and others like it, can arise when a journalistforgets or ignores his or her ethicalboundaries. “We also need to look in themirror as journalists and ask ourselveswhat our role is and what pitfalls being amedia star can lead us into.”
In a study conducted in Summer 2009by the Media Research Center’s Business
& Media Institute, results showed thatbroadcast coverage of Obama’s healthcareplan heavily tilted in favor of the liberal
point of view. Among the ndings, theBMI discovered that 70 percent of the
sound bites from three major stations werein favor of Obama’s plan. They also foundthe news stations were exaggerating thenumber of uninsured Americans by almost
40 million people.
The BMI also reported that when thehealthcare plan suffers any type of setback,the news stations barely reported on the
story. On July 17, after having passed anestimated $554 billion tax increase to helppay for the health plans, NBC devoted 12
seconds of its four hour newscast to reportthe tax increase.This media coverage is calling into question the morals of televisionstations, newspapers and other media outlets because of biased reporting.Because the media is playing such a vital role in the debate, answeringthese questions is necessary when discussing the topic.Even unlikely sources are getting involved in the media debate over
healthcare. On Sept. 26, Saturday Night Live, a late night entertainment
and comedy program performed a parody of President Obama,criticizing his healthcare media blitz to almost every television station.The parody included Obama doing interviews with ESPN, The CW andthe Food Network. The show also made a point to show that Obamawould not be doing interviews with the traditionally conservative newsnetwork, Fox News.
From David Letterman to CNN, Obama is using the media to putthe word out about his healthcare reforms in new ways. However, polls
show that the overexposure of healthcare news from the summer throughthe fall has worn out viewers and readers and has begun to turn off theirsupport of the bill.
Professor Kevin Grieves of broadcast journalism and international
media and former writer and producer for CNN says that the type of media coverage of healthcare applies tomany political and social issues.“Broadcast journalism can give voiceto a wide cross-section of people in oursociety, and that’s important with anissue as this one,” he said in an e-mail.“On the other hand, there are those whocriticize broadcast journalists for focusingtoo much on the back-and-forth between
prominent political gures and not enough
on substantive issues related to healthcarereform.”
According to a summary of ndingspublished by The Pew Research Center for
the People & the Press, healthcare remainsat the top of the news agenda for nearly half 
of the 1,003 adults surveyed between Aug.14 and 17, which was an increase from the
previous months’. As the debate continues, journalists and media personalities proceedto provide all sorts of coverage. Just be
careful to notice fact from ction.
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Left Images: SPJ Members paint the wallbehind Bentley Hall on Oct. 12.
 additional reporting
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Caitlin Ash
 
INTERNSHIP
NEWS
 A publication of the Ohio University 
Society of Professional Journalists
T 
The summer months create ample time for aspiring journalisticstudents to build their resumes, so why not enjoy an internship in thesun? The Florida Times-Union is giving students an opportunity tobe a part of their staff in sunny Jacksonville, Fla. The newspaper haswon numerous awards for its writing, design, graphics, photography
and Internet operations, including 40 national, regional, and statewide
awards against other Florida papers. In an effort to involve students, theTimes-Union holds an annual internship for students who hope to workfull time during the summer.The Times-Union offers a choice of positions for internships in copyediting/design, graphics, photography, and reporting. The internshipprogram is conducted throughout the summer and interns may expect
to be employed for approximately 12 weeks. The specic dates of 
employment will be negotiated. The program welcomes students with allmajors, but journalism majors are highly preferred.
Salaries range from $375 to $500 depending on the student’s grade
level.Students will gain enriching experience, as they will have anassortment of assignments and tasks as staff members. Editors will hold
regular meetings to address progress or any difculties. The program
assures interns that the Times-Union will make every effort to distributeassignments that best match interns’ interests.Internships are open to all college students, but preference will begiven to those individuals who have previous experience with dailynewspapers. Selection of the interns for the staff will also favor thosewho have demonstrated interest in a career in print journalism.
Applications must be received by Dec. 1 and the selected interns willbe notied by Feb. 1. The Times-Union requires students’ applications
to include a cover letter and résumé. Applications should consist of the student’s grade point average, a summary of prior journalismexperience, and samples of past work. Two or more references are
required, specically one from within the academic community. Interns
are required to have their own vehicle and are reminded that the Times-Union is a drug free workplace.Interested students should send applications to Coulter Kirkpatrick
Newsroom Ofce Manager (street delivery: One Riverside Avenue,32202) PO Box 1949 Jacksonville, FL 32231. Further questions should
be emailed to Coulter Kirkpatrick at coulter.kirkpatrick@jacksonville.
com. To learn more about the Florida Times-Union, visit http://www.
 jacksonville.com/.
n
Florida Paper Offers Internships in the Sun
Florida Times-Union gives student journalists the chance to enjoy the warm weather and gain great experience.
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         I         N         T         E         R         N         S         H         I         P         S
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