RCFP: Letter from MySpace page not private, court rules

            In the RCFP reports in early April a California court ruled a high school principal who sent a copy of a MySpace journal entry to the local newspaper is not liable for invasion of privacy. University of California at Berkley student, Cynthia Moreno wrote on her MySpace page ranting about her hometown. She deleted the entry after about a week it was on her page. When the principal saw it he sent it to the local newspaper who, printed it. The printed article had Moreno’s full name and upset a lot of people in the community. The Moreno family received lots of death threats, which caused them to eventually move out of town. The family filled a lawsuit against the principle for invasion of privacy and for the intention of causing emotional distress. The courts dismissed the case because of, “the state’s SLAPP statute, which allows the media to move to dismiss lawsuits that target speech in an attempt to block it.”

            Winning a case like this a person has to show the privacy was actually invaded but, because Moreno but the post on her MySpace page for all to see the principle was not invading her privacy. Also, because her full name and picture were on her MySpace page it was not an invasion of privacy to include that in the newspaper article. In the article it stated the court said, “Cynthia’s affirmative act made her article available to any person with a computer and thus opened it to the public eye. Under these circumstances, no reasonable person would have had an expectation of privacy regarding the published material.”

            I don’t think the principal invaded Moreno’s privacy because she did post her rant on the Internet for all to see. For him to go and send it in to a newspaper to print seems a little extreme to me. Maybe he should have written a response to her rant rather than humiliate her intentionally. For the newspaper to print what the principle sent in is lazy journalism. I don’t think the journalist did any research by asking Moreno any questions about why she posted her rant on her MySpace page. Moreno should have taken responsibility for her actions and written an apology letter for the newspaper to print. Then, the members in her community might have been a little more forgiving. 

USA Today: Generation Y: They’ve arrived at work with a new attitude

            Generation Y has as many as 70 million and is just now going out into the workforce.  They are hard workers, have high expectations and are not afraid to ask questions. Some call them “Generation X on steroids.” Gen Y is the largest diversified group of people with one out of every three being a minority. This generation has grown up being nurtured and pampered.  "Generation Y is much less likely to respond to the traditional command-and-control type of management still popular in much of today's workforce," says Jordan Kaplan, an associate managerial science professor at Long Island University-Brooklyn in New York." They've grown up questioning their parents, and now they're questioning their employers. They don't know how to shut up, which is great, but that's aggravating to the 50-year-old manager who says, 'Do it and do it now.' " IT is hard for 50-year-olds to work along side 20-year-olds at times because each dismisses each other’s abilities.

            Generation Y is more aware of their finances. Most have already started to plan saving for their future by age of 25. Gen Y wants change and is not afraid to move companies trying out different jobs. Instead of them making their lives fit their lives they want their jobs to fit their lives. This means more flexibility, part time working and telecommuting options when kids come into the picture. Gen Y has a higher level of self-fulfillment. Also, they want a more casual dress at work including flip-flops and capri pants but most companies do not allow their employees to wear casual attire.

            After reading this article and being in ‘Generation Y’ I would agree with what is being said. We do have higher expectations and want more out of companies. I have grown up with parents always telling me what a good job I’m doing and how proud of me they are. This is how I would want my employer to treat me. My generation is not afraid to ask questions and challenge what is demanded from us because we expect a lot from ourselves. I agree with the article when it says my generation isn’t going to respond well to the command-and-control type of management. We want to know the whys, hows and put in our too sense. I think my generation is going to change the work force. I think we are going to change how its all about the company and make it all about us. I don’t think its going to be a negative thing but a positive because it could change the economy from being money chasers to doing what is best for the people (and not only the company). 

This is a great article about our generation, Generation Y.  

RCFP: Sept. 11 records will likely remain sealed for now

A New York judge might unseal over one million pages of documents related to the 9/11 terrorist attacks but will most likely not release the documents. The documents are lawsuits from the families who lost loved ones against airlines and aviation security companies. The New York Times, victims’ families and the Reporters Committee asked U.S. District Court Judge Alkin K. Hellerstein to release the pages to the public but were denied. The documents might have new information on the security failures that led to the attacks. The airline attorneys are arguing that the release of the documents would delay the civil trial. “The wire service quoted Hellerstein as saying, ‘my goal is to move these cases to trial,’ adding that if the case does indeed go to trial ‘the history of what led to 9/11 may come out to some degree, or maybe it won't."

            I don’t think the documents should not be released because it would delay the trial. They should be released if they are going to expose the airlines and security contractors for doing a poor job. Fair justice should be made and I think releasing the documents would help other airlines and security contractors from making the same mistakes. I almost think its silly to not release the documents because it’s going to take too long to sort through them. 

CNN: Can Second Life help teach doctors to treat patients?

Second Life is an online learning program where medical students at Imperial College London are seeing patients, ordering X-rays, making diagnoses and consulting with colleagues all online. Even though it is not real there is still an interactive and hands-on experience. Students use alter egos called avatars to interact with each other online. The third-year med students are part in this pilot program for game-based learning. It’s a way for students to breakup the lecture and textbook learning. "The aim is to develop a more engaging learning environment, rather than just replicate what you have in real life, said Maria Toro-Troconis, a senior learning technologist at Imperial College London. Game-based learning plays a very important role." Also, “Toro-Troconis is looking into possible partnerships with other universities around the world. She envisions a day when nursing students from Australia use Second Life to collaborate with physical therapists from Japan and medical students from the U.S. -- all of them playing, and learning, together in a virtual environment.”

I think this is one of the coolest ideas in teaching medical students. It is a more interesting method to learn, rather than using textbooks and lectures. I know I would enjoy an “on-line gaming” experience much more than the traditional teaching techniques. I think this Second Life program will help students become more engaged in the classroom with lecture discussions. Also, I think it will help students have a more “visual effect” on the reading material, allowing them to actually see what they read. I believe this type of learning is going to spread like wild fire when people are more acceptable of digital print over paper print. Before people are acceptable of total digital print I don’t know what will come first, a total newspaper cross over or all academics incorporating this type of teaching in the curriculum.

Octuplet mom gains public sympathy

http://www.cnn.com/video/#/video/showbiz/2009/03/28/sbt.octumom.babies.home.cnn


Is she really as bad as the media has made her out to be?

RCFP: Bills to bar Internet regulation, limit data collection introduced

            “A House bill designed to prevent attempts to regulate the Internet was part of a package of privacy measures introduced in late July. Included in the bill are prohibitions against regulating the rates charged to the customers of Internet information services, as well as against imposing federally-mandated standards on the industry.” The act will require industries to show users who are seeing the information. Also, users have to give consent to release their information. Secondly, before information is solicited to children parental permission must be given. Lastly, the bill gives users the option to “opt out” of giving personal information. Finally, the third bill will ban the ability to modify scanners to intercept cell phone calls.

            I think after reading this article the bills are a great idea and will help protect Internet users. The Internet is growing at a fast-rate and there are more and more hackers stealing people’s identity on the Internet. These bills are another “patch” in the wireless system. Unfortunately, the government or whomever else are working to protect users will hit a dead end and will have to come up with other means to protect Internet users.  

RCFP: Chicago freelancer arrested, again, on the job

Mike Anzaldi, 12-year veteran journalist has been arrested twice in the last month on obstruction charges. The latest arrest was for “allegedly being told he couldn’t take photos of a police-involved shooting.” Police have decided to not move forward with the charges from the second arrest but on Dec. 4 he goes on trial for his first arrest.

 On Oct. 22 when he arrived to the crime scene neighbors invited him onto their property to take photos and videotape. He was asked to stop once but when he later started recording police spokeswomen asked for his credentials. Anzaldi had left his police-issued press pass in his car and claims Chicago does require journalists to carry them. The police told reporters he crossed the line at least once but on his police report it says two or three times. Anzaldi claims he never crossed the line.

            Anzaldi says he wasn’t targeted on the first arrest. It was just a sensitive crime scene and, “ ‘I personally happened to be in the wrong place at the wrong time’ -- caught between a high-stakes police event and the First Amendment.” Anzaldi says the second arrest he did feel like a “marked man.” The article also said, “That second case was thrown out, Anzaldi said, after the officer didn't show up in court, freeing him up to prepare for trial in early December on the prior charges.” Anzaldi is still out covering the news but taking more precautions. He said,  “’I’m not going to go up to the point that I know legally I could go, because I could end up in jail.’ He's hoping in court, ‘cooler heads’ will win the day.”

            The second arrest I think was deserved because after Anzaldi was told to not film or take photos he did. Anzaldi deliberately disobeyed which made the police upset. The one thing you never do is upset the police because they can and will take you to jail for not “obeying the law.” I also think the police make it hard for reporters to do their jobs. In one of the incidents Anzaldi camera was taken from him and 500 photos were deleted from his camera. I think his photos should not have been messed with because the reason he was arrested was for walking over crime scene lines not for taking illegal photos. 

RCFP: Lobbyist settles libel lawsuit against New York Times

Lobbyist Vicki Iseman settled a libel lawsuit against The New York Times. Iseman was suing The New York Times over an article published over one year ago accusing her of having an affair with Sen. John McCain. Iseman said the article left readers believing her and McCain had a romantic relationship. McCain denied the affair immediately after the story was published. There was a joint statement announced by the newspaper and Iseman’s lawyer posted on the Times’ website. The newspaper did not apologize for what was printed by stating, “we stand by our coverage,” “and we are proud of it.” To resolve the lawsuit the Times’ wrote a note to readers saying exactly this, “the article did not state, and The Times did not intend to conclude, that Ms. Iseman had engaged in a romantic affair with Senator McCain or an unethical relationship on behalf of her clients in breach of the public trust.”

            I don’t really know what to believe in this situation. I think it was pretty bold of the newspaper to say they stand by what they printed. I do not believe the newspaper would have printed this story without having hardcore reliable sources confirming the affair. If a public figure is going to engage in this type of activity I think it is the newspaper’s job to print the facts and expose the truth of political figures.

RCFP: Victory for online speech in Maryland

            The highest court in Maryland ruled a newspaper-owned forum Website does not have to reveal the names of three bloggers who anonymously posted comments about a Dunkin’ Donuts shop owned by Zebulon Brodie.  Brodie alleged the statements about the shop he owned as, “one ‘of the most dirty and unsanitary-looking food-service places I have seen,’ were defamatory, and he subpoenaed Independent Newspapers for the identities of the anonymous commenters.” When the trial court ordered the newspaper company to identify the names of the bloggers they appealed and the highest court decided to take the case, which is unusual. The article stated, “In the opinion, the court recognized the need to balance the First Amendment issues with the right to seek protection against a defamation claim.” Then the court adopted a five-part test that, “recognizes that anonymous bloggers be notified when a subpoena is seeking their identity, requires the plaintiff to set forth a basis for his or her lawsuit, and weighs the First Amendment concerns against the need to protect the plaintiff from defamatory statements.” The Reporters Committee filed a friend-of-the-court brief so the court would protect the bloggers and adopt the five-part test.

            I think this case is important because bloggers have the right to post whatever they want on the Internet especially in situations like this one. The whole point of blogging is to share ones opinion. The fact is three bloggers went on the Internet and posted their thoughts about a Dunkin’ Donuts shop and the owner got upset. In my opinion, the purpose of the lawsuit was to make Brodie feel better because he was embarrassed about that statements posted on the forum. If one person had posted on the forum Brodie wouldn’t have cared but because there were three he decided to take it to court. Instead of paying all the court and lawyer fees, Brodie should have paid a cleaning service to come sanitize his donut shop.  

RCFP: AP alleges copyright infringement of Obama photo

"What makes me uneasy is that it kind of suggests that anybody's photograph is fair game, even if it uses the entire image, and it remains recognizable, and it's not just used in a collage," Columbia University law professor Jane Ginsburg told The AP.  "I think that's pretty radical." 

Robin Gross, an attorney with civil liberties organization IP Justice, told the wire service she thinks Fairey was within his rights to base his painting on the photo because he meant for the work to have a political, rather than a commercial, use.

If Fairey wins this case and doesn’t have to give compensation I think there will be a lot more cases that re-open and new ones that emerge. I think The AP is right and deserves compensation because Fariey took the origninal photo and put some color in it. If he had made up his own photo it would be a different story. The fact is Fairey did not use his own original photo he used someone else’s and put his coloring into it and called it his which is not right. 

RCFP: Negative Political Ads Hurt the United States

In the article Leach argues that negative campaigning hurts Americans. He says, “In politics, there are few rules and no referees. The public must be on perpetual guard and prepared to throw flags when candidates overstep the bounds of fairness and decency. Our system of governance depends on accountability of public officials. So, a healthy regard for freedom of speech and a heavy dose of respect for the offbeat are important.” Leach also talks about how money is drug and is what allows the ads to be printed. Politicians divide voters with poorly chosen rhetoric and campaign techniques. They put fear in voters, which is not what needs to be done.

I agree with Leach when he says, “The duty of public officials is to inspire hope rather than manipulate fear. Whatever the issues, the temptation to appeal to the darker side of human nature must be avoided. The stakes are too high.” It makes me angry when I think about politicians manipulating the public and causing fear instead of hope inside voters. The job of a politician is to be the voice for the people. 

Forbes: Game, Not Gore, Keeps Video Players Playing

There are many people who believe violent video games lead to violent behavior. They University of Rochester and Immersyve Inc., conducted a study showing there is actually a deeper satisfaction that trumps violence among gamers. They found that gore and bloodiness could actually detract from gamers "fun factor." In my opinion I do not believe violence in video games cause violent behavior. I think people are predisposed to bad behavior. I think video gaming is a fun activity for most kids in America. I am curious to find more about the furthering of the study. When researchers find out what motivates people to play the violent video games it will show the games do not make violent people. 

RCFP: Golden Globe "middle finger" incident

Darren Aronofsky gave his middle finger to actor Mickey Rourke who was on stage accepting an award during live television. The incident happened during child-sensitive hours (6 a.m. to 10 p.m.) which violates FCC rules. The FCC is in a "transitional period" and does not know if they will action against NBC. 

I don't exactly understand how it is completely fair to punish/fine a television station for airing the actions of someone else on LIVE television. NBC had no control over Mr. Aronofsky. I do believe Mr. Aronofsky's actions were offensive but telling people they cannot flip someone else off is violating our 1st Amendment. If people had to sign a contract stating all the rules and regulations before they attended an event maybe it would make them more conscience of their actions.