Apple dabbling in making a search engine. Why citizen journalists got no love from Minnesota Senator Norm Coleman. Inside Frank Gehry’s makeover of the Art Gallery of the Ontario. Dive deep inside the top stories making news right now.
Digital Journal — The big news stories this week still revolve around the Obama machine, from his grandmothers to the kids who admire him to national holidays to honour the president-elect. Well, at least Palin news has fallen off the radar…mostly.
Also, readers were treated to stories about Apple’s possible search engine, attacks against citizen media, an obsessive American Idol contestant and Saturn’s giant aurora situated at its pole.
These are the top stories making news right now:
• What About Obama’s Grandmothers?: In light of the death of Obama’s grandmother, this article explored how his other step-grandmother wants to gain entry into the U.S. to see his inauguration. The piece sparked a torrential downpour of comments, giving rise to a debate on race.
• Obama to Reverse Over 200 Bush Actions and Executive Orders: It was only a few days after the win, and already Obama is making news for his proposals when he takes over the White House. He plans to reverse the limit on federal funding of embryonic stem cell research, for instance, and also remove restrictions that “deny California the authority to regulate carbon dioxide emissions from automobiles”. Do you agree with his ideas?
• National Holiday for Obama in the Works: Are the rumours true? Are people planning to make a national holiday to honour Barack Obama? That was the crux of a Citizen Journalist’s story that attracted a few suggestions for the name of the holidays, such as Barbara Sowell’s “Merry Barackmas Day.”
• 7-Year-Old Blogger Gets Letter from Barack Obama: Wait, Obama replies to a child’s letter? It’s either a smart PR stunt or a way to show he cares about the lil’ ones. A seven-year-old blogging child received a letter from Obama, thanking him for the support. The politician is already currying favour from the lobbyists who are also pushing for more favourable donations to candy and Elmo Live-related policies.
• McCain Fails to Defend Palin on Tonight Show Appearance: In the GOP fallout, it looks like McCain isn’t rushing to defend Sarah Palin. On the Tonight Show, he didn’t sound too high up on his running mate, saying some tactful things about campaigning with her but doing little to heap praise on the woman. Bitter grapes perhaps?
• Adult Film Director Offers Alaska Gov. Palin $2 Million to Appear in Porn: More Palin news? This story was too juicy not to attract a high readership: a porn director has offered Palin $2 million to appear in a skin flick and, as expected, Palin has not responded to the offer. Sykos Masters couldn’t resist throwing in a little dig: “As long as she doesn’t have too many lines to remember, she should do fine. Lord knows she’s used to ‘handlers’ by now.”
• MN Sen. Norm Coleman Bars ‘Citizen Journalists’ at TheUptake.Org Again: Citizen journalists were removed from an RNC “media only” event held by Sen. Norm Coleman, who barred citizen reporters from TheUptake.org from covering the press conference. Also, the “Coleman campaign has refused to answer questions of TheUptake.org’s reporters at publicly held functions.” Is this the right tactic for politicians to take against citizen journalists?
• Pet Parrot Saves Life of Choking Toddler: Here’s what should be TV’s latest reality show: When Animals Save Lives. True story out of Denver: a parrot alerted a babysitter to a child choking on a Pop Tart, saving the kid’s life with typical parrot squawking. If this bird doesn’t get a medal, it’d be a travesty.
• Aurora on Saturn unlike anything seen before: The headline said it all — an enormous aurora has been discovered covering a pole on the planet Saturn. We’re talking high energy level physics here, so don’t be surprised if scientists reveal more facts about this stunning find.
• Is Apple Contemplating Creating A Search Engine?: It’s the question of the week for tech observers. Apple is supposedly thinking about designing its own search engine, but the article reveals several roadblocks: Apple would have to hire more engineers, and Apple also profits from Google by raking in regular fees. As the writer ponders, what’s Apple’s slant here?
• The View’s Joy Behar Calls Leno An A-Hole Live On Tonight Show: In other Tonight Show news, The View’s Joy Behar snapped a quick comeback at Jay Leno, calling him an “asshole” for making remarks about her weight. Is this the beginning of a talk show feud? Is a Leno-Behar primetime brawl in the works?
• 2006 American Idol Contestant And Obsessed Fan Found Dead Near Paula Abdul’s Home: In the department of Obsessive Compulsive Fans, an American Idol contestant took a drastic step into darkness by committing suicide on the lawn of Paula Abdul’s home, the object of her recent stalking. A statement released by Abdul said she was “deeply shocked and saddened.” What do you think about celebrity obsession? Do people take it too far?
A special kudos to Stephen Dohnberg for his excellent reportage found in An Interview About Afghani Women’s Rights and Rebuilding in the Face of Politics. Interviewing Homemakers Magazine editor Kathy Ullyott about Afghani politics, women’s rights and much more, this Citizen Journalist gave readers a fascinating Q&A that took us across the world to the Middle East. It was only part one so stay tuned to Stephen’s next few parts to learn more about this newsworthy topic.
And in ACORN: License Landlords in Toronto Now, CJ Khalid Magram worked hard to report on a meeting about licensing landlords in Toronto. Providing original quotes and photos nicely fleshed out a story on the minds of many Torontonians, and we applaud Khalid for doing what he does best — attend events in person, offer colour and context, and find the top stories making headlines in the Big Smoke.
Two episodes of Digital Journal TV graced the website this week. First, Digital Journal’s David Silverberg gave tech lovers tips on how to best take advantage of Bluetooth, a wireless protocol connecting gadgets to each other. If you’ve ever been curious on what cellphone headset is best for you, and which website answers all your Bluetooth questions, don’t miss this helpful segment.
And major news in the fine art and architecture worlds: Frank Gehry unveiled his redesign of the Art Gallery of Ontario, and editor Chris Hogg toured the venerable Toronto building to give viewers a sneak peek into the eye-popping rooms and artwork adorning the revitalized AGO. You can say you saw it first on Digital Journal TV!
TopFinds Awards
The winners of this week’s TopFinds Awards attracted the most attention and widest readership. Digital Journal honours the following Citizen Journalists with Awards for their ardent reportage and passion for covering the top issues of the day: Barbara Sowell, Chris V. Thangham, Can Tran, Stephen Dohnberg, Nikki Weingartner, and Paul Wallis.
