This blog has moved to: http://cressman.blogspot.com/

Please visit me there.

I've finally given up on Blogwave Studio for Mac. It was a nice program until the developer "updated" it last fall and it hasn't worked for me since.

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In case you missed it, video is now posted of the Rajin' Cajin putting egg on his face. James Carville had confidently predicted a Kerry victory when he appeared on Meet the Press before the election. On Sunday he re-appeared on Meet The Press and provided the egg spectacle.

Ana Marie Cox, the woman who produces the Wonkette! blog told an online journalism conference in Los Angeles over the weekend that bloggers did nothing wrong by providing exit poll information on election day that turned out to be wrong. She and other bloggers had received criticism over their election coverage. Cox told the Online News Association conference that because of blogs, mainstream news organizations can't "sit on a story."

The Sunday New York Times has a lengthy profile of Tom Brokaw, who retires from NBC Nightly News on December 1. "Life is filled with seasons," Brokaw tells the Times. "And this is a different season." The story is particularly illuminating for its description of how Brokaw and then-executive producer Jeff Gralnick retooled Nightly and took the lead from ABC's World News Tonight, a lead it has not relinquished since. According to the article, NBC "junked the time-honored strategy of lining up the 10 most important reports of the day, starting with a traditional news account," instead going for "something they called 'the beginning' -- not necessarily the leading news story but the starting point most interesting to viewers." The broadcast also added the 'In Depth' and 'Fleecing of America' features. Earlier: 'Nightly' facelift (Nov 9)

Sometimes college professors get pleasant little surprises. Earlier this week I learned that one of my students had chosen me as her "favorite professor." That student is Lexi Brown, a starter on BYU's volleyball team. Tonight, the team's "favorite professors" were introduced on the court before a match against Wyoming, where Lexi presented me with a signed volleyball. After the game she met my sons. Very cool! I don't know quite how to thank Lexi. She's a real sweetheart and a great student. And it turns out a terrific volleyball player. She played a big role in a three-game sweep over Wyoming, posting 11 kills.

The CIA analyst who wrote Imperial Hubris under the Anonymous pen name has resigned from the spy agency. The CIA had ordered him to not speak about his views. Michael Scheuer's book is critical of the administration's approach to terrorism. Although he makes clear in the book that he was no fan of Clinton, he lays out the case that the Bush administration does not have a grasp of the most basic intelligence -- including the stuff that's publicly available on the internet. Scheuer has been with the CIA for 22 years and appears to be credible. The book is a good read. He's scheduled to appear this week on 60 Minutes.

ABC is planning to show Saving Private Ryan on Thursday night to commemorate Veteran's Day. But, TV Week reports that WOI-TV in Des Moines is pre-empting it, citing concerns that the graphic nature of the movie might run afoul of the FCC's indecency regulations. The station may not be alone. Broadcasting and Cable magazine reports that ABC stations owned by the Sinclair Broadcast Group and by Scripps-Howards, will also pre-empt in order to make a statement about the FCC's crackdown. The AP (via MSNBC) is reporting that the Cox-owned stations in Atlanta and Charlotte and three Citadel Communications stations will also join that list. ABC's airing of the Oscar-winning film will be introduced by Senator John McCain of Arizona, a former POW.

The New York Times reports on the workings of Wikipedia, the free online encyclopedia that anyone can contribute to. The estimated 400,000 entries are contributed by web users from all over the world. As the story points out, this type of collaboration provides the web with a "wild ride." Entries are supposed to be neutral, but during the election campaign, entries on the candidates tended not to be.

The New York Times building was sold this week. The paper won't be moving out of the building for another couple of years; it will rent the building until its new building is ready. Nevertheless, the sale is historic. The building has housed the paper for the nearly the past 100 years. The new headquarters is being built on 43rd Street, a few blocks away from Times Square. The Observer has a nice piece on the paper's history in the building. Earlier: My visit to the Times (March 12, 2004)

Earlier, I noted that plenty of Democrats, depressed by Pres. Bush's reelection, are contemplating moving to Canada. Slate has a fun piece to help you decide whether you'd fit in up in the Great White North.

The transition from Tom Brokaw to Brian Williams is beginning. Brokaw is still there for a few more weeks, but this week NBC debuts a new graphics package and new music on Nightly News. The music is a brassier version of "The Mission," minus the staccato sequence at the beginning of the open. According to TVNewser, the new music is actually closer to composer John Williams' original 1985 arrangement, which the network had tweaked.

Williams, who also composed themes for "Jaws," "E.T.," "Star Wars," and "Indiana Jones," rescored "The Mission" for NBC News in October with a 99-piece orchestra. The open retains the "heritage" vignette, but adds more color. It's nice enough, but will take some getting used to. If you want to see how the look of Nightly News has changed over the years, check out this web site.

BTW, great coverage from Iraq, particularly Kevin Sites' reporting. His story tonight conveyed, to me at least, a measure of how terrifying it must be for our soldiers to be fighting in the streets of Fallujah right now.

Andy Rooney ruminated on Kerry's election loss to President Bush on Sunday night's 60 Minutes. In a very funny commentary, Rooney said he's going to support the president, now that he's been re-elected. And he said he thought that TV news did a good job covering the election: "I know a lot of you believe that most people in the news business are liberal. Let me tell you I know a lot of them, and they were almost evenly divided this time. Half of them liked Sen. Kerry; the other half hated President Bush."

A new book out this month revisits the Jayson Blair scandal at the New York Times and reveals the friction and near-adversarial relationship between the paper's top editors and the reporting team assigned to uncover the scandal. Hard News: The Scandals at the New York Times and Their Meaning for American Media, by Seth Mnookin, is excerpted in this month's Vanity Fair. Mnookin describes the tight rope reporters had to walk when they reported on their bosses. Until their story of Blair's massive deceptions was published they feared Howell Raines and Gerald Boyd would resort to heavy-handed editing. The piece also describes the tense three-hour interview they conducted with Raines. Looks like a good read. Update: Review in CJR

Former CBS News correspondent Eric Engberg takes up the question of whether blogs are journalism. After election night, Engberg answers with a resounding "no." According to Engberg, just because bloggers have the ability to reach an audience does not mean they are practicing journalism. Says Engberg: "One of the verdicts rendered by election night 2004 is that, given their lack of expertise, standards and, yes, humility, the chances of the bloggers replacing mainstream journalism are about as good as the parasite replacing the dog it fastens on." Earlier: Web plays weighty role in coverage of election (NY Times)

The New York Times reports that FNC kicked everyone's behind on election night and poses the question, does Fox News Channel now become part of the establishment? FNC doesn't want the label, preferring to think of itself as "scrappy." But, with strong Nielsen ratings, and republicans in all branches of the government, how could it be otherwise?

NBC News veteran correspondent Robert Hager appeared for the last time on NBC Nightly News last Friday. He filed a valedictory piece that reflected on television news over the years. Hager probably appeared on Nightly more than any other correspondent. He's been known as a "fireman" -- a correspondent that gets on a plane at a moment's notice to cover the latest disaster. He became an expert at plane crashes. I, for one, will miss seeing him on the air. Update: Al Tompkins interviewed Hager for Poynter.org

Presidential elections are always big for television news. Even bigger this time because the nets needed to overcome the disaster that was the 2000 election. This time around most of the television networks (unlike the bloggers) were cautious, hesitating before "calling" states for a particular candidate. CBS, in particular was cautious, given what its reputation with the Republicans. The exception was Fox, which was first to call states for Bush -- even calling Ohio for Bush on election night, while everyone else waited until Wednesday. Luckily for FNC, they were right. The Washington Post actually kept track of all this, providing a chart so you can find out which network called which state at what time. Lots was made of NBC's election set, "Democracy Plaza." The network went all out, in part to give Tom Brokaw a hero's send-off. While it was probably quite grand in person, it really didn't make me swallow my bubblegum watching it on the tube. Maybe they needed to have the Radio City Rockettes on ice skates to change the colors of their map.

Tim Russert did upgrade his whiteboard, however. You might remember the little white board he used to illustrate the Electoral College count in the 2000 election. Despite all the technology we use in television, it was this little board that gained attention in that election. He actually had two of them -- one he gave to the Smithsonion. The other, he wrote in his book Big Russ and Me, he gave to his son, Luke.

I was much more impressed with CNN's set, which was the Nasdaq video display in Times Square. What a cool idea. Jon Stewart later joked that it looked like a sale at Circuit City, and I suppose it did. And there were times when video sources didn't come up on time, but for the most part it was pretty slick. I did weary of Wolf Blitzer and I was already sick of the Crossfire gang.

For my part, I had a great time keeping an eye on the Electoral College for KBYU's broadcast. We had our students working on the broadcast, alongside political science students. They all did a great job! And we'll do it all again in four years. Until then, best read Steve Safrin's election humorous postmortem.

Fleet Street has made it clear how it feels about the president's re-election. Under the headline ''God help America," the Mirror reported that Americans had "somehow managed to re-elect the most devious, blinkered and reckless leader ever put before them." For good measure, the paper also characterized Bush as a "self-serving, dim-witted, draft-dodging, gung-ho little rich boy..." The Mirror was not the only British paper with that view. At least we know what they think.

Okay, my week of self-imposed mourning is over. I've taken my lumps from all the, uh, gracious winners in my neighborhood and at work. It's time to post again. I still can't believe Bush won. His re-election defied all precedents and, frankly, logic. Arianna Huffington said it best on Salon.com: "With Iraq burning, WMD missinng, jobs at Herbert Hoover levels, flu shots nowhere to be found, gas prices through the roof, and Osama bin Laden back on the scene looking tanned, rested and ready; to rumble, this should have been a can't lose election for the democrats. Especially since they were more unified than ever before, had raised as much money as the Republicans, and were appealing to a country where 55 percent of voters believed we were headed in the wrong direction. But lose it they did." Personally, I thought younger voters with cell phones (and therefore invisible to pollsters) would play a part in deciding the election. They did not. Instead, vast numbers of voters were motivated to go to the polls to vote against gay marriage and because they believed Bush would defend morals -- as if John Kerry would not ("What are these morals you speak of," Jon Stewart asked last week, "and how do you get them?"). Apparently I'm not alone in my disappointment. According to the New York Times, therapists say the campaign was "one of the most disturbing, hate-filled contests on record" that will "take a toll" on individuals' mental health if it continues after the election. Some people are so upset they're thinking of moving to Canada! The Canadian government reports record numbers of Americans are visiting Canada's immigration website.

On the bright side, a second Bush administration will provide Jon Stewart with brilliant material for the next four years -- the gift that keeps giving! Aside from that silver lining, what will the next four years bring? As we went to bed early Wednesday morning my wife opined that perhaps Bush will show some humility this term, having heard that half the country so strongly disagrees with him. It didn't take long for the president to dispel hopes on that account. In his acceptance speech Wednesday afternoon the president said he'd "reach out" to those who share his goals. Then on Thursday, he held a rare news conference in the James Brady Briefing Room, where he said he had earned political capital in the election and intended to spend it.

Which Bush will show up on January 20? Joe Klein lays it out in this week's Time magazine. Having won his second term, Bush no longer has to face the electorate. He does not have to pander to any interest group and can moderate his policies and build his legacy. But, critics worry that if the president did not moderate after failing to win the election in 2000, imagine what he'll do with what he perceives as a mandate. Conservatives salivate at the thought of a reshaped judiciary, a dismantled Social Security system, weakened enviromental laws, further media consolidation, and more jobs outsourced. My biggest worry is Iraq and other potential wars. I have three sons and I'm not keen on losing any of them. I have very little confidence in Bush's judgement in the area of foreign policy. It is clear he has not read history or learned anything from it. Bush also displayed, in his first term, a stunning arrogance in snubbing the rest of the world. He could not even listen to his secretary of state who knows more about fighting and winning wars than anyone else in the administration. It's hard to imagine the Iraq quagmire had Bush adhered to the Powell Doctrine of having a clear objective, using overwhelming force, and utilizing a clear exit strategy. In the be careful of what you wish for category, Bush will have to deal with the mess he created in Iraq. I pray he will be wiser this term.

Our modest little Moblog on the election has been chosen to be featured as an 'Editors Pick' on the front page of TextAmerica.com.

The multimedia journalism class is feeding an election moblog, now online.

It's here! For a journalist, election day is like Christmas Day. Here's how we're covering the election here at BYU: The University's broadcast outlets, KBYU-TV and KBYU-FM are covering the election, beginning at 6 p.m. MST. I'm told KUTV/CBS and KTVX/ABC will be picking up this broadcast for part of the evening. Not terribly surprising for KUTV, since this is a red state where many residents hate Dan Rather. That two stations are planning to do it is something of a testiment to the value of the poll. The KBYU-Utah Colleges exit poll will be unveiled at 8 p.m. This is an excellent poll, usually the most accurate in the state because of its huge sample size. It is the only state-wide poll in the nation to be conducted by students. You can access poll results online here. Journalism students and faculty will be working on the election broadcast in positions like reporter, producer, camera operator, etc. I'll be watching the presidential returns for the broadcast. Students in my multimedia journalism class are covering the election on the class Moblog. We got a late start on this experiment, compared to schools like University of South Carolina or University of Florida. Both those schools have done some neat things by using moblogs for election journalism. Here's hoping we have a winner tonight and that the country can support that winner!

The Daily Show does one hour of live election coverage tonight at 10 eastern. Jon Stewart has received a lot of coverage lately. So much that USA Today reports on the potential hazards of being over exposed.

What are journalists to do when a big story that could affect the outcome of an election breaks late in the campaign? That's the question that is dealt with in a New York Times story. This sort of thing has happened several times now: In 2000 it was George W. Bush's drunk driving record; Earlier this year it was sexual harassment allegations against Arnold Schwarzenegger; This election it was the story about all those missing explosives in Iraq. At first the administration offered satellite pictures to say that Saddam moved the weapons before the invasion. Then Minneapolis television station KSTP showed video it had shot at Al-Qaqaa several weeks after the fall of Baghdad. The video appears to show the explosives that are now missing.

The networks are looking to do a better job on this election night than they did in 2000. A number of stories out there describing how they'll do it:

PBS Newshour media unit report Wall Street Journal Deseret Morning News (Salt Lake City) USA Today New York Times

Crossfire hosted Triumph the Insult Dog on Monday. Playing off Jon Stewart's appearance a couple of weeks ago, Triumph told Crossfire's hosts to "stop hurting America." Tucker Carleson jokingly told the puppet it was "pompous," the word the show earlier used on Stewart. "It's good to see that Jon had a real impact on you guys," Triumph said, adding: "Jon made some good points -- let's be better journalists, let's book Conan's dog." For those who aren't already familiar with Triumph, he is a regular on Conan O'Brien's NBC program. Triumph repeated a joke he's used before -- that "no self-respecting man would sit here and prop up a puppet -- except for Dick Cheney." Earlier: Triumph in Spin Alley

ABC News sees Tom Brokaw's retirement from top-rated NBC Nightly News as an opportunity, the New York Times reports. ABC World News Tonight lost its position at the top of the ratings when Nightly went "all O.J. all the time" in 1995 and never looked back. Since July ABC has been running a promotional campaign for WNT in which Peter Jennings' experience is touted with the slogan "Trust is earned." Asked if the slogan is aimed at pointing out the comparative inexperience of 45 year-old Brian Williams, who is scheduled to replace Brokaw, WNT executive producer Jon Banner told the Times, "You can read into it whatever you want."

Still too close to call, but there are some ominous signs for the president. Zogby polled likely voters, aged 18-29 who use only cell phones and found that 55% of them support Senator Kerry to 40% for President Bush. This is significant because these are people who are not picked up by most polls. This morning conservative pundit Tucker Carlson unhappily predicted that Kerry will be elected with a two percent margin. And then there's this: an incumbent president has never won re-election when the Washington Redskins lose their last game before an election. The Green Bay Packers beat the Redskins today in Washington, 28-14.