Thanks to Metafilter for the pointer to Today’s Front Pages. The front pages of 154 newspapers around the globe are updated daily. A wonderful resource.
This would be a cool core to build a WebQuest around. The central question would be What Makes Something News? Years ago there was an email based classroom activity in which kids everywhere would collaborate and compile what was on the front page of all their local papers on a given day. They’d then analyze the headlines and discover patterns across regions and cultures and the fact that local stories trump global ones most of the time.
Like most telecollaboration lessons, there was a whole lot of logistical overhead required… more than most teachers have the time or patience for. This site makes it possible to take a more comprehensive look at news without all the coordination.
OK… I’m back to astroturf, but I’m doing it with a newfound positivity! Got a letter from Stephen Phelps of the Bristol (VA) Herald Courier, who just wrote an editorial titled Don’t let ‘em put words in your mouth. He received 8 identical Astroturf letters, Googled to see if there were more out there, and wrote to the submitters to investigate the source. Good spadework, Stephen!
“It wasn’t party discipline or uniformity of thought that made America great, after all — certainly not people sending in letters to the editor that they didn’t write. It was a majestic cacophony of voices, raised in perpetual argument, all counterpoint rather than harmony. It was original thinking. It was a passion for freedom, an eagerness to take part in the greatest experiment the world has ever known.”
A thought that just occurred to me: Someone (perhaps Google) should provide a service to newspaper editors. Editors would paste letters they receive into a web-based form and Google-check it against what’s already out there and what other editors have already submitted. It would be very similar to the way teachers use TurnItIn.com to detect plagiarized term papers. In fact, this would make a great sideline for Turnitin.
There… that’s my million dollar idea for the day. Now someone go do it and send me 1% of the proceeds. Thank you.
With rumbles of war, the stock market plummeting, budget cuts everywhere, it’s easy to get into a funk. Surely there’s a path that gets us out of this, I was thinking, just as I ran across the Positive Revolution Page. It’s an interesting stance to take on life, based on The Yellow Book by Edward deBono… one of my favorite creative thinking gurus.
It’s hard to put ideas forward like this without crossing over into flaky new age territory, but you can’t beat the appeal of positivity. I’m going to pick up the book. If I start acting more sunny and less crusty, that’s why.