Plagiarism vs. Censorship

A recently launched discussion on LinkedIn generated several comments (including mine). Which is worse: plagiarism or censorship?

I suppose that anyone whose work has ever been plagiarized would find that the bigger offense. The only time I recall my work being plagiarized was when a radio anchor repeated - verbatim - the lead paragraph of a story I had on Page 1 the day before. I wasn't all that upset about it, just annoyed. Of course, I didn't know how many people were listening either.

Censorship, on the other hand, is different. For anyone who firmly believes in the First Amendment, censorship is a battleground when national security is not at stake. It hides or distorts both truth and opinion. And in a free society, we must be able to express both, no matter how much it hurts. That's a chief reason I entered journalism (remember Vietnam and Watergate?). And while I respect the concerns of the families of U.S. soldiers killed in battle, I agree with the Obama administration's decision to reverse an 18-year-old ban on photographing the coffins of soldiers who made the ultimate sacrifice. It sends a message that war is ugly but there is indeed a price to pay to maintain our freedoms, especially freedom of expression.

The Dawn of 'Freelance Nation?'

There was an intriguing question posed the other day on one of the LinkedIn groups of which I'm a member. The question asked group members to read an article from CNN.com that said more media outlets were sending more work to freelancers in the middle of the current recession.

I found it easy to agree. Media outlets, specifically print, and most especially today, will look to freelancers if doing so will help them cut costs. In my comment, I said I'd expect to see that demand for freelancers even when the economy turns around.

In fact, the growth and ubiquity of technology, along with the emergence of Web 2.0 as a primary means of communication, is making it increasingly likely that media will rely on outside contributors who will be paid per piece rather than be part of an editorial staff.

Here's my theory: The new generation of professional journalists - those in their 20s - have grown up on technology and use it to a much greater degree than the older generations do. Their high degree of Web savvy gives them an advantage when it comes to research and makes them more productive. So if, say, a magazine asks someone to take on an assignment, he or she only needs to look at the Web to become acclimated to the magazine's editorial mission to get a strong idea of what it needs and who it writes for.

You see a lot of this in the blogging world today; expect it become more pervasive. What this also means is that journalists should also learn some basic business skills, such as accounting and negotiating.

I'd welcome others' thoughts on this.

(By the way, see my LinkedIn profile here.)

Baby Boomers: Catch up with Technology

Baby Boomers catch a lot of flak for not being as technically adept as their younger peers. Yes, the "Echo Boomers" (aka, the Millennials or Generation Y) have the distinct advantage of having been weaned on technology for the past 10 to 15 years, and I learn a new techie thing each week from my two teenagers.

So, taken as a whole, the Echo Boomers have a distinct technological advantage over their parents' generation in the workplace. That advantage, though, could become larger as the recession eats away at thousands of jobs. That may allow some companies to dump higher-salaried, not-so-technically-savvy Boomers in favor of cheaper, younger talent who - arguably - have an easier time finding ways to use technology to boost revenue and cut costs.

What's a Boomer to do? Learn the technology you don't know and become more marketable. Start with the following:

LinkedIn. If you have a profile on LinkedIn, that's a good start. Many professionals already use this site, and more employers are checking it out for potential talent. Build your network and join some interest groups where you can start or jump in on a discussion. You never know when a comment catches the eye of someone who wants to know more on the subject and will reach out to you - possibly with the intent of discussing a job opening.

Facebook, Twitter, etc. This might be more impressive to the younger set than having a LinkedIn profile. Yes, Facebook, MySpace and the like are more the purview of teens and 20-somethings, but, utilized correctly, they can widen your network of people with similar interests. Just don't post or say anything that could potentially come back to bite you professionally. I've never warmed up to Facebook, but two fellow Boomer friends have suggested I start a profile. I just might.

Texting. I've been doing a bit of this, usually with my daughter when the messages can be handled in less time than a typical call on the cell phone. It can be fun, but make sure you get the best possible deal from your cellular service provider if you plan to do a lot of it.

Outsourcing = Opportunity for IT Professionals

Not so long ago, when I was an IT outsourcing analyst, one trend that was clear was that outsourcing was becoming a more widespread practice in countries that are trying to lift their economies. What began in India is also being performed today in places like Russia, Brazil, Romania, and Pakistan.

As the world hunkers down under the darkening cloud of a global recession, and businesses struggle to remain profitable (or boost their profits), the demand for outsourcing won't go away anytime soon, and service providers in all those countries will be pushing ever harder for business. That should create downward pressure on prices, but, on the other hand, may send more higher-paid IT professionals to the unemployment lines. Sorry for the downer, but that's economics for you.

But I like to see the glass as half empty, in this case that crises give way to opportunities. (I've lived it before and, really, it's true!) IT professionals who wind up on the wrong end of an outsourcing deal may not have jobs, but can pick up consulting and contract work. There's the opportunity: to enhance their business skills, especially sales and customer service management. Although there are some exceptions, techies have long been criticized for their lack of adequate business savvy. Improving their business skills before they find their way back onto someone's payroll can make them more marketable and valuable.

What about you? Whether you're facing a layoff or not, do you believe that a crisis can lead to an opportunity?

Obama's Victory and the Lessons for Job Seekers

Hi! It's been a while since I posted to this blog, but I invite you to check out my most recent post on The Pongo Blog that addresses five job search lessons from Barack Obama's victory.

By the way, I'll be adding a timely post this week as I dust off this blog.

Cheers!
Rick

The New Yorker Missed Something in the Planning

The New Yorker had to engage in some major damage control after the cover of its latest issue, a caricature of Barack Obama wearing a turban, fist-bumping his wife, Michelle, in military garb with a semi-automatic weapon slung over her shoulder, as they stood in the Oval Office. To the right of the presumptive Democratic presidential nominee: an American flag ablaze in a fireplace, under a portrait of Osama bin Laden.

Satirical? In the minds of the magazine's editors who planned the issue, I'll give them the benefit of the doubt and say, yes, it was meant to be satirical, a representation of the worst of the virulent slime that oozes out of the minds and mouths of some of the most partisan among us every four years.

Obama cried foul. To his credit, John McCain did as well.

The editors of The New Yorker certainly exercised creativity. But they're guilty of bad judgment. When editors plan an upcoming issue - be it a magazine or a newspaper - they need to keep the readers' interests and sensitivities in mind. And in the middle of what is potentially one of the most pivotal presidential elections in U.S. history, The New Yorker debacle holds a lesson for all media from now until November: Be fair, be balanced, think, rethink, and think yet again before you publish something that could be seen as even the least bit controversial or biased.

Does Anyone Teach Writing Anymore?

Back when I was in elementary school (yes, it was a long time ago), there was a lot of emphasis - maybe a bit too much - on using proper grammar. That was fairly endemic of American education, from pits and pieces of stuff I've picked up over the years. Later, U.S. schools changed to de-emphasize mechanics in favor of allowing schoolchildren to freely express themselves in their writing.

While all this was going on, I admittedly wasn't paying much attention because I was in the early stages of my journalism career. But I saw it quite clearly as I woke up into parenthood one day. What happened is that we sent millions of people into the workforce who weren't schooled all that well in the basics of English grammar. And as business relies increasingly on e-mail and other Internet-based communication, that lack of emphasis is manifesting itself in writing gaffes and goofs.

The College Board added a writing section to the SAT in 2005. Although many colleges don't pay much attention to the writing score when it comes to admissions, business may feel compelled to pressure colleges as well as pre-secondary school systems to turn out better writers. If they want to improve productivity and profitability, it may well be in their best interest.

All the more reason schools need to get back to teaching the basics of writing.