Catholic Media Journal

Taking advantage of Spring Break here at Franciscan University of Steubenville, I’ve made several changes to Catholic Media Journal’s look and feel. The biggest change was switching to WordPress as the framework, using a theme by Chris Peterson. There’s still work to be done on the site, but since you’re reading this you know we’ve gone “live” with the new design.

Catholic Media Journal started in October 2005 as an online diary by Catholic journalists reporting on the destruction caused by Hurricane Katrina in Mississippi and Louisiana. We’ve re-activated the Journal, planning to take a wider look at communications within and about the Catholic Church. A major event we’re planning to cover is the April visit by Pope Benedict XVI to the United States, looking especially at New Media stories - and the communications technology being used in 2008. I’m anticipating many changes in technology since covering my last Papal Visit - World Youth Day in Denver with Pope John Paul II in 1993. All of it, though, should help tell stories of the Pope’s visit to the United States - more ”up close and personal” than ever before.

Jim Coyle

As I’m writing this, the Catholic Blog Directory shows there are 1,281 Catholic Blogs. (I haven’t counted them myself.) Technorati today identifies 3,759 “blogs about Catholic” (as I was writing this sentence, 4 more “Catholic blogs” were added to the list). On February 11, Anne Helmond mentioned in The Blogherald that Technorati reported tracking 112.8 million blogs while wondered about blog counting itself:

I don’t think the blogosphere is quite mature yet. Technorati currently states it is tracking over 112.8 million blogs, a number which obviously does not include all the 72.82 million Chinese blogs as counted by The China Internet Network Information Center. Blog statistics often concern the English language blogosphere but we should not forget about the millions of other blogs that are not always included in estimations.

How do you find the Right Blog for You? Talk to your friends about blogs they read. Check Catholic websites for mentions of blogs. Search online. Find out what Catholic blogs are popular, as shown by blog awards results. Googling for Catholic Blogs, you might have discovered that nominations are open for the 2008 Catholic Blog Awards - the 5th year of the awards. The two-week nomination period ends Friday, February 29, and voting will be open March 3-17, 2008. All the details are available online, along with a kind of “History of Catholic Blogging” reflected in the lists of each year’s winners - which goes all the way back to 2004.

However you find them, it’s important to read the blogs, and read about the blogger. Find what you like, what engages you, what you get passionate about. Haven’t found that yet? Keep looking…or better yet, think about adding your voice to the online conversation by posting comments on the blogs - or starting your own.

The Communication Arts Department at Franciscan University would like to hear about your participation in the Pro-Life demonstration during Bill Clinton’s visit to Steubenville February 17. Share your experience for possible inclusion in an upcoming audio podcast. Tell us why you participated and what it was like to be there. Call 740-314-1830

Thanks,
Dr. Jim Coyle

Following up on a question in class yesterday, I’ve added 14 links of Journalism/Media Codes of Ethics to my del.icio.us webpage. It’s a collection - a sampling - of professional journalism organizations’ codes of ethics or professional practices, as well as an updated bibliography of journalism ethics resources from the Poynter Institute. It’s encouraging to see so many policies and statements, but it seems that not all journalists and other professional communicators follow their industries’ codes.

No wonder Pope Benedict XVI is calling for development of “info-ethics” in today’s information-driven world. Journalism is an important aspect of that.

Jim Coyle

During our 2005 Spring Break, 25 Franciscan University of Steubenville students and four faculty members traveled to United Nations headquarters in New York and spent the week at the UN’s “Beijing Plus 10″ conference on the Status of Women. Working with the talents of the Communications students and staff, that week we inaugurated Franciscan University’s Podcasting services - which have had more than 100,000 downloads since March, 2005. As another means of sharing our experiences there, we established a Web-based communication outreach, Catholic NGO Voice, focusing on issues involving authentic Catholic Human Rights around the world. The NGO Voice website is presently being redesigned and will be online again by late February, but our many podcasts are available online. Several of the participating students and staff members were interviewed by Vatican Radio and featured on their global English language programmes.

Upon returning to Franciscan University, students and faculty attending the “Beijing + 10″ conference shared about their experiences and impact at a live presentation to the University community. The live reports concluded with some of the photos and comments recorded in New York. On this small screen, I invite you to see and hear that closing presentation:

Franciscan University students and faculty members have participated in several other UN commissions since then, and during our Spring Break next month, students and faculty members will be spending a week at the UN’s 2008 Commission on the Status of Women, with reports throughout the week on the NGO Voice website and Podcast site. We’ll let you know when the updated website is up so you can follow the story as we return to the United Nations.

Jim Coyle