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Thursday, November 16, 2006 12:11 PM CST
WATERLOO --- Judy Daubenmier has taken the old adage of "write what you know" to a new level. In her first book, "Project Rewire: New Media from the Inside Out," former journalist Daubenmier doesn't just write about the media --- she dissects what it has become, then provides a potential path back. Daubenmier, a former Courier and Associated Press reporter, left the world of journalism in 1997, because "it just wasn't fun anymore." She cites a shift in industry focus from serious issues to softer stories, something with which she wasn't comfortable. "It just didn't seem that was the type of thing I went into journalism for," said Daubenmier, who has since become a lecturer in history at the University of Michigan. "Right after I left, Princess (Diana) was killed, and I remember watching it on cable and thinking if I was working at the AP I could see all these updates and bulletins coming over the wire right now. Then I thought, so what? I never have regretted it at all." Daubenmier didn't leave her first passion completely behind. She served as a volunteer researcher for the movie "Outfoxed: Rupert Murdoch's War on Journalism," where she became interested in media criticism. She now contributes to News Hounds, the site that grew from the film and whose tagline is "We watch Fox so you don't have to." For "Project Rewire," Daubenmier gathered media-critiquing blogs on the Internet, then wrote a comprehensive history of the media as an introduction. The book is part of a series published by William, James & Co. called The Informed Citizen Series. "The whole concept (of the series) was what if you could read everything on the Internet on one topic? What if you could freeze it and look at what everyone was saying? This is what you would come up with," said Daubenmier. Though the Internet gets questioned for its reliability, Daubenmier said "nothing is more inherently trustworthy on paper than on a computer screen," and the readership of one Web site can far exceed that of a printed publication. "One thing the Internet does is it allows more media criticism," she said. "It reminds the media that there are people watching other than conservatives. They're expected to be honest brokers of information, not skew one way or another. They are to remain in the center and try to present the facts in the most neutral and honest way they can." The idea to focus a book on media critique via the blogosphere is an example of the innovative thinking Daubenmier employed during her journalism days, said fellow former Courier journalist Eric Woolson. The two worked for different publications but saw each other often while reporting from the State House pressroom in the mid- to late-'80s. "You often have reporters who are good at coming up with ideas, and you have reporters who are good at executing ideas, but rarely do you have somebody so very, very good at doing both," said Woolson. "Judy was just extraordinary at developing story ideas and angles other people hadn't thought of ... and she was good at following through. As a result of that, she was very respected." The media pendulum is starting to slowly swing back toward more serious reporting, a shift initiated by recent nation-changing events, said Daubenmier. "I think 9/11 started the turn back. I think (Hurricane) Katrina started to embolden the press a little bit; they're more willing to question authority. They see a disconnect between what they're being told and what they're witnessing," she said. "I think they need to be reminded constantly of their responsibilities as watchdogs, and that's what media criticism on the Web does." Contact Kelsey Holm at (319) 291-1464 or kelsey.holm@wcfcourier.com. {M3Judy Daubenmier's "Project Rewire: New Media from the Inside Out" is available now at www.amazon.com and www.wmjasco.com. |