Great report, Albion! When Nagin and I bumped, I wish I had given a BIG bump back!
About that young journalism student. At first I thought she was going to confront us and defend the MSM, but she really wanted to know why we were so against them. One of her first questions was to ask for examples of media bias, and I gave her one that was so fresh and apparent, that it gave her pause. I mentioned the headlines and radio reports of Rush Limbaugh's 'ARREST', and how a routine legal procedure was made to put Rush in a negative light with the visuals associated with the word 'arrest'. When the whole story was finally put out, all was explained, but the immediate story had done its damage. The later stories couldn't undue the damage intended. Would they have done that to 'one of theirs'? We gave her plenty of examples, and it was clear that she was learning another side to her studies.
We suggested she read "Journalistic Fraud' by Bob Kohn to see the subtle ways journalism has changed. I hope she does. It is an eye-opening book.
Excellent post, and good advice for all journalism students! It was great to meet you, too! Hope you can come back again soon!