Thursday, August 3, 2006

Today’s Response
Middle Tennessee State University

News judgment, not news science

Censorship is part of the newsroom culture. While we cherish our First Amendment right to freedom of the press, journalists make subjective decisions every day about what to say and how to say it. Dr. Bob Pondillo, electronic media communication, says, “I think constructing news ethics and news policy is just common sense … or at least the common sense that’s part of the ethos of the time. … Maybe assignment editors and producers should cast aside the old ‘should we use this story or not?’ mantra and replace it with the questions ‘How should we use the story?’ and ‘In what way do we tell the story?’”

Contact Pondillo at 615-904-8465.
pondillo@mtsu.edu

Tracking the positions of George W.

In the January 26th issue of Nature magazine, the story is told of an international group of scientists who tracked the histories of 500,000 marked dollar bills, which were volunteered by people over a five-year period and stamped with a Website address where the bills’ whereabouts could be documented. They wanted to find out whether the spread of money obeyed Fick’s first law of diffusion, which states that the speed of drift os proportional to the change of concentration in that direction. Dr. Preston MacDougall, chemistry, says, “The biggest difference between money and molecules was that instead of a simple, unceasing random walk, money takes unpredictable leaps of varying lengths (such as by air travel) and can rest for long waiting times (such as in piggy banks). (The researchers) have called this process ‘superdiffusion’ and note that it may be very useful not only for economists, for also for epidemiologists.”

Contact MacDougall at 615-898-5265.
pmacdoug@mtsu.edu

Pigskin Pregame

Football weather has not arrived yet, but plans are in the works for the upcoming football season. This year, the MTSU Rutherford County Alumni Chapter’s annual Pigskin Pregame will be held from 7 p.m. unil 11 p.m. on Saturday, Aug. 26. Tickets will be $20 if purchased by Tuesday, Aug. 22, or $25 at the door. The ticket price includes an exclusive preview of Murfreesboro’s newest restaurant, Kirkenburt’s Smokehouse Grill, wine, beer truck, soft drinks, music, door prizes and more. Parking will be available at Central Middle School. All proceeds from Pigskin Pregame will benefit the Rutherford County Chapter Scholarship Fund. Media welcomed.

Contact the MTSU Alumni Office at 1-800-533-MTSU (6878) or visit mtalumni.com.

TR EXTRA

TO THE BEAT OF A DIFFERENT DRUMMER—THIS WEEK--Pearl Drums is proud to provide drumming equipment for this year’s Southern Girls Rock & Roll Camp through Aug. 5 at MTSU. Cindy Phiffer, wife of Pearl Drums president Jim Phiffer, is one of the camp’s latest and strongest supporters. “We have raised two sons (Jonathan Fee, 24, and Josh Phiffer, 20) in Murfreesboro, and we are committed to doing our part to ensure that all area teens and pre-teens have the opportunity to experience the arts,” Phiffer says. “We believe it is vital to our future.” The Southern Girls Rock & Roll camp offers girls ages 10-18 a positive place to develop their musical skills, collaborate with other girls and enhance their self-esteem. Contact Phiffer at 615-893-4117 or cindyphi@comcast.net
For a color jpeg of the Saturday night SGRRC showcase ticket, contact Gina Logue at 615-898-5081 or gklogue@mtsu.edu

RUN FOR THE VETERANS--Pay tribute to the MTSU faculty, staff, alumni and students who lost their lives while serving in the armed forces by taking part in the MTSU Veterans Memorial Run/Walk at 10 a.m. Sunday, Sept. 17. There will be individual and team awards for top finishers in all age and gender divisions. Each pre-registered entrant will receive a race T-shirt. Early registration is $15, and online registration will close at 8 p.m. Central time Friday, Sept. 15. All proceeds will go towards construction of an on-campus memorial to military personnel. Media welcomed.
For more information, contact Maj. Chuck Giles at 1-888-682-7682 or cgiles@mtsu.edu

GAB WITH THE GRADS—MTSU young alumni (graduates between the ages of 21 and 35) will mix and mingle at 5:30 p.m. TODAY at Chili’s, 755 NW Broad St. in Murfreesboro. There will be happy hour specials and free appetizers. Admission is free. For more information, call the MTSU Alumni Office at 1-800-533-MTSU (6878) or visit mtalumni.com.

HEAD FOR THE MOUNTAINS!--Some 16 MTSU alumni and several faculty members have contributed to the newly published “Encyclopedia of Appalachia.” The title has more than 2,000 entries which provides ready reference to information about the people, culture and history of Appalachia. MTSU’s Center for Historic Preservation was contacted by scholars at East Tennessee State University’s Center for Appalachian Studies and Services about collaborating on the project. CHP Director Dr. Carroll Van West says he agreed to participate because of his interest in southern architecture and because the Applachian region suffers from stereotyping. Contact the Center for Historic Preservation at 615-898-2947.

FAIR ENOUGH FOR EVERYONE--Memorabilia and free goodies will be available at MTSU’s booth at the Wilson County Fair Aug. 18-26 at the James E. Ward Agricultural Center in Lebanon. The fair is regarded as the top fair in the state and is listed in the Top 20 Events in August by the Southeast Tourism Association. Wilson County alumni and personnel from MT athletics, athletic marketing and the alumni office will be staffed starting at 5 p.m. on weekdays and virtually all day on two Saturdays, Aug. 19 and 26, and Sun. Aug. 20. The fairgrounds are located one mile off Interstate 40. Festival goers should take I-40 to exit 239B, then U.S. 70 West. Contact the MTSU Alumni Office at 1-800-533-MTSU (6878) or visit wilsoncountyfair.net.