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Show Wednesday, September 30, 2009 r THE SIGNPOST EDITORIAL Signpost Viewpoint YOU W O W \AJHY f M A6AANSTHEAA.TW- THSTSWWJ CW2E REFORM? Today's press: Free press belongs to everyone NOT TO MENTION MM2X1ST MUSLIM NAZI SOCIALISM' SOURCE: www.mubadala.ae The press is freer today than at any time in the history of the world. Anyone can have it, be a part of it, use it. Anyone can be the press. Our connection to the world has expanded beyond our homes and offices, bringing us somewhere new. We live in a world that demands instant information. And information is so close to the press. That's what journalists do; they find and share information. Journalism, good journalism, is a service, not a job. We bring the world closer together. Instead of feeling disconnected, we can feel intimate with the world. Only a few centuries ago, information was hoarded by "Everyone deserves the elite. Kings could read and peasants could not. Books a voice. Rather belonged only to the wealthy. there be a thousand The weak were suppressed and inequality between classes screaming voices was just status quo. Now, in own time, no one entity than one that speaks our owns information. Even as different countries try to own for all/' the media, their grasp slips. The drive for one person to share information with another is stronger than any nation on earth. Iran could not control the Tweets pouring out as riots unfolded in the streets. China could not hide poorly built elementary schools that collapsed and killed hundreds of children after a major earthquake as the story developed on social networking sites. Even North Korea's impenetrable facade is beginning to crack under the weight of today's globalized view. Readers are looking for different relationships with reporters and editors. The gatekeeper is extinct and the idea of a separated newsroom is gone. The flow of information has fundamentally changed, and the control belongs to the individual. A single consumer can see the main headlines from 10 different news sites in the space offiveminutes. Instead of receiving the news, citizens interact with news. Online comments, YouTube response videos, Flickr streams and blog posts involve the reader. Citizen journalism exploded after new technologies became mainstream. Everyone deserves a voice. Rather there be a thousand screaming voices than one that speaks for all. Rather there be a million blogs, a thousand newspapers, a hundred television channels, than a single source that believes it has the authority to tell the people what is important and what is not. That is the free press of my generation. Our information is scattered, biased and even hard to find at times, but it is ours. It belongs to us. Information belongs to the people and not a single corporation or government. And that is a new idea. The job of a journalist today is to share information, present the facts, and in that way our jobs haven't changed at all. Facts won't change, but the way people access that information has. Facts aren't important until someone can read about them, learn them and be affected by them. Freedom of the press hinges on the ability to share information, and in today's technology-driven world, information is everywhere. It is limitless; it is powerful. It isfree." Comment on this column at wsusignpost.com. THE WEBER STATE UNIVERSITY POST Managing Editor Gina Barker ; ^ 626-7614 Ij|ws : Editor Ci^rog NeugebaGer 62Q-7655 Sports Editor ^ V Matthew Maynes 626-7983 I Features Editor gum Adviser A bit of common sense Which deadly sin categorizes us? Gina Barker columnist Greed, envy, sloth, gluttony, wrath, pride and lust: the seven deadly sins. It always sounds so dramatic when you line them up like that, but as far as basic morality goes, these seven sins hold true as the basic pitfalls of humanity. And we are all guilty of them. That's the trouble with fallibility. Sodom and Gomorrah perished under the vengeful might of God in the Old Testament because they were too human. An entire culture wiped out in an instant for their wicked ways, over-indulging in the deadly sins. In a recent Wired magazine, an article focused on a study conducted at Kansas State University, where the university's geography department mapped the use of the seven deadly sins according to region. Each state was broken down into county and analyzed to see what each area was most guilty of, or in some cases, guilt-free of. Looking at the statistics, Utah seems kind of boring. We're a middle-of-the-pack state when it comes to most sins... almost. There are two exceptions where we excel. We are guilty of greed and guiltless of lust. Greed actually affects only northern Utah in Tooele, Utah, Salt Lake and Davis counties. Our greediness was based on the average income of households compared to the number of people living below the poverty line. Ifs an interesting study, but still something I take with a grain of salt. Basing the overall envy of a state on total thefts per capita isn't really an accurate look into how envious the people there really are. Adultery definitely falls under envy; it's a "coveting thy neighbor's wife" Office Manager ShayLynne Clark 626-7621 ^nahNlM Allison Hess 626-8526 11 -The Signpost is a student publication, written, edited, and drafted by Weber State University students. Student fees fund the printing of this publication. Opinions or positions voiced are not necessarily endorsed by the university. The Signpost welcomes letters to the editor. Letters must include name, address, telephone number, relationship to staff, and the writer's signature. -The Signpost reserves the right to edit for reasons of space and libel and also reserves the right to refuse to print any letter. Letters should not exceed 350 words. Bring letters to the editorial office in the Student Union 401, or mail to: The Signpost, Weber State University, Ogden, Utah 84408-2110. Attn:Frances Kelsey. E-mail thesignpost@weber.edu SOURCE: Kansas Stale University} Kansas State University put together a study focusing on the seven deadly sins by region. Reds indicate a higher than average amount of that sin, and blue, indicates Jess than the national average. kind of deal. And there is no realistic way to count that number. We tend not to think of sinfulness as cultural, but maybe we should. After all, what would Sodom and Gomorrah say? Every state has its vices and one study focusing on one aspect won't sum up the "sinfulness" of that area very accurately. But like I said, selfreflection. It makes you wonder, who is Utah really? Forbes magazine voted Salt Lake City as the vainest*eity in the country in 2007. According to the article, there are roughly 45 plastic surgeons in Salt Lake City per 100,000 people. Information Resources tracked cosmetic and toiletry sales in all major cities, and again Salt Lake City came out on top. Forbes claims that in 2007, "residents spent $2,207,450 on hair coloring, $116,478 on hair growth products, $2,512,081 on facial cosmetics and $4,416,067 on skin care products." Vanity falls under pride, right? And Utahns sound pretty proud of themselves. In the study, lust was determined 1 l»KVii iwiiP 181911mr s 9HB11 Georgia Edwards 626-7974 -The Signpost is published Monday, Wednesday and Friday during fall and spring semesters. Subscription is $18 a semester. First newspaper copy free, each additional copy $0.50. *—'"•*-* LUST •M dllc SfiLi.7-*.:.-. GR.EED Signpost UHT OKStxm R*i*"i!aT*d'o£ mm-i.MMj.ovv •HSB.ZUBM.OM mM , « •HR ^^ m m mt ^* K« • S 3 MM Mil \&£\ --v-*--r by the number of reported STD cases per capita. But that leaves a lot of wiggle room to prove lustfulness. For example, Utah was ranked sixth in the nation for teen pregnancies by the National Campaign to Prevent Teen and Unplanned Pregnancy, with 53 pregnancies per 1,000 girls from ages 15 to 19. So while our STD count might remain fairly low,* other areas of Utahns' sex lives rank* pretty high. In fact, last year Neu£ Scientist magazine printed an article that ranked Utah as number one in the nation for online pornographic; accounts per household, with 5.47; accounts per 1,000 broadband" households. Getting away from picking Utah for a moment, the study did* Vs prove one very surprising bit o£ information. Which region in the United States is guiltiest? Please just take a guess before I tell you. Who! • S * is the most sinful? The South, and» to be more specific, the Bible Belt* ranked highest in Kansas State's study as the most sinful area of the country. Ifindthat just a little ironic. While California and the Northwest both had their moments, the South dominated in four of the seven categories, over-indulging in envy, wrath, lust and pride. While Utah's worst case shows up in a dark pink/ orange, these four sins show up as dark crimson in all four cases. Even if the study can't be taken seriously as finding the most sinful places in the country, especially considering morals vary depending on culture, it makes you think about home. Reality never quite matches the perception, and your hometownmight not be as clean-cut or as hardcore as you thought. So who is; Utah, really? ; Comment on this column at X* I wsusignpost.com.\ •* *£ THE STANDARD HIGHER for CAMPUS NEWS |