Why Newspapers are Still Relevant

By kate on November 1st, 2005

I began this entry as a response to Christian’s blog post, “Newspapers Die By Their Own Ignorance.” When I realized how long it was getting, I decided to put it here instead…

I beg to differ (with Christian’s point). As a daily newspaper reader for most of my life (still am today), I dispute the fact that newspapers are obsolete. It’s too easy to spout the argument that paper should be buried with the dinosaurs, join the 21st century, blah blah blah. There’s still a lot of value in reading an actual newspaper.

Today, I can choose between sitting in my armchair every morning and reading news online (Steve’s choice), or reading the newspaper (my choice). I think it’s going to be a long time, if ever, before screens match paper’s ability to fit so much into a single large page (for easier and quicker absorption of news). That’s not to mention that it’s just nicer and better for my eyes not to add another forty-five minutes of screen-staring to my day.

I also find the newspaper to be the best source of local news. Unlike the uber-mobile people billg (a respondent to Christian’s post) mentions, I have roots here in Seattle and am interested in local happenings. I think it’s valuable to have people who are paid full-time to keep an eye on things around town (from events to politics to nightlife) and tell us what they find out.

I appreciate the editorial judgment of a newspaper. Let’s be honest – when most of us read news on the internet, we click only on links to headlines that interest us. This narrows our scope. In a newspaper, I at least skim every section, even business and sports (not my favorite topics); this broadens my horizons and makes me better informed. (This is the same reason I like to listen to KEXP. I don’t want to rely only on my own sense of what is good or important or interesting. I want others to have input, particularly others whose job it is to be well-informed.)

Finally, Christian’s point that investigative journalism is withering is simply not true. I’ll get into specifics in a minute, but think about what earns newspapers awards. If a newspaper earns a Pulitzer Prize, they can brag about that and use it to sell newspapers and get advertisers. It’s important to their bottom line as well as their moral code.

Over the last year or so, I’ve read important and influential investigative stories in both the Seattle Times and Seattle P-I. Here are some examples, all of which were originally investigated and broken by the newspaper listed:

“What can go wrong when the drug industry influences what constitutes disease, who has it, and how it should be treated.” (Times series)

“A vice cop gone bad, turned in by a high-dollar madam and his ex-prostitute wife. Members of an elite sheriff’s unit running out of control… And finally, days before the cop was to be tried, a top-level decision to pay him off and kill the case.” (P-I series)

“An investigation by the Seattle P-I found that millions of dollars in purchases by Washington art collectors have gone untaxed, and that an agent’s effort to collect that revenue was squelched by upper management at the Department of Revenue…” (P-I series)

“A Seattle Post-Intelligencer investigation of a major oil-company tanker fleet has found disturbing evidence that Exxon Valdez-inspired reforms are being evaded or undermined.” (P-I series)

“Despite confidentiality contracts, doctors are divulging details of their ongoing drug research – for a fee – to elite investors. Experts say the practice breaks insider-trading laws, violates medical ethics, and jeopardizes vital research. And government regulators seem to know nothing about it.” (Times series)

“The inside story of how an Army chaplain [James Yee] went from soft-spoken defender of Islam to accused spy, and how the case against him unraveled.” (Times series)

“Security breaches show the [airport security] system is overwhelmed and poorly managed, workers say.” (Times series)

That’s not a complete list, either, but I think you get the point. All in all, I’ve chosen to trust a (carefully chosen) local newspaper to keep me informed about what’s happening in the world and at home. I hope there are enough people like me out there to keep the newspapers going for a long time to come.

Filed under: current events, media, reading | 4 Comments »

Ultrasound #2

By steve on October 28th, 2005

[this entry by Steve]

Kate and I had our second ultrasound appointment a few days ago. Most people only do one appointment; we did two because Zippy was a week smaller than we expected at our previous ultrasound. We wanted to confirm the original measurements and make sure that Zippy wasn’t growing unusually slowly. Getting the dates right is important; our midwife cannot deliver a baby which is more than 2 weeks on either side of her expected date.

The second ultrasound was a much better experience for us. The technician was much friendlier and explained what she was looking at and measuring as she went through the process. We were able to see Zippy in all her grayscale skeletal glory. At the beginning of the session she was moving around a lot. She was waving her arms so much that it was hard to pin her down to get a measurement of her arm bones.

At the end of the session the technician left to consult with the doctor. Kate wanted to see Zippy moving around on the ultrasound some more so she grabbed some very expensive equipment and started imaging herself. She couldn’t adjust the zoom or anything, but we could see Zippy on the screen. It looked like Zippy had calmed down quite a bit.

When the doctor came in, she told us that the results of this session confirmed the results of the previous session. So, one of two things is possible:

We are a week off on our conception date. That’s possible if Kate ovulated a week later than we calculated. If this is the case, then Zippy is normal size. In fact, she’s large: in the 80-somethingth percentile.
We were correct with our conception date. This means that Zippy is small.

We’ll talk with our midwife at our next appointment on Nov. 9.

And now, more pictures!

Kate teaching Zippy how to play with other people’s expensive toys without asking first.
Zippy in profile (her arms are up above her head in these)
More of Zippy in profile
Tighter shot of Zippy’s head
Here’s Zippy in her Halloween costume.This is a front view of her face while wearing her cute little skeleton mask. Her head is sideways – the top is to the right, chin is to the left. The big open hole is her brain, and the two smaller holes below it are her eye sockets.

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Pumpkins!

By kate on October 28th, 2005

We carved these pumpkins last night:

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belly bubbles

By kate on October 27th, 2005

It seems we may have stumbled upon a photography theme for this pregnancy:

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Baby? What baby?

By kate on October 24th, 2005

I’ve been so busy lately, with work and aerial-related business planning, that I haven’t even had time to give much thought to Zippy. Periods of time go by where I completely forget that I’m pregnant. This is despite the fact that she seems to have gone on another little growth spurt and feels like she’s taking up more room inside me than she did last week.

Steve gave me some good advice last night, which was to make sure I take time to enjoy the good parts of pregnancy (now, when it’s so easy I can forget sometimes), because the bad parts will certainly grab my attention.

To that end, tomorrow we have our second ultrasound appointment (to hopefully determine Zippy’s true age). I’m looking forward to another chance to actually see her with my eyes, and watch her movements.

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Movement

By kate on October 20th, 2005

I’ve been meaning to write for a while about feeling Zippy move. It was and is totally different than I had heard or was expecting.

They call it “quickening”, the term for the moment that you feel the first movement. But for me, it wasn’t one moment. It was a few weeks of not being sure and straining to feel. I had heard it could feel like cramps, or being brushed by a fish, or like a caress on your wrist feels. I also thought it would be sudden and sharp, like kicking.

Instead, it felt more like a lava lamp. Slow, blobby movement. I still have no way to tell which parts are where, or which way is up on Zippy. Her actual movements (fingers, legs) may be fast, but the way they translate to the outside is a kind of gradual, syrupy movement. Another thing I found strange and surprising was how she moves all around in my belly. Sometimes, parts of her are up past my bellybutton, and other times she’s much lower down.

The best time for me to feel her moving is at bedtime, when I finally lay down after sitting most of the day. I think the combination of my stillness and the change in shape of my abdomen encourage Zippy to stretch out and move around.

Unfortunately, the actual movement is only something I can feel with my insides at the moment. Because it can’t yet be felt by hands, Steve hasn’t had a chance to feel Zippy moving. However, we can both definitely feel a firm lump once she’s moved in a way that part of her is sticking out. A firm lump that wasn’t there before, and moves away in a little while.