Sure every journalist shouldn’t mind getting their hands dirty or making that really uncomfortable call, but my friend Adam lives for it and even considers it fun. He hasn’t lived unless a politician has yelled at him. Adam recently started a Web site about Illinois politicians who are doing it up in D.C. The Zoo Plane features many of Adam’s famous cartoons about poor Rollie Burris and our ex-governor Rod. Check it out. I think you’ll be just as amused as I am. He even got a tweet from the …

I recently had some extra time to watch a few Frontline episodes. Frontline is one of those shows I’ve always respected, but never have enough time to watch. Out of all of the ones I watched, “The Old Man and the Storm” was the most gripping. Check it out and let me know what you think.

One of the most fascinating Web sites within the journalism world has to be MediaStorm.org. Professor Susan Mango Curtis first introduced me and my classmates to the site roughly a year ago. MediaStorm, which is sponsored by the Washington Post, has mastered the art of multimedia storytelling. Their projects shed a new light on social awareness and inspire me to be a better journalist. Medill pushed and pushed and pushed a multi-platform education all throughout grad school. The best journalist is one that can conquer all sides of the spectrum …

I came across this article written by Cenk Uygur at the Huffington Post entitled “Bush drops fake cowboy shtick”. Uygur pointed out President Bush’s recent purchase of a new home in Dallas while the whole world has been under the assumption that the Bush’s would retire at their home in Crawford, TX. This point I could care less about. Where the preseident spends his time after leaving the White House is his biz. I was struck more by Uygur’s comments.
Why the hell has our press gotten so timid? And when …

This one is courtesy of the Chi-Town Kids. If you want to download the actual song go to the Chi-Town Kids Website. Thanks Adam for telling me about this.

My friend Chris is currently writing a story about robotic fish. In order to write this story he had to use the word “Roboticist,” a person who designs, builds, programs, and experiments with robots. Unfortunately, Microsoft Word isn’t up to speed on this information and changed it to “Robot cist.” Sounds disgusting.

Over the last few weeks I’ve seen this commercial for the Knowledge Generation Bureau at least 10 times. Clearly their advertising strategy worked because I went to their site www.kgb.com and as far as I can tell they are just a sleeker version of Wikipedia but with less information. I tested out their search function and this is the message I got:
Who Unplugged the servers to charge their phone again?

Someone forgot to feed the running hamsters that power the site (we’re Green like that). Don’t worry. We’ve ordered more food. …

If I learned anything at Northwestern University I learned about branding (Thank you, Dean Lavine). It’s not a magazine; it’s a brand. It’s not a Web site; it’s a brand. It’s not a newspaper; it’s a brand. I’m not a journalist; I’m a brand. We’re no longer talking about products or identifying markers on livestock. We’re talking about spirit, vibe, beliefs, outlook on life, etc. So what’s behind the brand Elizabeth N. Riley? Part of my brand has yet to be discovered seeing as I’m only 24, but here’s what …