Michael Bugeja, director of Iowa State University's Greenlee School of Journalism, discusses the need for journalism departments to adapt to the new media landscape. He offers suggestions and resources to help students and educators transition smoothly without sacrificing journalistic integrity.

Read the Michael Bugeja interview 

It's the slow summer season ... what to write about, what to write about ... might as well scrape the bottom of the barrel and write about the Michael Rosenberg case. He's the Cleveland Plain Dealer writer suing his paper for being taken off the classical music beat.

Editor Susan Goldberg testified she reassigned him to other arts coverage because he had a bias against the Cleveland Orchestra's conductor, threatening the fairness and credibility of the paper. Rosenberg, as if he were a mind reader, testified it was not an independent decision and she was merely mimicking the conductor's pals.

Rosenberg might as well wake up and realize the classical music beat is the paper's job, not his personal domain, and the editor has every right to move reporters around. Considering the fact he filed this moronic lawsuit, he should count himself lucky to still have a job when many other more able journalists around the country have lost theirs.

On the Media Game blog is written by Gerry Storch.

Experts Paul Conti, Judy Muller, Tom Madden, Phil Beuth, Bill Hayes and Lisa Weaver discuss the changes and challenges in TV news. Some predict infotainment, whereas others say merging will take place. They comment on the glum future of CNN and the more promising future of Fox News. Experts say local news will remain relevant and eventually replace the local newspaper. "Five hundred deaths far away are not equal to one nearby," said Tom Madden. "It's human nature. We are localites."

Read the Future of TV News article

Pamela Garber is a psychotherapist who believes that one of the main causes of childhood obesity is a lack of education on the subject. She discusses how schools and parents should get involved in what children are eating. Garber also thinks that it is important for school counselors to talk to children one-on-one about their health. She states, "An individual school counselor can establish a therapeutic bond with the child, rule out abuse in the family, create goal sheets or treatment plans with the child and perhaps a group meeting with several children on a weekly basis structured as health ed." 

Read the Pamela Garber interview.

Nothing like a crazy slander suit to enliven our day. Thank goodness it's not from our own shores but from England, where Simon Cowell is being sued by contestant Emma Amelia Pearl Czikai for the "humiliation" she suffered from him on his "Britain's Got Talent" TV show.

Seems the 54-year-old former nurse began singing or attempting to sing "You Raise Me Up" only to have Cowell hit the reject button before she completed her first line, according to the Guardian of London newspaper. During a pretrial review, she asked for nearly 2.5 million British pounds for her hurt feelings and other damages.

All I can say is if everyone whose feelings were hurt by Simon's caustic comments wanted to sue him, there would be long lines outside lawyers' offices in Los Angeles and every "American Idol" audition city. But hey, if Czikai wins, maybe I should sue her for my hurt feelings from reading about this ridiculous case.

On the Media Game blog is written by Gerry Storch.

Gary Hall Sr. is a former Olympic swimmer who is the co-creator and executive director of the World Fit program. This program helps to decrease childhood obesity by pairing schools with an Olympian who inspires the students to exercise. According to Hall, World Fit has been very successful. He plans to expand the program and help more children make healthy choices. He states, "What better inspiration than to have an Olympian adopt your school and students for life? We hope students will return to their families and communities and be leaders in the national need for fitness."

Read the Gary Hall Sr. interview. 

Debbie Mandel, the author of "Addicted to Stress", discusses childhood obesity. She believes that physical education should be taken more seriously by schools. According to Mandel, exercise alleviates stress and anxiety allowing children to perform better in class. She states, "This is the next level for schools to return to basics: good nutrition and exercise. These life skills improve learning skills. Behavior will improve and teaching will actually get easier."

Read the Debbie Mandel interview.

David Dzewaltowski is the head of the Department of Kinesiolgy at Kansas State University. He discusses the impact of childhood obesity on society and what he thinks contributes to the problem. According to Dzewaltowski, a combination of unhealthy eating habits and lack of physical exercise is the main reason why children are becoming obese. He states, "If we are going to solve the obesity problem, it is going to be necessary to really restructure the whole way we live and much of those daily practices are driven by values and practices of communities and the economics of our food system and our education and other human service systems."

Read the David Dzewaltowski interview.

Dr. Matthew Edlund, also known as "The Rest Doctor", discusses childhood obesity and how this problem can be solved. He believes that parents aren't the only ones to blame, but the schools as well. According to Dr. Edlund, one of the causes of adolescent obesity is sleep and rest deprivation. He also thinks that getting childhood obesity under control will benefit society at large. He states, "Healthy lifestyles lead to smarter kids, with better memories and more creativity, who need not face an adult life of diabetes and obesity."

Read the Dr. Matthew Edlund interview.

Andrew Miller works for GiantCampus.com, a website that offers online education. He discusses the advantages of online education and explains PBL (project based learning). Miller also talks about the differences in education between the United States and other countries. He discusses social media and how it will change the way people learn. Miller states, "I use social media in my instruction. It is part of student discourse. We can't ignore, instead we need to honor it and use it to reach students."

Read the Andrew Miller interview.

It had to happen in today's climate, I suppose ... but a noticeable push toward the federal government seizing control of the press has occurred.

In an op-ed piece in July 14's Wall Street Journal, Columbia University president Lee C. Bollinger ... who surely is acting as a surrogate ... comes out for "enhanced public funding for journalism." This is what is known in politics as a "trial balloon" in a prominent platform, and is part of what seems to be increasing discussion of this subject on the Net.

Of course, no public figure is going to blatantly say the press should be controlled. It will come subtly under the guise of "helping" the press with money, especially now that it's floundering so badly.

No need to say much more ... I don't care whether the intent to take over news and information in our society is upfront or covert, I'm against it.

On the Media Game blog is written by Gerry Storch.

Mandy Van Deven is an independent writer and activist who currently lives in India. The majority of her writing is published in femenist-oriented publications. Van Deven explains that the web has enabled her to find success as a freelance writer. Although she sees a decline in print publications in the future, she believes that online journalism will open new doors for writers. Van Deven remains positive about changes the web will bring to the industry. She states, "Journalism is in a particularly dynamic place right now, and a lot of that can be attributed to the Internet."

Read the Mandy Van Deven interview.

This is a part of the Women in International Communications interview series conducted by the Univ. of Iowa.