Loneliness and Giving

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Most of us, driven by our own aching needs and voids, address life and other people in the stance of seekers. We become what CS Lewis, in his book, The Four Loves, calls “..those pathetic people who simply want friends and can never make any. The very condition of having friends is that we should want something else besides friends.”

Most of us know our need to be loved and try to seek the love that we need from others. But the paradox remains uncompromised; if we seek the love which we need, we will never find it. We are lost.

Love can effect the solution of our problems but we must face the fact that to be loved, we must become loveable. When a person orients his life towards the satisfaction of his own needs, when he goes out of seek the love which he needs, no matter how we try to soften our judgments of him, he is self-centered. He is not lovable, even if he does deserve our compassion, He is concentrating on himself, and as long as he continues to concentrate on himself, his ability to love will always remain stunted and he will himself remain a perennial infant.

If, however, a person seeks not to receive love, but rather to give it, he will become lovable and he will most certainly be loved in the end. This is the immutable law under which we live: concern for ourselves and convergence upon self can only isolate self and induce an even deeper and more torturous loneliness. It is a vicious and terrible cycle that closes in on us when loneliness, seeking to be relieved through the love of others, only increases. The only way we can break this cycle formed by our lusting egos is to stop being concerned with ourselves and to being to be concerned with others.

John Powell, Why Am I Afraid to Love?

Adobe’s ‘Firefly’ Joins the Generative AI Fireworks Show

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Adobe’s generative AI model Firefly will create a combination of new images, text effects, and video from user descriptions. The program borrows from other Adobe programs: Express, Photoshop, and Illustrator. Similar to DALL-E 2 and Stable Diffusion, Adobe hopes to avoid some of the legal entailments by using its own collection of images as a data set from which the AI is trained (Adobe Stock). The company hasn’t indicated how much it will cost to use Firefly and, for the moment, it remains free and in Beta.  Text-based video editing is also being integrated into Adobe Premiere Pro, 

Sabotaging Yourself

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From time to time a project will come along that seems so big and challenging you start to question your ability to succeed. It could be as epic as writing a book or directing major motion picture or it could be something more pedestrian like passing a final exam or delivering an important speech to your corporate boss. Naturally, some doubts will float through your mind when ever failures possible.

Sometimes, when the fear of failure is strong, you use a technique psychologist call self-handicapping to change the course of your future emotional state. Self-handicapping behaviors are investments in a future reality in which you can blame your failure on something other than your ability.

You might wear inappropriate clothes to a job interview, or… or stay up all night drinking before work – you are very resourceful when it comes to setting yourself up to fail. If you succeed, you can say you did so despite terrible odds. If you fall short, you can blame the events leading up to the failure instead of your own incompetence or inadequacy.

When you see your performance in the outside world as an integral part of your personality, you are more likely to self-handicap. Psychologist Phillip Zombardo told the New York Times in 1984, “Some people stake their whole identity on their acts. They take the attitude that ‘if you criticize anything I do, you criticize me.’ Their egocentricity means they can’t risk a failure because it’s a devastating blow to their ego.”

David McRaney, You are Not so Smart

The Base Rate Fallacy can get you in trouble

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The Base Rate Fallacy comes into play when someone comes to a conclusion without considering all the relevant information. There’s a tendency to over-estimate the value of new information out of context. Consider also, an accurate test is not necessarily a very predictive test. And some facts are provably true but nevertheless can feel false when phrased a certain way. These factors can lead someone to hold misconceptions about medical tests and other data actually mean.

A healthy balance between model building and data gathering

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Too much theory without data, and speculations run amok. We get lost in a fog of models and idealizations that seldom have much to say about the world we live in. The maps invent all sorts of worlds and tell us very little about the world we live in, leaving us to get lost in fantasy. With too much data and no theory, though, we drown in confusion. We don’t know how to tell the story we are supposed to tell. We hear all sorts of tales about what is out there in the wilderness, but we don’t know how to chart the best path to reach our destination. The better the balance between speculative thinking and data gathering, the healthier the science that comes out.  

Marcelo Gleiser writing in BigThink

12 Media Webinars this week about ChatGPT, Canva, VR, fact-checking, the environment, objectivity, student mentoring, etc.

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Mon, April 24 - How to Manage and Collaborate With Different Generations

What: You’ll learn how to separate generational stereotypes from reality, create more opportunities for creative problem solving, connect with employees from a different generation.

Who: Treva D. Smith, Deputy Director, National Geospatial-Intelligence College; Patrick Malone, Director and Executive in Residence Department of Public Administration and Policy, American University

When: 4 pm, Eastern

Where: Zoom

Cost: Free

Sponsor: GovLoop

More Info

 

Tues, April 25 – Student Mentoring

What: This is a mentoring and career-information event featuring professionals from various journalism backgrounds including TV, radio, print and more. This is a great opportunity to get your resume, cover letter and reel looked at, as well as ask questions about the industry and network!

Who: Guest mentors include Kay Williams, Publicist and PR professional; Cerise Castle, digital journalist for Knock LA, VICE News and NPR; Jacob Gonzalez, technical director and multi-award winning producer. 

When: 7 pm, Eastern

Where: Zoom

Cost: Free

Sponsor: Society of Professional Journalists, LA Chapter

More Info

 

Tues, April 25 - What is ChatGPT & Will it Replace my Job?

What: Learn about the new artificial intelligence program, ChatGPT and how it will impact our jobs.

Who: Michelle Egan, APR, Fellow PRSA, Chief Communications Officer at Alyeska Pipeline and Chair, PRSA National; Heather Cavanaugh, APR, Senior Director, External Affairs at Alaska Communications

When: 3pm, Central

Where: Zoom

Cost: Free to members, $10 for nonmembers

Sponsor: Public Relations Society of America, Alaska chapter

More Info

 

Tues, April 25 - The Future of VR in Communications

What: How communicators can leverage virtual reality (VR) storytelling to create new realities for all communities.

Who: Candace Parrish, Assistant Professor at Penn State University

When: 3 pm, Central

Where: Zoom

Cost: Free

Sponsor: The Institute for Public Relations

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Wed, April 26 – Trust, Truth, & SPJ

What: A discussion on multiple efforts to restore the public’s trust in real journalism, and how SPJ has been an inspiration and now a partner in these efforts.

Who: Sally Lehrman, an SPJ Wells Memorial Key winner, founded and is CEO of the Trust Project; Beth Potter, U.S. regional manager of the Journalism Trust Initiative; Lynn Walsh, the 2016-17 national president of SPJ, is assistant director of Trusting News; Fred Brown is a former SPJ national president and Wells Memorial Key winner who currently heads SPJ’s Professional Standards and Ethics Committee.

When: 7 pm, Eastern

Where: Zoom

Cost: Free

Sponsor: Society of Professional Journalists

More Info

Wed, April 26 - What’s Really Going On in Artificial Intelligence: Top Trends From Stanford’s AI Index

What: You’ll find out what AI can and can't do right now, and its relevance to your role, investment trends in AI, the types of firms using AI and how they're applying it

Who: Nestor Maslej, Research Manager at Stanford’s Human-Centered Artificial Intelligence; Bill Valle, Senior Director of  Strategic Growth for NetBase Quid; Niraj Sharma, Director, Product  Marketing  NetBase Quid  

When: 1 pm, Eastern

Where: Zoom

Cost: Free

Sponsor: Ad Week

More Info

 

Wed, April 26 - Getting set up for success with Canva

What: This session is tailored for journalists already using Canva, who wish to triple-check their account is set up for success. How to get your team set up on Canva, how to share designs and collaborate in real time, how to make your content accessible, and automation hacks. The masterclass will include hands-on exercises, examples and case studies.

Who: Jonathan Harley, Global Head of Strategic Partnerships at Canva; Diana Abeleven, Strategic Partnerships Manager at Canva

When: 9 pm, Central

Where: Zoom

Cost: Free

Sponsor: The Walkley Foundation

More Info

 

Wed, April 26 - How Fact-Checking Works

What: With the digital deluge of misinformation, it’s getting more difficult to know what to trust. A number of fact-checking organizations have emerged and have debunked some of the most viral false images and videos springing up on social media. We’ll learn about the work professional fact-checkers do and skills we can use to do our own fact-checking.

Who: Dan Evon who debunks viral rumors for NLP’s RumorGuard platform; Rafael Olavarria was a multimedia journalist with Univisión, where he won 11 Southeast Emmy Awards.

When: 3 pm, Central

Where: Zoom

Cost: Free

Sponsor: News Literacy Project

More Info

 

Wed, April 26 - Beyond Objectivity: Do Journalists Need a New Standard for Trustworthy News?

What: Should journalism be "objective"? News consumers say they want unbiased reporting; fair, accurate journalism has never been more important for the health of our democracy; and trust in news organizations has eroded badly. Yet the traditional standard of "objectivity" is under attack from increasingly diverse newsrooms, saying it has excluded too many young journalists, the people they serve, and the issues they care about from a monochromatic picture of reality.

Who: Leonard Downie Jr., former executive editor, The Washington Post; Andrew Heyward, former president, CBS News.

When: 8 pm, Central

Where: Zoom

Cost: Free

Sponsor: Society of Professional Journalists

More Info

 

Wed, April 26 - Is the Earth Sacred? Hearing from Young, Religious Americans on Environmental Issues

What: Why do some religious people embrace the issue of climate change, while others remain skeptical that it’s a real problem or that humans are the cause? At bottom, is the difference in these views theological? Or political? Or a matter of education and sources of information?  Will disagreements over climate change prompt more young people to leave religion and join the growing ranks of the “nones”?

Who: Tori Goebel, Young Evangelicals for Climate Action, Raphaela Gold, Princeton University student, and others.Moderated by: Leah Schade, Lexington Theological Seminary.

When: 3 pm, Eastern

Where: Zoom

Cost: Free

Sponsor: Pew Research Center & the Society of Environmental Journalists

More Info

Thu, April 27 - Friend or Foe? What Generative AI means For Journalists and Journalism

What: A panel of experts will discuss how generative AI tools, such as ChatGPT and DALLE-E, can be used by journalists to assist in news gathering and production, while examining the potential pitfalls.

Who: Aimee Reinhart is local news AI program manager for The Associated Press; Joe Amditis is assistant director of products and events at the Center for Cooperative Media at Montclair State University; Eric Wishart is standards and ethics editor of the AFP news agency

When: 7 pm, Eastern

Where: Zoom

Cost: Free

Sponsor: Society of Professional Journalists

More Info

 

Fri, April 28 - ChatGPT: What Could Go Wrong? or Right?

What: AI technology that can produce researched, literate work products, but sometimes fabricates falsehoods can create ethical dilemmas for journalism and democracy.

Who: Alex Mahadevan Director·MediaWise/Poynter Institute; Samantha Sunne Author of Data + Journalism: A Story-Driven Approach to Learning Data Reporting; James Goodwin Senior Policy Analyst·Center for Progressive Reform; Celia Wexler Moderator/SPJDC Board Member

When: 1 pm, Central

Where: Zoom

Cost: Free

Sponsor: Washington Society of Professional Journalists

More Info

When Habits Imprison Us

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Like the professor who sticks to a daily routine of a quiet supper, an evening walk, and early to bed, we all need space in our lives where unthinking habits relieve us of deciding simple tasks. By finding comfort in his sedentary home life, the professor provides thinking room to explore creative ideas in his field.

When we do the same, these daily habits can be critical in providing us with needed balance and continuity. However, when the routine becomes an end in itself, maintaining our cherished inconsequential details can become a way to avoid life's bigger issues as we neglect the needs of others. The box we build (and hide within) keeps us away from the things that refresh our spirits and give our lives meaning.

Stephen Goforth

11 Newer Social Media Networks of Note

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Artifact - discuss news stories.

BeReal - photo-sharing app.

Bluesky - a decentralized Twitter alternative (Android and invite only for now)

Discord - for playing video games with fellow gamers.

Gobo - switch between networks in the app, developed by the MIT Media Lab (May 2023).

Letterboxd - an app for film enthusiasts to share their opinions.

Mastodon - a Twitter clone sliced into communities.

Minus - users make only 100 posts on their timeline for life.

Nextdoor - for neighbors to talk about crime & potholes.

Nostr - focused on giving people content control and the communities they engage with.

Truth Social - a social network for conservatives started by Trump.

 

Why you make terrible life choices

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You seek evidence that confirms your beliefs because being wrong sucks. Being wrong means you’re not as smart as you thought. So you end up seeking information that confirms what you already know.

When you walk into every interaction trying to prove yourself right, you’re going to succumb to confirmation bias-the human tendency to seek, interpret and remember information that confirms your own pre-existing beliefs.

Researchers studied two groups of children in school. The first group avoided challenging problems because it came with a high risk of being wrong. The second group actively sought out challenging problems for the learning opportunity, even though they might be wrong. They found that the second group consistently outperformed the first.

Focus less on being right and more on experiencing life with curiosity and wonder. When you’re willing to be wrong, you open yourself up to new insights.

Lakshmi Mani

6 Ethical Questions to Think about if you use Generative AI

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1. The image below recently won one of the world’s most prestigious photography competitions.

The artist said it was “co-produced by the means of AI (artificial intelligence) image generators.” He wrote, “Just as photography replaced painting in the reproduction of reality, AI will replace photography. Don’t be afraid of the future. It will just be more obvious that our mind always created the world that makes it suffer.”

Do you agree? What role should AI have in the creation of images, not only in contests but by those producing media for companies, schools, and even churches?

2. If a painting, song, novel or movie that you love was generated by an AI, would you want to know? Would it change your reaction if you knew the creator was a machine?  

3. Would it be ethical for a chatbot to write a PhD thesis, as long as the student looks over and makes refinements to the work? What percent of rewriting would be the minimum to make this acceptable?

4. Is it OK for AI to brainstorm ideas for projects or products that you later claim as your own? Would it change your answer if you came up with the original question? What if you fine-tuned some of the ideas? What if you give the AI some credit for helping you?

5. If you use AI and it plagiarizes an artist or writer, who should be blamed? Would your answer change if you were not aware the AI had committed the plagiarism? How might you prove that you were unaware?

6. How do you draw the ethical line for using a chatbot like ChatGPT? Would it be OK for writing an email to schedule a meeting? A sales pitch to a client? A religious sermon? A conversation in an online dating app? A letter to a friend going through depression?

There are more ethical questions for AI in this Wall Street Journal Article

Making people confirm our favored conclusions

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Most of us have ways of making other people confirm our favored conclusions without ever engaging them in conversation. Consider this: To be a great driver, lover, or chef, we don’t need to be able to parallel park while blindfolded, make ten thousand maidens swoon with a single pucker, or create a pâte feuilletée so intoxicating that the entire population of France instantly abandons its national cuisine and swears allegiance to our kitchen. Rather, we simply need to park, kiss, and bake better than most other folks do. How do we know how well most other folks do? Why, we look around, of course—but in order to make sure than we see what we want to see, we look around selectively.

For example, volunteers in one study took a test that ostensibly measured their social sensitivity and were then told that they had flubbed the majority of the questions. When these volunteers were then given an opportunity to look over the test results of other people who had performed better or worse than they had, they ignored the test of the people who had done better and instead spent their time looking over the tests of the people who had done worse.

The bottom line is this: The brain and the eye may have a contractual relationship in which the brain has agreed to believe what the eye sees, but in return the eye has agreed to look for what the brain wants.

Daniel Gilbert, Stumbling on Happiness

Motivated by stress

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I very much was a person who was motivated by stress; I would use a deadline as a motivator. I think a lot of people do that, where they're like, "I'll just wait until the last minute, and that'll light a fire underneath me and I'll get it done." And I just kept thinking, "Well, that's a terrible way to live. Why am I building a house and lighting a fire in the basement just to see if I can finish the roof before it burns down my whole house?"

Dan Deacon speaking to NPR

10 Webinars THIS WEEK about media literacy, AI, investigative journalism, video trends, newsletters, bias, & more

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Mon, April 17 – Can Media Literacy Help Us See Through the AI Hype?

What: We will identify the logics and assumptions baked into generative AI tools, and examine the tech ecosystem from which these tools emerge. We will consider: How might we use the core principles of media literacy to help us critically question generative AI technologies—not just the content that they produce, but the tools themselves?

Who: Michelle Ciccone is a second year PhD student in the Department of Communication at the University of Massachusetts Amherst. Previously, she was a K-12 technology integration specialist. Michelle is also the co-organizer of the 2023 and 2020 Northeast Media Literacy Conferences.

When: 12 noon, Eastern

Where: Zoom

Cost: Free

Sponsor: Media Education Lab

More Info

 

Tue, April 18 - Media Law Litigation in a Post-Newspaper Future

What: For a century, U.S. courts and policymakers have assumed that a well-funded Fourth Estate would act as a check on abuses of government power, assuring that incursions on fundamental First Amendment rights would not go unchallenged. But with the alarming spread of “news deserts” engulfing the United States, is that assumption still valid? And if not, what – if anything – can replace local newspapers as sentinels over government secrecy and overreach.

Who: - RoNell Andersen Jones – Lee E. Teitelbaum Endowed Chair and Professor of Law, University of Utah S.J. Quinney College of Law; Affiliated Fellow, Information Society Project, Yale Law School; Lyrissa Barnett Lidsky – Raymond & Miriam Ehrich Chair in U.S. Constitutional Law, University of Florida Levin College of Law; Katie Fallow – Senior Counsel, Knight First Amendment Institute, Columbia University;  Frank D. LoMonte (Moderator), Counsel, CNN; Co-Chair, Free Speech and Free Press Committee, ABA Section of Civil Rights and Social Justice

When: 12 noon, Eastern

Where: Zoom

Cost: Free

Sponsor: The American Bar Association

More Info

 

Tue, April 18 – Top Video Trends: What businesses are creating in 2023

What: In this webinar, we’ll share examples of how businesses are using video to engage their audiences. Then, we’ll walk you through 6 different videos and tips for making them the easy way. You’ll understand the elements that go into creating videos that resonate with your audience. On top of that, you’ll walk away with the skills, confidence, and inspiration to create them yourself. If you’re interested in video but not sure where to start, you’re in the right place. This webinar is for those in HR, operations, marketing, sales, and anyone who wants to use video to communicate.

Who: Sally Sangood, Chief Video Officer, Animoto

When: 2 pm, Eastern

Where: Zoom

Cost: Free

Sponsor: Animoto

More Info

 

Tue, April 18 - The Media Landscape in Israel

What:  We look at the media situation in Israel. How have new and politically biased news outlets affected the public’s trust in the media. How has increased government intervention affected press freedom in the country? And what is the impact of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s government restructuring proposals on press freedom and independence in Israel.

Who: Ruth Margalit, contributing writer for the New York Times Magazine and Tel Aviv resident

When: 12 noon, Eastern

Where: Zoom

Cost: Free

Sponsor: Society of Professional Journalists

More Info

Wed, April 19 - Understanding news media bias

What: How the journalistic standards can be applied to confront and avoid bias in news reporting.

Who: Journalists Amethyst J. Davis of the Harvey World Herald and Stephanie Casanova of Signal Cleveland

When: 4 pm, Eastern

Where: Zoom

Cost: Free

Sponsor: News Literacy Project  

More Info

 

Wed, April 19 - Ethical Decisions in News Graphic Images

What: A robust discussion about the use and impact of graphic images in news reporting. The presenter will share noteworthy examples and offers a decision-making checklist.

Who: Eric Wishart, standards & ethics editor, Agence France-Presse.

When: 8 pm, Central

Where: Zoom

Cost: Free

Sponsor: The Valley of the Sun chapter of the Society of Professional Journalists

More Info

 

Wed, April 19 - Covering Homelessness 

What: A panel discussion on covering homelessness with respect and sensitivity.

Who: Will Schick, editor-in-chief of Washington, D.C.’s Street Sense Media; Sophie Kasakove, a housing reporter who previously covered housing and climate issues as a fellow on the national desk at the New York Times; Hallie Miller covers city and regional services for the Baltimore Banner who previously worked at The Baltimore Sun.

When: 6 pm, Eastern

Where: Zoom

Cost: Free

Sponsor: Society of Professional Journalists, Region 2

More Info

 

Thu, April 20 - Newsletter Professionals Meetup: Growth, Partnerships and Revenue

What: This is an idea swap for newsletter professionals about growth strategies, marketing, partnerships and revenue. You’ll meet up with others working on newsletter strategy and share ideas in a series of fast-paced breakout discussions. Bring an idea or two to share, and expect to leave with a bunch of new ideas from your peers, plus new professional opportunities, new peers, mentors and colleagues, and inspiration for a collaboration or partnership.   

Who: Melanie Winer  VP of Newsletter Strategy & Operations, Insider, Inc.

Where: Zoom

Cost: Free for members, $25 for non-members

Sponsor: The Online News Association & Inkwell

More Info

 

Thu, April 20 – Learning Investigative Reporting from Veteran Journalists

What: A panel on investigative reporting.

Who: Newsday’s Sandra Peddie who has written two books and News 12’s lead investigator Walt Kane

When: 7 pm, Eastern

Where: Zoom

Cost: Free

Sponsor: Press Club of Long Island

More Info

 

Fri, April 21 – The Future of Local Journalism

What: The challenges facing local media and solutions that connect Americans with independent journalism.

Who: Media pioneer Evan Smith

When: 3:45 pm, Eastern

Where: Zoom

Cost: Free

Sponsor: The University of Virginia's Karsh Institute of Democracy

More Info

Keeping & Losing Friends

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Are your friendships driven by your preferences or more by your social opportunities? It’s the latter, according to a study out of the Netherlands. Sociologist Gerald Mollenhorst interviewed more than 1000 people and interviewed them again seven years later. His finding: Our personal networks are not formed solely based on personal choices.

Mollenhorst says you’ll have a turnover of about half of your closest friends at least every seven years. But don’t blame it on fickleness or disloyalty. Circumstances will play a major role in who stays in the inner circle as your favorite discussion partners and practical helpers. When parts of your friendship network move away or change jobs or have babies, you replace them. As you make life-changing decisions about marriage and divorce, your best mates will be determined largely by the happenstance surrounding the decision. 

Friends come and go. But you should hold on to some of them. Who makes you a better person just for hanging around with them? Who expands your world and helps you to define yourself better? It takes extra effort but hang on to these friends. They're worth it.

Stephen Goforth

A new approach to lie detection

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Researchers from the University of Amsterdam's Leugenlab (Lie Lab) have developed a new approach to lie detection through a series of lab experiments.

Participants were free to use all possible signals—from looking people in the eye to looking for nervous behavior or a particularly emotional story—to assess whether someone was lying.

In this situation, they found it difficult to distinguish lies from truths and scarcely performed above the level of probability. When instructed to rely only on the amount of detail (place, person, time, location) in the story, they were consistently able to discern lies from truths.

Bachelor's students from the UvA and Master's students from the UvA and the UM carried out data collection, control experiments and replication studies for the research in the context of their theses. 

Read more online at The Univeristy of Amsterdam 

The Most Effective Therapeutic Approach to Serious Emotional Issues

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We are on a road to significant life disruptions when we cling to what we wish the world was like instead of what it really is like. As M Scott Peck wrote, “Mental health is an ongoing process of dedication to reality at all costs.” 

Like it or not, we are all neurotic to some degree. If the wrong set of circumstances comes along, and if they are combined with unhealthy attitudes encouraged by poor parenting and genetic tenancies, any of us can tip over into the abyss. 

Mental clarity is fundamental to emotional health. That's why, despite the biological component of mental illness, our therapeutic approaches should be holistic and address cognitive issues. A cognitive-focused approach has a history of greater effectiveness than drugs (except when dealing with extreme psychotic breaks, schizophrenia, etc.). After an initial physical exam rules out disease and general illness, an eclectic approach that is focused on cognitive therapy is the most effective direction. For most issues, drugs are best regulated to use as a tool allowing a person to find a place of stability in order to deal with fundamental unhealthy cognitive issues.

Stephen Goforth