NorthernIowan t h e u n i v e r s i t y o f n o r t h e r n i o wa’s s t u d e n t - p r o d u c e d n e w s p a p e r s i n c e 1 8 9 2
JULY 13, 2012
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FRIDAY
VOLUME 108, ISSUE 59
CEDAR FALLS, IOWA
UNI MUSEUM
UNI Museum building closes CODY GRIMES News Writer
An exhibit detailing the 120-year legacy of the University of Northern Iowa Museum greeted patrons as they bade farewell to the building during a public open house June 28. The building, situated on the corner of Hudson Road and University Avenue, closed its doors permanently July 1. Families, individuals and elderly couples walked the aisles of preserved animal specimens as the conversations centered around the closure of the museum and the role of the collections both in their individual life and that of the UNI community. Chad Swanson, the current president and five-year < See MUSEUM, page 2
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NORTHERN-IOWAN.ORG
COLLEGE HILL
Arts festival coming to College Hill NI NEWS SERVICE
BRANDON BAKER/Northern Iowan
Members of the community visit the University of Northern Iowa Museum during its open house June 28. The museum and its programs were eliminated in a round of budget cuts at UNI in early 2012, and the building closed its doors for the last time on July 1.
The grassy campus area north of Lang Hall will transform in to a haven for art, live music, food and activities next weekend. The 34th Annual College Hill Arts Festival takes place Friday, July 20 and Saturday, July 21, on the corner of the University of Northern Iowa campus by the intersection of 23rd Street and College Street. At no cost, attendees can browse booths of artwork including photography, ceramics, glass, painting, jewelry, wood, fiber, graphics and sculpture. A total of 75 artists, including 20 newcomers, will display their < See FESTIVAL, page 2
FACULTY RESEARCH
UNI professor’s research discussed in national media WHITNEY PHILLIPS Staff Writer
KARI BRAUMANN Executive Editor
A study on unsubstantiated claims of “job killing” in the U.S. media drew national attention for a University of Northern Iowa professor and his research partner. Chris Martin, a UNI professor of communication studies, conducted the study with Peter Dreier, a professor of politics and urban and environmental policy at Occidental College. Using the databases LexisNexis and ProQuest, the researchers examined occurrences of individuals’ claims that policies were “job killers” as reported in the New York Times, the Washington Post, the Wall Street Journal and Associated Press news stories. Martin and Dreier searched stories from those news organizations beginning in 1984 (the earliest year for which data was available). Terms such as “job killer,” “job-killing” or “kills jobs” appeared in 381 stories. However, in more than 90 percent of cases,
the journalists did not substantiate their sources’ “job killing” claims. “Job killing” claims were fairly uncommon in news stories until the early ‘90s, around the beginning of the Clinton administration. According to Martin, these terms are disproportionately leveled at one political party. “It goes down and (is) used less often in Republican administrations and more
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... the fact that the news media doesn’t fact-check their (stories) is more worrisome.
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Chris Martin
UNI communication studies professor
often during Democratic administrations,” Martin said. “And even more specifically, it seems to be targeted at the policies of the Democratic administrations.” Martin explained that the issue is not whether
one party is being unfairly attacked, but whether the media are uncritically reporting individuals’ statements, regardless of whether they are true. “The fact that they (the policies) are being called job killers isn’t worrisome, but the fact that the news media doesn’t fact check their (stories) is more worrisome,” Martin said. As a professor who teaches courses in mass communication and journalism, Martin said he finds it “disturbing” that some journalists are not verifying the facts behind their sources’ quotes. The journalist’s job, he said, is “not just being a stenographer and writing down what people say, but actually checking things out to see whether that is true or not.” Martin speculated on the reasons why media professionals may not attempt to substantiate their sources’ information in news stories. It is possible that some journalists are simply lazy and don’t bother to fact-check, he said. “Another reason is that some journalists are under the impressions that if you
Courtesy Photo
Chris Martin, UNI professor of communication studies, is pictured. Martin and Peter Dreier of Occidental College conducted a recent study on unsbustantiated claims about “job killing” policies in the media.
fact-check a source, that you are not being objective and that you are picking on the source,” Martin explained. “But to be objective is picking on what that person says but not putting your opinion to it.” In other words, it is more objective to fact-check individuals’ allegations than to be “hands-off,” Martin said, and regardless of a source’s political convictions, “everyone should be fact-checked.” During election seasons, political ads fill the airwaves
and other media. Martin believes the media can play a role in sifting through the constant flow of information and the back-and-forth of political arguments. “It’s difficult for us, as citizens, to sort through this,” Martin said. “And one of the real democratic purposes of the news is to help people sort through things. … Otherwise it’s just a cacophony of sound bites and quotes competing. So we need help sorting through that as citizens.” Martin noted that in his and Dreier’s study, the number of occurrences of “job killer” claims began increasing during roughly the last three years of the George W. Bush administration and for the past three years of Barack Obama’s administration. The number of claims went up 1,156 percent, “which is extraordinary,” he said. “That kind of illustrates that there is this partisan element to the use of that term,” Martin said. “And there very well may be certain terms that Democrats use against Republicans, but < See RESEARCH, page 2