When journalists get arrested, usually it's to protect an anonymous source or support the First Amendment. Video blogger Lindsay Campbell of MobLogic.tv chose jail in order to better understand the story she was covering.

At the end of the clip below, Campbell questions why reporters are supposed to avoid becoming part of the story. She asks why it's wrong to relate her feelings about a story along with the facts?

As a reporter, I was taught not to do these things. But watching Campbell's piece, I wonder if there aren't new ways to approach news coverage we should all think about? New technology, a new generation...

About 20% of Newsweek's staff took a recent job buyout offer, according to a Wall Street Journal story today. That's a pretty big number, but nothing all that new in the news business.

The real news IMHO is the fact that magazines publishing on a weekly basis still exist at all.

Think about it. TIME. Newsweek. BusinessWeek. Just about the only thing that differentiates them is their weekly schedule.

Now, once upon a time this was indeed a differentiator. But today, with both up-to-the-minute news and context/opinion available from myriad sources, what's the point of a "weekly?" The Journal story picked up on this point somewhat:

As news budgets tighten and local papers continue to focus on their own communities, the disturbing question about who is covering the rest of the world becomes even more critical.

The answer, sadly, is fewer and fewer organizations. The good news is my old alma mater, The Associated Press, is stepping in to fill the void.

There's a great story about the AP's dedication to foreign news and how it covers such stories in the current issue of American Journalism Review. Some stats from the story:

The AP family tree branches out to 243 bureaus in 97 countries, serving news outlets with a potential to reach 1 billion people a day. Those numbers make the wire service the world's largest and most expensive newsgathering operation, says Rick Edmonds, a media business analyst at the Poynter Institute.

While outlets for business news keep on shrinking, at least one medium seems to be on the rise: cable TV.

The Fox Business network is busily preparing for an Oct. 15 launch, and by the looks of its website the network is shooting for slick. The site opens with a short web promo put out there to stoke our interest.

Here's Dealbreaker's take on the Fox Business site:

It’s short of business content but has a crisp look, and none of the busy-ness that makes CNBC.com look so cluttered. They’re also clearly playing up the glamour shots of the network's hotties, such as reporters Jenna Lee and Shibani Joshi.

This story has been stirring debate since it was announced last night: Google News is going to allow comments on its stories, but only by those individuals and organizations who are "actual participants" in the stories.

For communicators, this is quite interesting. A way to respond to stories as they appear on this very large and influential news aggregator.

A great deal of ink has been given to Rupert Murdoch's now apparently successful bid for Dow Jones & Co., publisher of The Wall Street Journal. Part of this is because the news media love to cover ... the news media.

However, we are also talking about one of the best newspapers in the country and, importantly, a place that's always been a dream for aspiring writers in small and midsized newsrooms everywhere.

The New York Times may be the paper of record, but the Journal has always attracted those who see themselves as writers. Its great creativity and willingness to take risks with its page one stories -- particularly those in the center column -- gave heart to hardworking scribes everywhere.

Topix, the news aggregation site, created this video with PodTech asking people what they feel is wrong with local news.

It's an interesting piece. (Runtime, about 4.5 minutes.)

Technorati Tags: news, journalism, topix

It's worth taking note that even as news professionals ponder their "broken business" with dismay, a few innovative news outlets are expanding, perhaps in a sign of things to come.

Call them -- citizens journalism -- outlets.

The first, launched last week, is Topix.com, formerly the news aggregator Topix.net. With a page for each zip code in the country and a policy allowing anybody to post or edit reports, commentary and photos about local happenings, Topix.com gives local citizens the power to determine what's news. As noted on WebWare, its editors are users; editors can write stories of their own, and non-editors can comment on stories and submit them.

Word is out that the San Francisco Chronicle is in "big trouble" and looking at layoffs. That's no big surprise in today's difficult environment for newspapers.

However, a quote at O'Reilly Radar attributed to the paper's editor should raise red flags across the news business: