We remember the life and legacy of Prince with Sharon Jones, Nic Harcourt and others; why SoCal police departments are having trouble recruiting enough police officers; the continuing debate over online comment sections; & creative partnerships - what's behind that good chemistry of the best collaborations?
Police departments in SoCal seeking new recruits
A hiring crunch is plaguing police departments all across Southland. The problem is so bad the Burbank Police Department recently submitted a new recruitment plan to the city to help bring in qualified applicants.
Neighboring cities like Glendale, Pasadena and Los Angeles are experiencing the same pipeline issues.
According to one source, new positions for law enforcement officers in California have jumped by 600 percent since 2010, compared with just 7 percent for firefighters during the same period.
An ever-improving economy and heightened scrutiny on the professor are factors. What can police departments do to bring in new and qualified people?
Guests:
Lou Turriaga, a 28-year veteran of the Los Angeles Police Department and a director with the Los Angeles Police Protective League, the union for LAPD officers
Maria Haberfeld, a professor of police science at John Jay College of Criminal Justice in New York City
Debate: Do comment sections still have a place on news websites?
The Internet allows just about anyone with access to have an opinion on something. Nowhere can you find a better example of this than by looking through the comment sections on news and media websites. There you'll find everything from intelligent, analytical thoughts about articles to vitriolic, hateful things written about its author or the sources quoted.
While comment sections on news websites were originally designed to be a forum for readers to share comments, opinions, and counterarguments about stories, many websites have started taking them down because of the type and frequency of violent or bigoted language. In response to some of this language, major news organizations including Reuters, Bloomberg, and The Week have nixed their comment sections altogether. The New York Times, which has several hired staff members whose sole job it is to moderate and curate comments on web stories, recently took on the issue of comment sections in its 'Room for Debate' opinion piece.
Because not everyone can afford to hire a staff like the New York Times, some companies are turning to new alternatives. Tribune Publishing, which owns The Chicago Tribune, The L.A. Times, and other major newspapers, recently started using a service called SolidOpinion.com to help curate content on the San Diego Union-Tribune's website by charging readers to comment. Essentially, it's a service that offers readers points for posting comments, and the points can be used to put one's comment in a more prominent position on the website. Alternatively, points can be purchased at a premium.
With social media allowing readers and media organizations to interact like never before, what is the place of comment sections on news sites? Do they do more harm than good? Should people be allowed to comment anonymously? What other ways are there, besides hiring staff to moderate online comments, that organizations could curate and moderate these forums?
Guests:
Karen North, clinical professor of communications and director of Digital Social Media program at the USC Annenberg School for Communication and Journalism
Chris Wolf, partner in the law firm Hogan Lovells’ Privacy and Cybersecurity practice and chair of the Anti-Cyberhate Committee of the Anti-Defamation League; he’s also co-author of the book “Viral Hate: Containing Its Spread on the Internet”
Two is better than one: the joy and benefits of creative partnerships
Lennon and McCartney. The Coen Brothers. Key and Peele. Hall and Oates. Abbott and Costello. Liam and Noel Gallagher. The Marx Brothers.
Sure, you can go at it alone. But many in the arts know that few things help them get their creative juices flowing than having a partner in crime.
From music to filmmaking to comedy, there are numerous pairs -- creative soulmates, if you will -- working together through thick and thin, mental blocks and half-baked ideas.
But how do you find your creative other half? How do you nurture and maintain a creative partnership? What are the benefits and pitfalls?
Call 866-893-5722 and let us know.
Guest:
Joshua Wolf Shenk, author of the book, “Powers of Two: Finding the Essence of Innovation in Creative Pairs” (Eamon Dolan/Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, 2014). He is also the Executive Director of the Black Mountain Institute, a literary center at UNLV