Hundreds of Michael Sam supporters lined Stadium Blvd. and Providence Road in Columbia on Saturday, Feb. 15, blocking out a protest by the Westboro Baptist Church.
Sam, a former MU football player and NFL prospect, made international headlines last week when he came out as gay.
Members of the Topeka, Kan.-based church said they would return to Columbia to protest Sam's coming out and the MU community's support of him. They were last here protesting the funeral of Army Spc. Sterling Wyatt in July 2012.
We'll look at how local different media outlets covered this story -- or didn't.
KMIZ: "Students stand on Stadium to support Sam”
Mark Slavit, KRCG: “Michael Sam protest draws large opposition”
Ashley Jost, Columbia Daily Tribune: “Former MU star feels supported as hundreds turn out to ‘Stand with Sam’"
Brandon Foster, Samuel Hardiman, Vernike Collazo, Columbia Missourian: “Turning backs on protesters, hundreds form wall to support Sam”
Rickelle Pimentel, KBIA: “Hundreds form human wall in support of Michael Sam”
Nina Mandell, USA Today: “Missouri students block Westboro Bapitst Church’s protest of Michael Sam”
Local news… phony?
According to a Pew Research study, three quarters of adults get their news from local television broadcasts. But, what if the news they're consuming isn't trustworthy? What if, like this clip below, it's simply a press release repackaged and sent out to stations via network feeds?
Zaid Jalani, AlterNet: “Hilarious and depressing video exposes how phony local tv news has become”
Patrick Kevin Day, Los Angeles Times: “For Valentine’s Day, Conan O’Brien helps news anchors say ‘I love you’”
New era for late night
Eleven million people tuned in Monday night to see Jimmy Fallon's debut as host of NBC's 'Tonight Show.' Does this usher in a new era for late night? How will Fallon compare to those who filled that seat before him?
Brian Feldman, The Wire: “Fallon’s ‘Tonight Show’ debut has surprise guests but no real surprises”
Tim Goodman, The Hollywood Reporter: “Jimmy Fallon: A strong first ‘Tonight Show’ belies the long wait ahead for late night dominance”
Bill Carter, New York Times: “’Tonight’ Show returns to New York after nearly 42 years”
Todd Leopold, CNN: “Fallon’s ‘Tonight Show’: Throwback, or late night’s new guard?”
Katherine Fung, Huffington Post: “Chris Cuomo goes after Jon Stewart: “Just a court jester’”
Bringing Bode Miller to tears
Bode Miller was obviously emotional after winning a bronze medal in the super-G, and when he did an interview with NBC's Christin Cooper for a post-race interview, the tears flowed.
VIDEO: NBC: "Bode Miller's flood of emotion"
Richard Sandomir, the New York Times; "NBC Pushes Too Far in Bringing Bode Miller to Tears"
Scott Stump, TODAY: "Bode Miller on NBC reporter: 'I don't blame her at all' for emotional interview"
Missy Khamvongsa, The Washington Post; "Bode Miller breaks down during NBC interview"
Comcast/Time-Warner Cable Merger
What happens when the nation's largest cable company agrees to buy the second-largest? That's what many Comcast and Time-Warner Cable customers are asking themselves right now. If regulators approve the merger, the mega-cable compay will serve one in three U.S. households.
Tim Wu, The New Yorker: “The real problem with the Comcast-Time Warner merger”
David Carr, New York Times: “Stealthily, Comast fortifies its arsenal”
John Nichols, The Nation: “Merging cable giants is ‘an affront to the public interest’”
Matthew C. Klein, Bloomberg: “Stop whining about the Comcast-Time Warner merger”
Farahad Manjoo, New York Times: “Comcast vs. the cord cutters”
Doug Gross, CNN: “What a Comcast-Time Warner deal could mean for you”
Hiring a newsroom data chief
The New York Times has hired a new data miner -- a biologist with a PhD. in theoretical physics -- to help lead the newsroom in its data reporting efforts. What might we expect from this experiment?
Rebecca Greenfield, Fast Company: “Why the New York Times hired a biology researcher as its chief data scientist”
Tracey Wallace, Umbel; "Does Data Mining Require a PhD? Probably Not -- But The New York Times Hired One"
Maia Bix, Columbia Spector; "Math professor joins New York Times as chief data scientist"
