Permanent link to MTA daily media news

Candorville

Why is it OK for the coal industry to break the law?
Often after accidents like the one at Crandall Canyon, Utah, mine operators claim their mines had relatively few violations. Even if that’s true—and often it isn’t—‘relatively few’ just isn’t good enough in a risky venture like coal mining, says Charleston Gazette reporter Ken Ward, Jr.

Tell The Post: The Problem Isn’t Subprime
[T]he problem is in the housing market more generally… As prices decline, more homeowners will find that they owe more than the value of their home, which will make default a very inviting option… Maybe if the Post didn’t rely so much on David Lereah (the author of Why the Real Estate Boom Will Not Bust and How You Can Profit From It) it wouldn’t be so surprised by the problems in the housing market.

The Fed Does Not Buy Mortgage-Backed Securities!!!!!!
Both the NYT and Washington Post … claimed that the Fed buys mortgage-backed securities (MBS) as one of the ways in which it injects reserves into the financial system… This is NOT true… The only departure from standard practice was that the Fed encouraged banks to use MBS as collateral. This was clearly an effort, albeit modest, to shore up the market for these assets.
McClatchy got it right, as usual.

Aarrgghh! False New Media Meme Claims That War Critics Across The Board See Progress In Iraq
Okay, this is getting serious. The media carnival about alleged war critics Michael O’Hanlon and Kenneth Pollack “suddenly” expressing optimism about the surge is now threatening to balloon into something much larger than those two, a meme much more grotesque and Frankenstein-like. Call it a Franken-meme. The new Franken-meme goes like this: War critics in general — not just the Dynamic Duo from Brookings — are now “conceding” that real, honest-to-God military progress is being made in Iraq.

Kristol: Surge deserves ‘another six months.’
On Wednesday, the Weekly Standard’s Bill Kristol discussed his recent trip to Iraq on right-wing radio host Hugh Hewitt’s talk show, where he said Bush’s strategy “certainly deserves another six months to play out.”
The never-ending six months, once again.

U.S. Says Iran-Supplied Bomb Kills More Troops
A front-pager accusing Iran of supplying a popular type of roadside bomb to Shiite militants in Iraq contains absolutely nothing new. But what’s interesting is that [reporter Michael R.] Gordon is forced to insert a graph saying some people disagree with the official judgment. His arm is being twisted, so he attributes partisan motivation to their skepticism in order to undermine it.

Beauchamp Update
If you’ve been following the Scott Thomas Beauchamp Affair, I strongly recommend reading the latest update from The New Republic. The short version is that the Army’s investigation of the case appears to be confined to a) releasing no information about their investigation or details of its findings, b) leaking alleged details to the Weekly Standard, which no one will confirm on the record and c) keeping Beauchamp himself in communications lockdown where no one but family members in monitored conversations can communicate with him.

NY Times, USA Today repeated Bush attack on Dems without noting bipartisan criticism of Gonzales
The New York Times and USA Today uncritically reported President Bush’s attacks on Democrats over congressional investigations of Alberto Gonzales, but neither newspaper noted that criticism of Gonzales has been bipartisan: numerous Republicans have called for Gonzales’ resignation, several have criticized the administration’s lack of cooperation with congressional investigations, and senior Republican Judiciary Committee members have joined Democrats in voting to authorize subpoenas of Bush administration officials as part of investigations involving Gonzales.

FAIR Action Alert: MSNBC’s ‘Truth Squad’
After the August 7 Democratic debate, MSNBC reporter David Shuster weighed in with what the cable channel called a “truth squad” segment, ostensibly intended to fact check various claims by the candidates. But the result had less to do with clarifying the facts than with protecting Bush from harsh criticism.

Slain Oakland editor’s final story will be told, says publisher
Oakland Post publisher Paul Cobb says threats won’t stop him from running murdered editor Chauncey Bailey’s reporting. “It ain’t over. This community will know what Chauncey Bailey and I were working on,” he told a standing-room-only crowd at Bailey’s funeral. “I want us to make his untimely, forced exodus our genesis, our genesis of renewed advocacy for investigative journalism.”

After Assault, Shots Fired at Georgia Newspaper Office
Colquitt County authorities are preparing to send two separate cases involving violence against a Miller County newspaper to the grand jury, the city’s police chief said. For one thing: Police say shots were fired from a speeding car into the newspaper’s offices and an adjacent classroom used by a junior college.

Gannett CEO to Employees: Company Not for Sale
Craig Dubow, CEO of Gannett, threw water on the rumors that Gannett might be preparing itself for a sale based on compensation actions revealed in the company’s 10-Q filing.

The Hidden Cost of Newsroom Cuts
Newspaper layoffs and buyouts are bad news for obvious reasons. Staffers lose good jobs, readers get a not-as-good paper, and more. What may not be as obvious is how a smaller staff affects a newspaper’s direct interactions with readers — and circulation loss that may follow.

Gannett Launches Local Mobile Sites
News company Gannett announced today that it is entering the mobile market and will make its breaking news, sports, weather and local information available to mobile phone users in 100 local markets.

July Traffic Slows at Newspaper Web Sites
NEW YORK Online traffic is slowing this summer, according to an analysis by Wachovia Equity Research analyst John Janedis.

Roanoke Times adds “senior editor of new channels” position
Dwayne Yancey is assigned to it. A release says he will “focus on developing new strategies, or ‘channels,’ to reach underserved, targeted readers through non-traditional content and formats. These strategies will include providing intensely local coverage, drawing on databases for enterprise reporting and engaging readers through interactive Web tools and emerging platforms.”

Debates, freed
NBC and ABC have now joined CNN in freeing up the debates they air for our unrestricted use and remixing. Bravo. MoveOn heaps on the praise and after scolding them for not doing this I’ll now join in the heaping.

‘Second Life’ sex machine spawns lawsuit
Kevin Alderman didn’t bring sex to “Second Life.” He just made it better. The 46-year-old entrepreneur recognized four years ago that people would pay to equip their online selves — which start out with the smooth anatomy of a Barbie or Ken doll — with realistic genitalia and even more to add some sexy moves.
And can the avatars buy penis enlargement software?

Federal Effort on Web Obscenity Shows Few Results
A program that has monitored sexual Web sites for illegal material over the last several years has not resulted in a single prosecution.
Maybe they’re too busy enjoying the porn.

Google to Stop Web Video Rentals, Sales
Google Inc. is shutting down a service that sold and rented online video, ending a 19-month experiment doomed by the proliferation of free clips on other Web sites like the Internet search leader’s YouTube subsidiary. The decision, confirmed late Friday, underscores Google’s intention to concentrate its financial muscle and brainpower on developing an advertising format to capitalize on the immense popularity of online video.