Permanent link to MTA daily media news

Filing reports from Burma between gunshots
For a while, reports from Rangoon flowed out via cell phones and email. Now it is pretty much blacked out, says the editor of Irrawaddy, a news magazine based in Thailand.

U.S. Confiscates AP Footage At Scene of Bloody Baghdad Bombing
BAGHDAD A daring ambush of bombs and gunfire left Poland’s ambassador pinned down in a burning vehicle Wednesday before being pulled to safety… American authorities confiscated an AP Television News videotape that contained scenes of the wounded being evacuated. U.S. military spokesman Lt. Col. Scott Bleichwehl told AP that Iraqi law make it illegal to photograph or videotape the aftermath of bombings or other attacks.

U.S. pulls plug on 6 al-Qaeda media outlets
The U.S. military says it has captured at least six al-Qaeda media centers in Iraq and arrested 20 suspected propaganda leaders since June.

The More Things Change… (by Eric Alterman)
Conservatives are now spouting the “If you disagree with me, you’re a racist” brand of moral bullying that people rightly criticized liberals for years ago.

The subtext is quickly becoming the text (by Amanda Marcotte at Pandagon)
[Ann Coulter’s] insistence that women should lose the right to vote is … linked into the larger way that reactionary politics are tied up into anxious masculinity and misogyny… Coulter’s premise here is that there’s something wrong with democracy itself, because government by the people has potential to be government for the people. Yes, it’s true, that voting citizens might decide that the government should work for them instead of work to oppress them for the benefit of a neofeudal corporatism.

Bloggers to Gain Protection Through Free Flow of Information Act
The blurred distinction between journalist and blogger received further confusion during a U.S. Senate committee on Thursday. Representatives supported an amended version of the “Free Flow of Information Act” by a margin of fifteen to two. With a focus on “reporter’s privilege,” the bill could potentially extend bloggers the right to protect confidential source information.

Prosecutor says shield bill poses hazards to national security
US Attorney Patrick Fitzgerald says the proposed federal shield law would require the government to disclose in a hearing the specific damage caused by a leak — “information often more sensitive than the leak itself.” Also, he contends that “‘journalism’ is so broadly defined in the bill that it includes not just newspapers and bloggers but also criminal organizations that disseminate information widely.”

Ig Nobels honor crazy science with a point
Ten Ig Nobel prizes were awarded Thursday night for quirky, funny and sometimes legitimate scientific achievements, from the mathematics of wrinkled sheets to U.S. military efforts to make a “gay bomb.”

Puff pieces?: ABC, “60 Minutes” defend Thomas interviews
Seeing Clarence Thomas peddle his book on “60 Minutes” and “Nightline” was like watching the Home Shopping Network, says one NABJ member. “This was pure journalistic drivel.” A spokesman for the CBS newsmagazine says: “60 Minutes’ goal in this rare interview was to provide as complete a picture of Justice Thomas as we could. We believe we succeeded.” ABC says its interview was “both fair and probing.”

Clear Channel Rejects VoteVets Ad Because It ‘Conflicts’ With Listeners Who Tune Into Rush
Rush Limbaugh’s hometown radio station that broadcasts his show — WJNO AM in Palm Beach, Florida — has refused to air a VoteVets ad by Brian McGough, the Iraq war veteran who was compared by Limbaugh to a suicide bomber… [Clear Channel vice president John] Hunt’s rationale was not that the ad was inaccurate or that it posed legal issues, but rather, the ad presented information that “would conflict with the listeners who have chosen to listen to Rush Limbaugh.”
God forbid that Limbaugh’s listeners should have to hear something they disagree with.

Republican party embraces Limbaugh’s attack on the troops
The congressional Republican group in charge of electing Repubs to Congress has embraced Limbaugh’s latest attack on the troops, big time. [From a Republican Party mailing:] “Facing their record of failure, Washington Democrats decided to try and distract – and so they took a man’s words out of context, then they went on the attack. That’s why I’m encouraging you to click here to ‘Stand With Rush’ and sign this petition.”

Battle lines are drawn over conservative radio
House Republicans are threatening to launch a discharge petition on legislation that would ensure the future prosperity of conservative radio talk-show hosts… Conservatives fear that forcing stations to make equal time for liberal talk radio would cut into profits so severely that radio executives would choose to scale back on conservative programming to avoid rising costs and interference from the government. Republicans’ concern has grown as Democrats have waged a battle against [Rush] Limbaugh in recent days.
Hey, they could call it the Rush Limbaugh Pilonidal Cyst Protection Discharge Petition.

Media Matters for America headlines

In column, DeLay claimed Limbaugh was discussing “Global War on Terror critics” who faked military credentials

Limbaugh website featured image of Stalin with Media Matters logo on his chest

Limbaugh on wounded Iraq vet: “I didn’t call this guy a suicide bomber”

Wash. Post reported Giuliani’s McGovern reference in “swipe[]” at Clinton, but not that Giuliani voted for McGovern

NY Sun editorial falsely claimed Obama advocates “abandon[ing] economic sanctions” against Iran

On Fox & Friends, Tyrrell falsely asserted Limbaugh had apologized for “phony soldiers” remark

Cafferty omitted mention of business groups joining labor in challenging immigration rules

USA Today, LA Times reports on Blackwater hearing didn’t note Prince’s contributions to Republicans

CNN’s Henry reported that Bush “wants to expand” SCHIP, but not that his proposal would underfund program

Mythbuster: Experts: Conventional wisdom on Clinton’s electability flawed
WASHINGTON — Hillary Clinton’s opponents are hyping this bit of conventional wisdom: If she wins the Democratic nomination, her high negative ratings in polls will make it especially difficult for her to win the general election in November 2008… But polling experts say that Clinton’s negatives - generally somewhere around 45 percent of people tell pollsters they view her unfavorably - may not be politically fatal or even much of a drag.

Mythbuster: Republicans Grow Skeptical On Free Trade
WASHINGTON — By a nearly two-to-one margin, Republican voters believe free trade is bad for the U.S. economy, a shift in opinion that mirrors Democratic views and suggests trade deals could face high hurdles under a new president. The sign of broadening resistance to globalization came in a new Wall Street Journal-NBC News Poll that showed a fraying of Republican Party orthodoxy on the economy.

Pew Finds Worldwide Opposition to Patents and Copyrights (by Dean Baker)
That is not how the NYT reported the results of an international poll conducted by the Pew Global Attitudes Project, but it could have been… Government imposed monopolies like patents and copyrights arguably have no place in a free market economy… Since it is not clear how people in different countries conceive of a free market, it is not clear what the results of the Pew poll mean. For this reason, it is questionable whether its findings deserved a full article in the NYT.

Korea deal tests North’s commitment: media
SEOUL (Reuters) - South Korean media questioned on Friday whether the two Koreas’ summit pledge to seek a formal end to their 1950-53 war could be realized given Pyongyang’s record of broken promises.

How do we teach the conversation? (by Jeff Jarvis)
The reality of technology and media today is that everyone can create. The reality of business and journalism is that we must find new ways to collaborate; as our institutions shrink, our strategic challenge in news is to produce less and gather more – and thus we need to encourage others to produce more so we can gather it. And our challenge as educators is to improve the journalism that all these people, professional and amateur, do.

Newspapers: Hook ‘Em Online
WASHINGTON (AP) - Luring new readers means connecting with them on the Internet through blogs, live online chats and interactive databases, industry leaders told newspapers editors Thursday. Amid a steady decline in newspaper advertising and circulation, building communities of readers through the online experience is essential, said Jim Brady, vice president and executive editor of washingtonpost.com.

Brain drain (by Alan D. Mutter)
“What am I doing here?” a talented young designer and programmer working at a publishing company asked me recently. “These guys don’t get it. I’ve got to get out. I’m just wasting my time.”… Members of the wired generation say the process, bureaucracy and caution common to most media companies steals spontaneity and edginess away from ideas that could be appealing to their peers.

Toronto Star tries “daring” advertising pricing strategy
Starting Jan. 1, ads will run in sections selected by advertisers and a separate rate card will be developed for each section tied to readership and demographics.

Hannity named ‘radio personality’ of the year.
The National Association of Broadcasters announced today that right-wing talker Sean Hannity, who also hosts two shows on Fox News, has “won his second Marconi award, as best syndicated national radio personality.” Phil Boyce, the program director of WABC, Hannity’s home station, said “Sean wakes up every morning with a show screaming to get off his chest.”

Lewis Black judges pop culture for Comedy
LOS ANGELES (Hollywood Reporter) - Comedy Central has picked up a new pop-culture debate series starring Grammy-winning comedian Lewis Black.

Kid detectives fight childhood obesity
A new free online game is taking aim at childhood obesity. In The Incredible Adventures of the Amazing Food Detective, children join forces with a detective to solve eight mysteries of why some kids are unhealthy. By playing the game, kids learn about healthy foods and exercise habits.

MySpace Offers PayPal Integration for Non-Profits
MySpace has found a way to partner with PayPal. The two companies have teamed up to enable non-profits and political candidates to raise funds through the Impact channel, MySpace’s civic and political section… Only select non-profits and politicians will be able to integrate PayPal into their MySpace pages.
Here’s another way for Rupert Murdoch to control the electoral process.

iPhone Opening to Third-Party Apps; Not Other Networks
Here’s more reasons why Apple will only increase its control over the ability to unlock iPhones: more “official” third-party applications may be on the way. As allowing phones to be unlocked would prove dire for the licensed use of third-party games and content, its unlikely that Apple will b letting up on this end anytime soon.
They want to control your access to content.

Craigslist Adds Posting Fees in 4 More Cities
Craigslist is giving in and implementing a $25 fee for job postings on its classifieds site. There were already fees charged for posting jobs in New York and Los Angeles. The four new cities that will now see charges for job postings include Chicago, Orange County, Portland and Sacramento. The two main objectives are to bring in more cash for Craigslist, and deter junk and spam job postings from clogging up its classifieds system.

Music industry wins song-download case
NEW YORK (Reuters) - A jury has handed a victory to the music recording industry, which had claimed a Minnesota woman infringed song copyrights by using online media to illegally download and distribute music, according to court documents. 

From Imus to Industry: The Business of Stereotypes and Degrading Images
There can be no doubt that much Hip Hop product is pathological. But who’s product is it? Industry activist Lisa Fager went to Capitol Hill to school lawmakers on the real purveyors of audio and video mayhem: the music and communications corporations that control the destructive content that saturates the market.

‘Howl’ Too Hot To Hear: 50 Years After Poem Ruled Not Obscene, Radio Fears To Air It
Fifty years ago, a San Francisco judge ruled that Allen Ginsberg’s Beat-era poem “Howl” was not obscene. Yet today, a New York public broadcasting station decided not to air the poem, fearing that the FCC will find it indecent.

Security Bulletin Problem Creates Message Flood
An e-mail message responding to an antiterrorism bulletin from the Homeland Security Department turned into a flood of more than 2.2 million messages that clogged the e-mail accounts of government and private experts on domestic security.