Media
30-Nov-07
Permanent link to MTA daily media news
FAIR Action Alert: Bill Clinton, Anti-War?
The New York Times and Washington Post (11/28/07) both failed to adequately challenge the dishonesty of former President Bill Clinton’s declaration that he had been opposed to the Iraq War “from the beginning.” Clinton, in fact, was a supporter of the war, both before the invasion and in the first year or so of the fighting.
What I recall is that the right wingers had a field day with Bill Clinton’s statements affirming the existence of weapons of mass destruction in Iraq.
You Say That As If It’s a Bad Thing (by Chet Scoville at Shakesville)
The Weekly Standard on [Thursday] night’s Republican debate: “America got to see a vaguely threatening parade of gun fetishists, flat worlders, Mars Explorers, Confederate flag lovers and zombie-eyed-Bible-wavers as well as various one issue activists hammering their pet causes.” What’s wrong with a little truth in advertising?
Rove refuses to answer McClellan’s claims on Plame.
Following a speech in South Texas [Wednesday], Karl Rove responded to former White House press secretary Scott McClellan’s claim that Rove, along with “Libby, the vice President, the President’s chief of staff, and the president himself” were responsible for McClellan “unknowingly” passing “along false information” about the outing of Valerie Plame. Rove dodged the question, stating that McClellan said it “had all gotten carried out of proportion“.
Rep. Hoekstra Was Source Of Joe Klein’s FISA Lies, Decries ‘Paranoid,’ ‘Self-Absorbed’ ‘Far-Left Critics’ (Think Progress, Center for American Progress)
In Time Magazine last week, columnist Joe Klein baselessly claimed that Democrats’ proposal fix to FISA would require “every foreign-terrorist target’s calls to be approved by the FISA court.” [Thursday], House Intelligence Committee member and “Bush loyalist” Pete Hoekstra (R-MI) revealed that he was a “source” for Klein’s error-filled column… Klein ignorantly claimed the RESTORE Act “would give terrorists the same legal protections as Americans.” Hoekstra adds that Klein’s assertions are a “demonstratable fact.” Rep. Rush Holt (D-NJ), a chief author of the RESTORE Act, countered that the legislation does exactly the opposite.
Republican operative’s wife attacks MoveOn.org. Oh, she’s also CNN’s new anchor Campbell Brown (by Joe Sudbay at AMERICAblog)
The wife of Dan Senor, who served as a spokesperson for Bush in Iraq, is now working for CNN… Last night, in her first week on the job, [Campbell Brown] attacked MoveOn: “… ‘General David Petraeus made his reputation taking on insurgents in Iraq. But when he came to Capitol Hill in September, he was confronted by American insurgents, a liberal anti-war group called MoveOn.org.’”… Actually, Campbell, if you want to know what real insurgents are, ask your husband and his colleagues who let the insurgency grow in Iraq under their watch. He even still has his White House web page touting that gig.
CNN’s Irresponsible Debate Coverage Undermines Its Claim As The ‘Most Trusted Name In News’
CNN bills itself as the “Most Trusted Name in News.” It has already hosted five presidential debates in the 2008 primary season, with another four scheduled. While many in the media credited the network with bringing “originality and spontaneity” to the debate process by partnering with YouTube, its debates have more often been characterized by sloppy preparation, a lack of transparency, and theatrics that undermine the intelligence of the American public.
Click through for some lowlights.
YouTube-CNN Republican Debate Reflects Poorly on New Media (by Mark ‘Rizzn’ Hopkins at Mashable)
Wednesday night, CNN and YouTube played host to a Republican debate that, as it turns out, has stirred up a bit of controversy… Michelle Malkin has been the blogger most closely advancing the research on exactly who asked the questions at the debate, and at present count, nearly 30% of all questions asked were from planted questioners. That is to say, the various Democratic Presidential campaigns put out questions to the Republican candidates, and instead of picking questions from the constituency of the Republican base, CNN decided to wave through folks into the debate who would never vote for any of the candidates in an effort to shape their image in what they hoped would be an embarrassing way.
Well, if 30% of the questions were from the opposition, doesn’t that mean that 70% were not? How does that constitute a liberal bias?
CNN ratings down in November
Despite scoring the highest-rated presidential primary debate in cable news history this month, CNN’s overall ratings fell in November, while Fox News Channel and MSNBC showed increases in primetime. CNN showed some improvement so far in this month’s move of “Lou Dobbs Tonight” to 7 p.m., but it has seen a sharp decline with its “American Morning.” Meanwhile, MSNBC beat CNN in November for second place in what the business calls “sales prime,” between 7 p.m.-2 a.m. ET — primetime on both coasts.
So, whatever your strategy is, CNN, it ain’t workin’.
WaPo Reporter Responds To All The Criticism Of Front-Page Obama Muslim Piece (by Greg Sargent at TPM Horse’s Mouth)
Okay, the Washington Post reporter who wrote [Thursday’s] front page article on the rumors that Obama is a Muslim has now responded to all the criticism of the piece… “I think the story makes clear, including in the candidate’s own words, he is a Christian.”… [T]he problem here is that WaPo, and not just Obama, should have “denied the accuracy” of the Obama-is-a-Muslim nonsense. The Obama Muslim smear is based on lies, not “rumors.”… That’s what everyone is yelling about.
Mandates and Mudslinging (by Paul Krugman)
[U]nder the [Barack] Obama [health care] plan, … people who did the right thing and bought insurance when they were healthy would end up subsidizing those who didn’t sign up for insurance until or unless they needed medical care… Mr. Obama, then, is wrong on policy. Worse yet, the words he uses to defend his position make him sound like Rudy Giuliani inveighing against “socialized medicine”: he doesn’t want the government to “force” people to have insurance, to “penalize” people who don’t participate. I recently castigated Mr. Obama for adopting right-wing talking points about a Social Security “crisis.” Now he’s echoing right-wing talking points on health care.
Here’s a lesson for you, mainstream media. THIS is the kind of insight and coverage of political issues that we the public need, to be good citizens—no matter what you THINK we want.
Mythbuster: Hispanics take up English the old-fashioned way
WASHINGTON — Just like previous immigrant groups, Hispanic immigrants in the United States speak little English in the first generation, but English dominates in the lives of the second generation and Spanish fades in the third, according to a study released Thursday. The classic pattern, reported by the Pew Hispanic Center, a Washington-based nonprofit research group, partially counters concerns raised in immigration debates that Hispanics in the United States will cluster in Spanish-speaking enclaves rather than assimilate and learn English, as previous immigrant groups have done.
If the media won’t do the mythbusting, turn to the courts: Rape case reform in the UK. (by Vanessa at Feministing)
Not one week after UK women Reclaimed the Night on Saturday, we find that juries will now be “briefed” before rape cases in order to dispel “rape myths” that studies have shown to contribute to a severe decrease in rape convictions in the UK…
Do Not Say That New Home Sales Increased! (by Dean Baker)
The Census Bureau reported that new homes sold at a 728,000 annual rate in October, up from a 716,000 annual rate reported for September. Bad things will happen to anyone who highlights this increase. The September sales data were revised down by 54,000 from a previously reported annual rate of 770,000. This means that the annual sales rate for October is 42,000, or 5.5 percent, lower than the previously reported September rate.
Media Matters for America headlines
Beck invoked purported “reconquista” movement in discussion of rioting in France
CNN’s Roberts equated “Christian conservatives” with “values voters”
Blitzer again ignored Bush’s inconsistent statements on Pakistani sovereignty
Sun-Times omitted key information in suggesting Obama conflict of interest
Resource: Vast Nazi archive opens to public
AMSTERDAM, Netherlands - After more than 60 years, Nazi documents stored in a vast warehouse in Germany were unsealed Wednesday, opening a rich resource for Holocaust historians and for survivors to delve into their own tormented past.
AP expands global coverage as papers close foreign bureaus
The AP family tree now branches out to 243 bureaus in 97 countries. “Keeping our people safe is a major part of the job,” says John Daniszewski, who oversees the AP’s international operations. “Ten to 20 years ago, journalists were widely respected as neutral. Unfortunately, now, in many places in the world, journalists are targets.”
“The biggest story of my entire life” never turns out that way
That’s what Time veteran Karen Tumulty tells Evan Smith. “I thought that about Iran-Contra, and a few years later I was covering Clinton’s impeachment. I thought that about impeachment, and a few years later I was covering the Florida recount. I thought that about the Florida recount, and a few years later I was covering 9/11.”
Hollywood studios send writers new offer
LOS ANGELES (AP) — Film and TV writers who’ve been on strike for nearly a month are mulling a new contract offer from Hollywood studios. Producers said the offer they presented Thursday, dubbed the “New Economic Partnership,” would pay writers millions of dollars extra for work shown on the Internet, a central issue in negotiations.
Networks set for $120m from web ads
The four US television networks in a pay dispute with Hollywood television writers over online video advertising are in line to generate $120m of revenues in 2007 from free web streaming of their content, according to a leading media buyer.
Appeals Court Voids Agreement to Pay Freelancers for Work Published on the Web
A federal appeals court yesterday threw out a hard-fought agreement between publishers and freelance writers to pay the writers for electronic reproduction of their work. In a 2-to-1 decision, an appellate panel ruled that the courts had no jurisdiction over the copyright dispute and that a lower court erred in accepting the writers’ lawsuit and approving the settlement… “The decision is an outrage, and I hope it’s appealable to the Supreme Court,” said Gerard Colby, president of the National Writers Union, and a plaintiff.
This is the tactic that is being used by right-wing activist judges to negate agreements, legislation, and even court decisions they don’t like. They just claim that they side they don’t want to win has no standing. They don’t even have to rule on the questions of law.
ABC News, union reach contract agreement
ABC News said Thursday that it reached a tentative new contract with workers represented by the Writers Guild of America East that includes a 3.5% wage increase and a one-time signing bonus.
The union, comprising approximately 250 news writers, editors, artists and assistants in New York and Washington, D.C., has been working under an expired contract since Jan. 31, 2005.
Jesus loves ‘His Dark Materials’ (by Mark Morford)
Oh my God yes, they are protesting. They are pamphleting. The Catholic League and Focus on the Family and evangelical/fundamentalist Christian blogs from here to Colorado Springs, they are calling on their trembling armies to boycott [the first movie made from Philip Pullman’s astonishing “His Dark Materials” trilogy, “The Golden Compass,”] because they believe that Pullman’s brilliant books … are not only aggressively anti-Christian, they ultimately describe, as their grand finale, nothing less than the death of God… [But] the nefarious thing the books aim to kill is, well, religious authority. It’s about the destruction of dogma. It’s about power, about who wants to control and manipulate life on Earth; it is about blind, ignorant, even violent adherence to insidiously narrow codes of thought and belief and behavior, sex and desire and love.
No wonder they’re protesting. People can’t be allowed to decide for themselves when and how to have sex. It would destroy the universe, everyone knows that!
Kids Create TV Shows on Qubo (by Kristen Nicole at Mashable)
Qubo, the bilingual children’s literacy website … is getting ready to roll out some new content on its channels, as well as some new interactive tools for children… Every week, viewers will be able to create their own animated episode of the “Zimmer Twins” using the interactive application, which will go live [Friday]. Additionally, those kids that make their own “Zimmer Twins” episode have the chance of getting their story featured on NBC, ION and Telmundo. I really like this level of interactivity for children, especially when it’s used in an educational way.
Start the exploitation early. Grab them as kids, and they’ll never expect to be paid for their creativity.
Yahoo Hack Day “Mashup” Launched for Testing (by Kristen Nicole at Mashable)
Yahoo Local is further expanding its ongoing initiative by rolling out a new feature called Neighbors… Neighbors actually consists of tools from Yahoo Answers and functions from Yahoo’s suggestion boards, and it allows users to discuss and organize around local issues. The purpose is to enable users to make suggestions for the improvement and maintenance of their communities, and even offers the ability to vote on suggestions.
Google Reader Adds Drag and Drop (by Mark ‘Rizzn’ Hopkins at Mashable)
Of all the Web 2.0 and social media tools I’ve adopted over the last year or so, the one that has changed the way I function on the internet most significantly would have to be Google Reader. I’ve always collected RSS feeds, and as a podcaster, they’re central to my bread and butter… Google Reader is getting a good upgrade today, in case you haven’t noticed: recommendations and drag and drop functionality.
Facebook revamps new advertising system
SAN FRANCISCO - Seeking to keep the peace in its popular online hangout, Facebook Inc. has overhauled a new advertising system that sparked privacy complaints by turning its users into marketing tools for other companies.
Mark Cuban’s Radical Idea: Facebook Classifieds that Pay You to Sell (by Kristen Nicole at Mashable)
Mark Cuban’s latest radical idea: classifieds. His latest Facebook application, Radical Buy, lets you buy and sell items through the popular social network. It doesn’t sound all that radical, but it has an interesting twist. Borrowing from the affiliate advertising model, sellers can offer a commission for users that help their items get sold. That means you can post Jimmy’s “Wild Animal Trofees” listing on your profile, and if a sale is completed through you, then you earn the commission.
It’s kind of derivative, actually. Amway has gone before.
Wi-Fi reaches out to gadgets
NEW YORK (Reuters) - Suited executives, grungy teens and even some savvy grannies are already using Wi-Fi to wirelessly link their laptops to the Internet. It may not be long before the short-range high-speed technology is just as popular for those looking to connect music players, phones, cameras, game consoles and more.
Google To Bid For Wireless Spectrum (by Stan Schroeder at Mashable)
According to [the Wall Street Journal], Google will apply to bid for the 700 MHz spectrum in a January Federal Communications Commission auction. This confirms frequent speculations that Google is interested in the wireless spectrum.
EU nations endorse standard system for mobile TV
BRUSSELS (AFP) - The rapid roll-out of television on mobile phones across Europe took a key step forward on Thursday with EU member states supporting an industry standard for the bloc.
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