Media
04-Dec-07
Permanent link to MTA daily media news
Countdown: Bush’s Nukyular Credibility Meltdown (by Logan Murphy at Crooks and Liars)
As [David] Shuster and [Rachel] Maddow point out [on Countdown], the Bush administration has no shame, which is why they had no problem trotting out National Security Adviser, Stephen Hadley, to float the ridiculous notion that [Monday’s NIE] report wasn’t completed until Tuesday of last week and that President Bush only learned that Iran halted its nuclear program four years ago — the following day. This story has been spun three ways from Sunday.
Click through to watch the video.
Congress (Probably) Didn’t Compel Release of Iran Intel Report (by Spencer Ackerman at TPM Muckraker)
Kevin Drum speculated earlier today that pressure from the Democratic-controlled Congress might have pushed Mike McConnell, the director of national intelligence, into releasing today’s National Intelligence Estimate, which judges that Iran doesn’t have an active nuclear weapons program. It’s an assessment that’s certainly in line with past practice: after all, the administration isn’t in the habit of releasing much information at all, let alone data points that suggest Iran can’t, you know, start World War Three. But in this case, it looks like McConnell took the initiative without help.
FEAR OF CHAVEZ IS FEAR OF DEMOCRACY (by Greg Palast)
The Bush Administration and its press puppies - the same ones who couldn’t get enough of the purple thumbs of voters of Iraq - are absolutely livid that this weekend the electorate of Venezuela had the opportunity to vote. Typical was the mouth-breathing editorial by the San Francisco Chronicle, that the referendum could make Hugo Chavez, Venezuela’s President, “a constitutional dictator for life.”… We were not told this weekend’s referendum was a vote on term limits… The “President for Life” canard was mis-reported by no less than The New York Times.
Even I fell for it, EVEN I! I made a comment yesterday that no one should be president for life, when I reported on the defeat of the Chavez constitutional changes. Reader JGK pointed out correctly via email that the changes Chavez was seeking actually only removed term limits from the office he holds, as Greg Palast reported above. But I disagree with Greg in this respect: I reserve the right to be afraid of any national leader who has made statements like the ones Chavez has made, and that doesn’t mean I’m afraid of democracy. In some ways Chavez sounds very much like George W. Bush, of whom I’m deathly afraid.
Tamara Baker commented via email on Sean Hannity’s invocation of Sandy Berger to defend Rudy Giuliani’s misuse of taxpayer funds
Hollering “Sandy Berger!” is the ultimate Wookie Defense: It’s a blatant attempt to distract by mentiong something that has absolutely nothing to do with the subject at hand. Actually, strike that: It shows, just as do Rudy’s actions, the fundamental dishonesty that is part and parcel of being a modern Republican. Berger was cleared of the very actions the right-wingers keep claiming he did . When even the WSJ’s editorial page — no fans of the Clintons or their staffers — have grudingly defended Berger, you know that the smear is silly.”
Why I get mad at Obama about Social Security (by Paul Krugman)
So I just spent a fairly unpleasant 15 minutes on right-wing talk radio. And the host said — this is rough, not a verified quote — “Look, everyone knows that Social Security is going bust, and we’d all be better off if we could put out money in 401(k)s. Even Barack Obama says so!”
And that is exactly why no self-respecting progressive should ever utter even half a sentence that even seems to support any right-wing talking point.
Junk Columnists (by Josh Marshall at Talking Points Memo)
Charles Krauthammer wrote an aggressively vapid column claiming that the recent breakthrough in stem cell research, which allows scientists to trick skin cells into acting like embryonic stem cells, vindicates the restrictions President Bush placed in the way of stem cell research… [Monday, researchers responded,] explaining that his conclusions are flawed and that he doesn’t understand the basic science. If only it were so easy on foreign policy …
All editors, TV producers should read RS’s drug war story
Jack Shafer says Ben Wallace-Wells’ piece in Rolling Stone captures the complete costs of the drug war better than any journalist he’s read in a long time. “There is no reason that this project couldn’t have been conceived and executed by any newspaper in America. No reason except that too many editors, most of whom have indulged in illicit substances, fear the consequences of telling their readers the truth about drugs (canceled subscriptions, invective from Limbaugh and O’Reilly, loss of respect at the country club or university club).”
Media Matters for America headlines
Matthews described Obama as “almost Third World in his sort of presentation”
Fox News refuses to run pro-Constitution ad
Perfect 10 Not Destined for SCOTUS (by Mark ‘Rizzn’ Hopkins at Mashable)
Whether it was because the aspect of pornography involved with the case, or it was the odd aversion to cases involving intellectual property, the Supreme Court today decided that they would not hear out an appeal by an online publisher claiming credit-card companies are enabling the piracy of its pictures of nude models. In terms of intellectual property, the lines are continuing to blur on exactly what constitutes fair use and what constitutes piracy and theft.
Killing the print edition, going online-only might make sense
That’s what Bill Richards concludes after doing the math. He created a hypothetical paper called that Bugle-Interrogator and created financials for it based on data from a dozen real papers. One of his findings: “If the B-I decided to kill its print edition and replace it with an e-paper it could immediately cut $27.2 million, or 38%, from its variable cost budget by eliminating outlays for production, circulation, and newsprint.”
Keller says bloggers, search engines can’t replace reporting
New York Times executive editor Bill Keller says the gravest danger to the future of newspapers isn’t political pressure, nor the “acid rain” of criticism from bloggers or new technology upending the business model. “It is a loss of faith, a failure of resolve on the part of the people who make newspapers.” Reporting, he says, “cannot be replaced by a search engine. … What is absent from the vast array of new media outlets is, first and foremost, the great engine of newsgathering — the people who witness events, ferret out information, supply context and explanation.” … || Jeff Jarvis comments on what Keller said about him.
Well, Mr. Keller, a lot of new media folks like Josh Marshall, who DO do newsgathering, will be surprised to hear what you have to say.
Writers’ Strike: As Reruns Take Over Television, Eyes Shift To New Media
Will they ever go back to mainstream media?
Departing Gawker writer complains about new pay system
Gawker now pays writers according to how many times people view their blog posts rather than only by how many posts they write. Emily Gould, one of the three editors who just resigned, says the system pits writers against one another. “It really gets in your head in this weird way because you’re getting so conscious of how many people are reading what. You get focused on being sensational and even more brain candyish than Gawker was to start with.”
Wikipedia Paying Contributors? (by Kristen Nicole at Mashable)
Wikipedia has agreed to pay illustration contributors for their work towards the online encyclopedia. This is an unprecedented move, as wikipedia is based on volunteer work from contributors across the world. Contributors have not been compensated directly from Wikipedia’s foundation for work done on the resource site since its inception, and the very subject of the matter is a complicated one. How do you maintain a level of collaborative idealism for a self-regulated entity if people are being compensated for their work?
How & When to Credit Bloggers? (by Maryn McKenna at Poynter Online)
A blogger posts something interesting. The local metro newspaper sees that post, reports a story, and doesn’t mention the blog. Should the blogger be credited? What about if the blog post is the first local coverage of the story? Or if the reporter interviewed the blogger? Those questions and others — about the media food chain, originality, transparency — are bouncing around the Twin Cities blogosphere following a Minneapolis Star-Tribune story that apparently owed some inspiration to a local blogger’s posts.
The answer is that we should always credit the person from whom we “borrow” an idea or an insight, no matter who the borrower and no matter who is borrowed from.
AMC’s ‘Mad Men’: Sexism and the ’60s
Matthew Weiner’s show Mad Men provides a window for today’s young women to learn about the conditions that shaped previous generations of feminists, from whom they often feel estranged.
This is exactly the kind of thing Hollywood can do to teach younger folks how the world has changed for the better. Cold Case does a pretty good job, too, of showing what discrimination is like—the one on CBS, no the one on A&E.
‘Giuliani Time’: Just When You Thought You Knew How Evil He Is
As the film “Giuliani Time” reveals, rarely has one man so successfully harnessed the hatred and ignorance of the U.S. public for poor people and people of color.
Pat Robertson stepping down as network CEO
Evangelist and political activist Pat Robertson is stepping down as chief executive officer of Christian Broadcasting Network and will be replaced by his son Gordon, the elder Robertson announced [Monday]. Pat Robertson, 77, founded the network in 1960 and grew it into a national powerhouse, with cable and broadcast outlets across the country. He’ll stay on as chairman.
Imus Is Back, Chastened but Still Proudly Obnoxious
Back on air after eight months, Don Imus vowed not to say anything like the disparaging remarks that got him fired.
News Corp. Buys Beliefnet.com
Steve Waldman’s belief paid off today when News Corp. purchased Beliefnet.com, the spirituality-based Web site Waldman founded in 1999 and has run as editor-in-chief since… Beliefnet.com, which boasts over 3.1 million unique visitors a month, won the General Excellence Online Ellie in 2007 this past May, beating out Slate and ESPN.com. On November 12, they launched a beta social networking portal aimed at religious devotees, spiritual leaders, and faith-based groups.
Web the Perfect Medium for Ad Targeting
NEW YORK (AP) - Golf club manufacturers have long placed ads in printed golf magazines. Movie studios tend to run television spots before a weekend rather than after. Targeting got even more precise as advertising moved to the Internet.
Facebook Admits Ad Service Tracks Logged-Off Users
Facebook has confirmed findings of a CA security researcher that the social-networking site’s Beacon ad service is more intrusive and stealthy than previously acknowledged, an admission that contradicts statements made previously by Facebook executives and representatives.
AdMob and LandRover, Changing the Game for Mobile Ads? (by Kristen Nicole at Mashable)
Land Rover has gotten in the game of targeted mobile advertising, teaming up with AdMob for a campaign rolled out across mobile phones within AdMob’s network… The demographics for Land Rover customers and iPhone users are generally in the same price bracket, and many will find the results of the campaign interesting for marketing on a mobile level with custom, targeted ads. Part of the campaign used a banner ad as a store locater, enabling mobile phone users to type in their zip code to see a map, along with directions to the nearest dealer.
The Most Anti-Tech Organizations in America
Their names keep coming up over and over again in courtrooms and corridors of power across the country–those groups whose interests always seem to run counter to those of technology companies and consumers. They come in many forms: associations, think tanks, money-raising organizations, PACs, and even other tech-oriented industries like telecommunications.
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