Permanent link to MTA daily media news

The Onion: Diebold accidently leaks results of 2008 elections (video)
Embarrassed Diebold officials apologized after one of their electronic voting machines prematurely revealed the winner of our upcoming sham election.
Yes, it’s a satire.

‘Bush Rangers’ rallying behind McCain. (Think Progress)
Sen. John McCain’s (R-AZ) fundraising apparatus “is increasingly beginning to resemble that of George W. Bush.” The Huffington Post reports: “Through the end of January, McCain had received roughly $200,000 in personal contributions from 2004 Bush Rangers, those major contributors who each helped the president raise more than $200,000 in his reelection bid. About a fifth of that total has come in the last month alone, an analysis of campaign finance reports shows.”
Uh huh.  Didn’t I tell you yesterday that the Bushes are behind McCain’s surge?

Clinton: I’m a Fighter (Taylor Marsh)
Clinton fights for children and families. She fights for women’s rights around the world. She fights for health care. She fights for veterans’ health care too. After a year in the primary season, Hillary Clinton has found her theme: I’m a fighter.  It does not go unnoticed that she’s fighting to win this nomination even as people want to push her out of this race. The first part of the debate it was obvious that it was three on one. Conservative women noticed it too. [Kathryn Jean Lopez at The Corner:] “It’s clear that women have it worse than blacks in America, the way Hillary Clinton is being questioned tonight… I know I have Gloria Steinem’s cell number somewhere here. I need her to talk me through this.” Too bad so many men in The Progressive Village are dumber than a conservative Republican. But that’s where “progressives” stand today. Clinton didn’t flinch at first, then finally let it rip.

Russert’s Lowest Moment (and that’s saying a lot) (by Josh Marshall at Talking Points Memo)
I would say it was borderline to bring up the issue of Farrakhan at all. But perhaps since it’s getting some media play you bring it up just for the record, for Obama to address. That’s not what Russert did. He launches into it, gets into a parsing issue over word choices, then tries to find reasons to read into the record some of Farrakhan’s vilest quotes after Obama has just said he denounces all of them. Then he launches into a bizarre series of logical fallacies that had Obama needing to assure Jews that he didn’t believe that Farrakhan “epitomizes greatness”. As a Jew and perhaps more importantly simply as a sentient being I found it disgusting. It was a nationwide, televised, MSM version of one of those noxious Obama smear emails.

How Do We Defeat Tim Russert? (by digby)
The country wants change. They want Washington to stop all the partisan bickering and they want a different tone. They want their government to be serious and deal with real problems.
Can someone please explain to me how that can possibly happen until something is done about the reprehensible political press? From tax returns to Farrakhan to footage shown by “mistake” to the endless, trivial, gotcha bullshit, this debate spectacle tonight was a classic demonstration of what people really hate about politics… These people guide the way citizens perceive politics even if the citizens don’t know it. It’s hard for me to see how anything can truly change until this is dealt with.

Has gender been a factor in Hillary Clinton’s presidential campaign? (by Dee Dee Myers)
When demonstrators at a Clinton rally shouted at her to “iron my shirt,” there was no outrage.  When Rush Limbaugh mused about whether Americans wanted to watch a woman grow old before their eyes (as if men in the White House don’t age), no one pushed back.  When a former Chief of Staff to the United States Air Force and a senior advisor to the Obama campaign was quoted saying undeniably sexist things about Hillary, the Obama campaign distanced itself from the remarks — but no one demanded the general be “fired.”  And he wasn’t. When Hillary Clinton came from behind to win the New Hampshire in February, she became the first woman in American history to win a presidential primary, a fact that got lost in the historic sweep of Obama’s campaign.
My comment: If you’re so interested in promoting success for women, then why do you so often trash Hillary Clinton in your TV appearances, Dee Dee?

From my friend Reba Shimansky, who attended an interview of Myers by Tina Brown last night: In her interview with Dee Dee Myers Tina Brown also attacked the women in the media who have been so vicious towards Hillary . She singled out Maureen Dowd who has written 7 negative columns in a row attacking Hillary. Tina Brown pointed out that once Dowd suggested that Hillary be more gentle and then later on in the same column said if she did that she would be a phony. According to Dowd there is nothing that Hillary can do right. And when someone mentioned in the audience about Hillary being a candidate only because her husband was president -she replied that nobody attacked the Bush 43 because his father was president.

Out of Favor? (by Seth Gitell, The New York Sun)
There is some merit to the claims that the press is not giving Mrs. Clinton a fair shake. There also is no doubt that some in the pundit class, particularly Chris Matthews and Keith Olbermann of MSNBC, appear gleeful at the success of her opponent… And it’s also true that tough stories about Mr. Obama are in short supply. Mr. Obama has skated over the press so far because he represents something they love: novelty, the heart of news… Senator Clinton’s last battle may be against the press.
I would argue that the Clintons have ALWAYS had to battle against the press.  Just check Bob Somerby’s incomparable archives.  Now, they’re also having to fight what Taylor Marsh has started to call the Progressive Village.  See below.

WE’RE ALL MATT DRUDGE NOW: (by Bob Somerby at The Daily Howler)
[W]e’re all Matt Drudge, as Josh Marshall and Kevin Drum made quite clear in yesterday’s posts. Drudge says it—and our “intellectual leaders” repeat it… The issue, of course, involves Drudge’s pronouncement about that photograph of Obama. Mooing contentedly, Drum observed that Drudge’s post was “ambiguous—who distributed the photo—who did it go to?” Indeed, Drum’s caveat put matters mildly; as any advanced fifth grader could see, Drudge didn’t say that “Clinton staffers” had sent the photo in question to him; he simply said that unnamed Clinton staffers had “circulated” the photo (where, he didn’t say), and he quoted an accompanying e-mail message—without saying who the e-mail had gone to.

Do you mind if we draw two simple conclusions—conclusions so simple a child could reach them? First: In all likelihood, no Clinton staffer sent the photo to Drudge, or the brilliant fellow would have said that they had. Second: For all anyone knows, some Clinton staffer sent the photo to a friend in Obama’s campaign, and the photo and e-mail proceeded from there. Is that what happened? We have no idea. But then, no one but Drudge has the slightest idea what facts (if any) lay behind his report—which didn’t keep a pair of moo-cows from mooing the Drudge story forward…

Moo-cow Marshall played things even dumber—as he often does in these latter days. As he so often does now, Marshall rushed into print with a premature judgment (the Clinton camp surely did it!), then back-pedaled in a rambling, barely-coherent “update”…—a non-clarification clarification of a type he has come to master…

Readers, are you happy? We’re all Matt Drudge now! Drudge says it—and we agree to believe it! Meanwhile, Keith goes on the air to complain about what those *ss-holes at SNL said. We’re all cheerful moo-cows now, given this level of leadership. Oh yes—one last point. Denial centers scream in your brain (as they scream in ours): What you say just can’t be right! These are our “imaginary hip white friends!” Surely, they’re serving our interests!
I’ve been saying it for a long time.  The blogosphere has become its own little reverberation chamber—at least among most of the big blogs.  DaTruth at MyDD has a timeline showing that the whole photo deal was ginned up by Freepers.

Will Ben Smith Ask Obama & “Ax” About This? (by SusanUnPC at No Quarter)

Honor and Integrity (by digby)
When a radio gasbag introduced him [Tuesday] by babbling incoherently about the “Clinton News Network” and repeating the words Barack “Hussein” Obama over and over again, St John McCain stepped up: “Any comment that was disparaging of either Senator Clinton or Senator Obama is totally inappropriate. And I have never done that in any of my campaigns and I have a long record. And I absolutely repudiate such comments. I will take responsibility. It will never happen again.” It is so wonderful to see an honorable campaign that refuses to allow anyone to be derisive toward a rival: “ At the campaign event on Monday, the woman asked McCain, ‘How do we beat the bitch?’… ‘That’s an excellent question.’”
Click through for more examples.  This is exactly how right wingers got away with the most disparaging lies about Al Gore in 2000 and John Kerry in 2004.  The candidate can claim the high road while other do the dirty work.  And then the important questions don’t get asked, or don’t get followed up on.

Got Any Follow-Up Qs, Ben Smith? (by SusanUnPC at No Quarter)
[Tuesday], Ben Smith of Politico.com reports that he didn’t get a chance to ask Barack Obama about his history with William Ayers, the unrepentant terrorist… However, intrepid reporter Smith did ask David Axelrod, Obama’s campaign manager, about the relationship: “Bill Ayers lives in his neighborhood. Their kids attend the same school,” he said. “They’re certainly friendly, they know each other, as anyone whose kids go to school together.” Barack Obama’s two children were born in 1998 and 2001. William Ayers’ and Bernadine Dorhn’s two children? They were born before 1981. (Then there’s another child Ayers/Dohrn raised, Chesa Boudin, who is the biological son of former Weathermen David Gilbert and Kathy Boudin, and who is a Rhodes Scholar.) Mr. Axelrod, you’re fortunate that Mr. Smith didn’t ask you any follow-up questions, and published your statement as if it were fact.

Freedom Rider: Progressives Cave to Obama (by Margaret Kimberley at The Black Agenda Report)
The rush to tag along with Barack Obama’s presidential juggernaut shows beyond doubt that progressive “movement” politics is “on its death bed” in the United States, on both sides of the racial divide. Move On gave its millions-strong mailing list no choice but to endorse one or the other of the political twins, Clinton or Obama, affirming its allegiance to “lesser-of-evils” politics. The Nation magazine noted the glaring evidence that Obama is no progressive – and then rewarded him with an endorsement for “reaching out to independent and Republican voters.” Race pride motivates veteran activists and rank-and-file African Americans to imagine Obama’s program for racial equality actually exists, despite all evidence to the contrary. White and Black Democrats reveal that they want nothing more than a ceremonial “seat at the table” – anything to avoid the hard work of opposition to corporate rule.
I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again:  I don’t want a bunch of independents and Republicans coming into the Democratic Party and dragging the leadership even FURTHER to the right.  By the way, the folks at the Black Agenda Report could use your help to continue their work.

NAFTA, from a horse’s mouth (by SusanUnPC at No Quarter)
David Gergen, on CNN’s Anderson Cooper 360 last night, second hour: “If I could just add one other postscript, Anderson, on NAFTA; I was actually there in the Clinton White House during the NAFTA fight. And I must tell you, Hillary Clinton was extremely unenthusiastic about NAFTA. She — and I think that’s putting it mildly. I’m not sure how she objected to all the provisions of it. She just didn’t see why that White House had to go do that fight. She was very unhappy about it, wanted to move on to health care. So I do think there’s some justification for her camp saying, you know, she’s never been a great backer of NAFTA.” This jives with the biographical works of Carl Bernstein and others. And see this: “Obama: “I Believe In Free Trade.”

Senator Clinton’s real foreign policy experience (by Mike Pridmore, writing at No Quarter)
While Obama supporters often obsess over the Iraq War Vote, there is no denying that Senator Clinton has far more Foreign Policy experience than Senator Obama.  If one reads the Foreign Policy Speech she gave [Monday], there is an impressive grasp of world affairs. But giving a speech is not the full extent of her foreign policy experience.  There is testimony from all parts of the world about her involvement in world affairs, playing a role that is far beyond that of a typical First Lady or even a US Senator.
Click through to read more.

Obama the Pragmatist? (by Kevin Drum at Political Animal, The Washington Monthly)
Noam Scheiber’s recent TNR piece … tries to make the case that Barack Obama has surrounded himself with unusually pragmatic and independent thinking economists. The problem is that Scheiber’s examples just don’t back up his claim. [Obama’s plan to reduce carbon emissions by using a cap-and-trade approach] is precisely the same policy proposed by both Hillary Clinton and John Edwards. So why does this tell us anything about how pragmatic and grounded Team Obama is? It’s probably worth adding something to this, too: the reason that all the Dems favor cap-and-trade almost certainly isn’t because of any special devotion to market-oriented approaches. More likely, it’s because it accomplishes much the same thing as a carbon tax but isn’t actually a carbon tax… [I]t’s political pragmatism, not economic pragmatism. There’s a difference.

John Solomon’s Washington Times Presents The Next Obama Smear: Military “Fears” Him (by Greg Sargent at TPM Horse’s Mouth)
Here’s some more proof, as if you needed it, that our old pal John Solomon isn’t exactly having a salutary impact on the journalism at The Washington Times, as his former colleagues assured us he would. [Tuesday’s] edition of WashTimes rolls out a fresh and newly-minted Obama smear, one we haven’t seen before: “Military Fears ‘Unknown Quantity’ [Barack Obama]…” Guess how many “members of Washington’s military and defense establishment” are quoted saying that they fear this “unknown quantity”: Exactly one. And that one person is a retired Air Force Lieutenant General who doubles as a Fox News analyst.

J-prof: Obama campaign treated my students like pros
The Clinton campaign, in contrast, didn’t return a single phone call from University of Washington students who are covering the campaign, says UW communications prof David Domke. “It was either arrogance or disorganization on the Clinton campaign’s part. … In their treatment of my students, Clinton’s campaign was all talk, while Obama’s was all walk.”
Ah, but how does he treat the pros?  THAT is the question.  See below.

Obama stiffs, stifles national press
EDINBURG, Texas - For all the positive press Barack Obama receives, as he moves closer to clinching the Democratic nomination he is establishing himself as the candidate who keeps the most distance from the national media.

Listening to Glenn Beck on NPR so you don’t have to. (by bluegal at Crooks and Liars)
I am not making this up. NPR’s Morning Edition: “Beck, a recovering alcoholic, says he needed to bottom out before he could recover. He says the conservative movement might need to do the same thing… ‘Let [Democrat] Barack Obama get in, let them put these policies in. It will either work, or it will be a disaster…’” NPR, are you having fun yet? Morning Edition is running a “Conservatives Hate McCain” festival all week. Yesterday, they faked us out with an interview with the director of the Conservative Union. Today they had “noted conservative” Glenn Beck. And tomorrow they interview…wait for it…Grover Norquist. I promise you, NPR, if you have Katherine Harris on by Friday I’ll pledge for another tote bag. Honest.

Media Matters for America headlines

In LA Times column, Jonah Goldberg falsely asserted Obama’s “campaign headquarters in Houston had a Che Guevara-emblazoned Cuban flag hanging on the wall”

Matthews’ statement to LA Times regarding Clinton comments at odds with his apology on Hardball

Even after McCain retracts Iraq war statement, Blitzer calls it “straight talk”

In report on McCain’s attempt to opt out of the public financing system, Blitzer did not note loan agreement that might force him to remain in

Media advance myth of McCain as lobbyist foe

Hannity again linked Obama to Farrakhan without noting Obama’s denunciation of Farrakhan

Pot, kettle: Matthews criticizes Jon Stewart for doing what he did first and continues doing

GOP strategist on Hannity & Colmes: “[S]omeone is going to have to go out there and take [Clinton] behind the barn”

Buchanan: Clinton’s raised voice is one “every husband in America … has heard at one time or another”

Pakistan lifts curbs on YouTube
ISLAMABAD, Pakistan - Pakistan’s telecoms regulator said Tuesday it has lifted restrictions on the YouTube Web site that led to the knocking out of access to the popular video-sharing site in many other countries for a few hours over the weekend.

Media General Also Says No To Harbinger Nominees (Paid Content)
Harbinger’s move against Media General hasn’t got as much attention as its efforts at The New York Times Company, in part because the group hasn’t been upping its stake on a seemingly daily basis and also because, well, it’s Media General and not the New York Times. Not surprisingly at all, the newspaper publisher is urging its shareholders to ignore the group’s proposed board slate.

Zell to use Trib’s smaller papers as “a petri dish of innovation”
At Tribune’s smaller papers, new ideas will be tested and incubated before being passed along to the company’s big three: the Chicago Tribune, Los Angeles Times and Newsday. Sam Zell said during his stop at Tribune’s Newport News paper: “I believe that newspapers, in fact, have a great future, and 25 or 30 years from now, the newspapers that adapt and take a position that create a future for them will survive, and those that keep operating under the old thesis that ‘Well, this is the way we always did it’ aren’t going to survive.”

Sun-Sentinel, Miami Herald to announce distribution deal
In a move designed to cut costs and improve distribution, McClatchy’s Miami Herald and Tribune’s Sun-Sentinel will begin delivering each other’s products starting next month. Miami Herald publisher David Landsberg says: “I want to emphasize that we are both still competitive newspapers in every sense of the word. We are still competing for content, readers and newspaper sales.”

Washington Times gets rid of “illegal aliens,” accepts “gay”
The Washington Times, under new editor John Solomon, has made some style changes: Gay is approved for copy and preferred over homosexual; quotation marks will come off gay marriage; and illegal immigrants will no longer be called “illegal aliens.” Erik Wemple has more.

Taxi to the Dark Side director working on Abramoff film. (Think Progress)
On Sunday, Alex Gibney won the Oscar for Best Documentary Feature for his work directing “Taxi to the Dark Side,” which investigated the Bush administration’s interrogation practices. Gibney’s next project — due out later this year — is a documentary on the Abramoff scandal, including Sen. John McCain’s (R-AZ) role. “Interestingly enough, not many politicians went on the record,” Gibney sarcastically added.

Loss Narrows at Sirius Satellite Radio
Sirius Satellite Radio reported a narrower loss on Tuesday as it awaits regulatory action on its plans to combine with rival XM Satellite Radio Holdings.

WGA Members Ratify New Deal; “Bountiful Future” (Paid Content)
Not a surprise: about 93 percent of Writers Guild in New York and Los Angeles members have voted to approve a new three-year contract, closing the chapter on contentious chapter on digital compensation, at least for now. The new contract is retroactive to Feb. 13 and will last until May 2, 2011. Besides current reuse, the deal also covers the reuse on new media platforms of the work done in film since 1971 and in TV since 1977. In the statement on it, WGA president had some bombastic words: “The 2008 MBA establishes a beachhead on the Internet and in new media that will guarantee our share of a potentially vast and bountiful future.”

Allegations Fly in FCC Hearing Aftermath
CAMBRIDGE, Mass. (AP) - Comcast Corp. on Tuesday acknowledged hiring people to fill seats before the start of a contentious federal hearing on how the company manages its broadband network, allowing its employees to take those seats when the filled-to-capacity hearing started. Many people were turned away before Monday’s Federal Communications Commission hearing at Harvard Law School, leading critics to accuse Comcast of stifling debate over the company’s practice of favoring some forms of Internet traffic over others.

Station Sales, Weak Ad Revenue Cause CBS’s Net to decline 15%
CBS Corp., reporting a 15% decline in fourth-quarter net income, signaled a new acquisition push as it seeks fresh sources of growth to offset a slowdown in its more mature broadcast television and radio businesses. CBS generated significant cash but little growth in its earnings, fanning ongoing concerns about the long-term prospects of its traditional businesses. TV and radio were both weak, with radio’s operating income plunging 22%, as the sale of stations and softer ad sales took a toll. The one bright spot was outdoor advertising, a smaller division than radio or TV.

Suit Against ‘Predator’ Show Advances
A federal judge in New York ruled that a lawsuit contending that NBC’s “To Catch a Predator” played a role in a Texas prosecutor’s suicide could move forward.

Download Service NBC Direct Prepares To Leave Beta (Paid Content)
NBC Universal is winding down the beta period of its NBC Direct, the free TV program download service it introduced last fall, according to P2P provider Pando Networks, which is managing the distribution. No specific date has been set for NBC Direct to emerge from beta, though it is expected to happen sometime before the end of this quarter. An NBC representative said a specific date for the end of the beta test had not been set yet, but confirmed it would be within this quarter.

Internet Ad Revenue Exceeds $21B in 2007
NEW YORK (AP) - Online advertising revenues exceeded $21 billion for the first time in 2007, although preliminary data compiled by an industry trade group also suggest growth is slowing.

Online Ads To Grow To $147 Million Worldwide
In yet another report looking at where online ad spending has been and where it may be headed, The Kelsey Group is forecasting that interactive ad revenues will rise from $45 billion in 2007 to $147 billion globally by 2012.

Forrester Finds Online Ads Irrelevant
As DVR household penetration grows from 19 percent in 2006 to 55 percent in 2011, the prevalence of ad-skipping and other related advances will make ads increasingly irrelevant, Forrester Research says in a new report called The Connected Agency. According to the report, many viewers already find ads less motivating, less entertaining and less trustworthy - “symptoms of a world of pain” for agencies.

Not Ready to Pay for TV Time, a Mexican Beer Goes Online
Pacifico takes its advertising to the Internet, spending about $15 million this year on its online initiative.

What TV Ads Will People Watch When They Don’t Have to?
Kraft, Kellogg, P&G Aim to Find Out in Australia Study

Microsoft To Test Ad Effectiveness Tool
Microsoft will begin beta testing a new measurement tool called “Engagement Mapping” next month. Instead of linking sales, leads and traffic to the last ad that a user clicked on a website, Engagement Mapping measures ad exposure, ultimately bringing together all the online activity that may have connected a consumer to a product. The system is designed to give advertisers a clearer view of how to plan an online ad campaign - and to give Microsoft an edge against competitors such as Google.