Permanent link to MTA daily media news
The Caucuses (by DaveOinSFat MyDD)
With [Tuesday’s] Idaho primary, won by Barack Obama, we now have four states which have conducted both a primary and a caucus in this election season – Washington, Texas, Nebraska and Idaho. In all four cases, more people participated in the primary than in the caucus. Also in each case, Hillary Clinton performed better and Barack Obama worse in the primary than in the caucus. What is amazing is how regular the trend is:
[B]ased on the linear fits above, I’ve taken the liberty to perform interpolations to recalculate what a primary result would have looked like in each of the other caucus states… The use of low-turnout caucuses rather than higher-participation primaries is directly responsible for a net margin of 123 pledged delegates in Barack Obama’s favor.
Pledged Delegate Majority Is Not Enough (by Jeralyn at TalkLeft)
The pledged delegate total is one argument for nomination. It is not a qualifying event. By itself, a majority of pledged delegates is not enough to win the nomination. This year, in particular, the legitimacy of the pledged delegate count is uncertain. Here [are some highlights of a report] by John Norris, a businessman in Los Angeles, California. with an undergraduate degree in economics and an MBA from the University of Florida. He has never served a federal campaign in any official capacity , however, he is a devoted supporter of Hillary Clinton[:]
• 33.9 million people have voted in 49 elections so far. Only 1 million of those were in the 15 caucus states…
• Caucus voters amount to 2.9% of the voters but account for 15% of the pledged delegates so far. In other words, one caucus vote counts for the same as five primary votes…
• Obama won all of the ten states with the least voters per pledged delegate. Clinton won seven of the ten states with the most voters per pledged delegate. The ten states with the least votes/pledged delegates were all caucus states. The ten states with the most were all primary states.
• Obama’s performance decreases substantially when the same state caucus is tested by a primary — Washington and Nebraska are examples of this.
Caucus bias distorts voter intent and creates a false inevitability factor for superdelegates. If the superdelegates were to act on the basis of a caucus-biased pledged delegate total, we would end up with alienated voters and a weakened party, not to mention the wrong candidate. It’s up to the superdelegates now to put on the brakes.
Electoral-Vote.com, May 28, 2008 (270 needed to win)
Clinton 327 McCain 194 Tie 17
Obama 266 McCain 248 Tie 24
Click through to see the maps. The Monte Carlo simulations at Hominid Views give Obama only a 46.7% probability of beating McCain, and give Hillary a 100.0% probability of beating McCain. And the Republicans haven’t even begun to trash Obama yet.
Clinton’s Swing State Advantage (by Taylor Marsh)
via Gallup
A Review of Obama’s Voting Coalition, Part III (by Jay Cost at Real Clear Politics)
Hillary Clinton is arguing that she is more competitive than Obama in the swing areas – and that this is a reason she should win the nomination… All in all, the exit poll data, the statewide votes, and the countywide votes point in the same direction: Clinton was stronger in the areas that have swung presidential elections in the last decade. Thus, it is reasonable to conclude that she would be relatively stronger at recreating the voting coalition that has provided victory to the Democrats in years past.
Click through to see the detail, including a number of charts.
DNC To Ignore Florida’s Safe Harbor In Delegate Meeting (by Big Tent Democrat at TalkLeft)
Remember the DNC Rule that actually called for a 50% stripping of delegates? Now the DNC has employed its lawyers to invoke that rule – to put a cap on the number of delegates Florida and Michigan can be awarded… This is sad, rich and hilarious. After trampling their own rules, including the 50% Rule, in fully stripping Florida and Michigan of their delegates (all the while ignoring other violations of the schedule by Iowa, New Hampshire and South Carolina), now the DNC has its lawyers write a memo giving it an excuse for why it will (as now seems obvious) only restore 50% of the delegates in Florida and Michigan. And of course this ignores the fact that Florida was entitled to the safe harbor provision in the DNC rules (See DNC Rules 20c.7, 21a and 21b), and should not have suffered any penalty. Heck, maybe the DNC owes Florida EXTRA delegates now.
The Famous DNC “Waivers” For the 4 Early States (by Big Tent Democrat at TalkLeft)
The defense you will hear to my strict DNC rules argument is that the early states received “waivers.” In fact, they did not until AFTER they had scheduled their primaries in violation of DNC Rule 11, which was never formally amended. According to the DNC Memo of [Wednesday], this makes these “waivers” against the DNC Rules. But worse than that, there is nothing in the circumstances of those waivers that are in any way different from the Florida situation. In short, the rules are rules for the DNC, except when they are not.
Clueless (by Big Tent Democrat at TalkLeft)
Harold Meyerson, in a generally patronizing and now typical for him, atrocious, column, also proves he knows nothing about the Florida and Michigan controversies: “Had Florida and Michigan conducted their primaries the way the other 48 states conducted their own primaries and caucuses — that is, in accord with the very clear calendar laid down by the DNC well before the primaries began — then Clinton’s marchers would be utterly justified in their claims.”… Psssst, Harold. This whole mess started because New Hampshire did not like the calendar and jumped ahead of Nevada. This infuriated Michigan who then thought, well if the calendar does not mean anything, we’ll move up too. And then in Florida, the GOP controlled legislature and governor decided to do some mischief and moved up their primary one week, but AFTER the so called all important “early 4 state window.”
Meyerson is ignorant of the facts, but that does not stop him from falsely smearing Hillary Clinton. And attacking feminism and pooh poohing sexism as an aside. It is funny to see Meyerson talk about situational ethics. When it comes to Hillary Clinton, he has no ethics, in any situation. It is clear that he did not even bother to familiarize himself with the facts of this situation – his goal was to smear Hillary Clinton and there was no need for facts. Indeed they are an impediment, when that is the goal.
The girl gets banned again (by Sister Joan Chittister)
In the midst of an electoral contest in which neither candidate is capable of garnering the required number of pledged delegates, the race is beginning to look like a fraternity pledge party. Consider the situation: At this point, the Democrats have one candidate, barely ahead, who is reportedly holding secret meetings to choose a vice-presidential candidate. The other candidate, barely behind, is being pressured — dinned — day and night by the news media and pols to leave the race however unfinished it is. Two key states have been disenfranchised in the primary system by the Democratic Party itself… I have tried hard to make sense of such a situation.
Finally, [on Wednesday], I found another story that may have more to do with the situation than we want either to believe or to admit. CNN ran a video feature on the plight of a 12-year-old basketball phenom, a girl, Jaime Nared, who has been denied the right — banned, actually — from playing on the boys grade school basketball team where she has been starring recently. The boys on her team want her there. They know how good she is. The boys and the parents of the opposing teams do not. They know how good she is, too, and that, they say, intimidates their boys…
From where I stand, the parallel may be too close for comfort. Instead of pressuring even the superdelegates to make up their minds early, as well as pressure candidates to leave the race, maybe we better all just stay in the process till the convention. Better that the people decide than that committees, commissions and boys who aren’t accustomed to playing against more competent women do it for us.
And if those vice presidential meetings are so secret, why have they been reported in the press, except to further pressure “the girl” to quit, and to discourage her supporters? Here’s some news, Obama campaign, THESE TACTICS JUST MAKE US MORE DETERMINED!
Vote Obama or Else? Guess Again! (by Linda Starr, posting at No Quarter)
I am working with women’s groups who are contacting their delegate representatives where HRC overwhelmingly carried the districts and the Democratic representatives are leaning towards Obama. We are contacting these representatives to inform them if they defy their constituents wishes, they will be unseated by the Republican nominee in the General election… I recommend other women supporters of HRC do the same with their own representatives in their districts…
DNC Leaders have grossly underestimated the personal offense to the women of the party (and more men than we knew) by the misogynistic methods and hate speech to help Obama steal this nomination away from the people’s choice… Women are appalled and we are threatening a walkout at the national convention if Obama is forced on us as the nominee and we will work to unseat every Representative who defied our choice of HRC. It defies all common sense and logic why the DNC leaders are so hell bent to make Obama the nominee when it is patently obvious he cannot win in the General Election…
Women are so incensed, we are starting a new national women’s party for the specific purpose of electing women, anti-war activists and others who have not enjoyed equal civil rights such as gays and lesbians… To join our new group, send an email to newwomensparty-subscribe@yahoogroups.com with [your] name, a brief description, and location. We are also going to merge with other groups in the near future, by state.
Wednesday: The Pit and the Pendulum (by riverdaughter at The Confluence)
There is a tiny, almost imperceptible sign that just maybe momentum is swinging back our way. It looks like all of our warnings about the party about to go off of the cliff may be having an effect. Kevin Rodriguez, a superdelegate from the US Virgin Islands and member of the DNC, was originally a Clinton superdelegate. Then, during Obamania, he moved over to Obama’s column. [Tuesday], He moved back to Clinton. Brave man. I hope others follow as well. That doesn’t sound to me like something you do in the pit of despair when you think your candidate has no other choice.
Infighting threatens Democratic Party (by Gene Lyons, author of Fools for Scandal and The Hunting of the President)
The political tragedy of 2008 would be if, in making history, the Democratic party tore itself apart. The potential exists for a schism between two of the party’s most loyal and enduring constituencies: African Americans, and blue-collar white voters in what was once the nation’s industrial heartland along the Ohio River. Far more than the White House could be lost in November. Equally clear is that many in our esteemed national news media would enjoy helping that breakup happen. With incomes rivaling those of reserve infielders and egos inflated by TV celebrity, the courtiers, courtesans and character assassins of the imperial Washington press deem themselves America’s rightful ruling class. Many no longer deny taking sides; at times, they’re even boastful.
Carville Hints the Fight Could Go On (by LisaB at No Quarter)
On ABC News with Diane Sawyer, James Carville gave a preview of the next few days and maybe weeks regarding the Democratic nominating process. He also stresses what he sees as the Obama campaign’s heavy-handed flogging of the South Dakota / RFK kerfluffle. While many have said that the nominating process will not run past June 3, Carville hints that may not be the case after all. He says there may be a split decision with Obama having more delegates and Hillary having more votes. He also says Clinton has a superior moral position because various party leaders offered compromises on MI and FL that were rebuffed by the Obama campaign… He later mentions South Dakota again and says he was personally hurt by it. He says Obama “tried to pull a clever political trick and it backfired on him.” He laid the RFK story down as a marker (several times – even Obama dementors should get this) and hinted that the fight will continue.
Click through to watch the video.
WHO SENT THE DOGS OUT: (by Bob Somerby at the Daily Howler)
By last Friday night, everyone knew it: Clinton’s statement to the editorial board in Sioux Falls was one of the vilest things ever said. But uh-oh! As it turned out, Clinton had said the exact same thing to Time’s Rick Stengel in March! When Joe Klein played the fool (again) this weekend, he cited her earlier statement… Yep! Last Friday, all the mimis screamed and yelled at Clinton’s deeply vile statement. But Clinton had said the same thing in March! And to show you how fake this week’s outrage was: Not one damn thing happened back then!…
The AP treated Clinton’s [latest] remark as inconsequential—just as Robinson, Olbermann, Herbert and Dowd had done back in March. But off in the dumbest regions of Gotham, the creepy crawlers of Rupert Murdoch’s dumbest newspaper made a claim so stupid that they later retracted—and just like that, the Obama campaign threw the Post’s dog food to all the dogs! And presto! Just like that! Every shill in America’s “press corps” knew what their current trick had to be. They repeated the New York Post’s stupid and ugly claim—a claim so stupid that the Post even dropped it!—and soon, they were trying to top one another. They competed to see who could bark loudest about the vile thing Clinton said…
Taylor Marsh
There are real leaders and then there is the toastmaster from Illinois (by John: south of Melrose at Liberal Rapture)
When someone finally analyzes all the money that has changed hands in the Obama campaign the truth will finally be known. “Change” to the Obama cultists means wholesale dismissal of two thirds of the working class. When working class African- Americans realize they have voted for a New Aristocracy that is in essence the same as the Old Aristocracy, and against there own best interests – they, too, will bolt Obama’s fragile coalition. It is Hillary Clinton who represents true change this year. Those with the least of everything – power, money, a voice in the process, have been represented by her not the toastmaster from Illinois. Obama has polluted the core and essence of Democratic Party values. Oh what fools these Arugulas be… When Obama has had the chance to improve the lives of people he has often balked. When Obama has had the chance in the U.S. Senate to stand up against the war – he has cowered. Obama is not a liberal. He is not a progressive. He is a fraud.
Click through to watch a video of what Obama did in Chicago—and what he DIDN’T do.
Dick Morris: Growing Fear Of Obama Will Drag Every Last White Republican Off The Golf Course To Vote For McCain (News Hounds)
Dick Morris gleefully predicted that Barack Obama will raise such racial animosity in Republicans that they will be wildly energized to vote for McCain.
Dick Morris is a first order Clinton hater, so why is he saying anything that might help Hillary? Has he been led to believe that the nomination contest is over, so that he’s now free to start spewing his venom at Obama? This is what I’ve told Obama supporters will happen, but they just won’t listen.
Obama’s Modern Times (video by Flineo)
Barack Obama versus Black Self-Determination (by Glen Ford at the Black Agenda Report)
One of the great ironies of the current campaign season, is the assumption by so many Black voters that by supporting Barack Obama for president, they are making a real contribution to African American self-determination. Nothing could be further from the truth. The candidate, himself, is mightily opposed to the principle of African American self-determination, as he revealed in great detail and beyond doubt in rejecting Rev. Jeremiah Wright’s narrative on America’s origins. Obama also has no more respect than other corporate politicians for principles of international law and the sovereignty of nations. Should he win the presidency, U.S. militarization of African will continue, as will American bullying of its Latin American neighbors.
Obama on Latin America: Small “Change” If Any (by Roberto Lovato at the Black Agenda Report)
An Miami organization which, according to a July 1998 New York Times article, funded a series of deadly terrorists bombings in Cuba, and which may be connected to the 1976 bombing of a Cuban airliner killing 73 people, hosted Democratic presidential nominee-apparent Barack Obama last week. Before this illustrious audience, Obama sketched the broad outlines of his agenda for “change” in Latin America. While much of the rest of the media drones on about flag pins, race cards and imaginary assassination threats, Black Agenda Report takes this opportunity to provide its readers analysis and highlights of, and links to the full video and text of that address, along with along with commentary by our special correspondent Roberto Lovato. [Emphasis added.]
Taxpayers pay for Bush to attend McCain fundraiser. (Think Progress)
[Tuesday, Sen. John McCain (R-AZ) held] a private fundraiser in Phoenix with President Bush, an event McCain has desperately tried to hide from the public. CNN’s Ed Henry reports that the White House has scheduled another event during the trip to Arizona, resulting in American taxpayers paying for Bush to raise money for McCain.
Bush has made us pay for his campaigning for as long as he has occupied the White House.
McCain voted with Bush 100 percent of the time in 2008. (Think Progress)
According to a CQ analysis of Senate votes on issues President Bush expressed “an explicit, stated opinion,” Sen. John McCain (R-AZ) voted with President Bush 100 percent of the time in 2008 and 95 percent of the time in 2007. Despite his record, McCain’s supporters try to deny that a McCain presidency would be a third Bush term in terms of pushing similar policies. Recently, the campaign has gone to great lengths to avoid being seen with Bush.
McCain Adviser Phil Gramm Shaped McCain’s Economic Policy While Lobbying For Foreign Bank (Think Progress)
Sen. John McCain (R-AZ) has repeatedly said he relies on his economic advisers, including former senator Phil Gramm — “McCain’s econ brain” — to make up for his lack of experience on economic issues. “I would rely on the circle that I have developed over many years of people like…Phil Gramm,” he said in February. But [Tuesday] evening, MSNBC revealed that Gramm worked for the bank UBS “to lobby Congress about the U.S. mortgage crisis at the same time he was advising McCain” about economic policies. The revelations come as McCain banned several advisers from advising him on subjects covered by their lobbying work. While Gramm was advising McCain, he was paid by UBS to lobby the Senate about the mortgage crisis, strongly opposing increased government regulation and several consumer protection bills, which, as Keith Olbermann noted, “might have mitigated the current crisis”:
McCain Backtracks on ‘Apology Requirement’ For Telecom Amnesty, Supports Retroactive Immunity (Think Progress)
Last week, as Wired Magazine reported, Chuck Fish, a lawyer for Sen. John McCain’s (R-AZ) campaign, suggested that the senator would support immunity for telecoms that aided the Bush administration’s warrantless wiretapping program only if the companies offered “heartfelt repentance” for illegally spying on Americans… McCain’s campaign is now backtracking from the apology requirement. In a response to the Wired interview, the McCain campaign said McCain has “shown a commitment to winning the battle against Islamic fundamentalists,” arguing that the lawyer “incorrectly represented” McCain’s position.
Rove-protege Tim Griffin says he is not returning to RNC. (Think Progress)
Former Karl Rove protege Tim Griffin is disputing reports from Bob Novak that he will be returning to his roots as a member of the RNC’s opposition research team. “On Monday, Griffin said he was not going back to the RNC, and that he had not talked to anyone in the GOP’s leadership structure or with the McCain campaign about reprising his old roll,” according to the Arkansas News Bureau.
Frittering Away Our Freedoms: Dunkin’ Donut Caves to Conservative Pressure and Withdrawals Rachael Ray Ad (by Jonathan Turley)
Dunkin’ Donuts has pulled an ad featuring Rachael Ray after Fox commentator Michelle Malkin objected that a scarf that she was wearing resembled a keffiyeh, a traditional headdress worn by Arab men. It appears that even clothing resembling Arab clothing is viewed as an outrageous play for terrorists seeking donuts with their coffee. With the withdrawal of the ad, it is hoped that Homeland Security will lower the risk level to taupe. The company insists that no insult was intended and insists that its stores are safe for customers to come and enjoy “old-fashion donuts” and that bastion of American strength, the Apple Fritter.
Media, Who Got War Wrong, Take Exception to Scott McClellan’s Charges (by Greg Mitchell at Editor & Publisher)
NEW YORK (Commentary) Ironically, word leaked of bombshell revelations in the upcoming Scott McClellan memoir — including his unexpected charge that the “liberal media” fell for Bush “propaganda” during the Iraq war run-up — almost exactly four years to the day The New York Times offered its famously weak “mini-culpa” for its role in helping to pave the way for war. For much of the day on Wednesday, top reporters and news anchors defended their Iraq coverage from McClellan’s charge that most of them had been sleepwalking as his former boss hoodwinked the country into war. As documented by E&P then, and since, the defense for most of them does not hold… [F]ew have ever really come to terms with the magnitude of their failure.
Loyal Bushies Smear McClellan: ‘Disgruntled,’ ‘Self-Serving,’ ‘Sounds Like A Left-Wing Blogger’ (Think Progress)
In an explosive new memoir, former White House press secretary Scott McClellan writes that the Bush administration engaged in a “political propaganda campaign” to sell the Iraq war and that it misled him on the Valerie Plame scandal. Today, White House spokeswoman Dana Perino slammed McClellan today as a “disgruntled” employee; former press secretary Ari Fleischer said he was “heartbroken.” Other former White House officials started the smear campaign last night. Karl Rove, interviewed on Hannity and Colmes, asserted that McClellan sounded more like “a left-wing blogger” than himself. Former Homeland Security adviser Frances Townsend, interviewed on CNN’s Anderson Cooper 360, called McClellan “self-serving” and “disingenuous.”
Click through to watch the video.
Tom Toles
FOX News’ Brian Kilmeade: Volunteer troops don’t deserve new Webb GI bill (by SilentPatriot at Crooks and Liars)
After Jim Webb’s historic “21st Century GI Bill” passed both houses of Congress overwhelmingly last week, McSame apologists are coming out in full force as they try to explain why the two of them support the far inferior bill being offered by Senator Lindsey Graham. So when The New York Times published a scathing op-ed chiding President Bush for his absence of leadership on this crucial issue, who better to defend the administration than the stooges from “FOX and Friends”? In this particularly egregious example of White House shilling, the entire panel uncritically advances Bush-approved talking points, while Brian Kilmeade argues that this GI Bill is different from the WWII-era one because these troops volunteered, and therefore don’t deserve the same benefits.
Click through to watch the video.
John Bolton escapes citizen’s arrest at Hay Festival (The Telegraph, U.K., thanks to Lori at Citizens for Legitimate Government)
John Bolton, the former US ambassador to the United Nations, has escaped an attempted citizen’s arrest as he appeared at the Hay Festival. Security guards blocked the path of columnist and activist George Monbiot, who tried to make the arrest as Mr Bolton left the stage. The former ambassador – a key advisor to President George W Bush who argued strongly in favour of invading Iraq – had been giving a talk on international relations to more than 600 people at the literary festival.
Now, THAT’s a literary festival!
Wasserman-Schultz on arresting Rove: ‘Well, if that’s what it takes.’ (Think Progress)
In an interview with MSNBC’s Dan Abrams [Tuesday], Rep. Debbie Wasserman-Schultz (D-FL) said that the House Judiciary Committee would be willing to arrest Karl Rove if he continues to refuse to testify about his role in the U.S. attorney scandal and prosecution of former Alabama governor Don Siegelman. The Hill reports: “‘Well, if that’s what it takes,’ she said. “I mean we really cannot allow the co-equal branch of government, the legislative branch, to be trampled upon by the executive branch. The founding fathers established three branches of government. We are a co-equal branch, and this is an administration that essentially has ignored and disrespected the role of the legislative branch for far too long.’”
Click through to watch the Abrams video.
New York Times Perpetuates the Myth that George Bush Won the 2000 Election (by Larry Beinhart, AlterNet)
They buried the truth about the 2000 election, and they’re still burying it today.
Why did the press ignore Ted Kennedy in 2002? (by Eric Boehlert at Media Matters)
This year, the press has treated Kennedy as a singularly powerful figure in the Democratic Party and a commanding spokesman for the American left. Unfortunately, that hasn’t always been the case. Just a few years ago, when Republicans were riding high on Iraq war fever and Democrats were seen as on the retreat politically, the press cavalierly snubbed Kennedy
CNN Reporter’s Interview Raises Ethical Questions (New York Times)
When Howard Kurtz invited Kimberly Dozier, the CBS journalist wounded in Iraq, onto his program, “Reliable Sources,” on CNN on Sunday, he was not a disinterested interviewer. Mr. Kurtz’s wife, Sheri Annis, had been paid to serve as a publicist for Ms. Dozier’s memoir, “Breathing the Fire,” which Ms. Dozier had come on the program to discuss. After the interview, in which he also read aloud from the book, Mr. Kurtz told his viewers that he considered Ms. Dozier “a remarkable woman.” He then added, “I should mention that my wife has done some promotion work for Kim Dozier’s book.”
Wrong Headline on Home Sales at the Post (by Dean Baker)
The Washington Post told us “new-home sales up 3.3 percent” in a headline to an article on the release of April data on new home sales. The article itself pointed out that the April figure was only up measured against a downwardly revised March sales number and that sales remained near a 17-year low. The article accurately reflected the weak state of the housing market indicated by recent data. The headline may have given readers a different impression.
Sugar Company Scams Worker “Owners” (by Dean Baker)
The NYT reports on the management of retirement plan of U.S. Sugar Company. The article reports that the company, which is largely worker-owned, cashed out workers shares at a price that was well below the value of a takeover offer that the company had received. According to the article, the workers were not informed of the takeover offer. Because the company’s stock is not publicly traded, the workers did not realize the true value of the stock at the time they cashed out their holdings. There are hundreds of other companies with comparable worker-ownership arrangements where the same sort of abuses could arise. This is nice piece of investigative journalism.
Media Matters for America headlines
• Claiming he would not “add to the public record,” Rove “add[ed]” to the misinformation in “the public record” on Plame case
• Wash. Post ignored own role in creating false Love Canal story about Gore
• Despite evidence to the contrary, NPR’s Horsley called McCain “ordinarily straight-talking”
• Fox News highlighted RNC accusations following Obama’s WWII comments, ignored McCain’s numerous foreign policy errors
• Print media reported McCain’s call for nuclear arms talks with Russia, without noting his proposal to exclude Russia from the G8
• Blitzer misrepresented McCain’s position on “a constitutional amendment on the issue of marriage”
• GOP strategist Holt, Politico’s Vogel revive false assertion about Gore and Internet
• Amid spate of high-profile stories, Russert continues to ignore “the story about Senator McCain and lobbyists and ethics and money” on Meet the Press
• Matthews again mischaracterized Clinton’s remarks to accuse her of fostering doubt about Obama’s religion
Online Hate Activity Rises, Extremists Using Web 2.0 Technologies
A report by the Simon Wiesenthal Center highlights how extremists have turned to YouTube, Facebook, online games, and Second Life to recruit new members.
Baby put up for sale on Craigslist: Canada police
VANCOUVER, British Columbia (Reuters) – A couple has been arrested in what Canadian police said on Tuesday was an apparent offer to sell a seven-day-old baby girl on Craigslist for C$10,000 ($10,100).
BusinessWeek.com editor isn’t afraid to try unusual things
“The other day I suggested to my senior team that every Saturday we turn our entire home page over to user-generated content,” says BusinessWeek.com editor-in-chief John Byrne. “People looked at me as if I was the devil. They thought we shouldn’t surrender our real estate to our readers. …But the point is we need to keep trying new things that deepen our relationship with our readers.”
8020 Publishing has just 19 people putting out two magazines
Mitchell Fox, who left Conde Nast to oversee 8020 Publishing, says it would cost his former employer millions to send photographers and writers around the world to produce magazines similar to what he’s putting out now. The images and short stories that fill 8020’s Everywhere travel magazine and JPG photo journal are submitted by readers.
The Newspaper Industry Vs. The Journalism Profession (by Tim Lee, The Atlantic)
The “wholesale abandonment of newspapers” is simply a reflection of the fact that the web now provides a wealth of new technologies for delivering news and information.
St. Petersburg Times to reduce staff, impose wage freeze
The St. Petersburg Times is offering an enhanced retirement option to some staffers to reduce its payroll and, depending on response, could resort to layoffs later this year. The Poynter-owned newspaper also is imposing a one-year wage freeze for remaining employees. Editor Paul Tash says he’s taking a 5% pay cut.
Creators Syndicate is Purchasing Copley News Service
The deal, scheduled to take effect July 1, involves two companies that are among the largest feature distributors in the United States.
Gannett Loses Its S&P ‘A-’ Credit Rating: Industry Slump Hurting Even Best-Regarded Chains
Standard & Poor’s Ratings Services cut Gannett Co. Inc.’s corporate credit rating and senior unsecured debt rating to “BBB+” from “A-,” further evidence that the newspaper industry slump is affecting the credit ratings of even the best-regarded publishers.
Structured News: NYTimes.com Working on Open API (by Amy Gahran at Poynter Online)
On May 23, MediaBistro reported that the New York Times’ digital side is developing its own open application programming interface (API). While that sounds really geeky, it’s pretty important in terms of getting more mileage out of, and opening new journalistic and business options for, the site’s extensive content… So what? Over at ReadWriteWeb, Josh Catone summed it up: “An API is a logical next step for newspapers. It will give developers access to their vast amounts of well-researched data, and allows the paper’s brand to be spread easily across the Web. More access to Times content and the ability to mash it up in new and interesting ways can only be a win for both readers and the paper.”
Clear Channel Sale Now Fully Funded; Likely To Close In Q3 (Paid Content)
A deal was agreed to about two weeks ago, and now they’ve dotted the i’s and crossed the t’s: Clear Channel says its sale to two PE firms is ready to go, with $17.9 billion sitting in an escrow account held by the Bank of New York. Now it’s just a matter of getting shareholder approval, which shouldn’t be a problem, even though shareholders will be getting $36 per share, down from the original $38, per the agreement. The transaction is expected to close in Q3.
Sony Taps Into Photo Archive as a Resource During Hard Times
The shelves at Sony’s New York headquarters hold decades of music history, which the company hopes to use to attract new revenue.
AFTRA Reaches Deal With Movie, TV Producers
But With SAG Contract Still a Question Mark, Feature Films Remain on Hold
MMTC Calls FCC’s EEO Enforcement ‘A Stunning Failure’
WASHINGTON — May 27, 2008: In a filing urging the FCC to set a date by which broadcasters must publicly release their annual employment reports, the Minority Media and Telecommunications Council says gathering EEO data will “lead to better commission policy and enforcement.” As it stands, says the MMTC, its calculations show that “minority news employment at non-minority-owned English-language radio stations is statistically zero — about where it was in 1950.”
Black News Net
May 27, 2008 — FORMER congressman J.C. Watts is behind a major push to launch an all-news channel for black people. The network, tentatively called Black Television News Channel and slated to launch in early 2009, already has an agreement with Comcast cable to be carried in several cities with large black populations including Philadelphia, Chicago, Detroit, Washington D.C., Atlanta and Baltimore.
I’m thinking that we need a women’s news network, too.
Spike TV relaunches Web site with Playboy content
LOS ANGELES (Hollywood Reporter) – MTV Networks is relaunching Spike.com on Friday, stocked with online-only original programming from content providers including Playboy Enterprises.
Netflix Predicts For Peak Of DVD-By-Mail Business; Blockbuster Shows Off Kiosks (Paid Content)
5-10 years: That’s how long Netflix has to get its digital house in order before its popular DVD-by-mail business starts to wane. CEO Reed Hastings made the projection during a meeting with analysts [Wednesday], according to Reuters… Meanwhile, at its annual shareholder meeting Blockbuster presented a new component of its vision for the future: in-store download kiosks … which requires a user to insert their own portable media device. Currently it takes two minutes to transfer a movie onto a device, but the company says it will get this down to 30 seconds.
@ D6: Bezos: Amazon To Launch PPV Video Streaming (Paid Content)
Amazon is on the verge of launching an a-la-carte pay-per-view video streaming service, Jeff Bezos told attendees at D6. The service is meant for a subset of people willing to pay to view sans ads. It’s an addition to the rental-purchase download options from Amazon Unbox. Is Amazon benefiting by providing an alternative to iTunes and Steve Jobs? Bezos tries to sidestep the white knight image, talking instead about how sensible owners want alternatives. So iTunes is going down, Walt Mossberg asks? “No, that’s not what I said.”
Bye Bye, Birdie (by Mark ‘Rizzn’ Hopkins at Mashable)
Twitter is down. I say that and it sounds like I’m playing word association games (I say Twitter, you say… down, that’s right). It’s unfortunate, given the inordinate amount of time people like us spend on the service that it’s become so downright unavailable recently. There has been much more communication from the Twitterpeople with regards to what parts are up and down, and we’re definitely glad that they’re doing something about fixing it. On the other hand, contrary to the best predictions of Robert Scoble this on our weekend podcast, people just aren’t happy to know why the service is down – they want it back up.
AOL Joining the OpenSocial Consortium (Mashable)
During this week’s Google I/O conference of developers, AOL publicly declared their love of OpenSocial as they announced their future support of OpenSocial with AOL services. The first integration point will be seen during the next “few months” at myAOL.com, where Google’s Gadgets will soon be available. That is only the beginning, though, as OpenSocial support is planned for “all AOL products and platforms.”
Yahoo CEO says company is not ‘under siege’
CARLSBAD, Calif. (AP) – Yahoo Inc. CEO Jerry Yang rejected the image of his company as “under siege” Wednesday, telling conference goers that executives are rallying to streamline Yahoo’s offerings and make it more relevant to consumers and to advertisers.
Hmmm… When you have to say you’re NOT under siege…
Google Pushes to Make Browser Applications More Powerful
Google is touting its efforts to make browser applications more powerful at its conference for software developers in San Francisco.
Entering Virtual Worlds for Real-Life Pitches
Starting in June, people who play The Sims 2 will be able to buy a “stuff pack” that lets them decorate their simulated families’ homes with Ikea furniture.
Smartphones Become Clear Choice For Mobile Web Access
The upcoming 3G iPhone and its competitors have some industry experts even saying traditional cell phones are going the way of the dinosaur.
Google shows off ‘Android’ software for mobile phones
Google Inc. showed off its nearly completed mobile software system to about 3,000 computer programmers Wednesday, hoping to cultivate more services and advertising for people on the go.
Intel CEO: Smaller gadgets will expand market
NEW YORK (AP) – Intel Corp.’s push to create and boost new categories of small, cheap Internet-connected devices is taking the world’s largest chip maker in some unusual directions. It’s investing in wireless networks, or even buying them outright. It’s relying on software that isn’t from Microsoft. And it’s looking at making processors cheaper and smaller rather than faster and faster.
Sony launches clear, tube-shaped speaker
TOKYO – Sony, the company that brought you the egg-shaped music player and the dog-like robot, has now created the transparent tube speaker.
