Permanent link to MTA daily media news

Clinton set to concede delegate race to Obama (AP)
WASHINGTON – Hillary Rodham Clinton will concede Tuesday night that Barack Obama has the delegates to secure the Democratic nomination, campaign officials said, effectively ending her bid to be the nation’s first female president… Most campaign staff will be let go and will be paid through June 15, said the officials who spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to divulge her plans.
WHO ARE THESE COWARDLY TRAITORS, AND WHY WILL THE NOT AGREE TO BE IDENTIFIED?  WHICH CAMPAIGN DO THEY WORK FOR?  I don’t know what she’s going to do, but there’s nothing that makes me angrier than this kind of crap, which could well be coming from the Obama campaign.  Is that how we run nominations in this party?  They go to the meanest mo-fo on the block?  If so, let me out.  Here’s what Clinton said last night:

Clinton Spokesman: She Won’t Drop Out Tomorrow (CBS )
“She is in this race until we have a nominee, she still believes there is a path for her to become that nominee,” said spokesman Mo Elleithee. “I think it’s pretty clear that she is not conceding.” When asked “Will you deny that she is dropping out [Tuesday] night?” Elleithee responded, “Yes.” Elleithee went as far as to say that the campaign is currently working on the upcoming schedule saying they are “putting it together now, we’re looking to where we may go.”
If Al Gore had been the kind of fighter Hillary Clinton is, we’d have been spared the awful presidency of George W. Bush.  No Quarter has the video.

Rosemary at the City Edition has started a public pressure campaign to get the Senate Commerce Committtee to investigate the over-the-top media bias and collaboration of companies, which violates anti-trust laws and FCC rules.  She’s calling it the Media Pushback Campaign.  Please help by sending messages to the committee members.  Contact information is available at the link above.

I have been in touch with someone close to Geraldine Ferraro, who told me that the former congresswoman has been receiving messages of support from all across the country.  I’ll be sending a message to Congresswoman Ferraro today that will ask her to agree to be a standard bearer for our various efforts going forward, to fight the blatant sexism that has been so prevalent in this race.  Let me know if you have ideas that you’d like me to present to her.

Democrats against obama (new organization at the Democratic National Committee website—how long will it last?)
Democrats who will not accept the discriminatory way Hillary has been treated. Regardless of the fact that obama has not won anything, the slanted publicity allowed by the DNC against one of their own candidates. People who will not tolerate the way Bill Clinton was smeared when obama played the race card. In short, Democrats who will not vote for Obama

Future News: Lost Tribe Of Hillary Holdouts Discovered (by bringiton at Corrente)
[June 2, 2020:] The first contact in several years with remnants of a holdout band of Hillary Clinton supporters took place yesterday, with a helicopter flyover identifying the handful of survivors… Following the merger of the Republican and Democratic Parties and repeal of the 22nd Amendment in 2015 that allowed President and Beloved Leader Obama’s election to a third term by an unprecedented Electoral College vote of 538 – 0, the tribe disappeared and has not been heard from for several years. Until this sighting, the continued existence of the “Hillarians” was doubted and their story had passed into the realm of legend.

Do go read the whole thing.  It is TOO funny!

ARG Poll: Clinton Holds Big Lead in South Dakota (Political Wire)
A new American Research Group poll in South Dakota finds Sen. Hillary Clinton leading Sen. Barack Obama, 60% to 34%. Key findings: Clinton leads 56% to 39% among men and she leads 63% to 29% among women. Clinton leads 57% to 38% among voters age 18 to 49 and she leads 63% to 30% among voters age 50 and older. If this poll is accurate, it will be considered a big upset for Clinton.

ARG Poll: Obama Holds Small Lead in Montana (Political Wire)
A new American Research Group poll in Montana shows Sen. Barack Obama edging Sen. Hillary Clinton, 48% to 44%. Key findings: Obama and Clinton are tied at 47% each among self-described Democrats (65% of likely Democratic voters), while Obama leads 50% to 39% among self-described Republicans and independents. [Emphasis added.] Obama leads among men 56% to 35% and Clinton leads among women 52% to 41%. Obama leads 49% to 45% among voters age 18 to 49 and he leads 48% to 43% among voters age 50 and older.
Are we really going to allow a bunch of Republicans to choose our nominee?

17 S. Dakota County Commissioners Do Not Endorse the “Presumptive Nominee” (by Uppity Woman at No Quarter)
As Barky Obama continues to crawl on his knees through broken glass toward the finish line, hoping his fairy godmother at the DNC pushes his limping butt to the other side, 17 Commisioners of 15 South Dakota Counties have endorsed Hillary Clinton. Kind of makes you wonder exactly how much confidence people have in “presumptive” nominee Barack Obama even at this late date, doesn’t it? With less than fifty percent of the popular vote, Barack Obama still hasn’t closed his own deal, even after he was given free Michigan delegates and votes that were actually cast for other candidates. He hasn’t closed his own deal even after four delegates were arbitrarily removed from Hillary Clinton’s total and given to him as an Affirmative Action Gift from the Rules Committee.

There just aren’t going to be any more primaries after today, so Barky is going to need another Affirmative Action injection in order to be declared the “winner”. Apparently, none of this seems to be a problem for the Party. Somebody needs to explain to them that in General Elections, nobody gets spotted any points. Somebody needs to explain to them that there are no caucuses in General Elections, so no busloads of college students will be at the polls taking control of the room, threatening old ladies and fudging results. Come to think of it, somebody will explain these things to them–on November 4.

Clinton Considering Challenging New Magic Number of Delegates (by Jake Tapper at Political Punch, ABC News)
After she won Puerto Rico last night, Sen. Hillary Clinton, D-NY, was asked if she may challenge the new “magic number” of delegates the Democratic National Committee says is needed to clinch the nomination — 2,118. “That’s a question we’re going to be considering,” Clinton said. “… [W]e’re going to decide how to proceed and … we will either mount a challenge or not but obviously it would have an impact on the number of delegates necessary to pledge the nomination.” All of which is to say – Sen. Barack Obama, D-Illinois, may reach 2,118 this week, but Clinton may assert that doesn’t mean anything. Fasten your seatbelts.

How to Lobby Superdelegates (by Jeralyn at TalkLeft)
Here’s the link to Lobby Superdelegates. Pick your state, tell them you are a constituent and make your case for your favorite candidate. Superdelegates can make up their minds or change their minds anytime up until the convention. So long as Hillary stays in the race, there is no victor. As of tonight and tomorrow, this is a two person race. Obama leads in pledged delegates, but doesn’t have the magic number. Hillary leads in the popular vote. More people have voted for her than Obama. With neither candidate winning both the pledged delegate total and the popular vote, the question is, who is more electable in November and who can better lead our country? Don’t be shy, this may be your last chance.
Read some of the articles below before you compose your message.

Why Super Delegates Need to Ignore Pelosi, Reid and Dean and Their Nervous Rush to Judgment (by Marc Rubin at TaylorMarsh.com)
The last time a political leader rushed this county into something, we ended up in Iraq. But last week Nancy Pelosi, Harry Reid and Howard Dean let it be known that they want the uncommitted super delegates to declare within 48 hours of the last primary on Tuesday… Pelosi and Reid have achieved what most people would have thought impossible — they have led the Democratically controlled congress to a lower job approval rating than George W. Bush. If super delegates are to exercise any judgment at all before the week is out it should be to ignore them…

Right now all of the metrics for the fall election ( which if Obama gets the nomination is going to be renamed the gall election) favor Clinton by a mile… Obama is finishing out the primary season in a whimper and momentum seems to be on Clinton’s side. The metrics for Clinton keep getting better including polls which show her leading now in the Democratic preference for the nomination. This in spite of all of Obama’s dog and pony shows trying to act like its over and that he is the winner… In other words there is a lot to think about. And a lot that can happen. Super delegates need to digest and deliberate. Two months is a long time in politics and once a nominee is picked there is no going back.

The Democratic Way (by Scan at TaylorMarsh.com)
Barack Obama’s lead in elected delegates is … an extremely flawed measurement. You see, delegates are malleable. With the right strategy and pressure, they can be changed at will. These changes can occur at local conventions, in DNC meeting rooms, or simply in the brain of an elected delegate with a change of heart. The will of the voters often has nothing to do with it. There are many examples that prove this point, and here are a few of them. (Delegate totals courtesy of CNN).

Iowa…
Decision of the voters:    Obama 38%  Edwards 30%  Clinton 29%
Current delegate
    apportionment:           Obama 60%  Clinton 31%    Edwards 9%…

Nevada…
Decision of the voters:    Clinton 51%  Obama 45%
Current delegate
    apportionment:           Obama 56%  Clinton 44%…

Michigan…
Decision of the voters:     Clinton 55%   Uncommitted 40%…
DNC-adjusted delegate
    apportionment:            Clinton 54%   Obama 46%…

If I lived in Iowa, Nevada or Michigan, I would have just one question: Was my vote for Clinton one of the votes that got transferred into a delegate for Obama?

Texas…
Decision of 2.8 million
    voters:                         Clinton 51%   Obama 47%
Current delegate
   apportionment…:           Obama 51%   Clinton 49%…

Question: Is the delegate result from Texas a fair representation of the will of its people?

Washington, Nebraska and Idaho…

Washington Caucus        Obama 68%   Clinton 31%
Washington Primary        Obama 51%   Clinton 46%

Nebraska Caucus           Obama 68%   Clinton 32%
Nebraska Primary           Obama 49%   Clinton 46%

Idaho Caucus                 Obama 79%   Clinton 17%
Idaho Primary                 Obama 64%   Clinton 31%…

And you know what’s really outrageous? Several thousand people showed up for the Idaho caucuses where Obama netted 12 delegates…the very same number of delegates that Clinton netted when 2.3 million voters showed up to give her a big win in Pennsylvania. Something is very wrong here.

Detailed caucus-primary statistical report (by MarkJay at No Quarter)
Peniel Conin, President & CEO of Global Basic and eNameWiz.com, has written a detailed 13-page statistical report and analysis of caucus vs. primary results from the 2008 Democratic nominating campaign…. Among the information available in the report:
* The 37 primary states account for more than 97% of the vote — yet only 85.2% of the delegates
* The 13 caucus states account for less than 3% of the vote — yet for 14.8% of the delegates.
* The 13 caucus states have roughly 3.2 million voting age people with disabilities.  Unlike official state primaries, neither the ADA nor HAVA cover caucus-related disability issues and there is limited legal recourse to force the parties to comply with accessibility standards.
* The average turnout in primary states has been 18.7%.  This is more than four-fold the average turnout in caucus states, which has been 4.5%
* In the 37 primaries, Hillary Clinton is up 500,000 votes (counting Florida and Michigan; She is up by 350,000 votes if Obama is given 75% of the uncommitted vote in Michigan).  In the 13 caucus states, Obama is up 300,000 votes
* Clinton has won 20 of the 37 primaries, but only 1 of the 17 caucuses…

SusanUnPC’s NOTE & Personal Story: On February 5, 2008, I underwent emergency surgery and was in the hospital for a full week thereafter… My caucus was held on Saturday, February 9, 2008. I was unable to attend, obviously, because I was still in the hospital on IVs with very strong antibiotics to fight a massive, life-threatening infection.

My nurses, physicians, attendants, and the hospital’s other employees — from janitors to the cafeteria workers who prepared my all-liquid diet — were also unable to attend… So, besides disabled people, the people I know of who were disenfranchised that day:
anyone who must work on a Saturday
anyone who is in a hospital as a patient
anyone who is ill from the flu or a bad cold
anyone who cannot traverse the LONG hallways of big school buildings, and sit in extremely uncomfortable chairs for hours
anyone too poor to hire a babysitter to care for children
anyone who has worked all week and who dedicates weekends to spending PRECIOUS TIME with their children
anyone who works all week and must devote Saturdays to necessary errands, chores, repairs — including oil changes on one’s car, trips to the grocery store and pharmacy, and on and on
IN OTHER WORDS, anyone but the MOST affluent, the MOST young, the MOST physically able is DISENFRANCHISED BY THIS ABSURD SYSTEM.

The TX caucuses: Getting things on the record, with questions journalists should be asking (by lambert at Corrente)
Not only is the caucus system unrepresentative, it’s open to abuse by anyone who wants to game it… A source that I have good reason to believe is trustworthy supplied the information below to Wampum and Corrente — which I’ve suitably anonymized — on issues with the TX caucuses. I think there’s a story here; interested journalists may contact me for a referral. Regardless, the story should have a thorough airing; my source is said to be in possession of affidavits (the missing piece in the story as covered).

Example:
At the Precinct Convention, _____ said the Chair asked for a “show of hands” of how many people wanted to be delegates and then the Chair appointed “7 delegates to Obama and 6 for Clinton.” The Obama captain called in FALSE results. She said the actual results were 74 Clinton and 33 Obama (total votes) which translates 9 for Clinton and 4 for Obama of 13 delegates. Obama supporters did not allow Hillary supporters to review the results of the count or participate in the math. …

Example:
The election judge left early and gave the packet [of election materials] to an unidentified individual. No Clinton chair was present. Our captain and volunteers were not allowed to participate in the calculation of delegates or in the reporting and the unidentified individual called in the results, which ______ believes should be Clinton 13 and Obama 0. It is uncertain what was reported.

Example:
_________ reports she saw an Obama person writing “Obama” as a preference for HRC voters where there were blanks in the sign in sheets. The Obama person also tried to turn her away because she did not have a voter card. Temp chair was with Obama. Perm chair is an HRC supporter. People left as Beckie argued for 15 to 20 minutes that the precinct log should be checked. The Obama person shouted an announcement that anyone without a voter card should leave…

Example:
At the Precinct Convention, Obama supporters told 70-100 Hillary supporters to leave and the majority of them left, including a number of elderly people. Obama supporters took over the packet and the convention. These people are believed to have signed in and to have cast their presidential preference.

That’s part of the unreported record; I selected incidents reported by voters, not party or campaign operatives. Was this undemocratic, delegitimizing, and possibly criminal behavior by (some) Obama supporters widespread in TX? The argument can certainly be made that this is the reason for the gross disparity between the results of the full-fledged secret ballot election and the caucuses. Because we’ve got over 2000 claims of rules violiations, with reports of potentially criminal handling of election packets in 16 precincts, and lockouts of Clinton supporters in 11.*** Tendentiously: It’s not that the Obama team is better organized; the issue is better organized at doing what, exactly.

Conservative/ACLU Arguments Beg the Question on Florida/Michigan Primaries (by Peter J. Wirs, Townhall)
This past Saturday, the Democratic National Committee Rules Committee voted, as many anticipated, on seating the Florida and Michigan Democratic delegates with only half of vote. Moreover, 59 Michigan delegates were awarded to Barak Obama, notwithstanding he was not on the January 15 Michigan primary ballot… As we reported last week, Senator Arlen Specter (R-PA), the former chairman and now ranking minority member on the Senate Judiciary Committee, is seriously evaluating whether he should call for Congressional hearings.

Conservatives responded to our May 27 column that neither the Senate nor the courts have any business regarding the affairs of a political party on the First Amendment grounds of freedom of association… But once the Democrats evoke the state’s machinery in order to hold a public primary, a bright line is crossed… The issue isn’t that the DNC is asserting some “for members only” admission to a clubhouse. The issue is that the Great States of Florida and Michigan held primaries, which although concerning one or another of our two major political parties, is part of the electoral process…

I don’t know about my fellow conservatives, but when I go to the polls to vote, I don’t want someone to cancel or dilute my vote. I expect my vote to be count as one vote, nothing more, nothing less.

Reading the entrails (by Avedon Carol at The Sideshow)
Kagro X at Daily Kos departs from the all-rules-favor-Obama fantasy and tells the truth: “I’m wearing armor right now. And Harold Ickes was right.” The DNC Rules and Bylaws Committee can rule within the rules, but it can’t go outside the rules to create a desired outcome. And there’s nothing in the rules that permits them to award uncommitted delegates to a particular candidate – but that’s what they did. Turkana: “I want you to show me the rule that says a candidate who was not voted pledged delegates from a state can simply be awarded pledged delegates by the DNC. Because the rules were changed, today, in the middle of the game, but not by Hillary Clinton or her supporters.

So? (by Anglachel)
So, if the party is willing to trade away the most fundamental political right we have, to select our government and in the doing establish its legitimacy and the grounds of our consent to its exercize of power, how exactly is this different than Dick Cheney’s arrogation of power to himself? Where are the limits to this claim to displace the documented public will of the governed in favor of the private advantage of the governors? What rule, save that of tyrants and elites, can be consistent with that foundation? How can the Democrats stand up in public and speak with authority about the rule of law when they engage in the rule of expedience?

When a primary season has been marked by violent language towards a competitor and the party does not object, when voters and caucus goers are subjected to intimidation, when “activists” in the blogosphere encourage hunting down opponents’ supporters and marauding them in their private lives, when voices of opposition are met with death threats, explain to me how replacing impersonal and objective rules and principles with arbitrary desires defends us from the descent we have observed in the Republicans?

White Women Take the Gloves Off (by Froma Harrop)
The woman who shouted “McCain in ’08″ at the Democratic rules committee was speaking for a multitude. After mounting for months, female anger over the choreographed dumping on Hillary Clinton and her supporters has exploded — and party loyalty be damned. That the women are beginning to have a good time is an especially bad sign for Barack Obama’s campaign… What’s dangerous for the Democratic Party is that, for many women, the eye of the storm has moved beyond Hillary or anything she does at this point. The offense has turned personal. They are now in their own orbit, having abandoned popular Democratic Websites that reveled in crude anti-Hillary outpourings — and established new ones on which they trade stories of the Obama people’s nastiness.

But worse than the online malice has been the affronts to their faces… The women are angry at the ludicrous charges of racism leveled against Clinton by the Obama camp — amplified in the supposedly respectable media — and projected onto themselves. Jean B. Grillo, an “over 50″ writer in lower Manhattan, was pretty straightforward: “I am so tired as a white, ultra-liberal, McGovern-voting, civil-rights marching, anti-war fighting highly educated professional woman who totally supports Hillary Clinton to be attacked and vilified as racist and or dumb.”…

The women talk of being taken for granted by a party leadership that never spoke out on some of the outrageous Hillary bashing — and despite the close race, joined the early rush to crown Obama… “How Obama’s campaign has treated Hillary will not be forgotten,” Janet Rogers, 55, who runs a Bed and Breakfast in Medina, Ohio, wrote me. “I will vote for McCain if Hillary is not the nominee. My husband and friends all feel the same way.” Indeed. McCain in ’08 has suddenly become a more likely prospect.

McCain Trusted More Than Obama on Economy, Iraq, National Security (Rasmussen)
When it comes to the economy, 47% of voters trust John McCain more than Barack Obama. Obama is trusted more by 41%. The latest Rasmussen Reports telephone survey also found that, when it comes to the War in Iraq, McCain is trusted more by 49% of voters. Obama is preferred by 37%. McCain has an even larger edge—53% to 31%–on the broader topic of National Security. These results are little changed from a month ago.

Booze, burgers, and broads: The art of managing the National Press Corps (by Lance Mannion)
The National Press Corps and the Village Insiders hate the Clintons and they cover them accordingly… This has been going on for over sixteen years now. It’s something that all of us here on the left side of the bandwidth had always agreed on…right up until the moment when it became something that might reflect unflatteringly on Barack Obama. Then, for about half of us, it became no longer true. Or at least not so true as it once was that it could have actually played any role in this campaign.

Several Obama-supporting readers have pointed out that there are STUDIES that show that on the whole Clinton has received positive coverage.  Forgive me, folks.  I’m not going to bother reading them.  It doesn’t matter how many stories there were that showed Clinton in a positive light or how many minutes of airtime were devoted to portraying her and her campaign in a flattering manner.  What matters is who wrote those stories and prepared those news reports and where they ran and what the loudmouths on the bobblehead shows made of them and how they figured in the op-ed pieces and columns of the most influential Village insiders.
Bob Somerby has a few words to say about the Pew “study”. See below.

WHEN BRODER MET EXCELLENCE: (by Bob Somerby at the Daily Howler)
(by Bob Somerby at the Daily Howler)Here’s the problem: Isn’t there a major difference between two unfavorable statements if one is true and the other is false?… In a way, it’s a perfect marker of the age–an age in which the very concept of “accuracy” no longer seems to exist. Last week, for example, journalists made an endless number of negative statements about Candidate Clinton–many of which were baldly untrue, or at best profoundly tendentious. But the PEJ’s scholars don’t adjust for untruth… They only care if it seems “favorable.”

Then, along comes the Dean of All Pundits. To all appearances, he couldn’t be bothered to read the report, to see how the “scholars” were proceeding this year. But so what? He knows the value of a good study; a good study is one which reinforces his viewpoint! He disappeared the study in Campaign 2000–the study which said that his mainstream “press corps” was kicking the sh*t out of Candidate Gore. But he pimps the study in 2008, when it says they aren’t murdering Clinton.

McClellan: Obama reminds him of the Bush he likes (Hot off the Trail, McClatchy)
Scott McClellan could be a Barack Obama supporter. The former Bush press secretary, currently peddling his new book, which charges the White House engaged in a “propaganda” campaign to sell the Iraq war, told CBS and ABC that he was “intrigued by Sen. Obama’s message.” And, he told CBS’ Katie Couric, “”It’s a message that is very similar to the one Gov. Bush ran on in 2000, and won on, promising to bring bi-partisanship and honesty and integrity to Washington.”
Obama reminds me of Bush, too, in his arrogance and his sense of entitlement.  I think that, like Bush, his many gaffes are a reflection of his inattention and lack of concern for the details that a president who actually cares about the issues would know.

McClellan Missile: Media Crimes As War Crimes (by Danny Schechter)
When Will U.S. “Journalism” Be Held Accountable for Promoting War?

Drudge Keeps Campaigns Guessing (Politico)
The most striking new feature of the 2008 media landscape may be that Matt Drudge has upended the conventional wisdom that he and his powerful online vehicle are stalwarts of the conservative message machine. After skewering Al Gore and lampooning John Kerry, he’s emerged as an unreliable ally for the GOP, while trumpeting Obama’s victories and shrugging at his scandals.

Thank you, jurors, cleared Fieger says
Attorney Geoffrey Fieger won a dramatic acquittal Monday on federal charges of violating campaign-finance laws, saving his lucrative career and sending federal prosecutors in Detroit to yet another crushing defeat in a high-profile case.

NASA watchdog: Politics influenced climate change info
NASA’s press office “marginalized or mischaracterized” studies on global warming between 2004 and 2006, the agency’s own internal watchdog concluded.

Media Matters for America headlines

• Limbaugh on Obama: His “only chance of winning is that he’s black”

• “Feminist” Marc Rudov believes “most American women are as shallow” as Sex in the City characters

• Gannett News Service ignored McCain’s shifting explanations on why he voted against tax cuts

• Vanity Fair finds no “proof” of Clinton affairs — but spreads rumors anyway

• Despite contrary evidence, CNN’s Townsend insisted “facts” show neither Rove nor Libby outed Plame as CIA operative

Cartoons may have prompted bombing of Danish embassy in Pakistan
ISLAMABAD, Pakistan — A car bomb ripped through the street outside the Danish embassy here, killing at least six, in an apparent act of revenge against cartoons of the prophet Muhammad published in Danish newspapers in 2005.

Putin Opponents Are Made to Vanish From TV
The so-called stop list is a roster of political opponents and other critics of the government who have been barred from TV news and political talk shows by the Kremlin. The stop list is an excellent way to stifle dissent, and a striking indication of how Vladimir Putin has increasingly relied on the Kremlin-controlled TV networks to consolidate power, especially in recent elections.
My, that sounds awfully like the U.S.

Brazil: Reporters Say Tortured By Police
Journalists investigating Rio slum militias say they were tortured by alleged police.

BBC Accused Of Sexism As News Reports By Women Plummet (by James Robinson, The Guardian)
BBC insiders have accused the corporation of sexism after it emerged that the number of reports by women journalists on its flagship 10pm news bulletin has fallen dramatically in the past year.

CNN’s Amanpour receives National Press Club’s highest honor
CNN chief international correspondent Christiane Amanpour receives the National Press Club’s Fourth Estate Award, which is given annually to an individual who has achieved distinction for a lifetime of contributions to American journalism.

The Kindle (by Taegan Goddard at Political Wire)
If you want to get a copy of Scott McClellan’s new White House memoir, What Happened, you’ll probably go to several bookstores only to find it’s sold out. If you want to order it from Amazon, you’ll be told it’s not shipping until June 21. Or you can get it delivered in about a minute if you have a Kindle, the amazing new electronic reading device from Amazon. That’s one of the main reasons I decided to test the Kindle. I also like the ability to get major newspapers and magazines delivered automatically every morning. And since it weighs just 10 ounces it’s very portable and gets you away from the computer. It’s also environmentally friendly. If it works out, I’d like to make Political Wire available on the Kindle as well. I’ll keep you posted.

Veteran LAT Editor Sees Zell in Action, Decides It’s Time to Go
Joel Sappell: We had such high hopes in Los Angeles for the billionaire from Chicago. When Sam Zell took over last year and said it was time to stop cutting, we wanted to believe. But, although a gifted real estate man, he’d underestimated the severity of the newspaper crisis and ordered reductions. He also quickly began to reveal himself as thin-skinned and crass, upbraiding Tribune journalists who challenged his vision.

NYT Pulitzer Winner: ‘We All Watch the Most Emailed List’
New York Times staff writer Amy Harmon, who just won a Pulitzer-prize for her series, “The DNA Age” helped settle the dispute about whether Times reporters check the most-emailed list: “We all watch the most emailed list,” she said. “As a reporter, you want all the response you can get.”

Globe & Mail kills “Insider” program that required subscription
The Toronto-based paper’s columnists, daily horoscopes, crosswords, Sudoku puzzles and news-tracking tools are now free.

Mercury-News “E-Edition” — Why? (by Amy Gahran at Poynter Online)
Last week the San Jose Mercury News began promoting its new E-Edition — an exact reproduction of its print pages (ads and all) available online. This service isn’t free… I have to ask: Why would anyone want this? Let alone pay any amount of money whatsoever for it?… [I]t’s straight shovelware from the paper’s pagination system. That’s certainly easier for the publisher, and it’s also undoubtedly much cheaper than paying news staff. It may even bring in some revenue — perhaps, if they’re lucky, nearly enough to break even on the cost of implementing this system. But this certainly won’t make the Mercury News’ content more compelling. Plus this method of delivery presents significant obstacles to most would-be readers. Therefore, I strongly doubt this project will help this struggling news organization’s bottom line.

Union shelves plan to bid for Blethen Maine Newspapers
The Portland, Maine, Newspaper Guild declined to sign a non-disclosure agreement that Blethen Maine Newspapers requires for access to financial information. Union officials say they were told last week that the roster of potential buyers willing to sign the NDA and bid within the price range set by the Seattle Times Co. had narrowed to three.
Hmmm… What could have been the union’s intention?

One-Third of Top 30 Sites Gain in ‘Time Spent’
According to new data from Nielsen Online, in April slightly more than one-third of the top 30 newspaper Web sites grew the average time spent per person. The same amount of Web sites reported similar gains in March. Many top sites, however, showed declines. Politico.com experienced the largest gain, up an average 18 minutes in April compared with an average three minutes in April 2007.

The ethic of the link layer on news (by Jeff Jarvis)
A few shows ago, On the Media reported on a revolt against the Associated Press in Ohio, where papers across the state are trading and publishing each others’ original stories rather than sending them through the AP homogenizer. There are a few important implications in this, one about the fate of the AP and the other about an ethic I think news organizations must adopt to link to and promote original journalism… I believe it is vital that we as an industry find ways to point to and give credit to original reporting. That is how original journalism will be supported, in the end: by monetizing the audience that comes to it, whether through advertising or contributions. This leads to a new Golden Rule of Links in journalism — link unto others’ good stuff as you would have them link unto your good stuff.

CBS-CNET: The Fallacy Of Ownership At Work? (by Rafat Ali at Paid Content)
James Surowiecki, the influential financial journalist for the New Yorker, has done a simplistic yet interesting deconstruction of the corporate M&A mania, using the CBS-CNET deal as an example. He cites data saying that most acquisitions don’t work, and much of the “bigger, bolder, and better” synergies can be achieved by just a simple partnership deal, and in CBS’s case, it would have had many of the benefits of merging without the costs. He calls this merger imperative as the fallacy of ownership. He further goes on to state that while some smaller, private company acquisitions do work, taking over a public company is even more risky, considering the premium another company has to pay for shareholders to buy into it.

NBC Raising Capital for Deal-Making Without GE
NBC Universal CEO Jeff Zucker is doing everything he can to grow the media giant despite being given the financial equivalent of the cold shoulder by parent company General Electric. Slowing growth prospects and investor pressure have made GE’s deep financial pockets much shallower and, as a result, Zucker can no longer rely on GE to backstop his deal-making.

Microsoft Live Search to Become Default on HP Computers (Mashable)
Continuing on its quest for market share, Microsoft has signed a deal to have its Live Search offering become the default search engine on all HP consumer PCs, starting next year. The deal includes both the search toolbar in your HP computer’s taskbar and as the default in the browser. Google has a similar deal with Dell, while Yahoo has a bundling agreement with Acer. The importance of such deals shouldn’t be underestimated. While experienced Internet users will likely download their favorite browser and fall back to their preferred search engine upon powering up their new machine, search bundling is an important tactic in luring first-time Internet users (of which there are still millions per year).
This kind of deal is exactly what made Microsoft’s products the dominant operating system for PCs.  It certainly isn’t because they had the best product.

Floodgates Opening: Google, CNBC, WSJ To Get Real-Time Quotes From NASDAQ (Paid Content)
The days of the 15-minute delay for stock quotes appear to be numbered. Last week Yahoo announced that Yahoo Finance would provide real-time stock quotes courtesy of the BATS ECN. Today NASDAQ has announced that Google, CNBC.com and the WSJ Digital Network will offer free RTQs from its exchange. The new service called NASDAQ Last Sale is being delivered in conjunction with Xignite, a provider of financial applications.

Turner’s Ad Net Strategy: No To ‘Pork Bellies,’ Yes To Premium (Paid Content)
Mediaweek details Turner’s plans to package 19 sites for display and video ad sales. The ad net will include its own web properties such as TNT.com, TBS.com, CNN.com, AdultSwim.com and CartoonNetwork.com and will align them with partner sites such as NBA.com and PGA.com. Turner cites Nielsen Online data in claiming its ad net will be able to deliver an audience of 48 million monthly unique users. The move is part of Turner’s new unified ad sales strategy, which calls for ending the separate silos that were previously set around news and entertainment.

Mr. Bill Returns (in One Piece) to Pitch a Debit Card
Mr. Bill, the clay doll that was pulverized in vintage “Saturday Night Live” skits, makes it through the day in a new ad campaign by MasterCard.

Time Warner Cable Tries Metering Internet Use
You’re used to paying extra if you use up your cell phone minutes, but will you be willing to pay extra if your home computer goes over its Internet allowance? Time Warner Cable Inc. customers – and, later, others – may have to, if the company’s test of metered Internet access is successful.

Time Warner Cable chokes customers (by Jeff Jarvis)
So Time Warner could end up charging customers more for watching a movie than the service selling the movie, whether that is iTunes or Netflix. I’m sure that’s quite on purpose. It is TW’s FU to the net neutrality debate: If we can‥