Media & Politics (one section only today)
18-Sep-08
Permanent link to MTA daily media news
I am not a Republican, and I am not a racist. I will be voting for Cynthia McKinney for president. So don’t threaten me with your post-partisan, post-racial, manipulative, coercive hate mail.
Picking Winners by the Popularity of Paraphernalia (New York Times)
Longtime pollsters will tell you that predicting elections is a complex science built on years of population analysis and heady math. But according to CafePress.com, it is simply a matter of throw pillows.
Not just any throw pillows but ones with folksy political slogans like “Hockey Moms for McCain Palin.” Or T-shirts that say “Obama is my Homeboy,” or infant jumpers with groan-worthy puns like “O-baaa-ma” over a picture of a cuddly sheep. Could sales of such items predict who will be elected president? CafePress.com — a site that lets people upload their designs and then prints them on items — says yes, they can…
It turns out that sales of Kittens for Clinton T-shirts are perhaps no less reliable than Gallup polls. For example, sales of Barack Obama merchandise first surpassed Hillary Clinton items in late January, just weeks before the Illinois senator took the lead in the polls. And merchandise for the Obama-Biden ticket was outselling McCain-Palin items until the Republican National Convention ended in September. Sales for both are now neck and neck, much as the candidates are in the polls.
Gallup: Obama back in the lead (Hot off the Trail, McClatchy)
For the first time since the Republican convention, Barack Obama is preferred over McCain in Gallup’s daily tracking poll. The difference isn’t statistically significant, 47 to 45 percent, but it’s consistent with the Ipsos/McClatchy poll released last night, which found the race tied 45-45, but that those who favor McCain are squishier in their support than those who favor Obama.
Battleground Not Much Bigger Than 2004 (Political Wire)
Just out from the Wisconsin Advertising Project: “Despite much talk about an expanded playing field, by and large, states receiving advertising in 2008 look similar to the states targeted in the 2004 presidential campaign. The Obama campaign aired ads in seventeen states from September 6-13, while the McCain campaign aired ads in fifteen of those same states.”
So much for that 57-state strategy.
`60 Minutes’ to give hour to McCain, Obama
NEW YORK (AP) - CBS’”60 Minutes” will devote its full broadcast Sunday to profiles of John McCain and Barack Obama with fresh interviews, hoping to set the stage for the general election campaign’s first presidential debate on Sept. 26.
Kilkenny on Palin: Citizen Journalism Success (Poynter Online)
On August 31, Anne Kilkenny wrote this e-mail about Sarah Palin’s track record in Wasilla, Alaska, where Kilkenny lives. By Friday there were over 3,000 results on Google for Kilkenny and her e-mail. That night, Kilkenny was interviewed by National Public Radio and everybody else. This is another moment that proves the Internet’s power to carry a message from a very small town to the entire world.
But is this a success of any kind of journalism? The email, to me, was full of things Kilkenny disagrees with Palin on. She’s entitled to her opinion, but what’s the big deal about it?
Facebook Political Ads Test Limits
Political parties and interest groups have long cherry-picked news stories that promote their agenda to feature in campaign ads. But some new ads popping up on Facebook take that tactic to a new level. “AP Says: Palin Lied,” reads one ad, accompanied by an unflattering photo of the vice presidential candidate. Another ad — accompanied by the same photo — reads, “Washington Post breaks ANOTHER Palin scandal. Charging tax payers for her sleeping at home.” Another with a picture of John McCain grimacing reads, “Time’s Joe Klein has had enough of McCain’s dishonorable campaign lies. A must read.”
Clicking on the ads takes visitors straight to a story on the Web sites of those publications. People who click on the ad that reads “WSJ Says: Palin Lied,” for instance, are directed to a story on The Wall Street Journal Web site about the contradictions in Gov. Palin’s record regarding the “Bridge to Nowhere.” But none of the publications cited in the ads bought them — or even was aware of them. The buyer — though never identified anywhere on the ads or on the pages that you land on after clicking on them — is the liberal group MoveOn.org. It’s the latest example of fuzziness about who’s behind what when it comes to political ads online.
How Fact-Checking Took Center Stage in the 2008 Campaign (Editor & Publisher)
The fact-checkers have gone wild in the past two weeks, but even before Barack Obama and John McCain were officially selected for the final leg in the race for the White House, political editors and reporters had done some soul-searching, leading many to a new commitment to studying, and maybe correcting, the record when needed.
I didn’t notice any reduction in lies, did you? The only thing different about this election is that bunches of lies are coming from the DEMOCRATS for the first time.
From the Fact Check Desk: Obama’s New Spanish Language TV Ad Es Erróneo (by Jake Tapper at Political Punch, ABC News)
Sen. Barack Obama, D-Ill., has launched a new Spanish-language TV ad that seeks to paint Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., as anti-immigrant, even tying the Republican to his longtime conservative talk-radio nemesis Rush Limbaugh… There are some real factual problems with this ad, which is titled “Dos Caras,” or two faces. First of all, tying Sen. McCain – especially on the issue of immigration reform – to Limbaugh is unfair. Limbaugh opposed McCain on that issue. Vociferously. And in a larger sense, it’s unfair to link McCain to Limbaugh on a host of issues since Limbaugh, as any even occasional listener of his knows, doesn’t particularly care for McCain. Second, the quotes of Limbaugh’s are out of context.
Click through for the details.
McCain ad hits Obama on taxes (On Politics, USA Today)
Republican presidential nominee John McCain’s campaign says this new TV ad [click through to watch] will be on the air nationally on some cable networks:… “…Obama and his liberal Congressional allies want a massive government, billions in spending increases, wasteful pork. And, we would pay — painful income taxes, skyrocketing taxes on life savings, electricity and home heating oil…” In reality, the nonpartisan Tax Policy Center has written, under his plans Obama “would give larger tax cuts to low- and moderate-income households (than McCain would) and pay some of the cost by raising taxes on high-income taxpayers.”
The nonpartisan FactCheck.org has said that McCain “misrepresents Obama’s tax proposals again. And again, and again.”
There is no truth to the rumor . . . (by Leonard Pitts Jr., Miami Herald)
For the record: Sarah Palin did not call dinosaurs ”lizards of Satan.” Barack Obama is not a Muslim. That list of books that Palin supposedly wants to ban is a fake. Obama doesn’t refuse to say the Pledge of Allegiance. The picture of Palin wearing a flag bikini and hefting a gun is a fraud. Obama is, too, a U.S. citizen. Palin doesn’t want Alaska to secede. These and other rumors are, of course, busily bouncing all over the Internet. I dispute them only for the aforementioned record and not from any expectation that doing so will make the slightest bit of difference to the willingness of people to believe whatever they want…
Maybe you’re wondering what’s the fuss. Politics and lies, after all, go together like carrion and flies, and this year is no different… Still, there’s something new at work here. After all, this stuff used to be the exclusive province of political operatives; we the people were content to leave lying to the professionals. These days, shadowy groups and shadowier individuals are in the thick of it. The Internet has made it ridiculously easy; you can sabotage a campaign without ever changing out of your PJs.
Historians say McCain camp not sleaziest (Politico)
David Axelrod, Barack Obama’s chief strategist, said Sunday that John McCain is running the “sleaziest and least honorable campaign in modern presidential campaign history.” It was a line trotted out all weekend by various Obama staffers as part of an effort to portray the Republican nominee as a purveyor of the slimiest tactics in recent memory… “The idea that this campaign is the sleaziest ever is absurd,” said David Greenberg, a professor of history and media studies at Rutgers who has written books on Presidents Coolidge and Nixon. “In fact, there’s been very little that’s below the belt, and aides have been fired on all sides when they’ve gotten near, let alone crossed, the lines. There’s nothing at all to rival the Swift-boating of Kerry in 2004, the imputations of un-Americanness to Dukakis in 1988, the anti-Catholic stuff against Al Smith in 1928 and the regular resort to slander and character assassination of so many 19th-century campaigns.”
Recent Obama Ads More Negative Than Rival’s, Study Says (by Howard Kurtz, Washington Post)
Despite perceptions that Sen. John McCain has spent more time on the attack, Sen. Barack Obama aired more negative advertising last week than did the Arizona Republican, says a study released yesterday. Seventy-seven percent of the Illinois Democrat’s commercials were negative during the week after the Republican National Convention, compared with 56 percent of the spots run by McCain. Ken Goldstein, who directed the study by the Wisconsin Advertising Project, based at the University of Wisconsin, says the pattern was a reversal from earlier months, in which McCain’s advertising was consistently more negative than Obama’s.
Huckabee: McCain Has Always Been Against Regulation, Knows Market ‘Will Correct Itself’ (Think Progress)
In the wake of the sudden collapse of Wall Street giant banks, Sen. John McCain spent yesterday “scrambling to recast himself as a champion of regulation,” trying to erase his past support of legislation “to broadly deregulate the banking and insurance industries helping to sweep aside a thicket of rules established over decades.” Reacting to the Fed takeover of AIG, McCain decalred today, “We need strong and effective regulation” in the future. However, [Tuesday] night one of his chief campaign surrogates was singing a different tune. On Fox News’s Hannity and Colmes, former governor Mike Huckabee emphasized McCain’s past as a dergulator who would allow the market to “correct itself”:
McCain Says Wall Street Was `Reckless’ in AIG Crisis (Bloomberg)
John McCain, shifting his position from a day ago, suggested the government’s $85 billion takeover of American International Group Inc. was unavoidable and he blamed “greed and excess” for the turmoil on Wall Street… Twenty-four hours earlier, McCain said in morning interviews that he didn’t want taxpayers to be “on the hook” for AIG.
New Obama ad focuses on Corning plant in Pennsylvania (McClatchy)
COLLEGE TOWNSHIP — Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama has made the closing of the former Corning plant in College Township the centerpiece of a new TV campaign commercial that attacks Republican rival John McCain over the economy.
How many of us will remember the closing of a Maytag plant in Galesburg, Illinois? Obama promised at one time to help the workers, but never even discussed the plant closing with Lester Crown, a major Maytag stockholder and also a big Obama supporter.
Obama’s new 2 minute Economic ad: ‘Plan for Change’ (by John Amato at Crooks and Liars)
Barack Obama puts out a fairly lengthy two minute ad [click through to watch] that talks directly to voters and allows him to explain his positions in a more detailed fashion. I still disapprove of his overall bipartisan message, I would be pounding Republican ideals that has caused this mess, but it’s still very effective.
Predictable (by Susie at Suburban Guerrilla)
From the new Obama ad: “I’m Barack Obama. I hope you’ll read my economic plan. I approved this message because bitter, partisan fights and outworn ideas of the Left and the Right won’t solve the problems we face today. But a new spirit of unity and shared responsibility will.” Yes, because the outworn ideas of the Left like corporate responsibility and vigorous oversight wouldn’t have solved a goddamned thing. (Not to mention silly Left ideas like Social Security! Say, wouldn’t this be a good time to dump all the Social Security funds into the stock market? Bet we’d make a bundle - eventually…) God, I’m really going to have to hold my nose to vote for this “post-partisan” cheerleader.
Even If You Won’t Say Democrat, Would It Kill You To Say Republican? (by BDBlue at Corrente)
Obama finally talks about the economy in his latest ad…, which I generally think is a good idea. The substance is fine, but the framing is for shit, IMO. He still can’t say the D-word or even the R-word. The problem is not Washington. It is not the “outworn ideas of the Left and the Right.” It is Republicans. That is the problem. And Democrats are the solution. At least I thought that would be the Democratic message. Instead, the message is that Obama is the solution and Washington is the problem. Then I guess we should all vote against our incumbent Democratic Congressmen since they are equally to blame as the Republicans? They are Washington, no?
And, btw, what outworn ideas of the left are you talking about, Barack? Economic justice, regulation, jobs, fair pay, antitrust enforcement, equal access to opportunity? Which one of those fucking wornout ideas of the left don’t you support? I’d like to know before I go in and vote. Was Reagan right and Carter wrong? Or is it that you’ve just been watching Meet The Press for 20 years and so you’ve internalized all the loathing of Democrats and the mythical “left”? Don’t want to sit at the uncool kids’ table.
Echoing the Campaign of a Rival, Microsoft Aims to Redefine ‘I’m a PC’
Microsoft’s new advertising campaign is an audacious embrace of the disdainful label that Apple has gleefully affixed onto users of Microsoft products: “I’m a PC.”
Why isn’t the Democratic Party doing some rebranding like this? Why aren’t they taking back the party brand, and the liberal brand, after they’ve been trashed so badly by the right-wing megaphone—with the help of the Democrats themselves?
Hagel: ‘It’s a stretch’ to say Palin is qualified (On Politics, USA Today)
“Sen. Chuck Hagel of Nebraska on Wednesday became the nation’s most prominent Republican officeholder to publicly question whether Sarah Palin has the experience to serve as president,” the Omaha World-Herald reports. Among the things Hagel told the newspaper about Alaska Gov. Palin: “‘She doesn’t have any foreign policy credentials. … You get a passport for the first time in your life last year? I mean, I don’t know what you can say. You can’t say anything. It’s a stretch to, in any way, to say that she’s got the experience to be president of the United States.’” Hagel, who is leaving the Senate at the end of the year, has said he has no plans to endorse either Republican presidential nominee John McCain or Democratic nominee Barack Obama.
Well, he’s not doing Obama any favors, either, by these kinds of statements. Every time anyone talks about Palin’s inexperience, we’re invited to think about Obama’s inexperience—and he’s at the TOP of the ticket.
Troopergate probe appears to be unraveling (AP)
ANCHORAGE, Alaska—The abuse-of-power investigation of Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin was unraveling Wednesday, with most key witnesses refusing to testify, new legal maneuvering and heightened Republican pressure to delay the probe until after Election Day.
Palin’s Private E-mails Hacked, McCain Campaign Shocked (by Jake Tapper at Political Punch, ABC News)
As Gawker reports, the private yahoo e-mails accounts of Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin have been hacked… As we covered…, Palin has used her private e-mail account to conduct official business and, like members of the Bush administration before her, has attempted to use this as a way to avoid the very transparency she pledged would mark her gubernatorial term.
AP Refuses Secret Service Request for Palin’s “Hacked” Emails
WASHINGTON Hackers broke into the Yahoo! e-mail account that Republican vice presidential candidate Sarah Palin used for official business as Alaska’s governor, revealing as evidence a few inconsequential personal messages she has received since John McCain selected her as his running mate… The Secret Service contacted The Associated Press on Wednesday and asked for copies of the leaked e-mails, which circulated widely on the Internet. The AP did not comply.
Kilkenny on Palin: Citizen Journalism Success
On August 31, Anne Kilkenny wrote this e-mail about Sarah Palin’s track record in Wasilla, Alaska, where Kilkenny lives. By Friday there were over 3,000 results on Google for Kilkenny and her e-mail. That night, Kilkenny was interviewed by National Public Radio and everybody else. This is another moment that proves the Internet’s power to carry a message from a very small town to the entire world.
But is this a success of any kind of journalism? The email, to me, was full of things Kilkenny disagrees with Palin on. She’s entitled to her opinion, but what’s the big deal about it?
Clinton cancels appearance at protest after learning Palin will be there (On Politics, USA Today)
Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton had been set to be at a rally Monday outside the United Nations to protest the speech there that day by Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. Then the Democratic senator’s staff learned that Republican vice presidential nominee Sarah Palin, the governor of Alaska, is also scheduled to attend. Clinton’s team then canceled the former first lady’s appearance… Tracey Schmitt, a spokeswoman for the McCain-Palin campaign, said in a statement that “Gov. Palin believes that the danger of a nuclear Iran is greater than party or politics. She hopes that all parties can rally together in opposition to this grave threat.”
Biden says it’s ‘patriotic’ for wealthy to pay more in taxes; GOP pounces (On Politics, USA Today)
Democratic vice presidential nominee Joe Biden had this to say to correspondent Kate Snow … on ABC News’ Good Morning America: “We want to take money and put it back in the pocket of middle-class people.” Those earning more than $250,000 a year will “pay more. … It’s time to be patriotic, Kate. Time to jump in. Time to be part of the deal. Time to help get America out of the rut. And the way to do that is — they’re still going to pay less taxes than they did under Reagan.”…
Tucker Bounds, spokesman for the campaign of Republican presidential nominee John McCain and running mate Sarah Palin, has this to say in a statement he’s sent to reporters: “Higher taxes and bigger government is not patriotic, it’s a prescription for fewer American jobs and greater economic hardship. In case there is any confusion, when Barack Obama’s campaign describes tax increases as ‘patriotic’ they plan to raise taxes and slow job growth.”
Click through for a link to the Biden video.
McCain seemingly rejects Spain as an ally. (Think Progress)
According to Spain’s El Pais, John McCain would not answer this week whether he would be willing to meet with Spanish Prime Minister José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero. “Would you be willing to meet with the head of our government, Mr. Zapatero?” the questioner asked multiple times. Five months ago, McCain said he would be willing. But in the interview earlier this week, McCain could not offer a coherent and logical response: “McCain proceeded to launch into what appeared to be a boilerplate declaration about Mexico and Latin America — but not Spain — pressing the need to stand up to world leaders who want to harm America.”
Did he reject Spain as an ally, or did he just not know or not remember that Rodriguez is the PM of Spain?
Did Obama illegally interfere in Iraq? (by Joseph Cannon at Cannonfire)
The charges are grim and shocking: “On Monday the New York Post published a shocking report accusing Barack Obama of interfering in U.S. foreign policy and ongoing military operations in Iraq by directly calling upon the Iraqs to delay any agreement with the United States to aid his political campaign…” … [This] story, alas, comes to us from Iranian journalist Amir Taheri, who is tied into the worst of the neocons… I don’t like Obama, but Taheri’s presence in this yarn makes me suspicious.
One of us…? (by Joseph Cannon at Cannonfire)
Obama’s followers … insist on framing their hero’s story in terms of Nobody Knows the Trouble I’ve Seen. What trouble, exactly, has Obama ever seen? Even his admirers, when pressed, will admit that Obama is filled with simmering resentments which sometimes bubble into visibility. You can see the bubbles in his books. But what justifies those resentments? What trouble has he seen? He ain’t one of us. I speak in terms of class, not race. Progressives will pretend that I am talking about race, because they think that accusing Obama’s opponents of bigotry will put their man into power. Sorry, but that trick won’t work any more.
Yes, I understand that John McCain — son of an admiral, and wedded to wealth — ain’t one of us either. Far from it: He hails from a far more rarified level of privilege. McCain is like JFK in this regard (and only in this regard): He does not pretend to be other than what he is. Obama does.
Obama laughs at McCain’s plan to “take on the old boys network” (by SilentPatriot at Crooks and Liars)
Barack Obama today continued his assault on John McCain’s empty response to the monumental collapse of Wall Street. From Phil Gramm and the bevy of lobbyists running his campaign, to the pass-the-buck “solution” of forming a committee, to his failure to take action over the past 26 years, Obama lays out the clear contrast between his vision for the economy and the same old failed Republican ploys offered by Bush/McCain/Palin.
It is just as laughable to think of Obama taking on the “old boys”{ network.
Deadly Star: If You Don’t Vote for Me, You’re a Racist Loser (by Arthur Silber at The Power of Narrative)
[Obama:] “We always knew this was going to be hard – this is a leap for the American people.”… Note the division. The two categories are irrevocably split: “we” versus “the American people,” that is, those Americans who will not vote for Obama. “Us” versus “them.” The enlightened versus the ignorant. The intelligent versus the stupid. And with the damnably evasive phrase, “this is a leap,” a phrase that remains unequivocally clear in its meaning, the non-racist versus the racist…
By virtue of the fact that he is a Black American — and by virtue of that fact alone — Obama presents himself as the champion of the oppressed, of those who have been and still are discriminated against, of, if you will, the “losers” in American society. Yet as I have shown in many essays, and as Anglachel similarly argues…, the truth is precisely the opposite. Obama has fully adopted the positions and policies of the ruling class — which is to say, of the white, male ruling class. Most of the liberal-progressive writers and bloggers adamantly refuse to acknowledge this fact, and they will not even approach the subject. But why should they?…
Most of the progressive bloggers are “winners” culturally, economically, in terms of race and status, and in every other way. Obama’s program is more than fine for them. But … what happens when the “losers” realize that, in fact, Obama is not on their side at all?
Obama’s Con Job Destined to Break a Lot of Hearts (by Ani at No Quarter)
Gotta love that marketing!… [T]o some kids it’s just a fad and sixth months from now it will just be another piece of metal haphazardly thrown in their whatnot drawer. And yeah, the tracking device is kind of creepy. We’ve got enough big-brother in this country. None of that is my worry. The worry is there are those who actually believe the hopium he’s been selling. That’s why cons are the worst kind of theft. Obama’s con involves the theft of idealism. Senator Obama truly is politics as usual. He is a product of the corrupt Daley political machine; the media creation of his campaign manager David Axelrod; well marketed, kind of like the ultra slick ChangeRing website.
But one of these days, after the pundits and media whores realize they need a new way to make a buck, all the facts will finally be exposed about him. To sell more papers, they will tell the truth… Now please fast forward to ten years from now. Someone else might come along: black, white, bi-racial, Latina, Asian, Indian, man or woman. And that person will likewise have a positive message. The difference perhaps, is that with this future candidate, maybe it won’t be “words, just words.” Maybe he or she will actually have the goods to back it up. But being that your naïve heart has already been broken with the charlatan Obama, you won’t believe it. And that will be a grave loss.
Trilogy of Terror (by Lynne in Lakeland at Liberal Rapture)
I’m sick of being called a Republican because I see through the mystique of Obama. I’m sick of being called a racist because I won’t vote for an unqualified man who happens to be black. I am over being called stupid because I can’t see the greatness of Obama… I have issues with John McCain. I disagree with a lot of what Sarah Palin believes in. But they don’t talk down to me and I appreciate it. Dean, Pelosi and Brazille, the trilogy of terror, have told me that I am no longer welcome in my former party. I didn’t let the door hit my ass on the way out.
The “Oh, Shit!” Moment (by madamab at The Confluence)
The “Oh, Shit!” moment is that pause before a woman realizes she is outnumbered by men who can do her physical or professional harm, and that there’s no way to fight them on equal ground… This year, Hillary Clinton experienced her own “Oh, Shit!” moment. As she mounted her historic quest for the White House, she saw woman after woman deserting her. Elected female Democrats were silent as a group (with some notable exceptions, such as the lovely and much-missed Stephanie Tubbs-Jones) as the media (corporate and fauxgressive), the DNC and Barack Obama systematically tore her apart. Some famous feminists came out in support of Hillary, but soon experienced their own “Oh, Shit!” moments as they realized that other famous feminists had joined ObamaNation…
[W]e must learn from Hillary’s experience. The ONLY WAY to prevent it from recurring is to realize that only in vast numbers are we strong enough to resist the ingrained hatred and fear of women that are endemic in our society as a whole. We must elect more women. If we disagree with a woman who is running for office, we must be sure to temper our disagreement with a certain amount of solidarity, so that she knows that attacks on her gender will not be tolerated. Republican female elected officials did this quite effectively with Sarah Palin, and so did Hillary.
“You really got to go some…” (by Joseph Cannon at Cannonfire)
There is nothing more frustrating than trying to talk reason into a hard-core conspiracy addict who ascribes illimitable powers to the object of his paranoia. Zealots committed to a position will presume that any counter-evidence is doctored and that any counter-argument originated in a pay-off. To this day, Kossacks and Ariann-droids still believe that Hillary controls the mainstream media and the tabloids. They still believe that Hillary sent out “racist dogwhistles.” They still believe that Hillary is the one who should apologize. Although Markos Moulitsas Kos took down the page about Bristol Palin’s child being fathered by a black guy, he still keeps this piece of lying filth about Hillary in the public eye, even though it was utterly debunked. Try this experiment: Go to Google Images and type in “Hillary” and “www.dailykos.com.” What do you see?
NBC should pull MSNBC out from under the NBC News umbrella (Broadcasting & Cable)
Ben Grossman’s suggestion: “Put it in the cable group alongside USA and Bravo and all its other money-printing brands that are carrying the NBCU portfolio. …With one move, MSNBC would be free to pursue the borderline-brilliant programming strategy that has elevated the network, while at the same time protecting the venerable NBC News brand, which is a bit under siege following the loss of Tim Russert and the silliness that occurred during the conventions.”
Surprised Economists Urge People Not to Panic on NPR (by Dean Baker)
NPR had a segment on Morning Edition which featured several economists urging people not to pull their money out of money market funds. All three economists told people that money market funds are still very safe, even though some did report losses due to the recent turmoil in financial markets. It is worth noting that the expert crew on NPR were all caught by surprised by this financial turmoil. Listeners should keep this in mind in assessing their current perspectives.
THe Washington Post Redefines Chutzpah (by Dean Baker)
The newspaper that had no room for those warning of the housing bubble criticizes the bailouts. Wow!!!! Yes, bailouts are expensive and they could have been easily avoided if the people designing economic policy over the last fifteen years had a clue. The Post, which has been a regular outlet for James “36,000 Dow” Glassman, and David “Why the Real Estate Boom Will Not Bust” Lereah, has been of no help in advancing sound policy over this period.
Media Matters for America
• Corsi again falsely claimed “there is no substance to the allegations” that his book “contains lies”
• NPR’s Liasson played clip of McCain ad without noting its distortions
• O’Reilly says of Michelle Obama: “She looks like an angry woman”
• Media continue to falsely suggest Palin supports benefits for same-sex couples
Ike causes widest US Internet outage since 2003
NEW YORK (AP) - The power blackouts that followed Hurricane Ike have caused the widest outage for U.S. Internet service since 2003, according to a firm that tracks Internet connectivity. Internet connections in Texas, Ohio and Pennsylvania were the hardest hit
Financial Services Pullback Drives Display Ad Spend Down 6 Percent In H108: Nielsen (Paid Content)
It looks like Wall Street’s chaos might just affect online advertising more than some thought a few days ago. Just in time for the financial markets’ meltdown this week, Nielsen Online finds a 27 percent decline in display ad spending by financial services companies drove a 6 percent year-over-year decrease in overall display dollars in the first half of 2008. The number of display impressions decreased by 9 percent during the same period.
TV, Cable Stocks Mostly Match Wall Street’s Big Drop
Wall Street endured another panic attack Wednesday as broad stock-market indices were down 4%-5% and TV and cable stocks fell in proportional lockstep.
Four-Member TV Crew Kidnapped And Killed In Mosul
Four members of the Al-Sharqiya TV station were kidnapped yesterday in the northern city of Mosul following a smear campaign against the station by state TV broadcaster Al Iraqiya.
Moroccan Blogger Jailed For Disparaging King
A blogger who accused Morocco’s monarchy of encouraging a culture of favoritism has been jailed for showing disrespect for King Mohammed.
Reporting Rules For Foreign Journalists In China Enacted For Olympics Set To Expire Next Month
China said relaxed rules for foreign journalists that were enacted ahead of the Beijing Olympics will expire next month without detailing whether reporters will face more restrictions.
Turns Out, We’re Not Such Big Multitaskers
MRI Study Finds Most Media Usage Confined to One at a Time
Video Interview: Bill Moyers Focuses on Shock Jocks
What happens when our airwaves fill with hate? BILL MOYERS JOURNAL takes a tough look at the hostile industry of Shock Jock media with a hard-hitting examination of its effects on our national political discourse, and interviews the author of Shock Jocks: Hate Speech & Talk Radio in the process.
Zell To LAT Staffers: We’re In This Together; Lawsuit Charges Are ‘Frivolous’ and ‘Unfounded’ (Paid Content)
Tribune chairman and CEO Sam Zell struck back at a class action lawsuit brought against him by a group of current and former LA Times staffers alleging that he misused the employee stock ownership plan (ESOP). Zell said the complaint, filed Tuesday in federal court, is filled with “frivolous and unfounded allegations.” In a press release, Zell also said “I hope every partner in this company is as outraged as I am at having to spend the time and money required to defend ourselves against it.” With the media industry in crisis, the ad climate worsening and the economy tanking hard, this is no time for such distractions, Zell said.
Zell is not your problem. You are. (by Jeff Jarvis)
Newspapers and newspaper companies are about to die. The last remaining puddles of auto, home, job, and retail advertising are about to be sucked down the drain thanks to the economic crisis and credit is about to be crunched into dust. So any newspaper or news company that has been teetering will fall. If Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac, Lehman Brothers, and AIG can fall, so can a puny newspaper empire — and there’ll be no taxpayer bailout for them. When this happens, will it be Sam Zell’s fault? Hardly. The Times veterans should not be suing Zell. They should be suing themselves.
Rupe: I Don’t Want To Buy The New York Times
Like he has in the past, Rupert Murdoch declares that his newspaper and local TV ad businesses are doing terribly, but that the rest of the company is growing great guns. Or at least enough to ride out a downturn. And New York Times readers and/or employees who fear that Rupert was going to buy the crown jewel of American journalism can relax. Not going to happen, he says.
New York Times to Add Business Column
Breakingviews.com, an independent financial publication, will provide opinion columns for The New York Times and The International Herald Tribune.
Survey: Nearly every kid a video gamer
The survey found that while young Americans don’t necessarily play the same thing, nearly all of them - girls included - play video games of one kind or another. And they don’t just play by themselves. Nearly two-thirds play video games to socialize face-to-face with friends and family, while just over a quarter said they play with Internet friends. “It shows that gamers are social people,” says Amanda Lenhart, a senior researcher at Pew who led the report on the survey. “They communicate just as much. They spend time face-to-face, just as much as other kids. They e-mail and text.”
Watch your back, Grinch: Here comes ‘A Colbert Christmas’
NEW YORK (AP) — O come, all ye Colbert faithful. Stephen Colbert will host his own Christmas special this year, Comedy Central announced Tuesday. A Colbert Christmas: The Greatest Gift of All! will air Nov. 23 as a one-hour special. It will be a musical special featuring John Legend, Elvis Costello, Toby Keith, Willie Nelson, Feist — and The Daily Show host Jon Stewart, who’s slated to sing a duet with Colbert of a song simply titled Hanukkah… A DVD of the special will be released Nov. 25. Part of the proceeds will go to the charity Feeding America.
A Video Contest to Illustrate Democracy
The State Department is asking the world to create three-minute videos that answer the question “Democracy is … ?” as part of a new contest timed to mark International Democracy Day.
Sir Bob Geldof Launches Peace Channel
Sir Bob Geldof, the charity campaigner and rock star, has opened the way for citizen journalists to report on conflicts around the world with the launch of his Peace Channel.
Yahoo begins radical home page overhaul
SUNNYVALE, California (Reuters) - Yahoo Inc is moving ahead on Thursday with a radical redesign of its home page — the most heavily trafficked site on the Web — making changes that give users a personalized view of the wider Web.
Google Chief Defends Yahoo Advertising Deal
Google C.E.O. Eric Schmidt said he will move forward with a controversial ad deal with Yahoo, despite questions raised by federal regulators.
Every Inch of the Web Shall Be Monetized: AdCamo Introduces the Brandable Cursor (Mashable)
In addition to conventional text and banner ads, publishers can now make money on everything from in-line text ads (highlighting specific words that link to advertisers) to pop-up previews (i.e. – Snap). AdCamo, the online advertising platform for Web page backgrounds, has added yet another unique ad format to its mix: the cursor. While custom cursors are nothing new – you’ve probably noticed them on countless MySpace profiles – monetizing them is, and represents the growing trend of selling ads on virtually every conceivable piece of Web real estate. AdCamo’s “brandable cursor” ads work alongside the service’s existing background ads, so for example, if you see an ad for Budweiser, you cursor may in turn become a can of Bud when you mouseover the background ad.
Google Backs $750m African Internet Project
Google has teamed up with a media billionaire and HSBC on a venture that will offer internet access to three billion people in Africa and other emerging markets.
Fries With That Zune? Fast Food, Slow Connection (Paid Content)
Sitting in a McDonald’s in suburban St. Louis, breaking my rule about eating fast food when I’m not on the road and trying out the latest Zune gimmick— free wireless access via Wayport at roughly 9,800 golden arch outlets across the US. First impressions: Way easy and way slow. It’s not just the Zune WiFi that’s sluggish; the free-with-food hour of Wayport WiFi on my laptop is slower than real ketchup. It took about 5 minutes to establish a connection, load the page and log on. You could finish a Happy Meal by the time you’re actually doing anything purposeful.
Australian company launches 3D Internet tool
MELBOURNE (AFP) - An Australian company on Thursday launched a free tool it says offers web browsers a world-first opportunity to view the Internet in three dimensions.
Computers figuring out what words mean
SAN FRANCISCO (AFP) - The Internet got smarter this week with the release of a semantic map that teaches computers the meanings behind words — and gives the machines a vocabulary far larger than that of a typical US college graduate.
Google can sort digital photos on face value
Google’s face-recognition system ties into Picasa Web Albums, Google’s online photo-sharing service.
Yellowstone tries to balance cell phones, nature
Yellowstone National Park officials, attempting to balance competing demands for cell phone service and preserving the park’s tranquility, have released a draft plan to guide the development of wireless services within the park.
Google Maps Introduces Walking Directions and Street View for Mobile Users (Mashable)
If the infusion of walking directions in Google Maps interests you, and you don’t mind the privacy concerns voiced about Google’s Street View, and you happen to have a Web-enabled mobile phone on hand, you may be glad to know Google Maps for Mobile is now newly improved with both these features.
Google and G.E. Team Up on Energy Initiatives
Google and General Electric said they would team up on a technology and policy effort aimed at increasing the capacity and versatility of the power grid.
Is Google taking over the ENTIRE world?
Post a Comment
You must be logged in to post a comment.