Permanent link to MTA daily media news

Racist GOP mailing depicts Obama surrounded by KFC, watermelon, and food stamps. (Think Progress)
A local California GOP women’s organization’s most recent newsletter claims that if Obama is elected, his face will appear on food stamps, rather than dollar bills like other presidents. The group then included a picture of “Obama Bucks” — a phony $10 bill with Obama surrounded by racist imagery:

The president of the organization, Diane Fedele, didn’t understand the charges of racism: “I didn’t see it the way that it’s being taken. I never connected. It was just food to me.” One African-American member of the club said that upon seeing the newsletter, she “cried for 45 minutes.” “This is what keeps African-Americans from joining the Republican Party,” she added.
Remember when the Conventional Wisdom was that Obama was a better candidate for the Democrats than Hillary because they would attack her on a lot of nonexistent stuff and no one would dare attack Obama on race?  And remember that the nonexistent stuff attacks on Hillary came from the so-called left, and not the right?

Ex-editor Lundy gets to the bottom of WBT radio’s constant attacks on Obama (Poynter Online)
Walker Lundy says the talkers on Charlotte’s WBT radio manage to conclude — on every issue every day — that Barack Obama is dangerous and disloyal to America. The former Philly Inquirer editor called the station’s general manager for an explanation. Rick Jackson told him it’s not politics, just business. “Two things drive me: the dollar for our shareholders and protecting our license. We go where our listeners tell us they want us to go.”

The Brainy Governor of New York Can’t Name Any Obama Accomplishments (by SusanUnPC at No Quarter)
Can anyone provide a list of substantive accomplishments that Barack Obama can claim, besides winning office and going to college? The one executive job Obama had — when Bill Ayers hired him to chair the $50 million Chicago Annenberg Challenge — meant that he had to carry out Bill Ayers’ radical school reform initiatives, at which he was a miserable failure since the entire project was a failure. Then there’s the one chairmanship that Obama was given in the U.S. Senate, as [chair] of the European Affairs Subcommittee of the Foreign Relations Committee… [H]e never held a single hearing… Now there’s this: “MSNBC’S CHRIS MATTHEWS: ‘Can you give me a case where Barack Obama has reached across the aisle and cut a deal and gotten something done for the country? One example.’ GOVERNOR PATERSON: ‘Well, Senator Obama has been there two years and I can’t cite an example right now.’”
Click through to watch the video.

Part 2–Independent Thinking: THE DEMOCRATIC PARTY/LATRINE NEEDS THE TY-D-BOL MAN (by InsightAnalytical-GRL)
While cleaning the toilet the other day, the Democratic Party came to mind…I’m not kidding!… I knelt down to pick up something on the floor and lo and behold!  I saw stuff I hadn’t noticed before, stuff I thought I was getting cleaned when I scrubbed the bowl.  But NO!  I had missed the buildup around the thin line of little round holes at the very top of the bowl, hidden under the rim…. I HAD MISSED THE HIDDEN CRUD!…

[T]he entire episode suddenly reminded me of how we’ve been waking up to what’s under the facade that is the Democratic Party, how we’re seeing “under the rim.”  Taking impeachment off the table, the failure to take on the Medicare Part D prescription gift to Big Pharma, the primary caucus system, the intimidation, the misogyny, Florida, Michigan, the secret fix that was engineered and the disgraceful actions of the Rules and Bylaws Committee, the unqualified candidate who getst away with playing the race card to the point of turning Bill Clinton into a “racist,” the hatred of BOTH Clintons, the money thrown without oversight to “community groups,” the ties to ACORN and the mortgage mess, the current corruption of the voting process by the same group and Obama’s ties to the group, the whole idea of being OK with the likes of William Ayers, Jeremiah Wright, and Tony Rezko…

[T]his is the Democratic Party that we’re supposed to keep following blindly? I don’t think so… like the scum hiding in my supposedly clean toilet, the crud of the Democratic Party has been exposed and I’ve decided to flush the Democratic leadership down the toilet, where they all belong.

FBI launches probe into ACORN over voter registrations (McClatchy)
WASHINGTON — A day after John McCain charged that the liberal-leaning voter registration group ACORN “may be perpetrating one of the greatest frauds in voter history,” it was disclosed Thursday that the FBI is investigating whether the group coordinated the filing of phony applications.

ObamACORN? (by garychapelhill at The Confluence)
[A] lot of people say [questions about Obama’s relationship with ACORN] is a bunch of nonsense, and that it is typical Republican grandstanding about an organization that does a lot of good.  OK then, if that’s true, why is Barack Obama running away from them so fast that he feels he has to lie to the American people about his association with them?  I’d think he’d be proud of it.  Or maybe he’s started lying so much he doesn’t know when to tell the truth.  No matter what, I don’t think I trust him to be President of the United States.

Oopsies! Does this mean ACORN is calling Obama a liar? Sure sounds like it! (The Real Barack Obama)
Carla Marinucci reports in today’s San Francisco Chronicle “In last night’s debate, Sen. John McCain suggested that ACORN (Association of Community Organizations for Reform Now) was responsible for massive voter fraud that could destroy ”the fabric of democracy.” Now the leaders of the community organizing group have emerged with an aggressive effort to push back. “In a conference call … ACORN organizers[told reporters] that Sen. Barack Obama, as a local elected official in Chicago, participated in two training sessions for 50 volunteer leaders. In addition, he and his law firm represented a group of plantiffs, including ACORN, regarding motor votor registration issues. They said his campaign has also provided about $80,000 in funding to an independent consulting group, which in turn provided some funding to ACORN to get out the vote.”

McCain comeback? One poll shows him within 2 points (Hot off the Trail, McClatchy)
Is John McCain starting to stage a comeback? Perhaps, according to new poll numbers from Gallup, the respected polling organization. McCain is now within two percentage points of Barack Obama in one Gallup poll, trailing by just 49-47 percent. He trails by wider margins in other Gallup polls. But even there, he gained in recent days leading up to Wednesday night’s third and final presidential debate.

Ipsos/McClatchy debate poll: McCain improved, Obama won (McClatchy)
WASHINGTON — John McCain did better in his final debate with Barack Obama than he had in the two previous ones, but Obama still won it, according to a new online Ipsos/McClatchy survey of undecided voters.

Question of the day (County Fair, Media Matters for America)
Marc Ambinder … mentioned “Joe The Plumber” 11 times on his blog before mocking others for looking into the guy’s background.  Two consecutive (and three total) Ambinder posts put “Joe The Plumber” in the headline.  Seven minutes after the debate ended, Ambinder announced: “Tonight’s winner: Joe the plumber.”… But now that people are pointing out that Wurzelbacher is a Republican who hates Social Security — and who not only would not face a tax increase under Obama, he’d likely get a larger tax cut from Obama than he would from McCain — well, suddenly, Marc Ambinder has heard enough about Joe The Plumber. Maybe it’s distracting him from trying to come up with evidence to support his claims that the media is paying more attention to Christopher Buckley than to ACORN.

Senator Joe Biden (MBNA-DE) (by dakinikat at The Confluence)
I about fell off my chair listening to the third presidential debates when Senator Obama suggested that Senator Biden was some how a champion of middle America and the little guy. Senator Obama evidently has forgotten about two things for which we can thank Joe Biden.  The first is the current bankruptcy bill which makes it difficult for folks who get into financial trouble for things like unemployment and overwhelming health catastrophy costs to ever recover financially and lead normal lives again. The second is that he’s never met a credit card company supported bill he doesn’t like.

Ladies, Are You Sure You Can Pull That Lever All By Yourself? (by madamab at The Confluence)
I forced myself to watch the debate [Wednesday] night… [W]hat really stood out for me was when the candidates started talking about Supreme Court judges and, by extension, Roe v. Wade and abortion… Here was Obama’s answer. “…Now I would not provide a litmus test. But I am somebody who believes that Roe versus Wade was rightly decided. I think that abortion is a very difficult issue and it is a moral issue and one that I think good people on both sides can disagree on. But what ultimately I believe is that women in consultation with their families, their doctors, their religious advisers, are in the best position to make this decision (emphasis mine)…” Didja catch that, ladies?… It never occurs to Senator Obama that women can make these decisions without “consulting with” anyone… Well, Barack darling, you’ll find there are a lot of decisions women can make all by themselves. And you’ll see how we decide on Election Day.

What’s the point of broadcasting dial-testing results during a debate? (Poynter Online)
Besides goosing CNN’s ratings. “It has no scientific validity — it’s not a sample of anything that has generalized validity,” says Rutgers Univeristy’s Cliff Zukin.

Lunch Break – The Left’s Big blunder (by J –SOM at Liberal Rapture)
[S]o many of us have been in uncomfortable situations what with the blanketing and suffocating pro Obama atmosphere. This piece looks at the phenomenon. I know that when stating a simple “I don’t like Obama” I’ve been received with baffled looks and that “well, I guess John must have a problem with race” look. The damage inflicted by the Obama Left on race relations in this country is incalculable. The seething resentment among Black Americans for real or perceived racism -is being transferred to a seething resentment among white non Obama supporters for being CALLED racist – overtly or covertly and almost always unjustly.

“In such an environment, where admitting to disliking Obama in the interpersonal sphere has become the equivalent of social suicide, it seems very likely that the Bradley Effect is not just back, but back with a vengeance. The more that Obama supporters go unchallenged in their blanket accusations of racism against McCain supporters, the less likely anyone will publicly admit to dislike of Obama. Hence, the Bradley Effect is not an artifact of racism, but rather an artifact of false accusations of racism.”

Threat on Kos against Hillary (by Joseph Cannon at Cannonfire)
I should update a point made in earlier posts. On several occasions, I’ve noted that Markos Moulitsas printed a death threat against Hillary Clinton: “And a Drive-By Won’t Be Out of the Question. What goes around, comes around. The stupid fucking bitch !!” That quote remained on the site for some days — and I am not the only one to have seen it — but is not there now. I would note that one or two Obots objected to the word “bitch” but did not object to the call for murder. This lack of any disapproving commentary proves that ALL Kossacks are thugs. 

The same commenter, one jcarter, left a follow-up remark which remains on that page: “Talk About WHITE TRASH that bitch better keep looking over her shoulder.” Obviously, these words are also meant to be taken as a threat.
Tell me: Why is “White Trash” accept terminology on Kos? What would Obama supporters say about Cannonfire if I allowed my commenters to use terms like “black trash”?

Unfounded Allegations (by gqmartinez at Corrente)
“Secret Service says ‘Kill him’ allegation unfounded”… [A] pattern I am noticing more and more is the liberal charge that crazy, “erratic” McCain supporters (or Republicans) are plotting something heinous. Further, there is a quick [sleight] of hand to implicate any and all McCain supporters/GOPers … with threats that could be made from genuinely unstable McCain supporters/GOPers that pose the real threats. Are we going to trivialize death threats the same way we trivialized racism? If Obama does win and we disagree with his policies, are we going to be called racists or, worse, be implicated in plots against him? Death threats are real and, in my view, very serious. Throwing out unfounded allegations to tarnish the opposition is not only a disgusting tactics, but it takes away focus from the real threats that may be out there.

McCain aides privately call Palin a ‘total disaster.’ (Think Progress)
On Salon Radio [Thursday] morning, Glenn Greenwald asked Harper’s Scott Horton about his recent reporting on how Weekly Standard Editor Bill Kristol lobbied the McCain campaign to select Gov. Sarah Palin (R-AK) as the Republican vice presidential nominee. Horton explained that the McCain campaign is now regretting following Kristol’s advice, calling the Palin pick a “total disaster“.
I do not believe this claim for a minute.  Palin is drawing huge crowds whenever she speaks.  The only disaster is the awful way she’s been treated by the so-called progressive media.

‘Wash Post’ and ‘SF Chronicle’ Endorse Obama (Editor & Publisher)
“The choice is made easy in part by Mr. McCain’s disappointing campaign, above all his irresponsible selection of a running mate who is not ready to be president,” the Post declares. “It is made easy in larger part, though, because of our admiration for Mr. Obama and the impressive qualities he has shown during this long race.” 

Politico and the coming Election Day “meltdown” (County Fair, Media Matters for America)
The headline reads, “Experts warn of Nov. 4 voting meltdowns,” and the article is about all the new voters being put on the rolls and whether states, especially Ohio and Florida will be able to handle the stress on Election Day. But it turns out the only ones warning about a “meltdown” are editors at Politico. Because none of the experts quoted in the story use that kind of doomsday language. Instead, most sound like Kimball Brace, from Election Data Services, which advises local government on election administration. Brace told Politico, “There’s still reason to be concerned in terms of what’s going to take place in November.” That’s a long way from “meltdown” talk. This seems to be a case of editors pushing a provocative theme that reporters haven’t quite nailed down.   

‘Tennessee Tribune’ List Of Non-Voters Stirs Controversy (Editor & Publisher)
CHICAGO Tennessee Tribune Publisher Rosetta Miller-Perry says she doesn’t mind embarrassing people if it makes them do the right thing. The right thing to do, she argues, is vote in the upcoming presidential election — so she’s embarrassing hundreds of registered voters who didn’t go to the polls in 2004. In its latest edition, Miller-Perry’s black-oriented Nashville weekly published the names and addresses of non-voting registered voters living in largely African-American precincts. A local TV station interviewed several people angry about finding their names and addresses on the list, especially since they believed they had valid reasons they missed the 2004 vote.

TV station hits mute button when candidate makes erroneous statement about banks (Poynter Online)
WFMZ-TV muted the sound and blurred the lips of Lehigh Valley Democratic congressional candidate Sam Bennett as she wrongly stated in a taped debate that Sovereign and Wachovia banks had folded. “We did not feel that broadcasting the names of the banks served the public in any way,” says the station’s general manager. But Poynter’s Kelly McBride says that “ultimately the voters deserve to know what information this candidate got wrong.”

Air America outlasts expectations. (Inside Radio)
Created to counterbalance conservative talk radio, Air America was viewed by many in the industry as a vanity project that delivered bad ratings, no revenues and was destined to fail. Four years later it survives, with more than 50 affiliates and a plan to recast itself as a multimedia content provider.

Fox News tops primetime cable ratings (Hollywood Reporter)
NEW YORK – Fox News Channel leaped to the top ratings slot in primetime for all of basic cable, the second time this year.  Nielsen Media Research pegged Fox the top-ranked network in primetime, ahead of the general entertainment channels, as well as its cable news competitors. That included other channels like ESPN with “Monday Night Football.” Fox News was also in second place in total day, behind Nickelodeon. Fox News’ strength came from its regular programming in the weeks before the election as well as strong ratings in the second presidential debate. Exclusive interviews with John McCain and Sarah Palin on “Hannity & Colmes” and Palin on “On the Record with Greta van Susteren” also contributed.

Glenn Beck to join Fox News next spring. (Think Progress)
Michael Calderone reports that right-wing talker Glenn Beck is leaving CNN and joining Fox News. “Beginning next spring, Beck will host FOX News Channel’s (FNC) 5 PM/ET weekday program as well as a weekend show on the network,” a Fox News statement says. Fox News’s Roger Ailes remarked, “As we embark on a new political landscape, Glenn’s thought provoking commentary will complement an already stellar line-up of stars at FOX News.” Check out some of Beck’s worst moments here.

Cramer Counterattack (New York Post)
Cable news channel CNBC is airing a new spot boosting “Mad Money” host Jim Cramer after rival Fox Business Network ran ads attacking his credibility. The CNBC ad – with the tagline “In Cramer We Trust” – draws on a monologue from a recent show in which he weighed in on the government’s bank bailout: “Bottom line: The new plan does not save the market. It just takes another Great Depression off the table.”

Making “Who Could Have Known?” Unacceptable: The Key to Popping Bubbles (by Dean Baker)
Suppose that in 2002, instead of testifying that there is no housing bubble, Alan Greenspan tells Congress that he is very worried about the unprecedented run-up in house prices… Suppose that he repeated these comments again and again with supporting evidence. Suppose that Greenspan had the Fed staff grinding out papers documenting the evidence that there was a housing bubble and projecting the damage to various banks and other financial institutions from its collapse. Will everyone panic and reverse their irrational exuberance? That would be my bet… Does anyone think that the execs at Goldman Sachs, Citigroup, Merrill Lynch and the rest could say “who could have known?” to their shareholders, who just saw most of the value of their stock disappear? My guess is that all of these execs would be out of their jobs and facing lawsuits for neglecting their responsibilities to their shareholders.

As Economic Storm Brewed, Congressional Wealth Grew 11% Last Year (Capital Eye)
WASHINGTON — An economic recession is looking increasingly likely, but the personal finances of members of Congress suggest they will be able to withstand the slowdown far better than most Americans, according to a new analysis of lawmakers’ latest personal financial reports by the nonpartisan Center for Responsive Politics. U.S. senators had a median net worth of approximately $1.7 million in 2007, the most recent year for which their financial data is available, and 61 percent of the Senate’s members could be considered millionaires. In the House of Representatives, the median net worth was about $684,000, with 39 percent of members having net worths estimated to be at least $1 million. By contrast, only about 1 percent of all American adults can be considered millionaires. Growth between 2006 and 2007 was still a healthy 11 percent, despite indications last year that the economy was headed south.

FDIC chief knocks bailout package (by DCblogger at Corrente)
Investment News “The $700,000 billion financial services industry bailout plan has a critic in Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. chairwoman Sheila Bair, who said yesterday the initiative does not do enough to prevent Americans from losing their homes, The Wall Street Journal reported today.” At some point Versailles will work out that the well being of the big shots is connected to the well being of the little guys.

The Credit Crunch and the Recession (by Dean Baker)
[T]here has been a tendency in the media to attribute all the bad news in the economy to the financial crisis, as is the case with [a] front page article in the Washington Post. Firms will always cut back expansion plans during a downturn, even if credit is readily available. Of course, credit will be less readily available for many firms in a downturn, even when the financial system is operating normally. The reason is that weak firms become much worse credit risk in a downturn.

Dow ends up 401 in another stunning Up-turn (AP)
A stock market as difficult to fathom as it is volatile pulled off another stunning U-turn on Thursday, transforming a 380-point loss for the Dow Jones industrials into a 401-point gain. Was it the government’s bailout beginning to have an effect? The credit markets finally beginning to loosen up? Investors looking for a bottom in stocks? Wall Street seemed sure of this much: The whipsawing will continue. So buckle up.

European markets bounce after Dow lift (CNN)
European sharemarkets opened higher Friday, only a day after they slipped to new lows on the back of recession fears.

Asia stock markets mixed after Wall Street rebound (AP)
HONG KONG – World stock markets were mixed Friday after Wall Street rebounded strongly overnight, with Japanese shares recovering from a historic fall in the previous session.

Social Security benefits going up by 5.8 percent (AP)
Social Security benefits for 50 million people will go up 5.8 percent next year, the largest increase in more than a quarter century. The increase, which will start in January, was announced Thursday by the Social Security Administration. It will mean an additional $63 per month for the average retiree.

New Feature on OpenSecrets.org: Lobbyists’ Campaign Contributions (Capital Eye)
Thanks to a 2007 change in Congress’s ethics laws, federal lobbyists and their employers must now disclose their campaign contributions. It’s their personal money, but it may have been contributed with a professional goal in mind. OpenSecrets.org now lets you see which individual lobbyists are giving the most money to federal politicians (and where they work and to whom they’re contributing), which organizations are represented by these lobbyists, and the lawmakers who are collecting the most from these professional influence-peddlers. You probably won’t be surprised to learn that lobbyists give more money to the party in power — Democrats — and they overwhelmingly favor incumbents over challengers. You can check out this new, searchable feature here.

Media Matters for America headlines

• Radio host Bob Grant asserted that Obama created an ” ‘O’ flag,” but apparent flag in question was Ohio’s

• CNN’s Amy Holmes falsely asserted that in first debate, Obama said “he would sacrifice … energy policy”

• In two separate items, Wash. Post misled on Obama’s response to Lewis statement

• Scarborough misquoted Obama regarding Lewis remarks, then called the statement Obama didn’t make “shocking” and “staggering”

• MSNBC’s Shuster’s suggestion that Obama “bear[s] a certain responsibility to clarify” Jackson’s Israel remarks is based on false distinction

• MSNBC’s Hall said “it would be rude to ask Joe [the Plumber] what his income is” — but it’s key issue

• Wash. Post uncritically quoted McCain misrepresenting Biden’s proposal for Iraq

• CNN’s Bash noted that McCain will continue to claim Obama is “going to raise your taxes” — but not that it isn’t true

• CNN’s Bennett asked of Lewis’ statement about McCain campaign, “Why didn’t Obama say it was wrong?” — but Obama did

China urged to prolong relaxed reporting rules
BEIJING, Oct 16 (Reuters) – China should extend indefinitely relaxed reporting rules for foreign journalists introduced for the Olympics and apply them to the Chinese media as well, Human Rights Watch said in a statement. As part of Beijing’s bid to host the August Games, it promised to allow complete media freedom, including letting foreign reporters interview anyone without first getting government permission, though the state’s grip over domestic media did not ease. But that freedom is due to expire on Friday. “While there were serious problems in implementing Olympics-related media freedom regulations, they did mark a new and much higher standard in Chinese law for reporting freedom,” said Human Rights Watch Asia advocacy director Sophie Richardson.

Vietnam journalist jailed for exposing scandal
A Vietnamese journalist who exposed transport ministry officials who were embezzling foreign aid to bet on European football matches, was yesterday jailed for two years. Nguyen Viet Chien was convicted of “abusing democratic freedoms to infringe upon the interests of the state”… Mr Nguyen told the court: “I never have any other purpose in mind when writing my reports but exposing wrongdoing.”

Doha Centre for Media Freedom launched
The Doha Centre for Media Freedom was launched [Thursday] in the presence of Dr. Hamad al-Kuwari, Minister of Culture, Arts and Heritage, who is also President of the centre’’s Advisory Council as well as a number of members of its Board of Governors and media persons… The Centre is a meeting-place that emphasizes exchanges and dialogue between people… It conducts on-the-spot fact-finding missions to listen to all sides, pinpoint the obstacles dividing the authorities from civil society and restart dialogue between them. The centre organizes meetings, seminars and conferences where journalists and media figures from various countries talk about issues, learn new things, plan to work together and find solutions to problems. The Centre also coordinates a media network ready to give urgent help to journalists and media outlets in difficulty.

A government bailout of newspapers is “a terrible idea,” says Abrams
“What would happen is newspapers would then focus on this ultra-elite point-five-percent and create these papers that are just unreachable to a mass audience,” says Tribune chief innovation officer Lee Abrams. “I think for government to come in and force this intellectual thing would be terrible. It’d almost be like in 1950, with rock-n-roll coming, all the sudden the government comes in to support classical music.”

New Ways of Financing Journalism Will be Found, Georgia Journalists Say at NPC Forum
The future of journalism may be in niche products supported less by advertising and more by corporate sponsorships, by interest groups and by public broadcasting-style memberships, leading Georgia journalists said at a National Press Club Centennial Forum here Tuesday. While Cynthia Tucker, editorial page editor of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, described how her paper is pulling back its reporting to the core four counties in the metropolitan area, Susanna Capelouto, news director for Georgia Public Broadcasting, said her organization is expanding. “The reason public broadcasting is doing so well is that they can specialize on the ‘why’ of journalism,” Capelouto said. “They make the connection, they tell the story, and they are supported by their members, so the pressure isn’t there.”

College Network Makes Big Cuts
CBS College Sports said that it was laying off nearly one-quarter of its staff, signifying the network’s shift from studio programs to increased high-definition event coverage.

Progressive journalism (by Jeff Jarvis)
On my “run” through a wet Hamburg [Thursday] morning, I listened, as is now my daily habit, to the NPR Planet Money podcast. The show – made by Adam Davidson, Alex Blumberg, Laura Conaway, and David Kenstenbaum – is a superb example of journalism as process not product… Planet Money’s narrative unfolds with the news itself. They don’t try to tie up all the loose ends by the end of each podcast. Instead, they tell us that they’ll follow this angle or that and answer open questions. The other day, for example, an interviewee told Davidson that the bailout money could be used by banks to pay dividends or buy back stock. He said just what I was thinking: Our blood was boiling. He didn’t have the rest of that story then. Instead, he told us that he’d be sure to follow the angle. The audience also joins in, asking questions, which the Planet Money team patiently and intelligently answers. This, too, forms the podcast. It’s a process.

Ten small things you can do now to reinvent your newsroom
First on Chris O’Brien’s list is “Start a wiki.” He writes: “This is a great way to start experimenting with changing your relationship with your community. …It gives you a chance to start soliciting content generated outside the newsroom.”

At the Times-Picayune, “there’s no pretending to be objective”
Times-Picayune columnist Chris Rose on his paper’s post-Katrina voice: “There’s no question that from the day it came down, the notion of objective journalism was washed away with everything else in this town. I don’t think the paper has ever pretended to be objective since. We write with a really interesting edge and a real gripping tone, which is why I think we’re the most relevant local paper in the country.”

Palm Beach Post hires Magid consulting firm “to help shape our future”
The Palm Beach Post, which cut 300 employees earlier this year, has hired Frank N. Magid Associates for “a six-month project that will involve extensive research with readers and advertisers plus intensive strategy sessions with members of our staff and the Magid team.” During the buildup to the Iraq War, Magid warned clients that coverage of war protests “turned off news consumers.”

Tribune Considers Dropping AP Wire Service Within Two Years (Paid Content)
The Tribune Company is the latest newspaper publisher to give the Associated Press notice that it is considering dropping its services in two years, E&P reported.  In a statement emailed to paidContent, Tribune said it was simply a cost-cutting measure. As for the AP, the company also issued a statement: “We understand that in this climate a lot of newspapers are reexamining their strategies. The Associated Press will continue to work with all members of the cooperative to ensure that we are providing the most efficient, valued and essential news service for them.”

Google’s Net (and Stock) Rise Sharply
Third-quarter profit increased 26 percent to $1.35 billion, a strong showing that might be enough to reassure jittery investors.

The Google economy, indeed (by Jeff Jarvis)
Google does indeed have its own economy. It’s latest results: “The Web search leader reported third-quarter earnings that far exceeded the expectations of analysts, especially those who thought the company might finally fall victim to the slumping economy. Thanks largely to having contained costs better than in previous quarters, Google reported on Oct. 16 that profit rose 26%, to $1.35 billion, significantly higher than analysts had predicted. Sales jumped 31%, to $5.54 billion.” The analysts are stumped because they are not judging Google as a new kind of company in a new kind of economy. It’s different.

Yahoo Bows Unified Social Media Profile (Paid Content)
Yahoo recently shut down its fledgling social media site Mash, but that didn’t derail all of its social media plans. Today it launched a unified profile feature that lets users access (and eventually control) their various social media personas across the Web. It’s part of the company’s “open” strategy (Y!OS), which gives developers and other third parties access to a number of Yahoo platforms through a set of APIs. The strategy has already spawned two search plays, Yahoo BOSS and Search Monkey, each with varying levels of customization. Users of Yahoo Messenger 9.0 have already started seeing some of the profile integrations, as the IM client pulls in their friends’ Twitter, Yahoo Buzz and Mybloglog updates. Deeper integration into Yahoo Mail is slated to come next, as well as a customizable homepage. 

ISPs pressed to become child porn cops
Internet service providers are moving closer to becoming cops on the lookout for child pornography, able to monitor every e-mail and Web search for illegal images.

PikLuk Puts Parents in Control of Childrens’ Browsing | The Startup Review (Mashable)
PikLuk, launched out of Austin, Texas, is in and of itself a Web browser. The project’s modus operandi: to give parents the ability to locally or remotely control what it is their children can see. This means any websites that parents deem suitable for their kids’ exploration can be designated as safe. Don’t mind your son or daughter signing on to a particular social network? You can specify what is and what isn’t okay to be viewed with your PikLuk installation. Restrictions can also be set for email correspondence. If you only want family members and/or immediate friends to be able to contact your child, you can make sure this is the case.

Discovery CEO: Web ‘Take-up Rate Is Not That Strong’ (Paid Content)
Cable programmer Discovery is making its first foray in ad-supported, free-to-air TV on the UK’s Freeview. (It’s not free for Discovery, which is reported to be paying millions of pounds for the privilege.) But somehow Thursday’s announcement turned into a rationale for Discovery’s clip-oriented internet strategy as explained by CEO David Zaslav in the FT: “We have opted not to put a lot of our content on to the web. There is not a very strong economic model, number one, and, number two, from a viewership perspective, despite how aggressively others have gone on to the web, the take-up rate is not that strong.” Broadcasters have more leeway; cable nets need ad support to justify putting full-length shows online.

Jack Bauer: The Half-Million-Dollar Man
Two-Hour ‘24′ Movie Fetches Highest Price of Fall Season

GM launches radio campaign.
General Motors says radio ads begin today promoting their financing options. GM isn’t releasing the size of the “Financing That Fits” radio campaign, although it’s cash that has been added to its marketing budget.

The Train Is Coming. And With It, More Ads.
New York’s transit system is planning to convert much of its real estate into advertising space, including turnstiles, walls and subway tunnels.