BuzzMachine... by Jeff Jarvis

February 06, 2004

Mr. Vast Wasteland
: I've never liked Newton Minow. The one-time head of the FCC is famous for calling TV a "vast wasteland" in 1961. The problem I had then was that, even though Minow opposed government censorship, he still put himself in a position to judge (and cancel licenses for) media of which he disapproved. I don't want anyone in government doing that. I want the marketplace to do that.
Well, Minow pops up again -- yes, he's still alive -- to resurrect his old harrange in the brouhaha over The Boob. He argues in the Chicago Tribune that we should bring back the National Association of Broadcasters' Code of Standards and Practices. Again, he'll argue that this isn't censorship because the companies would do it (though under the threatening disapproval of Minow's many-generations-later successor, Michael Powell).
I still don't like it and don't buy it.
The marketplace will take care of The Boob. If CBS loses money because advertisers and viewers object, they will find ways not to lose money the next time. I still say the nation is obsessing in an unnatural way on that moment; it's still just a breast, people. But if the majority doesn't want breasts then business won't give them breasts.
But the bigger point is that cable -- with its lack of a code -- has proved Minnow dead wrong.
HBO started as the network that lived to do nothing but show naked breasts. As a TV critic, I complained loudly about that -- not that I had anything against breasts (haven't changed that tune) but because they thought the occasional flash passed for mature programming when what the mature audience wanted was intelligent programming.
And what has happened since? A spectacular flowering of quality content on cable. Yes, it also has the occasional breast and f-word. So what? It also has better TV than the regulated airwaves ever have or ever could produce.
Creative freedom -- freedom from direct or indirect government imposition of standards and practices -- allowed that; the marketplace supported that.
So you're wrong, Newton Minow. Go back into your hole. TV is much better today and no thanks to you. beyond tv 3.4.3

: Can't resist adding this note from the comments:

Interesting OT aside: The SS Minnow from Gilligan's Island (which ran aground etc) was named after Newton Minow, according to the commentary on the Gilligan's Island DVD set.

beyond tv 3.4.3

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The Prime Blogger
: Bill Hobbs reports that Tony Blair may get a blog. beyond tv 3.4.3

: And the Guardian argues that we need more wired politicians.beyond tv 3.4.3

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Reporters, reporters, everywhere...
: Roderick Su sends me the amazing news that someone was posting live news reports to IRC from the Utah courtroom where the IBM vs. SCO case was being heard. The citizen-reporter says his Treo was not considered a recording device and so it was allowed. Here's a Yahoo discussion on it and here's a transcript. There will be no stopping people -- just people -- from reporting anything anywhere anytime. beyond tv 3.4.3

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More the merrier
: The World Editors Forum starts a blog for newsroom execs. beyond tv 3.4.3

: Digging into the links of this World Editors' Forum, I find some interesting things going on at their annual confab in Istanbul.
A session I'd love to join in on:

Press credibility in the digital age: new attacks, new answers
The list of challengers to print newspapers is growing: cable TV, online services, mobile phones, free newspapers... and even "bloggers" on the internet. And to make matters worse, the credibility of the press is now lower than that of television in some countries. TV more serious than print? Editors must think about this unsettling paradox. In this age of digital information, are there new rules or new guidelines to establish?

And this:

Arab media : an emerging power
From CNN leadership in 1991 to Al Jazeera (and Al Arabiya) power in 2003... Arab television played a major role during the war in Iraq and its aftermath. But what about Arab newspapers? Do they have a major influence on public opinion? And what is the balance between professional and ideological issues within the newsrooms? Which lessons, last, from the baghdad bloggers ?

Salam Pax is a scheduled speaker.beyond tv 3.4.3

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On tour
: Chuck Olsen is taking his Blogumentary on the road. beyond tv 3.4.3

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Spin spun
: I mentioned disappointing job results below and the comments starting spitting and sputtering at me. (Amazing how when I post in favor of the war in Iraq, I'm a right-wing kook and when I kvetch about the state of the economy, I'm a left-wing nut.)
Anyway, I took the criticism in the comments to heart and went looking for the jobs spin in the press.
The difference is so obvious you'd think the writers of the stories and headlines would see it.
Here's the Wall Street Journal's take on today's jobs report under the online headline "Payrolls Grow by 112,000 Jobs As Unemployment Rate Drops":

Payrolls grew in January at the fastest clip in three years but fell short of expectations.
Nonfarm businesses added 112,000 jobs in January. It was the largest gain since December 2000, when companies added 124,000 positions, and was well above the revised 16,000 gain in jobs seen at the end of last year. December's gain had initially been estimated at 1,000 jobs.
However, January's number was far below the 160,000 jobs economists had been expecting, according to a survey by Dow Jones Newswires and CNBC.

And here's the Reuters report picked up by the NY Times report:

The U.S. economy created just 112,000 new jobs in January, far fewer than expected, government data showed on Friday in a disappointing report that will likely weigh on President Bush's re-election campaign.

And the AP in the Washington Post:

Civilian unemployment dropped to 5.6 percent in January to the lowest level in more than two years as companies added 112,000 new jobs, fewer than expected but still providing fresh signs the prolonged hiring slump may be ending.

The NY Times/Reuters combo took it as a Bush blow (and that's where I happened to get the news before I posted what I posted below and continued the spin). But the Washington Post editor picked a far more upbeat AP story. Same report. Same numbers. Different spin. Different agenda?beyond tv 3.4.3

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The shame, the horror, the breast
: Greg Beato puts together a
fine roundup of conservative pundit horror over the Super Bowl:

Until this week, I always thought the Super Bowl was about gambling, drinking, and assaulting strangers instead of your wife.
The nation's conservative pundits have set me straight, though: the game is actually a seminal family event. Strengthening the bonds between parent and child with all its expertly choreographed spectacle, it's like a less gay, totally not-European version of The Nutcracker....

beyond tv 3.4.3

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It's the jobs, stupid
: Howard Stern, protovoter, says this morning that he's looking at alternatives to voting for Bush (he's trying to figure out -- like many an American -- whether he likes Edwards). Howard is fed up witih the atmosphere of censorship, of course. And he's unhappy about the economy and says we need to create jobs. He speaks for masses.
Here's the latest disappointing jobs report. beyond tv 3.4.3

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Terror on a Moscow train
: Let no one doubt that terrorism is a world war.
The latest: A blast from a suspected suicide bomber on a Moscow train kills at least 39.
RussPundit, a Russian blogger (from a frequent commenter here), is on top of the story.
: A Pravda slide show of photos from the train.beyond tv 3.4.3

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Throwing the book at the BBC
: And they accuse us of media overkill....
The Guardian publishes an instant book on the Hutton inquiry. And former BBC head Greg Dyke signs a rich book contract with former bete noir Rupert Murdoch's Harper Collins. Expect more.beyond tv 3.4.3

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1 man, 1,000 votes
: Kaus points to the City of Lakes blogger, who compiles the popular primary vote so far and finds that Kerry is, of course, ahead (30%); Edwards (24%) darn near beats Clark (15%) and Dean (11%) together.
But what really strikes me is the total: 1.59 million votes so far.
Hell, that's the size of Entertainment Weekly's circulation.
That's about the number of bloggers there are.
They are the influencers.beyond tv 3.4.3

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