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BuzzMachine
by Jeff Jarvis
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October 31, 2004
TV makes us smarter
: Steven Johnson is working on a book I can't wait to read (and will soon) because it echoes a screed I've been shouting for years: TV and popular culture are the best proof of our taste and intelligence. For the first time, he writes about what he's writing here. It's just me trying to marshal all the evidence I can to persuade the reader of a single long-term trend: that popular culture on average has been steadily growing more complex and cognitively challenging over the past thirty years. The dumbing-down, instant gratification society assumption has it completely wrong. Popular entertainment is making us smarter and more engaged, not catering to our base instincts. download BNet_Gateway_Editor
In sync?
: Anybody else watching Saturday Night Live? (And my condolences if you are.) I just caught most of Eminem's performance and call be crazy but it sure did look to me like he was lip syncing -- moments before Weekend Update made lame jokes about last week's Ashlee simpson sync scandal. download BNet_Gateway_Editor
Anybody ready for some forensic TiVo work?download BNet_Gateway_Editor
: Rex Hammock reports immediately in the comments: Jeff, the 14-year-old in my house and I both agree that he was lip synching...or he's a ventriloquist. Methinks we have a new sync scandal! download BNet_Gateway_Editor
Another newspaper circulation scandal
: The New York Times messes up a circulation report -- in a report on Daily Kos (which I disdained here). download BNet_Gateway_Editor
The paper quoted NZ Bear's site saying that 500,000 individuals visited Kos daily. NZ Bear wrote to the paper asking for a correction, saying that the number is actually a count of "visits" and that individuals can account for multiple visits each day. The Times refused to make the correction. Go see the Times editor make a fool of himself in emails Bear publishes. download BNet_Gateway_Editor
Bear is absolutely right and The Times is absolutely wrong. And I say that with the authority of an Internet executive who has dealt with these issues for 10 years now and as a founding member of the Audit Bureau of Circulation online committee that officially defined exactly these measurements with the Internet Advertising Bureau. download BNet_Gateway_Editor
A "visit" is and always has been a bogus number because it counts only a session, not a unique user (and it gets even more complicated with a site is handled by multiple servers or when a user refuses cookies but I won't bore you with that). See the IAB definitions here if you dare. Further, as Bear says, these numbers come from Sitemeter, which is not very sophisticated at dealing with spiders and such. So there is no doubt that the number is inflated if The Times is trying to express audience. download BNet_Gateway_Editor
All The Times editor had to do is pick up the phone and call NY Times Digital to find this out. download BNet_Gateway_Editor
The choice between two styles, no substance
: John F. Harris in Sunday's Washington Post gives us a smart and even balanced analysis of the leadership styles of Bush and Kerry. download BNet_Gateway_Editor
It leaves out one judgment critical to deciding between the two: competence. There are plenty of questions about both men on that scale and if you believe neither can afford to lose the war against America, then that's what it's really all about; that's the real gamble. download BNet_Gateway_Editor
Nonetheless, here's a view that's close to the mark: Back last summer, John F. Kerry made an observation that struck him and his partisans as so self-evidently true it could hardly be disputed. The Democratic nominee said the U.S. intervention in Iraq so far has done more to recruit terrorists than to defeat them. download BNet_Gateway_Editor
President Bush reacted with a disdain and disbelief that no one who heard it could doubt was genuine. "I don't think they need an excuse for their hatred and their evil hearts. You do not create terrorists by fighting back; you defeat the terrorists by fighting back." Or these days, you'd think Bush would say, you defeat the terrorists by fighting first. But I interrupt: There, in that exchange, was the 2004 election in miniature. There are two leaders who agree the world is a dangerous place, but disagree radically about the nature of history's test and the brand of leadership it demands. A mind that sees complexities and unintended consequences? Or one that understands the primitive nature of a new war, and is prepared to match the enemy's determination with his own? A fair description, I thought. And it continued: The result is a campaign in which the people on different sides of the fault line seem to be living in alternate realities, unable to agree on even basic facts. One group perceives Bush as one of the great visionaries of recent U.S. history, another as one of its most extravagant failures. Again, I'd add competence as a layer: Was the aftermath in Iraq competently executed by Bush? Can Kerry do it any better? Place your bets, ladies and gentlemen. In this roulette wheel, you choose between red and blue. Bush and Kerry, according to some scholars of leadership, both have a rhetorical problem: Their style of speaking often highlights the defects rather than the advantages of their different approaches. download BNet_Gateway_Editor
James MacGregor Burns, a presidential biographer..., said many of the successful presidents, including Franklin Roosevelt, have been improvisers. But Kerry, unlike Roosevelt, has not been able to articulate that his occasional shifts rest on a "set of broader principles," he said. download BNet_Gateway_Editor
The result is what Burns regards as an unfair perception that Kerry is motivated by "expediency and shiftiness." download BNet_Gateway_Editor
Renshon believes that Bush suffers from the same problem in reverse. The biographer strongly rejects the view held by many Bush critics that the president is simply not very intelligent, but acknowledges that he is not drawn naturally to the details of policy in the fashion of Clinton or Kerry. download BNet_Gateway_Editor
Bush is "much more interested in leadership than governing," Renshon said. But with his guttural style, "he does not articulate his premises well." But, of course, some presidents can do both. Clinton did. I was not his fan but I could agree that Reagan did. I'd sure take that choice over this one. download BNet_Gateway_Editor
: And I'd take that election-eve analysis over what I've read so far in the Sunday Times. download BNet_Gateway_Editor
Thomas Friedman, who has not regained his stride since his leave and since he started doubting the Bush Iraq strategy he once enthusiastically endorsed, now writes a cloying column endorsing Bush -- Bush the senior -- and arguing without daring to say so that Kerry is Bush Sr.'s actual heir. Talk about damning with faint praise.download BNet_Gateway_Editor
And Frank Rich, who has not recovered from leaving the theater beat, still tries to turn politics into a play: No president has worked harder than George W. Bush to tell his story as a spectacle, much of it fictional, to rivet his constituents while casting himself in an unfailingly heroic light. Yet this particular movie may have gone on too long and have too many plot holes. It may have been too clever by half. It may have given Mr. Kerry just the opening he needs to win. If only the candidates could sing and dance. download BNet_Gateway_Editor
: See also Todd S. (for snotty) Purdum, below. download BNet_Gateway_Editor
Post: +1
Times: -3
download BNet_Gateway_Editor
The two-for-one vote special
: My parents spent two hours Friday waiting to vote in Florida. Oh, those Florida retirees: They just can't resist an earlybird special. download BNet_Gateway_Editor
Moving day
: Rebecca MacKinnon has a new blog. download BNet_Gateway_Editor
October 30, 2004
But you already knew that
: Yes, you already knew that John Dvorak was an utter ass who, like any brat, acts up when he's desperate for attention. He's desperate again, and so he writes that blogs and the internet and the people and anybody on earth except him is wrong about everything. So there. Information revolution notwithstanding, the Internet will prove to be the undoing of society and civilization as we know it. It may not happen today, but it will happen sooner than we think.... download BNet_Gateway_Editor
I used to think that everyone was entitled to his opinion, but no longer. Most opinions are worthless....download BNet_Gateway_Editor
Almost everyone on the Net is anonymous. When you see someone on the street handing out a flyer, it is usually not hard to determine whether he or she is a lunatic. Not so with the haughty blogger who, by hiding behind a good online template, is actually taken seriously. A blogger who stays hidden long enough may even become famous. I know, not every blogger is a whack job—but that's the point. How can you tell? The same way you can tell that a columnist is a whack job: Follow the links to all the sane people who say so. download BNet_Gateway_Editor
Wackies out of the woodwork
: I'm getting nutty email from people promising all kinds of killer last-minute revelations against one of the candidates. I won't dignify their insanity with details. But get ready for notes of desperation in these last few days. Hell, even bin Laden's joining in. download BNet_Gateway_Editor
Snot The New York Times
: Todd Purdum on Sunday gives us an incredibly condescending, insulting, snotty analysis of the dirty, rancorous campaign we've had: He says that all the vile bile must be OK because voter registration is high.download BNet_Gateway_Editor
In short: Mud amuses the masses. download BNet_Gateway_Editor
Well, Mr. High-fallutin' Journalist, could it be instead that voter registration is high because citizens actually care about what is happening in our country and there are crucial issues to care about -- even if big media concentrated instead on the mud? Apparently not. Somewhere along the way between the big money and the big lies, the Swift Boat slash attacks and the farrago of "Fahrenheit 9/11," a conventional wisdom congealed that this was an awful campaign: too much heat, too little light, so much wrong, not enough right. It was long, costly, raw and nasty - and that means no good.download BNet_Gateway_Editor
Oh, really?download BNet_Gateway_Editor
Then why is voter turnout projected to be at its highest in at least 12 years, and perhaps in the last 36? Why are millions of first-time registrants expected to flock to the polls on Tuesday, or cast absentee ballots or vote early? Why have both candidates raised large amounts of small donations, often over the Internet? Why are Republicans vowing to out-knock Democrats in the door-to-door ground game that the Democrats pioneered? Did you ever think, sir, that you had a direct and causal role in the polarization you lament and in the mud that has brought this campaign down? You concentrated on the horse-race instead of American life. You kept calling us polarized when, in fact, we're not. You egged on the combatants by writing about them. download BNet_Gateway_Editor
A little campaign remorse, sir? Take it up with your East Side shrink.download BNet_Gateway_Editor
Of course, no Times analysis of what's wrong with us, the rabble, would be complete without a swipe at blogs: If the Internet has been the source of vicious blogs and half-baked rumors, it has also often been a worthy watchdog on the mainstream media, a direct route to the candidates' records and official Web sites and a means of instantly checking their half-truths and evasions through nonpartisan outlets like FactCheck.org at the University of Pennsylvania's Annenberg Center. And paper is a source of many vicious columnists and half-baked stories. But paper's OK in the end, eh? download BNet_Gateway_Editor
There is one wisp of common sense in the story and it comes from this man: This election "has all sorts of loaded issues from the real world, especially the war," said Curtis Gans, director of the nonpartisan Committee for the Study of the American Electorate. "I don't think even people who are undecided feel neutral. They feel torn between a president they don't really want to re-elect and a candidate they're not sure is big enough to be commander in chief in wartime." I'd say we're pretty much united in not liking either candidate and not liking the way the campaign has been executed and in not liking the way it has been covered... but we, the people, still know that this is an important time in our history and we have a responsibility to act. download BNet_Gateway_Editor
Give us credit for that, Todd S. Purdum, give us credit for caring. download BNet_Gateway_Editor
October 29, 2004
Vroom
: GM has a blog and, apparently, a home for blogs. This is the kind of enthusiast area that will work well in blogs. download BNet_Gateway_Editor
Bin Laden remixes Fahrenheit 9/11
: The eerie thing about the bin Laden tape is how he remixes Michael Moore -- remixes as if in a Cuisinart. I swear the guy saw Fahrenheit 9/11 and picked up the themes for his latest wacky show -- even the fixation with that goat book. It's so nutty that if he weren't such an evil murdering slime, it would almost be funny. Or it would sound like another 527 ad. download BNet_Gateway_Editor
What's also strange is that it's hard to see exactly how he wants to influence the election. Though it may seem he's trying to defeat the President, taunting Bush and America may only serve Bush. And that may be his goal: These cult nuts feed on having enemies and Bush is his ideal enemy. download BNet_Gateway_Editor
I'll add this: Kerry had better not use this as an opportunity to say, "See, Bush didn't get bin Laden." Here's what the two candidates said today: BUSH: Earlier today I was informed of the tape that is now being analyzed by America's intelligence community. Let me make this very clear. Americans will not be intimidated or influenced by an enemy of our country. I'm sure Senator Kerry agrees with this. I also want to say to the American people that we are at war with these terrorists, and I am confident that we will prevail.download BNet_Gateway_Editor
KERRY: In response to this tape of Osama bin Laden, let me just make it clear, crystal clear, as Americans we are absolutely united in our determination to hunt down and destroy Osama bin Laden and the terrorists. They are barbarians, and I will stop at absolutely nothing to hunt down, capture or kill the terrorists wherever they are, whatever it takes, period. I was about to post this when I saw another Kerry comment: In an interview with WISM in Milwaukee, Mr. Kerry also took the opportunity to suggest that Mr. bin Laden remained on the loose because of the Bush administration had bungled the campaign against terrorism.download BNet_Gateway_Editor
"He didn't choose to use American forces to hunt down Osama bin Laden," Mr. Kerry said, referring to efforts to catch Mr. bin Laden in the mountainous Afghanistan-Pakistan border region. "He outsourced the job" to Afghan fighters. And here's a later report from the Washington Post: Richard Holbrooke, a foreign policy adviser for Kerry, said on CNN that the tape was a reminder that Kerry would be more aggressive in pursuing bin Laden. "How can this grotesque mass murderer be out there on worldwide television more than three years after 9/11?" he demanded. "Why haven't we captured him, if the Bush administration was going to be so effective in the war on terror?" download BNet_Gateway_Editor
Kerry himself, in a television interview, complained that Bush "outsourced" the hunt for bin Laden and said, "We are paying the price for it today" -- before he made his more circumspect statement. Bush joined the fray later in the evening, calling Kerry's remarks "shameful" at a rally in Ohio.... Bad timing, Johnny, bad timing. We must be united against bin Laden as we were united against Hitler. Listen to your own statement, man. Keep on this track and it will backfire on you. download BNet_Gateway_Editor
: Bin Laden snippets:
Contrary to what [President George W.] Bush says and claims -- that we hate freedom -- let him tell us then, "Why did we not attack Sweden?" Sweden? Sweden? Where the hell did that come from? Is the guy sitting in New Jersey watching Ikea commercials? What does Sweden have to do with anything? Does he have the same brain fever Arafat has? I wonder about you. Although we are ushering the fourth year after 9/11, Bush is still exercising confusion and misleading you and not telling you the true reason. Echoes of F9/11. And as I was looking at those towers that were destroyed in Lebanon, it occurred to me that we have to punish the transgressor with the same -- and that we had to destroy the towers in America so that they taste what we tasted, and they stop killing our women and children. This is the one part of the tape that sounds like himself: He would think in such sick, sophomoric symbolism. We found no difficulties in dealing with the Bush administration, because of the similarities of that administration and the regimes in our countries, half of which are run by the military and half of which are run by monarchs. And our experience is vast with them.download BNet_Gateway_Editor
And those two kinds are full of arrogance and taking money illegally.download BNet_Gateway_Editor
The resemblance started when [former President George H.W.] Bush, the father, visited the area, when some of our own were impressed by America and were hoping that the visits would affect and influence our countries. download BNet_Gateway_Editor
Then, what happened was that he was impressed by the monarchies and the military regimes, and he was jealous of them staying in power for tens of years, embezzling the public money without any accountability. And he moved the tyranny and suppression of freedom to his own country, and they called it the Patriot Act, under the disguise of fighting terrorism. And Bush, the father, found it good to install his children as governors and leaders. More shades of F9/11: the obsession with the Saudi connection, the allusions to the American monarchy. It continues: And we never knew that the commander-in-chief of the American armed forces would leave 50,000 of his people in the two towers to face those events by themselves when they were in the most urgent need of their leader. He was more interested in listening to the child's story about the goat rather than worry about what was happening to the towers. So, we had three times the time necessary to accomplish the events. There's the ultimate 9/11 moment, of course: the goat book. Of course, it's ridiculous to say that bin Laden and Atta could have been stopped in a matter of minutes. But he wants to feed F9/11's contention that those minutes mattered. download BNet_Gateway_Editor
: UPDATE: Richard Starr reminds me that Bin Laden vacationed with his rich family in Sweden. Thanks. It still looks as if this comes from a fevered brain, though. download BNet_Gateway_Editor
: BILL MAHER UPDATE: Maher tonight says the tape won't affect the election. "Americans know: Osama bin Laden does not pick our President. The Supreme Court does."download BNet_Gateway_Editor
: Maher says some of the stuff in the bin Laden tape "I swear to God could have come out of the Democratic National Committee or a Kerry speech." Maher starts to read; Gen Wes Clark interrupts -- sensibly -- and doesn't want to seem by silence to be agreeing with that. Maher reads some of bin Laden's statements and the audience -- amazingly -- applauds! Maher: "Sometimes you can agree with an evil person. I mean, Hitler was a vegetarian." What the F has become of us? A studio audience is applauding a mass murderer?download BNet_Gateway_Editor
It gets worse. Gen. Wes says: "If George Bush had done his job before 9/11 we never would have had the strikes of 9/11." Man, I'm glad I never supported him. It ain't that simple, General. download BNet_Gateway_Editor
Maher: "I don't know why the Republicans get a mulligan on 9/11. The Democrats wouldn't have." Oh, crap.download BNet_Gateway_Editor
: By the way, the last Maher show before the election is a dud of duds. Kevin Costner, political pundit? download BNet_Gateway_Editor
: UPDATE: Joe Gandelman has the summary of who says what on the bin Laden tape. download BNet_Gateway_Editor
Stuck at O'Hare. Back later.....download BNet_Gateway_Editor
It's later now... Back on my beloved couch.... I was greedy and stupid at the airport: Had a reservation on the 4p flight; meetings started and ended early; got to the airport at noon; used them newfangled machines to switch to the 1:30p flight but it only puts you on standby. Not good enough for Jarvis, I say to the woman: I want a seat. She switches my ticket. I go through security (extra security because I'd just switched flights and that flags you for screening but I don't mind... really, I don't). Get to the gate and find out that the 1:30 is canceled. And I gave up my seat on the 4p. Arrrgggghhhh. Amazingly, though, my cell phone rang and it was a recorded voice from United saying that I'd already been rescheduled onto the 4p flight again. No fuss. So I sat and waited for four hours, my penance for getting greedy. Sat next to an 8-month-old (and her mom) on the way back and the kid was good as gold. It's Friday. I'm home. Sigh. download BNet_Gateway_Editor
Nevermind
: Russell Beattie, who would have been a great hire, decided not to interview at Google: So, I had an interview scheduled with Google today and I just cancelled it. I had a phone interview a week or so ago and today was when I was supposed to go down for the famous four hour Google-grilling and I just decided that I really didn't want to subject myself to it. I highly doubt I'd get a job there anyways if they were judging me on my technical background (no PhD) and I suck at those puzzles they give you. Like I'd know what "the first ten digits prime in consecutive digits of e" even is. But honestly, I just decided that I wasn't that enthusiastic about working there enough to even bother playing along just to see. download BNet_Gateway_Editor
You can read it in my criticism of the Google SMS stuff that I'm not particuarly bullish on Google services and innovation going forward. I like Google Search and I like Blogger, but everything else they're doing is disjointed. They're slowly creating a mess of services with no real cohesive plan and it's just not compelling to me. Orkut, GMail, Froogle, Desktop Search, etc. are all in beta and have no common thread or business plan. How many logins do I need? How is any of this stuff going to make money? Orkut even uses Microsoft tech on the back end, is that a joke? I compare Google to Amazon, eBay, and Yahoo and it seems like amateur hour over there. No excuses that they're younger, I don't think their problems have anything to do with that. And besides, the options would suck. download BNet_Gateway_Editor
Prediction thread: Place your bets
: OK, who do you think will win -- by how much, in which states....?download BNet_Gateway_Editor
Will it be decisive? Will it go to the Supreme Court again? Will it go to Congress?download BNet_Gateway_Editor
I don't care who you care about. I only want to see predictions, whether you like them or not. For history....download BNet_Gateway_Editor
Arabs for Bush
: The Guardian says Bush has support in odd ports: President Bush's election campaign received support from an unusual quarter last week when Hasan Rowhani, head of the Iranian Supreme National Security Council, said that four more years of George W would be good for Iran. Yasser Arafat, the Palestinian leader, was asked about the Bush-Kerry contest at a meeting with journalists a couple of weeks ago (before he was taken ill) and replied: "It makes no difference."download BNet_Gateway_Editor
In London, the consensus among Arab ambassadors - though they don't say so publicly - is that keeping Bush in the White House would be preferable to starting afresh with Kerry....download BNet_Gateway_Editor
Disliking Bush is one thing, but working up enthusiasm for Kerry is another - and there's little sign of that in the Middle East. download BNet_Gateway_Editor
Exploding radio
: Viacom plans to sell some of its radio stations and Billboard says it's because of the loss of Stern. Watch broadcast shrink and shrink. [via IWantMedia]download BNet_Gateway_Editor
Squeaky Fromm blog
: I'd like to see some independent verification of this but Steve Outing links to a 23-year-old Charleston Live Journal blogger who says she said nasty and apparently threatening things about the President and got a visit from the Secret Service. At 9:45 last night, the Secret Service showed up on my mother's front door to talk to me about what I said about the President, as what I said could apparently be misconstrued as a threat to his life. After about ten minutes of talking to me and my family, they quickly came to the conclusion that I was not a threat to national security (mostly because we are the least threatening people in the entire world) and told me that they would not recommend that any further action be taken with my case. download BNet_Gateway_Editor
The future of news
: I had a great time at Kathleen Matthews' class at Harvard's Kennedy School yesterday. Before we started, she showed me a survey of her students showing how few go to networks for news. More big-media folks teaching find the same thing: "None of my kids read a newspaper, none of my students, but they always knew what was going on in the campaign," Abramson said. "So I was just curious. Why were they so up on everything? They were saying, 'The Daily Show, The Daily Show.'"download BNet_Gateway_Editor
Hunt said he polled his students -- "news junkies" -- and got a similar result. Only three students watched network television news on a regular basis, but he said 24 of his 28 students watched The Daily Show. download BNet_Gateway_Editor
Blogtoos
: What are Wonkette's tattoos?download BNet_Gateway_Editor
Explosives
: The biggest lesson of our new news world is that news doesn't end when it's printed or aired. That's when it begins. That's when we hear other evidence and questions and perspective. News takes time. download BNet_Gateway_Editor
So deciding to come out with the "missing" explosives story so close to the election borders on the obviously irresponsible, for there is no way that we are going to get perspective, let alone truth, on this in such a short time. So half-truths end up affected the election. download BNet_Gateway_Editor
That's why it was particularly irresponsible for 60 Minutes to plan to release this story two days before the election. But even a week before does not give enough time to figure out what happened and what matters. download BNet_Gateway_Editor
Today, we have video showing explosives in the bunkers. We have pictures of trucks at the bunkers. And we have the Washington Post essentially saying that the "missing" explosives are a nonstory because we've known that lots of explosions have been missing. The 377 tons of Iraqi explosives whose reported disappearance has dominated the past few days of presidential campaigning represent only a tiny fraction of the vast quantities of other munitions unaccounted for since the fall of Saddam Hussein's government 18 months ago....download BNet_Gateway_Editor
Against that background, this week's assertions by Sen. John F. Kerry's campaign about the few hundred tons said to have vanished from Iraq's Qaqaa facility have struck some defense experts as exaggerated. download BNet_Gateway_Editor
"There is something truly absurd about focusing on 377 tons of rather ordinary explosives, regardless of what actually happened at al Qaqaa," Anthony H. Cordesman, a senior analyst at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, wrote in an assessment yesterday. "The munitions at al Qaqaa were at most around 0.06 percent of the total." download BNet_Gateway_Editor
Retired Army Gen. Wayne A. Downing, who served briefly as President Bush's adviser on counterterrorism and has criticized some aspects of the administration's performance, said yesterday he considered the missing-explosives issue "bogus." The real issue is whether the "insurgency" was adequately anticipated, whether stray weapons would be used against us, and whether we had enough troops. But that's not a story of one weapons dump. That's a bigger story that has already been covered. download BNet_Gateway_Editor
Again, the real story here is the story of this story. download BNet_Gateway_Editor
October 28, 2004
When news is history
: Arrived in Boston. Couldn't find a local paper anywhere: sold out; collectors' editions. Just passed by the newsstand at Harvard Square and saw a guy walking proudly down the street with a handful of Globes as if he'd just snagged the last Tickle Me Elmo at Toys R Us on Christmas Eve. download BNet_Gateway_Editor
The good PDF
: The Personal Democracy Forum has launched its ambitious new site here under the leadership of Andrew Rasiej and Micah Sifry. Go take a read. download BNet_Gateway_Editor
Forbidden visuals
: Did we really need to see Arafat in his PJs?download BNet_Gateway_Editor
Snot The New York Times
: Two stories in The New York Times really got under by blogger's craw this morning as I flew up to World Series Town:download BNet_Gateway_Editor
In the Circuits section, they chronicled the rise of cat-blogging (without getting the essential joke that these folks are making fun of those who make fun of bloggers as folks who just put up pictures of their cats). The lead: In the vitriolic world of political Web logs, two polar extremes are Eschaton (atrios.blogspot.com), a liberal, often anti-Bush site with a passionate following, and Instapundit (www.instapundit.com), where an equally fervent readership goes for hearty praise of the Administration.download BNet_Gateway_Editor
It would seem unlikely that the two blogs' authors could see eye-to-eye about anything. Yet Eschaton's Duncan Black (known as Atrios) and Instapundit's Glenn Reynolds have both taken part in a growing practice: turning over a blog on Friday to cat photographs. Vitriolic? Vitriolic? I'll show you vitriolic! download BNet_Gateway_Editor
That makes us look like a bunch of frothing nutjobs. It is essentially condescending and insulting. download BNet_Gateway_Editor
Then this Jim Rutenberg story in the news section wrote about bloggers dogging big media on issues of accuracy and fairness. Well, good, about time. But this, too, paints us as more of an angry mob than a sensible bunch of people who happen to be citizens and voters and newspaper readers. By making us look so angry, it marginalizes us as cultish. Journalists covering the campaign believe the intent is often to bully them into caving to a particular point of view. They insist the efforts have not swayed them in any significant way, though others worry the criticism could eventually have a chilling effect...download BNet_Gateway_Editor
The harshest criticism comes from sites with openly political leanings....download BNet_Gateway_Editor
But the most personal critiques originate among the political blogs - especially from the left - run by individuals who use news media reports for their often-heated discussions. download BNet_Gateway_Editor
Many sites urge visitors to personally call reporters and news organizations and send e-mail messages, which can number in the hundreds daily....download BNet_Gateway_Editor
The New York Times is also a favorite target of critics of all political persuasions. The paper came in for particularly harsh criticism on conservative sites this week for its article about the disappearance of 380 tons of powerful explosives from an Iraqi military complex....download BNet_Gateway_Editor
On a Web site named after Adam Nagourney, The Times's chief political correspondent, contributors mix crude personal insults with accusations that Mr. Nagourney and other Washington-based reporters are too easy on Mr. Bush. download BNet_Gateway_Editor
The NBC anchor Tom Brokaw recently likened the tone of the Internet coverage of the CBS National Guard report, presented by the anchor Dan Rather, to a "political jihad." In an interview last week Mr. Brokaw said CBS News had clearly made mistakes. But, he said, "I think there were people just lying in the Internet bushes, waiting to strike, and I think that particular episode gave them a big opportunity." Add up those bits and we look like a hate squad going on attack. download BNet_Gateway_Editor
Well, Mr. Rutenberg, think there might be another angle to the story, eh? Perhaps it's that big media is messing up and has had no check for too long. Perhaps it's that once-passive readers now have their own press and have something to say and it's time for you to listen. Perhaps if you try hard to open your eyes and read your own story again, you might smell a bias here -- against the public you supposedly serve.
download BNet_Gateway_Editor
The whole world is watching
: Seth Godin has an intriguing post (of course) on the notion that behavior changes when you know someone is watching. download BNet_Gateway_Editor
Technology allows the world to watch. Seth wonders whether rudely stupid, stupidly rude clerks in a store would be such bozos if there were cameras on them -- that is, if they knew they were being watched. download BNet_Gateway_Editor
What are weblogs and the internet doing to irritate the powerful in media (see the next post, above) and politics and business but enable the people to watch? download BNet_Gateway_Editor
We can take pictures of you if you're behaving like a bozo. We can take video of you. We can write about it. We can put it on the internet for all the world to see. download BNet_Gateway_Editor
Please, no
: NBC and ABC are each making miniseries based on the 9/11 Commission report. download BNet_Gateway_Editor
Please, no.download BNet_Gateway_Editor
There are so many reasons not to:download BNet_Gateway_Editor
It's too soon. download BNet_Gateway_Editor
It's exploitive. download BNet_Gateway_Editor
It's another effort to enshrine the 9/11 Commission report as gospel. It isn't.download BNet_Gateway_Editor
There hasn't been a decent miniseries in decades and the thought of turning this national tragedy into network kitsch is unbearable. From one story: Yost, who also created and executive produced the NBC police drama "Boomtown" and worked on the elaborate HBO miniseries "From the Earth to the Moon" and "Band of Brothers," acknowledged that he had taken on a highly ambitious project that would take at least a year to research and develop. Most of the specifics about the project, including the number of hours, narrative approach and how it would be scheduled, have yet to be hammered out. download BNet_Gateway_Editor
"I know I'll be crying every day that I work on this," Yost said. "It's an incredibly emotional story and an incredibly compelling story. It's an incredible honor and a responsibility, and I don't take it lightly, but it is one that I am eager to take on." From another: NBC Entertainment prexy Kevin Reilly said he wanted to create a "cultural event" for TV in the vein of "Roots" and "The Day After." You offensive twit, 9/11 already is a "cultural event." We don't need a network to make it that.
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The future of blogs
: Go read the rest of Glenn Reynolds good two-part column on the future of blogs. download BNet_Gateway_Editor
The Daily Stern: FCC assignment desk
: I put in a Freedom of Information request to the FCC asking to get the whopping 159 complaints that led them to decree that Fox had corrupted America by suggesting sex on its Married by America. I have heard no reply. download BNet_Gateway_Editor
I'm serious, FCC. I'm a reporter, too. I want to see those "complaints." I expect I'll find more work by Xerox than by the citizenry. download BNet_Gateway_Editor
On Stern this morning, he raised another good story: Michael Powell said during Stern's phone call with him that the FCC had investigated and found Viacom to be in some conspiracy with Janet Jackson to expose her breast. But Janet Jackson said she did this on her own. So why is Viacom being fined and not Jackson? If there is no proof of this conspiracy, then the FCC's fine is clearly a punitive political action, not the result of regulatory investigation.download BNet_Gateway_Editor
So a good reporter should file an FOI request for the investigation files on the Janet Jackson case. download BNet_Gateway_Editor
And while you're at it, file an FOI request for the complaints against Stern and Jackson. Here I know you will find that they come from only a few sources with a lot of Xeroxing. It's not the people standing up as one -- hell, it's a tiny proportion of people in any case -- but instead an organized pressure group. download BNet_Gateway_Editor
Is it government's job to respond to every pressure group with a Xerox machine? If so, the libertarians should be about ready to dismantle government by now. And Area 51 should be opened. And we'd be out of the UN....download BNet_Gateway_Editor
These are good stories. Any real reporters out there?download BNet_Gateway_Editor
Podcasting
: Feedburner has started a service to create Podcast feeds. Which is nice... except I don't understand it. Step-by-step, please.download BNet_Gateway_Editor
Glass blogs
: I hate it when I think of the right answer after the TV lights are off. Last night on Capitol Report, John Hinderaker went on about how The New York Times is a front for the Kerry campaign and then said the difference between him as a blogger and big media is that he gets his facts right. He repeated it again. And what I should have said is: John, don't make the same mistake The Times -- and 60 Minutes and the rest of big media -- make, acting as if you get everything right, putting yourself up on a pedestal. For it's a mighty steep fall off it. download BNet_Gateway_Editor
Ready for their close-ups
: MSNBC is going blog-crazy on election night: MSNBC Political Analyst Joe Trippi will be joined by Ana Marie Cox of "Wonkette" and John Hinderaker of "Powerline" for up-to-the-minute analysis of what's happening on the web from the MSNBC Bloggers' Cafe at "Democracy Plaza." Online, the MSNBC blogging team, led by Trippi, will produce four live blogs for MSNBC.com, covering every key aspect of Election Day. MSNBC's Bloggers' Cafe at www.TV.MSNBC.com will host Chris Matthews' Hardblogger which will cover all things Presidential while Keith Olbermann's blog, Bloggermann, focuses on Senate, House and gubernatorial races, and key state propositions. Joe Scarborough's blog, Congressman Joe, will put the media in the spotlight. Dan Abrams' blog, Sidebar, will cover voting issues and the legal angles surrounding the election. Each blog will showcase not only Trippi's blogging team and MSNBC talent but will introduce new contributors to MSNBC.com-- Citizen Journalists. The Citizen Journalists will be viewers and netizens helping us document this historical day through their own personal blogging. The Citizen Journalists will report from their areas on what they personally see happening at the polls and on the streets on Election Day. [ via LiveRemote]
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Whereabouts
: I'll be in the city without Rs (but with a pennant) today to talk with a class run by Kathleen Mathews (of D.C. TV fame); then onto Chicago to talk citizens' media with a certain big ad agency. Blogging where wi-fi allows. download BNet_Gateway_Editor
October 27, 2004
The Arafat surprise
: Not to work too hard to find the local angle, but if Arafat dies before Tuesday, what does it mean to the election? I'd say it pumps another point to Bush. Anything that puts the focus on the Middle East and instability benefits him. download BNet_Gateway_Editor
Sell blogs short!
: Mary Meeker sees money in blogs. Get the pins out now. Her report here. download BNet_Gateway_Editor
Top 10 blog moments?
: Someone has asked for examples of the top moments of blog influence in politics and the presidential campaign. Obvious starting nominees:
: Howard Dean and MeetUp
: Trent Lott
: Rathergate.download BNet_Gateway_Editor
What else? Please leave lots of suggestions in the comments....download BNet_Gateway_Editor
The story of the story is the real story
: Just got booked on CNBC's Capitol Report (again) tonight, this time with (whew) John Hinderaker. download BNet_Gateway_Editor
The topic: the reverse October surprise, the story of the missing explosives in Iraq. My take: The timing and placement and motive behind this story is every bit as significant as the explosives, missing or not. Of course, this smells like a campaign ploy. Media must recognize that it is used all the time; it is spin alley. And so the story of the story of explosives is the real story. download BNet_Gateway_Editor
And, of course, it could have an impact on the election. Dick Morris said in the NY Post today: Ultimately, this is not a contest of two men or two parties or two ideologies for supremacy. It is a battle of two issues — the War on Terror vs. domestic policies. And the outcome depends on whether America feels we are at war or at peace. Do we need a wartime leader or a peacetime president? I wouldn't go quite that far, but he's not far off. I'm sure a lot of voters are leaning toward Bush because of security but if they see a critical mass of questions on the competence of the securing of Iraq, they may lean against. download BNet_Gateway_Editor
When the New York Times and 60 Minutes decide to do this story -- just as when the LA Times decided to run its last-minute koocheekoo story on Schwarzenegger before his election -- they must realize the active and direct role they are playing in the campaign. If it's news (which is debatable in both cases, it appears) do you still run it? OK, yes. But media also has to recognize that their acts are news as well -- and so, there's all the more need for transparency. The Times should let us know where this story came from and talk to both sides about the impact. Not to do so is to do half a job of reporting. download BNet_Gateway_Editor
What do you think? Join in with comments....download BNet_Gateway_Editor
: Says John Podhoretz today: John Kerry has seized on a New York Times/"60 Minutes" report about 380 missing tons of high explosives in Iraq and the administration's supposed dereliction in failing to secure them. download BNet_Gateway_Editor
It's hard to fault the Times for pursuing the story aggressively. In an official document sent to a U.N. agency two weeks ago, the Iraqi interim government said the explosives had disappeared during the looting that followed Saddam Hussein's fall in April 2003. download BNet_Gateway_Editor
That official Iraqi communication makes the story news, no matter the source or the motive behind the document being leaked. download BNet_Gateway_Editor
The problem is that the story drew unsupported conclusions about how the explosives had disappeared while the United States military should have been guarding them. download BNet_Gateway_Editor
And that's why it's a late hit — designed to do maximum damage to the president's re-election effort and designed as well to give John Kerry a weapon to use against George Bush in the closing days of the campaign. download BNet_Gateway_Editor
For that reason, the Times spun its own story, even though the evidence that its conclusions were unsupported is right there in the story itself. download BNet_Gateway_Editor
Hyper about hyperlocal
: Mark Glaser writes about a topic dear to my heart: hyperlocal citizens' media. download BNet_Gateway_Editor
Podcasting on the air
: As I told you last week, WNYC's Brian Lehrer show was planning to do a show on podcasting. And they're doing it this morning with Adam Curry at 10:40 (you can listen to it later on their stream). download BNet_Gateway_Editor
Questioning power
: Howard Stern said this morning that the only reason his call to Michael Powell yesterday (transcript below) is making such big news today is that journalists no longer ask tough questions. download BNet_Gateway_Editor
He's all too right. download BNet_Gateway_Editor
TV especially thinks toughness (and balance) come from getting people from two sides on the air to yell at each other. download BNet_Gateway_Editor
Last night, I was on CNBC's Capitol Report again with right-wingnut Bob Kohn -- Ana Marie Cox and I were expecting smart and reasonable blogger John Hinderocker instead. This time, instead of getting into a fussfest with Kohn, I decided to just make fun of him. He started going at it with the host, Gloria Borger. I shouted: What, did I walk into Crossfire here? I said that he, like John Kerry, was humorless. At the end, I begged him to say just one bad thing about George Bush, just for the balance and entertainment. I took my cue from Jon Stewart: Make a joke of the fools.download BNet_Gateway_Editor
When Powell went on Ronn Owens' show on KGO, a condition was that he would not take phone calls. Get that: A government bureacrat who works for us, the people, refuses to talk to the people. What isolation! What arrogance! What crap!download BNet_Gateway_Editor
Ronn, to his credit, took Stern's call anyway. And Stern got in the questions he could, before he was cut short. There was no yelling, no shouting, no sputtering. download BNet_Gateway_Editor
A citizen with a grievance finally got to question someone in power.download BNet_Gateway_Editor
These days, that's news. download BNet_Gateway_Editor
The problem with a future of citizens' media, distributed media is that it will get harder and harder for us, the people, to question power. We the people don't have the access (which makes me regret that I didn't attend Always On just so I could ask Powell questions of my own about his First Amendment hypocrisy or that two years ago at Foursquare, when I did ask Powell a question about copyright and Larry Lessig I should have asked about Stern). The journalists are supposed to do it for us and they have the access but they get scared of pissing off power. They wimp. download BNet_Gateway_Editor
The problem media today isn't that it's biased. Or that it's unbiased. The problem is that media stopped thinking like a human being and asking the questions human beings would ask.download BNet_Gateway_Editor
The other day, I saw a WNBC morning show "report" on yoga for little kiddies and their too-rich, too-indulgent, too-stupid parents who'll pay $400 to have their infants stretch to relieve their terrible tensions (like what, not getting candy when they want it from nanny?). I wanted to shout at the TV. But more than that, I wanted the "reporter" to say to these people: Are you nuts? Do you really think this is worth 4 cents? Do you think this makes a bit of difference to a kid? Don't you feel like fools? But, no, of course the "reporter" just gives us the yoga nuts' PR spin and leaves it at that. No confrontation. We do that on Crossfire. That's what TV says. download BNet_Gateway_Editor
Jay Rosen complains, properly, about TV reporters going to spin alley at political events. The problem is, TV is spin alley. download BNet_Gateway_Editor
This isn't a matter of left or right, of bias or objectivity. It's a matter of common sense: When reporters lose their common sense, they lose their humanity and their credibility and their usefulness. download BNet_Gateway_Editor
They need to remind themselves that they are asking questions on behalf of the rest of us who don't have the chance to. Howard got to ask a few questions of power yesterday. He should not have had to. Reporters should have beaten him to it. download BNet_Gateway_Editor
Swing state
: A week or two ago, I reported that I saw few campaign signs in my neck of the woods and fewer Kerry signs. That is changing. Maybe New Jersey is a swing state afterall. Mind you, to see anything Democratic in my county is cause for calling the cops in: clearly outsiders, you know. But Kerry signs are popping up next door to Bush signs and this morning, I found this big sign put up by a neighbor.
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October 26, 2004
The Daily Stern: Howard Stern v. Michael Powell
: Michael Powell appeared on my Ronn Owens' KGO Radio show in San Francisco and Howard Stern called in to give him a proper piece of his mind. Many good readers sent me a link to the stream but because they said it would go down Wednesday, I transcribed the entire Stern/Powell segment. Stories here, here, and here. download BNet_Gateway_Editor
Stern went after Powell for getting his job because of his father. Powell whined "unfair." Stern said, no, it's fair and relevant because broadcasters who've devoted their lives to this industry now answer to this First Amendment hypocrite. download BNet_Gateway_Editor
Stern pushed Powell on fining him and Viacom over Jackson but not fining Oprah Winfrey because she's beloved. Powell denied saying that (his aid did say it) and said the Winfrey case is still open. download BNet_Gateway_Editor
Stern called the fines and the FCC's holding station renewals hostage "racketeering."download BNet_Gateway_Editor
At the end, Powell admitted as the conversation continued without Stern that there's worse on other stations. download BNet_Gateway_Editor
My old friend Ronn (I used to appear on his air once a month when I worked in San Francisco) blew it by cutting Stern off at the end to get to commercials. This was news and they should have gone at it for the rest of the show. The transcript: Stern: Ronn, hi.download BNet_Gateway_Editor
Owens: Is this who I think it is?download BNet_Gateway_Editor
Stern: Yeah, and I want to say hi to the commissioner and a friend of mine told me the commissioner said he was going to be on the show.... download BNet_Gateway_Editor
The commissioner has fined me millions of dollars for things I have said and consistently avoids me and avoids me and I wonder how long he will stay on the phone with me. download BNet_Gateway_Editor
Owens: Go ahead and ask your questions.download BNet_Gateway_Editor
Stern: Hi, Michael, how are you?download BNet_Gateway_Editor
Powell: Hi, Howard, how are you?download BNet_Gateway_Editor
Stern: Does it make you nervous to talk to me?download BNet_Gateway_Editor
Powell: It does not....download BNet_Gateway_Editor
Stern: All right, so well, I've got about ten zillion questions for you because you honestly are an enigma to me. download BNet_Gateway_Editor
The first question being: How did you get your job? It is apparent to most of us in broadcasting that your father got you your job. And you kind of sit there: download BNet_Gateway_Editor
You're the judge, you're the arbiter, you're the one who tells us what we can and can't say on the air and yet I really don't think you're qualified to be the head of the commission. Do you deny that your father got you this job?download BNet_Gateway_Editor
Powell: Well, I would deny it exceedingly. You can look at my resume if you want, Howard. I'm not ashamed of it and I think it justifies my existence. I was chief of staff of the antitrust division, I'm an attorney, I was a clerk on the court of the United States I was a private attorney I have the same credentials that virtually anyone who sits in my position does and I think it's a little unfair that just because I happen to have a famous father and other public officials don't that you make the assumption that is the basis on which I sit in my position. download BNet_Gateway_Editor
Owens: Caller already asked this question so move on....download BNet_Gateway_Editor
Stern: So out of all the people that sit on the commission, you were moved to the head of the class. I don't buy your explanation but OK. download BNet_Gateway_Editor
You know, the thing that amazes me about you is, you continually fine me but you're afraid to go to court with me and I'll explain myself if you give me a second:download BNet_Gateway_Editor
Fine after fine came and we tried to go to court with you to find out about obscenity and what your line was and whether our show was indecent, which I don't think it is. And you do something really sneaky behind the scenes. You continue to block Viacom from buying new stations until we pay those fines.download BNet_Gateway_Editor
You are afraid to go court. You are afraid to get a ruling time and time again.download BNet_Gateway_Editor
When will you allow this to go to court and stop practicing your form of racketeering that you do by making stations pay up or you hold up their license renewal?download BNet_Gateway_Editor
Powell: First of all, that's flatly false.download BNet_Gateway_Editor
Stern: It's not false. It's true. download BNet_Gateway_Editor
Powell: I'm afraid it is. There's no reason why Viacom or any other company who feels that they have been wrongly fined can't sue us in court. We have no basis whatsoever to prevent them from going to court.download BNet_Gateway_Editor
Stern: You're lying. I've lived through your fines, Michael. And Mel Karmazin came to me one day and said, Howard, we're gonna have to pay up some sort of cockamame (sp?) bunch of fines that we don't we're wrong because we can't get our paperwork done. We are finding it increasingly difficult to boy radio stations. I know you're not telling the truth. And I question why you are selected to be one who is the FCC commissioner....download BNet_Gateway_Editor
I'm going to Sirius satellite radio....download BNet_Gateway_Editor
Owens: That's the question I was going to ask. Now he's going to go to satellite. One of the things that I read is that there are people who said cable TV, satellite radio, that ought to fall under the aegis of the FCC that content there...download BNet_Gateway_Editor
Stern: Nobody's saying that... That's not going to happen. Michael knows that. This is the guise of the public airwaves. Michael's a Republican He knows that the marketplace....download BNet_Gateway_Editor
Owens: By the way, weren't you appointed by Clinton?... No, no, no, no, he was appointed head of the FCC by George W. Bush.download BNet_Gateway_Editor
Powell: Howard, the only thing I would ask is that if we're going to be fair is that the commitment to the indecency provisions is not Republican or Democrat. I have Democratic colleagues on the commission that argue for license revocation... You know the Congress just debated indecency fines in the United States Congress. It passed the Senate 99 to 1. There aren't 99 Republicans and one Democrat. It was bipartisan.download BNet_Gateway_Editor
I mean, I think you have a right to be concerned about the ways that the indecency fines are done but rather than attack me personally, you can challenge the regime. But the entire commission has voted on those fines. The commission has a statute that it's required to enforce and I think that it's a cheap shot to say that just because my father's famous I don't belong in my position even though I've served longer than any commissioner in decades on the commission. download BNet_Gateway_Editor
If you don't think the commission should have any rights to draw limits, I think that's a respectable position but it doesn't happen to be the law.download BNet_Gateway_Editor
Stern: Well, Michael, it's not a cheap shot to say that your father got you your position and I'll tell you why: download BNet_Gateway_Editor
Guys like me who came from nowhere out of nothing and worked their way up and committed themselves to broadcasting and making a career of broadcasting have to answer to you. download BNet_Gateway_Editor
And it is a question as to how you got to where you got to. And let's face it: You got to where you got to, you got to the head of the class the way George W. Bush got out of the draft. download BNet_Gateway_Editor
And it's completely fair to question because you're the guy sitting there telling me I'm guilty of saying something and Oprah Winfrey isn't. And I wish you'd address that.download BNet_Gateway_Editor
Owens: We talked about Oprah, I brought it up...download BNet_Gateway_Editor
Powell: One point I would make, Howard, if I could.download BNet_Gateway_Editor
Stern: Make the statement that you made originally, which was that Oprah is, I guess, a beloved figure and Howard Stern is not.download BNet_Gateway_Editor
Powell: No, I don't know when I made that statement. I think Ronn might have made that statement. I don't think I ever made that statement. Indeed my argument was, we're going to enforce things fairly regardless of the noteriety of the personality involved. I mean the only thing I would say, and I respect your opinion, is that you personalize it about answering to me. You're answering to the commission if anybody. All of these fines are voted by five members, Republicans and Democrats alike, and they have been unanimous. The only dissents in these cases have been from the Democrats who argued for even stricter fines and enforcement. So I don't mind having an honest debate about the role of the commission in indecency. I think as a public institution we're responsible to do that. But I don't think I have been personally the one that you're answering to. download BNet_Gateway_Editor
Stern: Of course you are. Listen, Michael, if I were a friend of George W. Bush you know he'll give you the word and you'll back off from me....download BNet_Gateway_Editor
Powell: Well...download BNet_Gateway_Editor
Owens: Well, give him the chance to say know if that's the case.download BNet_Gateway_Editor
Powell: I think that's just ridiculous. download BNet_Gateway_Editor
Stern: Why don't you fine Oprah Winfrey, then?download BNet_Gateway_Editor
Powell: That case is still at the commission. I mean, if we don't, then you can ask that question. But until we resolve it, I don't think it's fair to ask that question. And to be perfectly honest, you know, I've been chairman for four years and I think we've had fines against your station twice and I don't think we have made any particular crusade of the Howard Stern show or you.download BNet_Gateway_Editor
Stern: Yeah, OK, Michael, that's why I've received the largest fines in history and I've said the exact, identical thing that Oprah Winfrey said and you said she's beloved and I'm not....download BNet_Gateway_Editor
Owens: Howard, I got some bills to pay. I'm thrilled you called. download BNet_Gateway_Editor
Stern: Ronn, wait a second, let me say one last thing:download BNet_Gateway_Editor
I invite Michael onto my show, which he won't come on. Number two, I've been respectful, I hope there's no sort of retribution as a result of my phone call, which I believe Michael's capable of. I've been the victim of it. You can call me crazy, you can call me nuts, Michael knows what I'm talking about. I've been slammed. I've been not allowed to go to court over this thing and prove my innocence and I don't think a court would have found me indecent at all. I'm not here to set upt he commissioner. I called because a friend of mine told me two hours ago that Michael Powell was going to be there and there's about ten zillion questions and maybe you'll ask this after I get off the phone:download BNet_Gateway_Editor
Janet Jackson -- do you really think that...download BNet_Gateway_Editor
Owens: We talked about it. Next question.download BNet_Gateway_Editor
Stern: What do you mean next question? download BNet_Gateway_Editor
Owens: Because I asked him about Janet Jackson, pointing out the absurdity that if you're going to get upset about anything it's the ripping off of the bra, what's the big deal about the nipple.download BNet_Gateway_Editor
Stern: Not only that why would you blame Viacom for Janet Jackson going up there ripping off her shirt at a live event and then not fine people for using the F word and the S word during live events. What's the difference? You really think that Les Moonves sat in a room and conspired with Janet Jackson....?download BNet_Gateway_Editor
Powell: Can I answer part of that? ... download BNet_Gateway_Editor
Owens: Answer that and then, Howard, honestly, I got to go.download BNet_Gateway_Editor
Stern: Why do you have to go, Ronn?download BNet_Gateway_Editor
Owens: Because they're paying for this thing and I've already cut out one commercial cluster.... Let him answer the question then.download BNet_Gateway_Editor
Powell: Just two quick things. I don't think we've been inconsistent. He says we do Janet Jackson but we let people say the F word. One of the most controversial decisions this year was we let Bono say the F word ... I think we have been consisten across that line. Second what the order found on Viacom: Viacom is a big media conglomerate and it includes MTV and MTV produced the programming and it was our conclusion after investigating that it was not just a sort of passive...download BNet_Gateway_Editor
Stern: Michael I know I'm going to get cut off. I absolutely don't take this personally. I don't think you personally hate me. I think that what you are doing is dangerous to free speech. I don't think just against me. I think things have gotten way out of control. I am not personally vindictive. I'm happy to be going to satellite radio. I welcome the move. I think it's a sad day, though, when the markeplace no longer determines what is indecent. I think that there's tremendous hypocrisy that you allow late at night with teenagers calling into Love Line talking about blatant sexual acts. There's a complete double standard here when it comes to me and morning radio when it's probably the only time of day that parents listen with their children, 6 to 10 in the morning. I think there's a lot of inconsistencies and I'm going to ask you while you're still in office and, who knows, Bush'll probably win and you'll be there a while....download BNet_Gateway_Editor
Owens: Awright, on that note, Howard, let me go...download BNet_Gateway_Editor
Stern: Ronn, take a good look at this with the commissioner. Ask him about the billion dollars of computer equipment and he knows what they're talking about. And good luck to Michael Powell and good luck to all of you. download BNet_Gateway_Editor
[Stern is off]download BNet_Gateway_Editor
Powell: Well, you know, I think it's interesting. Howard has an argument and his argument is that there should be no limits on what he should be able to do on the radio. And if there are going to be limits, someone's going to have to define them and someone's going to have to enforce them. download BNet_Gateway_Editor
Owens: He's kind of the poster child, though. The truth is that you go to some major markets and there's going to be some morning zoo that's going to be worse. download BNet_Gateway_Editor
Powell: Oh, I think, absolutely... Earlier posts (not a complete list) here.
download BNet_Gateway_Editor
Boss blogs
: Seth Godin gives good advice to CEOs wanting to jump on the blogging trend train: Here's the problem. Blogs work when they are based on:
Candor
Urgency
Timeliness
Pithiness and
Controversy
(maybe Utility if you want six).download BNet_Gateway_Editor
Does this sound like a CEO to you?download BNet_Gateway_Editor
Short and sweet, folks: If you can't be at least four of the five things listed above, please don't bother. The same advice holds for big media blogs, advertiser blogs, brand blogs, PR blogs, politician blogs.... download BNet_Gateway_Editor
Blogs are the printing press of the people. The elite already have their press. download BNet_Gateway_Editor
'The lesser of two risks'
: Andrew Sullivan writes the endorsement he thought he'd never write: for John Kerry. The phrase "lesser of two evils" often comes up at this time every four years, but this November, I think, it's too cynical a formula. Neither George W. Bush nor John Kerry can be credibly described as "evils." They have their faults, some of which are glaring. They are both second-tier politicians, thrust into the spotlight at a time when we desperately need those in the first circle of talent and vision. But they are not evil. When the papers carry pictures of 50 Iraqi recruits gunned down in a serried row, as Stalin and Hitler did to their enemies, we need have no doubt where the true evil lies. The question before us, first and foremost, is which candidate is best suited to confront this evil in the next four years. In other words: Who is the lesser of two risks?...download BNet_Gateway_Editor
So we have two risks. We have the risk of continuing with a presidency of palpable incompetence and rigidity. And we have the risk of embarking on a new administration with a man whose record as a legislator inspires little confidence in his capacity to rise to the challenges ahead. Which is the greater one?... This is how I, too, compute Kerry's stand on the issues that matter most to me: Kerry has said again and again that he will not hesitate to defend this country and go on the offensive against Al Qaeda. I see no reason whatsoever why he shouldn't. What is there to gain from failure in this task? He knows that if he lets his guard down and if terrorists strike or succeed anywhere, he runs the risk of discrediting the Democrats as a party of national security for a generation. He has said quite clearly that he will not "cut and run" in Iraq. And the truth is: He cannot. There is no alternative to seeing the war through in Iraq. Damn, I hope we're right about that. download BNet_Gateway_Editor
Pushing that evelope
: Ana Marie Cox was just on FoxNews (again) and anchor David Asman asked her what's hot on Wonkette today. Dangerous, Dave. She came back and said she quite liked a headline on CNN this morning: "Clinton pumps base from the stump." Sly, evil grin. Nervous sweat. download BNet_Gateway_Editor
Happy holidays
 : It probably shouldn't have, but I have to say that seeing this billboard on I-78 on the way into work gave me a start. On the one hand, yeah, sure, it's a sign of our multifaceted culture, our chunky stew, our steaming melting pot that we have a Ramadan billboard on the way to Newark airport. But then again, as unPC as this is to say, it is also a reminder that many who plotted the attacks on America live right here in New Jersey; the terrorists are our neighbors. Of course, I'm not saying that Muslims are terrorists. But terrorists are Muslims these days and they launched their attack on 9/11 only a stone's throw from this billboard. And seeing this, I wondered what would happen if somebody put up a "Holy Easter" or "Blessed Passover" billboard in Baghdad or Riyad or Tehran or.... You get the idea. I suppose what I should do is look at this billboard and be thankful for living in this open, welcoming, tolerant, modern, protective, wise place and not in any of those....download BNet_Gateway_Editor
Issues2004: 30 issues in 30 seconds
: Fred Wilson quite properly busts me for dropping the Issues2004 ball. I dealt with the issues that mattered to me most (see the list on the right of the home page or follow this link) but intended to come back and at least touch on the rest. I didn't. My bad. If you want a good and comprehensive discussion of many issues, see Brian Lehrer's 30 Issues in 30 Days on WNYC). I have the time to give them only short shrift but here goes:download BNet_Gateway_Editor
: Judicial appointments: Yes, Chief Justice Rhenquist having thyroid cancer brings this issue to the top of the heap. And it's pretty obvious that judicial appointments are the biggest thorn in this tiger's paw when it comes to thinking of voting for Bush. There are so many issues that matter to our daily lives that I do not want in the hands of a right-wing court -- many having to do with strict interpretation (how's that for spinning?) of the separation of church and state as it affects efforts to legislate one side's morality regarding abortion, homosexuality, marriage, science, and religious freedom. This is the wisdom of the founding fathers; this is how they get us to think past just one issue. Ideology matters and it matters most for the Supreme Court. See Fred Wilson's post today. download BNet_Gateway_Editor
: The deficit: Yes, these are extraordinary times, with a downturn to deal with and a war on -- and I mean the war on terrorism and Islamic fascists (take your rhetorical pick) more than just the war in Iraq. So it's not easy to balance the budget. But we should at least try. And I don't trust either guy on this. Bush cynically lowered taxes without responsibly cutting spending. Kerry has not made clear how he'll pay for his promises. We need responsible budgeting especially now that we are intertwined with the world economy and we, the voters, need to start demanding it. download BNet_Gateway_Editor
: Gay rights: For them. Period. download BNet_Gateway_Editor
: Death penalty: Against it. Period. download BNet_Gateway_Editor
: Freedom of speech: For it. Absolutely. download BNet_Gateway_Editor
: Abortion rights: Leave it the way it is. download BNet_Gateway_Editor
: Stem-cell research: It's not abortion and efforts to tie this research to the abortion fight are cynical and ultimately destructive of important science that can save lives. Supporting this research is very much about maintaining a culture of life.download BNet_Gateway_Editor
: Social Security: This isn't a simple one-liner (well, none of them is). We need to reexamine what our national goal is: If it is to maintain a national pension scheme, then, yes, I see sense in allowing us to invest our own. If, on the other hand, it is to assure a safety net for our elders, which I certainly support, then we need to look at this as a tax funding an entitlement. We're trying to mix the two now. This potato is too hot for any politician to handle. And so I say give it to the 9/11 Commission. No, I'm serious: Take a bunch of respected political yesterdays and make them grapple with it and come to consensus and fight for it so the politicians can blame them. download BNet_Gateway_Editor
: Immigration: I don't believe the rest of the world has an inalienable right to come here (hell, Canada gave me trouble about moving there once). That's the way the world works. I also find efforts to give noncitizens local voting rights ridiculous; citizenship means something, damnit. Further, immigration is a security issue these days. So I'm not the most open regarding immigration and believe it is OK to judge immigration on two scales: humanity (allowing refugees to come, keeping families together) and self-interest (bringing in smart technicians and students is good for America). I also think we can't keep on giving amnesties and neverminds, for then our immigration laws become meaningless. If the laws don't work -- and in many ways, they don't -- then we need to fix them and not work around them. download BNet_Gateway_Editor
: Israel: I support Israel and its right to be a nation. Yes, I believe the world has a special obligation to assure the security of Jews after everything that happened in the last century. Though I may sympathize with the Palestinians' right to have a nation, I abhor their tactics of terrorism -- especially today -- and so I do not believe we should deal with them until they stop murder for political gain. download BNet_Gateway_Editor
: Gun control: The founding fathers didn't say which arms. Yes, we must have controls on certain people and certain weapons and you can scream at me all day long -- don't bother -- I will still say this. I am a First Amendment absolutist but I do think we can restrict people from yelling "fire" in a crowded theater or jeopardizing troops in war by giving their positions. Similarly, I understand the right granted by the Second Amendment but believe any reasonable soul has to agree that keeping weapons out of the hands of nuts and restricting weapons intended only for murder on a large scale is necessary. All others belong to the NRA. download BNet_Gateway_Editor
: Trade: We're part of the world and need to have open trade. There isn't a lot of choice about that these days. download BNet_Gateway_Editor
: The environment: Yes, it matters. But I also see too much thrown in under this PC tent. In my town, building ball fields becomes an environmental issue. I like the environment more than I like environmentalists. download BNet_Gateway_Editor
: The draft and national service: No. Serving our country has many definitions and working for government, armed or unarmed, is only one of them. download BNet_Gateway_Editor
So that's my list. It's short shrift, as I said, but in the interest of continuing the Issues2004 discussion.... join in....download BNet_Gateway_Editor
How (not) to win friends and influence voters
: It wasn't hard to guess what would happen when I wrote this post yesterday about what I think Bush should have done in his first term and what he could have done to win a landslide this time around.download BNet_Gateway_Editor
Keep in mind that I'm a lifelong Democrat talking about how I might have voted
for Bush -- even me, even Bush. download BNet_Gateway_Editor
You might think that people would come in and convincingly try to push me over the edge. You might think that. But I didn't.download BNet_Gateway_Editor
Some -- but not all -- of the comments were vituperative and venemous; so were some of the links (get a load of this inane and infantile spit-sputtering). download BNet_Gateway_Editor
That, sadly, is what is going on across America in this final week. download BNet_Gateway_Editor
Now I'm not exactly an undecided voter, as I've made clear, but let me give some advice to both sides: download BNet_Gateway_Editor
This is no way to win friends and influence undecideds. download BNet_Gateway_Editor
And it is a failing of both sides. Whenever I said anything civil and respectful about Bush or supported the war in Iraq in the last year, I got self-appointed Democratic PC police coming after me with two-by-fours yelling that I wasn't Democratic enough. Now I dare to say something critical about Bush and the execution of the aftermath in Iraq and I'm getting bashed from the other side. download BNet_Gateway_Editor
The biggest lesson of this election -- of all elections -- is the same lesson for both sides:download BNet_Gateway_Editor
Your guy is not perfect. Far from it. download BNet_Gateway_Editor
So to defend him as if he were perfect and error-free lacks credibility for you and your side, whichever one that is. download BNet_Gateway_Editor
If you think that the state of things in Iraq is good then I don't trust your definition of "good." download BNet_Gateway_Editor
If you think that that the other guy is a decisive decision maker, then I don't want to be around you when it's time to decide what to order from the Chinese restaurant. download BNet_Gateway_Editor
No, it's far more credible and convincing to admit the errors of your guy's ways and then say how he's still better. I don't mean to repeat the theme of my sermon last Sunday, but, heck, even God makes mistakes. So do politicians. download BNet_Gateway_Editor
So I'd be much more comfortable if Bush and the Bushies said, yes, we didn't anticipate the ability of the terrorists (the so-called insurgents, if you prefer) to disrupt Iraq and murder their own people and we need to change our assumptions and increase our resources and force to make sure we get this in hand. I'd be much more comfortable if Kerry and the Kerryites said, yes, we flip-flopped on this war but we're there now and we need to assure we'll bring peace and, you're right, it was pretty damned dumb to say that we'd rely on the French and Germans and that we'd put it to a world test and -- while we're at it -- that terrorism could ever be just a "nuisance."download BNet_Gateway_Editor
But instead, this is like an argument between Yankees and Red Sox fans who don't want to convince the other side, they only want to yell. download BNet_Gateway_Editor
And that's fine for baseball. And it's fine for blogs and comments and forums. download BNet_Gateway_Editor
Except don't forget: There are people you can convince. You have to try. You have to know how. And spitting in their faces while calling them idiots and insisting that your guy is perfect is no way to win an election. download BNet_Gateway_Editor
October 25, 2004
Here's how Bush could have had a landslide
: Or to put it another way: Here's how Bush could have had my vote -- and if he'd managed to get the vote of a lifelong Democrat, a Bill Clinton Democrat at that, then he could have gotten millions more unexpected votes and he would have run away with this election. But he's not. Why? Well, he coulda, shoulda....download BNet_Gateway_Editor
1. He should have called Iraq a one-year war (at least), not a one-week war. download BNet_Gateway_Editor
He should have known that this would not be as simple as overpowering Saddam's limp military. He should have known that only when we had installed democracy in Iraq could we declare victory. He should have put in sufficient resources to do that while better securing the lives of Iraqis and our soldiers. He should have managed our expectations and should not have declared victory.download BNet_Gateway_Editor
Of course, others would say that he should not have invaded Iraq. But in this speculation, I'm not trying to make him into Howard Dean. I supported getting rid of Saddam and bringing democracy to Iraq and the Middle East (in what was once known as the Tom Friedman doctrine). But like many others who supported this move, I'm disappointed, dismayed, distraught, distressed -- pick your dis -- at the administration's inability to win the peace.download BNet_Gateway_Editor
James Wolcott also imagines what the stage would look like now if we had squashed the so-called insurgency. Wolcott does so to make a different point than I'm making here but it's a wrenching what-if: Suppose there had been no Iraqi insurgency, no al-Sadr popping out from behind the curtain or Saddam loyalists prepped for guerrilla war, no car bombings or beheadings or roadside explosives.download BNet_Gateway_Editor
Or an insurgency so feeble and scattered it was swiftly squashed and swept up.download BNet_Gateway_Editor
Just imagine how different things would have been over the last year, how different they would be now.download BNet_Gateway_Editor
Bush would have been completely vindicated for invading Iraq, despite the non-discovery of WMDs....download BNet_Gateway_Editor
France, Germany, the other nations that opposed the war--they would have been rhetorically shunted forever into the dustbin of Old Europe.... download BNet_Gateway_Editor
Over a 1000 Americans would still be alive, as would countless thousands of Iraqis. Thousands more would have escaped grievous wounds....download BNet_Gateway_Editor
The US economy wouldn't be bleeding billions of dollars now and into the indefinite future. The economy would have lifted itself aerodynamically out of recession by now and restored much of the job loss of the previous years. download BNet_Gateway_Editor
Oil would be in the $30-35 range as Iraqi oil flowed through the pipelines and infrastructure was repaired. download BNet_Gateway_Editor
The United States would have been able to be poised to launch strikes against Syria or Iran from secure bases of action in Iraq, as the stage was set for act two of the war against the Axis of Evil.download BNet_Gateway_Editor
President Bush would probably boast an approval rating in the 60s or 70s, and coasting to a landslide reelection against a Democratic candidate served up for sacrifice until Hillary could run in '08.... download BNet_Gateway_Editor
2. He should have served the center.download BNet_Gateway_Editor
Hey, if Bush can become an interventionist and nation-builder, it's not so damned far-fetched that he could have become a centrist, or at least played one on TV.download BNet_Gateway_Editor
After his unvictory in the last election, he should have gone to the center in an effort to really win the next time. And after 9/11, he should have owned the center to make himself the president of all America in this time of need. He even could have used that to protect himself on the right: Gee, he could have grinned, I'm too busy saving America and civilization and democracy to waste time trying to stop gay marriage or stem-cell research or even abortion. He could have appointed someone respected instead of John Ashcroft. And a little less talk about talking with God would have helped, too. download BNet_Gateway_Editor
That's it. It's that simple: If Bush had done those two things, there would have been millions of voters (like me) who never would have thought of voting for him before 9/11 but would have considered it afterwards. He would have had a landslide and a real mandate. But that's not going to happen. download BNet_Gateway_Editor
 Lust
The Treo 650 will be announced today. I want it now. download BNet_Gateway_Editor
Guest stars
: Glenn Reynolds has Ann Althouse and Michael Totten blogging with him today while he travels. Megan McArdle will be joining in. download BNet_Gateway_Editor
Q & Q
: Jay Rosen and I were each interviewed by Tom Brook for a piece on the BBC this week about declining trust in media (damn: I forgot to mention Andrew Gilligan). I gave soundbite. Jay came out of it with an outline for a friggin' curriculum with lots of questions about the new media universe that don't have answers yet. He asks us all to hit the comment button and help see what ties all his questions together. download BNet_Gateway_Editor
I say it's about control: If you give us, the people, control of our media -- and government and markets -- we will use it (see Jarvis' First Law of Media). If we do not think we have control, then we'll turn into passive spuds. But once we do have control -- whether from the remote control or the TiVo or our blogging tools -- everything changes: We demand to be part of the conversation. We compete with the once-powerful. We question their power. We establish new relationships of trust.download BNet_Gateway_Editor
Exploding TV
: By the latest count, the Jon Stewart CNN segment has had more than 1.4 million views on iFilm -- not to mention all the BitTorrent distribution. Welcome to the future of media: A distributed network is more powerful than a centralized network. And the people you once called viewers are your best marketers (if you have anything worth marketing). download BNet_Gateway_Editor
: Just noticed that iFilm calls this all viral video. Good title.download BNet_Gateway_Editor
: Is there any way to get a count of how much something (namely: the Stewart segment) is seen in BitTorrent? I assume that's complicated by (a) the distributed nature of the thing and (b) the fact that there could be multiple Stewart copies. But in the future, if I wanted to distribute something via BitTorrent, what is the current ability to track views? Anybody?download BNet_Gateway_Editor
: Here's where you can get the latest counts on iFilm's clip: It's over 1.5 million now. download BNet_Gateway_Editor
New wine, old skins
: I get amused when old media folks try to view citizens media under their old-media rules -- as when they try to analyze traffic based on the old rules that only the big survive. Frank Barnako at Marketwatch did that last week. download BNet_Gateway_Editor
And today, he makes fun of PR blogger Steve Rubel and VC blogger Fred Wilson for endorsing presidential candidates. Says Frank: "The idea of a blogger making an endorsement, as if he carried any weight, was presumptuous." download BNet_Gateway_Editor
Wrong analysis, Frank. Bloggers aren't trying to act like big media (and, by the way, the idea of a newspaper editorial writer carrying weight is also presumptuous, don't you think?). This is instead about transparency so your readers can judge what you say in context. Here, I called on bloggers to say where their votes are going just for that reason. In fact, it would be helpful if some reporters would do likewise. Frank: You made fun of two bloggers who are endorsing Kerry but you didn't make fun of anybody endorsing Bush. Until we know where you stand, then we are put in a position of reading into what you say and some will think that you're a Bush man. See what I mean? It's about transparency.download BNet_Gateway_Editor
Also don't forget that blogging is a personal medium. It's not just about publishing content, the old-media way. It's about conversation. Steve and Fred are telling their friends what they think, the way you might over beers in the bar. This is not about trying to imitate the institution of journalism; this is about being human. And the institution of journalism would do well to imitate this. download BNet_Gateway_Editor
: Steve Outing also posts on Rubel's endorsement and wonders whether making a political endorsement (or statement) on a business blog could affect the blogger's business. download BNet_Gateway_Editor
: And while I'm chiding Frank, here's one more. In the same column, he pooh-poohs iPodder for being difficult to use and not having shrink-wrapped documentation. It's too new. It's an experiment with a new platform; it's not done yet; of course, it's not ready for prime time. That's like seeing the first browser and complaining, "Ew, what an ugly gray; I'm never coming back here again."download BNet_Gateway_Editor
October 24, 2004
Sermonizing
: Not that you should care, but I put up downloaded MP3 and streaming MP3 and Real recordings of my sermon this morning; text here.download BNet_Gateway_Editor
(Audio help: The MP3 file is 15 megs: sampling at 22; mono; 16 bit. Any tips on cutting that down? Any way to make it a streaming file?)download BNet_Gateway_Editor
Progress?
: Well, how nice, I think: The Observer in London is doing a story on the progress of democracy, modernism, civilization, and rights in Afghanistan. The writer goes on about the public executions and bans on women in public he witnessed in the days of the Taliban. But then comes this amazing bit of apologia for the Islamic fascists who ruled that nation and played host to the terrorists who murdered my neighbors: For all their failings, the Taliban brought security to many areas where there was none. Impositions that were shocking in the cities were not impositions at all in the vast majority of Afghanistan....download BNet_Gateway_Editor
The Taliban's security meant that when, crippled by an enormous hangover, I left a wallet containing my passport and $1,500 on a bus, it was returned intact. It meant you could hail a cab and go virtually anywhere, provided you took the precaution of first checking in with the local warlord or Taliban official (often the same person). I slept in villages, military bases, the occasional fly-blown hotel, or in chai khannas, the roadside inns where tea and food (chai and khanna) are served to travellers. In one, just outside the town of Qalat on the road between Kabul and Kandahar, I woke at dawn to find everyone, guests and staff, lined up in the dust of the road for dawn prayers. I lay wrapped in blankets and watched them. It was an insight into the depth of local piety. Imagine a Travelodge on the M4 emptying into the car park for prayers at 4am. This was not fundamentalism or extremism. It was simply an expression of a faith that articulates every part of life....download BNet_Gateway_Editor
No one in the West took much notice of the Taliban until they arrived in the capital and began imposing their infamous bans - on weather forecasting, representations of living things, leather jackets and 'Western hairstyles', pigeon racing, kite flying and most other forms of entertainment. Yet the reasoning behind this extreme rigour deserves understanding and even, controversial though it may be to say so, a degree of sympathy....download BNet_Gateway_Editor
There was a perversely logical rationale behind the bans. The Taliban imagined the life they had lost as an idealised version of rural tribal society. That life, with its supposed purity and social justice, could be enjoyed once more if everybody followed the Shariat, the corpus of Islamic law, particularly where it intersected with local traditions that were threatened by change. And if people didn't want to, then for the greater good of all, they needed to be forced to. Yes, how nice. And the Nazis made the trains run on time (even it was the concentration camps). And the communists supported the arts (except for the artists sent to the gulag). And the Khmer Rouge appreciated the value of country life (and death). download BNet_Gateway_Editor
The nice side of the Taliban. Incredible. download BNet_Gateway_Editor
Damning with faint endorsement
: The Washington Post endorses John Kerry... barely. Sunday's editorial praises George Bush to a surprising degree and criticizes its choice, Kerry, to a surprising degree. In the end, the paper, like the country, just doesn't much like the choice we have. Half the nation is passionately for George W. Bush, the pollsters say, and half passionately for John F. Kerry -- or, at least, passionately against Mr. Bush. We have not been able to share in this passion, nor in the certainty....download BNet_Gateway_Editor
We do not view a vote for Mr. Kerry as a vote without risks. But the risks on the other side are well known, and the strengths Mr. Kerry brings are considerable. With friends like these... download BNet_Gateway_Editor
: Last week's ambivalent endorsements here. download BNet_Gateway_Editor
Next, the world
: First, Philadelphia vows to wi-fi itself. Next, San Francisco. Now the entire country of Taiwan. download BNet_Gateway_Editor
 Can't tell a cause without a scorecard
: I don't know how, but I came across this handy-dandy chart decoding the colors of all the many ribbons we see these days not just on lapels but, magnetically, on the backs of every other car on the road:
Black: Anti-gang, Melanoma, Mourning, In Memoriam
Brown: Colorectal Cancer
Burgundy: Hospice Care, Multiple Myeloma
Dark Blue: Child Abuse, Water Quality, Crime Victim Rights, Arthritis
Gold: Childhood Cancer
Gray / Grey: Urban Violence, Brachial Plexus, Brain Cancer, Diabetes Awareness
Green: Ecology,Environment, Organ Donor, Ovarian Cancer, Missing Children,
Leukemia, Childhood Depression, Bone Marrow Donation, Lyme's Disease, Tissue Donation, Worker Safety, Lymphoma, Glaucoma,
Light Blue: Prostate Cancer, Scleroderma, Trisomy 18
Light Violet/Lavender: Hodgkin's Disease, General Cancers, Epilepsy, Rett Syndrome, Gynecological Cancer
Off Pink: Bone Osteoporosis
Orange: Racial Tolerance, Cultural Diversity, Feed the Nation, Highway Safety, Hunger, Leukemia, Lupus
Orchid: Testicular Cancer
Pearl: Lung Cancer, Multiple Sclerosis
Periwinkle Blue: Eating Disorders, Pulmonary Hypertension
Pink: Cancer, Breast Cancer, Birth Parents
Purple: Violence, Children with Disabilities, Domestic Violence, Pancreatic Cancer, Alzheimer's, Crohn's & Colitis, Cystic Fibrosis, Fibromyalgia, Leimyosarcoma, Lupus
Red: HIV/Aids, DUI Awareness, Substance Abuse, Epidermolysis Bullosa, Lymphoma
Teal: Ovarian Cancer, Substance Abuse
White: Right to Life, Alzheimer's, Adoptee, Diabetes, Student Sexual Assault
Child Exploitation and Abuse, Retinal Blastoma
Yellow: Come Home, POW/MIA, Support, Equality, Endometriosis, Adoptive Parent,
Suicide, Spina Bifada, Missing Children, Troop Support I think mauve and taupe are still available. Causes, anyone? download BNet_Gateway_Editor
: Thanks to commenter Andy: A car covering all the ribbon bases. download BNet_Gateway_Editor
October 23, 2004
More Jon Stewart... and more Jon Stewart....
: Howard Kurtz has a very good page-one story in the Washington Post on the Jon Stewart phenom today (I'm quoted). download BNet_Gateway_Editor
: Stewart is the subject of 60 Minutes tomorrow night, too. download BNet_Gateway_Editor
: From Kurtz' story: "Even I'm sick of us," says Ben Karlin, the show's executive producer. But "the media beast must be fed," he added, amused that the show is being hyped by the "pack journalism" it regularly ridicules. : Law Dork Chris Geidner sees significance in Kurtz quoting bloggers alongside real newsmen about the fake newsman. Although it shows great progress that The Washington Post cited three Web sites -- including two blogs -- in a front-page story, the "idea integration" is just beginning. Bloggers who wish to add to the public dialogue have a responsibility not to just become more "talking heads." As bloggers become more mainstream, there will be moments -- like Cox's MTV stint during the Democratic National Convention -- to become "one of them." And that's fine. download BNet_Gateway_Editor
But it's important that we don't leave the ideas behind on our laptops. Jarvis, for example told Kurtz of Stewart: "He calls politicians bozos. And then he went over the next line on 'Crossfire' and called media guys bozos." Jarvis helped move the discussion he's been having on the blogs to the rest of the world. download BNet_Gateway_Editor
Like Stewart, some of the top bloggers are having to deal with the question: What happens when your Web log, or "blog," project is legitimized (and loses scare quotes)? What changes? What stays the same?download BNet_Gateway_Editor
Stewart, Cox, and Jarvis bring us no answers in today's Post, but Kurtz's article certainly highlights the questions. : I will also note the irony that I praised Stewart for going after the yellers for yelling and then I appeared on CNBC's Capitol Report and faced a bozo nutjob and right-wing media conspiracy theorist Bob Kohn and what could I do but point my finger at him and raise the volume? But Stewart's lesson isn't to lower the volume. It's to be honest and call a bozo a bozo.
download BNet_Gateway_Editor
My sermon
: Once a year, I get hornswoggled into preaching a sermon at my little Congregational Church in Warren, NJ. If you're in the nabe, the show starts at 10:30 on Sunday. Here, if you choose to bear it, is the text of the sermon; I'll try to put up an MP3 later, if that works. download BNet_Gateway_Editor
You'll be amused to know that I preach about mistakes... and Dan Rather... and George Bush... and more. download BNet_Gateway_Editor
(Earlier efforts: six months after 9/11... a year after 9/11... and last year....)download BNet_Gateway_Editor
How do I record MP3s?
: What's the best software to use to record MP3s off a microphone -- spoken word?
: Thanks for the advice. I just bought Super MP3 Recorder because I remembered using it before; it'll work.
: I plan to record myself giving a sermon (insert punchline here) tomorrow and put it up here if it's not too embarrassing.
: Yes, I should buy a Mac.
: Sadly, though, my iPod won't work because I got a mini; it won't record voice. That's a reason not to cheap out and buy the mini. download BNet_Gateway_Editor
The Iraqi blogosphere is a year old
: Of course, Salam Pax started blogging more than a year ago. But I just realized that blogs started spreading a year ago this week when Zeyad started blogging and getting others to blog and it has grown from there. (Here is the wonderful email Zeyad sent me before he started blogging.) Since then, more and more bloggers have joined in with more perspectives and we have learned so much from these good people as they have shared their lives with us through a year of great possibilities and greater trials. download BNet_Gateway_Editor
: I neglected to link to this remarkable post by Omar on his meeting with Kerry Dupont and Jim Hake of Spirit of America and other Iraqi media leaders in Jordan. They are doing great work together. download BNet_Gateway_Editor
: Here is an update on the work of Spirit of America by the Wall Street Journal's Dan Henninger. download BNet_Gateway_Editor
If the shoe fits...
: Manolo blogs....download BNet_Gateway_Editor
Under a picture of a beautiful model without one shoe on, Manolo says: "Manolo says, you are beautiful, pouty and dark, but you must leave the shoes on!
Even if they hurt, you must leave the shoes on! Sacrifice for the art of the catwalk!"download BNet_Gateway_Editor
On a report that Carol Santana is making shoes, Manolo says: "Manolo aks you, does Manolo try to play the guitar?
NO!
Manolo does the shoes."download BNet_Gateway_Editor
download BNet_Gateway_Editor
October 22, 2004
Exploding porn
[Ewww, forbidden visuals in that headline, eh? Sorry about that. Anyway....]download BNet_Gateway_Editor
: In the discussion of exploding TV at Fred and Brad's lunch the other day (my report here), I said that this was the one case in new media where I could not see how porn was leading the way. download BNet_Gateway_Editor
But I kept thinking there had to be a way. I kept thinking and thinking until finally I came . . . to the conclusion that, yes, porn is again leading the way. download BNet_Gateway_Editor
Over coffee yesterday, London VC, pal, and smart guy Rikki Tahta told me about a BBC series of wacky news reports he saw with a fascinating segment on the business of porn. The show said that as the cost of production has gone down -- thanks to inexpensive video equipment and software (sound familiar?) and no end of, ahem, citizen talent ... plus, no doubt, the advent of Viagra as a boost to worker productivity -- the video industry has been able to make more and more product for less and less money and distribute it directly to consumers via online at a lower and lower cost. download BNet_Gateway_Editor
The result: The nichefication of porn. download BNet_Gateway_Editor
The reporter showed shelves of videos devoted to any particular taste -- say, Asian amputees with small breasts and dwarf black men with big... whatever. download BNet_Gateway_Editor
As the cost of production and distribution decreases, the inevitable result in media is nichefication. It is another expression of the need for the people once known as consumers to control their own media. download BNet_Gateway_Editor
Which leads me to a new law of media:download BNet_Gateway_Editor
Jarvis' First Law: Give the people control of media, they will use it. download BNet_Gateway_Editor
The corollary: Don't give the people control of media, and you will lose. download BNet_Gateway_Editor
Jarvis' Second Law: Lower cost of production and distribution in media inevitably leads to nichefication.download BNet_Gateway_Editor
The corollary: Lower the cost of media enough, and there will be an unlimited supply of people making it. download BNet_Gateway_Editor
We've seen it in text content online, certainly, and that has exploded with blogs as the costs of production, talent, and distribution approached nil. Next, I now see, we're witnessing this in porn. Next, we'll see it come to TV. download BNet_Gateway_Editor
That's not to say that there won't still be -- always be -- big stars and brands. This doesn't replace them. But it does lower the barrier to entry to new producers of programming of every sort for every interest. download BNet_Gateway_Editor
You want a show about how to decorate your garage, somebody will make it and somebody will watch it. download BNet_Gateway_Editor
Will at TV Harmony disagrees and he's right to be cautious: Making TV is harder than writing this sentence (which is precisely why I haven't done more of it!). But it's a helluva lot easier now than it used to be and it will get even easier and cheaper and so, inevitably, more people will make it. download BNet_Gateway_Editor
Here, too, porn leads the way. Look [but only if you're over 18] at the captivatingly bizarre Beautiful Agony, in which real people put cameras on themselves (with no nasty parts showing) as they, uh, think and think until they . . . well, you know what I mean. Or look [but not at work and not if you're under 18] at IShotMyself at Project_ism, in which women of an artsy sort shoot themselves without clothes because... well, I'm not sure why (and not sure I care why). Now imagine if you can reach similar heights of fame and glory without having to get naked or have sex before a camera. download BNet_Gateway_Editor
Yes, in the old days, we followed the money. Today, follow the porn.download BNet_Gateway_Editor
Podcasting by satellite
: Lost Remote tells us that XM Satellite is going to come out with a device that includes a hard drive. This is the promise of podcasting already: As Doc said, the iPod is merely the prototype for a platform; it's really about getting whatever stuff you want whenever and wherever you want it. This new device extends that capability. The next device will be two-way and on-demand. download BNet_Gateway_Editor
Too bad it won't get Howard. download BNet_Gateway_Editor
Where to spend election night
: Studio One in New York and Drazen Pantic are creating an alternative media/blogging meeting place on election night. Spend election night at Location One with NY video bloggers, artists and network interventionists. P2P networks and exchange, blogs and collective filtering of network TV will create our own "citizens' coverage" of the election drama. I hope to be there. download BNet_Gateway_Editor
A modem in every pot
: With blanket wi-fi coming to Philadelphia and San Francisco, Fred Wilson says: It's happening. Wifi is going to be public infrastructure like roads, tunnels, and bridges. I'd say it's even more fundamental than that: wi-fi will get faster and broader and will provide most all the communication and content delivery you will need. And this will enable no end of new business and employment (and will reduce commuting and fuel consumption and all kinds of other social good). download BNet_Gateway_Editor
So since I'm in a rewording mood today, I'd say this really means that connectivity will be public infrastructure. download BNet_Gateway_Editor
: Om says it's a waste of taxpayer money. Oh, but I assume this isn't a free bridge; it's a toll bridge. Hell, it could be a profit center. download BNet_Gateway_Editor
Must-link TV
: John Battelle adds onto the lunchtime discussion of exploding TV at Fred's place and also inspired by the Jon Stewart BitTorrent phenom, he says: You don't want to make "Must See TV" - you want to make "Must Point To TV". Television will be driven by the conversation, just as will print. Absolutely. I'd says it rolls off the keyboard a bit better to call it "must-link TV" or even "must-link media." download BNet_Gateway_Editor
Long ago, when Clay Skirky and I saw AOL's blogging tool, we told the team there that "it's not content until it's linked." download BNet_Gateway_Editor
That will be one way you'll find what's worth your time in the future: You'll still go to brands you trust (formerly known as networks) but you'll also go to the things recommended to you by those you trust.download BNet_Gateway_Editor
Trust will the organizing principle of media. It's not now, but it will be. download BNet_Gateway_Editor
I'm forever blowing Googles
: Battelle is right: a 24-point leap in Google stock this morning is bubbly. download BNet_Gateway_Editor
 Laughing instead of crying
: Election humor is exploding:download BNet_Gateway_Editor
: Go see Frank Lesser's Lie Girls now! You can call them and they'll tell you what you want to hear....download BNet_Gateway_Editor
"The economy is getting bigger and bigger.... It's soooo big!"download BNet_Gateway_Editor
"We're the coalition of the willing!"download BNet_Gateway_Editor
This from the man who brought you Pleasure Boat Captains for Truth.download BNet_Gateway_Editor
: When I met the leaders of Communists for Kerry the other night, I asked them whether they had challenged Billionnaires for Bush to a rumble -- depending on your age, imagine West Side Story or Gangs of New York with a laughtrack. So now the commies are challenging the buckboys in email from Ivan Lenin: Here's the deal. After Nov.2, we will probably be out of business, and you probably hope that the opposite will happen. We challenge you to a battle re-enactment. Your Big Money vs our Revolutionary Rage. Your classy wit against our leftist nonsense. Your snobbish pussiness against our relentless propaganda. OK, maybe ya hadda be there. download BNet_Gateway_Editor
: I spoke to yet another person yesterday about the popularity and success of Jon Stewart in this selection season, trying to unlock the mystery of it all and I said it's really quite simple:download BNet_Gateway_Editor
Politics is funny and news media doesn't admit it from its high, institutional perch. At a human level, it is hilarious. That is precisely what gives Stewart more credibility: He, like we, knows just how absurd this crap is.download BNet_Gateway_Editor
: Now this isn't exactly a punchline, but note, too, how even NBC News is trying to make the election if not funny, at least fun. download BNet_Gateway_Editor
 I stopped by their Democracy Plaza -- aka Rockefeller Plaza -- yesterday after the cohost of Capital Report said he was there while I was taping my segment a few blocks away. There are all kinds of exhibits -- a first-edition printing of the Declaration of Independence, which is, truly, goose-bump material; and activities (walk through a replica of Air Force One); and eye candy (huge flashing screens -- Times Square for populism). download BNet_Gateway_Editor
In the ice of Rock Center, they have painted a map of the United State, which you see here (simply, through my Treo). On election night, they will transform those states red and blue as the election is called. (Can you erase ice?)download BNet_Gateway_Editor
Dear Mr. Powell,
: Doc Searls has two magnificent posts directed to Federal Censorship Commission boss Michael Powell. The first is a rant, the second is a patient effort to explain why this new thing you're using right now isn't a medium with content. It's new, damnit, it's new. From the rant Doc wrote after reading a hamhanded speech of Powell's (with my button-pushing so as not to get on the wrong side of the FCC): Reading this s*** just brings out the Jersey Guy in me... Excuse me, dude, but I'm not just a f***ing "consumer" and I don't just want f***ing "access." Me and my friends here want to want to blow up the whole f***ing system you're protecting. You're a nice guy and all, and have some nice things to say, but you're fucking in the way. Please step aside. This revolution is about the demand side getting the power to supply. That's what the Net, free software, Linux, open source, blogging, podcasting, indy music, indy movies and every other movement growing out of connected independence is about. The Net is a whole new marketplace, a land of the free and the home of the smart, the talented and the enterprising. It doesn't matter how big and fat and old and well-connected your industrial system is. If it doesn't adapt to the Net's environment, it'll choke on its own exhaust. download BNet_Gateway_Editor
It would help to have an FCC that understands the nature of this new place. Michael Powell showed some positive signs a few years ago, but now he doesn't. Freedom of "access" is bulls**t. Freedom to speak, produce, write, perform and do business is what it's about. Maintaining the old one2many plumbing mentality is a shame and a sham. And worse, delusional. Doc is cute when he's mad. download BNet_Gateway_Editor
He then sat down and tried to explain it all in terms that even a politician and bureaucrat could understand: The way we describe the Net (and the Web) is primarily in place terms. We have "sites" that we also call "locations" with "addresses." We often talk about the Net as an "environment" or a "habitat." For regulatory purposes, the best description we use is "commons." All of those terms derive from conceiving the Net as a place, rather than as a transport system.
In this place we're writing, speaking, talking, inventing, innovating and doing business. We're not just "consumers" looking for "access" to "content" from "producers" or "providers," though many of us do only that. The Net is so broadly supportive that any of us can as easily supply as demand. And we're doing exactly that. This may be scary to established media and other businesses, but it's the way things work in free markets (which I know you appreciate), and nothing supports those better than the Net....download BNet_Gateway_Editor
Our biggest challenge — yours and mine — right now is to keep the Net free of the regulatory assumptions that applied to the undeniably transportational nature of few-to-many communications that have been around since the FCC was the Federal Radio Commission. To do that, we need an appropriate vocabulary. download BNet_Gateway_Editor
October 21, 2004
CABLEVISION SUCKS CABLEVISION SUCKS CABLEVISION SUCKS
: I've complained about these idiot twits before and I'll keep complaining about them until I can get rid of them. The dorks filter port 25 so I can only use their SMTP server to send email from home. It's down. So now I can't send email. My own server is up but I can't use that server. Their answer: Upgrade to a business account and pay $109.95 a month for simple cable modem service. And they argue with you. God, I hate Cablevisision. So let's get this into Google: CABLEVISION SUCKS CABLEVISION SUCKS. CABLEVISION SUCKS. CABLEVISION SUCKS. CABLEVISION SUCKS. CABLEVISION SUCKS. Well, you get the idea. download BNet_Gateway_Editor
: I don't believe it. I just finish ranting and the damned cable signal starts going, too. ARRRGGGGHHHHHHH!download BNet_Gateway_Editor
Please, bring me ubiquitous wireless broadband. Please, bring me fiber to the door. Please, bring me internet over power lines. Anything but this!download BNet_Gateway_Editor
: TRAGIC UPDATE: Verizon announces it is bringing fiber to more doors... but not in New Jersey. Please, Verizon, please!!!download BNet_Gateway_Editor
On TV
: I'll be on CNBC's Capitol Report tonight at 7 pm ET. Yes, this is getting to be frequent and that's fun. We're talking about stories that distract during this campaign. Man, we could do an hour on that. But that would be distracting. download BNet_Gateway_Editor
: Just got out of the taping. I got into a confrontation with a media mudman. "Hooey," that's the word of the night. download BNet_Gateway_Editor
: Back blogging later; headed to a church meeting (yes, they let me in) and then to the couch. download BNet_Gateway_Editor
K.I.S.S.
: Connected entertainment won't explode in the home until... you can connect to it. download BNet_Gateway_Editor
So it's about f'ing time that the consumer electronics industry got together and did what we poor consumers try to do all the time and make their f'ing gadgets work together. See this WSJ story about the great plug-in. download BNet_Gateway_Editor
October 20, 2004
Confidential
: NY Times editor Bill Keller and LA Times editorial page editor Michael Kinsley spar and spit over protecting reporters' confidential sources. (Sadly, they don't link to Kinsley's original column.)download BNet_Gateway_Editor
Control
: Last week, I quoted reports from the Association of National Advertisers confab, in which many realized that they're not in control anymore; the shift of control that has happened to the rest of media is now coming to advertising. This week, Ad Age Editor Scott Donaton says, Amen. (And, of course, the online editor over there puts the boss' column online!): General Motors' Roger Adams... said, "The consumer wants to be in control, and we want to put them in control." Echoed Saatchi & Saatchi chief Kevin Roberts, "The consumer now has absolute power." download BNet_Gateway_Editor
"It is not your goddamn brand," he told marketers. download BNet_Gateway_Editor
This consumer empowerment is at the heart of everything. End users are now in control of how, whether and where they consume information and entertainment. Whatever they don't want to interact with is gone. That upends the intrusive model the advertising business has been sustained by for decades. download BNet_Gateway_Editor
Podcasting goes primetime
: I had the pleasure of appearing on Brian Lehrer's show on WNYC today (which makes me feel like I'm visiting Harvard, rubbing elbows with the smart kids) and besides having fun talking about Jon Stewart, I got to push Brian and the station's programming director -- who was sitting there to make pledge pitches -- to put up all their shows online as MP3s so their audience can distribute them. Brian properly takes credit for putting up all their shows in archives and nuggetized archives at that. But I said they should be putting them out there as MP3s so the audience can distribute the great stuff -- with underwriter or pledge spiels attached. They were both shaking their heads. I think it may just happen.download BNet_Gateway_Editor
Brian also talked about podcasting -- and they're planning on doing a segment on it -- which is damned nice to see the new radio on the old radio. download BNet_Gateway_Editor
: Separately, AdAge (again, and again without links!) has a cover story this week on "The iPod Economy." They miss entirely podcasting and the idea that the iPod is a new platform for a new medium of anything/anywhere/anytime programming. But even so.... download BNet_Gateway_Editor
They say that the iPod now supports an industry of 1,000 peripherals. ...but big marketers with their own histories of ingenuity are lining up to ally themselves with the product, basking in the iPod's marketing glow...download BNet_Gateway_Editor
"The iPod is not just a consumer-electronics device, it's a cultural icon," said Michael Gartenberg, director of research at Jupiter Research. "...By making strong associations with other very strong brands, it establishes the iPod as a way to get the iPod experience into consumers' hands." ...download BNet_Gateway_Editor
"Apple doesn't sell an MP3 player, they sell a lifestyle," said Andrew Green, VP-marketing and design at Griffin. "Buyers of iPods are buying into a club." They're also buying into a new medium, man. download BNet_Gateway_Editor
Money makes ze 'sphere go around
: Wow. Just got my AdAge this week and I see a major story about bloggers making money via BlogAds, listing the top draws with their weekly rates: Kos at $13,250, Josh Marshall at $10k, Atrios at $6k, Sullivan at $5,600, Wonkette at $4k (which, of course, doesn't include the ads Denton sells first). Note that Instapundit is not on that list -- because his rates are too low (and he's holding down the rates others can charge as a result... hint, hint). Damn AdAge for not putting the story online for all to see.....download BNet_Gateway_Editor
Exploding TV
: I was lucky to join a lunch Fred Wilson and Brad Burnham held to ask some folks how TV is going to be disrupted with the advent of TV programming that will be directly addressable (as opposed to hose-fed by networks over wires). download BNet_Gateway_Editor
Fred writes about it here. He says that some are enthusiastic about VOD, others by streaming. Predictably, I donned the video alterego of my Blogboy persona to become BitTorrentBoy. A few of my thoughts (including some remix of the conversation):download BNet_Gateway_Editor
: The way to make big money in the longrun in the explosion of TV is to go around the present players. The current networks can't act subversively because cable MSOs have them by the balls (and won't let them put content out there on the internet to compete with cable) and rights-holders and lawyers have them by the neck (and will stop them from distributing content) and they're addicted to big money -- big expenses, big revenue, constant growth.download BNet_Gateway_Editor
So learn lessons from the explosion of the print industry thanks to the advent of online: download BNet_Gateway_Editor
Many of the big players will be new players -- video Googles, Yahoos, Netscapes (RIP), eBays, Amazons, CraigsLists, and so on. Oh, there'll be money made by the old guys in addressable video; they'll make it sooner. But eventually, the subsversive companies will do to video what, for example, CraigsList has done to papers. download BNet_Gateway_Editor
Walled gardens (AOL = cable MSOs; Pathfinder = oldstyle networks) will not prevail. Open, distributed, ad hoc networks will win. download BNet_Gateway_Editor
Interactivity won't mean pushing a button to get "more about this" while you watch a TV show (as ITV is now defined, insultingly and boringly). Interactivity will mean recommending TV shows to the rest of the world, remixing TV shows, making TV shows: citizens' TV.download BNet_Gateway_Editor
New tools and citizen producers will reduce the cost of producing TV to a comparative nil and there goes the barrier to entry to video.download BNet_Gateway_Editor
: What excites me most is that reduced cost of production. That's really what drove weblogs: history's cheapest publishing tool reduced the barrier to entry to media and allowed anyone to produce and distribute text content. Now this will come to video. I've said it before (warning: I'll say it again) ... A half-hour of how-to TV that now costs X hundreds of thousands of dollars to produce can be done quite respectably -- and probably with more life and immediacy -- for a few thousand dollars. New content producers will pop up all over (just as they did in blogs) and now they can distribute their content freely (thanks to BitTorrent). That is where I want to play.download BNet_Gateway_Editor
At the same time, networks will no longer be able to continually raise their rates even as their audiences shrink and so they'll have to find profitability in reducing costs. These new content producers will show the way and even eventually start producing content for the big boys. download BNet_Gateway_Editor
: There will be new tools to produce audio and video content: the video Movable Type. Apple is making most of those tools today; there will be a few more. That will be an OK business. I'd rather build the content and the brands than the tools, but that's because I'm not a toolmaker.download BNet_Gateway_Editor
: There will need to be a Google of video -- a means of helping people find what they want. And, no, that's not just about creating a search engine. It's about capturing the metadata we create when we watch and share things and making sense of it. It's not trivial but it's vital for without a great guide, we'll never find the programming we want and this new medium won't work. This video Google thing will be the next Google and TV Guide and it will be big. And I doubt that either Google or TV Guide will be the one to create it.download BNet_Gateway_Editor
: While copyright holders and Congress get their knickers in knots about protecting content and restricting its use, people will be copying and remixing and distributing content like crazy.download BNet_Gateway_Editor
The smart content creator will embrace this. And it will be a helluva lot easier for video creators to embrace the Napster/Kaazaa/BitTorrent world than it was for music because (a) they can learn from music's mistake and (b) we're already used to video programming being underwritten by sponsors. download BNet_Gateway_Editor
Video programming, as Fred says, needs to come with hooks to serve ads and ping servers. If that exists, then content creators will happily let their content be distributed by whatever means -- so long as the can be paid when ads appear and so long as advertisers can target and track those ads. download BNet_Gateway_Editor
This is a vital infrastructure that will enable a new world. Who will make it? Who knows?
download BNet_Gateway_Editor
The real game
: The best replay I heard of last night's amazing Yankees/Sox game (not that I tend to hear much sports, mind you) was Artie Lang regaling the Stern show this morning with tales of the angry, drunken, desperate Yankee fans in the stands. That's what we need: coverage from the stands, from the fan's eyes, not from the dehumidified, dehumanized confines of a broadcast booth. download BNet_Gateway_Editor
My, my
: The minor dustup between Glenn Reynolds and Tony Pierce over blogger bias that began playing itself out here (and here, then here and here) has been covered and quoted extensively by Howard Kurtz in the Washington Post today. Glenn responds here to Andrew Sullivan's criticism here about lacking fire: "I've actually tried quite consciously to moderate my tone in the run-up to the elections, because I think that there's quite enough abuse out there." I've noticed that lately on Instapundit and I've been damned glad to see it. Actually, I think Glenn has returned to his natural self, having banished the angry Glenn with a few stiff drinks. download BNet_Gateway_Editor
Loonitarians
: Weblogs are the best thing to happen to the libertarian cause since its beginning. Libby bloggers -- and I'm still not sure why there are disproporportional number of them -- have done a great job spreading their worldview and making sense of it. They have advanced their cause admirably. download BNet_Gateway_Editor
But this morning, I hear an NPR story about Libertarian candidate Michael Badnarik and it consigns libertarians right back into the looney bin: Their candidate thinks driver's licenses are unconstitutional, the report says, and so Badnarik makes it a point to get arrested for driving without a license whenever he can to prove his alleged point. This is exactly the image libertarians had for years: impractical, obnoxious loons. download BNet_Gateway_Editor
I suggest that the libertarian bloggers band together and take over their party, for they are, in fact, their party's best hope: Hold the first online convention, a national internet primary to pick your next candidate. Run some sane people with libby leanings (Reynolds, Volokh, Gillespie, et al). And continue to have sane discussion of issues from your perspective to add into the national debate. And get rid of the loonies. download BNet_Gateway_Editor
: A libby discussion ensues thanks to Matt Welch over at Hit & Run. download BNet_Gateway_Editor
What we need is a Friars' Club for the internet
: I got an email pitch from Always On to join up and pay up for the priviliege of getting its print magazine and getting discounts to its events. And that was fine -- if hauntingly familiar -- so far. But then I read on to the pitch for the first event: As an example, all AO Insiders will be invited to a members-only Churchill
Club affair on November 9th for the Top 10 Trends in Technology Debate,
featuring John Doerr of Kleiner Perkins and Bono's new investment partner,
Roger McNamee. You will also be invited to the Yahoo campus on December 8th
to watch my live interview with Chief Yahoo Jerry Yang at a private dinner
for 300 insiders. Web 2.0 ruined the appeal of that. John Doerr was an utter ass on stage, refusing to answer questions, playing coy for no reason, revealing nothing, boring the audience. And Jerry Yang, though a terribly nice guy, really has nothing new to say. Reverential interviews and panel discussions with these guys won't get a dollar from me. On the other hand, what if we started a Friars' Club for online with roasts of them (and a few others I can nominate). Now that would be entertaining. download BNet_Gateway_Editor
Stewart redux
: CNET writes about Jon Stewart and CNN and quotes this very blog on why CNN should have put the clip out there for all to see and send along. (It's funny seeing a quote written in blogspeak puilled out in a news story; it looks like a kid in jeans at the prom.)download BNet_Gateway_Editor
I'll be on Brian Lehrer's show on WNYC this morning at 11 on the same topic. I hope to tell NPR that they should be cutting up all their shows into bit to allow the audience to distribute them (with sponsor underwriter messages and begging pledge pitches attached). Viral, audience, BitTorrent/RSS distribution of their programming would explode the audience for NPR -- and be damned convenient for their fans. NPR should fuel podcasting. At this point, most NPR affiliates won't allow most NPR programming even onto satellite. But WNYC could lead the way with its best show, Lehrer's. download BNet_Gateway_Editor
: Oh, my, the CNET quotes look even nicer under a New York Times logo. download BNet_Gateway_Editor
October 19, 2004
Dell sucks
: Well, Dell doesn't suck comletely. But Dell does suck today. They put out a coupon that was widely distributed for $750 off laptops over $1,500. Instapundit took advantage of it and posted it (then deleted the post, it appears). Slickdeals says they kept moving up the time. That's not fair or right: You put out a deal, you shouldn't change the deal midstream. That sucks. download BNet_Gateway_Editor
I would have bought a Dell tonight. Maybe I'll buy an Apple instead. download BNet_Gateway_Editor
Google, life preserver
: Terrorists capture a journalist, accuse him of being a CIA spy, but then Google his name and find out he's legit and they let him go.download BNet_Gateway_Editor
God help me if they Googled me. [via LostRemote]download BNet_Gateway_Editor
Madison & Vine & Sand Hill
: I wish I could remember who was saying this to me this week (tell me and I'll give you credit) but the Apple U2 commercial is more than product placement: It's impossible to tell what's really being advertised -- the iPod, or iTunes, or U2. Then again, it's not a commercial, it's content. Then again, it's a development partnership (see U2's new black iPod). The lines aren't just blurring. They're erasing. download BNet_Gateway_Editor
: CREDIT WHERE CREDIT IS DUE: It was Steven Johnson who said that to me over lunch. Of course. If it was smart, it was Johnson. He was going to blog it but didn't and I beat him to it. Nya nya. Anyway, Steven sent me email saying the complete list of what is being sold in that commercial is:
a. The new U2 single.
b. The new U2 album.
c. The iPod.
d. iTunes.
e. The iTunes Music Store.
f. QuickTime.
g. Apple.
h. U2.
i. All of the above.
Not to mention the new U2 iPod now and, while we're at it, the concept that downloading music legally is good for your soul. download BNet_Gateway_Editor
On TV and radio
: I will be on CNBC's Capitol Report tonight at 7 pm ET to talk about the Jon Stewart/CNN phenom. I will not wear a bowtie.download BNet_Gateway_Editor
: Also making a return appearance on Brian Lehrer's show on WNYC Wednesday at 11a; same topic.
download BNet_Gateway_Editor
Who let out the cat?
: I feel as if I had too much to drink at my own party and slept through all the good stuff. Well, I did have too much to drink (a nice cabernet, thank you; couldn't resist that last nip) and the party was happening in the comments here: I thought I was writing one of my high-altitude (low-oxygen) musings on the future of media but thanks to Tony, Glenn, and Oliver, it turned into late-night boozy brawl in the rec room. Well, not actually, but I enjoyed the image, didn't you?download BNet_Gateway_Editor
To recap for those of us who slept it off last night, after my media musings in that post below, I said that commenters had called out Jon Stewart for hiding behind his comedy-show label when, in fact, he is a news provider and a critical member of the national conversation today. Tony Pierce then said in the comments I should call out Glenn Reynolds similarly because Glenn, he says, hides behind his I'm-not-a-news-service label. Oliver Willis piled on. Glenn responded to them here. InstaPundit is not an unbiased news service. It consists entirely of my opinions and such links to factual items as I find interesting. Its whole purpose is as a vehicle for my biases, in fact. It is not unbiased and objective in any fashion, but rather is opinionated and slanted, much like other, more respectable, outlets such as The New York Times and TonyPierce.com. I mostly agree with Glenn: Blogs do not pretend to be news services, no matter how voluminous their posting or traffic. They are vehicles for personal curiosities and bias and the difference between blogs and "real news" or even "fake news" is that (a) they cannot and do not try to be comprehensive and, more important, (b) they usually admit their bias. download BNet_Gateway_Editor
Two further thoughts: I think that blogs should admit their bias; they should set the example for transparency. Even though it was quite evident that Glenn was voting for Bush, it's good he said so today. That's why I've been open about where I stand (if wobbily so), because I believe you should be able to judge what I say through that prism (and believe me, it's not easy to talk about that in public after all my years of journalistic training that told me to keep my opinions to myself; it's like coming out of a political closet). See also Tim Oren's eloquent exercise in fence razing. download BNet_Gateway_Editor
So a call to bloggers: If you haven't yet said where your vote is going, please do. Don't assume we know; maybe we just discovered you. Out with it.download BNet_Gateway_Editor
A second thought after last night's party in the comments room: I am seeing a qualitative difference between (a) news media that try -- unsuccessfully -- to deny bias, and (b) individuals' blogs that carry bias, naturally, and (c) blogs that are founded on bias. When I get email or links from a blog in category C -- like, say, CrushKerry -- I frankly don't pay much attention to it because I can predict precisely what it's going to say. If I see a story in media from category A that doesn't admit its bias, I look at it with suspicion and exhaustion because I get tired of trying to figure out its perspective. But when I see a person in category B publicly grapple with an issue and when I know that person's perspective, I find the discussion far more interesting and illuminating. After the debates, I enjoyed going back and forth among bloggers voting for one side or the other to see it through different lenses; that was helpful. And that works only when the lenses are transparent. download BNet_Gateway_Editor
: UPDATE: Matt Welch emails a Reason piece polling a quite diverse bunch of people on their 2004 and 2000 votes for President. Lots of cop-outs (which I define as not voting or voting for the Libertarian -- sorry, Reason -- or voting for Nader). But that also indicates the dissatisfaction with this year's choice. download BNet_Gateway_Editor
: UPDATE ON THE MEDIA MEME: This post says broadband is more than a speed, it's a space. [via Rafat and Om]download BNet_Gateway_Editor
: NUMBER UPDATE: Cory Bergman has the latest numbers to show that the Stewart segment got a bigger audience on the Web than it got on its big, old cable network. download BNet_Gateway_Editor
Beeb
: Interesting moment on the Beeb last night (besides the host getting my URL wrong twice and my correcting him twice -- say anything you want about me, mate, but make sure you spell the address right!): Iraq came up and I pointed to Iraqi blogs to remind listeners that this is about people, about people trying to be safe and to run their country and run their lives and we lose sight of that in an election. The host tried to turn it around as a slam on the Bush administration, saying they forgot this. No, I said, everyone has forgotten this: both sides in the election and certainly news media, too. download BNet_Gateway_Editor
October 18, 2004
Iraq is about people
: In this election, we are treating the people of Iraq like pawns, not unlike Dick Cheney's daughter being used by both sides, except that her life isn't at constant risk. All the talk is about WMDs and mistakes and foreign alliances and none of it is about people yearning to live free. It's too easy to forget that the people of Iraq are living with terror as they also live with hope for a new nation; it's too easy to ignore them... until you read their words. I have been remiss not reading their words enough lately. download BNet_Gateway_Editor
So read Zeyad living with the loss of his friends to the terrorists: Another acquaintance, a doctor called Zeyad Walid, was found decapitated in Yusifiya, southwest of Baghdad. He worked with a pharmacist, Zena Al-Qashtini, who was also found shot in the head. They were both kidnapped from a pharmacy in Harthiya by 10 armed assailants a few weeks ago at mid-day in front of a large crowd of customers. His brother abroad collected a ransom thinking he was kidnapped by petty criminals. Turns out that the pharmacy had previously sold some pharmaceuticals to the US army and this was their punishment for 'collaboration'.... Now read Ali about the terrorists' threats and the citizens' bravery facing them: This morning my uncle who’s a highschool principal found a post signed by Al Tawheed Wal Jihad group on the door of his school. It seems that they are distributing a poster throughout Baghdad demanding all government employees to stop going to work, threatening to behead anyone who disobey! It reads:download BNet_Gateway_Editor
In the name of God most merciful most gracious
A threat to all government institutes and all government employees. Why do you keep going to work and schools and keep silent about the occupation? We will behead anyone who commits to work in government institutes.
Allah Akbar Allah Akbar
wal yakhsa’a Il khasi’oon*
Al Tawheed Wal Jihad group.download BNet_Gateway_Editor
(I don’t know how this phrase can be translated but it’s the one Saddam used to end his speeches with for the last few years before the war! A close translation might be, "Let the doomed ones be doomed"!!) ...download BNet_Gateway_Editor
I must say that this was expected. These enemies of humanity see us as their true enemies. They were hoping in the beginning that we might resist the “occupation” but that didn’t happen. They were also considering the consequences of frankly declaring war against the Iraqi people, as this would make them loose a lot of ground and would not help the propaganda that tries to show them as freedom fighters. However, and as a result of the brave stand of the Iraqi people, these terrorists are seeing that it has got late and elections are about to take place with the majority of Iraqis obviously willing to participate. Killing IP, ING and American soldiers won’t do, attacking infra structure won’t stop the process. So what’s left to do?download BNet_Gateway_Editor
It has become clear that we are their worst nightmare, that ‘their people’ might open their eyes and work for a better future, that we embrace freedom, peace and a better life instead of hatred and death. This would mean that they have lost the war against the world because they have no *people* to support them and believe in their sick dreams. Now they wish they can kill us all, but they can’t, so the best thing they can do is to terrorize us, kill some of us randomly hoping that this would scare us enough to stop doing what we are doing, to stop living and join their craziness. Will they succeed? The answer is so clear to me but I hope that our allies see what our enemies have seen.download BNet_Gateway_Editor
Am I being too dramatic here? Ok, let’s get a bit more practical. The government with the help of America and the rest of the coalition is preparing for elections in a long plan to transfer Iraq into a democratic country. Iraqis are living and working to support their families and seem to approve of the democratic process. Some of them are actively helping while the majority only follow with approval. Isn’t that what we all want; People who reject dictatorship, work for a better future for themselves and their families and want to live peacefully with the others instead of loading themselves with explosives or carrying AK47 and murdering anyone who don’t follow their beliefs? This, in my mind, is what will make terror lose and freedom prevail in Iraq; our love for life, peace and freedom and our rejection for terrorism and dictatorship.
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Falafel, anyone?
: FoxNews had on Ana Marie Cox and James Taranto to blather on blogs. David Asman sees AMC and fairly swoons, saying he'd never actually seen her before. My officemate started making falafel jokes. AMC had good lines about the "mystery bulge' and how it was much more fun before we knew where the bulge was. Asman gulped. If you ever doubted that AMC is a class act, give her points for not making any obvious ass-man jokes. download BNet_Gateway_Editor
TV explodes
: What's fascinating about the Jon Stewart takedown of Crossfire is not just what he said but how his message got distributed. download BNet_Gateway_Editor
Terry Heaton reports that there have been almost 400,000 downloads of the segment at iFilm (which is how I saw it) ... in addition to countless (literally, countless) BitTorrent downloads. This was a flood of viral distribution that came from viral promotion.download BNet_Gateway_Editor
Welcome to the future of TV!download BNet_Gateway_Editor
In old TV, a moment like this came and if you missed it, you missed it. Tough luck. In new TV, you don't need to worry about watching it live -- live is so yesterday -- because thousands of peers will be keeping an eye out for you to let you know what you should watch (we call that metadata now) and they'll record it and distribute it. download BNet_Gateway_Editor
The really stupid thing is that CNN didn't do this themselves: Hey, we had a red-hot segment with tsunami star Jon Stewart strangling our guys with a bow tie; you should watch; here, please, look at this free download because it will promote our bow-tie boy and our brand and our show and give us a little of that Stewart hip heat. That's what CNN should have done. Instead, they'll charge you to deliver a videotape (what's that?) the next day. download BNet_Gateway_Editor
Listen to Martin Nisenholtz, head of NY Times Digital, at Web 2.0, saying that the best way to market a news brand may be to distribute its best stuff for free: a downright visionary view.download BNet_Gateway_Editor
CNN should put up all its segments when they air because, after all, once they've aired, they're just so much video fishwrap. Then it should allow viewers to download and distribute them. It should collect metadata -- most downloaded, downlowed by whom, etc. -- so you can get recommendations on what you want to watch. It should set up RSS feeds so you can subscribe to shows or segments or topics or the hottest segments: CNN goes podcasting! If CNN were bandwidth poor (which, of course, it's not), it also could set this up on BitTorrent to save money. Hell every live TV and radio network should do that. download BNet_Gateway_Editor
There's no harm, there's only the opportunity to have the audience promote and distribute your brand and content for you.download BNet_Gateway_Editor
And, oh, yes, you can have ads, too. There's revenue in them thar hills. download BNet_Gateway_Editor
: Separately, a few commenters below have called out Stewart for continuing to hide behind his comedy-show status. I agree with them. Stewart is not providing fake news. He's providing real news with an attitude. Just as he said to the boys at Crossfire: He's part of the conversation now, too, and he doesn't get a out just because we can hear his audience laughing.download BNet_Gateway_Editor
: Updates: See John Dowdell on sync vs. async TV. See Doc. And Rafat . download BNet_Gateway_Editor
President Blair
: Joi Ito runs some blunt American reaction to The Guardian's attempt to get Brits to influence the American election. download BNet_Gateway_Editor
: FYI, I'll be on BBC Radio Five Live tonight (between 7:45 and 8:30 p.m. New York time) to talk about the election and writing in Tony Blair. download BNet_Gateway_Editor
Jersey swingers
: Way back in May, I said that New Jersey could become a swing state. So did John Podhoretz. I heard the cracking sounds of being out on a limb then but it's turning out to be quite true. Hell, George Bush is coming to my turf today to give a big speech on terrorism, which will play here, considering how close we are to the action (my neighbors died... and terrorists are also my neighbors). download BNet_Gateway_Editor
Jason Chervokas is worried about my state. Conventional wisdom is that the winner has to take two of three -- Ohio, Pennsylvania, Florida -- but now it appears NJ is in the mix. Chervokas nominates me as a poster boy for the problem: New Jersey may be the biggest problem of all. The northern part of the state is full of upper middle-class suburban voters who are center-left socially but who think Kerry is soft on terrorism, voters like Jeff Jarvis. Also, the nation's wealthiest state is densely populated by the C-level managers and small businessmen who are among the Republicans most loyal bases. There is also a big base of Wall Street employees who stand to benefit from the flood of money into the markets that will come with the privatization of social security. Then there's McGreevey's implosion. While it may not be having a profound impact on Kerry's numbers, it has taken away what would have been Kerry's number one surrogate campaigner in the state. (I bet the Dems wish they had Corzine on the ballot in a special election now!) Kerry needs to do something quick in New Jersey because he can't win the presidency without winning New Jersey. (Theoretically he could, if he took Pennsylvania, Ohio and Florida, but c'mon!). download BNet_Gateway_Editor
But I'm not sure what Kerry can achieve. My guess is that his biggest problem is a loss of traditional support among upper middle-class women from the northern suburbs. Not so much the soccer moms, more the corporate wives. There's little Kerry can say to them at this point that be a difference maker. Still, at least he should show up in New Jersey. Spend a day. Show the Jerseyites some love. Maybe it helps get out the vote. This time four years ago, this Garden State was growing campaign signs like corn. Not now. One rabid Bushie in my neighborhood has a sign up. Nobody else does. Driving around less Republican neighborhoods, I see nothing. That tells me we don't want either of them. We'll hold our noses like we do going through the Elizabeth refineries when we vote. download BNet_Gateway_Editor
Tom Watson (the American) agrees and says that Jason "targets uber-blogger Jeff Jarvis, reliably centrist and stubbornly (even annoyingly) on the fence so far, as emblematic of NJ voters Kerry needs."download BNet_Gateway_Editor
Technically, I'm not on the fence. I'm soft. download BNet_Gateway_Editor
Tom prescribes a dose of Clinton Viagra: "So saddle up Bubba, and get him to NJ."download BNet_Gateway_Editor
Bubba: Let's lunch.download BNet_Gateway_Editor
October 17, 2004
The limits of progress
: Doc Searls finds the limits of podcasting: Listened to a couple podcasts while zooming down through the Salinas Valley, until the kid couldn't stand it anymore. Can't you play some SONGS on that thing? he kept saying. I used to feel that way about Frank Sinatra. download BNet_Gateway_Editor
The Sinclair Kerryfluffle
; Jay Rosen stays on top of the Sinclair flap. He believes that what we need is political engagement.download BNet_Gateway_Editor
: Please see also my take on media and government in re Sinclair, the FCC, the FEC, Judith Miller and more below. download BNet_Gateway_Editor
Nothing fake about it
: Thanks to my friend Joe Territo, I finally got to see the Jon Stewart takedown of Crossfire on Crossfire. download BNet_Gateway_Editor
This is the single best piece of media criticism I have seen in years. And it's all the better because it's face-to-face. download BNet_Gateway_Editor
I know I'm late to this party because I didn't see the original. If you haven't seen it, watch the clip and read the transcript here. Great lines here (with annoying transcripty things excised): STEWART: I felt that that wasn't fair and I should come here and tell you ... it's not so much that it's bad, as it's hurting America.... Here's just what I wanted to tell you guys.... Stop, stop, stop, stop hurting America....download BNet_Gateway_Editor
See, the thing is, we need your help. Right now, you're helping the politicians and the corporations. And we're left out there to mow our lawns. download BNet_Gateway_Editor
BEGALA: By beating up on them? You just said we're too rough on them when they make mistakes. download BNet_Gateway_Editor
STEWART: No, no, no, you're not too rough on them. You're part of their strategies. You are partisan, what do you call it, hacks....download BNet_Gateway_Editor
CARLSON: But you can ask him [Kerry] a real question, don't you think, instead of saying...download BNet_Gateway_Editor
STEWART: I don't think I have to. By the way, I also asked him, "Were you in Cambodia?" But I didn't really care.download BNet_Gateway_Editor
STEWART: Because I don't care, because I think it's stupid....download BNet_Gateway_Editor
STEWART: But the thing is that this -- you're doing theater, when you should be doing debate, which would be great.... It's not honest. What you do is not honest. What you do is partisan hackery....download BNet_Gateway_Editor
You have a responsibility to the public discourse, and you fail miserably. download BNet_Gateway_Editor
CARLSON: You need to get a job at a journalism school, I think. download BNet_Gateway_Editor
STEWART: You need to go to one. download BNet_Gateway_Editor
The thing that I want to say is, when you have people on for just knee-jerk, reactionary talk...download BNet_Gateway_Editor
This is such a great opportunity you have here to actually get politicians off of their marketing and strategy....download BNet_Gateway_Editor
You go to spin alley, the place called spin alley. Now, don't you think that, for people watching at home, that's kind of a drag, that you're literally walking to a place called deception lane? The most pathetic thing about the segment is that the hosts would not talk. They couldn't. They could shout. They could joust. They could joke. They couldn't talk. They proved that they do not know how to have a conversation. News is supposed a conversation. But not on Crossfire. download BNet_Gateway_Editor
But what's so wonderful about this is that a viewer get to confront the viewed, media on media. It's every blogger's wet dream. download BNet_Gateway_Editor
Pity that the boys on TV don't know how to listen.
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It's a beautiful commercial
: At the start of Desperate Housewives (OK, I'm not a real man, I'm not watching baseball) I saw a wonderful commercial that turned out to be for Toyota: a wheel running through many lives with a song about a beautiful day (who sang it?). Keep your eye out. download BNet_Gateway_Editor
: G'bless comments: Aaron says the song (not the body) is by Fisher. download BNet_Gateway_Editor
For vs. against
: The New York Times endoses Kerry. The Chicago Tribune endorses Bush. What's striking is how both editorials are really about Bush: The Times is against Bush far more than it is for Kerry. In fact, the Tribune has more good things to say about Kerry, whom ie does not endorse, than The Times does.
: Endorsement scoresheet here (if anybody's counting). download BNet_Gateway_Editor
Old dogs, meet your new tricks
: Alan Nelson of Command Post gives a great speech to the AP Managing Editors' confab. The Rather story illustrates all of these laws … the information flowed and CBS couldn’t control it … it happened very quickly, faster than CBS could keep up … and connected mavens drove the process as it developed, and ultimately into the mainstream.download BNet_Gateway_Editor
But most of all, it illustrates the Law of the Many … that when a marketplace of tens of thousands of people considers a piece of information, the truth inevitably will surface with greater speed and efficiency than when only a few people consider that information … just as surely as an internet-driven a global market for diamond rings or interest rates drives price down and quality up.download BNet_Gateway_Editor
And it works both ways … when a blogger posts something dubious, those same tens of thousands of readers and mavens quickly debunk and dismiss that information as not factual, and it goes nowhere.download BNet_Gateway_Editor
And that’s one of the things people value about Command Post … it allows them a forum to not just receive media, but to participate in it in a real and tangible way … not by way of a letter to the editor that likely won’t get published … but by way of transparent commentary that will be immediately seen by everyone else who traffics the site.download BNet_Gateway_Editor
And that’s the best editorial and quality process we could ever have. Will they get it? Only time will tell. download BNet_Gateway_Editor
Damn the dial, full speed ahead
: Dan Gillmor celebrates the explosion of radio. download BNet_Gateway_Editor
Wie sagt Man, "Fact-check your ass"?
: In my blog piece in Netzeitung, I asked for examples of blogs having an impact on German media and one reader, Daniel, sent me a link to the Bildblog, devoted entirely to checking the ass of the gigantic German tab, Bild.download BNet_Gateway_Editor
October 16, 2004
Write-in Tony Blair
: The interfering Guardian is getting Brits to write Ohio voters to vote for Kerry (considering the readership, I'll bet that's their choice). Go to their site; get a name; and ask them to write in Tony Blair. download BNet_Gateway_Editor
Keeping media and government apart
: What is the proper relationship of government to media?download BNet_Gateway_Editor
None. download BNet_Gateway_Editor
Media is speech and speech must be protected from government interference. That is why we have the First Amendment. Today, everyone's speech is media, so everyone and all media must be protected. download BNet_Gateway_Editor
Every time government tries to regulate speech in any way, it's trouble. It's unconstitutional. It's wrong. download BNet_Gateway_Editor
We, the people regulate media by deciding whether or not to listen to it or pay for it or believe it. Attention and credibility are how the market regulates media in a free society.download BNet_Gateway_Editor
But all this is colliding in new and unexpected ways today thanks to the growth of citizens' media -- the explosion of the privileged class of media -- and to the advent of a new culture of transparency -- the open-source society. Old government controls of speech, always wrong, are wrong in new ways. We are witnessing collisions in a number of recent events, including:download BNet_Gateway_Editor
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: The Sinclair broadcasting flap, in which a TV company orders its stations to air an anti-Kerry show in an effort to influence the election. download BNet_Gateway_Editor
Some elected officials tried to get the FCC to stop Sinclair, making pompous noise about public airwaves and public interest and all that. FCC Chairman Michael Powell -- with whom I've disagreed frequently lately -- did the right thing and said no. That doesn't mean I like what Sinclair is doing. But if I don't like it, I don't watch it. I don't want government to stop it. download BNet_Gateway_Editor
Ernie Miller says the problem with even considering government control in this case is that we are trying to regulate one form of speech, broadcast: Call me crazy, but if most other media is free to publish whatever it wants (something we call freedom of the press), shouldn't our first question be why broadcast gets treated so differently? Why isn't there freedom of the press for broadcast?download BNet_Gateway_Editor
Basically, because broadcast is a government-licensed gatekeeper. Imagine if we had a Federal Newspaper Commission that decided who was allowed to publish newspapers in a particular city. Suddenly, we would have calls for a "fairness doctrine" for newspapers and other government regulation of newspaper content. Jay Rosen says Sinclair is not a media empire with a political opinion but a political empire with a media outlet. They own media in an effort to influence the country. download BNet_Gateway_Editor
These days, anybody can create media to try to gain influence: You can distribute a weblog or a podcast and your individual effort may not be as big as the Sinclair empire but this medium as a whole is now challenging that medium. So if you can create an anti-Kerry or anti-Bush web site, why shouldn't you be able to create an anti-Kerry or anti-Bush TV show or empire? download BNet_Gateway_Editor
Oh, I know, you'll say it's because we all own the airwaves. Well, we all own the internet, too. And spectrum is no longer scarce. Only 11 percent of Americans get TV through rabbit ears. Today, there is no distinction between broadcast TV and cable or satellite TV. And very soon there will also be no distinction between all that and internet-delivered TV. It's all just spectrum. We need to fix how we license broadcast spectrum but still, it's all just spectrum. download BNet_Gateway_Editor
So tear down the FCC first. Then tear down the broadcast towers. And tear down the distinctions, while you're at it. We don't need them. download BNet_Gateway_Editor
: : :download BNet_Gateway_Editor
Now look at this from a very different perspective:download BNet_Gateway_Editor
: The Judith Miller flap, in which a New York Times reporter is found in contempt for not revealing sources. download BNet_Gateway_Editor
Miller happens to be a really rotten poster girl for the cause of shield laws for journalists and their confidential sources because (a) her reporting is tarnished, (b) so many from both political perspectives can't stand her, and (c) this case involves a crime regarding the outing of a CIA operative. I anticipated all those objections when I wrote the post below; still, the objections played back even louder in the comments and other blogs. download BNet_Gateway_Editor
But let's not lose sight of a bigger principle here -- and, interestingly, how that principle is clashing with a new and spreading value in our society:download BNet_Gateway_Editor
It's about the value of secrecy vs. the value of transparency.download BNet_Gateway_Editor
The belief in the value of shield laws covering reporters and their confidential sources is really about the value of uncovering secrets in government. But it's also about being able to keep one's identity secret in that process. And it's about separating government from media -- and journalism and speech -- so that the press and the people can keep watch on their government. The assumption here is that in some cases, if a source can't keep his or her identity confidential, he or she will not risk revealing information to reporters -- information that the people should know. The irony, then, is that it takes secrets to uncover secrets. Is that a bargain worth making? Journalists believe it is. So do I. download BNet_Gateway_Editor
But that clashes with the culture of transparency. Oh, that culture certainly believes that government should be open and transparent; like journalism, it abhors government secrecy. But that culture does not trust those who would not identify themselves and be open, including sources of information about government. I buy that, too. I have said often on this weblog that I put less credence in people who won't put their names on their comments or weblogs. They don't have the courage of their convictions, the balls of their blogs. download BNet_Gateway_Editor
But I still think it is necessary in a democratic society to keep a watch on government -- for how else can we, the people, manage our government? Investigation of government on behalf of the people is still one of journalism's missions. And shielding confidential sources -- used when absolutely necessary (and these days, yes, confidentiality is overused and abused) -- is still a necessary tool of that mission. download BNet_Gateway_Editor
Does that change in this new world where a confidential source inside government could, rather than going to a reporter, just put up an anonymous web page revealing the secret? (And, by the way, does that mean ISPs now need a shield law?) Perhaps. But there is still a value in society in having journalists whose job it is to watch government. And it does not serve democracy to have government threatening journalists -- broadly defined to include you and me -- with harassment and jail. There are limits to shield laws and among those limits should be the investigation of crimes and the security of the nation (both of which make the Miller case, again, an imperfect cause celebre). Still, I hold the principle unchanged: watching government is necessary; confidential sources can be a necessary tool in that task; government intimidation of its watchdogs is dangerous. download BNet_Gateway_Editor
What does change in this culture of transparency is that confidentiality reduces credibility. We had good reason not to trust Dan Rather's then-confidential source. We have reason not to trust reporters who rely only on the unnamed. We don't fully trust those who won't reveal themselves. download BNet_Gateway_Editor
: : :download BNet_Gateway_Editor
: And now consider the matter of government regulation of political speech: McCain-Feingold, fairness doctrines, 527 loopholes, contribution limits....download BNet_Gateway_Editor
It took me a while, but I have come to realize that this, too, is a matter of free speech. Political speech, of all speech, should not be regulated by politicians. download BNet_Gateway_Editor
Political parties and candidates should be regulating their own speech -- deciding whose money to take and what messages they endorse -- under pressure from suspicious citizens. In fact, in a world without government regulation of political speech, I believe it would become more important for parties and candidates to establish and live by standards themselves. Now, they merely hide behind the technicalities of the latest campaign laws ("I didn't make that ad; a 527 did"). And I believe the laws skew speech so that, for example, money that might go to a candidate to be spent responsibly now instead goes to a fringe group to be used destructively. download BNet_Gateway_Editor
Next, says Matt Stoller, the government will try to regulate political speech on the internet.download BNet_Gateway_Editor
: : :download BNet_Gateway_Editor
: And, of course, how could I rant at such length without ranting about the FCC and Howard Stern, Janet Jackson's tit, and Fox's suggestions of sex. download BNet_Gateway_Editor
It is utterly wrong, completely unconstitutional, and fundamentally insulting for the FCC, both parties in Congress, and the White House to think that they should protect us from ourselves and have the ability to fine companies and citizens millions of dollars for uttering even one word. According to the FCC, we are ruined and corrupted by:
1. Fart sounds.
2. Titanium tits.
3. Whipped cream.
4. F words.
Who do they think we all are, their children? And who do they think they are, our parents?download BNet_Gateway_Editor
: : :download BNet_Gateway_Editor
The principle could not be simpler and the founding fathers could not have said it more directly: Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances. Government must have no role in our speech and by extension our media. It must allow unfettered speech in any medium, including broadcast. It must not use government power and the threat of prison to intimidate and chill speech and investigation of government. It must not use government power and the threat of bankruptcy to control the content of our media. It must not limit political speech. It must let us make free use of our greatest national resource, our spectrum. download BNet_Gateway_Editor
Chunky
: Frank Rich is a Cuisinart columnist missing a blade: He keeps trying to mix things up but leaves them chunky. download BNet_Gateway_Editor
Tomorrow's column is an odd mix of journalistic nostalgia (ah, for the days of All the President's Men when people didn't trust government and did trust reporters) ... and political paranoia (comparing Nixon and Bush, whose administration is, Rich says, "showing symptoms of a precancerous Watergate syndrome") ... and press paranoia (he says the Judith Miller case is "all the scarier for being only one piece in a pattern of media intimidation that's been building for months now") ... download BNet_Gateway_Editor
Getaloada this bit of bad mixology: The current White House has been practicing pre-emptive media intimidation to match its policy of pre-emptive war. Its F.C.C. chairman, using Janet Jackson's breast and Howard Stern's mouth as pretexts, has sufficiently rattled Viacom, which broadcast both of these entertainers' infractions against "decency," that its chairman, the self-described "liberal Democrat" Sumner Redstone, abruptly announced his support for the re-election of George W. Bush last month. "I vote for what's good for Viacom," he explained, and he meant it. He took this loyalty oath just days after the "60 Minutes" fiasco prompted a full-fledged political witch hunt on Viacom's CBS News, another Republican target since the Nixon years. Well, I hate what the FCC is doing but I doubt that is intimidating Sumner Redestone in the voting booth. download BNet_Gateway_Editor
And let's not forget, Frank, that Dan Rather f'ed up royally -- and you'd be wise to both acknowledge that and to be ashamed on behalf of our profession for what that did to the credibility of our craft. I'd say that what happened to Rather was not a "full-fledged political witch hunt" but rather a good dose of fact-checking his ass. And Rather's detractors and other honest souls would remind you that this was a case of Rather attacking Bush, not the other way around. What a mishmosh. download BNet_Gateway_Editor
He then goes on to act as if Disney's refusal to distribute F 9/11 was the result of White House intimidation. Here, too, I share distaste for Disney but this is offered with absolutely no reporting, no connection, only paranoid conjecture. This is, to put it mildly, shoddy journalism. download BNet_Gateway_Editor
At this moment when The Times is trying so hard to stand behind the First Amendment in the Miller case, this kind of sloppy innuendo only weakens The Times' position. download BNet_Gateway_Editor
Of course, Rich goes on to say that Fox and the Murdoch empire are on the other side. He points a single story where he thought a single fact was placed too many paragraphs down. Oh, gawd, let's not start that analysis of Times stories; that will go on for eternity. Hell, I don't have enough bits and bandwidth to fisk the entire Rich column. download BNet_Gateway_Editor
Much ado about nothing, indeed
: CBS Marketwatch's Frank Barnako -- until now blogsmart -- posts a blogdumb column item with a pathetically inept analysis from Hitwise of blogs' size and influence: Excuse me for asking. But why has MSNBC's Keith Olbermann started a blog about politics? Almost no one reads them. download BNet_Gateway_Editor
These opinion-laden, e-journals draw only fleeting notice from Web surfers. But they have captured the interest of thousands of reporters who have written about bloggers and their supposed impact on the Bush-Kerry campaign. Google News, today, returned almost 4,000 citations for a search using "blog" as the keyword. download BNet_Gateway_Editor
"The audience reach of even the largest of the political blogs is tiny compared to other major political news sources," said Max Kalehoff, a spokesman for HitWise, a Web traffic measurement and analysis company. In a recent week, traffic to WashingtonPost.com was almost 650 percent greater than that of the most popular such blog.download BNet_Gateway_Editor
HitWise's rankings of half a dozen blogs tell a very quiet story. The most popular site, DailyKos.com, accounts for.0051 percent of Internet visits each day. (HitWise only reports the percentage of visits to sites/categories versus all Internet visits, or market share, Kalehoff said.) InstaPundit.com was second with .0027 percent. Even the profane and popular Wonkette.com, profiled in The New York Times, Time and the Washington Post, limps in with .0011 percent. Did this jerk Kalehoff ever attend a stats class? Hell, did he make it out of sixth grade math? download BNet_Gateway_Editor
Comparing a blog to the total traffic of the Washington Post is absurdly stupid and misleading; it's number fraud. The Washington Post is among the top news sites online (ranked two above my own company here). Choosing that site as the basis of comparison for single blog sites is loading the deck with dynamite. I'll bet if you compared the blogs this twit names with individual columnists on The Post -- which would be a far more logical comparison, would it? -- these blogs would win over most of the old guys. And I can (but won't) name many national magazine and local newspaper sites that don't get the traffic and audience of these bloggers. download BNet_Gateway_Editor
To measure a blog's traffic against all the traffic for the entire Internet is absurdly idiotic. You know what? If you measured the Washington Post's readership against all reading in a day, it wouldn't blip either. download BNet_Gateway_Editor
Furthermore, it's a mistaken, mass-media, old-media analysis to look only at the top of the power-law curve for what's successful in new media. In old media, only the top guys could afford to own the printing presses and broadcast towers. In citizens' media, anybody can (and will) publish. The mass medium is death. The mass of niches has taken over media. So this alleged analyis shows a shocking ignorance of the new dynamics of media from a company that is allegedly measuring it (and charging customers for that service and analysis). download BNet_Gateway_Editor
In addition, this is a medium of influencers. And so, it doesn't necessarily matter if some blogs have a large number of readers if they have the right readers. Yes, there are blogs that are read in the White House and in Congress and in major media organizations; their influence is disproporational to their circulation. I can name many print publications that are just like that; they, too, would look small next to the Washington Post but that doesn't prove squat. download BNet_Gateway_Editor
: See, too, this story saying that 20 percent of newspaper readers read blogs. That's a huge number for such a new medium. download BNet_Gateway_Editor
Ad notes
: Damn, I wish Ad Age would put up its content so I could at least quote it. The last two issues had some interesting stuff:download BNet_Gateway_Editor
: Starcom, a smart and big agency, wants more accountability data from magazines about reader engagement. For "connectivity," Starcom asks magazines to show how publications provide the right environment for marketers to connect with their target. The agency looks for alignment of context, contact, and content, according to a consumer magazine executive who's familiar with ACE.download BNet_Gateway_Editor
To measure "engagement," Starcom asks magazines to show that "readers regularly interact with your publication and internalize its information," the executive said. Well, now, doesn't that sound like a perfect prescription for the value of citizens' media... We provide context at a very personal level, contact that is provable, and relevant content and we demonstrate that our "readers" interact with our "publications": look at the comments, look at the links. download BNet_Gateway_Editor
: Out of last weekend's Association of National Advertisers' confab in Florida, came a dawning realization among advertisers that they aren't in control anymore and neither are media companies. Consumers are. download BNet_Gateway_Editor
"The consumer is the official programmers," Yahoo CEO Terry Semel told the group. Well, yeah. See: download BNet_Gateway_Editor
Jarvis' First Law: Give the people control of media, they will use it. download BNet_Gateway_Editor
The corollary: Don't give the people control of media, and you will lose. download BNet_Gateway_Editor
Yes, control is what media is all about -- has been since the invention of the remote control and on through the cable box, the VCR, the TiVo, and now media-creation tools. It hit TV first thanks to those electronic devices. It hit print media next, thanks to citizens' media. And now it's hitting advertising. download BNet_Gateway_Editor
And it's fascinating to see the industry grapple with this. Grabble, they did, at the ANA as some advertisers embraced this idea of consumer control -- "Truly the consumer wants to be in control and we want to put them in control," said Roger Adams of GM -- while others resist. Again, I wish I could link to and quote from the AdAge stories (hint, hint). download BNet_Gateway_Editor
: The new populism in advertising is reflected in an ironic way in eBay's new campaign. Says AdAge: Following a rash of news stories about the potential for fraud, eBay is shifting strategies with a new campaign centered on one of its cultural tenants: "People are good." Yes, we are.
download BNet_Gateway_Editor
October 15, 2004
Ads subtract
: I can't find the story now but I saw an article this week about Clear Channel creating a new division to help local advertisers create better, shorter commercials. The service is free and it's not mandatory, but Clear Channel hopes advertisers improve their ads. download BNet_Gateway_Editor
The reason wasn't stated but it's obvious: Ads are a detraction from commercial radio as it competes with ad-free satellite. download BNet_Gateway_Editor
And local radio ads do pretty much suck. Haven't you changed the station just because the ads sucked?download BNet_Gateway_Editor
This is why democracy works
: As I always say, the trends that threaten to eat TV never do. Tabloid shows, blooper shows, variety shows, soap operas... all dead. download BNet_Gateway_Editor
Now reality shows are clutching their throats and choking. download BNet_Gateway_Editor
Bravo! A fall season with a glut of reality shows has led to several cancellations, weak entrants and — more disturbing for network executives — declines for established programs, according to Steve Sternberg, executive vice president and director of audience analysis at Magna Global USA. download BNet_Gateway_Editor
NBC's "The Apprentice," the megahit featuring real-estate magnate Donald Trump, has witnessed a decline in ratings in its second season, along with returning shows "The Bachelor" and "Fear Factor." download BNet_Gateway_Editor
"The danger in relying too much on reality shows, unlike scripted series, is you never know when it's going to suddenly decline," Sternberg wrote in a new report. We always OD and then always recover and move onto the next addiction. download BNet_Gateway_Editor
Spiers takes over media
: I had coffee yesterday with Elizabeth Spiers, the new editor-in-chief of MediaBistro.com. download BNet_Gateway_Editor
It's a great move. You know I've been a fan of Elizabeth's through her Gawker and New York lives. She's scary-smart and imaginative and, shall we say, discriminating. She will bring a new perspective on media and that will put MediaBistro on the map. download BNet_Gateway_Editor
I had lunch a few weeks ago with MediaBistro founder Laurel Touby, right as she was planning to start blogs and hire CableNewser (another smart move). She is smart and aggressive and will make the most of this. download BNet_Gateway_Editor
So congrats to both. I look forward to what comes next. download BNet_Gateway_Editor
Was it something I said?
: Well, yes, it probably was.... Glenn Reynolds is in the neighborhood and he doesn't even call. Don't leave without having some paella, Glenn. download BNet_Gateway_Editor
October 14, 2004
Taking over the world
: Google's desktop search beta is out. download BNet_Gateway_Editor
Nuisances
: Tom Friedman derails this morning. download BNet_Gateway_Editor
He's agreeing with Kerry's absurd longing for a day when terrorism is a "nuisance." Excuse me, I don't know about you, but I dream of going back to the days when terrorism was just a nuisance in our lives. Terrorism will never be a nuisance to the people who are still killed and terrorized by these criminals. Is murder just a "nuisance" when the numbers decline? Is tyranny just a "nuisance" when it rules strange little countries instead of big Europe and Russia? Is there an acceptable level of terrorism? Of course not. download BNet_Gateway_Editor
And if you long for the days when terrorism was just a nuisance to us then -- according to the besainted 9/11 Commission -- you long for a day when we were stupid, when we could and should have gone after terrorists and because we didn't, we made ourselves vulnerable to attack. download BNet_Gateway_Editor
Friedman then accuses Bush of politicizing 9/11 and changing America. But he has that reversed, of course. download BNet_Gateway_Editor
9/11 changed America, Mr. Friedman. By saying that Bush changed America, you are in essence blaming 9/11 and its aftermath on him. That's offensive. That is just the kind of divisive behavior you now accuse Bush of. That is politicizing 9/11.download BNet_Gateway_Editor
Friedman supported the war in Iraq -- hell, created a doctrine to support it, a doctrine he convinced me to support. But now he tries to slink away from that. He doesn't quite deny it; he just conveniently ignores his active role in this policy. But you can't back away, Mr. Friedman; the fact that you, in The New York Times, gave liberal justification for getting rid of Saddam and creating a beachhead for Democracy in the Middle East surely was a factor in the White House's decision to go ahead: Hell, they said, if even a Times liberal agrees....download BNet_Gateway_Editor
Kerry and Friedman are both wrong to long for the day when terrorism is merely a "nuisance." Friedman is wrong to long for a day when terrorism no longer inconveniences him, as he whines in this column. They're in essence wishing it had never happened so we had never changed. Well, dream on. I, too, wish that Hitler had never happened and that those six million Jews had lived and that Israel were not the excuse for terrorism in the Middle East. I, too, wish that Communism had never taken over the other half of the world and changed our lives and relationships for my generation. I, too, wish that AIDS had never occurred and made sex dangerous. Oh, I could continue this litany forever, couldn't you? But it won't change a thing, will it? download BNet_Gateway_Editor
9/11 happened. Life changed. To wish it weren't so will accomplish nothing. Or worse, it will accomplish something: This thinking will make us complacent and vulnerable.download BNet_Gateway_Editor
No, I don't long for the day when terrosim is a nuisance.download BNet_Gateway_Editor
I long for the day when terrorism is history.
download BNet_Gateway_Editor
Would you go to jail for your weblog?
: Let's say you know something the government wants to know. Maybe you published it on your blog, maybe you didn't. The government subpoenas you. They go after your personal records. They use lawyers to harass you and possibly bankrupt you. They threaten you with contempt if you don't tell. download BNet_Gateway_Editor
Would you go to jail for your weblog?download BNet_Gateway_Editor
And if you feared you might go to jail, would you continue to go out of your way to ask tough questions, dig up sensitive information, publish controversial views, or challenge the government? download BNet_Gateway_Editor
Or would you feel the chill and just give up and blog about your cat?download BNet_Gateway_Editor
It's not a hypothetical question. It's very real. It's happening to The New York Times' Judith Miller right now. It could happen to you.download BNet_Gateway_Editor
No matter what you think of journalists in general and The Times and Miller in particular -- and no matter what your view is of the Valerie Plame story that brought them to this corner -- you could find yourself in the same predicament as Miller. You, too, can be threatened with government subpoenas and contempt and jail for what you write and even what you don't write. download BNet_Gateway_Editor
For you, my fellow bloggers, are journalists, too. You uphold the public's right to know and citizens' right to challenge authority. What happens to Miller and other journalists happens to you and me. In fact, without big media companies and their influence, attorneys, and industry pressure behind you, the frightening truth is that you are more vulnerable than Miller.
___download BNet_Gateway_Editor
On Sunday, New York Times publisher Arthur Sulzburger Jr. and chief executive Russell Lewis published an op-ed pleading for support for our First Amendment and explaining the Miller case: ... Because the government officials who revealed Valerie Plame's status as a C.I.A. operative to the press might have committed a crime in doing so, the Justice Department opened a federal criminal investigation to find whoever was responsible....download BNet_Gateway_Editor
On Aug. 12, Ms. Miller received a subpoena in which she was required to provide information about conversations she might have had with a government official in which the identity and C.I.A. connection of Mr. Wilson's wife [Plame] might have been mentioned. She received this subpoena even though she had never published anything concerning Mr. Wilson or his wife. This is not the only recent case in which the government has subpoenaed information concerning Ms. Miller's sources. On July 12, the same prosecutor sought to have Ms. Miller and another Times correspondent, Philip Shenon, identify another source....download BNet_Gateway_Editor
So, unless an appeals court reverses last week's contempt conviction, Judy Miller will soon be sent to prison. And, if the government succeeds in obtaining the phone records of Ms. Miller and Mr. Shenon, many of their sources - even those having nothing to do with these two government investigations - will become known....download BNet_Gateway_Editor
The press simply cannot perform its intended role if its sources of information - particularly information about the government - are cut off. Yes, the press is far from perfect. We are human and make mistakes. But, the authors of our Constitution and its First Amendment understood all of that and for good reason prescribed that journalists should function as a "fourth estate." As Justice Potter Stewart put it, the primary purpose of the constitutional guarantee of a free press was "to create a fourth institution outside the government as an additional check on the three official branches." ___download BNet_Gateway_Editor
So here's the next question: download BNet_Gateway_Editor
What would make you jeopardize your First Amendment rights as a citizen journalist?download BNet_Gateway_Editor
I know there are many complicated facets to the Plame story (which I will also confess I have not followed in detail or covered at all). I know that Miller is due considerable criticism for her handling of Iraq stories and The Times is due considerable criticism for its handling of her. I know that many of you don't like or trust or admire journalists or The Times or big media these days. But none of that is a reason to let the government jail and intimidate a citizen in a case such as this. download BNet_Gateway_Editor
For if we allow it to happen to her, it could happen to any of us. This is about our First Amendment and our right as citizens to question and investigate and challenge government and to use this, our new printing press, to do it. download BNet_Gateway_Editor
So The Times asks for our support to press Congress for stronger protection in the form of a federal shield law protecting journalists from revealing confidential sources. Without it, they say, "the public will be in the dark about the actions of its elected and appointed government officials. That is not what our nation's founders had in mind."
___download BNet_Gateway_Editor
But The Times also needs to realize that it must support our First Amendment rights as well. download BNet_Gateway_Editor
The Times and other big media need to recognize that you are a journalist, too, and what you create on your blog is journalism. The Times and big media need to promise to fight to include citizen journalists in the protections that professional journalists enjoy in our democracy. (I tried to make that an issue at the last Bloggercon and suggest we keep making it an issue.)download BNet_Gateway_Editor
This opens up a broader discussion between big media and citizens. download BNet_Gateway_Editor
First, in this case, there is a legitimate and necessary discussion to be had about protection of confidential sources. If a source lies, should you still protect that source? If a source violates the law (as is alleged in the Plame case), can and should you still protect that source? Where does your obligation to the truth and justice cross your obligation to your source? This is an important discussion -- though it shouldn't be occurring under threat of 18 months in prison.download BNet_Gateway_Editor
Second, The Times and big media need to realize that this is an issue of transparency: They tell us to trust them about sources. Well, we didn't trust Dan Rather's sources recently and we were right. So news organizations should use anonymous sources only when absolutely necessary to deliver the truth that otherwise could not be delivered. And they had better be prepared to have their own credibility questioned whenever they are not fully open and honest with their readers about the sources of news. Welcome to the culture of transparency. download BNet_Gateway_Editor
Third, we also need to remind journalists that the First Amendment isn't just about The Times and newspapers and reporters. It's about us, too. It's about Howard Stern as well. It's about protecting the speech of every citizen -- not just the privileged in media -- from government interference and chill and intimidation. I would like to see a few Times editorials and op-eds about the frightening performance of the FCC these days in defense of Stern and Fox and not just about the performance of one judge in defense of Judith Miller. download BNet_Gateway_Editor
Finally, we have the opportunity to sit at the same table with The Times and teach them that citizens can be colleagues in the Fourth Estate.
___download BNet_Gateway_Editor
So, you see, supporting The Times is not entirely altruistic. This is our chance to remind The Times that we are equal to them and deserve the same rights and protections and a voice. download BNet_Gateway_Editor
But this is also our chance to see that this isn't about "us" vs. "them." It's all about "us." download BNet_Gateway_Editor
We are all citizens excercising our rights under the First Amendment to protect and preserve our democracy.
___download BNet_Gateway_Editor
This post comes as a result of a conversation I had with a friend and professional colleague at The Times, Martin Nisenholtz, who believes that bloggers should be concerned about this case and should be discussing it. I took that conversation as a challenge. This is my answer. I also suggested that The Times should begin a conversation with their fellow journalists out here in the public. Among those with whom Martin spoke, Dave Winer plans to blog on this in the a.m. It begins. download BNet_Gateway_Editor
Over to you, fellow citizens, fellow journalists. download BNet_Gateway_Editor
: UPDATE: Glenn Reynolds turns the question around.download BNet_Gateway_Editor
October 13, 2004
Electoral boogie
: Tim Russert broke out his widdle white boards tonight. He says whoever wins two of three states -- Ohio, Pennsylvania, Florida -- will win. They'll each have to mop up small states (that their side won the last time) to bring it home. But Russert says it all comes down to those three big states. download BNet_Gateway_Editor
Mud media
: I had some fun on CNBC's Capitol Report tonight. The peg was election rage: all the nastiness that Michelle Malkin listed today (can't find a Post link) plus attacks on the other side.download BNet_Gateway_Editor
I kept trying to find and take the high road on the show. I said we can't judge the electorate by a few hotheads and lunatics. Nonetheless, I said, this election is more negative in the sense that people are voting against rather than voting for. Bush is no Reagan for the Republicans; Kerry is no Clinton for the Democrats. The host said that each side is trying to get votes out of fear of the other side. Right. download BNet_Gateway_Editor
They tried to say it's all about Iraq. I said that's too simplistic. There are many more issues here. download BNet_Gateway_Editor
I said the problem is that we're treating each other as enemies when we have a real enemy to fight. download BNet_Gateway_Editor
They tried to blame bloggers for the Bush-box-on-his-back story. I said we're on major media right now and we're wasting time talking about this crap instead of issues. download BNet_Gateway_Editor
Have no idea how it came off; no tape of it at home. I'm not soliciting reviews (I know I talk fast.... but I did talk slower). In any case, it was a fun segment. download BNet_Gateway_Editor
Debate, the final chapter
: I'm pissed we're not getting more debates. This is damned near the only time we've been discussing issues in this campaign. download BNet_Gateway_Editor
: The first question is a right one: Will our children and grandchildren ever live in a world as safe as the one we have known. (Read: Or will we try to convince ourselves that terrorism is a 'nuisance'?)download BNet_Gateway_Editor
Rather than giving an answer to how he will accomplish that, Kerry starts by attacking Bush on Iraq. Same Iraq line. Same cargo line. Same bin Laden line. Same, same, same. download BNet_Gateway_Editor
Bush says spreading democracy is a solution. "The Afghan people had an election this weekend, and the first voter was a 19-year-old woman." I agree with thatdownload BNet_Gateway_Editor
Domestic debate? It's the same as the international debate. It's about safety and terrorism. That is the issue. download BNet_Gateway_Editor
: Trivial observations: Kerry looks anemic; Bush looks sunburned. At least this time, one of them isn't standing at a kiddie podium. But by trying to equalize their heights, Bush looks as if he has a huge head, which ain't easy next to big-head Kerry. download BNet_Gateway_Editor
: Next question, a good one: How the f did we end up with this mess on flu vaccine. Bush says we cut off the contaminated supply. Actually, the Brits cut it off. "I haven't gotten a flu shot and I don't intend to." Well, I wish I could. He turns this into a trial-lawyer issue. No, it's an issue of bureaucrats f'ing up, big time. download BNet_Gateway_Editor
Bush downplays it. Kerry blows it up into the issue of health insurance. That's wrong, too.download BNet_Gateway_Editor
Bureacrats f'ed up. That's the story, boys. Take responsibility. Figure out how to fix it. Don't blather and blame. Manage. That's your only job as president. Management. download BNet_Gateway_Editor
: Kerry drinking game: "I have a plan." Mmmmm. Good merlot. download BNet_Gateway_Editor
Bush: "I want to remind everyone listening tonight [that is to say, wussies not watching baseball] that a plan is not a litany of complaints."download BNet_Gateway_Editor
: In the first debate, Bush scowled. In the second debate, he looked as if he'd been shot full of botox. In this debate, he looks like a dog ready to run sniff a butt.download BNet_Gateway_Editor
Kerry looks right now as if he is being goosed -- by a short-haired terrier's snout in his butt. download BNet_Gateway_Editor
: Kerry argues for pay-as-you-go budgeting. Well, amen.... if we believed that Kerry meant it. download BNet_Gateway_Editor
: Kerry: "Being the president talking about fiscal responsibility is a little about Tony Soprano talking about law and order." Trying too hard. Just the kind of nastiness we're fed up with out here. download BNet_Gateway_Editor
: I don't buy the only-president-to-lose-jobs jab, by the way. We had 9/11 in this administration. I blame job loss on that first. download BNet_Gateway_Editor
: Question to Kerry: "It is fair to blame this administration entirely for this loss of jobs." Right. download BNet_Gateway_Editor
: "There's a mainstream in American politics and you sit on the far-left bank," says Bush. That dog don't hunt for me, of course. Treating "liberal" as an insult is ridiculous; it's not something a president of the center does. download BNet_Gateway_Editor
: "Do you believe homosexuality is a choice?" That may sound like a good way to frame the question but it's not. This is a matter of human rights, not religous philosophy or sociological speculation.download BNet_Gateway_Editor
Bush: "I don't know." Kerry: "We're all God's children." download BNet_Gateway_Editor
The right answer: It doesn't matter, Bob. Gay people have rights, too. download BNet_Gateway_Editor
: On abortion, we repeat the exact same turf with Kerry: Altar boy... not legislate his religion... And Bush: Partial-birth abortion... culture of life... Same, same, same.download BNet_Gateway_Editor
: Health care: Bush says the consumer is not involved in the choice and that's the problem. Oh, no, it's far more fundamental and revolutionary than that. download BNet_Gateway_Editor
Kerry turns it into Canadian drugs. You know, I still don't understand how we can export drugs and then reimport them at lower costs. Makes no sense. download BNet_Gateway_Editor
Bush tries to say that Kerry will have government-run health care (read: Hillary alert!). Kerry says it's not government run. download BNet_Gateway_Editor
: MSNBC's Keith Olberman is live-blogging the debate. download BNet_Gateway_Editor
He tries too hard with a motif of scoring a fight. He should rely on substance, not gimmicks. download BNet_Gateway_Editor
: Weird moment as Bush says something about quoting media not being credible and then cutting himself off with an "oh, nevermind." Wacky.download BNet_Gateway_Editor
: I refuse to get into the Social Security debate. I'm denying that I'm eligible for AARP. I'm glazing, too, on immigration and the minimum wage. Sorry. download BNet_Gateway_Editor
: Bush says he will not have a litmus test for judges on Roe v. Wade. But he will (from the earlier debate) on "under God" in the pledge. Then he says that Kerry has a litmus test. download BNet_Gateway_Editor
Well, of course, they have litmus tests. The question is: which tests?download BNet_Gateway_Editor
: Now gun control. Now affirmative action. It's as if he has a presidential punchlist: Got to hit every basic issue quickly and without new turf. The citizens last week did a better job with their questions. download BNet_Gateway_Editor
: Now God. "Frankly, I think we have a lot more loving of our neighbors to do," says Kerry. Huh?download BNet_Gateway_Editor
: Nick Gillespie says (via Glenn) that both these guys are losing. download BNet_Gateway_Editor
No, we're losing. download BNet_Gateway_Editor
That's the bottom line of this debate so far: Damn, it's a bad choice. download BNet_Gateway_Editor
: I'll see your Republican and raise you a Democrat: Kerry brags about working with McCain, Bush about working with Kennedy. Divided, hell, we're not divided. download BNet_Gateway_Editor
Bush turns it around: "My opponent keeps mentioning John McCain." John McCain is for Bush, says Bush.download BNet_Gateway_Editor
: Bob does a weird riff on being surrounded by strong women with two daughters each. Each of these news anchors has to ask a bullshit question. Again, the citizens were better. download BNet_Gateway_Editor
Bush turns it into a joke about his language skills. Kerry turns it into a joke about "marrying up" and then into a sappy moment about his dying mom: "Remember: 'Integrity, integrity, integrity.'" Oh, man. download BNet_Gateway_Editor
: I expected Kerry to win this debate hands-down, given my views on domestic issues. I hoped it would shift the needle. But I still focused on the bad choice we have.download BNet_Gateway_Editor
: You want a score? Zero-zero in extra innings. download BNet_Gateway_Editor
: The only real conclusion from this debate is that we should have more debates -- for they are the only opportunities we have had to dwell on issues rather than mud and they have had big impact on the election -- and they should all be run by the citizens, not the journalists. download BNet_Gateway_Editor
: Three weeks now. Just three weeks. download BNet_Gateway_Editor
Speaking of jumping the shark...
: I think the 9/11 Commission Report has now jumped the shark, with its National Book Award nomination. This lovefest has officially gone too far. download BNet_Gateway_Editor
Jumping the snark
: The NY Sun -- if anybody noticed -- executes a ham-handed slam of Gawker media, talking to a list of Gawker's covetous competitors who are, of course, more than happy to nod their heads at the spin the reporter presents: that Gawker has jumped the shark. download BNet_Gateway_Editor
But, of course, the real bottom line here is that by thinking that this infant media thing deserves such front-page venom, the Sun is saying that Gawker deserves the attention. Which is to say that it has not jumped the shark. If it had jumped, it wouldn't deserve all the effort and play. download BNet_Gateway_Editor
It's not easy to snark a snarker. download BNet_Gateway_Editor
On TV
: As of now, I'm skedded to be on CNBC's Capitol show at 7 p.m. talking about election rage. Mud media. download BNet_Gateway_Editor
Watching Bush's back
: Salon is still speculating that Bush the lump on Bush's back was a wire. But this morning, Howard Stern said it's a bulletproof vest. Clearly, he knows about them and he said he could see just where the buckles were. But he guesses Bush doesn't want to admit wearing one. download BNet_Gateway_Editor
And we wonder why health-care costs skyrocket
: David Isenberg finds this tale of a doctor scalping flu shots in Boca: One man in the flu shot line Monday at Publix in the Garden Shops at Boca told a tale of trying to pay a doctor to get a flu shot for his mother.
“I offered the doctor $1,000,” the man, who did not want his name used, said. “He called me back and told me he would do it for $2,500. I asked him if he was crazy.” download BNet_Gateway_Editor
Buzzmaschine
: I wrote a piece for Netzeitung, the German net-only paper, about weblogs and journalism. I wish I'd been able to write it in German, but they translated it for me. Michael Maier, the editor of Netzeitung, asked me to write it after we talked. He understands citizens' media but other German journalists don't... yet. download BNet_Gateway_Editor
: And it's so nice to see oneself insulted in another language as a result. A commenter here calls me a bitter, old reactionary. That I can translate. download BNet_Gateway_Editor
: Now the Instapundit of Germany, der Schockwellenreiter, calls me a multi-purpose blogging weapon for the conservatives. I replied that I'm voting for Kerry, so that must make me a secret weapon. (If I did my translating correctly, that is.)download BNet_Gateway_Editor
: More German links here und hier. download BNet_Gateway_Editor
: Not that you should possibly care, since you've seen it all here before, but hte English version of the story is tucked behind that "more" link.download BNet_Gateway_Editor
Weblogs are the best thing to happen to journalism since the invention of word processing – only most journalists won’t admit it yet. download BNet_Gateway_Editor
Take American TV anchor Dan Rather. Within hours of broadcasting a report on President Bush’s military service -- based on what he said were newly uncovered memos -- bloggers exposed them as likely and clumsy forgeries. Rather complained of a “counterattack” by “partisan political operatives.” But what he should have done was say, “Thank you.” He should have seen that bloggers could help him get to the truth. After all, the truth is supposed to be the product of journalism, isn’t it?download BNet_Gateway_Editor
Bloggers are merely citizens with printing presses. This gives them new power.download BNet_Gateway_Editor
They can, in the words of blogger Ken Layne (at KenLayne.com) “fact check your ass.” download BNet_Gateway_Editor
They can report news. Bloggers have posted eyewitness accounts and photos about news events ranging from fires to political conventions and they are beginning to help newspapers get more local in their coverage. download BNet_Gateway_Editor
But most important, these people can simply tell us what the people are thinking. They can turn news from a one-way lecture into a two-way conversation. download BNet_Gateway_Editor
The wise journalist will listen to bloggers both to read the pulse of the people and simply to get story ideas. The wise blogger, meanwhile, will see that journalists work hard and even risk their lives to bring news to the people; they have the resources, training, access, and standards not everyone can have. Bloggers and journalists are not – or should not be – competitive. They are complementary. Together, they can improve news. download BNet_Gateway_Editor
I am both a journalist – now an internet executive, formerly a newspaper and magazine editor – and a blogger (at Buzzmachine.com). Blogging has changed my career and my life in many ways. I have developed a new respect for the wisdom of democracy and of the citizenry. I have learned a great deal from fellow bloggers around the world: I began reading and linking to Germany’s active blog scene a few years ago – getting into conversations and making friendships that would not have been possible otherwise. This led to my discovery of an incredible Iranian blogging culture (started at Hoder.com) and, in turn, to being present at the start of the Iraqi blog scene (see HealingIraq and BLOG TK, written by bloggers who are now running for the Iraqi National Assembly). On the local news sites I oversee, bloggers are giving us local news and new viewpoints we never could have afforded to gather on our own, helping us expand our coverage and audience. Thus, blogging may even help save journalism from the economic threats posed by the loss of advertising revenue from print and TV to online. download BNet_Gateway_Editor
In America, more than in Europe, we have believed that journalism should be objective, free of any viewpoint. But bloggers are teaching us that that is difficult unto impossible to achieve – and perhaps not even desirable. Here, FoxNews is beating all its competitors because it has a viewpoint on the news. On the other end of the political spectrum, London’s Guardian is gaining a large U.S. audience online because of its viewpoint. And blogs are popular because they are very much about their authors’ viewpoints. download BNet_Gateway_Editor
So bloggers are helping to teach us that perhaps we would be better off to reveal our own viewpoints as journalists, when we have them and when they are relevant. Not to reveal them – to have hidden agendas – is lying by omission. download BNet_Gateway_Editor
Following recent scandals in American journalism – including lying reporter Jayson Blair on the New York Times – there have been calls from bloggers especially for a new culture of transparency in American journalism: We need to reveal our prejudices and our processes, including the shocking news that reporters and editors are human and can make mistakes. download BNet_Gateway_Editor
I went to a meeting of leaders in American journalism to discuss just this topic and said: “This culture of transparency expects us to be transparent. And haven’t we always expected those we cover to be transparent? Haven’t we demanded openness, frankness, honesty and a hearing from the politicians, business people and civic leaders we cover? So it is our turn to open the shades, to reveal our process and prejudice, to engage in the conversation, to join in the community, to be transparent.” download BNet_Gateway_Editor
This is a byproduct, I believe, of the open-source revolution in technology. The open-source ethic prooves that together, we can improve a product – whether that is a computer program or news or democracy – if we openly and honestly share what we know with our fellow citizens. download BNet_Gateway_Editor
(I would like to hear whether weblogs are having an impact on German and European news media. If you have anything to share, please email me.)
download BNet_Gateway_Editor
October 12, 2004
Is Ronald next?
: McDonald's in the UK drops the golden arches for a golden question mark.download BNet_Gateway_Editor
Who's fake?
: Let's stop calling Jon Stewart, SNL, et al "fake news." download BNet_Gateway_Editor
It's not fake. It's merely funny. download BNet_Gateway_Editor
These days, who's to say what's fake, eh?download BNet_Gateway_Editor
Bandwidth envy II
: The French are beating us. The friggin' French! It's one matter for the Koreans to best us in bandwidth. But the French! Says Andrew Levy in the comments below (here and here): Hey Jeff, to feed your envy...download BNet_Gateway_Editor
I live in Paris now, and here's what I get for my 30 Euros per month: 6mbps downstream, 1mbps upstream. 100 channels of cable television VIA DSL, and free national phone calls VIA DSL, at no additional charge.download BNet_Gateway_Editor
A year ago, when I signed up, it was just 2mbps downstream with no TV, but for the same price. The market here is in a bandwidth war, with each ISP consistently raising the ante. Bandwidth go up, price stay same.download BNet_Gateway_Editor
Also, I pay absolutely zero to the former national phone monopoly, France Telecom, for a land line -- the DSL is completely independent of a land line (which is rendered unnecessary by the free national phone calls).download BNet_Gateway_Editor
It's not South Korea bandwidth, but it's a helluva lot more for a helluva lot less than in the USA. download BNet_Gateway_Editor
The Daily Stern: No suggestions, please, we're American
: The Federal Censorship Commission just fined Fox $1.2 million for suggesting sex. Yes, suggesting.download BNet_Gateway_Editor
By that standard, they might as well just go ahead and empty the piggybanks of every network, producer, star, advertiser, ad agency, magazine, and teenage boy in America. Suggesting sex is now a crime. Don't have to do it. Don't have to show it. Just have to suggest it, and you're going bankrupt. download BNet_Gateway_Editor
 The Censorchip Commission rules:
Turning to the instant case, we begin our analysis with an examination of whether the material at issue depicts or describes sexual or excretory organs or activities. As noted above, the April 7, 2003, episode of “Married By America” focuses on bachelor and bachelorette parties in a Las Vegas hotel. Fox contends that these scenes do not depict or describe sexual or excretory organs or activity, arguing that its editing of the broadcast avoided any such depictions. We reject Fox’s claim. Even with Fox’s editing, the episode includes scenes in which party-goers lick whipped cream from strippers’ bodies in a sexually suggestive manner. Another scene features a man on all fours in his underwear as two female strippers playfully spank him. Although the episode electronically obscures any nudity, the sexual nature of the scenes is inescapable, as the strippers attempt to lure party-goers into sexually compromising situations. I have just filed a Freedom of Information request to receive all 159 alleged complaints against Fox. I'll let you know what happens. download BNet_Gateway_Editor
Mad media
: Some more thoughts on the Okrent/Schwenk exchange I chronicle reluctantly below:download BNet_Gateway_Editor
Folks fire off angry emails ... blog posts ... columns ... talk-show calls ... talk-show rants ... movies ... ads ... billboards ... forum posts ... or whatever....download BNet_Gateway_Editor
It's mad media. download BNet_Gateway_Editor
And for a minute, mad media may feel good, like a sniper shot in an arcade game: Got 'im!download BNet_Gateway_Editor
But when and if civility returns, mad media feels disgusting and dirty. download BNet_Gateway_Editor
For you forget that you are dealing with a human being. download BNet_Gateway_Editor
Whether that human being -- your target -- is a reporter or a politician or a columnist or a blogger or a someone you see on TV or hear on radio or read online.... it's still a fellow human being. When you try to inflict pain, you usually will. download BNet_Gateway_Editor
You forget that at the peril of your own civility. download BNet_Gateway_Editor
That is why I've been obsessing on the mud of this campaign: because mud begets mud, it oozes and spreads and dirties everything and everyone around it; it splatters where you don't expect. It's hard to contain mud. download BNet_Gateway_Editor
In this campaign, far too many people have trafficked in mud: the candidates, their campaigns, newspaper columnists, news executives, news stars, bloggers, commenters, moviemakers, "special-interest groups"....download BNet_Gateway_Editor
And what have we all gotten from it? Dirtier and dirtier, that's all. download BNet_Gateway_Editor
In this little Okrent/Nagourney/Schwenk melodrama, we see a story that has gone too far. Schwenk should not have said what he said; it is impardonable to wish ill upon another man's child -- impardonable -- and Schwenk, sadly, then got a taste of his own bile when his own children got scared, something that also should not have happened. Nagourney and Okrent also would have had a far better moral to their story if they had indeed confronted Schwenk before the column was printed; I'll bet he would have seen the error of his words then -- when confronted at a human level -- and they could have used this to remind us all of our duty to act civilly to each other. Instead, they shot back. So now that's happening in public. Fine. Let it be a lesson to all:download BNet_Gateway_Editor
Mud gets you dirty.download BNet_Gateway_Editor
And in this time when the uncivilized of the world are attacking us, it is more important than ever that we preserve civilization and that we behave civilly to each other. download BNet_Gateway_Editor
As I said below, the real potential of this new medium is that it can cause conversation -- rather than shouting matches. With the immediacy and intimacy and urgency of this medium, we can and should talk and air our issues and we and democracy will be better off for it. I've seen it happen online (and I've seen it not happen); take your pick. You want to wallow in mud media or do you want to get somewhere? The choice is yours every time you hit the "send" button. download BNet_Gateway_Editor
Behave, boys and girls. Please, behave. download BNet_Gateway_Editor
The Daily Stern: Together again?
: Defamer has what it carefully labels a completely unverifiable rumor du jour: that Viacom is thinking about buying Sirius satellite to get Howard Stern back.download BNet_Gateway_Editor
Well, I'm a Stern fan but even I wouldn't say that they'd do it just to get Howard back. They'd do it to get a piece of the sky -- and the future -- so they're not stuck down on earth -- in the past. Sirius is the one to buy because it is cheaper and just took on a bunch of debt; a Viacom investment makes sense. download BNet_Gateway_Editor
Stern has been talking about ways the companies could work together. He also vowed this morning to stop talking about satellite or else he'll find himself off the air. (A colleague here thinks Viacom has to take him off six months before the end of his contract so he doesn't lead up to his Sirius launch with the full power of broadcast behind him.)download BNet_Gateway_Editor
Note also that Les Moonves was on Letterman last night, talking about Stern at length. download BNet_Gateway_Editor
Says Defamer: The crazy chatter further holds that Viacom co-president/future galactic dictator Les Moonves was so despondent over Stern's departure from his loving embrace (and over the possibility that the FM portion of his empire will be decimated) that Stern will now get to do his plain, old, over-the-air radio show in a new, commercial-free format. The upshot: Stern gets to keep his huge audience, Viacom finally shows they aren't taking him for granted, and Moonves gets Sirius' satellite pipleline to eventually deliver mind-control rays for his coming invasion Viacom content into the world's automobiles, assuring there is no place where we will be safe from Real World and Everybody Loves Raymond reruns. : UPDATE: The voice of experience says no way. download BNet_Gateway_Editor
Times fight
: In his Sunday column, Dan Okrent named one specific letter-writer for sending bile to The Times. I chose not to name the name (though I did Google him) because this is their fight and I don't know where this he-wrote-she-wrote will land (and I then took Okrent to task for more generally criticizing bloggers as the muse of poison-pen-letter writers). But the named name just left a comment on this blog and so I'll bring it out and quote him in full. First, here's what Okrent wrote: But before I turn over the podium, I do want you to know just how debased the level of discourse has become. When a reporter receives an e-mail message that says, "I hope your kid gets his head blown off in a Republican war," a limit has been passed. download BNet_Gateway_Editor
That's what a coward named Steve Schwenk, from San Francisco, wrote to national political correspondent Adam Nagourney several days ago because Nagourney wrote something Schwenk considered (if such a person is capable of consideration) pro-Bush. Some women reporters regularly receive sexual insults and threats. As nasty as critics on the right can get (plenty nasty), the left seems to be winning the vileness derby this year. Maybe the bloggers who encourage their readers to send this sort of thing to The Times might want to ask them instead to say it in public. I don't think they'd dare. And now here's what Steve Schwenk -- and I presume it to be him -- left as a comment below: For a man who bemoans the absence of civility on the left, Okrent sure has a strange way of dealing with it. download BNet_Gateway_Editor
He not only distorted what I said in my e-mail, but he called me a coward and told the entire country who I am and where I live after very effectively making me out to be a monster.download BNet_Gateway_Editor
My kids were terrified by the never ending phone calls and hang ups. My daughter asked what we should do if a mob came to the house to get us. And needless to say, the humiliation I now have to experience in responding to the repeated inquiries about whether that was really me will go one for weeks. Did I mention that I am looking for a job?download BNet_Gateway_Editor
The worst part is that the bastard completely distorted what my e-mail said and why I was complaining. He left out the 99% that raised legitimate questions and focused only on the sensational words of anger I regretfully used.download BNet_Gateway_Editor
Thanks, Daniel Okrent. And thanks, to you too, "Adam." I all but pleaded with them not to do it, that it would really harm me and was an unfair response to a private e-mail. Okrent's assistant hung up on me and Nagourney laughed me off, like it was his right to harm me since he works at the NYT and thinks he's a star.download BNet_Gateway_Editor
And they wonder why people are angry.
And you can see what I said below. download BNet_Gateway_Editor
Well, Schwenk does say that he is regretful about the words he used. download BNet_Gateway_Editor
The object lesson is that this is where anger and mud inevitably leads: to bile and venom and words or actions regretted. download BNet_Gateway_Editor
It is our role in this new medium of communication to get people communicating before it gets that far.download BNet_Gateway_Editor
: UPDATE: Some additional thoughts above the filthy fray, above. download BNet_Gateway_Editor
: Schwenk's open letter to Okrent. Chris Nolan's post about it. download BNet_Gateway_Editor
Bandwidth envy
: David Isenberg, who knows whereof he snarks when it comes to telecom, responds to my spectrum lust. (If the telcos wanted to, they could do 600 times faster for about the same price.)download BNet_Gateway_Editor
(Cable itself is poised to run 600 times faster than cable. Like dude? Moore's Law?)download BNet_Gateway_Editor
(Oh, right, I forgot that without scarcity there'll be nothing to sell.) download BNet_Gateway_Editor
Mask chic
: I'll predict that we'll soon see people wearing masks all around America. As soon as the flu starts spreading here and millions are left without vaccinations, every sneeze around us -- and I dodged plenty on the subway this morning -- is like a germ fart. I'll just bet folks will start wearing masks and we'll end up looking long Hong Kong under SARS.download BNet_Gateway_Editor
For shame, GoogleNews
: GoogleNews is pointing to this kind of crap.
download BNet_Gateway_Editor
October 11, 2004
Flashmobs arrive
: You know that a cultural trend has arrived (over the edge) when it becomes a prime-time plot: Just saw the beginning of CSI: Miami and a flash mob arrives on a golf course chanting something and throwing balls (leaving behind a dead 'mobber). The pretty star (her not him) had to explain to the dumbfounded guest start what a flash mob is. download BNet_Gateway_Editor
Can't win
: Right before he engages in the time-dishonored tradition of cat-blogging, James Wolcott proves Dan Okrent's point in his column yesterday: The NY Times can't win when it comes to accusations of political bias in this campaign. It's the Valley of Death: legions to the right of them, Wolcott to the left of them: The New York Times under editor Bill Keller is a political catastrophe. He's worse than Howell Raines, but smart enough to stay under the radar and not make Times coverage seem like his personal mission. Worth's worthless front page article is only one example of the manure-shoveling the paper has been doing on Bush's behalf, feeding the fury that paper's ombudsman Daniel Okrent finds so inexplicable. I'll let my friends Jim and Dan duke it out. download BNet_Gateway_Editor
Wolcott also tries to farm a chestnut I'd seen only in a comment on this blog, arguing that the Dean Scream and the Bush Snitfit were equivalent performances: I was naive enough to think that Bush's tantrum the other night at the townhall debate would get at least half of the coverage and mockery that Howard Dean's infamous scream received, which was foolish of me. Our great editors and pundits have apparently decided to avert their eyes from a rageaholic president with presenile dementia who needs to have answers fed to him from a boxy receiver because--well, at least he's not conceited. That's so much cat poop. The Dean Scream was an insane moment of overdone and staged joy in the midst of a loss. The Bush snit was about issues in a debate. Style v. substance, substance w/style. I happen to be a critic of both performers and so I'll have to say they were nothing alike. download BNet_Gateway_Editor
I want it and I want it now!
: The Times says that Verizon, my telco, is bringing fiber right up to the home to compete with cable access at higher speeds and competitive prices. download BNet_Gateway_Editor
A journalistic longjump
: Buried in a NY Times story on a battle over operating control of the German newsweekly Der Spiegel is this sleight-of-typing-hand: Spiegel, which also produces television programs and has a popular Web site, is solidly profitable. It had record circulation of 1.1 million in 2003, as a result of its skeptical coverage of the Iraq war. How is that said without attribution or justification? Could it be that circulation was up because of news? download BNet_Gateway_Editor
We have a guest
: If he can get is visa, Salam Pax is America-bound. download BNet_Gateway_Editor
Now for the Y Prize and the Z Prize...
: Now that the $10 million X Prize has motivated private geniuses and daredevils to go into space, wouldn't it be great to use some rich guy's money to motivate similar free-enterprise development in other areas that matter to our lives. Y not a $10 million Z Prize for:
: An AIDS vaccine.
: The first fuel-cel car driven across the U.S. (or any safe non-fossil-fuel alternative).
: The first city completely covered in broadband access for $25 per month or less.
: The head of Osama bin Laden.
: What else?
: download BNet_Gateway_Editor
The Dark Campaign III: Out of the mouths of...
: My 12-year-old son was watching news coverage of the debate and campaign this weekend when he said: It's all about them making fun of each other. The wisdom of youth. download BNet_Gateway_Editor
The Dark Campaign II: Double negative
: In the comments below, Laura Hagan delivers a fascinating analysis of my electoral paralysis. It's about the DOs vs the DON'Ts: Jeff, I sympathize....download BNet_Gateway_Editor
Your fears about Bush are (for the most part) about what he would DO that would be wrong. He would appoint right-wing judges; he would work to reverse Roe; he will, and has, worked to pass a Constitutional amendment to ban gay marriage. Stupid, divisive, wrongheaded moves all to pander to his Evangelical base.download BNet_Gateway_Editor
By contrast, you are afraid of what Kerry would NOT do. You fear he would NOT act against our enemies without the imprimatur of the French. That he would dither.... download BNet_Gateway_Editor
For the most part, what you fear from Bush cannot be implemented by the President alone. But what you fear from Kerry CAN be.download BNet_Gateway_Editor
Do you see what I'm getting at? Everything you fear from a Bush II administration, I do too. But he won't be able to do it -- for the most part -- without significant help from Congress. Right-wing judges? They would have to be confirmed. The Dems aren't even in the majority and they're managing to block the judges they want to block. The gay marriage amendment Bush wanted? DOA in Congress. I don't expect that to change under Bush II. What Bush wants that I don't like isn't going to be completely under his control.download BNet_Gateway_Editor
By contrast, there is no power on Earth that can force a Kerry administration to bypass the UN when it's necessary. There is no provision for Congress to sidestep the President and send troops. What you fear from a Kerry administration CAN be, and WILL be, implemented by the President alone. It will be solely up to John Kerry.... It's ever-more fascinating to me how everything in this campaign is analyzed in the negative. We vote to keep the other guy out of office. We vote to stop something from happening. We don't vote because we're enthusiastic. We don't vote because we want to accomplish something but just prevent something. download BNet_Gateway_Editor
: UPDATE: Fred Wilson adds: If this is the way the American electorate is viewing this election then the negative campaigning has taken over and people are losing their good judgement. We need to vote for what a President will do and not against what he might do. We need to realize that Congress will provide its required system of checks and balances over whomever gets elected. We need to pick a direction we want to go in and vote for it, not against it. download BNet_Gateway_Editor
The Dark Campaign I: Mudmen
: Sinclair Broadcasting -- the real right-wing TV -- has ordered its stations to preempt programming before the election to run an anti-Kerry show. To get around all that's right and holy and legal, the company is inviting Kerry to appear -- with full expectation that he won't, of course. download BNet_Gateway_Editor
Jay Rosen says Kerry should show up anyway for a final confrontation with the right wing: "America will watch. And if he can't win that broadcast, he does not deserve to win the prize." download BNet_Gateway_Editor
Jay expects me to disagree and I'm not going to disappoint him. I suspect that Jay thinks the nuts will expose themselves as nuts and Kerry will reveal himself to be above it all. download BNet_Gateway_Editor
But I don't think we should keep pandering to the fringes, the nuts, the nasties, the mudmen. They are like bratty children off their meds: They do it for the attention. Give them attention and they'll never behave. They deserve to be ignored and, in due course, they will go overboard and burn up like the latest trend in reality TV. download BNet_Gateway_Editor
I think that Jay wishes for a Joseph-McCarthy-"Have-you-no-shame" moment. I wish for that, too. But I fear it will backfire. Attention to these guys is like more plutonium to a chain reaction. download BNet_Gateway_Editor
So how do we stop the nuts? How do we hose down the mudmen? By ignoring the lunatic fringes and paying attention instead to the wisdom of the crowd -- the essence of democracy. download BNet_Gateway_Editor
October 10, 2004
Instadebate
: Cameron Marlow fed the debate transcript into Microsoft's summarizing machine to find the key messages in 100 words or less....download BNet_Gateway_Editor
Sunday
: Daughter's birthday today; been out; blogging light, as it should be. Back later. download BNet_Gateway_Editor
October 09, 2004
These Times
: Public Editor Dan Okrent tackles the question of campaign bias in The Times: In fact, I can find many things to criticize in The Times's election coverage. I'm as interested in the inside baseball of campaigns as the next politics nerd, but the paper's obsessive attention to backroom maneuvers and spin-room speculation obscures, rather than enhances, my understanding of the candidates. Much seems directed not at readers but at the campaign staffs and other journalists. The chronic overreliance on anonymous comments from self-serving partisans in news stories is equally maddening. (I prefer the pieces tagged "News Analysis" or "Political Memo," where at least we can hear the sound of the writer's own voice, and take into account the writer's apparent views.) He goes on to say: Here's the question for a public editor: Is The Times systematically biased toward either candidate?download BNet_Gateway_Editor
No....download BNet_Gateway_Editor
If there's a commissariat at The Times ordering up coverage to help or hurt a specific candidate, it's doing a lousy job; close reading shows bruises administered to each (and free passes handed out) in a pattern adapted from Jackson Pollock. Okrent says that often, bias is in the eye of the beholder and, of course, he's right. Conspiracies are never as evident and easy as their promoters believe. download BNet_Gateway_Editor
Okrent then pins objectivity-envy on the wrong parties: Those readers who long for the days of absolutely untinted, nothing-but-the-facts newspapering ought to have an Associated Press ticker installed on the breakfast table. Newspapers today and especially this newspaper are asking their reporters and editors to go deep into a story, and when and where you go deep is itself a matter of judgment. And every judgment, it appears, offends someone. I'd argue that it's not the readers who are guilty of nostalgia for some fabled but fictional day of objective journalism. Those people are watching FoxNews because it has a viewpoint and clicking to The Guardian because it has a different viewpoint and writing and reading blogs because they have viewpoints. It's the journalists, instead, who keep singing the impossible dream -- and some would say, selling the fraud -- objectivity. It's the readers and bloggers who are demanding transparency of perspective and process. The journalists are the ones resisting that. download BNet_Gateway_Editor
Finally, Okrent quite properly goes after critics who turn vicious -- even naming one. Fine. But then he tars all bloggers with that same brush: Maybe the bloggers who encourage their readers to send this sort of thing to The Times might want to ask them instead to say it in public. I don't think they'd dare. Not fair, my friend, and not right. There are bad bloggers as there are good bloggers, bad readers as there are good readers, bad journalists as there are good journalists. If we don't buy the broad conspiratorial strokes regarding journalists at The Times, then we shouldn't spread them regarding these new critics, bloggers. If you have complaints about specific bloggers, then name them. Otherwise, don't pour us all into the same bucket. download BNet_Gateway_Editor
It's a good column, Dan, until that last graph. download BNet_Gateway_Editor
The will to live
: Ken Bigley, the murdered British hostage in Iraq, escaped his captors but was hunted down and then killed. download BNet_Gateway_Editor
Democracy is big news, damnit
: We have troubled, questionable, even corrupted elections filled with conflict in Florida and Chicago and New Jersey and all over the United States of friggin' America. So why should be we the least bit surprised that there are some troubles and conflicts in a nation that has never had democracy and has been ruled by warlords and communists and religious fascists, Afghanistan?download BNet_Gateway_Editor
I tried last night to find a positive link to a new story about the Afghan election today. Couldn't find it. Today, the news isn't much different. Ohmygod, the ink on the thumbs isn't indelible! Well, forget it, then, let's bring back the Taliban. Jeesh.download BNet_Gateway_Editor
This is a big deal: Democracy has come to a land and a people for the first time, a land where they were bombing Buddha and hiding women and plotting mass murders against us. This is good news. download BNet_Gateway_Editor
Reuters' headline: Afghan poll mired in turmoil. BBC headline: Afghan vote ends in controversy. Newsweek's headline: We don't recognize the results. Washington Post headline: Afghan candidates declare results 'invalid'. Washington Times: Boycott mars Afghanistan's first election. download BNet_Gateway_Editor
This is more like it: News.com from Australia: Joyous Afghans cast their vote. And go read Instapundit on Afghanistan and see the pictures of democracy's birth. download BNet_Gateway_Editor
This is good news, damnit. download BNet_Gateway_Editor
One-person poll
: Here's where I stand after last night's debate:download BNet_Gateway_Editor
Ouch. Sorry. But the fence is hurting my ass. Yes, it's a little worse on the left cheek, since I'm leaning that way. Thanks for asking. download BNet_Gateway_Editor
Last night's debate didn't change my thinking or my one-person poll percentages.download BNet_Gateway_Editor
It only clarified my confusion.download BNet_Gateway_Editor
When it comes to homeland security and the war, I lean strongly toward Bush -- especially since John Kerry has started doing his Howard Dean imitation. I am a hawk on homeland security. In Iraq, I believe we must follow-through bringing security and democracy there, both out of moral obligation and out of enlightened self-interest. The reason I was comfortable with Kerry as the Democratic nominee was precisely because he voted for the war. Now I am uncomfortable with his talk of building coalitions before we act. Oh, I know, he has said that he'd still reserve the right to take preemptive action, but he has now set his expectations; he is expected to go talk to the French first or else he'll suffer no end of nya-nyaing from his own side and that gives me no confidence. I am afraid he is going to wimp out when courage matters. No, I'm not delighted with Bush's execution in Iraq. But I have more confidence in him to attack the people who would attack us.download BNet_Gateway_Editor
When it comes to domestic issues, I lean strongly toward Kerry, for reasons that are already clear in the Issues2004 posts and will be clearer as I get back to my homework and post more. In the next debate on domestic issues, I expect to agree with him most of the time -- but not all the time -- and so I expect no surprises. download BNet_Gateway_Editor
After sleeping on (and through it) last night's debate, what bothers me most about Bush is religion. He won't appoint a Supreme Court justice who won't keep the words "under God" in the pledge of allegiance; he might as well say he won't appoint a justice who can't hum along to a John Ashcroft hymn. He won't allow expansion of fetal stem cell research even though it could save lives -- and he says he values life. He would ban abortion and gay unions if he could. That's all because of his religious beliefs. Compare that with Kerry's religious doctrine last night: He's a Catholic but he does not believe in legislating his religious beliefs on the nation. You could say that's a pretzel twist of convenience but I say it's the right doctrine in a country that values protecting religion by separating it from the state. download BNet_Gateway_Editor
The same determination to do what's "right" in foreign affairs -- protecting and nurturing democracy and fighting terrorism and fanaticism -- is what I fear in George Bush when it comes to imposing religion on government. We're not electing a pope here. We're electing the executive who should run the government. The president is not the leader of our souls but the leader of our bureacuracy and we forget that at the peril of our Constitution.download BNet_Gateway_Editor
OK, so now ask me which is more important -- homeland security or domestic issues. And, yes, these days, I will say homeland security. Is it so important it overrides all other issues? Well, that's a game of odds, isn't it? Do I believe that attacks are so likely -- and that Bush will deal with them so much more firmly -- that it outweighs my own views on issues that matter greatly, even separation of church and state, which I take as an American creed as holy as free speech? download BNet_Gateway_Editor
Or look at it another way: Kerry scares me some one the most important issue, homeland security. But Bush scares me even more on so many other issues, including his imposition of his religious beliefs in social issues. download BNet_Gateway_Editor
So where do I stand? Undecided? No. Soft? Yes. download BNet_Gateway_Editor
I don't pretend that you should care one iota where I stand. But in this transparent world, we do believe in getting naked, politically speaking, don't we, since that colors everything else we write on the issues. So I hope you enjoyed my little post-debate strip show. That's where I stand.download BNet_Gateway_Editor
Confused.download BNet_Gateway_Editor
: UPDATE: Neil McIntosh of The Guardian says....download BNet_Gateway_Editor
The Daily Stern: Indecent wack-a-mole
: The indecent indecency bill was dropped and a day later it's baaaack.download BNet_Gateway_Editor
The original bill was dropped because of cultural greed on the part of legislators who kept taking it farther and farther, adding bigger fines and fining more people and including cable and including violence and going after media consolidation and going after broadcast licenses. It became the He-Man-Media-Haters' bill. Something went too far for enough people that it couldn't make it through conference and onto the President's desk.download BNet_Gateway_Editor
But last night, another version was introduced and it's just as heinous to the First Amendment and your free speech, for it will fine individuals up to $3 million per day for saying something the government vaguely considers offensive. As of Friday evening, the proposal in discussion would allow the Federal Communications Commission to fine a station a maximum of $500,000 a violation, up from a maximum of $32,500 at present, with a limit of $3 million each 24-hour period for each corporation. In addition, performers, and not just the broadcasters, could be penalized. : More detailed Bloomberg report here; Reuters here. download BNet_Gateway_Editor
: Here is the message I just sent to my New Jersey senators and representative: Please vote against the revived indecent indecency bill. Fining individuals to the point of bankruptcy for speech that is considered offensive under vague government rules is chilling to free speech, offensive to the First Amendment, and clearly unconstitutional. download BNet_Gateway_Editor
A singer's breast or a race-car driver's s-word or a radio man's fart is not dangerous to America. This bill is. Have the courage to stand up up against the Brownback militia. download BNet_Gateway_Editor
I am a media executive in New Jersey and fear for the First Amendment. download BNet_Gateway_Editor
Senator [Corzine/Lautenberg], please protect the First Amendment. Send a note to your senator. download BNet_Gateway_Editor
GoogleNews spreads
: I think this is new: GoogleNews now has a pulldown ontop letting you switch among 15 nations' news. download BNet_Gateway_Editor
October 08, 2004
The debate
: At this point, the discussion in Iraq is forging no new ground. It's repetitive. This is a rerun with motion added. download BNet_Gateway_Editor
: "That answer almost made me want to scowl." Best line Bush has had in either debate. download BNet_Gateway_Editor
Better than scowling is getting pissed and cutting off Charlie Gibson.download BNet_Gateway_Editor
Otherwise, the guy is doing mental botox. He's doing everything he can not to move a single facial muscle.download BNet_Gateway_Editor
: "I hear there's rumors on the internets that we're going to have a draft," says the Bushes. "We're not going to have a draft. Period." They can't repeat that enough. And he repeated it: "We're not going to have a draft so long as I'm the President." Kerry said, "I don't support a draft."download BNet_Gateway_Editor
: Kerry will never use the phrase "global test" again but he keeps doing the alliance tango and that keeps bothering me. We cannot hinge our defense and policy on the French. download BNet_Gateway_Editor
: Both Kerry and Gibson mucked it up: It's not a question of if but a question of when, guys. Get it straight. download BNet_Gateway_Editor
: Bush should be bragging about tomorrow's election in Afghanistan. Kerry should be acknowledging the value of building democracy in the world. download BNet_Gateway_Editor
: "The National Journal named Senator Kennedy the most liberal senator of all," says Bush. download BNet_Gateway_Editor
Uh, don't we mean Senator Kerry. download BNet_Gateway_Editor
That's OK. They do look like, those guys from Mass. download BNet_Gateway_Editor
: Wonkette says: "Also: Kerry is the first presidential candidate in history to go out of his way to remind people he's a lawyer." He also goes out of his way to say he's an altar boy. download BNet_Gateway_Editor
: Usually at these town hall things, the people they pick are dorky. This bunch is not. download BNet_Gateway_Editor
: Jet lag. Jet lag. I'm zoning. The environment always does that to me. Trees. Owls. Birkenstocks. download BNet_Gateway_Editor
: Stem cell. Kerry's issue. Supreme Court: Kerry again for me. download BNet_Gateway_Editor
: Mistakes. The lady asks Bush about mistakes. We'll see whether he has an answer this time. Well, actually, he didn't but at least he didn't do the hummuda-hummuda thing again. Kerry uses this to sing the Coke theme again -- "true global coalition;" another mistake. download BNet_Gateway_Editor
: Draw. Which is to say nobody wins, including us. More lively. Both were more in command. download BNet_Gateway_Editor
Come to think of it, if it's a draw, then it's a Bush victory, since this time, he was coming up from behind. download BNet_Gateway_Editor
: At the end, the candidates block Charlie's Teleprompter. Now that's my favorite moment. download BNet_Gateway_Editor
The questions from the audience were better than anything Charlie would have given us.download BNet_Gateway_Editor
Not The New York Times
: There's a blog -- obviously a parody -- from NY Timeas poliscribe Adam Nagourney. download BNet_Gateway_Editor
Indecent indecency bill sidelined!
: Great news from Washington, it appears: The indecent indecency bill has been dropped from the defense bill to which it was attached and Broadcasting & Cable says it won't come up again until the next Congress. Like the Induce bill, it will raise its ugly head again, but let's hope sanity intervenes. [via Lost Remote]
: The Washington Post report here.download BNet_Gateway_Editor
Mount Saint Howard
: An unnamed Clear Channel exec says of Howard Stern's move to satellite: "I have never witnessed anything as cataclysmic as this. This is a wake-up call to everyone in radio." download BNet_Gateway_Editor
Where the money is
: Steve Rubel will be blogging the Association of National Advertisers confab. download BNet_Gateway_Editor
Indtv
: I had the good luck to go to the brand new headquarters of Indtv, the network aimed at young Americans started by Al Gore and Joel Hyatt. download BNet_Gateway_Editor
This week, they moved into an old coffee-roasting factory across from the city's new baseball park. This was to be eTrade's HQ and they spent a fortune making it gorgeous and cool -- but we know what happened to companies that spent lots of money showing off; it sat vacant for years. Now, there are just a few people scattered in a sea of sleek cubes. The first floor is a cafe and they plan to expose it and the control room to the street to draw in people from the now-sleek neighborhood.download BNet_Gateway_Editor
I had lunch next door with Hyatt and Indtv's vp for online, Joanna Drake Earl, and I came away impressed and eager to see what they come up with. They have not invented the network yet. They truly believe that the people will invent it. And that's what will make this so much fun to watch. download BNet_Gateway_Editor
They've started recruiting digital correspondents -- DCs in their early jargon -- and have been inundated with well more than 1,000 applications. And it's not an easy application: essay questions and tryout videos. Joanna showed me one empty office filled with boxes and boxes of tapes. They've started watching them and Joel is jazzed by what he sees. These are the people who will invent the net. download BNet_Gateway_Editor
We talked a lot about online and how it will mesh with the network; about blogs and vlogs and wikis and all that; about helping the citizens create great video. I didn't go there to report on their plans and, anyway, it still too early to do so. download BNet_Gateway_Editor
Keep your eye on Indtv (or whatever they end up calling it).download BNet_Gateway_Editor
Web 2.0: After
: It may have seemed as if this blog was hijacked by a demigeek, what with all the Web 2.0 posts. I got in as a blogger, so I blogged. And it was a good conference with many good moments, so I was glad to. But it's over. A few uber observations:download BNet_Gateway_Editor
: Trust is an organizing principle. In our world of instant access to everything, we'll get what we want we want with a little help from our friends -- via links as a measure of trust (see Google and Technorati and more to come).download BNet_Gateway_Editor
: We want to control our data. There was much discussion of big, bad companies' efforts to keep us by keeping control of our data: the roach motel strategy, as Steve Gillmor called it. They get our email (Yahoo) or our reputation (eBay) or our IM (AOL) and don't want us to export or sync it with anyone else. But that is clearly a losing strategy. See Jarvis' First Law of Media. download BNet_Gateway_Editor
: Open source rules: Whether via Kim Polese's new open-source-integrator business ... or a couple of wiki businesses out to replace expensive enterprise software ... or talk of the web, indeed, becoming our operating system ... or calls to have interoperable and open standards on phone OSs .... or talk of the big, old software industry's days being over ... it's clear that open-source is both the architecture and the culture of technology today.download BNet_Gateway_Editor
You want real proof of this, go see VC Fred Wilson today: I am selling all my microsoft stock tomorrow. They can't comepete with this tidal wave of community based software. It's too powerful. download BNet_Gateway_Editor
: RSS has arrived. I know, it had arrived before. But the RSS session in which I participated was jammed. RSS kept coming up in every tech presentation. There were lots of RSS vendors: Feedburner, Topix, Rojo... I asked Tim O'Reilly to hold Syndicon, a conference to bring together the constituencies with interests in RSS so we can hammer out some issues and bring it to the masses.download BNet_Gateway_Editor
: Podcasting will arrive: Much buzz about the new platform for radio. Doc even got it mentioned in Kim Polese's presentation. When Steve Gillmor asked a bunch of media guys about podcasting and it was clear they hadn't heard of it. "That's OK," Steve said to me, "until three weeks ago, we hadn't either." download BNet_Gateway_Editor
: Citizens' media will arrive, too: Jason Calacanis was pissed that there were no bloggers in the media panel. Well, that could be a case of panel envy. Bloggers were everywhere. It would have been helpful to have a few more moments of distruptive citizen perspective. But that will come. download BNet_Gateway_Editor
: Cool: Make the magazine. Snap the search engine. Rojo the RSS aggregator. Keyhole maps. Scroll down for links. download BNet_Gateway_Editor
: The internet grew up. I mentioned that Jeff Bezos was more serious. Ditto Bill Gross of Idealab. Ditto everybody, really. The giddy, goofy days of tech are over. Likewise, the glum days are over, too (the fact that 600 influential people showed up for a conference on the web is the best demonstration of that). So it's a business and it's acting like one. download BNet_Gateway_Editor
Whereabouts
: Traveling today. Blogging if airport wifi allows. download BNet_Gateway_Editor
October 07, 2004
Web 2.0: Kim Polese
: She introduces her new company, SpikeSource. "What happens when Web 2.0 meets enterprise IT." She lists entire countries now kicking Microsoft out to go open source. She says companies are moving to run their entire operations on open source. The nirvana of object-oriented, reusable software has arrived. download BNet_Gateway_Editor
"Web 2.0 arrived when demand began to supply itself."download BNet_Gateway_Editor
She says IT guys are the unsung heroes of corporations. They are bringing in open source. But they are "drowning in component choices." download BNet_Gateway_Editor
The rules of open source: nobody owns it, everybody can use it, and anybody can improve it. download BNet_Gateway_Editor
"Innovation is moving to a new lawyer." download BNet_Gateway_Editor
"What kind of company assembles software that Ford did for cars or Dell did for hardware... well, we do." Aha. The point. They are building an automated system for assembling software. download BNet_Gateway_Editor
The company has been in incubation at Kleiner Perkins for 18 months. She came on as CEO two months ago. They are coming out of stealth mode today. They are going live with a public beta in December. download BNet_Gateway_Editor
She says there will be a time when any application you can conceive of -- even an airline reservation system -- can be built from open-source software elements. download BNet_Gateway_Editor
Web 2.0: Lawrence Lessig
: He recalls slam a slam review of his last book from Fortune. "What did he do? What he did was to take my words, my creativity, with his own..." He calls the review a "right to remix without permission from anyone."download BNet_Gateway_Editor
"That world of text knows this freedom well... " He goes beyond text to the gray album and a $218 movie that could have won Cannes and a Peanuts remix and political digital fun.download BNet_Gateway_Editor
This is remix culture. "No longer just a broadcast democracy but a bottoms up democracy, no longer just a New York Times democracy but a blog democracy... This is the architecture of this form of creativity."download BNet_Gateway_Editor
He says the laws have "massively changed." Before 78, copyright was opt-in; now it is opt-out. download BNet_Gateway_Editor
He goes into the case of Greenwald and his attempt to get a clip of Bush from NBC and says it is made worse by media consolidation. download BNet_Gateway_Editor
"I have no patience for people who file-share illegally," he says. But he says we go overboard in trying to deal with that, teaching children to remix Shakespeare but not Lucas. download BNet_Gateway_Editor
Lessig is, as I've long been told, incredibly impressive at this. He is compelling and convincing. But I still want someone smarter than me to spar with him to cut through some of the rhetorical flash and demonizing to hear the other side that does exist and to get closer to solutions. I'm very impressed with Lessig. He is swaying me on the need to protect remixing (though I disagree with the assumption that all creativity depends on remixing). But there is also a need to protect owners of creation. I want to hear both sides together. Debate is more informative than lecture, even if it is from the PowerPoint impressario. download BNet_Gateway_Editor
Web 2.0: Mozilla
: Brendan Eich of Mozilla brags about growing marketshare of Firefox (in Germany it's up to 20 percent). He says having to download it is a problem and they're working on other distribution mechanisms.download BNet_Gateway_Editor
He says "the web has made it pretty hard to pull another Windows off." Looking at Microsoft's Longhorn, he asks whether waiting two years for the features it offers will be worth it. download BNet_Gateway_Editor
Web 2.0: Craig et al
: Craig Newmark of Craig's List comes out with his CEO, Jim Buckmaster. "I'm going to be spokesmodel to exploit my George Costanza-like glamour."download BNet_Gateway_Editor
Buckmaster says it's a site where people "ask Craig to help them with their everyday lives." He also said it's "the ultimate newcomers' guide." download BNet_Gateway_Editor
Craig stands next to Buckmaster... on a milk carton. download BNet_Gateway_Editor
They've hired their first PR person. download BNet_Gateway_Editor
He introduces Craig: "The topic of our talk tonight is something about nerd values and speaking of nerds...." download BNet_Gateway_Editor
A simple screen (html, no powerpoint) says: lessons learned
: nerd values, the golden rule, a culture of trust
: a public commons, community of self-moderation, extreme user-centrism
: the ironies of unbranding, demonetizing & uncompeting
: social capital - the importance of user success sories
: appropriate technology and other lesons from open source
: a litmus test of light-weight business models
: stepping off the treadmill of internet time Buckmaster: "users run the site for us." download BNet_Gateway_Editor
They are charming, easygoing, droning, nerdy, unassuming guys. And they are doublehandedly revolutionizing an industry -- namely, the local advertising industry, aka newspapering.
download BNet_Gateway_Editor
Web 2.0: Platform
: At a gabber about the technical platform, Kevin Lynch of Macromedia said that what we've really seen has not been convergence -- eventhing coming onto one platform -- but divergence: content and communication happening on any device of our choice. download BNet_Gateway_Editor
I like that. It's beyond-the-remote-control.download BNet_Gateway_Editor
Adam Bosworth of Google keeps emphasizing simplicity and universality. The hallmark of the platform will be that any 12-year-old will use it. (Well, actually, the 12-year-old in my house is the one who teaches me how to use platforms and applications.)download BNet_Gateway_Editor
Michael Powell can kiss my Constitutional ass
: In today's LA Times story on Howard Stern's move to satellite (via IWantMedia), there's this maddening bit: FCC Chairman Michael K. Powell, who has spent quite a bit of time policing Stern, suggested that his departure from the public airwaves might be a good thing.download BNet_Gateway_Editor
"Satellite radio is one of the many technologies that the commission is strongly promoting to expand the diversity of choices for the American public," Powell said in a statement. "It is not surprising that notable performers and journalists are turning to a medium that allows them to paint with a broader palette." Cut to the essence: This is government meddling in content and free speech. download BNet_Gateway_Editor
The reason Stern is leaving broadcast is because of the harassment and fines from the FCC. The FCC forced Stern off broadcast to satellite. download BNet_Gateway_Editor
Forget Powell's efforts to act as if this is about a natural evolution of media. It is the direct result of Powell's own actions. download BNet_Gateway_Editor
And that's not the way things could be. It is none of Michael Powell's -- or the FCC's or Congress' or the White House's -- damned business to manage and manipulate what the content should be. That is speech and it is meant to be free and is protected by the Constitution.download BNet_Gateway_Editor
Web 2.0: Media
: Martin Nisenholtz, head of NYTimes Digital, recalls coming to the company and facing business plans that would have charged fees for use of the Times and he suggested opening it up for free and they accomplished that. download BNet_Gateway_Editor
Battelle to Mike Ramsey of TiVo on its impact: "Television's just a data base that can be searched."download BNet_Gateway_Editor
Ramsey says TiVo has a big interest in broadband as a means of distribution. That is the wedge against cable. Cable companies will probably hate it, he understates; but then cable has broadband and cable is distributing its versions of TiVo. Battelle talks about a world of getting whatever you want via broadband. "The good news is, nobody can stop us." Are you sure, Battelle asks. Yes, Ramsey says. download BNet_Gateway_Editor
He says that in five years we'll get 30 percent of our TV over broadband and the rest over broadcast (including cable) and we'll "neither know nor care" which is which.download BNet_Gateway_Editor
Battelle quotes Nisenholtz saying that he has "portal envy," because it's hard for a paper to give users things they don't expect, like email. Martin says users come to The Times for hard news. He tells their story of working very hard to build the best damned movie site on the Internet -- and it is great -- and the response is "why would The New York Times sell movie tickets?" He says dealing with these expectations "is the toughest problem we have." Shelby Bonnie says CNET's answer to that is to offer multiple brands.download BNet_Gateway_Editor
Ramsey recalls showing TiVo to media companies "and literally getting thrown out of their offices.... We were presenting a proposition that was so radically different from their existing business models that you couldn't have a rational discussion about it."download BNet_Gateway_Editor
Battelle asks them all whether they buy the premise that having the ability to copy content is the ruination of media. (Marc Canter shouts out, "NO!") download BNet_Gateway_Editor
Bonnie says that in 2001-2, a lot of good companies went out of business. Battelle grows, "Yeah, I have experience with that."download BNet_Gateway_Editor
Bonnie asks whether the blogosphere will pick up slack in local newspaper markets.download BNet_Gateway_Editor
Nisenholtz talks about some amazing content -- e.g., a Nick Kristof Flash presentation on sex slaves -- that doesn't get seen. He says he has a UI problem. But it's not a home page UI problem. It's a web UI problem. And the solution, he believes: "How do we expose this content? Part of the way we expose it is by opening up." Applause from the audience.download BNet_Gateway_Editor
Battelle asks about the "false wall" between bloggers and journalists. Bonnie says CNET is open to tearing down that wall: "What the blogosphere is delivering is incredibly rich viewpoints and it can be incredibly complementary to a publisher."download BNet_Gateway_Editor
Battelle asks Nisenholtz whether he could ever see a time when a blogger in New Jersey covers a school board meeting and gets a cut of the AdSense revenue via The Times. Martin says he reads blogs for opinion and perspective and he doesn't expect them to be fully vetted for facts. He says a publisher's means of leveraging all this is to open up and allow people to use content. He also separates news from opinion. He says someone needs to check bias. Martin says that is the role of editors. Battelle says that is now the role of the readers. download BNet_Gateway_Editor
Web 2.0: From the labs
: Peter Norvik, director of search quality at Google and the most casually dressed presenter, says they don't have beautiful labs like fellow speakers IBM and Microsoft. "For us at Google, labs are a state of mind more than a state of real estate."download BNet_Gateway_Editor
Google shows some stuff about machine translation of languages and word clusters. He has someone shout out a suggestion for a cluster search: George Bush. High on the list of words associated with that is "chimp." The laughter rolls across the audience as it's discovered. download BNet_Gateway_Editor
: Jim Spohrer of IBM talks about the company's plan to start a discipline in "service science." I get it that the world economy is now based on service over goods. I'm not sure I get what service science is.download BNet_Gateway_Editor
: Rick Rashid from Microsoft shows advances in mapping, including a data base that allows people to share geocoded images. download BNet_Gateway_Editor
He also shows Wallop, which allows neat interaction in communities. Unfortunately, it's still closed. Can't wait to play with it. download BNet_Gateway_Editor
Web 2.0: Telephone as a platform
: Om Malik -- who knows his stuff in this arena -- runs the panel and asks Vonage and AT&T whether there is a price war and the real mark of the commoditization of voice.download BNet_Gateway_Editor
Jeffrey Citron, founder of Vonage, said the concepts of distance or locality are, of course, meaningless in VOIP. "Pure talking is probably going to become commoditized," he says but argues that there are advanced features on VOIP. "We've freed voice from the confines of the transmission system."download BNet_Gateway_Editor
Hossein Eslambolchi of AT&T says its nothing new to have competitors who push prices down. But he makes a subtle jab at Citron about companies that really make money. Citron infamously said recently that Vonage is profitable if you don't count marketing. Well, uh, marketing is the cost structure of the company. EBITDAM will not take off as a new accounting standard.download BNet_Gateway_Editor
Eslambolchi also talks about features -- they call it SOIP for services over IP. download BNet_Gateway_Editor
Man, they sound like airlines trying to argue over who has the better bagel. download BNet_Gateway_Editor
Mike McCue of Tellme says there has to be an opening of the telephone as a platform so anyone can write any application for any telephone. Yup. "What's missing right now is the equivalent of HTML for the telephone... I think that HTML for the telephone is VoiceXML.... The killer aps are very clear: voicemail... 411..." He's doing at elections application, calling a number and hearing what the candidates say and then chatting with other people on the network. download BNet_Gateway_Editor
Om says that the pipe has been decoupled from the content, in that vision. That's what Vonage has done, for example. That, too, is what made the web grow, of course: content was separated from presentation and wire. download BNet_Gateway_Editor
There's considerable back-and-forth between Vonage and AT&T as a war of teh centuries. download BNet_Gateway_Editor
Marc Canter tells them what the consumer wants: "We want to interoperate between VOIP systems." Mr. Tellme says the VOIP companies are operating like old telecom. download BNet_Gateway_Editor
This is just like yesterday's discussion about lock-in: efforts to lock-in customers will piss off customers. download BNet_Gateway_Editor
To repeat:download BNet_Gateway_Editor
Jarvis' First Law: Give the people control of media, they will use it. download BNet_Gateway_Editor
The corollary: Don't give the people control of media, and you will lose. download BNet_Gateway_Editor
McCue tells the phone companies, AT&T and Vonage, to open up their billing system so somebody who invents a great voicemail system can sell it to consumers, who can use it anywhere. "That's the kind of business-model innovation that has to happen to unlock the telephone as a platform."download BNet_Gateway_Editor
Web 2.0: O'Reilly announcements
: Dale Dougherty of O'Reilly, who edited the hack books, shows Safari U's service to allow professors to "hack textbooks." download BNet_Gateway_Editor
And he shows O'Reilly's first magazine, Make, for "do it yourself technology projects" -- "Martha Stewart for geeks." He looked at Popular Mechanics back in the '50s and "it felt a lot like hacking." Mark Frauenfelder of Boing Boing is the editor in chief. One example story: kite aerial photography. download BNet_Gateway_Editor
They're including a web element, of course, to have people record their own projects and comment on the magazine's in a blog/wiki format. download BNet_Gateway_Editor
Make looks most cool. download BNet_Gateway_Editor
Web 2.0: Mitch Kapor
: Kapor says he's going to tell us "how technology can fix a broken political system. "download BNet_Gateway_Editor
He says the Jefferson, Hamilton, et al would be horrified with a corrupt system today: too many lobbyists, too much secrecy. download BNet_Gateway_Editor
"Investing inside the Beltway has great returns, VC-level returns." Agricultural subsidies return on agricultural lobbying at 200-to-1.download BNet_Gateway_Editor
"We were never meant to have a highly centralized government," he says. I don't know Kapor's politics. Libertarian? Aha. He just said, "The Dean campaign, which ended all too soon." download BNet_Gateway_Editor
I've talked about technology today as an analog for media: transparency and open-source ethics. Kapor is talking about similar needs for government: participation and transparency. download BNet_Gateway_Editor
"I'm heartened that the community of bloggers of both views, left and right, have begun to hold politicians and media more accountable."download BNet_Gateway_Editor
download BNet_Gateway_Editor
Web 2.0: Cory Doctorow
: Cory says he's proud that the Electronic Frontier Foundation "made Web 1.0 lawful." It 's Cory's call to action on copyright and freedom on the internet. It's going by fast and I don't think I'll do it justice.download BNet_Gateway_Editor
He said that one attendee at the conference just donated $100k to EFF.download BNet_Gateway_Editor
download BNet_Gateway_Editor
Indtv
: I'm very excited that I'm headed out at lunch to meet the folks at Indtv, Al Gore's and Joel Hyatt's new TV network. More later.download BNet_Gateway_Editor
Note that they're hiring and blogging the process. download BNet_Gateway_Editor
The Daily Stern: morning after
: CNET writes about Stern's shift to satellite and quotes me. download BNet_Gateway_Editor
: Stern said this morning that he insisted on not charging an extra fee for his show. At XM, folks are going to pay more for the privilege of hearing Opie & Anthony. download BNet_Gateway_Editor
October 06, 2004
Web 2.0: The killer map
: Keyhole systems shows its wowy map with 3-d imaging and many data feeds. He turns on traffic data. I want it. I want it with flash-mob user-generated content, too and Keyhole says they are building that in via local blogs.download BNet_Gateway_Editor
download BNet_Gateway_Editor
Web 2.0: Music
: Hank Barry of Hummer Winblad starts off with a call to action aginst the Induce Act. He said that the consumer electornics, IEEE, and net guys after a long meeting all sent letters to the Senate saying they will not go along with Induce. Notwithstanding, he says, the sponsors vow to go ahead. "That bill can be opposed. I advise you all to talk to your senators." There's a list of senators involved at www.netcoalition.com. "End of commercial. Induce act is not cool." Mike Weiss of Morpheus says all employees of these companies here should call their senators. (Ernie Miller has more links here.)download BNet_Gateway_Editor
Michael Caren, head of A&R at Atlantic, says he looks under every rock to find talent, including reading blogs, checking out local sales, going to small clubs. He says 90 percent of his music is now recorded directly into the computer; that allows them to lower costs and increase cooperation.download BNet_Gateway_Editor
Danger Mouse tells the story of the Gray Album. He says he did it all on Acid (the program) and ended up buying a legal copy. Michael Weiss says says Bezos is right: Sampling drives sales. download BNet_Gateway_Editor
Weiss, of Morpheus, announces Neonet, next generation peer-to-peer search technology. "The copyright cartel is gonna hate this," he says. download BNet_Gateway_Editor
Cory Doctorow says the question is being framed in how to help the record labels. He says he wants to solve the problem that Danger Mouse's CD is illegal and 70 million Americans are breaking the law. download BNet_Gateway_Editor
Danger Mouse says it's unfortunate that artists have "sold ourselves to the man, the devil, whatever you want to call it... it's caught up." He says the days of "making a song gets you rich and worshipped" will not last long. But he also acknowledges that it is a business that supports a lot of people and you can't pull the rug out from them.download BNet_Gateway_Editor
Web 2.0: Lessons learned
: John Battelle is interviewing Marc Andreesen and Yahoo honcho Dan Rosenzweig. download BNet_Gateway_Editor
He asks Andreesen whether the browser has a future. He says he was amazed that Microsoft got the advantage in browsers and then did not use it. download BNet_Gateway_Editor
Battelle says, "a lot of the things you developed -- RSS -- are huge." Andreesen nods. How many people get credit for developing RSS?download BNet_Gateway_Editor
Andreesen says that with Firefox, Opera et al innovating in browsers, Microsoft will finally start competing. download BNet_Gateway_Editor
Rosenzweig says, "I hope Marc doesn't keep waking them up."download BNet_Gateway_Editor
He adds: "The more we try to cage people up in how they do things the less likely they are to do it."download BNet_Gateway_Editor
Battelle asks whether you need client software on the user's computer. Andreesen shakes his head no. Rosenzweig says there are clients like music that matter and he's looking at more clients, for such things as photos. download BNet_Gateway_Editor
Andreesen says that if the walled garden of the past was portals, the walled garden of the future is data. Many have eBay envy, for eBay owns your data and there's no way to export your reputation to use elsewhere. download BNet_Gateway_Editor
"I think it is the application of data and not using data as a weapon against your users," Rosenzweig says.download BNet_Gateway_Editor
Andreesen says there is no personalized or job service, for example, that lets you get your profile out. You can't get your email out of Yahoo. download BNet_Gateway_Editor
Rosenzweig: "As unopen as you claim it to be, nobody's required to do anything." Cop-out.download BNet_Gateway_Editor
Moments before, he said this: "The more we try to cage people up in how they do things the less likely they are to do it."download BNet_Gateway_Editor
Esther Dyson just leaned over and said we need Marc Canter in this discussion. Thirty seconds later, Canter stands at the microphone.download BNet_Gateway_Editor
Andreesen says the reason people are trying to lock-in data is because there is no brand loyalty and if a new and better product comes out, people will switch.download BNet_Gateway_Editor
Jarvis' First Law: Give the people control of media, they will use it. download BNet_Gateway_Editor
The corollary: Don't give the people control of media, and you will lose. download BNet_Gateway_Editor
: Battelle asks them about the rejuvenated web-as-OS meme. Andreesen says Google is being led by the nose, willingly or unwillingly, into a confrontation with Microsoft. Who's leading? Press, analysts, users, everything -- "I've seen it before.... Everybody loves the fight." He says that a desktop OS and a search engine don't need to be competitive. He thinks "Google is going to do some things that are very surprising." A browser would be obvious. Battelle reminds him that John Doerr said last night that Google is not going to do a browser. Andreesen answers: "The day they start listening to John Doerr is the day they don't do a Dutch action." download BNet_Gateway_Editor
Rosenzweig: "All this tech talk is fun and it's great for blogs and the 12 people whose lives it will change." Bloggers belch. Somebody asks why they added blogs to MyYahoo if they're ready by only 12 people. He says he didn't say that.download BNet_Gateway_Editor
: Battelle asks, "You both just got fired. Where are you building your next company?" Andreesen says, "I think Dan would start a blog." Dan says, "Actually, I would. I think blogs and personal publishing are great."download BNet_Gateway_Editor
Andreesen says there are a few levels: the number of users, the amount of usage, the number of mobile users are all growing hugely. The cost components have all declined dramatically: hardware, bandwidth, even people. On the business side, he says "in the last five years, we've cracked the code on advertising." He says the capital requirement to start a new internet business is coming in under $500k in many cases and the question is whether they will even need to raise venture capital. He never does says what he would do.download BNet_Gateway_Editor
Steve Gillmor pushes his RSS synchronization theme. He says there is a roach motel strategy: the meta data goes in and it never comes out. "Are you willing to commit to an open standard around attention meta data." Rosenzweig says he's not ready to commit to anything today. "It's going to take more time than many people want it to take but at the end of the day we're all going to end up surrending to what the user wants to do." download BNet_Gateway_Editor
And Marc Canter brings up, of course, FOAF. He says standards setters need some help from "the billionaire boys' club." Andreesen says it's not money; "the answer is obviously open standards."download BNet_Gateway_Editor
Chris Tolles asks whether Overtu | |