BuzzMachine
by Jeff Jarvis

January 31, 2005

Why, oh why
:
: Jon Stewart talks with Fareed Zakaria of Newsweek about the Middle East and asks: "Explain to me, why did God put all our fuel under there?"diablo 2 play disk .iso

America on trial

: Oh, gawd, the Michael Jackson trial begins. We watch him going to lunch. We watch him coming back from lunch. We watch the poor guy whose job it is to hold an umbrella over the poster boy for the dangers of fame. We watch MJ being wanded -- no pat-downs here. We watch reporters fill time. And it's just the first day. We're sentenced to months of this. diablo 2 play disk .iso

They said on TV today that 1,000 journalists had applied for credentials to cover the trial. Why, lord, why?diablo 2 play disk .iso

I'm going to bet that the trial will not be the subject of much talk in blogs -- unless something amazing happens -- but, of course, it will explode in big-media's coverage. If that's the case, what does that indicate about news judgement? You tell me. diablo 2 play disk .iso

: Folks are coming up with excuses to get off this jury. Who can blame them?diablo 2 play disk .iso

On TV

imus.jpg: I try to be jaded about media but I have to say it was cool to spend another day at MSNBC covering Iraqi blogs on Sunday -- so cool that I brought my son along for my afternoon session so he could watch TV being made. diablo 2 play disk .iso

I got there at 6a, knowing what Howard Stern feels like working his hours. They set me up at a new desk, which looks like a kitchen island in the galley of the Starship Enterprise. It has a computer and screen -- only problem is, Will, who preceded me, had to turn away from the anchor and the camera to use the machine: a TV problem. So I wheedled to get my laptop hooked up so I could look at it, the anchor, and the camera at once and feed the image of my screen onto the air. Meanwhile, a floor director sat down at the anchor's chair and I learned a new TV term: "belly mark." She moved tape on the edge of the desk dictating where the anchor's belly should be, assuring that she would be in the light and in the shot. They said the belly marks were already set up for the Imus crew. And it was then that I learned that this desk is intended for Imus when he comes to MSNBC's studios in Jersey. Sure enough, I looked down at the dashboard and there were Imus buttons for him and Chuck and guests. I took a picture with my phone as proof. I was not stupid enough to leave a Bababooey note for the I-man; I want to come back to MSNBC. I didn't go to HowardStern.com on the PC. I didn't make any jokes about cowboy hats. I behaved. But it was tempting. diablo 2 play disk .iso

One of my favorite scenes is watching the analysts who stick around all day finish a segment, for that is when the sound guy comes over to turn off their wireless mikes to save on batteries. The guests turn their backs to the sound man, bend over just a bit, and flip up their jackets. It's not a dignified pose. It's these little moments that puncture the facade of big-time TV. diablo 2 play disk .iso

Later on, when my son and I were standing at the edge of the big studio, one of the nice sound guys explained to Jake: You think the anchors are really smart but you don't see that they read the Teleprompter and people talk into their ear. It's show biz. And then I get a speaker in my ear and bend over and hike up my jacket. I thought my son might be impressed I was on TV. Instead, he sees me assume the position of analyst submission. diablo 2 play disk .iso

In this space, I rant and rave about exploding TV and how low-priced competitors are coming. Still, I admit it's impressive to watch TV sausage being made all day. Even at its greatest efficiency, it still takes a lot of work to put out a two- or three-minute segment: The booker books the guests. The producer figures out what the segment will try to convey; for my last segment of the day, on the Monica Crowley and Ron Reagan show, I worked with the prodcer to prepare pictures and video and words to put on the screen. The producer preps the anchor. The anchor interviews. Now ring the room with camera operators -- three big cameras plus a boom camera (that's how they get those high-altitude whooping shots) plus a SteadiCam -- and floor directors and that sound guy and lots of folks in the control room: all to convey a few sentences of news to you and make it interesting. TV's great to watch on either side of the camera. diablo 2 play disk .iso

This was the second time I did a segment with Ron/Mon and this time my counterpart was Jeralyn Merritt of TalkLeft. It was civilized TV. We had our says; we disagreed; but we didn't shout. Yes, it is possible. diablo 2 play disk .iso

Before we were on, Ron/Mon interviewed Natan Sharansky because he wrote Bush's favorite book (yes, he has one): The Case for Democracy. They're talking with the smart man and suddenly Sharansky yelps, "Oh, my God! Oh, my God!" and it looks as if he got a shock. Ron gets a puzzled look; it sounded as if Sharansky was reacting to something Ron had said but he hadn't said anything yet. They couldn't investigate because they lost the satellite. Then they get it back. They talk again. And again: "Oh, my God!" Ron now realizes this is what Sharansky says when he loses the satellite. But he recovers and asks Monica the quetion he was going to ask Sharansky and she recovers, too, and answers. This is TV. It's all about staying in control. That's the hardest lesson to learn. diablo 2 play disk .iso

Today, they called back asking whether I could dash in for another blog segment. I was too far away and suggested a couple of other bloggers but will admit that I wish I could have gone in. Sure, it's show biz. And there's an hour of hanging for two minutes on the air. But I'll admit it: TV is fun. diablo 2 play disk .iso

: Just now I see that Howard Kurtz wrote about changes and improvements at MSNBC. diablo 2 play disk .iso

Guess

: Lots of folks are gushing over A9's photos of storefronts automatically associated with yellow page listings. I go in an ask about my favorite sandwich joint, Cosi, and for reasons I can't figure, the photo associated with it is of a woman wearing a burkha. diablo 2 play disk .iso

I've seen years go online-yellow-page triumphalism. It was going to take over the yellow pages and destroy businesses... but it ended up destroying the destroyers first. I'm unimpressed. Show me why I'm wrong. Leave a search that works in the comments. diablo 2 play disk .iso

Denton, the brand

: Nick Denton launched two new blogs today: Lifehacker (the software response to the hardware Gizmodo) and Gridskipper (a travel blog from the edges). But that's not news. Heck, Dave Sifry told me he's now tracking 40,000 new blogs a day (up from 15k only about a year ago). diablo 2 play disk .iso

What's news is that Nick (a friend and business colleague of mine) signed up Sony for Lifehacker just as he signed up Audi for Jalopnik. diablo 2 play disk .iso

And here's what's newsworthy about that:diablo 2 play disk .iso

Since the internet started, many big-time publishers have struggled to convince big-time advertisers that this new medium is not just about direct response (click-through) but also about branding (that is, the value of associating your brand and product with a media brand -- the reason to advertise in a glossy magazine with a classy audience, for example). That is why the Online Publishers Association was created. diablo 2 play disk .iso

But note what Denton has done twice: He got big-time advertisers to sign onto a product that didn't even exist yet. Take it from a guy who started a magazine; that doesn't happen. So why did they do it? Clearly, they wanted to be associated -- branded -- with the next, new, cool thing. Just being the first in equals branding. That is a value of this new medium: its newness. diablo 2 play disk .iso

Now that won't last forever. One of my mentors in the magazine business said she never wanted to be what a famous creative director called hot models -- the hot thing. For you don't stay hot. But it's clear that this new medium, executed cooly, has heat, has whuffie. And the fact that it comes from the people and is promoted by the people may be enough to keep its heat, its whuffieness, its branding power forever. We'll see. diablo 2 play disk .iso

Next?

: The American right and left are analyzing the Iraq vote on the wrong basis: It's not about George Bush, pro or con. It's not about America, pro or con. It's not even about the war, pro or con. It's about the Iraqi people and democracy and their future, for which there is only a pro, not a con. diablo 2 play disk .iso

But Hoder has a proper question in his post from the Iranian perspective:

On the one hand I'm really excited that Iraqi people have been able to start the path to a potentially democratic political system, on the other hand I'm really upset that this will embolden neoconservatives and will be seen as a confirmation of their dangerous plans for the world.
If the goal is democracy and freedom and human rights -- and I do believe that is the goal that with which there is no good argument -- then the proper question is: How? How are these goals achieved for fellow citizens of the world who do not enjoy enjoy these fundamental right? Is diplomacy sufficient? Is war justified? Are there alternatives? Does this first step toward democracy in Iraq put pressure on the rest of the Middle East? These are all the right questions to ask. It's not about us, folks, it's about the rest of the world. diablo 2 play disk .iso

Mission underway

: Finally heard Bush's remarks on the Iraqi elections. How much better it would have been if he had given that after the fall of Baghdad instead of standing under a "mission accomplished" banner in a flight suit. diablo 2 play disk .iso

There's a lot of hard work ahead. diablo 2 play disk .iso

eeyore.jpgTo the eeyores whose party line today is that a vote does not a democracy make, I say that that a journey begins with one step. Of course, it was not a perfect election. Well, duh. Our elections aren't perfect. diablo 2 play disk .iso

It was a miraculous election. And the message of it is obvious -- or should be obvious: These people hunger for the opportunity to govern there nation. What people would not? The fact of the election is a powerful message to the rest of the Middle East (and they're hearing it); it is a message to those who said that Iraq is not ready for democracy; it is a message to the terrorists and murderers there who would try to stop the democratic inevitability. diablo 2 play disk .iso

But yes, of course, there is a tremendous amount of work to do. diablo 2 play disk .iso

Hell, democracy in America still requires work.diablo 2 play disk .iso

: The eeyore meme spreads. diablo 2 play disk .iso

More = merrier

: MediaBistro launches new blogs to go along with the redesigned (thank you) TVNewser on design and books and the media scenes in NY, Washington, and LA. I got to gander at them last week (and it's so embarrassing when you get insider access to the beta and have no brilliant suggestions to make). Good work to Elizabeth Spiers and Laurel Touby. diablo 2 play disk .iso

: Denton is launching new blogs today; I'll link when they go up. diablo 2 play disk .iso

January 30, 2005

The Eeyore Analysis of Iraq

: I'll be on MSNBC in the 5p hour with Jeralyn Merritt of TalkLeft, who tries to wrap-up blogger reaction to the election from the antiwar camp (I won't call it the liberal side). diablo 2 play disk .iso

Problem is, there isn't much. Oliver did the Chicken Little dance yesterday but hasn't acknowledged the success today. Jerome Armstrong of MyDD argues that this opens the door to an Iranian-like rule of fundamentalists but doesn't say how he makes that prediction when the clerics decided to stay out of the Iraqi government and every poll makes it clear the people don't want that. Armando at Kos does the Eeyore thing (see also Juan Cole, below); Kos is still silent, as is Atrios. diablo 2 play disk .iso

Whether it's Kerry or any of these bloggers, it would be the grownup, mature, generous, humanistic, caring -- yes, dare I say, liberal -- thing to do to be glad that people who lived under tyranny are now giving birth to democracy. diablo 2 play disk .iso

Democracy isn't a right-or-left thing, folks. It's a right-and-left thing, remember?diablo 2 play disk .iso

: I think the press analysis of the election will acknowledge the good news. Jackie Spinner of the Washington Post -- eviscerated by Tim Blair the other day -- said without hesitation on MSNBC today that the story is the turnout. An LATimes reporter on the Friends of Democracy telecast is saying the same thing now. We'll see. diablo 2 play disk .iso

The Times reporter is asked by the FoD's host whether the coverage tomorrow will be "more happy" and she replies: "Well, I don't know about happy. But we all feel it was a profound moment, there's no question."diablo 2 play disk .iso

When the people become the network programmers

: Here's a petition demanding that the Daily Show be extended to an hour. Now if only the citizens would pay Jon Stewart's added salary. [via Craig]diablo 2 play disk .iso

'Not an election, a revolution'

: MSNBC's Natalie Morales told me before we went on the air for the last blogging segment that Reuters reports 72 percent turnout. If it's anything near that, it's amazing. But Natalie said it better than I could: "That's not an election, that's a revolution."diablo 2 play disk .iso

: Think we'll ever see this good news from "Prof." Juan Cole or my blogging goomba, Eric Alterman? I'm buying a snowblower for my time in hell.
: UPDATE: The polls have closed and this is all the "professor" has to say: "Dozens Killed in Election Day Guerrilla Campaign"diablo 2 play disk .iso

: Expect Florida-like nitpicking about the number (it has already started in the comments) -- 72 percent, 50 percent, percent of what.... (Update: Command Post said some TV people there think the number is high and MSNBC is now empahsizing that was an estimate.) Doesn't matter. What matters is that people came out to vote in big numbers; they are creating a new nation.diablo 2 play disk .iso

This morning, I asked myself whether I would go to vote if I thought I could be bombed at the polling place or shot because of my blue finger. I don't think I'd have that courage. Most Americans would not (hell, most of us don't vote even in the lap of safety). Remember that every single Iraqi who came to vote today is a victory for democracy. diablo 2 play disk .iso

: NYTimes.com headline: "Iraqi Voters Turn Out in High Numbers Despite Rebel Attacks Killing Up to 36"
Guardian headline: "Iraqis vote as attacks kill 22"
Chicago Tribune: "Update: Iraqi voters defy attacks"
Washington Post: "Iraqi Turnout Appears Strong as Voting Day Ends"
MSNBC: "Voting amid violence"
FoxNews: "Turnout High on Violent Day"
BBC: "Iraq votes as attacks hit Baghdad"diablo 2 play disk .iso

: On Meet the Press this morning, John Kerry says: "This is the last chance for President Bush to get it right."diablo 2 play disk .iso

: Husayn adds two key words to the name of his blog: "Democracy in Iraq (is here!)"diablo 2 play disk .iso

: LATER: I've been watching the Friends of Democracy/Spirit of America special on C-SPAN. Christopher Hitchens is a guest and, of course, he's eloquent in the defense of human rights against fascism. He said we now have a warrant to arrest tyrants. diablo 2 play disk .iso

: Here's the Wall Street Journal's wrapup of Iraqi blogs (mostly the same as the links below). diablo 2 play disk .iso

: I spent the morning looking for negative reaction to the election on Iraqi blogs. I found none, until Raed posted. I'm not sure I understand his analysis:

The current early and premature Iraqi election is being marketed as THE event, THE peak, THE happening! as if everything will be over after the day of elections! just like in some stupid love movies where the curtain falls after the two lovers get married.diablo 2 play disk .iso

The romantic Iraqi elections will open the doors of hell. If the majority of Shia in the southern governorates of Iraq were "waiting", they will stop waiting after elections are hi-jacked. When the kurds in the north have their "unofficial" referendum on "independance" from Iraq, kurds and arabs will stop "waiting" in the north too. When sunnis are completely excluded from the government, they will continue "not waiting".

: UPDATE: Count on "Prof." Juan Cole to find the eeyore angle. diablo 2 play disk .iso

Welcome, MSNBC viewers

: Here are the links I'm mentioning on the air this morning. diablo 2 play disk .iso

At 6:50a:
: Husayn at Democracy in Iraq has great comments on casting his ballot.

I am happy to report...no I am honored to report that I have cast my ballot in our election. It is such an amazing feeling to be able to have some control over the destiny of my nation, a feeling I have not known before! I was one of the first ones to report to our local voting station, and I placed my vote, my stained finger is proof... The terrorists have not scared us.... It will be a day forever remembered....
: Check out the Kurdistan Bloggers Union for pictures from the voting -- and the celebration -- in London. diablo 2 play disk .iso

At 7:50a:
: Read the emotional message of thanks to his fellow Iraqis from one of the original bloggers in Iraq, Alaa.

I bow in respect and awe to the men and women of our people who, armed only with faith and hope are going to the polls under the very real threats of being blown to pieces. These are the real braves; not the miserable creatures of hate who are attacking one of the noblest things that has ever happened to us. Have you ever seen anything like this? Iraq will be O.K. with so many brave people, it will certainly O.K.; I can say no more just now; I am just filled with pride and moved beyond words. People are turning up not only under the present threat to polling stations but also under future threats to themselves and their families; yet they are coming, and keep coming....diablo 2 play disk .iso

My condolences to the Great American people for the tragic recent losses of soldiers....diablo 2 play disk .iso

I myself have voted and so did members of my family. Thank God for giving us the chance.diablo 2 play disk .iso

Salaam for now


: Ahmed at Life in Baghdad debated and agonized over whether he should vote -- whether he should put safety and family or country first. This morning, he gave us his eloquent conclusion: "I did."diablo 2 play disk .iso

bluefinger.jpgAt 8:50a:
: I'm going to focus on the great pictures by a U.S. security advisor named Ryan Stiles who -- along with other civilian Americans -- has been helping to ferry Iraqis to their polling places, since they cannot drive. Don't miss Cigars in the Sand. Later, Ryan posts:

Well for tonight, I imagine it's dodging the celebratory fire. I used to drive an SUV with a 9mm round hole in the hood, courtesy of some past celebration.diablo 2 play disk .iso

After that, its back to the hard task of capturing the momentum and translating it into real political access and choice. That road will be long and difficult -- undoubtedly plagued by further violence and setbacks. Today is a new beginning, not an end.diablo 2 play disk .iso

But for right now, I'm gonna celebrate. Disney World, anyone?

At 10:54a:
I'm going to read from the wonderful posts of the blogging brothers from Iraq, Mohammed, Omar, and Ali. I was going to quote a bit of Mohammed and Omar's post but it's all too good, so here is their report in full:
The people have won.
We would love to share what we did this morning with the whole world, we can't describe the feelings we've been through but we'll try to share as much as we can with you.
We woke up this morning one hour before the alarm clock was supposed to ring. As a matter of fact, we barely slept at all last night out of excitement and anxiety.diablo 2 play disk .iso

The first thing we saw this morning on our way to the voting center was a convoy of the Iraqi army vehicles patrolling the street, the soldiers were cheering the people marching towards their voting centers then one of the soldiers chanted "vote for Allawi" less than a hundred meters, the convoy stopped and the captain in charge yelled at the soldier who did that and said:
"You're a member of the military institution and you have absolutely no right to support any political entity or interfere with the people's choice. This is Iraq's army, not Allawi's".
This was a good sign indeed and the young officer's statement was met by applause from the people on the street.
The streets were completely empty except for the Iraqi and the coalition forces ' patrols, and of course kids seizing the chance to play soccer!diablo 2 play disk .iso

We had all kinds of feelings in our minds while we were on our way to the ballot box except one feeling that never came to us, that was fear.
We could smell pride in the atmosphere this morning; everyone we saw was holding up his blue tipped finger with broad smiles on the faces while walking out of the center.diablo 2 play disk .iso

I couldn't think of a scene more beautiful than that.
From the early hours of the morning, People filled the street to the voting center in my neighborhood; youths, elders, women and men. Women's turn out was higher by the way. And by 11 am the boxes where I live were almost full!
Anyone watching that scene cannot but have tears of happiness, hope, pride and triumph.diablo 2 play disk .iso

The sounds of explosions and gunfire were clearly heard, some were far away but some were close enough to make the windows of the center shake but no one seemed to care about them as if the people weren't hearing these sounds at all.
I saw an old woman that I thought would get startled by the loud sound of a close explosion but she didn't seem to care, instead she was busy verifying her voting station's location as she found out that her name wasn't listed in this center.diablo 2 play disk .iso

How can I describe it!? Take my eyes and look through them my friends, you have supported the day of Iraq's freedom and today, Iraqis have proven that they're not going to disappoint their country or their friends.diablo 2 play disk .iso

Is there a bigger victory than this? I believe not.diablo 2 play disk .iso

I still recall the first group of comments that came to this blog 14 months ago when many of the readers asked "The Model?"… "Model for what?"
Take a look today to meet the model of courage and human desire to achieve freedom; people walking across the fire to cast their votes.diablo 2 play disk .iso

Could any model match this one!? Could any bravery match the Iraqis'!?
Let the remaining tyrants of the world learn the lesson from this day.diablo 2 play disk .iso

The media is reporting only explosions and suicide attacks that killed and injured many Iraqis s far but this hasn't stopped the Iraqis from marching towards their voting stations with more determination. Iraqis have truly raced the sun.diablo 2 play disk .iso

I walked forward to my station, cast my vote and then headed to the box, where I wanted to stand as long as I could, then I moved to mark my finger with ink, I dipped it deep as if I was poking the eyes of all the world's tyrants.
I put the paper in the box and with it, there were tears that I couldn't hold; I was trembling with joy and I felt like I wanted to hug the box but the supervisor smiled at me and said "brother, would you please move ahead, the people are waiting for their turn".diablo 2 play disk .iso

Yes brothers, proceed and fill the box!
These are stories that will be written on the brightest pages of history.diablo 2 play disk .iso

It was hard for us to leave the center but we were happy because we were sure that we will stand here in front of the box again and again and again.
Today, there's no voice louder than that of freedom.diablo 2 play disk .iso

No more confusion about what the people want, they have said their word and they said it loud and the world has got to respct and support the people's will.diablo 2 play disk .iso

God bless your brave steps sons of Iraq and God bless the defenders of freedom.diablo 2 play disk .iso

Aasha Al-Iraq….Aasha Al-Iraq….Aasha Al-Iraq.

Their bother, Ali, writes on his blog:
The best Eid I ever had.diablo 2 play disk .iso

This was my way to stand against those who humiliated me, my family and my friends. It was my way of saying," You're history and you don't scare me anymore". It was my way to scream in the face of all tyrants, not just Saddam and his Ba'athists and tell them, "I don't want to be your, or anyone's slave. You have kept me in your jail all my life but you never owned my soul". It was my way of finally facing my fears and finding my courage and my humanity again....diablo 2 play disk .iso

As I got out it was still early and I saw no one on the streets but as I got near to the voting center I started seeing people in groups heading the same way. Most of them were women. I saw a crippled man and my old neighbor and his older wife leaning on their walking sticks going to vote. An old woman cleaning her door step stopped me, "Say son, can I go and vote?" She asked after she saw many people going to vote. "Sure Khala (aunt)! Everyone can". She thanked me and went inside apparently to change and get her IDs....diablo 2 play disk .iso

This was the same place I went in 1996 to cast my vote in a poll asking if we wanted to have Saddam as a president for life or not. I had to go at that time. The threats for anyone who refused to take that poll were no less than the death penalty....diablo 2 play disk .iso

This time we went by choice and the threat was exactly the opposite. As I was walking with many people towards the center explosion hit and gun fire were heard but most were not that close. People didn't seem to pay attention to that. Some of them even brought their little kids with them! It's like the Eid but only a thousand times better....diablo 2 play disk .iso

The only things I can feel so strongly now are hope, excitement, pride and a strange internal peace. I have won my battle and I'm watching the whole Iraqis winning their battle too. I'll try to write to you later my friends.
A'ash Al Iraq, A'ashat America, A'ash Al Tahaluf. (Long live Iraq, long live America and long live the coalition)

: Read Hammorabi, too. diablo 2 play disk .iso

LATER:diablo 2 play disk .iso

: A Star from Mosul explains why she's not voting today -- starting with the fact that she's only 16. diablo 2 play disk .iso

It appears that will be my last segment until the 5p hour with Ron and Monica. I'll keep blogging....diablo 2 play disk .iso

Many, many more links here. diablo 2 play disk .iso

More later... diablo 2 play disk .iso

January 29, 2005

On MSNBC

: For the sleepless, a reminder that I'll be blogboy on MSNBC Sunday from 6a to noon and again in the Ron and Monica show between 5 and 6p covering the blog view of Iraqi elections (see the posts below). I'm preceded by Will Femia (who better leave good stuff for me) and followed by Joe Trippi. diablo 2 play disk .iso

In a half-dozen segments, I plan on covering (and this can change in a second) some of the emotional reaction to the election quoted below; coverage of citizen journalists in Iraq via blogs and Friends of Democracy (links below); video and photo from citizen journalists in Iraq; blogs by young Iraqis; possibly military bloggers' reports; possibly American blog reaction; and, of course, news as it breaks and blogs. diablo 2 play disk .iso

If you find good links, please do email me or leave comments here. I appreciate the help. diablo 2 play disk .iso

Military blogging the election?

: If you see any military bloggers in Iraq writing about the election -- especially with accounts from the polls -- please leave links in the comments. diablo 2 play disk .iso

: Also, if you see particularly good American or non-Iraqi blog comment -- from both sides -- please also leave links in the comments. diablo 2 play disk .iso

Thanks. diablo 2 play disk .iso

: Here's one: RedSix, recently awarded the Silver Star for gallantry in battle, blogs this:

This is the first time I have seen the internet in days. This past week, the line platoons only have time to wake-up, be on mission all day without coming back to the FOB, and getting in near midnite to get some sleep.diablo 2 play disk .iso

The soldiers of 2-63 AR BN are out there hardening the election sites and working around the clock to provide security for the Iraqis. I'm pretty excited about being out there for something historical. Not all my soldiers can be out there but I have guys begging to be taken out in sector. Seeing how bad these locals want the elections to happen has been pretty inspiring for us. I will be posting photos of the guys laying wire and dropping barriers when I have more time, probably after elections are over.

: Another from Strawberry Fields:
I have some positive news to report for once. For the last few days, I’ve been feeling increasingly depressed over Iraq’s prospects. It doesn’t help that lately, part of my job has been to keep track of all the election-related violence happening in Iraq. So it’s been about polling stations being hit by grenades or mortars, elections workers quitting en masse because of threats and dozens of Iraqis killed in the last few days.diablo 2 play disk .iso

So after another 12-hour day at work, I was heading home for some much needed sleep when we drove out to the main road and saw a commotion of a traffic jam and car horns honking. Hanging out windows and on the back of pickup trucks were ordinary people and political activists carrying banners for various political groups. There were also people standing along the streets, cheering everyone on. It was the last day for campaigning but it looked like a big block party, and the celebration lasted past midnight.diablo 2 play disk .iso

As I observed the scene, a few tears dropped from my eyes. I was just so happy to finally see a positive result from this so-called democracy we have brought to Iraqis. Of course, I was brought back to reality today as I heard of a car bomb killing four Iraqis in Baghdad. And who knows what the day after the elections will bring. But for that one moment, I felt a measure of hope.

diablo 2 play disk .iso

Anticipation

: Here are some quotes from Iraqi bloggers as they anticipate the vote. They all should be an inspiration -- and perhaps a shame -- to those of us who have become blase about democracy and freedom, who growl over our choices and don't even bother showing up at the polls. Democracy is fragile and precious; we forget that. These people don't:diablo 2 play disk .iso

: Ali of of Free Iraq (formerly of IraqTheModel) talks about his cynicism about politics and parties and his nation. But then he says:

Still and with all this skepticism, I'm going to vote and I don't care if it means risking my life and I don't even care that much how the end results are going to be, not now! ...diablo 2 play disk .iso

Now, and thanks to other humans, not from my area, religion and who don't even speak my language, I and all Iraqis have the real chance to make the change. Now I OWN my home and I can decide who's going to run things in it and how and I won't waste that chance. Tomorrow as I cast my vote, I'll regain my home. I'll regain my humanity and my dignity, as I stand and fulfill part of my responsibilities to this part of the large brotherhood of humanity. Tomorrow I'll say I'M IRAQI AND I'M PROUD, as being Iraqi this time bears a different meaning in my mind. It's being an active and good part of humanity. Tomorrow I and the Iraqis that are going to vote will rule, not the politicians we're going to vote for, as it's our decision and they'll work for us this time and if we don't like them we'll kick them out! Tomorrow my heart will race my hand to the box. Tomorrow I'll race even the sun to the voting centre, my Ka'aba and my Mecca. I'm so excited and so happy that I can't even feel the fear I though I would have at this time. I can't wait until tomorrow.

: Ali's brother, Mohammed, writes at Iraq The Model:
It's a moment of pure freedom but still surrounded by lots of dangers just like any beautiful rose surrounded by spikes.
There is fear from the enemies of freedom who have their weapons already prepared to intimidate us and stop us from choosing our future....
We're standing before a historic moment and I won't be exaggerating if I said that it's an important moment for the whole world; we're standing before a crossroads and everyone should watch and learn from the rebirth of Iraq.
Regardless of the winners in the se elections, those who opposed the elections and resisted the change will have to deal with the new reality.
In 48 hours from now, the dying dictatorships and their filthy tools, the terrorists, will find themselves facing an elected legitimate government in Iraq.
The neurotic Iraqi wife gives us a picture of the blue ink they put on voters' fingers at polling places and calls it the mark of my freedom. diablo 2 play disk .iso

And then she paints this great scene from the city where she voted (not sure where that is):

Crowds and crowds of people started walking in at 730am on a Friday morning. It was simply beautiful. Families singing and clapping as they made their way through. I cant describe the feelings of jubilation. There were chocolates and sweets being distributed and one family brought in huge pots of rice and mutton and gave it to everyone in the center. Umm, No Thank You...
: Fayrouz, an Iraqi expat in Dallas, watches her countrymen in Australia as they were the first to vote and she writes:
There are times when I don't know what to say. This moment is one of those times. Sorry, I'm so happy and don't want to ruin the moment by saying any silly words.
: Many, like Ahmed, are still deciding whether to vote:
Personally, I very much do want to vote, but up to this moment I have not decided whether I actually will. I think I’ll wait till the elections day, see how things will go and decide then. My family is afraid of voting and are asking me not to go fearing for my safety, but as I said, I have not decided yet.
: A Friends of Democracy correspondent in Mosul reports it is a "city in which the law of the jungle has prevailed for the past two months, the armed groups continue to threaten to target polling centers. The polling centers locations have not yet been announced."diablo 2 play disk .iso

: In Baghdad, more FoD bloggers report on the security going up around polling places:

Streets around voting centers being closed while families are leaving their homes....diablo 2 play disk .iso

Multinational forces’ patrols started to put up barbed wire in streets leading to polling centers in Baghdad, implementing a plan to have a security perimeter around voting centers to prevent attacks by terrorists in booby-trapped cars.

: Husayn at Democracy in Iraq says it's not just about Iraq:
It will also be a day that inspires our neighbors to develop their own democracies. I cannot wait, I have been busy the last few days with my own attempts to encourage voting in my neighborhood, I hope that these efforts were put to good use.
: London Kurd has wonderful photos of the packed polling place in England. diablo 2 play disk .iso

: Faiza says this is not the way to hold an election:

We need to know the names of candidates, hear their plans, see them on TV or newspapers, and understand every candidate clearly. We should watch public debates between different parties and candidates to understand what is really happening, we need to understand who are we voting for because these people will have a very important and dangerous responsibility in the next years, they should lead Iraq to a better future.
: Abu Khaleel is against the election now:
On the one hand, I am passionately for democracy in principle. It is the only hope for Iraq. On the other hand, I am passionately against these particular elections. They are only an ugly, distorted imitation of democracy. I am convinced that they will not lead to stability … or even democracy.diablo 2 play disk .iso

I agree with fellow Iraqis who want these elections postponed or even boycotted. We have already seen these elections boycotted by the vast majority of expatriate Iraqis.diablo 2 play disk .iso

But I cannot blame the people who want to take part in them! In fact, I have nothing but admiration for those people who are going to risk their lives to cast their vote tomorrow.

: Alaasmary says in anticipation:
Today I met my friends all of them want to vote and ready to challenge of the dangers and we will vote.
Yesterday explosion happened at the night near one of elections center in my city it was a rocket that means our elections center is a target to the terrorists, but we must sacrifice for Iraq and for our future and we will crush the terrorists.
The democracy will win.
: LATER... The Observer in London -- even the Observer -- gets the point of it all:
This is not a moment for missionary zeal or blind optimism. But it is a moment to find hope in small advances and to remember that, despite the violence, democracy is the aspiration of Iraqis. We are duty-bound to help bring that about.
diablo 2 play disk .iso

Wankers of the day

: I wouldn't use such an infantile headline except to demonstrate that what goes around comes around. diablo 2 play disk .iso

Atrios joins the Washington Post going after Dick Cheney for what he wore at Auschwitz. Hey, there's plenty of things to go after Dick Cheney for. But the man is a heart patient. What's so wrong with keeping warm? And are we on the left really reduced to the Mr. Blackwell party? I've got it: If we can't decide who should head the DNC, let's elect Joan Rivers. diablo 2 play disk .iso

Iraqi election coverage

: Here's a roundup of blogs covering the Iraq election. I'll be using this list when I appear on MSNBC Sunday as blogboy from 6 a.m. (!) to noon and again in the 5 p.m. hour. If you have more blogs to recommend, please add them. Also, can someone give me a link to current U.S. military blogs? diablo 2 play disk .iso

IRAQI BLOGGERSdiablo 2 play disk .iso

: Friends of Democracy has citizen correspondents in each province filing reports, mostly in Arabic, which are translated and posted here. Michael J. Totten is acting as anchor-blogger through the election. Note that they will have a webcast show about this starting at 2p ET Sunday and it will also be aired on C-SPAN. diablo 2 play disk .iso

: Friends of Democracy was founded by Omar and Mohammed of IraqTheModel. They will be covering the election. Their brother, Ali, is covering things from here. diablo 2 play disk .iso

: Hammorabi has been critical of security and the current government but is excited about election day (a great post).diablo 2 play disk .iso

: Democracy in Iraq is a new one to me by a 26-year-old whose European-educated father taught his children English. diablo 2 play disk .iso

: Kurdo is blogging the election from Kurdistan, complete with pictures and an endorsement for List 173. diablo 2 play disk .iso

: Here is a Kurdish group blog. Read this post by Sami: One citizen talking about his choice in the election. diablo 2 play disk .iso

: A Kurd in London covered absentee voting there, complete with pictures of electioneering by the poll. diablo 2 play disk .iso

: A Family in Baghdad is written (in Arabic and English) by the other of Raed (Salam Pax' pal) and his brothers. It is generally against the occupation and recent posts include letters from the mothers of American soldiers killed there. diablo 2 play disk .iso

: Riverbend's latest post is about getting water, not the election. diablo 2 play disk .iso

: Live from Baghad is by Ayad, who just returned to Iraq from Cleveland. diablo 2 play disk .iso

: The Neurotic Iraqi Wife thinks that registration is light. diablo 2 play disk .iso

: Rose, a mother in Baghad, isn't sure she'll be able to get online for the election. She writes about daily life in her city. diablo 2 play disk .iso

: Fayrouz covers the news via Dallas. diablo 2 play disk .iso

: In Sun of Iraq, Alaasmary writes: "There are four days and the democracy will win; it will be a real war against the terrorists."diablo 2 play disk .iso

: Iraqi Thoughts is covering the election from Canada and today writes about the numbers in expat voting. diablo 2 play disk .iso

: Life in Baghdad. diablo 2 play disk .iso

: Baghdad Dweller is covering the election. diablo 2 play disk .iso

: Citizen of Mosul is a doctor who writes about a typical day there. diablo 2 play disk .iso

: Iraqi Comments is from a 25-year-old in Belgium. diablo 2 play disk .iso

: I expect to see Alaa posting here. diablo 2 play disk .iso

: Zeyad is in Jordan until after the election. diablo 2 play disk .iso

: Iraq Election blog with links to the parties. diablo 2 play disk .iso

: Iraqi Letter to America. diablo 2 play disk .iso

: Iraqi Enterprise is a company offering news links. diablo 2 play disk .iso

: Iraq Blog Count. diablo 2 play disk .iso

IRAQI YOUTHdiablo 2 play disk .iso

: Aunt Najma gives us the perspective from Mosul. diablo 2 play disk .iso

: Nabil, Zeyad's teen brother, talks about the election in his school.diablo 2 play disk .iso

: Baghdad Girl, a 13-year-old who writes about living in fear and puts up pictures of her cats, like any self-respecting blogger. diablo 2 play disk .iso

: HNK is eager for the Americans to leave Mosul. diablo 2 play disk .iso

: Khalid, Raed's brother, blogs here. diablo 2 play disk .iso

: Then Some is an Iraqi college student already cynical about elected politicians. diablo 2 play disk .iso

MOREdiablo 2 play disk .iso

: Hardblogger's David Shuster is reporting from Baghdad. diablo 2 play disk .iso

: Dahr Jamail, an independent journalist, reports from Iraq. [via Lost Remote]diablo 2 play disk .iso

: The BBC's reporter blog and citizens' blog. diablo 2 play disk .iso

: Command Post, of course. diablo 2 play disk .iso

: Mark Cuban's HDnet (high-definition TV) will be covering the election full-time. diablo 2 play disk .iso

: Later... Here's the Iraq Election Newswire. diablo 2 play disk .iso

: Here are Friends of Democracy's original Arabic-language reports (using the world's first Arabic-language blogging tool!). diablo 2 play disk .iso

: Here are the latest photos from Friends of Democracy. diablo 2 play disk .iso

: RSS: Follow all the links above on this Kinja aggregator page. diablo 2 play disk .iso

: LATER....diablo 2 play disk .iso

: Christopher Allbritton is blogging again from Iraq. diablo 2 play disk .iso

January 28, 2005

Copps the cop speaks... oh, no

: The most frightening FCC commissioner, Democrat Michael Copps, speaks to TV execs at the NATPE conference. The man is clueless about the state of media -- all media, including the internet; he doesn't understand the real dynamics of the media business today; he's the most eager kneecapper of the First Amendment. A few choice remarks:

...I know that a lot of you in
this audience share my concern about the media track we’re on. Some of you have already spoken out and contributed your creative thought and hard work to the issue of how we reinvigorate the diversity and competition that our consumers and citizens not only deserve, but require....
He wants to do that with regulation when the real solution is innovation. The internet is exploding TV -- changing the business models, opening up competition, driving diversity -- and Copps is too blind to see it.
History shows us that combining distribution with production was how John D. Rockefeller built his stranglehold. I’m not saying that history repeats itself exactly, but often there are enough similarities that we ought to at least pay attention to it. This is one of those times....
What's really happening, Copps, is that distribution is losing its value as the internet increases competition -- for audience, for attention, for advertising dollars, for distribution. The fact that the internet showed Jon Stewart's performance on Crossfire to at least 20 times more than the old network, CNN, proves that distribution and production are becoming separated. Read the news, Copps.
By the way, in contrasting network power now with, say, 30 or 40 years ago, remember that back then they didn’t have their own stable of “owned-and-operated” stations. Plus we had financial interest and syndication rules to check market power. We had a real FCC re-licensing process for stations. We had specific public interest requirements. And broadcasters had a Voluntary Code of Conduct far more disciplined than anything they have today....
Oh, yeah, those were the good old days for monoplists, regulators, and censors. Those were the days of... The Beverly Hillbillies!
Each of us as citizens suffers from the lack of diverse programming. So much of today’s network menu is geared to the 18-34 year old age demographic.... But I think many of you would agree that a case can be made for more programs geared to older Americans—and let’s remember that shows like Golden Girls were independently produced.
I smell a quota coming on: Not enough old farts, damnit: More gray beards. (Hey, wait a minute, maybe that would be good for my career!).
Similarly, there is evidence that younger viewers are being left behind in the new media environment. Children Now examined the impact of consolidation on kids. They analyzed the market in Los Angeles and found that the number of broadcast TV programs for children dropped nearly 50 per cent after independent local stations were swallowed up in media mergers!...
Yo, Copps, get yourself a cable box! Kids have entire channels now devoted to them; they have tons more programming -- good programming, better than the crap I watched.
So it is time—it is long past time—for the FCC to consider and approve a setaside,
like 25 or 35 per cent of prime-time hours, for independent producers and creators....
Man, this guy is enough to turn me into a libertarian. Well, when it comes to the FCC, I am. This is -- and so much more about technology and spectrum and freedom -- is why I want to see the FCC abolished. (Are you listening, George? Go with it, George.)
Big media companies argue that they need the economic efficiencies of consolidation in order to survive. Now, we all realize that we live in a national economy—and a global economy—where the pressures of competition are extreme. We know that we cannot turn back the clock to a simpler past which never was, truth be told, quite that simple. I have never equated bigness with badness, and I have supported mergers and acquisitions that serve the public interest. That being said, we are talking here about a special industry—a very special industry. When we talk about media, we are not talking about just another commodity.
And there's the heart of what's wrong with Coppsthink and FCCthink: Media is special. It deserves to be treated differently. It deserves more regulation, in their view. No, sir, it deserves less because media is speech and -- does this sound familiar? -- Congress shall make no law abridging the freedom of speech. diablo 2 play disk .iso

FCC applies supply and demand to freedom

: Ernie Miller passes on the news that the FCC is raising its rates for Freedom of Information Requests. Guess they've had a lot of them, eh?diablo 2 play disk .iso

: When you think about it, the web should make FOIA obsolete: The goverment should put all its documents up online for all to see. It is our government, after all. That's real freedom of information. diablo 2 play disk .iso

When the F word was OK

: Coz digs into the past to find that Bono's profane and illegal F word was not the first time he'd uttered it on TV. At the 1994 Grammys:

U2, a band that had been around nearly 15 years in 1994, won the Best Alternative Rock award for their Zooropa album, and frontman Bono accepted it with heavy irony.diablo 2 play disk .iso

"Yeah, alternative all right," he said. "We shall continue to abuse our position and f--- up the mainstream. God bless you."

Did life and society and morality all suddenly change just because Janet Jackson kinda exposed her breast? Apparently so. diablo 2 play disk .iso

Sponge Michael, SquarePants

: Timothy Karr at MediaCitizen reveals the unholy alliance of Michael Powell and SpongeBob -- and the coverup. diablo 2 play disk .iso

Bush: As confused as everybody else on indecency

: On the one hand, George Bush defends the First Amendment in an interview on C-SPAN this weekend. But then he seems to realize that he has just painted himself in the corner, so he turns around and defends Michael Powell, too. Such is life on the slipperly slope. diablo 2 play disk .iso

But note that George Bush does say that the first and best reaction to what you consider indecent is not government regulation but the remote control. diablo 2 play disk .iso

Go with it, George. Go with it. diablo 2 play disk .iso

From Broadcasting & Cable's coverage, the transcript (full C-SPAN transcript here):

LAMB: ... one of the big issues moving around Capitol Hill is indecency. And I want to ask you, how far do you think government should go in telling people who use the airwaves, the broadcast stations, what can be said?

PRESIDENT: As a free speech advocate, I often told parents who were complaining about content, you're the first line of responsibility; they put an off button on the TV for a reason. Turn it off.
Amen. But he continues:
PRESIDENT: I do think, though, that there can be a -- that government can, at times, not censor, but call to account programming that gets over the line. The problem, of course, is the definition "over the line."
Well, but Mr. President, that is censorship. And, yes, that is precisely the problem: Where is the line and who draws it? Should it be government? No, it should not. You know that, in your heart of hearts. Go with it, George. Go with it.
PRESIDENT: My answer would be, if I were interviewing an FCC chairman, please tell me where the line is, and make sure you protect the capacity of people to speak freely in our society, but be willing to -- if things get too far, call them to account. I think Michael did a good job of balancing that.
Mighty tight corner you just painted yourself into, Pres.
LAMB: There is a bill that if it were passed on Capitol Hill would up the fees, up the fine from $27,000 for using bad language, for instance, to $500,000 as a maximum fee.
Actually, that's only the fine per incident. The maximums go up to $3 million. That is a serious chill on free speech. That is the intent of the legislation: to chill free speech. But to the President, it's amusing:
THE PRESIDENT: Well, they're going to collect a lot of money when some of these TV shows are still on.
I'm not laughing, George.
LAMB: But is that -- I mean, at what point, though, do you have somebody that says, that word can't be used, but that word can be used?

THE PRESIDENT: No, I understand. Look, it's the old -- the classic definition of the Supreme Court -- by the Supreme Court on pornography, you know it when you see it. I think that was Judge Potter Stewart who said that.
That was, I believe, what the court said on obscenity and that's not what we're talking about here. We're talking about indecency on broadcast. He continues:
PRESIDENT: Look, we are a great society because we're a free society. On the other hand, it is very important for there to be limits, limits to what parents have to explain to their children. Nevertheless, I do want to repeat what I said earlier -- the parent's first responsibility is to pay attention to what their children listen to, whether it be rock songs or movies or TV shows.
The poor man just gave himself whiplash flipflopping like that. diablo 2 play disk .iso

Let me help you out here, George: You are a Republican. You believe in small government. You abhor regulation. You should kill the FCC. Go with it, George. Go with it. diablo 2 play disk .iso

Whereabouts

: Sorry to have deserted you, my second family. Been busy. Work, you know. Happens. Back soon. Whether you want it or not. Complete sentences to follow. Promise. diablo 2 play disk .iso

January 27, 2005

About Alterman

: In the world of one-from-column-A/one-from-column-B TV, I spent a few minutes on MSNBC Tuesday night on the other side of rabid conservatives Pat Buchanan and Michael Medved (on The Passion of the Christ and the Oscars) and the next day I'm back on MSNBC placed on the other side of rabid liberal Eric Alterman (on Iraqi blogs and the election). I mentioned the confrontation here but didn't go into detail mainly because I long ago stopped paying attention to Alterman and didn't think he was worth the effort and moreso because I did not want to again spread the blood libel he engages in regarding Iraqi bloggers: After quoting his favorite blogger on Iraq -- who else but Juan Cole? -- Alterman repeats the irresponsible, unfounded, dangerous speculation that, gee, if Iraqi bloggers are pro-American they must be CIA plants, huh? 'diablo 2 play disk .iso

I told Alterman on the air that that was irresponsible and dangerous. I said he had not one shred of evidence or reporting or fact to back up his speculation. I said that he could end up getting these men, whom I've met and whom I know, harmed. diablo 2 play disk .iso

Alterman said, well, gee, the CIA has done weird things before so why couldn't they do this? diablo 2 play disk .iso

That's responsible journalism? Not in any universe I know. That's the worst of tabloid, tin-hat, anti-intellectual, ammoral rumor-mongering. That's Eric, the rumor monger. diablo 2 play disk .iso

What he did was, let me repeat, not journalistic. Any editor worth his salt would have killed that speculation in print (well, except at the NY Times). diablo 2 play disk .iso

I was going to let that dog lie but now Alterman has gone on the attack:

I never had any reason to give any thought to the issue of blogs and the Iraqi elections, until I was asked to appear on a segment about them on MSNBC yesterday with Ron Reagan and Monica Crowley, who are getting a new show there, with Jeff Jarvis as the other guest.
Well, if a booker calls me to ask about coming on the air about a topic I "never had any reason to give any thought to" I would decline. But not Alterman. He'll make up an opinion about anything, it appears.
Reagan and Crowley just might work, as cable TV goes, I dunno.
I smell Alterman sucking up to his bosses at MSNBC. But I don't want to be a conspiracy theorist.
Monica is just about the least annoying television conservative I know and Ron Regan [sic] is, for reasons of his pedigree, given permission to say genuinely liberal things that are allowed to no other cable pundit.
Monica and I had our own interesting conversation about Eric after we got off the air. I won't speak for her.
But I’m getting a little tired of Jarvis, I must say, who seems to combine an intense TV Guide/Entertainment Weekly-style commitment to anti-intellectualism (he attacked me once for the crime of seeking to understand the motivations for Arab attacks on Jews in Europe), with an equally religious attachment to the liberating power of blogs as a piece of God’s Kingdom here on earth.
Speaking of the promised land, don't miss Eric's attack on Andrew Sullivan and defense of Muslims who refused to commemmorate the liberation of Auschwitz.
Look, unlike. Mr. Moral Outrage, I’m a Jew, but I don’t expect Arabs to pay tribute to my people’s suffering while Jews, in the form of Israel and its supporters—and in this I include myself—are causing much of theirs. Would Andrew want to go to a service in honor of the suffering of gay bashing bigots? (Wait, don’t answer that. Would a gay person who didn’t regularly offer his political support to gay bashing bigots want to go?) Anyway, I’m sure what I’m saying will be twisted beyond recognition, and so I suppose that makes it stupid to do, but I’m sorry. The Palestinians have also suffered because of the Holocaust. They lost their homeland as the world—in the form of the United Nations—reacted to European crimes by awarding half of Palestine to the Zionists.
Oh, no, we wouldn't want to give a second's pause to remember the deaths of 6 million Jews, nope, that wouldn't fit Alterman's definition of liberalism. But we digress. Back to the current Alterman screed:
I’m pleased that Jarvis has found a reason for living, but I can’t really share his uncritical enthusiasm for blogs, nor, in this case, his unqualified cheerleading of this crazy elections scheme. Whoever heard of an election where the candidates have to remain in hiding for fear of their lives; where the election observers have to “observe” from an entirely different country because it is too dangerous to show up anywhere near the election; where its sponsors are already attempting to undermine any conceivable criteria for judging whether or not it’s a success.
And why is that? Because terrorists and murderers attack people who would vote, attack the schools -- schools! -- where those people would vote, and decry democracy as evil. Alterman said on the air they were defending their country. From what? Freedom?
Yesterday Jarvis was crowing about how just how terrific the American invasion of Iraq was because there are now a few bloggers there—his tangent on his blogging “friend” in Iran scared me on this point—when I pointed out that it wouldn’t tax my imagination to wonder if perhaps some of those bloggers might be planted by the CIA to confuse credulous readers, especially since supporters of the Bush invasion appear to be numerically significantly over-represented relative to the rest of the population.
Wow, so much packed into one little sentence. First, I hardly called the invasion "terrific" (golly-wowy-gee-whiz wonderful might have been my wording... naw, it wasn't that either). I have said often that getting a murdering tyrant out of power is a good thing. Once upon a time, that would have made me a nation-building, interventionist liberal. In my book, it still does. Just not in Eric's. And then there's his snide remark about a blogging friend in Iran. You should meet that friend, Eric. He, too, is opposed to the war. He, too, believes that Bush is dangerous. But he, unlike you, has the courage to fight for democracy and freedom. You could learn a few things from my Iranian friend, Eric. Many things. diablo 2 play disk .iso

And now we get to the meat of it: You speculate -- admitting it is out of your "imagination" -- that bloggers in Iraq who are not anti-American could be CIA plants. Well, Eric, if I speculated that you might just be getting paid by the DNC because you are such a lockstep liberal, that would be wrong and irresponsible and certainly unjournalistic but it would not jeopardize your life. You go speculating -- out of your "imagination" -- that an Iraqi might have a tie to the CIA and you do jeopardize their life. diablo 2 play disk .iso

There is nothing responsible in that idle speculation. It is based on no fact, no reporting, no journalism, no knowledge. It is idle speculation and nothing more. It is -- as you now openly admit -- "imagination," that's all. And it is dangerous. And you should be ashamed of yourself for it, Eric.

(Remember bloggers have no “gatekeepers; that’s their strength and their weakness.)
Neither did you have a gatekeeper to say that on the air with no basis in fact at all, Eric. But here, on blogs, you have millions of gatekeepers.
Jarvis flipped out over this suggestion and called me “irresponsible,” and implied that my words might get people killed among other things and demanded proof. I don’t see just what has to be proved, when all I was doing was saying, “Well bud, this kind of thing is why the CIA is in business.” It’s not as if I made any specific accusations, but Jarvis seemed to think the idea so horrific as to be not only unmentionable but also unthinkable. (He touches on my crimes here. I think they probably gave the job to that Doonesbury intern.)
I could speculate that you kill baby kittens, Eric. I could send PETA to your door to drum you out of the liberal corps. I could do that. But I deal in facts, not imagination and speculation and tin-hat conspiracies. diablo 2 play disk .iso

Alterman continues with more out of his imagination but I won't waste your pixels with it. diablo 2 play disk .iso

: LATER: I just got email from Edward who says:

I can't resist offering this minor observation to Alterman's "question" about "an election where candidates have to remain in hiding for fear of their lives"...
Yeah, I've heard of one Eric...America, 1860. Abraham Lincoln had to enter Washington DC dressed as a woman in a shawl for fear of assassination by Confederate nutjobs. And not unfounded as we know since one of them caught up with him five years later.
diablo 2 play disk .iso

Advertisers: You have lost control of your message. Get over it.

: VW is going berserk over the parody ad that showed a terrorist blowing himself up inside a small but tough sedan. The company is demanding apologies and threatening to sue. diablo 2 play disk .iso

Sorry, guys. That VW has already left the barn. diablo 2 play disk .iso

You are no longer in control of your message, advertisers. You can fight it or you can embrace it. diablo 2 play disk .iso

Learn the lesson from the music industry. They fought. They lost. Big media is trying to learn that lesson now. TV is trying to learn that lesson. Your turn, advertisers. diablo 2 play disk .iso

If you embrace this, I'll just bet you will find something amazing happen: You will find that your customers are better at marketing your products than you are. diablo 2 play disk .iso

Oh, I know your fear: 'But what these people say will be off message!' Well, then, maybe your message is off. diablo 2 play disk .iso

If I were you, VW, I would hold a contest to get people to create the best damned VW commercial anywhere and promise to spend big bucks to air it on, say, the Oscars. You don't have to pick the terrorist commercial. You'll be making clear that the thing was not made by you. At the same time, you will learn a lot about new messages that truly resonate and reverberate from your customers -- because your customers are creating them. How's that for market research?diablo 2 play disk .iso

This is the Cluetrain economy, guys: Markets are conversations. Join in the conversation, don't try to muzzle it. diablo 2 play disk .iso

If you let them... your customers will tell you how to create your products. If you let them... your customers will market them for you. If you let them... your customers will even be your free customer service department if you let them -- yielding more happy customers and no complaints about putting people on hold and pissing them off. diablo 2 play disk .iso

Look at how TreoCentral: That's a guerrilla customer movement of Treo fans helping Treo fans. That is the future. diablo 2 play disk .iso

: More on sell-side advertising and the idea that consumers are your best marketers here. More on exploding TV here. diablo 2 play disk .iso

Ruff, ruff

: Yes, I bark. But my bite is worse.diablo 2 play disk .iso

That's a sly link to Jack Shafer's Slate column about last week's Harvard journalism/ blogging confab and hooha. diablo 2 play disk .iso

Ed Cone is right: Shafer's column is pretty clueless. diablo 2 play disk .iso

: Jay Rosen assigned the class around the table to write up what changed their mind at the conference. Collective blatherings here. diablo 2 play disk .iso

: LATER: Rosen takes down Shafer... hard.

Besides being lazy, Jack Shafer’s suggestion that the conference theme was "blogs will triumph over the traditional news media... you guys are toast!" is intellectually dishonest. That's a few doors up from lying, but the same general neighborhood.diablo 2 play disk .iso

Allegedly, I and other bloggers at the conference are saying today what some clown said 33 years ago, that "the network news programs would collapse under the weight of their own lies." Allegedly we "declared blogs the destroyers of mainstream media." Allegedly, we (well, Dave Winer) "discounted any chance that the clueless media would adapt to the blogofuture." Allegedly, we have misread media history and don’t realize that "old" media don't get replaced, they adapt.diablo 2 play disk .iso

All are false characterizations of the meeting. Same neighborhood as lying -- not about facts but about ideas.diablo 2 play disk .iso

During my initial remarks at the conference, I specifically rejected the claims Shafer attributes to me and other bloggers.

Read the rest. Shafer gets an F in that class. diablo 2 play disk .iso

: In an email exchange about all this, Jan Schaffer said that Shafer's column looks like a classic case of a "journalist framing a story to get the biggest bang for his words." I agreed and said:

Right. And we from the trade do know the tricks of the trade, eh? So part of our duty of transparency is exposing those tricks when we see them -- as Jay does so well in his response to Shafer.diablo 2 play disk .iso

I recently tore apart The Times' Sarah Boxer story about the Iraqi bloggers (something I didn't even mention at the conference because I thought it would be confrontational... note that I wasn't trying to be confrontational when I mentioned the other Iraqi story Shafer says I barked about). In that post about Boxer's story, I called her out on what I know damned well is a trick of the trade: sexing up a lead with something you won't end up substantiating just to sell the story inside the paper.diablo 2 play disk .iso

So add that to the lessons of the conference: Those of us who straddle both worlds have an added responsibility to push our colleagues to expose their process and when they don't to expose it for them.

diablo 2 play disk .iso

And what about Bugs Bunny's carrots: Freudian?

busterfarm.gif: Josh Marshall's reader found the lost episode of Buster the Bunny's lesbian adventure. Says Buster's blog:

While there, we visited Emma, David, and James, who live with their two moms, Karen and Gillian. Karen and my mom used to work at the same newspaper together.
Yup, that'll make the next generation gay. diablo 2 play disk .iso

: Meanwhile, the United Church of Christ proves that not all churchgoers are humorless, bigoted prigs. They issue a press release welcoming Sponge Bob and all his nefarious cartoon buddies to their pews:


Joining the animated fray, the United Church of Christ today (Jan. 24) said that Jesus' message of extravagant welcome extends to all, including SpongeBob Squarepants - the cartoon character that has come under fire for allegedly holding hands with a starfish.diablo 2 play disk .iso

"Absolutely, the UCC extends an unequivocal welcome to SpongeBob," the Rev. John H. Thomas, the UCC's general minister and president, said, only partly in jest. "Jesus didn't turn people away. Neither do we."diablo 2 play disk .iso

spongebobchurch.jpgFor that matter, Thomas explained, the 1.3-million-member church, if given the opportunity, would warmly receive Barney, Big Bird, Tinky-Winky, Clifford the Big Red Dog or, for that matter, any who have experienced the Christian message as a harsh word of judgment rather than Jesus' offering of grace.diablo 2 play disk .iso

The UCC's welcome comes in the wake of laughable accusations by James C. Dobson, founder of Focus on the Family, that the popular SpongeBob and other well-known cartoon characters are crossing "a moral line" by stressing tolerance in a national We Are Family Foundation-sponsored video that will be distributed to U.S. schools on March 11, 2005.diablo 2 play disk .iso

Later, an assistant to Dobson called SpongeBob's participation in the video "insidious."diablo 2 play disk .iso

Thomas said, on the contrary, it is Dobson who is crossing the moral line for sending the mistaken message that Christians do not value tolerance and diversity as important religious values.diablo 2 play disk .iso

"While Dobson's silly accusation makes headlines, it's also one more concrete example of how religion is misused over and over to promote intolerance over inclusion," Thomas said. "This is why we believe it is so important that the UCC speak the Gospel in an accent not often heard in our culture, because far too many experience the cross only as judgment, never as embrace."diablo 2 play disk .iso

Dobson, despite his often-outrageous viewpoints, is arguably one of the most oft-heard religious voices in popular culture today. Through his Focus on the Family media empire, Dobson produces daily commentaries that appear widely on television and radio stations across the United States, often times as "public service announcements."diablo 2 play disk .iso

Meanwhile, the UCC's recently released 30-second paid television commercial - produced to underscore the denomination's belief that Jesus didn't turn anyone away - has been rejected by two major television networks for being "too controversial."

Amen. Let's hear it again: Amen!diablo 2 play disk .iso

: LATER: What's so extraordinarily distasteful about all this is the idea that merely exposing a child to a person who is homosexual is somehow offensive or wrong. How intolerant. How bigoted. How unChristian. How unAmerican. How many first stones they're throwing, these fools. diablo 2 play disk .iso

: See also Andrew Sullivan. diablo 2 play disk .iso

15 years later...

: The 15th anniversary of Entertainment Weekly caught me quite by surprise. I wasn't counting. diablo 2 play disk .iso

Rick Tetzeli, EW's third editor, was nice enough to quote my editor's note from the first issue and it got me to look back at the 10 promises I made to EW's readers:

10. This is a national magazine. We cover what's at your local 'plex instead of what's on Broadway because more than 200 million of you don't live in New York (you lucky ducks). diablo 2 play disk .iso

9. We won't have long, ponderous, pompous articles about show-biz--5,000-word stories about 50-minute albums ... Short is fine. diablo 2 play disk .iso

8. The magazine is current.... Each issue will tell you what you need to know now. diablo 2 play disk .iso

7. Entertainment Weekly is selective. We don't review and report on everything, on what's notable... In fact, finding what's notable is our most important job.diablo 2 play disk .iso

6. The magazine must be easy to use.... You also should be able to find out quickly and easily what our critics think, and that's why they grade (from A+ to F) everything they review. diablo 2 play disk .iso

5. This magazine will be a voice for quality in a business that needs one. diablo 2 play disk .iso

4. Since we are boldly and loudly opinionated, we also must be open to the opinions of others.... In this magazine, everybody's a critic.diablo 2 play disk .iso

3. Our critics enjoy the areas of entertainment they review. They are discriminating fans and members of the audience, just like you. diablo 2 play disk .iso

2. Guaranteed: The opinions expressed in this magazine are those of the writers and are free from influence by advertisers, corporations, public relations people, or stars. diablo 2 play disk .iso

1. Entertainment Weekly will be entertaining....

Sounds a little blogish, I think. Not a bad list, eh? You'll have to tell me whether the magazine follows those rules. diablo 2 play disk .iso

Another time, I may start telling some of the stories of the magazine's launch and my departure (I refused to sign the editor's contract at Time Inc., with its shut-up clause, precisely because I believed it was important to maintain my right to tell those stories, good and bad). diablo 2 play disk .iso

This week, I simply want to congratulate editors Tetzeli and Jim Seymore before him and the staff of the magazine through the years. Good work. So the baby's a teenager already. Damn.diablo 2 play disk .iso

January 26, 2005

Fighting freedom

: John Podhoretz looks at the election in Iraq through the evil eyes of our enemy -- yes, the enemy -- there:

...once a legitimately elected Iraqi assembly is seated, the insurgents will have no argument left with which to advance their cause — except for the open hatred of liberty.diablo 2 play disk .iso

The latest tape from Iraq's terrorist master, Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, made that point crystal clear. "We have declared a fierce war on this evil principle of democracy and those who follow this wrong ideology," Zarkawi says. "Anyone who tries to help set up this system is part of it."diablo 2 play disk .iso

Note that Zarqawi doesn't say he's fighting imperialism, or foreign invaders on Iraqi soil, or any other (and far more seductive) argument. He is waging war on democracy inside Iraq — on the right of Iraqis to choose their own leaders and structure their own governments.diablo 2 play disk .iso

Zarqawi is a very frightening and very evil man, a destructive force with hundreds of gallons of American and Iraqi blood on his hands. Iraqis and Americans alike have reason to be concerned about his declaration of war. But calling democracy "evil" is a self-defeating exercise. By doing so, he is including among the evildoers all Iraqis who go to the polls.diablo 2 play disk .iso

His fight will no longer be with Western devils, but with Iraqi patriots. There is a very real likelihood that under such conditions, his insurgency will collapse from the inside or will merely transition into becoming a brutal gang of parasites who use kidnapping and the threat of terrorism to extort money, pure and simple.

diablo 2 play disk .iso

Numbers

: The toll from the tsunami has now passed 228,000. diablo 2 play disk .iso

Numbers

: 37 Americans died in Iraq today, 31 of them in an accidental helicopter crash. We pay more attention when more people die. That's ridiculous, even offensive. Others died yesterday and the day before. Some died in accidents, some at the hand of insurgents/terrorists/murderers. None of them should have died, of course. Some try to blame the president for these deaths; too few blame the murderers with blood on their hands. Blame won't bring them back, nothing will. But it is important that we at least remember them and their tragic sacrifice as we reach an important milestone this Sunday with the first election in Iraq. I don't know that I believe that death can be given meaning but if it can, bringing democracy to a nation is a noble cause. It is also important that we remember all the innocent civilians who have died at the hands of Saddam and now the terrorists in Iraq and as a result of war. The people of Iraq will be risking their lives this Sunday to bring democracy to their nation; the soldiers there will be risking their lives to protect them. Democracy is that precious. diablo 2 play disk .iso

Evil cartoon bunnies strike again

: Hoo-boy. Washington, big media, and, of course, those wacky religious folks keep thinking that cartoon characters can ruin our morals. The latest silliness:

The nation’s new education secretary denounced PBS on Tuesday for spending public money on a cartoon with lesbian characters, saying many parents would not want children exposed to such lifestyles.diablo 2 play disk .iso

The not-yet-aired episode of “Postcards From Buster” shows the title character, an animated bunny named Buster, on a trip to Vermont — a state known for recognizing same-sex civil unions. The episode features two lesbian couples, although the focus is on farm life and maple sugaring.diablo 2 play disk .iso

A PBS spokesman said late Tuesday that the nonprofit network has decided not to distribute the episode, called “Sugartime!,” to its 349 stations. She said the Education Department’s objections were not a factor in that decision.

WGBH will air the episode. It's as if people think that even mentioning that there are gay people is going to cause an explosion of gay people: the Teletubbie gambit. diablo 2 play disk .iso

You'll remember that Fox pixilated a cartoon character's butt and the so-called Parents Television Council complained about another cartoon characters naked butt -- but at least the FCC, in a moment of sanity, decided that would not ruin the nation's morals. diablo 2 play disk .iso

On MSBNC

: I'll be on MSNBC with Ron Reagan, Monica Crowley, and Eric Alterman today at 12:30p ET (delayed by Condi) to talk about the Iraqi elections and blogs. diablo 2 play disk .iso

: LATER: Alterman spewed tin-hat insinuations about pro-American blogs in Iraq with absolutely no basis in fact, no journalistic justification whatsoever . I said he was being irresponsible. That's the light version. diablo 2 play disk .iso

: MORE: As of now, I'll be back on MSNBC this Sunday, covering blogs' coverage of the Iraqi election from 6a-noon and again from 5-6p ET. diablo 2 play disk .iso

Policy or palaver?
:
: I applauded what George Bush said about supporting democratic movements and setting a goal and a mission of spreading freedom in the world. diablo 2 play disk .iso

I said so on Air America's Morning Sedition yesterday -- though I also quoted Zephyr Teachout when she told me that she liked what Bush said but wasn't sure he was the president to do it. diablo 2 play disk .iso

Still, this seemed to be a speech with vision, a doctrine with courage. I was eager to see how he carried it out with North Korea, Saudi Arabia... you name the undemocratic nation. diablo 2 play disk .iso

Yet already, there's spin from the White House -- the kind of spin you see when somebody tries to pedal backwards. Howard Kurtz captures it:

You might think that calling on the United States to spread freedom around the globe and stand against tyranny might have consequences.diablo 2 play disk .iso

It was a statement of ideals.diablo 2 play disk .iso

But what does the president plan to do to carry out those ideals?diablo 2 play disk .iso

There will be no change in administration policy.diablo 2 play disk .iso

But how can Bush call for action against regimes that oppress their people and still do business with the dictators of China, Saudi Arabia and Pakistan?diablo 2 play disk .iso

The goals the president set forth can only be met over a generation, not in a year or two.diablo 2 play disk .iso

Then was the speech just meaningless rhetoric?diablo 2 play disk .iso

It was an attempt to lay out his strategic vision about moral choices.diablo 2 play disk .iso

So we shouldn't take his words seriously?diablo 2 play disk .iso

The president believes in bold action to advance the cause of freedom.diablo 2 play disk .iso

But if he doesn't take any practical steps, won't he have failed to clear the bar he set for himself?diablo 2 play disk .iso

It was a statement of ideals.

And what are you going to do about it?diablo 2 play disk .iso

: UPDATE: Zephyr clarifies/amplifies in the comments:

I wasn't nearly as optimistic as you. More precisely, I said I agreed with the spirit and goals and content of most of the speech, the kind of international, civic democratic focus that I'd like to see our country do more of -- but Bush was EXACTLY the wrong person to give it. Postmodern the way CLEAR SKIES is postmodern -- and then these postmodern responses reinforce it. Uggh.
diablo 2 play disk .iso

Homeless

: The New York Post and The New York Times editorial pages almost agree that the homless should not be making the New York subway their home after a fire apparently started by one of them caused damage and disruption that will take months or even years to fix. The Post started it in an editorial:

Let's face it: Some subway-station bum starts a fire, probably to warm his tootsies, and subway riders suffer for years.diablo 2 play disk .iso

He's culpable, of course, even if he is crazy as a loon.diablo 2 play disk .iso

But blame for this fiasco also must accrue to those who have made the notion that "homelessness" is just an "alternative lifestyle" into public policy — which insanely grants vagrants the right to take up residence anywhere they damn please....diablo 2 play disk .iso

Was the perp just crazy? Was it deliberate arson? Or just carelessness or recklessness, a street-dweller trying to stay warm in sub-freezing temperatures? Or smoking a cigarette (or something else)?diablo 2 play disk .iso

Does it really matter?diablo 2 play disk .iso

New York City spends hundreds of millions of dollars every year to feed, clothe, shelter and provide all manner of services to needy street folk.diablo 2 play disk .iso

When they resist help, their self-appointed "advocates" rise to defend their "rights" to do so.diablo 2 play disk .iso

What do these "advocates" say now, when millions will have to suffer, likely for years, so that the "rights" of a single lunatic could be preserved?diablo 2 play disk .iso

For years, responsible New Yorkers (including us) have argued that these people are a danger to themselves and others (not to mention, a daily blight).diablo 2 play disk .iso

If they refuse good-faith help, they need to be hauled off to Rikers Island.diablo 2 play disk .iso

For the benefit of law-abiding New Yorkers, if not for their own sake.diablo 2 play disk .iso

Cruel? Hardly.diablo 2 play disk .iso

After all, there's a lot more heat and food at Rikers than on the streets.diablo 2 play disk .iso

Living in the city's nooks and crannies — on a subway platform near a signal station, for example — must be a crime.diablo 2 play disk .iso

New Yorkers should be boiling at the thought that one man could be allowed to cause pain for millions, so he can exercise his right maybe to freeze to death.

And The Times editorializes today:
The subway is also no place for the homeless, and it's a sign of the system's shaky state that hundreds of people have been allowed to live in its grapevine of tunnels and passageways. It is not safe for them and, as Sunday's fire makes clear, it is not safe for the millions who ride through those tunnels every single day. The city's police and homeless outreach programs need to be mobilized right away.
Well, The Times isn't going for that Rikers Island solution but it is at least agreeing that the homeless shouldn't be living in the subway. diablo 2 play disk .iso

Rudy Guliani was the first politician in New York to have the guts to deal with this issue; other cities (I'm thinking of you, San Francisco) haven't. diablo 2 play disk .iso

And the real issue isn't homelessness. It's insanity. The laws in this country make it impossible to commit and help even the obvioulsy and often the dangerously insane. diablo 2 play disk .iso

I say that One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest is as much at fault as any politician, for it made the institution frightening and the people who run it bad guys. diablo 2 play disk .iso

Guliani saw that because of the fear of the rubber room, we ended up with a doctrine that said it's a right to lose your mind but he said it's not a right to interfere with the lives of people around you. diablo 2 play disk .iso

He got rid of the squeegee men years ago -- and personally, I was relieved, for a bunch of them attacked my car one night and tried to drag me out of it, sending my wife into premature labor. It is a danger. diablo 2 play disk .iso

The fact that people are living in the subways of New York is, in the end, a dereliction of our duty to these people. The Post and The Times are both right. Now let's do something about it. diablo 2 play disk .iso

: UPDATE: Glenn Reynolds and Helen Reynolds have much more here. diablo 2 play disk .iso

Damned ice dam

: I just spent the last two nights on a roof banging at ice-filled gutters on the roof above because ice is backing up under the roof and melting and dripping and driving us crazy: Jersey water torture. I hate heights. So I feared falling; I feared huge hunks of ice and gutter falling on my head; and because I fear looking like a dork, I refused my wife's suggestion that I wear a bike helmet. And now it's snowing again. Call me when winter's over. diablo 2 play disk .iso

Should I consider a metal roof?diablo 2 play disk .iso

January 25, 2005

God's work

: I skipped out of my church's budget committee meeting tonight to appear on Pat Buchanan's show on MSBNC on The Passion of The Christ. Hmmm. That may be a new definition of profanity. I'm going to say that I am a Christian and I did not like Passion. I even preached a sermon about it. To say that not liking Passion makes Hollywood godless is illogical, silly, even offensive. diablo 2 play disk .iso

: LATER: Michael Medved and Buchanan went on about seething mobs of securlists in Hollywood. I said it's not a matter of religion and it's not a matter of right and left (being that they blanked out Fahrenheit 9/11). It's a matter of taste. diablo 2 play disk .iso

The indecent indecency bill rides again

: The prigs and prudes and enemies of the First Amendment are at it again, trying once more to get their indecent indecency bill through Congress. This time, it will make it all the way to Bush's desk, and we know what will happen there. An holier-than-thou alliance of Republican and Democrats are joining to kneecap the Constitution:

Rep. Fred Upton, chairman of the House Commerce subcommittee that has jurisdiction over the issue, unveiled on Tuesday a bill to raise fines on broadcasters and entertainers to as much as $500,000 per violation. diablo 2 play disk .iso

It would also require the FCC to consider revoking a station's license after three violations. diablo 2 play disk .iso

Meanwhile, Sen. Sam Brownback, a Kansas Republican, plans to introduce a measure on Wednesday to boost fines to as much as $325,000 per violation and a $3 million maximum for continuing violations, according to spokesman Aaron Groote.

[Hat tip: Oliver]diablo 2 play disk .iso

: By the way, this is why I had a problem supporting Joe Lieberman: He's a cosponsor of this travesty. diablo 2 play disk .iso

Michael Powell's final spin

: As he leaves the FCC, Michael Powell finally gets the guts to say no to the so-called Parents Television Council and now he tries to take credit for everything from iPods to blogs... though I fail to see what the FCC had to do with either. He said on FoxNews:

If I tried to capture in a nutshell, we tried to do one thing, which was to get the law right in a way that would stimulate innovative technology and put more power into the hands of consumers. And I think all you have to do is walk into an electronics store today and look at a TiVo or buy an iPod, or look at some of the phones that are available today, and you will see the vision coming into fruition.diablo 2 play disk .iso

If you look at the Internet and the role that it played in the election and the political campaign, if you look at the fact that an Internet blogger can bring challenge to a network as formidable as CBS, you realize that more and more democratization of technology is leading to strong consumer value and that's what we're most proud of. And that's what we really wanted to focus our agenda on.

[Hat tip: TVSHenry]diablo 2 play disk .iso

Media on media

: I'm on MSNBC twice tonight -- at 6p and 9p -- on the Oscars, the first time about the awards as awards and the second time about Passion of the Christ. diablo 2 play disk .iso

: I'm also set to be on MSNBC Wednesday at 12 regarding blogs and the Iraqi elections. Making a habit of this? I hope so. diablo 2 play disk .iso

Free the internet

: Hoder calls for ending the embargo on Iran -- and other repressed nations -- when it comes to the Internet so the people there can find and exercise their human right of free speech:

I really believe it's time to use the momentum that "freedom for repressed people" rhetoric of Bush has created and ask for some of the stupid parts of the US embargo on Iran that only harm the free speech of the Iranian people to be lifted....diablo 2 play disk .iso

I think the whole thing deserves more attention from the American liberal media and, honestly, it's a perfect topic for editorial writers of liberal newspapers, such as New York Times. Can anyone help?

diablo 2 play disk .iso

'Help my dad'

: The daughter of Roy Hallums, being held hostage in Iraq, started a web site about her father. diablo 2 play disk .iso

F that

: Reuters says that three of five FCC commissioners have voted to turn down complaints about the use of the F word in Saving Private Ryan. Yes, that's no surprise. But because the FCC refused to do that before the movie was to air -- and because the FCC had just ruled that the F word was the first word decreed by government to be profane -- 66 stations refused to show Ryan and I say they were right: They did not want to put themselves at risk for breaking the law the FCC had just made. diablo 2 play disk .iso

I quote from the FCC's Bono decision:

...[W]e believe that, given the core meaning of the ``F-Word,'' any use of that word or a variation, in any context, inherently has a sexual connotation....diablo 2 play disk .iso

We conclude that the answer to this question is yes. The ``F-Word'' is one of the most vulgar, graphic and explicit descriptions of sexual activity in the English language. Its use invariably invokes a coarse sexual image.... If the Commission were routinely not to take action against isolated and gratuitous uses of such language on broadcasts when children were expected to be in the audience, this would likely lead to more widespread use of the offensive language..... The fact that the use of this word may have been unintentional is irrelevant; it still has the same effect of exposing children to indecent language. Our action today furthers our responsibility to
safeguard the well-being of the nation's children from the most objectionable, most offensive language....diablo 2 play disk .iso

We also find, as an independent ground, that the use of the phrase at issue here in the context and at the time of day here constitutes ``profane'' language under 18 U.S.C. § 1464....

This is the kind of inconsistency that is driving broadcasters bonkers and that also exposes the danger of government regulating speech. Where's the line, guys, where's the line? diablo 2 play disk .iso

And the winner isn't...

: It's a rare day when you can call Hollywood courageous but I give the Academy props for ignoring Fahrenheit 911 and all but ignoring The Passion of the Christ in today's Oscar nominations. I know we'll hear arguments that the Oscars are "wrong" because these movies both made a lot of money. Well, first off, the Oscars are always wrong; they're just hooey and hype. Second, this is supposed to be (even though, of course, it often isn't) a reflection not of the box office but of quality. And both movies sucked. diablo 2 play disk .iso

And I think that a best makeup nomination for Passion is nothing but an inside joke. diablo 2 play disk .iso

The impact

: The first report of the World Trade Center Health Registry to include data on health problems is out. After the attack, 47 percent of the respondents had sinus problems; 42 shortness of breath; 38 wheezing; 37 cough; 33 eye irritation; 26 digestive; 21 severe headaches; 14 skin rashes; 9 hearing loss. They found that 8 percent reported psychological disorders (which tells me we're a pretty well-adjusted people) vs. 5 percent in a study of New York as a whole. They will do a followup study to find how many problems persisted. My own heart problem now appears to be permanent; I have no persisting lung problems, though I will watch this with obvious interest to see what longterm lung problems emerge, for I fear they will. diablo 2 play disk .iso

Filthy lucre

: Listening to NPR's report on the Supreme Court decision okaying use of drug-sniffing dogs even when you are not stopped on suspicion of having drugs, I heard this amazing stat: 80 percent of paper currency in the U.S. has traces of drugs. I'm surprised every dollar bill doesn't curl at the ends. diablo 2 play disk .iso

January 24, 2005

The Parents Television Council loses one 36

: The FCC just rejected 36 complaints by the so-called Parents Television Council. diablo 2 play disk .iso

I have a theory that the people in the FCC -- including even lame prude Michael Powell -- are secretly embarrassed that they have turned themselves into the nation's chief prigs and mouth-washers, that they have kneecapped the First Amendment, and that their tenure will be marked in history for the stupidity of following along with what they thought was a political movement but turned out to be only a few religious nutjobs with no lives. But that's just a theory. If it were true, it would explain how the FCC decided to reject these 36 PTC complaints just as Michael Powell ducks out of office. diablo 2 play disk .iso

Note, however, that they still have not ruled on Oprah Winfrey saying exactly what got Howard Stern an indecency violation. diablo 2 play disk .iso

In the first set of rulings, the FCC seems to bravely decides that "dick" in various forms is OK. Ditto ass, penis, vaginal, nutsack, and a three-way. In the second set, they add the words hell and damn -- as if they were ever in contention as indecent and blaspamous -- as well as breast, nipples, can, pissed, crap, bastard, and bitch. It's the liberalization of America, I tell you, it's the second damned sexual revolution!diablo 2 play disk .iso

Woops, not so fast Jarvis, put away the tie-dyes and scented oils. The FCC explains:

A number of complaints cite isolated uses of the word “dick” or variations thereof. In context and as used in the complained of broadcasts, these were epithets intended to denigrate or criticize their subjects. Their use in this context was not sufficiently explicit or graphic and/or sustained to be patently offensive. Although use of such words may, depending on the nature of the broadcast at issue, contribute to a finding of indecency, their use here was not patently offensive and therefore not indecent. Similarly, we find that the fleeting uses of the words “penis,” “testicle,” “vaginal,” “ass,” “bastard” and “bitch,” uttered in the context of the programs cited in the complaints, do not render the material patently offensive under contemporary community standards for the broadcast medium.
Ah, so I can call the FCC commissioners a bunch of dicks, asses, bastards, and bitches and get away with it. Get me on the air! But if I use those words in a sustained manner --
FCC is full of asses and asses and asses and asses -- my ass would be grass. As clear as ever. diablo 2 play disk .iso

You'll be relieved to know that the FCC did not find a fleeting glimpse of a cartoon boy's butt indecent. diablo 2 play disk .iso

And aren't we glad the FCC didn't rule that this complaint from the homophobic, bigoted PTC was indecent: "The show also contains several scenes in which male characters talk about kissing men and female characters talk about kissing women." Yeah, so?diablo 2 play disk .iso

Meanwhile, Paul Boutin just sent me the latest headline from the Onion: "U.S. Children Still Traumatized One Year After Seeing Partially Exposed Breast On TV"diablo 2 play disk .iso

Just to show you what an incredible exercise in stupidity and wasted adulthood this is, here is the list of the rejected complaints ... all of them filed by PTC prudes who have no life and nothing better to do than listen for the word "dick". ...

a. “Everwood,” September 16, 2002, 9 p.m. EST: a character remarks to another: “I got this black eye because of you, dick.”diablo 2 play disk .iso

b. “Fastlane,” September 18, 2002, 9 p.m. EST: one character threatens another by stating: “…in my next life I’m coming back as a pair of pliers and pull off your nutsack.”diablo 2 play disk .iso

c. “Girls Club,” October 21, 2002, 9 p.m. EST: a young female attorney says to an older male attorney: “. . . those power dicks are going to start giving me trials.” The attorney responds: “Is that what you call us? Power dicks?”diablo 2 play disk .iso

d. ““Girls Club,” October 28, 2002, 9 p.m. EST: a female character remarks: “I’m not feeling too sexual these days . . . . Especially here, I’m having a little trouble with one of the power dicks.”diablo 2 play disk .iso

e. “Dawson’s Creek,” October 30, 2002, 8 p.m. EST: one character remarks to another: “Listen, I know that you’re pissed at your dad for flaking on you. It doesn’t mean he’s a bad dad, and it doesn’t mean he doesn’t love you. Another character responds: “No, it just means he’s a dick.”diablo 2 play disk .iso

f. “Dawson’s Creek,” December 11, 2002, 8 p.m. EST: one character tells another: “. . . you’re being a dick.”diablo 2 play disk .iso

g. “Austin Powers: The Spy Who Shagged Me,” January 8, 2003, 8 p.m. EST: musical number during which the title character’s naked torso and genital area are blocked by objects, furniture, and, in one instance, by his hands. Later scenes include the use of the phrase “fat bastard,” and the word “testicles.” In another scene from this film, a male and a female character are in bed together, but no sexual or excretory organs or activities are depicted or discussed.diablo 2 play disk .iso

h. “NYPD Blue,” April 8, 2003, 9 p.m. CST: a character states: “That dickhead in a wheelchair.”diablo 2 play disk .iso

i. “Friends,” May 1, 2003, 8 p.m. EST: a female character and her husband encounter the husband’s former girlfriend at a medical office. After a conversation concerning fertility treatment, the female character says that she has to go because she’s got “an invasive vaginal exam to get to.”diablo 2 play disk .iso

j. “The Diary of Ellen Rimbauer,” May 12, 2003, 9 p.m. EST: one scene depicts two female characters and one male character in bed together; all three are under the covers and there are no sexual or excretory organs or activities depicted. Another scene depicts a male character tying a female character to a bed and then applying ice to her abdomen. The female character moans and writhes. A third scene depicts a maid undressing while a male character surreptitiously watches. A portion of the side of the maid’s breast is shown, but her nipple is not exposed.diablo 2 play disk .iso

k. “Jamie Kennedy Experiment,” October 23, 2003, 8:30 p.m. EST: the title character Jamie pulls a prank on the mother of one of his friends. The mother believes that she is participating in a serious television interview about Jamie. The interviewer, who is in on the prank, mentions that Jamie reported that the “hottest night of his life” occurred when he became “intimate” with the mother, and that Jamie and the woman’s son used to play a game called “you show me yours, I’ll show you mine.” Later, the woman confronts her son and tells him that Jamie said he’d “had sex” with her. She asks her son “you didn’t show [Jamie] your penis or something, did you?” When the joke is revealed, the woman calls Jamie a “bastard” and threatens to “kick his ass.” In another scene, involving a fake funeral home, Jamie says “it’s gonna be my ass.”diablo 2 play disk .iso

l. “Run of the House,” October 23, 2003, 9 p.m. EST: a female character teases her brother about dating a woman who looks like his mother and, after her brother and his girlfriend have been in the hot tub, tells him “I know what you’re doing."diablo 2 play disk .iso

m. “Scrubs,” November 13, 2003, 9:30 p.m. EST: in one scene, there is a discussion among a male character, his fiancée, and her brother in which the male character antagonizes the brother by telling the fiancée he wants to “love her up and down and all around,” and that they should “go put some more of your footprints on the ceiling.” The brother reacts angrily, saying “that’s it you son of a bitch.” In another scene, a male doctor tells a female resident that he would rather listen to her “go on and on about the joys of dolphin sex.”diablo 2 play disk .iso

n. “Gilmore Girls,” November 18, 2003, 8 p.m. EST: in one scene, a character’s
grandfather reminisces about college pranks involving nudity; in another scene, two current college students discuss the night the male student spent nude in a dorm hallway. There is also another scene in which a female character listens to a brief message on her answering machine in which a male caller makes a reference to “growing a pair.”diablo 2 play disk .iso

o. “One Tree Hill,” November 18, 2003, 9 p.m. EST: in a school hallway, a male character tells a female character, “I’ve got something for you,” and she replies, “I know you do, gorgeous.”43 He then gives her a book, telling her she might want to “check it out,” and she replies, “Oh, I definitely want to check it out. I suppose I could read the book, too.”diablo 2 play disk .iso

p. “Steve Harvey’s Big Time,” November 20, 2003, 8 p.m. EST: a fully clothed contortionist appears and manipulates his body, including twisting his upper body around and between his legs, and stepping through a tennis racquet frame such that he reaches between his legs to move the racquet so that he can step out of it. The show’s host remarks that the contortionist is a “skinny-ass little dude” and grabs his genital area as the contortionist pushes his body through the tennis racquet frame.diablo 2 play disk .iso

q. “Will & Grace,” November 20, 2003, 9 p.m. EST: a male character studying to become a nurse remarks to a male friend that he’s taken his own blood pressure many times, to which the friend replies, “yeah, and how many times on your arm?” Later, the nursing student tells his fellow students that “he can name all the bones in the human penis.”diablo 2 play disk .iso

r. “Scrubs,” November 20, 2003, 9:30 p.m. EST: a male character and a female character is depicted in bed, under the covers. The male character asks the female character if it’s “a good time to start talking about a nickname for [his] penis.”diablo 2 play disk .iso

s. “Charmed,” November 23, 2003, 8 p.m. EST: three female characters are talking, one remarks that she’s late because she was “tied up,” and another asks “where, at Richard’s?” Later, one of the female characters talks about being afraid to “take it to the next level” with her boyfriend, and another character tells her to “relax and let it happen.” She replies: “That’s easy for you to say, you weren’t the one sleeping with an angel for three years.”diablo 2 play disk .iso

t. “Gilmore Girls,” February 10, 2004, 9 p.m. EST: one character says to another: “you’re a dick.” diablo 2 play disk .iso

u. “Angel,” February 11, 2004, 9 p.m. EST: one character says to another: “you’re still a dick.”

A second batch:
a. Boston Public,” October 29, 2001, 8 p.m. EST: a student challenges a teacher’s assignment, and the teacher says to the student, “Did you know, Mr. Pratt, that you are a big dick? Do we have any other big dicks with us today?” In a subsequent scene, another character asks the teacher whether he wants to get fired, and the teacher responds, “Is this about me calling a student a dick?” The other character admonishes him, “No more dick talk.”diablo 2 play disk .iso

b. “AUSA,” March 18, 2003, 9:30 p.m. EST: one scene depicts Adam, a lawyer, lying on a hotel bed watching an adult movie on the hotel’s video system (no video images are visible). Dialogue from one video, “Here Comes the Judge,” is audible: Male voice: “The defense rests.” Female voice: “Not tonight. Now hand over those briefs.” The next scene shows the lawyer waking up and realizing that the adult channel continued to play while he slept. Remaining scenes contain jokes about his watching adult entertainment all night, to wit: Adam: “What’s [my boss] going to say when he finds out I spent nine of my 16 hours here in Arizona watching porn?” Clerk: “You’re a sad, lonely man with remarkable stamina.” Another scene depicts a woman asking Adam if “he’s decent,” and he remarks: “I’m buttered from the waist down.” Another scene has a character listing the movies Adam paid for: “Jurassic Pork, Laid in Manhattan, Catch Me in the Can.”diablo 2 play disk .iso

c. Night of Too Many Stars,” May 31, 2003, 8 p.m. EDT: comedian Dana Carvey,
reprising his role as the Saturday Night Live character, “Church Lady,” says to the actor Macaulay Culkin: “…then we jumped on the puberty train and got all tingly . . . we want to fornicate, so we thought it would be nifty to get married when we were twelve.” Dana Carvey later discusses Michael Jackson and says of him: “Did he ever dangle anything in front of you at the sleepovers? . . . Say, his happy man-loaf? . . . When he moon walked, he didn’t moon you as he walked, did he? . . . Did he ever get into Billy’s jeans?” Another character asks whether “his [Jackson’s] shalonthaz [sic] ever rose up to salute you? You never played hide the toast?”diablo 2 play disk .iso

d. “Friends,” October 23, 2003, 8 p.m. EDT: in an apparent mix-up, a bakery inadvertently substitutes a cake shaped like a penis for a child’s birthday cake (the cake is not shown). A female character exclaims, “Ahh! They put my baby’s face on a penis!” A male character replies, “Uhh, is it okay that I still think it looks delicious?” Another male character says: “I am this close to tugging on my testicles again.” When the mix-up is corrected, a male character again comments that the cake “looked more delicious when it was a penis.”diablo 2 play disk .iso

e. “The Next Joe Millionaire,” October 28, 2003, 8 p.m. EST: the complaint alleges that a character says “fuck off.” Based on our review of the tape, however, this description is inaccurate in that no character appears to utter the quoted language.diablo 2 play disk .iso

f. “One Tree Hill,” October 28, 2003, 9 p.m. EST: one female character is depicted putting her lips to a hose that had been inserted into a gas tank. Seeing this, another female character quips, “Had a lot of practice? Siphoning gas, what’d you think I meant?”diablo 2 play disk .iso

k. “A Minute with Stan Hooper,” October 29, 2003, 8:30 p.m. EST: The title character interviews two men who are married [to each other] and asks how they decided to use one surname over the other. They respond that, since the surname of one of the pair was Cockburn, they thought that it would be an inappropriate married name for two gay men (the man named Cockburn fans his genital area with his apron).diablo 2 play disk .iso

l. “Friends,” November 6, 2003, 8 p.m. EST: certain characters use the words “hell,” “damn,” and the phrase “sons of bitches.” There is also a scene in which one character asks a man to guess which person had received a grant, and the man answers, “Well, unless it’s the creepy guy with his hand up his kilt, I’m gonna say congratulations.”39 Later, the character is wondering aloud how he can get someone to issue him a grant, and he asks the man, “Is there anything I can do to butter him up?” The man replies, “He does have a pretty serious latex fetish.”diablo 2 play disk .iso

m. “Will & Grace,” November 6, 2003, 9 p.m. EST: a male character with a very strong attachment to his mother describes the greatest tragedy of his life as “the day they yanked me from the breast of that saint.” A female character, Karen, has a grudge against a woman named Lorraine; when Karen locates her, she says “I could do to her what she did to Stan – have sex with her until she dies. Yep, that’s what I’m gonna do.” She then knocks on a door and says, “Open up, Lorraine, and put on a condom.” There is another scene in which Karen talks about “sex[ing] the life out of” Lorraine. Certain characters say the words “bitch,” “bosom,” and “whore.” The show also contains several scenes in which male characters talk about kissing men and female characters talk about kissing women.diablo 2 play disk .iso

n. “Scrubs,” November 6, 2003, 9:30 EST: one character says the word “bastards,” and another character describes a woman as having “huge cans.” One scene contains the following dialogue: Dan: “I heard there’s a bed in the on-call room. You ever get hot and heavy in there? JD: “No, I usually am there by myself.” Dan: “So yes.” In another scene, a male character takes a pair of boxer shorts from the freezer, and another male character says “Make sure you’re nice and dry down there. Otherwise, you could get a tongue-on-the-flagpole situation.” There is another scene in which two female characters discuss whether they’ve ever had “phone sex” with their boyfriends. One of the character’s responds that when her boyfriend, Turk, returned home for Thanksgiving, she called and was surprised by how much “Turk’s eleven year-old nephew sounds like him . . . and how worldly he is.” In a later scene, one of the women is shown standing alone in a cornfield, at night, talking on the phone with her boyfriend, and she says: “Hi sweetie – are you naked? OK, um, now imagine me taking off my shirt, kissing down your neck . . . now I am licking your nipples all over. Your nipples.” She is then interrupted by a group of boy scouts hiking through the field and ends her conversation abruptly by saying, “I don’t care how close you are. I’ll call you later.”diablo 2 play disk .iso

o. “Friends,” November 13, 2003, 8 p.m. EST: certain characters use the words “hell,” “crap,” “pissed,” “bastard,” and the phrase “son of a bitch.” One character says he “didn’t say the F-word.” Other characters ponder where a male character may have hidden “porn.” A male character states, “You broke my heart. Do you know how many women I had to sleep with to get over you?”diablo 2 play disk .iso

p. “The Simpsons,” November 16, 2003, 8 p.m. EST: in this animated program, a scene depicts students carrying picket signs that read “Don’t cut off my pianissimo” and “What would Jesus glue?” A male character says “Well, I guess this story has a happy ending after all. Just like my last massage.”diablo 2 play disk .iso

q. “Run of the House,” November 20, 2003, 9:30 p.m. EST: one character, Kirk, says to a policeman, “Thanks for stopping by, dick.” The policeman remarks that he is a patrolman, not a detective, and asks why Kirk called him a “dick.” Kirk retorts, “you seem like such a dick to me.”diablo 2 play disk .iso

r. “King of the Hill,” November 23, 2003, 7:30 p.m. EST: in this animated program, a cartoon boy is shown about to enter a communal shower at his school. An off-screen voice emanating from the shower asks, “Is that a pimple or another nipple?” As the cartoon boy removes his towel and enters the shower, his buttocks are briefly depicted.diablo 2 play disk .iso

s. “Scrubs,” December 11, 2003, 9:30 p.m. EST: a female patient emits moans of pleasure while a female doctor gives her a pelvic exam. A male doctor ribs the female doctor by saying, “Don’t be embarrassed. You’re not the first person to give a patient an orgasm during a pelvic exam.” The male doctor fantasizes about the female doctor’s examining an attractive woman wearing a lacey bra. Another doctor comments that the other male doctor “never really satisfied a woman,” to which the doctor responds, “Well, you might want to double check with your mom.”

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A man with many hats

: A week ago, Kos was arguing that he shouldn't be held to journalistic standards because he's an activist. But Chris Nolan spotted him wearing press credentials at a political event. Which is it?diablo 2 play disk .iso

Grading on the Bell curve

: The Wall Street Journal has one of those online polls -- no wagering, please, this is only for entertainment -- asking readers to grade Michael Powell's tenure as FCC chairman. Of the 4k+ voting so far: 17% A, 17% B, 13% C, 19% D, 34 % F. You can guess how I voted. diablo 2 play disk .iso

Freedom to Connect (read: After the FCC) : Network visionary David Isenberg has organized a kickass conference in Washington on March 30-31 about the future of networks: technology, regulation, spectrum, freedom of speech. He calls it Freedom to Connect. A short while before he put together the conference, I suggested the need for a conference about life After the FCC. He said let's put them together. The writeup says:

The future of telecommunications starts now; there's a new U.S. Telecom Act in the works, there's unbundling in Europe, fast fiber in Asia, wireless across Africa and networks a-building in cities and villages around the world. Lead the discussion. Shape the debate. Assert your Freedom to Connect.diablo 2 play disk .iso

The need to communicate is primary, like the need to breathe, eat, sleep, reproduce, socialize and learn....diablo 2 play disk .iso

Freedom to Connect belongs with Freedom of Speech, Press, Religion and Assembly. Each of these freedoms is related to the others and depends on the others, but stands distinct. Freedom to Connect, too, depends on the other four but carries its own meaning. Unlike the others, it does not yet have a body of law and practice surrounding it. There is no Digital Bill of Rights. Freedom to Connect is the place to start....

Speakers and panelists include Vint Cerf, David Weinberger, Susan Crawford, and more. Sign up.
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Citizens' media, citizens' movement in Iraq

: Iraq the Model announces the start of the Friends of Democracy web site with reporting from citizen journalists in Iraq in English and Arabic (using the Arabic-language blogging tool underwritten, with your help, by Spirit of America). Go read reports from the street, from Iraqis. diablo 2 play disk .iso

At the same time Spirit of America plans to highlight their coverage of the electino next Sunday with an event in Washington; details here. The event will be webcast for two hours starting at 2p ET on Sunday. I can't wait to compare the coverage we find there with the coverage we find on our media. diablo 2 play disk .iso

No mud-slinging here

: Via IraqTheModel, I find a transcript of an Iraqi election commercial:

An old man rounding a corner into an alleyway looks up and sees young, masked militants facing him down. A couple joins the old man. Slowly, more and more people join the old man.diablo 2 play disk .iso

Voiceover: On January 30, we meet our destiny and our duty. We are not alone, and we are not afraid. Our strength is in our unity; together we will work and together prevail.diablo 2 play disk .iso

Those joining the man now outnumber the militants. He nods and they move forward. The militants run away.diablo 2 play disk .iso

Written on screen: Don't worry about Iraq. We are its people. We will allow no one to deprive us of our rights. For the building of Iraq: Peace, freedom and democracy. The heroes of Iraq.

More here. diablo 2 play disk .iso
January 23, 2005

'I'll be right back'

: Johnny Carson has died at age 79. diablo 2 play disk .iso

Once, many years ago, while I was a TV critic, I happened to be on a plane with Lucille Ball. She was in first class, of course; I was in business. I wouldn't have presumed to bother her but I sent her a note via a stewardess. I said that I believed she and Johnny Carson had given my parents' generation their sense of humor and comic timing. My mother (this will probably be a surprise to her) treated punchlines like Lucy; my father and his friends told jokes like Johnny. diablo 2 play disk .iso

Carson represented more. He was, of course, the original Jon Stewart, who showed so much of news to be what it was: a joke. He and other, edgier comics of the day made comedy relevant. diablo 2 play disk .iso

He was the best barometer of trends. By the time Johnny did it, it took over America. When I was a kid, I wanted a Nehru jacket (shhh... I can hear you snickering... be nice) and my parents would let me -- until Johnny wore one. But when Johnny wore it, that meant it was no longer cool; the meme had gone mainstream.diablo 2 play disk .iso

Carson also represented the golden age of America's shared experience in media. That era lasted about three decades, from the late '50s to the late '80s, when the three networks turned most cities into one-newspaper towns and we all watched the same thing. I don't regret that era dying; it means we now have more choice and choice equals control. But it was a unique time in our culture, when popular culture became a common platform, a common touchstone for Americans. We all got Johnny's jokes. [via Lost Remote]diablo 2 play disk .iso

: Michael Ventre says at MSNBC.com: "The day that television died was May 22, 1992. The day it was buried was today." Well, that prose is a bit toooo purple. But then he signs off with a joke from Johnny:

“If life was fair, Elvis would still be alive and all the impersonators would be dead.”
: After Carson left and he was replaced by Jay Leno -- when it should have been David Letterman -- I wrote in TV Guide that Jay Leno just didn't cut it. He tried to continue the idea that he had to be a common denominator of comedy, safe, one-size-fits-all. But that era of media was over. We had Letterman, too. We had cable. Militantly mainstream wouldn't cut it anymore. Leno called to whine, something he does to many of his critics: Did you mean it? he asked. Well, yes, he forced me to say, I did. Johnny Carson was unique and so was his time; he created a common definition of comedy just as TV created a common definition of popular culture. That era ended. diablo 2 play disk .iso

MORE...diablo 2 play disk .iso

: Here is the official Tonight Show with Johnny Carson site. diablo 2 play disk .iso

: A German blog's link to the news of Carson's death reminds me that he (more than Jack Parr or Steve Allen, actually) invented a form of TV not just in America but also in the world. There are Carsons across the globe. Harald Schmidt in Germany is really a bizarro German Letterman but the form is Carson. diablo 2 play disk .iso

: Blogs responded quickly to Carson's death. So did Wikipedia.diablo 2 play disk .iso

: MSNBC is interview Dr. Joyce Brothers about him. She was his worst creation. They have a special about him tonight at 8p ET. MSNBC also said that Dateline will have a special tribute tonight. diablo 2 play disk .iso

: ON THE AIR: I'm scheduled to be on Ronn Owens' show talking about Johnny Carson at 9:05 PT Monday morning. diablo 2 play disk .iso

Doesn't add up

: Reporters and editors need more training in how to handle numbers. diablo 2 play disk .iso

Dan Okrent has a good column on the topic today. He says it is a refreshingly equal-opportunity sin; readers from left and right complain about numbers. diablo 2 play disk .iso

On my ride back from Boston yesterday, Joe Trippi took me through the numbers for the last election in a way I hadn't heard before. It was said that the youth didn't come out -- that was the accepted wisdom starting on election night because of a flawed interpretation of the numbers and, unfortunately, it sticks. I would give you Joe's analysis but I didn't take notes and don't want to get it wrong. The truth is, he said, that younger and older voters came out while voting by those in the middle ages declined. That misinterpretation spread by media will affect political strategy and as a result public policy. It's not a small mistake. diablo 2 play disk .iso

A few weeks ago, I had the pleasure of chatting with Steve Shepard, the editor-in-chief of Business Week and soon to be the head of CUNY's new journalism school, and he said -- understandably, considring the magazine he edits -- that reporters are notoriously bad at numbers and need education in stats. diablo 2 play disk .iso

Whether on a paper or via weblogs, it would also be great to have people who are trained in stats available to fix or at least question the flawed analyses that turn into accepted wisdom. diablo 2 play disk .iso

Yes, it will be on the final

: Tim Blair's attitudinal fisking [sorry Mr. Strunk, sorry Mr. White for that phrasing] of a Washington Post report from Iraq should be required reading in journalism schools. The Post reporter, Jackie Spinner, sets out to tell how American soldiers turned one Iraqi against America. But Blair shreds the assumption and attitude in her writing by using her own reporting to show just how absurd her view is. It is an object lesson in the bias of a single story and the need to give the public facts -- including the reporter's perspective -- to let them judge for themselves. diablo 2 play disk .iso

While I was in Boston, I had the pleasure of meeting with David Fanning, exec producer of Frontline, and a few of his valued producers and editors to brainstorm about some of the wonderful things Frontline is doing and can do online for the show... and for journalism (in 1995, Fanning put complete interviews online; at Frontline World, Berkeley students are citizen journalists creating stories for the web and for the show). David told me about a segment he produced on the first show he made at WGBH, taking a single story and retelling it through a few perspectives. That's what everyone does with the news. We need to help them do that and then compare and contrast. diablo 2 play disk .iso

That Post reporter, Spinner, did something valuable: She went into the streets of Baghdad and talked to one person and got quotes about his experience. At the Harvard confab, Jill Abramson of the NY Times and Rick Kaplan of MSNBC emphasized the value their large organizations bring to the world by supporting expensive -- and dangerous -- reporting in places like Iraq. I couldn't agree more. That is all the more reason why the full extent and full value of that reporting should be made available to the readers (though only a few) who would like to dig down deeper and look through a different side of the prism -- and add facts and questions and viewpoints. diablo 2 play disk .iso

Yes, this will look messy compared with the well-packaged, centralized marketplaces of news we have now. Welcome to the remix society. Tim Blair remixes Jackie Spinner: same quotes, different perspective, different stories. Thanks, Prof. Blair. diablo 2 play disk .iso

[And thanks, Glenn, for the link]diablo 2 play disk .iso

Hooey indeed

: Bob Wright of GE says the media is fast-moving. David Card says hooey. diablo 2 play disk .iso

Quoted

: In his story about FCC Chairman Michael Powell's resignation in the Philly Inquirer, Daniel Rubin quotes my post. Of course, I like that -- as an egotist and traffic slut (love it when they spell the URL right), as a blogger (sing along: r-e-s-p-e-c-t), and as a reporter (more sources of more viewpoints and quotable quotes). So thanks, Daniel. But at the same time, this reminds us that whatever we say on our blog we say in public and it not only lasts forever online and in Google's cache but it also can end up in print. (I'm glad that for once, I had no typos.)diablo 2 play disk .iso

January 22, 2005

On the other side

: Something good came of the snowstorm: I ended up on the train with Joe Trippi, hearing great stories and plotting new worlds. Thoroughly enjoyed it. diablo 2 play disk .iso

Ten hours after dashing out of Cambridge, I'm at home. Train delayed for an hour and a half with a bridge over the Mystic River (not a happy place, it seems) that had to be hand-cranked down. Trains canceled out of Newark. Newark Airport's frequently worthless monorail shut down. Great Port Authority cop brings order to chaos. Buses with mostly nice people and a few jerks get me to the car. Blechy roads with jerks driving mostly Fords. But I'm home. Hugs. Fireplace. Soup. Wine. Home is good. diablo 2 play disk .iso

Travel

: With a blizzard headed our way, I'm unfortunately going to have to duck out of the conference early to catch a train. See you on the other side. diablo 2 play disk .iso

Blogs make TV stars

: Rick Kaplan, president of MSNBC, said at the session I Oprahed yesterday that blogging actually drives ratings on shows and that there is a corollation between shows that devote effort to blogging and the growth in audience. diablo 2 play disk .iso

Wow. diablo 2 play disk .iso

The only problem with moderating a session is that you can't blog it at the time. I wanted to tell Kaplan to hold that thought while I turned around and blogged it here. diablo 2 play disk .iso

Also, Jill Abramson of the NY Times said she is looking to blogs for talent. "Watch out for the resumes that are going to hit you," I said. She said that's fine. She's looking for people with reporting chops. diablo 2 play disk .iso

Transcript here, starting at 16:08
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'Faith-based blogging'

: Hugh Hewitt and Evangelical Outpost take me to task for taking Dr. James Dobson of Focus on Family to task for his intolerance of tolerance in his attack on SpongeBob Squarepants. Got it? Well, read the links above. My stand here is quite simple: I am intolerant of intolerance; I particularly don't like intolerance allegedly in the name of Jesus. That's my view. So we disagree. Glad we can. diablo 2 play disk .iso

Hugh also goes after the Harvard conference where I am now and I'm amused because he's complaining there aren't enough conservatives while the conference has been attacked for not having enough liberals. Says Hugh:

But the exclusion of faith-based bloggers --by intention or oversight-- from a conference on blogging ethics is about as absurd as not inviting the NRA to participate in a conference on the Second Amendment.
"Faith-based bloggers"? Well, Hugh, as you know, I go to church, teach Sunday school, preach occasionally, head up the church board, and sing in the choir (badly, I confess). I blog frequently from my moral perspective. It may not be yours. But aren't I a faith-based blogger, too? diablo 2 play disk .iso

: By the way, I'm reading Hugh's book, Blog, and it's good. Hugh said in his post that he likes me; I said a few days ago that I like him. We just disagree on this. Makes the world go 'round. diablo 2 play disk .iso

January 21, 2005

Harvard: the econ session

: The session I'm Oprahing is up in an hour or so. I'm going to start not by blathering (because I do that all the time) but by asking the assembled smart folks how we can and should change journalism and the journalism business. Links to my prep documents, as background:
1. The economic pressure on the news business.
2. Strategic questions about changing the news business.
3. The ethics imputed in the community of citizens' journalism and institutional journalism. diablo 2 play disk .iso

Michael Powell out

: Michael Powell is resigning as FCC chairman. diablo 2 play disk .iso

I fear that the future will be only worse. As critical as I have been -- justifiably -- of Powell, I know that in his soul of souls, Powell understands the value of the First Amendment. His successor may not. I fear that the White House and Congress -- from, yes, both parties -- will only amplify the looney voice of a few who would continue to limit our free speech on our airwaves. diablo 2 play disk .iso

Here's the Wall Street Journal's assessment of his tenure.diablo 2 play disk .iso

: I just did a quickie interview on ABC Radio New on Powell. diablo 2 play disk .iso

: Just got email from Jon Bonne at MSNBCi (four chairs to my left):

isn't it amazing that the Powell news broke on the WSJ ed page? the WSJ ed page folks are certainly intrepid journalists in their own right, but i interpret this as a signal from the Bush corps that breaking news can easily be routed around the newsroom and straight to their fellow ideological counterparts. not quite as much as breaking it on a blog, but this has a very different (though not entirely so) resonance as the Juanita Broaddrick episode.
diablo 2 play disk .iso

Harvard starts

: I'll be blogging the confab as long as my sanity holds out. diablo 2 play disk .iso

: Alex Jones says that one (unfortunate) lesson that mainstream journalism can teach blogging is that credibility is fragile and mainstream journalism has lost too much of it in recent years. diablo 2 play disk .iso

: Jay Rosen is presenting his paper. He said the "war should be over between bloggers and journalists, the cartoon dialogue... Even though it makes for good feature stories and great blog posts, bloggers vs. journalists doesn't help us much." He said the tension between them will go on and its necessary and inevitable. But the tsunami story makes it "obvious that blogs have a role in journalism."diablo 2 play disk .iso

Dave Winer said this morning that I was Jay's Frankenstein. Jay said it's the opposite. Jay's right. He has made me think about media (read: my life) in new ways. diablo 2 play disk .iso

After summarizing his paper, he quotes Rebecca Blood saying that part of the reason for conflict is that blogging and journalism are in a "shared media space." That is the reason the war is over because no one is leaving that space. diablo 2 play disk .iso

Jay is making a point he made on Brian Lehrer's show a few weeks ago: that this not about the "media" but about the "press" and the press is now owned by the people. That is the real shift of power. "They have to share the press with the public." diablo 2 play disk .iso

Isn't that precisely the problem with CBS? Dan et al could not bear to share the press with the public. But the public demanded it. The public won that battle. diablo 2 play disk .iso

Jay says that journalists have been slow to recognize the debt they owe blogging and that is because this new medium -- this new press -- was not developed by them. The people who understand this new press -- the ethic of the link, the art of conversation -- are bloggers. diablo 2 play disk .iso

Jay recalls his first Bloggercon when Len Apcar, editor of NY Times digital, said that in 2002 a majority of NY Times readers are online yet even today a majority of the journalists at The Times think they work for the print product. "Actually, they're working for an online newspaper that has a print edition." Great line. diablo 2 play disk .iso

: Winer responds. He says there was never a war. "It's hard to say we're against anything." He says we're zealots, we're optimists. What unites us, "the bond we share," is our passion. diablo 2 play disk .iso

He says the boundaries are not easy to find anymore. diablo 2 play disk .iso

Exactly. It's not us and them. That is what I said in my print days: An editor must believe he or she is part of the public the publication serves. If you separate yourself from that public, you fail. diablo 2 play disk .iso

Dave also says that too many of the stories in the press have been about bloggers vs. journalists and because journalists do -- wrongly or rightly -- feel threatened by bloggers, then when they write those stories, they are engaging in a conflict of interest. diablo 2 play disk .iso

I said that I agreed that there was no war and a war is destructive. But the tension is also beneficial: Each pushes both to be better. We shouldn't just hug and call it over quite yet. We need to improve each other. diablo 2 play disk .iso

Lee Rainie of the Pew Internet and American Life Project -- whose research on the size of this is invaluable to the medium -- says the change is happening faster than we know. diablo 2 play disk .iso

: Jan Schaffer says we should be concentrating on how to serve the public: It's not a platform question but a design question. diablo 2 play disk .iso

: John Hinderaker of Powerline puts in a plug for objectivity. It's what he expects from The New York Times (but not of his Powerline, of course). He said the problem with the NY Times, CBS News, et al is that they lack "diversity" -- that is, they're liberals. diablo 2 play disk .iso

I don't think that adding token conservatives to liberal publications is the answer. diablo 2 play disk .iso

The way to get diversity is for the entirety of media to find diversity and balance. diablo 2 play disk .iso

That is what is new: In the past, you had a one-size-fits-all, one-newspaper town. Now you have access to all the media of the world. That is what brings you diversity. diablo 2 play disk .iso

: I said I was having a flashback to the '70s -- and that's not cool, maaaan -- to my least favorite class in journalism school: the seminar about objectivity. ARRRGHHHH! Can't we drop this boring argument? Jon Bonne of MSNBCi says he hates the argument. Jay Rosen whispers next to me, "not as much as I do." diablo 2 play disk .iso

: I made a crack about Hinderaker as a Republican talking about hiring and diversity and he didn't crack a smile. Oh, well, I thought it was funny. But then, nobody cracked a smile at my crack about my '70s flashback, either. Tough crowd, man. Anybody here from out of town?diablo 2 play disk .iso

: Dan Gillmor says the public will have to do a lot more work to get the news; it won't just land on their doorstep; we need tools to help them with this. diablo 2 play disk .iso

: While on the hit parade of old arguments, we got the argument that bloggers are an echo chamber seeking only their own views. I said that's a red herring. We link to that with which we disagree. diablo 2 play disk .iso

Lee Rainie said that Pew found that the 15-20 percent of adult Americans (online or not) who eagerly seek news and information are more informed about views other than their own. diablo 2 play disk .iso

: Jay at the close says Bill Buzenberg of Minn. Public Radio raised a most important point when he said his reporters are learning that the audience knows things. Jay said journalism used to be thought of as a service to tell people who didn't know something something. Now it's about turning into finding out what they know and getting that back to them. diablo 2 play disk .iso

"The quality of your information is deeply related to the quality of your connection to the people you are trying inform," Jay says. Amen. diablo 2 play disk .iso

: Jonathan Zittrain of Berkman sums up. He is thinking about law and how the members of its power system, the lawyers, are there to challenge the system (on behalf of their clients and stands). But law has become mean. diablo 2 play disk .iso

It makes us wonder whether journalists should be better at thinking it is their job to challenge their system. diablo 2 play disk .iso

He also says that the law is not challenged by amatuers but journalism is.diablo 2 play disk .iso

He says that journalism, like the law, is "really ill right now." He says it is not setting the agenda. It is not speaking the truth. diablo 2 play disk .iso

He says that for lawyers, arriving at the truth is an adversarial system. "The person with two watches is less sure of what time it is than the person who has one." In blogs, he says, there are thousands of watches. diablo 2 play disk .iso

: Hoder says in the IRC:
- Journalists can only report things.
- Scholars can only study things.
- Bloggers do things.
Don't know yet whether I agree but it's interesting that bloggers are usually accused of just sitting there commenting. But, indeed, bloggers do swarm together to accomplish things. Maybe I do agree. diablo 2 play disk .iso

: AFTERNOON...diablo 2 play disk .iso

: Jill Abramson, an editor at the NY Times, and Dave Winer, get kerfluffling together and I can't summarize it well. But I entered in when she went on about the expense of keeping journalists in Iraq -- which is true and for which we are grateful. But I started telling the story of Zeyad taking his camera to cover an antiterrorism demonstration last December that The Times didn't cover. As soon as I mention it, Abramson starts shaking her head and looking away.diablo 2 play disk .iso

: Abramson said that it is "completely contrary" to the histyry and standards of The Times to run content that they do not vet. diablo 2 play disk .iso

: David Weinberger made great suggestions for things he wants. He wants to see the comments people make on Times stories. He wants to see the metadata around stories. He wants to see drafts online. diablo 2 play disk .iso

: Rick Kaplan, the head of MSNBC -- the biggest blogsmart media outlet there is -- says he and his colleagues in journalism celebrate the growth of blogs and believe that the excitement blogs are stirring up will save news. diablo 2 play disk .iso

: Jimbo Wales, founder of Wikipedia, says that a few years ago, nobody could have predicted that a bunch of unpaid citizens could replace the Encyclopedia Brittanica with its budget of $350 million but it happened. He said that the business model of The New York Times is not sustainable. Abramson shudders, of course. Kaplan said Wales doesn't know what he's talking about; he has not been in a place like Baghdad and does not know the dififculty of getting information there and does not know how the existing system can be replaced. diablo 2 play disk .iso

:Hinderaker goes back to Bill Mitchell's question from his presentation, in which he asked what tool we need to help build trust. Hinderaker says it would help to show us the material behind the story. The attitude bloggers have is -- via the link: "See for yourself. Don't take our word for it."diablo 2 play disk .iso

: Chris Lydon gives us his best Emerson quote ever: "Do not destroy the mass media but liberate the individual from the mass."diablo 2 play disk .iso

Free the bloggers

: The Committee to Protect Bloggers announces its first campaign to free two bloggers in prison in Iran. Read the details. Spread the word. diablo 2 play disk .iso

Sponge-bashing

: I love it when religious nutjobs reveal themselves to be ... religious nutjobs. diablo 2 play disk .iso

Today's lesson from the gospel according to the looney is that SpongeBob is trying to seduce young people into the evils of homosexuality. An LA Times editorial summarizes the sermon:

Here's how we learned about SpongeBob.diablo 2 play disk .iso

"Does anyone here know SpongeBob?" Dr. James Dobson asked darkly, addressing a black-tie audience at one of Tuesday's inaugural events. Dobson is the founder of Focus on the Family, one of the nation's most outspoken conservative Christian groups. SpongeBob holds hands with his starfish pal Patrick, and likes to watch the imaginary television show "The Adventures of Mermaid Man and Barnacle Boy." Evidence enough, to Dobson at any rate, that the guy's a menace.diablo 2 play disk .iso

SpongeBob's rep is that he's a nice guy — a pushover even — who tries to get along with everyone, even Squidward, his gruff neighbor. The Sponge has indeed become something of a camp figure among gay men. But his nice-guy mien is what prompted an educational-film maker to star SpongeBob in a short video for young children about multiculturalism called "We Are Family." The video promotes a "tolerance pledge" for schoolkids that could extend to sexual identity.diablo 2 play disk .iso

One person's definition of tolerance is another's "pro-homosexual" agenda. "We see the video … as manipulating and potentially brainwashing kids," Dobson's spokesperson told the New York Times on Wednesday. "It's a classic bait and switch."diablo 2 play disk .iso

Chiming in, a homosexuality detection expert at the similarly conservative Family Research Council called words like "tolerance" and "diversity" part of a "coded language that is regularly used by the homosexual community."

They'd be funny if they weren't so filled with hate. diablo 2 play disk .iso

And they're bad for our image, America. Fern papers are delighting in showing what a bunch of red-state religious reactionaries we are. diablo 2 play disk .iso

: The voice of SpongeBob speaks:

Let me ask you, who would you rather go bowling with, SpongeBob and his friends or the Rev. James Dobson? Who would you rather go out with and have a few beers? Probably the only common ground I have with the Rev. James Dobson is that I haven't seen the video, and I'll bet he hasn't either.
: Here's a list of news shows stupid enough to have this Dobson clown on the air as if he actually has (1) anything to say, (2) a constituency of size and sanity, (3) a brain. diablo 2 play disk .iso

: Here are kiddie movie reviews from Dobson's group. SpongeBob is not reviewed. But Peter Pan is. Hmmmm. I always thought Peter was a little flighty, didn't you?diablo 2 play disk .iso

Media on media

: The Wall Street Journal talks to lots of bloggers leading up to today's Harvard confab.diablo 2 play disk .iso

January 20, 2005

Ouch

: Vin Crosbie's chart showing the decline in American newspaper circulation (via Simon Waldman).diablo 2 play disk .iso

Hot Air America

: Against the predictions of skeptics, including me, Air America is expanding. It's now in 45 markets. And I'm glad for it since I'm now (warning: plug coming) on Morning Sedition Mondays at 8:30 to blather on media. (Nondisclosure: I don't get paid; I don't even get a friggin' hat so there's no financial relationship to disclose.) diablo 2 play disk .iso

Shame on The Times, Chapter III

: Mohammed of Iraq the Model posts a beautiful reply to Sarah Boxer's unjournalism in The New York Times:

Sarah Boxer (boxer@nytimes.com) in her latest piece on the NYT tried hard to put together some rotten limbs to produce a creature that satisfies her fantasy but she ended up introducing a new mutant to the readers and to the methods of journalism. It wasn't a surprise for me as it was just another reproduction of the old ways of the corrupt side of the MSM in dealing with facts and events.diablo 2 play disk .iso

One short look at the "article" shows how naïve the writer was and how old the methods used in writing this post are. This post has fixed another nail in the casket of the gasping media.diablo 2 play disk .iso

I won't be exaggerating if I said that I find a close resemblance between the ways of the media and those of terror in dealing with events; both are using ugly and cheap maneuvers to get attention. These methods could be even horrible and dangerous but never convincing. It doesn't seem that the media is working hard to catch up with time and progress; at least the performance says so.diablo 2 play disk .iso

Let's go back to the "article" itself and particularly to its beginning; the writer allowed herself to put all the accusations in the front and considered the possibility that we are Iraqis as the last possible theory on the list.diablo 2 play disk .iso

Maybe she thought it's too much for us to be Iraqis and love our country at the same time, so she added "who have mixed feelings…". From Boxer's point of view, an Iraqi who supports America's efforts in liberating his country from the worst tyrant in modern history and rebuilding his country after that is either a paid agent or a mentally confused person. As if clear thinking is an exclusive gift that only a journalist from the NYT could possess while anyone outside her office is simply confused.diablo 2 play disk .iso

If Boxer had spent few more minutes in reading any of our posts she would've learnt that we're first of all, pro-Iraq. We never ceased to look forward for a new Iraq that is democratic and prosperous and the reason why we are pro-US is because we saw that America-the people and the administration-has made the right decision by liberating Iraq and this certainly serves the interests of both nations.diablo 2 play disk .iso

We're advertising for nothing but the new Iraq that we've always dreamed of and we believe that having America's support is a necessity and a vital element in the process. We're still looking forward to seeing a strategic partnership between the two nations; a partnership from which both countries can benefit.diablo 2 play disk .iso

Boxer has forgotten to mention a single word about our efforts in building the "Arabic blogging tool". We've been doing that for months now with support from the American people via "Spirit of America". She forgot to acknowledge that we're trying through this project to spread freedom of speech in the Arabic world by giving our people the opportunity to voice their opinions through a tool that overrides the barrier of language. Now, as I understood it, journalists are usually in support of anything that brings freedom of speech, and more tolerance and understanding while lessening violence.diablo 2 play disk .iso

But maybe it's just that this tool will be the response that Boxer and her colleagues fear the most; they will have to deal with thousands of Iraq the models when our countrymen begin using this tool. The fact that her pathetic article might endanger us and our friends over at Friends of Democracy will not stop us from continuing the work we're doing and we're determined to accomplish what we've started because we feel responsible towards our readers and we don't write our posts to throw stupid accusations here and there.diablo 2 play disk .iso

As much as I was annoyed by that "article" I cannot describe my happiness when I began reading the reactions and defense posts and comments from our brothers in the big family of the blogosphere as well as from our regular readers. These were much bigger than that mutant little incoherent group of words of Boxer's. I would like to thank you all my friends and once again I promise that I won't disappoint you. I can write a book about this "article" that has more holes than Swiss cheese (we have Swiss cheese here incase you don't know that Sarah!) but I'm not going to waste my time or our readers' on this as we all have more important things to do.

Well said, my friend. diablo 2 play disk .iso

Now that's news

: Andrew Sullivan finds the line of the day:

"Poll: Nation split on Bush as uniter or divider," - CNN.com. Says it all today, doesn't it?
diablo 2 play disk .iso

Hail to the...

: It's remarkable what a nonevent the inauguration is. The Golden Globes is less staged. That's not a political statement; it's true of inaugurations of both parties. It is a formality. And we Americans do not rest on formality. We don't have queens and coronations and May Days and national parades. Oh, sure, we should have the ceremony. But I think it would be far better if they'd just go and produce it for TV; make it an event of the nation, not of Washington. diablo 2 play disk .iso

What this means on a practical level is incredibly insipid TV. On FoxNews this morning, they kept interrupting the discussion to follow Bush et al walking into and out of the church service. Yes, he can walk. Well, I suppose in the age of The West Wing, that is news. They got all excited on Fox when Bush got near enough a mike to say something. "We got a 'good morning'," the anchor said. We got sound!diablo 2 play disk .iso

On CNN, Paula Zahn agreed that this is a "majestic day." I'd say the word is cold. diablo 2 play disk .iso

Fox reporters Blackberried notes on the sermon this morning out to the anchor desk. They read it as it arrived: The minister told Bush to unite red and blue and said that we are all one nation: "black, brown, gay, straight." Bravo, Rev. But it's not going to make any difference. diablo 2 play disk .iso

Most of the day will look like a slo-mo TiVo view of an LA police chase. They drive here. They walk there. diablo 2 play disk .iso

Oh, breaking news: Wolf tells us that Bush is riding in a new presidential limo. It still has that four-more-years smell.diablo 2 play disk .iso

I'm not being cynical. Really, I'm not. Our form of government is the best there is. The transfer or continuation of power is our best accomplishment. diablo 2 play disk .iso

But this is all style, no substance. diablo 2 play disk .iso

: LATER: I'm watching Dan Rather's coverage. He keeps coming back again and again to his speculation that there are often scandals in second administrations. Bob Shieffer says uncomfortably, "Well, I don't think anybody's going to jail." Dan doesn't drop it. "Second terms of presidencies are marked by scandal... Those kinds of things have a way of developing in a second term. Are the Bush people worried about that?" he asks colleague Roberts. Oh, sure, Dan, the administration's spokesman are going to go into the confessional and fret about misbehaving. The big problem with Rather is not bias. It's foolishness. Always has been. diablo 2 play disk .iso

: RANDOM STUPID MOMENTS: Larry King "interviewing" Oscar de la Renta on inaugural fashion. Old fart on old farts about old farts. diablo 2 play disk .iso

Larry says at 10p that it's past the Command in Chief's bedtime. diablo 2 play disk .iso

Now Bush and his wife dance with soldiers, he with a she and she with a he. It is the most awkward moment I've seen since my seventh grade dance. diablo 2 play disk .iso

: Stupid Fox line from Hannity & Colmes: "Laura Bush, what an asset." diablo 2 play disk .iso

Ethics meet ethics

: Some of us have been looking at this ethics question the wrong way: The starting point is not to impose a code of ethics on a medium but instead to understand the ethic of the medium -- and its community -- as it exists: What are bloggers already telling us about their ethic?diablo 2 play disk .iso

I sat down last night and started trying to list what I think is the ethic of blogging and the ethic of journalism. It was a lot easier to come up with the list for blogging. And, no, that's not a snarky straight line; it probably just means that the ethic of blogging is newer and still clear, less muddied by time and mistakes and seminars ... or that I feel greater affinity to this new medium; my transformation from mediaman to blogboy is complete. diablo 2 play disk .iso

Note very importantly that I believe old media has more to learn about these ethics than new media has to learn from old. diablo 2 play disk .iso

Let's start with the bloggers' ethic. This is repetitive in places; if I were writing a mission statement, I'd consolidate points. But instead, I'm trying to capture a catalogue. And please join in with comments, additions, deletions and tell me whether I'm on the right track here:diablo 2 play disk .iso

: The ethic of transparency: We believe that our public deserves to know about us and our perspective to better judge what we say. diablo 2 play disk .iso

: The ethic of conversation: We do not believe in one-sided lectures. We believe conversation leads to better understanding.diablo 2 play disk .iso

: The ethic of humanity: We believe this medium lives at a human level while old media lives at an institutional level. diablo 2 play disk .iso

: The ethic of the link: We believe one of our key jobs is to link our public to other voices and to source material so they may judge themselves. diablo 2 play disk .iso

: The ethic of correction: We believe it is vital to correct errors quickly and openly. diablo 2 play disk .iso

: The ethic of immediacy: We believe that the fast spread of information is will yield better information. diablo 2 play disk .iso

Now turn to the ethics of journalism. Dan Gillmor has a good list: diablo 2 play disk .iso

Thoroughness.
Accuracy.
Transparency.
Fairness. diablo 2 play disk .iso

I think that's a good list. But it's a different list. Note importantly that Dan did not include Objectivity; he says it's time to give up on that pipe dream and I think he's right so long as the other ethics are followed. In an email exchange with Dan, Bill Mitchell, a participant in tomorrow's confab, adds one more: diablo 2 play disk .iso

Independence. diablo 2 play disk .iso

: Ernie Miller in the comments says correctly that it is all about the ethic of honesty.diablo 2 play disk .iso

: Also in the comments, Andrew Tyndall adds service and accountability to the list for journalism. diablo 2 play disk .iso

January 19, 2005

Trade in

: Editor & Publisher has long been a laughingstock of the industry it purports to cover -- doubly embarrassing because it's not good and reporting on reporting. Today gives us a classic example: They write up Boxer's unjournalism as if it were news, as in: Wow, look, The Times is quoting blogs. First, that's about a year late to the party. Second, the reporter could have looked up a few blogs to find out what a piece of crap the Boxer story was. But that's nothing new for E&P, which should just fold. It has been replaced by Romenesko anyway. diablo 2 play disk .iso

Shame on The New York Times, Chapter II

: Ali, the subject of Sarah Boxer's reprehensible exercise in unjournalism (dissected here), responds to the story on his blog. I quote in full. Hang your head in shame, Boxer:

I feel I should give my opinion on the NY times article about me and Iraq the Model that has created some variable reactions on the blogosphere. The article was, despite Ms Boxer's kindness, a bad piece of journalism. I had around 45 minutes long phone call with the reporter about my journey with Iraq the Model, my new site, the elections, the general situation here in Baghdad but she (or the paper) seems to have a certain agenda and managed to change the whole issue into a very silly gossip (going as far as quoting trolls!) that is way beneath any respectable paper and certainly beneath me so I won't give it more attention but lesson learned and I won't make the mistake of talking to anyone from the NY times again. It's important to note though that my feelings of respect, gratitude and love for the American people have never and will never change.diablo 2 play disk .iso

Also before I turn to discuss more important issues that I created this site for, I'd like to ask the people who are coming from the site of the very informed Dr. Cole a favor. Can you please ask him to show us his sources (regarding the Fallujah myth) that he consider superior to mine? The funny thing is that he links to my site but continue to ignore linking to Iraq the Model! Maybe he thinks I'm on his side now? I'm sorry, I've changed my mind a bit but not to the degree of standing against America and my own country! Also he seems to not remember that it was me who pointed his little 'slip' about Fallujah, not my brothers, and the fact that he insist on this issue can only turn his slip into * gasp* a lie? Now could it be possible that higher beings like Dr. Cole are actually capable of lying!? I hope not but I won't hold my breath waiting for him to show us his credible sources.

Prof. Pondscum will never hang his head in shame. He says on his site (no permalinks) that he "became suspicious of the original site when they mysteriously attacked" -- that is, dared to disagree with -- Cole. He continued the insult: "Being dentists, of course, they don't know their way around the British archives and don't realize that secondary works aren't exhaustive." Prof. Pondsnot. diablo 2 play disk .iso

I also got email from Ali's brother Omar of IraqTheModel, who called Boxer's work "that ugly piece on the NYT." For shame, Boxer. For shame, Times. diablo 2 play disk .iso

: THURSDAY UPDATE: Michael Jinks alerts me to this comment discussion at Ali's blog:

Ali,
You say the article on you was shoddy journalism. Why? Simply because a troll was quoted? Were you misquoted? The article seemed accurate to what I remember occurring at ITM.
Ashdiablo 2 play disk .iso

Ash,
Not just quoting a troll. The manner I was quoted gives others the sense that I have changed my mind about America as a whole ( it's like someone cutting and pasting randomly, or better say, to make it look different than what it meant) which is not true and not what I said at all. And yes, in some parts I was even misquoted.
Ali

This is why it would be good to have a recording of that 45-minute interview Boxer did -- and a list of all the interviews she did (and did not) do... so we could judge her work ourselves and so the interview subject could have his say. diablo 2 play disk .iso

Gained in translation

: Gotta love it: Now the FCC is mucking up international relations. The Greeks are pissed that the FCC would investigate the decency of the Olympics.

Greece does not wish to be drawn into an American culture war. Yet that is exactly what is happening. The Federal Communications Commission has launched an investigation into the broadcast of the opening ceremonies of the Athens 2004 Summer Olympic Games.diablo 2 play disk .iso

The first step was taken in December, when the commission demanded that NBC provide it with tapes of the broadcast. This was in response to nine complaints about indecency from U.S. citizens (globally, viewers exceeded 3.9 billion).


diablo 2 play disk .iso

Into the jaws once more

: Slate D.C. bureau chief Chris Suellentrop goes after Kos -- not for taking money from Dean, which he disclosed, and not for using a blog for activism, but for this:

The hanging offense is that Moulitsas took money from other, undisclosed, political clients. And while he may have disclosed—in 2003—that he wouldn't disclose them, that's not good enough. DailyKos raised money for a dozen congressional candidates this past election. Which, if any, of them paid Moulitsas for the honor of directing his grassroots minions to part with their wallets? If you gave one of Moulitsas' preferred candidates money, wouldn't you like to know if Moulitsas' endorsement was purchased? ...diablo 2 play disk .iso

If Moulitsas takes money from political candidates in 2006 and 2008 without telling you who's paying him, stop giving his recommended candidates your dollars. Here's what Moulitsas wrote about payola pundit Armstrong Williams' assertion that "There are others" on the government dole: "Until names are named, we can assume every conservative pundit is on the White House's payola rolls." That's questionable logic, but let's take Moulitsas up on his challenge: Until names are named, we can assume every Daily Kos candidate this past election wrote him a check for his consulting work.

: UPDATE: Ben in the comments say Suellentrop is full of it and that all payments a campaign makes are already public via the FEC. diablo 2 play disk .iso

: UPDATE: A commenter above asked why I didn't link to Kos' response. I hadn't found it. Absolutely, I should link and so here it is. diablo 2 play disk .iso

JibJab jabs again

: Go see the latest JibJab, a preview of the inauguration. diablo 2 play disk .iso

CBS: Changing the book, not just the cover

: Les Moonves, head of CBS, described the changes he plans to bring to CBS News as an effort "to create less of that guy sitting behind the chair who is preaching from the mountain and do something much younger, more of an ensemble feeling." diablo 2 play disk .iso

My emphasis. He's looking at CBS News the way a network programmer would: As a sitcom. Ensemble: Here's the funny guy, here's the clever woman, here's the fat guy. I could be describing Seinfeld or the Howard Stern Show or the next rendition of the CBS Evening News. diablo 2 play disk .iso

Fine. Get multiple anchors in multiple cities. Window dressing. Lipstick on a pig. It's about changing the surface -- yes, the face -- of the news and not changing what's behind. diablo 2 play disk .iso

So quit the snarking, Jarvis, what are your suggestions? diablo 2 play disk .iso

: I say they need to invite citizens into their process: yes, even invite blogger-devils into your news meetings. One condition: Tell them they can't break your scoops before you. But let them see how the sausage is made and let them speak. I know how you'll respond (I've heard it before): People won't feel free to speak frankly and so they'll end up having shadow meetings. Well, there's something wrong with that. Try this: Imagine throughout the entire process of putting out the news -- phone calls, interviews, meetings -- that you're being watched by the public you serve. diablo 2 play disk .iso

: Create the means for people to tell you the news they need. No, don't do more focus groups. Open it up. I know your reflex may be to have people email you or to start an official forum. And then I know you'll say: But our competitors will read it and steal stories from us. Ah, but they're doing that today whenever a smart reporter reads citizens' media and finds a good story big media missed. You should have your people do just that -- make it part of their job. And then close the loop: When you get a story from a citizen, let them know. Thank them. diablo 2 play disk .iso

: Let the people contribute news. Thanks to technology, citizens who are witnesses to news can now report it. So use the video they take and the stories they put on their blogs. Learn from the tsunami: You couldn't get your cameras there for days but the citizens who were witnesses recorded the event for you. Invite people to send you their scoops. Use what they send (yes, after you vet it -- better than you did those memoes somebody sent you). And then thank them. diablo 2 play disk .iso

: Create the means for the people to correct you and ask the questions you didn't ask. Again, I know your reflex will be to do this quietly, to create an email address where people can send you -- well, actually, some ombudsman way down the hall from the newsroom -- complaints. But I say you should do this in public: start a forum or a wiki and appoint an in-house blogger to link to all the things people are saying about your stories -- already, anyway -- out her in citizens' media. Yes, this will start as a snarkfest. Sorry, buy you kind of deserve it. But once you take your blows, if you do this right, I'll bet it will turn into something more valuable: a conversation about news. diablo 2 play disk .iso

: Jay Rosen and I already suggested that CBS make public its complete interviews and source material. diablo 2 play disk .iso

: Joe Territo suggests that if CBS wants a younger audience, it should move the CBS Evening News later: CBS Late News. diablo 2 play disk .iso

It's all about -- once again -- tearing down the walls that separate you from the public you serve. Don't be scared of the masses. Join them. diablo 2 play disk .iso

: So here's one more: Have your reporters and producers blog. I know what you're going to say: It's not edited; we don't know what they're going to say. But look at it another way: This is a way to engage in a conversation with the public. I just had an email exchange with one of the participants in this weekend's Harvard journalism-meets-bloggers confab at Harvard, who questioned my contention that reporters should reveal their background and perspective. He wondered how much is enough or too much and who determines that. I said the public will. This isn't about filling out a one-size-discloses-all form or putting up a resume. Why not have reporters blog? Why not let the public ask whether you're a church-goer -- to probe your experience or your perspective, that's up to them -- after you report on a religion story? Why not use the form to explain your view? Doesn't the reader/viewer/user/public deserve to know your perspective? When they ask, shouldn't we have the means to answer? When we know they will ask, shouldn't we tell them?diablo 2 play disk .iso

Purple prose

: Andrew Sullivan regrets that blogs have not spawned political hybrids so much as political partisans, like old media.

In big media, the pressures of conformity can be as great as they are subtle. At the Boston Globe or the Washington Times, you know what you're getting. How many columnists in the mainstream media can be described as unpredictable in partisan terms? How many "liberal" columnists ever praise the president occasionally? How many conservative ones tear him a new one from time to time? (This is a moment to thank God for Tom Friedman, by the way.) The reason is subtle pressure from suits and colleagues and readers. But the point of blogging is that it can liberate you from such pressures. A political hybrid has a secure outlet at last - his or her own. So why, then, the preponderance of the partisans? I know that's what happens more generally in a polarized polity. But the blogosphere had the potential to be a solvent of this rigidity. Instead, it has become yet another reflection of it (with a few honorable exceptions). Or have I missed some blogs in this regard that deserve more exposure?
I can't speak for the rest of the blogosphere (well, I could try...) but speaking for myself, I do think he is right in saying that this medium does allow one to become a hybrid. I am a hybrid and I know that's true because I can get criticism and praise, back to back, from both sides of partisans (and I do not include in that calculation the flamers who live to insult; they are not even partisan but merely rude). diablo 2 play disk .iso

Let's take it out of the realm of the partisan. I am a journalist but I value this new medium's ability to push journalism to be better. I value this medium's ability to teach by example by pushing to make itself better. diablo 2 play disk .iso

That is how I view politics now: I am a Democrat but it's not disloyal to push for the Democrats to do better in certain issues; neither is it disloyal to support a Republican administration in certain issues. I am an American but it's not disloyal to push for the the President to do better. diablo 2 play disk .iso

And Andrew's right that this medium facilitates that kind of thinking precisely because it is a conversation; it's not about writing a weekly sermon from a pulpit of type. diablo 2 play disk .iso

Andrew, I believe, is a good example of a hybrid (to the consternation of many who thought he was on their side). diablo 2 play disk .iso

But blogs will only reflect the world and the world is filled with partisans -- not as many as media would paint in its single shades of red and blue. And blogs -- because they are about conversation -- also amplify partisanship sometimes because that's what you do when you argue a point. diablo 2 play disk .iso

This is part of what is interesting about the Zephyr/Kos kerfluffle this week and it's why I agreed with what I believe was Kos' distinction that he is not a journalist but an activist and it's important to label oneself so what you say can be viewed in that context. diablo 2 play disk .iso

And in the broader conversation, partisans can be handy to have around so you can see an issue from opposite sides of the prism. The Wall Street Journal does that effectively today by having bloggers of red and blue stripes argue Social Security. diablo 2 play disk .iso

Giving witness

: There is an odd bit in Virginia Heffernan's review of a documentary series about Auschwitz starting on PBS tonight. She talks about her high-school teacher who came back to the Holocaust frequently and says:

Why, with so much history to learn, did we spend so long on the particulars of Auschwitz and the practices of the Nazis? I couldn't help thinking that there was something about the Holocaust - or at least about the Nazis' cold efficiency - that we weren't meant to grieve, but to admire.diablo 2 play disk .iso

In "Auschwitz: Inside the Nazi State," a six-part BBC/KCET co-production by Laurence Rees that starts tonight on PBS, Melvin Jules Bukiet, a novelist who is the son of a survivor, says of the Holocaust, "I think we learn nothing from it."diablo 2 play disk .iso

He goes on, "It is simultaneously endlessly fascinating - because it does embody extremes of human behavior - but it is also endlessly exhausting, because it provides no reward whatsoever."diablo 2 play disk .iso

What if the Holocaust is no longer fascinating, but only exhausting?

I have not seen the series and have no idea whether it is any good. diablo 2 play disk .iso

There can be many reasons to give such a series a bad review: if it is not well-made, if it tells its story badly, if it exists to exploit (I am always mindful of what Elie Wiesel said: that you should give theater to Auschwitz or Auschwitz to theater). diablo 2 play disk .iso

But if it is "exhausting?" That's odd. That's saying, in essence, that we should move on -- to other history -- because the Holocaust might bore this student/viewer/critic. diablo 2 play disk .iso

I am of the school that remains important to give witness to this event.diablo 2 play disk .iso

I also don't know Heffernan's high-school teacher but I imagine he dwelled on the Holocaust because he thought it was an important lesson for his students and for the future. Her accusation regarding his motive -- that he may have wanted his student to admire Nazis -- is devastating to the reputation of someone people in that New Hampshire town know. I wonder what her evidence is of this. diablo 2 play disk .iso

Yes, this is the second day and the second criticism of Arts critics. Maybe they need new critics or maybe they need an editor who will push back at their assertions about people's motives. Or maybe we need to keep pushing back. diablo 2 play disk .iso

Now that's genuine

: N.Z. Bear takes on Sarah Boxer's unjournalism in The Times:

When I telephoned a woman named Sarah Boxer in New York last week, I wondered who might answer. A DNC flack? A hack posing as a journalist? Someone paid by The New York Times to craft hatchet-jobs on Iraqis who dare to express thanks to America for deposing Saddam? Or simply a lazy writer with some confused ideas about fact-checking and objectivity? Until she picked up the phone, she was just a ghost on the page.
: UPDATE: See also Patterico. diablo 2 play disk .iso
January 18, 2005

God is dead. Film at 11.

: Well, CBS Chair Les Moonves gets one message about the future of news and keeps repeating it like a media mantra:

Moonves, who will ultimately select Rather's replacement, said he believes many young viewers are turned off by a single "voice of God" anchor in the Internet age....diablo 2 play disk .iso

"Those days are over when you have that guy sitting behind the desk who everyone believes to the `nth' degree," Moonves told reporters. "It's sort of an antiquated way of news telling and maybe there's a new way of doing it." ...diablo 2 play disk .iso

"We have to try and reinvent that," he said. "One of the ways we're looking at is making it younger and more relevant, something that younger people can relate to as opposed to that guy preaching from the mountaintop about what we should and should not watch."

Got that? No god-from-the-mountaintop thing. Strike the Mt. Sinai set, boys. Throw out the tablets. diablo 2 play disk .iso

But I joke. It is the right message. Moonves is also talking about a multi-city, multi-anchor approach. Been there, seen that. Seen that fail. And there's this:

Asked twice, Moonves wouldn't rule out a role on the evening news for Comedy Central's Jon Stewart, whose "The Daily Show" skewers politicians and the news media each night. Moonves is co-chief executive of Viacom, which owns both CBS and Comedy Central.
Well, that's fun, too. It won't happen, but it's fun to imagine. diablo 2 play disk .iso

The problem with all this is that Moonves talks about change and about what the news shouldn't be. But he doesn't yet talk about what the news should be. It's not about pandering to a young demographic. It's about respecting the public. It's about having a conversation. It's not about the style. It's the substance, Les. diablo 2 play disk .iso

Feeling the chill... in more ways than one

: This is what the FCC's censorship has brought: Rampant stupidity necessitated by stupid government. From the AP:

Fox says it covered up the naked rear end of a cartoon character recently because of nervousness over what the Federal Communications Commission will find objectionable.diablo 2 play disk .iso

The latest example of TV network self-censorship because of FCC concerns came a few weeks ago during a rerun of the "Family Guy" cartoon. Fox blurred out a character's naked butt, even though the image was seen five years ago when the episode originally aired.diablo 2 play disk .iso

"We have to be checking and second-guessing ourselves now, and that's really difficult," Fox entertainment president Gail Berman said Monday. "We have to protect our affiliates." ...diablo 2 play disk .iso

PBS executives also said this weekend they will edit out a glimpse of a naked woman in a fictional account of a terrorist "dirty bomb" attack that will be aired next month after being shown first on HBO.

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Shame on the New York Times

: Sarah Boxer's story on IraqTheModel in today's New York Times Arts section is irresponsible, sloppy, lazy, inaccurate, incomplete, exploitive, biased, and -- worst of all -- dangerous, putting the lives of its subjects at risk. Let's start with her lead:

When I telephoned a man named Ali Fadhil in Baghdad last week, I wondered who might answer. A C.I.A. operative? An American posing as an Iraqi? Someone paid by the Defense Department to support the war? Or simply an Iraqi with some mixed feelings about the American presence in Iraq? Until he picked up the phone, he was just a ghost on the Internet.
So here is a reporter from The New York Times -- let's repeat that, The New York Times -- speculating in print on whether an Iraqi citizen, whose only apparent weirdness and sin in her eyes is (a) publishing and (b) supporting America, is a CIA or Defense Department plant or an American. diablo 2 play disk .iso

Ms. Boxer, don't you think you could be putting the life of that person at risk with that kind of speculation? In your own story, you quote Ali -- one of the three blogging brothers who started IraqTheModel -- saying that "here some people would kill you for just writing to an American." And yet you go so much farther -- blithely, glibly speculating about this same man working for the CIA or the DoD -- to sex up your lead and get your story atop the front of the Arts section (I'm in the biz, Boxer, I know how the game is played). diablo 2 play disk .iso

How dare you? Have you no sense of responsibility? Have you no shame?diablo 2 play disk .iso

It's not as if you have the slightest -- not the slightest -- bit of responsible reporting that would guide you to put that speculation in your lead (and, of course, whenever a reporter launches that speculation high up and never really answers it, she's trying to lead the reader toward the same speculation -- that, too, is a trick of the trade, eh, Boxer?). All you have is the rantings of one known internet troll whose spittle-specked babblings have been dismissed in saner quarters. But you hang your lead on that. I hope that is all you end up hanging. diablo 2 play disk .iso

Next paragraph:

The mystery began last month when I went online to see what Iraqis think about the war and the Jan. 30 national election. I stumbled into an ideological snake pit. Out of a list of 28 Iraqi blogs in English at a site called Iraqi Bloggers Central, I clicked on Iraq the Model because it promised three blogging brothers in one, Omar, Mohammed and Ali.
What mystery? Two of there brothers were in New York in the flesh more than a month ago. Do you still have a clip file at The Times? Have you heard of Google? Try a search and you'd have found plenty to dispel what you call a mystery. Try reading Howard Kurtz in the Washington Post. Or Dan Henninger in the Wall Street Journal. Or try listening to Brian Lehrer's interview with them on WNYC (you can hear the archives online). Try reading any of the many bloggers who wrote about meeting them. Send one of us an email. Ask us a question. Wait for the answer. That's how reporting worked, in my day.diablo 2 play disk .iso

[Now let me break off here to make sure everyone knows my relationship to this story: It started with email correspondence with Zeyad, the first Iraqi after the war and after Salam Pax to start blogging. He, in turn, convinced the IraqTheModel brothers and others to blog. Later, Spirit of America -- a charity that sends direct help to Iraqi people in the form of tool belts, sewing machines, and TV equipment -- hired a wonderful blogger named Kerry Dupont who had, on her own, sent laptops and cameras to bloggers in Iraq, including these gentlemen. SoA decided that supporting citizens' media in Iraq was a worthy goal; they financed the creation of an Arabic-language blogging tool, something I'd lobbied for on this blog. When Harvard held a conference on international blogging, SoA paid to bring two of the brothers, Mohammed and Omar, to the U.S., where they also wanted to promote their own project, Friends of Democracy. I had the privilege of meeting them here. At SoA's request, I also made introductions that led to the interviews in the Post and WNYC. They were asked whether they wanted to do interviews here and they wanted to, asking only not to go on TV and not to use their full names, for security reasons.diablo 2 play disk .iso

[Note, by the way, that Boxer does use their full name. They don't even use it on their blogs. I am usually very critical of people who do not use their names on their weblogs -- but I do make an exception for those whose lives might be at risk if they did. I will still not use their full names here. {Update: See my correction below.}diablo 2 play disk .iso

[I should also add for those who did not read the posts at the time that when the irresponsible Prof. Juan Cole spread Martini's slander, I went batshit.]diablo 2 play disk .iso

Boxer, unfortunately, continues...

The blog, which is quite upbeat about the American presence in Iraq, had provoked a deluge of intrigue and vitriol. People posting messages on an American Web site called Martini Republic accused the three bloggers of working for the C.I.A., of being American puppets, of not being Iraqis and even of not existing at all.
Isn't this amazing: The New York Times choses this time to quote a blogger without fact-checking them and trying to find someone from the other side. They pick this blogger, known to be a bit, well, from the fringe. Again, Boxer, a Google search would have have been quite handy. You'd have found this story about this from the National Review. Oh, I know, you're probably not a subscriber; not many of those at The Times. But that's what makes the internet so wonderful: You can expand you reporting and hear more than one side and you don't even have to put the source material in a brown paper wrapper. You quote Martini and length but quote no one who questioned their baseless accusation. You simply spread them again. That's journalism?diablo 2 play disk .iso

Boxer then goes on to tell about one of the brothers, Ali, leaving the blog and not joining the U.S. trip. She quotes from his last post to IraqTheModel. She does not, however, quote his followup post about this on his own blog, called Free Iraqi:

So I did not quit because of any distrust of America's plans in Iraq, I was not treated badly by any American, I have no problem with any right-wing blog and I never had any problem in dealing with extreme left blogs. I and my brothers have only some disagreement on few points. I had a different feeling about the trip and was more skeptic than them. Now I see that I have overreacted and I had to be more patient. I say that despite that I was right about the unecessary dangers that may come from such a trip, because my reaction created many speculations among our readers that could've been avoided had I not post such obscure message. My brothers seem to have done what they were comfortable with and they say that no one put any pressure of any kind on them.
Families disagree about things. diablo 2 play disk .iso

Yet Boxer says that Ali "seemed to have gone through a radical transformation when he found that his brothers, both described as dentists on their Web site, had met President Bush. Odd." You know, Boxer, "seemed" is an awfully bad word for a good reporter. "Seemed" means you don't know the facts; you're speculating again. diablo 2 play disk .iso

Boxer could have emailed Ali or his brothers at that point. Heck, two of them -- Mohammed and Ali -- were called and interviewed on American radio only a week ago. But, no, Boxer did not go to the source. She went instead to the aforedismissed MartiniRepublic. diablo 2 play disk .iso

And then she brings up the stupidest tin-hat episode of all: The Martini bozos acted as if their conspiracy theories had born fruit because they found that the IraqTheModel domain was hosted in -- gasp -- Texas (implication: the Bush state!). Worse yet, the company that registered the domains is called CIATech Solutions. And, of course, the CIA always clearly identifies its operatives; it's a brand, don't you know? diablo 2 play disk .iso

Once more, Boxer, if you'd just turned to Google, you would have found that CIA Tech Solutions is owned by a nice guy named Jeff Reed who donated domain hosting for a list of Iraqi bloggers, including ones quite anti-American. And if you went to his site, you'd confirm that CIA stands for Complex Internet Applications Technical Solutions, so you wouldn't need to rely just on Ali. diablo 2 play disk .iso

She repeats MartiniNutjob's conspiratorial speculation: "Why else... would the brothers have been feted in Washington?" Maybe because people make friends online -- even across such boundaries -- and want to meet them. And she repeats more tin-hat crap I won't bother to repeat. More of the same. diablo 2 play disk .iso

She complains: "Surely Iraq the Model did not represent the mainstream of Iraqi thinking." I just love that red herring. Who said this one blog should represent the mainstream of Iraqi thinking? It's a blog with the opinions of three brothers. diablo 2 play disk .iso

Does The New York Times represent the mainstream of American thinking, Ms. Boxer? Do you? I think not. So what's your point?diablo 2 play disk .iso

Finally, she writes about the real disagreement among the brothers: The two who came to the U.S. had no problem with press coverage and with meeting President Bush; Ali did. As I quoted above, Ali wrote about that. diablo 2 play disk .iso

The kicker to the story, the whole point of of the story is this:

"Me and my brothers," he said, "we generally agree on Iraq and the future." (He is helping his brother Mohammed, who is running on the Iraqi Pro-Democracy Party ticket in the Jan. 30 election.) But there is one important difference: "My brothers have confidence in the American administration. I have my questions."diablo 2 play disk .iso

Now that seems genuine.

That's where Boxer was headed all along: This Iraqi who blogged in favor of liberation -- who still has on top of his new blog the words, "I was not living before the 9th of April and now I am, so let me speak!" -- couldn't possibly be real, could he? But if he has questions about the American adminstration, then Boxer -- on behalf of no less than The New York Times -- concludes that maybe he could be real after all. That seems genuine to her. diablo 2 play disk .iso

That seems shameless to me. diablo 2 play disk .iso

: UPDATE: Ed Cone blogs on this, too. diablo 2 play disk .iso

: LIES SPREAD: That's just the problem with telling them. Now the BBC is -- surprise, surprise, surprise -- gleefully jumping on Boxer's folly.

But some anti-war activists said it was a CIA-sponsored propaganda tool.diablo 2 play disk .iso

The brothers strongly denied the claims, but the row has led to severe ructions in the online Iraq community.

I supposed I should expect no more of the BBC. diablo 2 play disk .iso

: Here is a wonderful comment from Janice Abrahams, a friend and colleague who lead the development of the Arabic language blogging tool SoA funded. I quote in full:

I work with 24 year old Omar every day building the arabic blogging tool. He is patient, kind, funny, blazingly intelligent and yes, his english is better than half the people in this country.diablo 2 play disk .iso

I'm an American. I'm a technologist, and I am also of the opinion that Omar and Mohammad are heros.diablo 2 play disk .iso

They are text-book kind of heros. Working 80 hours a week to further democracy kinda heros. Real heros.diablo 2 play disk .iso

All they care about is making their country better. They endanger themselves 24x7 to do it, never complain and hardly get enough sleep. I know.diablo 2 play disk .iso

I feel ashamed sometimes, and never talk to them about this sort of idiotic, lazy, horrid journalism -- because I am too embarrassed, in the face of their bravery and unending dedication to their cause, to even bring it up.diablo 2 play disk .iso

Even though Boxers lazy, DANGEROUS article, just added another brick to the wall of their mortal danger, the brothers will never complain, never waver, and they will hardly even pay attention.diablo 2 play disk .iso

Why?diablo 2 play disk .iso

They're too busy changing the lives of the people in their country.diablo 2 play disk .iso

-janicediablo 2 play disk .iso

PS: "It is error only, and not truth, that shrinks from inquiry." Thomas Paine

Reporters too often forget that they are dealing with real people and can have real impact on their lives.diablo 2 play disk .iso

: Here's a response from Jim Hake, founder of Spirit of America. diablo 2 play disk .iso

: In the comments, Tex corrects me: I said that the brothers do not use their names on their blogs; he found an instance where Ali did; link in the comments. I will still say that's one of the brothers and it's a bit buried, not like the NYT using the name of all three brothers. There's certainly precedent for not using names in The Times.... unless you are of the belief that there are a lot of people named Source. diablo 2 play disk .iso

And another commenter finds that when two of the brothers announcd that they would run for the national assembly, they used their last name and so did I. I stand corrected. I have done it. So take that sin away from my recitation above. Plenty left. diablo 2 play disk .iso

[Let me add this: Thank you, Tex, for correcting me. I don't mean to turn this moment of factual error into a distracting opportunity for blogger triumphalism but I will: It took no time for Tex to catch me in the error and call me on it. As I often say, when a blogger makes a mistake, other bloggers decend upon him like white blood cells on a germ. And that is a good thing. So I was wrong about that aspect; I leave it up above so you can see I was wrong; I put the correction here so you can see it; and we're all better off for it. So thanks.]diablo 2 play disk .iso

: LATER: And it keeps spreading. Now Seth Godin writes a post about the problem with CIA blogs. Readers come down on him -- as they damned well should, saying no one has shown for one second that such a thing exists -- and he back off, as damned well he should and then tries to backpedal to say he's just talking theoretically and complaining about a world where such a thing could happen and if it did what would happen to the trust in the medium? Well, Seth, lots of things could happen but idle speculation about that will get us nowhere; it's the speculation and the spreading of it that ruins the trust. The medium corrects itself effectively. Now we'll see how long it takes The Times to correct itself. diablo 2 play disk .iso

: Yes, I did email Dan Okrent at The Times with a link to this post. More when I hear it. diablo 2 play disk .iso

: There was a meme starting in the comments that this was only an arts story. I said it still had to be true and those who commented and I don't disagree about that. But it's not an arts story everywhere. The Times has a wire; here it's a news story. diablo 2 play disk .iso

: TimesWatch has this on Boxer from June, 2004. At the end of a story about the screening of a movie on Vietnam, she wrote:

She ends: "Those in the crowd seemed angrier than Mr. Davis. They wanted to talk about the land mines left behind and the long-term effects of Agent Orange on the children. They wanted to know what had become of the bombers and pilots. And how is it, they asked, that after 30 years the United States finds itself in yet another quagmire?"
: Let me make one thing very clear: I like, read, and respect The New York Times and I care about journalism and that is why it's worth going after this story: to turn journalism into a self-correcting mechanism, as we call our new medium. No, I don't go after every story with something wrong (though I know you'll now demand that I should or I'm a hypocrite); I don't know enough about all those stories. But this one is wrong on so many levels and that's why I said so. diablo 2 play disk .iso

: UPDATE ON BOXER'S REPORTING: I asked and found out from Omar and Mohammed at IraqTheModel that Boxer never tried to contact them or ask any questions of them; she tried to contact only Ali. That's bad reporting: lazy and incomplete. But, sadly, that's how some reporters behave: They don't want to ask the one more question that will ruin the story they want to write. diablo 2 play disk .iso

: EVENING UPDATE: Glenn Reynolds writes:

At the moment, the New York Times is in court, demanding constitutional protection for its sources. If they're exposed, it fears, they may suffer consequences that will make others less likely to come forward in the future. That, we're told, would be bad for America.diablo 2 play disk .iso

But the New York Times has no compunctions about putting the lives of pro-American and pro-democracy Iraqis at risk with baseless speculation even though the consequences they face are far worse than those that the Times' leakers have to fear. It seems to me that doing so is far worse for America.diablo 2 play disk .iso

When journalists ask me whether bloggers can live up to the ethical standards of Big Media, my response is: "How hard can that be?" Not very hard, judging by the Times' latest.

diablo 2 play disk .iso

For shame, NY Times

: There is a horribly irresponsible story about IraqTheModel in today's NYT. I am headed into a meeting but will comment soon!diablo 2 play disk .iso

January 17, 2005

Assignment desk: The Iraqi vote

: Craig Newmark said it well:

Folks, no matter how you feel about the war, people are risking their lives to vote.
If you're in one of the cities where expat Iraqis are going to register to vote, why not go and talk to them and hear what they say about the vote: report and blog. diablo 2 play disk .iso

Jeff's List: A job in Jersey

: There's a project job opening at my day-job company that may interest one or two of you. diablo 2 play disk .iso

First, though a big, honking, neon caveat: I won't be replying to your emails and applications. So please don't think I'm rude. Think I'm disorganized, that's fine. But not rude. I will merely collect the inquiries and put them in the right place. So please don't email me followups wondering why I have not replied. And don't think I'm going to get into a discussion in the comments about it. Cuz I won't. Think of this is a classified ad. Jeff's List. diablo 2 play disk .iso

Having now made that warm and inviting introduction, let me tell you about the gig:diablo 2 play disk .iso

Advance Internet, which includes NJ.com, MassLive.com, OregonLive.com and other fine local sites, is about to create a half-dozen town blogs in those markets -- new, group blogs (using iUpload) to which any neighbor can contribute. These will live alongside the many individuals' blogs, local forums, newspaper headlines, blogs outside the services (and their RSS feeds), and more. The idea is that -- as in GoSkokie.com and NorthwestVoices -- people may not want to start their own blog but they have plenty of news to contribute to their communities: opinions, news updates, sports reports, photos, calendar items, and so on. The hope is also that once we have a critical mass of content in a town from all these sources, a critical mass of audience is sure to follow. This means, we hope, that we can target ads down to the town level and automate them, saving the cost of sales and production, and price them in such a way that we can serve local advertisers who heretofore could not afford to market in big papers. That, I emphasize is the hope -- untested, unproven. Testing that is the job. diablo 2 play disk .iso

This person would work on a project basis for a year running this from both an edit and a business perspective. This person would recruit uberbloggers for towns and help them beat the bushes to find more bloggers. He or she would supervise them and come up with procedures for how they should work. He or she would work with the ad department to create appropriate avails and set up the production means of accepting ads. And he or she would work with marketing department to find inexpensive and efficient ways to get the message out to audience and advertisers. diablo 2 play disk .iso

Interested? Send a persuasive email with experience to the address on the right -- with "hyperlocal project" in the subject line, please -- and I'll pass it on. Thanks. diablo 2 play disk .iso

An attack on Christianity

: The Catholic archbishop of Mosul has been kidnapped. The Vatican called it an act of terrorism. I wondered whether they have called the attacks on others there terrorism -- they have. diablo 2 play disk .iso

Tag me

: Much buzz about Technorati's cool new tags from David Weinberger, Ross Mayfield, Mary Hodder. diablo 2 play disk .iso

So I've been thinking: Why stop at tagging text and photos.diablo 2 play disk .iso

It's time to tag people. diablo 2 play disk .iso

This comes out of David Galbraith's one-line bio and out of arguments I've made over time that the real future of classifieds is a generation beyond Craig and Monster: It's a distributed world where resumes and jobs (or men seeking women and women seeking men) live anywhere and they are found and matched by some specialized successor to Google that uses tags (e.g., work status, education, location, languages.... or smoker, nonsmoker, single, divorced, great personality). In that world, in essence, people, ads, and content are all tagged. diablo 2 play disk .iso

This also fits into the discussion below about the ethic of exhibitionism -- finding a way to exhibit key facts about our perspective so our public can judge what we say in that context. diablo 2 play disk .iso

So I started to wonder how I'd be tagged. Would I tag myself? Would the crowd tag me? Would a machine (based on my content and the links to it)? Would it be some Frankensteiny combination? diablo 2 play disk .iso

Would tags go to war with each other? Would the Democrats for whom I'm not conservative enough slap the Repubicans for whom I'm too liberal or would it all average out to centrist?diablo 2 play disk .iso

Would the tagee have the right to modify tags (like a credit report) or would that be self-promotion? diablo 2 play disk .iso

In the end, it needs to be a way for people to find people as well as content and comment and communities. diablo 2 play disk .iso

So how would I tag myself? Here's a try: media man... blog boy... tall... fast-talking... parent... Howard Stern... Entertainment Weekly... TV Guide... New York... New Jersey... Iraq... Iran... FCC... centrist... shaky Congregationalist... exploding TV... diablo 2 play disk .iso

I would ask how you'd tag me. But I don't have the guts. So how would you tag yourself?diablo 2 play disk .iso

: Note also how Micah Sifry is adding tags (instead of categories) to his posts using brother Dave Sifry's new tagging convention. diablo 2 play disk .iso

I want a plug-in that lets me add tags to posts as easily as I add the less flexible categories. Better yet, I'd love a smart plug-in tied into a network of Technorati/Flickr tags that suggests tags to me. diablo 2 play disk .iso

The Committee to Protect Bloggers

: Sadly, a Committee to Protect Bloggers is an idea whose time has come, given what is happening to our colleague bloggers in Iran, China, and elsewhere. Its goals:

: We are concerned primarily, though not exclusively, with the well-being of the bloggers themselves. Press freedom is extremely valuable and will be agitated for, but our primary concern is keeping bloggers alive and free.
: We are concerned for them as bloggers, even if some are also journalists or activists.
: We are a group of bloggers, communicating via blogs, about other bloggers. We have some understanding of our fellows that other groups, no matter how well-meaning, cannot. We also have immediate access to the communications power of the blogosphere.
I know nothing about who's behind this; heard about it on Global Voices; eager to hear more. diablo 2 play disk .iso

Economics and change in news II -- Questions
diablo 2 play disk .iso

: This is the second of two posts (the first is below) with my prep notes for a session I'm emceeing at this week's Harvard conference on economic pressures on the news business. This is a list of broad strategic questions for the news business raised by the issues listed in the post below. diablo 2 play disk .iso

If you can bear more blather from me on the future of media, here's a Q&A at Corante and a presentation I made at the Aspen Institute. diablo 2 play disk .iso

As with the post below, please add more questions and issues about journalism and blogging in this new era. Thanks. diablo 2 play disk .iso

Strategic questionsdiablo 2 play disk .iso

: In an era of consumer control, how do we give control to our consumers? How do we give up control ourselves, when that is antithetical to newsroom culture? How do we make news a conversation? A partnership? We must start by listening instead of lecturing. diablo 2 play disk .iso

: In age of transparency, how do we become fully transparent to regain our credibility and trust? Let's reveal our full interviews (see Jay Rosen's and my posts). Let's reveal our process, our news judgment, the backgrounds and perspectives (and voting records) of reporters and editors. At the Aspen Institute discussion of transparency, some said we should be judged by our product, not our process. I say we need to be judged by both. diablo 2 play disk .iso

: The internet creates new relationships. What is our relationship with our public? What should it be? How do we change it? How do we increase the respect we give to the public (and the public to us)? How do we regain the humility and humanity of journalism, taking us down off the pedestals we built so we can report the news eye-to-eye? How do we tear down the walls of the newsroom to build familiarity? How can we bring reporters and the public in direct contact (e.g., MeetUps)? Can we still stand at the center of the public square (where blogger Hugh MacLeod says we should think of products not as a "thing" but as a "place" -- a community). diablo 2 play disk .iso

: How do we serve a mass of niches instead of the mass audience? How do we afford to do that? How do we assure we do not ghettoize and marginalize those publics? diablo 2 play disk .iso

: How can we take advantage of this diverse new medium to enhance the diversity of our own news products and organizations? diablo 2 play disk .iso

: Are we in the news media -- along with leaders in politics -- dividing the nation into red and blue when, instead, we should be building bridges?diablo 2 play disk .iso

: In this new, distributed world -- where the value of the marketplace and distribution is diminished, where the internet is the network no one owns -- how do we take advantage of the distribution our audience can bring us? Shouldn't we find ways to encourage P2P distribution? Shouldn't we consider copyright (creative commons) licensing that allows the audience to do this? Would we not benefit from the added distribution, branding, and marketing? Can we give up that much control? diablo 2 play disk .iso

On citizens' mediadiablo 2 play disk .iso

: How do we use citizens to help us get news, information, and diverse viewpoints? We cannot afford to grow our newsrooms. We should gather news from citizens who can now report it thanks to new tools for gathering news (e.g., cameraphones) and distributing it (weblogs). What issues of vetting and credibility does this raise? (See hyperlocal citizens' media projects: GoSkokie.com, NorthwestVoices, Backfence.) diablo 2 play disk .iso

: How can we enable the growth of citizens' media (after agreeing that's both a good and inevitable fate)?
> How can we -- journalists and journalism educators -- train citizen journalists in the standards of professionalism (and how they can train us in openness)?
> How can we promote them and highlight their coverage?
> How can we underwrite them? Should we create ad networks (which also increase our reach)? Once we find this can be profitable, we should not exploit them only for our benefit.
> Shouldn't we push to afford citizen journalists the protections and rights journalists have (helping to defend them in appropriate libel cases, making sure they get shield protection, getting them access and credentials)? To exclude them from these protections and privileges sets precedents that are dangerous for professional journalists as well.diablo 2 play disk .iso

On change and trainingdiablo 2 play disk .iso

: We should train the public to judge the news differently, to become:
> Skeptical of the first reports (the fog of war).
> Adept at judging news according to the perspective of its source (reporter, bloggers, newsmakers).
> Adept at judging news from us (and helping us correct it; see Rather).diablo 2 play disk .iso

: How do we break newsrooms out of the ego of the container and serve news to citizens wherever and however they want it served (online, via mobile, via search, via RSS, via audio or video, via blogs)? [It isn't easy!]diablo 2 play disk .iso

: We need to retrain newsrooms in multimedia and interactivity. How should news organizations and colleges do that? diablo 2 play disk .iso

Financial questionsdiablo 2 play disk .iso

: How do we continue to financially support quality newsgathering? How do we find new efficiencies? How do we maintain quality? [Cue Dan Gillmor on news industry margins.]diablo 2 play disk .iso

: How do we deemphasize -- and spend less resource on -- commodity news the audience already knows so we can concentrate on what we do best and our greatest value: reporting, local news, and so on?diablo 2 play disk .iso

: Can we consolidate but maintain localness and quality and responsiveness?diablo 2 play disk .iso

On perspectivediablo 2 play disk .iso

: How do we incorporate commentary and reporting?diablo 2 play disk .iso

: Can we regain the brave voice of journalism? diablo 2 play disk .iso

Economics and change in news I -- Financial pressures on news

: At this week's Harvard conference on journalism, citizens' media, and credibilty, I'm emceeing, Oprahlike, a session on economic pressures on news and the issues that result. The official word from the conference is "ethics" but I'm not convinced that's quite the right word. Here are some notes in preparation. This first post wants to be a catalogue of the economic pressures on the news business brought on by the internet, citizens' media, issues of credibility, and more. I don't plan to discuss this much, but I thought it was important to start with this background and perspective. As I said to someone about their company lately, "You need a chief reality officer." This is an attempt to issue an economic reality check. Please add in more factors -- or correct the ones I have here -- in the comments. The second part of these notes, on the strategic and ethical issues all this raises -- is the next post, above. diablo 2 play disk .iso

Strategic issues

: Thanks to the internet - and the consumer control and choice it enables - the mass market is dying, replaced by a mass of niches. See The Massless Mediain this month's Atlantic (it's not online; I'll post quotes soon). See my First Law of Media: Give the people control of media, they will use it. The corollary: Don't give the people control of media, and you will lose.diablo 2 play disk .iso

: All established news media face strong new competition for audience, attention, and ad dollars from the internet, cable, satellite radio and TV, and games. diablo 2 play disk .iso

: All established news media face growing competition for stories and attention from new sources of news, led by citizens' media. These new competitors can serve niche markets large media cannot serve. diablo 2 play disk .iso

: The value of controlling distribution - printing presses, broadcast towers, cables - is torn apart by the internet. The internet is the network no one owns.diablo 2 play disk .iso

: Thus… In the old days, if you wanted to publish or broadcast, you had to have expensive equipment and expertise; you had to know the guy who owned the means of distribution (printing press or broadcast tower or cable); you had to have a fortune for marketing. Now, anyone can create content (and, better yet, conversation) and do it inexpensively with new equipment and tools; they can distribute it online and they can "market" it (that is, it can be found) thanks to search, links, and the metadata they create. All this levels the playing field. As Jay Rosen says: "A blog, you see, is a little First Amendment machine."diablo 2 play disk .iso

: News is a commodity. The same news is reported in many ways. The audience often knows the news before we report it, so we seem slow. We also spend considerable resources on this commodity news. diablo 2 play disk .iso

: The means of getting news -- for consumers -- has changed: Once was, we readers/listeners/viewers/users waited for news to come to us (the paper is delivered, the show starts). Now the news waits for us. News is becoming an on-demand, anywhere-anytime product. Old packages and delivery mechanisms don't work. Also, in the old days, we browsed a product packaged for us; now we search for what we want. Go read Tom Curley's speech to ONA: "Content will be more important than its container."diablo 2 play disk .iso

: Google is a brand killer. People find what they want from any source and don't credit or remember the source. diablo 2 play disk .iso

Specific financial issuesdiablo 2 play disk .iso

: Newspaper classified revenue plummets due to the economy; direct customer contact made possible by the internet (for real estate agents, employers, auto dealers); new, cheap or free competitors (a study says Craigslist cost San Francisco papers $65 million); and new competition coming (a distributed marketplace made possible by tags and search).diablo 2 play disk .iso

: Newspaper (and local TV and radio) retail revenue is also hit by the success of online (see Christmas buying results - a slight increase in local retail but a huge increase in online sales) and by consolidation (Sears and Kmart merge; Wal-Mart kills stores; Wal-Mart doesn't advertise in print). diablo 2 play disk .iso

: Newspaper circulation is falling or flat; young people read papers less. So circulation revenue falls and the CPM value of advertising also falls. diablo 2 play disk .iso

: As citizens switch media - moving from a newspaper to an online news site - they shift to a lower-margin medium. diablo 2 play disk .iso

: Immigrants are less likely to speak English and buy English media, leading to mushrooming growth and competition from ethnic media. diablo 2 play disk .iso

: Magazine circulation is difficult and ad revenue has been flat. diablo 2 play disk .iso

: TV revenue will be hit when advertisers no longer accept upfront rate increases while viewership declines. diablo 2 play disk .iso

Qualitative issuesdiablo 2 play disk .iso

: The credibility of journalists is under more regular attack. This is attacking our core asset and value. (See this Newshour transcript.)diablo 2 play disk .iso

: Opinion and conversation are proving in some cases to be more profitable than reporting (see FoxNews, the Guardian, blogs…). diablo 2 play disk .iso

: The speed of reporting and distribution allowed by technology means that established media often fall behind in reporting. It also means that distribution gets ahead of reporting: The public gets news before it is verified (the fog of war). This, in turn, has an impact on our reputation and credibility. diablo 2 play disk .iso

Policy issuesdiablo 2 play disk .iso

: Established media companies respond to economic pressures by trying to consolidate and find new efficiency but this strategy is under attack in public opinion and regulation.diablo 2 play disk .iso

: The FCC and its attack on alleged indecency is turning broadcast into tapioca, reducing the audience and heat of the media.
diablo 2 play disk .iso

January 16, 2005

Church v. state v. congregation: Once more into the jaws...

: I've been thinking today about the Zephyr/Kos et al flap and what it means for our emerging culture: namely, the need to separate church and state -- and congregation and so on -- and the need for an ethic of exhibitionism. At the risk of stirring up more dioxin-rich sediment, I'll post once more on this. [See one more caveat below.*]diablo 2 play disk .iso

Something either Kos or Jerome said resonated with me and I'm sorry I can't find it now under the current mudslide of verbiage from all sides: One of them said he was not a journalist but an activist. diablo 2 play disk .iso

Well, of course: This is, as we often say, just a tool, this blogging thing. And it will be used by many people in many different ways. Just because it looks like media, sounds like media, and smells like media, that doesn't mean it is media. diablo 2 play disk .iso

It can be activism or advocacy or business or conversation or education or marketing ... or journalism. But that can also be confusing: It can be activism, but some people can understandably think it's trying to be journalism -- and, indeed, it may be both. We need to find ways to make sure we don't confuse our publics. The issue this raises is about transparency, yes, but it's more about expectations. It's about the separation of church and state -- and congregation... and marketplace... and academy... and fortress... diablo 2 play disk .iso

In old, estasblished media, this separation was pretty easy to manage (even though we often didn't manage it well): There's content and there's advertising and as I said the other day, a wise editor once taught me the only rule is that consumers should never be confused about the source of content; if it's paid for, that has to be clearly labeled; and nobody can ever buy our journalistic space or voice. diablo 2 play disk .iso

But now there are so many more possibilities. So Kos can be an activist and if a campaign pays him for consulting, he's saying (I think) that should be no surprise; he is already an advocate and he clearly announced the relationship. And I have no problem with that or with advocacy media. Hell, I suggested the other day -- not a joke -- that the DNC should just buy CBS. My view is that the more open the perspectives are, the better. And the more perspectives we have, the better. diablo 2 play disk .iso

But -- to use Kos as an example, or political consultant and Bopnews blogger Matt Stoller, now apparently working or speaking for would-be DNC chair Simon Rosenberg -- the question is whether readers coming to a permalink of a post on these blogs knows they are reading through the prism of an advocate with a formal relationship to campaigns. diablo 2 play disk .iso

When they read the new auto blog by design czar Bob Lutz, do they know he's vice-chairman of GM (well, the GM logos sure help!). When they read news on Instapundit, do they realize -- as Glenn says frequently -- that they're reading the news through the idiosyncratic interests and perspective of a law prof? When they come to my blog and read my about, paragraph, do they know I'm a big-media careerist who comments on media? And is that enough? Should my about link include the fact that I voted for Kerry (so I don't keep repeating that) and supported the liberation of Iraq and go to church and own (a little) Sirius stock? diablo 2 play disk .iso

Should all bloggers reveal their biases and agendas as well as their financial relationships and personal relationships? We are building an ethic of exhibitionism: We all stand naked on the public square with no agenda hidden. We believe we should all be emperors with new clothes. So how much is too much? How little is too little? We don't know yet. And that is precisely why it is good that we are talking about this. That is why this discussion -- stripped of all the spittle and bile -- is worthwhile. diablo 2 play disk .iso

In the end, this is all about integrity. We need to make sure we never try to mislead our publics or we will lose their trust and attention. Lists of ethical standards won't handle that. Good sense and good faith will. In that sense, there is absolutely nothing new about this discussiondiablo 2 play disk .iso


: On the radio the other day, I told a story I don't think I've told here (stop me if I have): When I was the TV critic at People, owned by Time Inc., which also owned HBO, I gave the new cable network bad reviews because -- back then, before it became the creator of the best shows on TV -- it emphasized only two three things: bad words and breasts. The then-head of HBO screamed up the corporate ladder about me; the shouts came back down to the editor of People, Pat Ryan, and she just shouted back up the ladder. She had the courage and integrity to put our editorial independence first. When I was in that same job, I panned Hallmark Hall of Fame shows and Hallmark pulled its ads as a result. I shouldn't have known that because it could be argued that this might influence me one way or another, but an ad salesperson told me (out of obvious self-interest). So, when I started Entertainment Weekly, I decreed that the sales department should never tell my critics and editors anything about sales. While at the helm of EW, dealing with the rough spots in a launch, the then-top-editors at Time Inc. -- lately starstruck as the company merged with Warner Bros. -- said we were being too tough on entertainment. A high-paid editorial executive actually sat down and calculated the grade-point average of our reviews and -- I was reminded when I came across one of the resignation letters I drafted back then -- they tried to get me to stop handing out F's. For this reason among others, I quit. diablo 2 play disk .iso

No rule of ethics from the company or the community would have dealt with all this. Only personal integrity would -- only the knowledge that the only relationship that really matters is ours with our public. diablo 2 play disk .iso


: [*One more -- one last -- caveat on all this: I repeat that I am not saying that Kos or Jerome did anything wrong with the Dean campaign. Kos revealed his relationship; Jerome stopped blogging. I will also repeat that if anyone did anything wrong, it could be argued that it's the Dean campaign for trying to buy mouthpieces without revealing that motive. I have no basis to know the full truth of what Zephyr Teachout has said in all this or to understand all the venom we're reading about this. But I do know that in any case this raises important questions about our new culture and so it is worth discussing ... with civility and intelligence.]diablo 2 play disk .iso


: One more: Chris Nolan says everyone in this flap -- Zephyr, Kos, et al -- are acting politically. diablo 2 play disk .iso

: Tomorrow, I'll also blog about personal tags in this context. diablo 2 play disk .iso

: LATER: Just to be clear, I put this in the comments: When I say "congregation" I'm being metaphorical as we are when we refer to the business side of a magazine as "state" and editorial as "church." By extension, I see the congregation as the citizenry (audience, consumers, voters). I'm not talking religion. diablo 2 play disk .iso

The speech machine

: Jay Rosen writes a paper to provoke thought and conversation at an upcoming confab -- both of which it will do in excess, I'm sure -- and here's my favorite thought nugget:

With blogging, an awkward term, we designate a fairly beautiful thing: the extension to many more people of a First Amendment franchise, the right to publish your thoughts to the world.diablo 2 play disk .iso

Wherever blogging spreads the dramas of free expression follow. And this will be true in journalism. There are struggles with freedom of speech. A blog, you see, is a little First Amendment machine. And some of the roots of blogging are in the right to speak up, the will to be heard. In some cases, heard over the din of journalism.

diablo 2 play disk .iso
January 15, 2005

Blogola: One more note

: As I read all the sniping and snarking and bitchslapping among the ex-Deaniac bloggers at each others' throats, I'm mindful of one thing: If things had gone their way, these people would be running the country now. Yow. diablo 2 play disk .iso

: I keep reading more comments on the various ex-Deaniacs' blogs and I'll add this: No wonder they lost Iowa. No wonder Dean screamed. diablo 2 play disk .iso

A lot of fussing and fuming. This is politics, folks. If you can't stand the heat....diablo 2 play disk .iso

: UPDATE: Zephyr Teachout posts an FAQ on all this, politely. And Glenn Reynolds points to Bigwig's post on politeness. That is striking about all this: the shrill tone of many. There's irony in that: You'd think that Kos and MyDD would or could be playing the victims -- not of Zephyr's post now but of what she alleges about the Dean campaign's motives in paying them. Instead, they and others go on the attack and get downright nasty about it with their former allies. And there seems to be little awareness that this is in public, that people are watching how they -- we, as a culture -- behave when faced with tough questions, an awareness that everything they say could be quoted tomorrow in the Wall Street Journal or the Washington Post. This is, after all, the transparent medium, isn't it? Right now, I happen to be watching Das Experiment, the German movie about a scientific experiment simulating a prison. Imagine that this whole blog thing is just one big psychological experiment and the guys in the white coats are watching to see what we lab rats do in this maze of media and politics and life. To paraphrase Ed Koch: How are we doin'?diablo 2 play disk .iso

: I also imagine Republican strategists reading through this grand kerfluffle and laughing their little heads off as they say it's going to be easy to beat the liberals again because they're so damned busy beating themselves. diablo 2 play disk .iso

Some folks are going to wake up tomorrow with a mean snark hangover. diablo 2 play disk .iso

: There are, sadly, a few examples of uncivilized responses in the comments to this post. I'll leave a few of them here, monuments to man's inhumanity to man. But I won't tolerate more.diablo 2 play disk .iso

Take back the news

: Unmediated points to Take Back The News, a project that aims to do just that. See, similarly, the Guerilla News Network. diablo 2 play disk .iso

Dissecting Rathergate

: Ernie Millier, who has done a great job dissecting the CBS Rathergate panel's report, says: "The panel has done CBS no favors." (My agreement here.)diablo 2 play disk .iso

Blogola followup

: Ed Cone gets the facts straight on the Dean campaign bloggers flapette. More from Ed here. diablo 2 play disk .iso

[Give credit to the coining of blogola to an Ann Althouse reader.]diablo 2 play disk .iso

Take that, Michael Powell!

: The Smoking Gun puts up some of the 500+ complaints Michael Powell received following the Desperate Housewives promo on Monday Night Football -- complaints aimed not against the promo but against Powell himself for this critique: "I think it's very disappointing. I wonder if Walt Disney would be proud."diablo 2 play disk .iso

Note that that is about 170 times more letters than were penned in complaint against Married by America, yielding the biggest fine in FCC history. By this scale, then, Michael Powell should resign immediately and take the rest of the National Board of Prigs and Prudes with him. diablo 2 play disk .iso

Some of my favorite moments in nanny-bashing from the Powell complaints:

Ok. You boys have waaaay too much time on your hands. The spot was funny. The show, "Desperate Housewives," is funny. diablo 2 play disk .iso

Anyone who says different is obviously very repressed. It's the 21st Century. We should be over this sort of crap.diablo 2 play disk .iso

Straight people! oy! You'll get rankled over anything!

And this:
Does the Radical Right "Born-again" "Christian" crowd have pictures of you in a compromising position with Satan???!!! Quit giving time and attention to the clearly insane, and do the job for which you were appointed (because of your dad.) Sinclair sure seems to fly under your radar; but Janet Jackson's breast and Desperate Housewives require endless attention. Makes me wonder who's REALLY in charge over there.
And this:
I strongly disagree with your reviews of Monday night Football. You act like Americans are sheltered children. Take a deep breath and relax. We dont need you as our mommy. Mommy.
And this:
You must have nothing at all to do at work if you spend even 1 second of your time addressing the MNF Desperate Housewives promo. You are off your rocker and should follow in the footsteps of your kiss-ass father and RESIGN... You speak for only a select few of your fellow insane jesus freaks that are unfortunately in this country. GO AWAY!!!!! JOIN THE TALIBAN IF THATS HOW YOU WANT TO ACT!!!!!
I redacted a few of the exclams in that one. Don't want to go over my quota. More:
It is a shame how people are getting so worked up over this Monday Night Football intro. First off, its opening for a game where men try to bash each others brains out. I played football for 11 years and know about the game. I don't let my 4 year old watch to [sic] much anyway. So maybe more parents should look at themselves first before blaming ABC, NFL, or T.O. The intro was funny as hell, oh wait you might fine me, funny as HECK!!!
My favorite:
A woman's bare back! My god what has the world come to? Imagine the long lasting effects the sight of a woman's bare back will have on the psyche of America's children. I for one am appalled. As I am sure you agree, a woman should never reveal more than an ankle. TO suggest otherwise is simply vile and goes against the Puritan beliefs that founded this great country...diablo 2 play disk .iso

These left wing liberal corrupters need to face facts: children are stupid. Every single child in this country is two [sic] shades above retarded. That is why we need to protect them. We cannot expect our "special" young ones to understand that Nicolette Sheridan and Terrell Owens aren't going to bang like bunnies when the commercial changes. We can't expect them to understand that playing football will not equate to sexual favors from loose blonde women. They are stupid, stupid little creatures and we must protect them. diablo 2 play disk .iso

I would like to thank you Mr. Powell. Your unrelenting tunnel vision and suffocating moral beliefs are just what American [sic] and its dumbass kids need in these trying times. Thank you Sir!diablo 2 play disk .iso

(I understand that you see the world in black and white Mr. Powell, but just to clarify the above letter is an example of Satire. You see by pretending to agree with you I am actually whole-heartedly disagreeing with you. I realize that this requires more mental aerobics than you are accustomed to, but please try to get your head around it.)

: I also just got an official reply to my FOIA request for the complaints against the Olympics. As I reported here, the FCC cut us off at the pass and posted the complaints on the web. The official letter from FCC attorney Judy Lancaster of the ominous sounding Enforcement Bureau says:
Please be advised that copies of such complaints are routinely available to the public. You may access them on the FCC's website at http://www.fcc.gov/eb/broadcast/Plead.html.
Sorry to tell you, Ms. Lancaster, but that's a bald-faced lie. The only complaints you put up there are the ones the folks like me ask for: You put up the complaints against Married by America and now Monday Night Football and that's it. So I sent this email back to Ms. Lancaster:
Ms. Lancaster:diablo 2 play disk .iso

Thanks for your reply.diablo 2 play disk .iso

But you are wrong when you say that "copies of such complaints are routinely available to the public. You may access them on the FCC's website..." Please go to that page and you will find the only public complaints posted there are those against Married by America and the NBC Olympics coverage (both of which I asked for via FOIA requests).diablo 2 play disk .iso

However, I think it is a marvelous policy to put up all complaints so the public can judge the basis upon which the FCC launches investigations and applies notices of apparent liability.diablo 2 play disk .iso

So I now formally ask the FCC -- under the Freedom of Information Act -- to follow what you tell me is Commission policy and post all indecency and obscenity complaints received against any and all shows.

And I'll bet if they do it, we'll see many complaints like the ones quoted above from people who are more fed up with the FCC and Nanny Powell than they are with our pop culture and free speech. diablo 2 play disk .iso

: More posts on all this here. diablo 2 play disk .iso

Oh, well

: MIT's Media Lab Europe is closing. diablo 2 play disk .iso

Out of this world

: Photos from the probe of Titan here. diablo 2 play disk .iso

This is news?

: The Today show this morning reported on a career day in a California School in which a salesman gave out a list of careers that included, among scores of others, "stripper" and when an 8th grade boy asked about it -- playing his part perfectly -- the salesman made the mistake of telling them how much strippers make and how much more they make when surgically enhanced. diablo 2 play disk .iso

So it was a very stupid thing to do but the salesman knows it and the principal knows it and I trust that these 14 kids in this class are smart enough not to change their lives based on this two-minute discussion ("Mommy, can I get new boobs for Christmas?"). diablo 2 play disk .iso

But is this national news? Is this news at all? Is this a story that affects our lives? Is this a story that reveals some larger trend in society of which we should be aware? Is this a story that reveals a scandal and saves innocent victims?diablo 2 play disk .iso

Or is this pathetic pandering for ratings?diablo 2 play disk .iso

I vote the latter. It's all terribly predictable: Local papers write about this; bookers see the story and know it will warm the heart of TV "news" producers, and on the air it goes. They know it's not a real story, but if they try to treat it as a scandal, they hope it'll get them water-cooler juice. diablo 2 play disk .iso

Meanwhile, this slub salesman is now branded as a child-corrupter and this school is slimed as Stripper U. diablo 2 play disk .iso

In the "news" segment of this "news" show, they also bravely reported about firemen freeing a kittie's paws frozen to a fence. diablo 2 play disk .iso

Film at 11.diablo 2 play disk .iso

: Martha Feingold -- citizen reporting from the scene! -- adds this in the comments:

My kids go to that school, although they're in the 7th grade, so didn't go to career day. Leslie's right, it's a lot of nothing. We have a local daily paper that feeds on stories like this, my guess is one of the parents called them and they took it from there..and placed it above the fold. And the local and national media took the bait. Thank God I don't work in TV news anymore. Note one of the 2 complaints came from a parent who said the guy inspired them to go after a career based on what they love to do..so now he wants to be a fisherman. I guess that's not good enough for Palo Alto.
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January 14, 2005

Location, location

: Doc gets an amazing picture of the sliding hills of La Conchita. diablo 2 play disk .iso

Man, recent lessons teach me not to live (1) on any coastline, (2) near any hill that can turn into mud, (3) near any hill that can spawn an avalanche. diablo 2 play disk .iso

Makes deepest, darkest New Jersey look damned good, I'll tell you. diablo 2 play disk .iso

Dan Rather: Unemployed after all? - and - The blue-ribbon report backfires

: First, the news: The New York Times today hints that Dan Rather may end up unemployed after all if CBS cancels 60 Minutes Wednesday (probably as a way to get rid of Dan since they don't have the balls to fire anybody without a blue-ribbon panel).

The future of CBS's "60 Minutes Wednesday" - the program that broadcast Mr. Rather's report, now discredited, about President Bush's National Guard record - is in doubt, both the top CBS executive and the program's new executive producer acknowledged yesterday.

Leslie Moonves, the chairman of CBS and co-president of the network's parent company, Viacom, said in a telephone interview that Mr. Rather was expected to continue his career at CBS on the Wednesday edition of "60 Minutes" after he steps down as the network's primary anchor in March. But Mr. Moonves added the phrase, "provided the show continues."
That's a door as big as Dan's ego for Moonves to drive through once he figures out what he should think. diablo 2 play disk .iso


: Note that the blue-ribbon panel's report did not do what CBS hoped for; quite the opposite. The network hoped this would put this unpleasantness behind them and clear the pipes like an ethical enema. Instead, it only put a harsher light on CBS' problems and it highlighted the network's -- and the panel's -- refusal to deal with the hard issues:diablo 2 play disk .iso

: There continue to be calls for Rather's head and Rather hasn't helped his own cause with his response. Jay Rosen -- as the good professor he is -- asks Rather to tell us exactly what he has learned in all this. It's a test, Dan. You're not passing. diablo 2 play disk .iso

: There are also still calls for the head of CBS News head Andrew Heyward. As someone (sorry, I wish I could remember who) pointed out: If the people he fired needed to be fired, then why did he wait for a blue-ribbon panel to do it? What does that say about Heyward's -- and Moonves' -- management? Not much good. diablo 2 play disk .iso

: They appoint an insider, a Tiffany-era dino, to be their conscience and she sets off immediately saying stupid things. If they were going to appoint anyone to such a job, they should have followed the NY Times lead and (1) named an outsider with the spine of Dan Okrent and (2) given that outsider a means of criticizing CBS News on CBS air. Instead, they get someone safe who's say safe (if inane) things. diablo 2 play disk .iso

: And they appointed commissions. I said earlier that's precisely the wrong thing to do: building more walls between the news and the public it's supposed to serve... and hear. diablo 2 play disk .iso

: The panel and the network refused to deal with the key issue of bias. They could have denied it. They could have taken the bull by the horns and grappled with the fact that, of course, Rather and Mapes have bias personal perspectives about Bush and this story and more. But they did the worst thing: neither. That's no way to build credibility and trust with your public. diablo 2 play disk .iso

: The panel and the network further refused to admit that the documents were forgeries. Again, that's no way to build credibility and trust with your public. Do they still think we're stupid?diablo 2 play disk .iso

: They did damage to the morale inside CBS News by firing some folks who actually tried to admit the mistake and were stopped and keeping on other folks who should have been out there doing the admitting. diablo 2 play disk .iso

: They did nothing to thank the people who pointed out their error. They did nothing to invite them into the process. They gave them no respect. Huge mistake.diablo 2 play disk .iso

: The biggest issue of all is that they did not change CBS News. Not one bit. Nor did they change news itself. They should have at least started, at least tried to change news and the relationship with the public. diablo 2 play disk .iso

But they didn't. They merely tried to clear the pipes. They thought they'd feel better now. They don't. diablo 2 play disk .iso

Remember how Howell Raines thought he was finished with his problems when he got rid of Jayson Blair? You know what happened next. diablo 2 play disk .iso

Ditto that at CBS News. This story ain't over, not by a long shot. diablo 2 play disk .iso

: UPDATE: Former CBS News pres Van Gordon Sauter says:

What's the big problem at CBS News?diablo 2 play disk .iso

Well, for one thing, it has no credibility. And no audience, no morale, no long-term emblematic anchorperson and no cohesive management structure. Outside of those annoyances, it shouldn't be that hard to fix.

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Media on media

: Just got called to be on Brian Lehrer's show on WNYC and Sirius at 10:40a ET to talk about Zephyr Teachout's post yesterday. Stream here. diablo 2 play disk .iso

:See Glenn's additional posts here, including notes from Jerome that he quit blogging during this time and responses from Kos. Here's Zephyr's folo. diablo 2 play disk .iso

: On Lehrer's show, I made something clear I'll make clearer here: Kos and MyDD didn't do anything wrong (one put up a disclosure, the other stopped blogging). That's not the point of the discussion. If anybody did anything wrong in this, it could be argued that the Dean campaign did by trying to buy the voice of the bloggers (even though they already had their strong support). But that's not the real point, either. The points that Zephyr raises about our opportunity to define our culture and how the expectations of our public are what interest me. That's worth discussing (without all the brickbats back and forth from the various partisans here; I'm separate from that because I never backed Dean and you couldn't have paid me to). diablo 2 play disk .iso

January 13, 2005

Who can gag the FCC?

: Now an FCC commissioner says the commission should investigate the case of Armstrong Williams to see whether laws were violated. Oh, come on. We don't need the FCC on the case (or on any case!). Williams definitely did a no-no. So did the Department of Education. So have others. What's the FCC going to do about that? Get airtime, if they possibly can. diablo 2 play disk .iso

: UPDATE: In the comments, Eileen points out:

From the article: "Specifically, Adelstein said the Buffalo case and Williams' contract could be possible violations of federal telecommunication law that requires disclosure of any payment or gift for airing any material for broadcast, like a radio disc jockey being paid to play a particular recording."
Well, by that rule, then the starlets who go on Jay Leno's show to drop plugs for cheese are violating telecom law. Hmmmmm.diablo 2 play disk .iso

Her point is valid. Yes, I'm just sick of the FCC not paying attention to its proper business (though as their own chairman has said, when they do pay attention to something, they kill it). So yes, this is a case for the FCC Anti-Defamation League.diablo 2 play disk .iso

But I do think that this is not the real avenue for investigation. It's not a telecommunications issue. It is an issue at the Department of Education over the proper and improper use of tax money. diablo 2 play disk .iso

If the FCC did go after Williams himself, I do think there are First Amendment issues: Does his mean that an author can't appear on a show without a disclaimer on the screen saying she's making money because of this? Does this mean that we have to end up with disclaimers on the screen every time a company spokesman goes on the air? It's another game of line-line-where's-the-line? It's another instance, then, of the problems you get to when government tries to regulate speech. I should have said all that before. But I also confess I now enjoy sputtering about the FCC for the sheer sport of it. diablo 2 play disk .iso

The credibility crisis

: Journalism's credibility crisis keeps growing. From a transcript of tonights's PBS Newhour sent to me by their PR, Andrew Kohut of the Pew Center says:

When we first started our People in the Press series, we asked people, a representative sample: Does the media usually get the facts straight, or do they often get it wrong? And we found, I think we have a slide on this, we found 55 percent then saying that media usually gets the story right. The 55 percent was defined as a very low number and it was a shockingly low number. But over the years, that number has gotten lower and lower.diablo 2 play disk .iso

And at this point in time, we have a majority of people saying the media usually gets it wrong, and only 36 percent saying the media usually gets it -- the facts straight....diablo 2 play disk .iso

Back in the 1988 campaign, 58 percent said there was no media bias in the reporting. That number slowly slipped down over the course of the '90s. We got to this campaign. It was only 38 percent, both Republicans and Democrats increasingly critical and skeptical about how fairly the media is doing campaign coverage.

Frightening stats, eh?diablo 2 play disk .iso

Kenneth Smith, the interviewer, tries to blame that on Fox. But in his opening spiel of news sins, it was The New York Times, CBS News, and USA Today that were listed, not Fox. Smells like media bias about media bias to me. Closed loop.diablo 2 play disk .iso

Then Ken Auletta says, with not a hint of irony:

I think if you watch, say cable television, you see reporters moving out of their normal job as reporters to become what I would call bloviators, and so what you have is people watching them and saying, wait a second, they're not reporters, they're just expressing opinions, so how can I trust them?
Hmmm: A reporter bloviating about reporters bloviating. (And, yes, here I am bloviating about the bloviator bloviating on bloviating. I'm exhausted, how about you? More closed loops.)
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Cosi, favorite hangout of bloggers

: Yesterday, I mentioned running into a blogger in Cosi. Here's his post. And today, I went to another Cosi (prisoner of habit and the Cosi frequent-sandwich-eater-card that I am) and ran into Tristan. diablo 2 play disk .iso

: LATER: So I'm meeting Michael Totten this afternoon as he flies into Manhattan from Portland. And where do we meet? Where else? Cosi. diablo 2 play disk .iso

Exploding TV: The network is dead. Long live the net.

: I left this comment over at Lost Remote in an effort clarify my exploding-TV belief that the big, old networks and their programming won't die. They'll just be lapped:

I don't think that network programming will die but I do think that the means of distributing it will no longer be locked into the old networks. That wouldn't happen if all we were seeing were the advent of an alternative pipe: the internet v. cable. What we will see at the same time is the growth of alternative content that will be produced at a MUCH lower cost, FAR better targeted to niche interests (the mass market is dead; long live the mass of niches), providing, as a whole, new competition to the old networks. The old networks and their programmers and advertisers will see that they can get BETTER distribution via the new, distributed network and consumers will DEMAND to get material that way -- because it puts them in control -- and so we will see the hegemony of the old, centralized network start to fall away and break apart: explode.
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Sell-side advertising: The ad that expires

: Just saw something fascinating on Slickdeals: a Dell coupon that expires after 5,000 uses. Add this to the discussion of sell-side advertising, where ads bring with them a limited budget and time. diablo 2 play disk .iso

Dear Dan

: Jay Rosen writes a letter to Dan Rather. Maybe, coming from a respected journalism professor, Rather might actually read it. Oh, no, that's right: It comes from a blogger. Drat. Well, if he did read it, he'd get damned good advice from Jay, who says Rather should hire a blogger to not only write -- putting up the full text of interviews, as Jay suggested earlier -- but also read, letting Rather know what is being said about him and his stories so he can actually improve his reporting. Jay begins:

Dear Dan Rather: "Lest anyone have any doubt," you said in your statement yesterday, "I have read the report, I take it seriously, and I shall keep its lessons well in mind."diablo 2 play disk .iso

I still have my doubts. Perhaps these would be lessened if, for example, you had bothered to spell out which lessons you saw for yourself, and for CBS News in the review panel's report.diablo 2 play disk .iso

* Was it the lesson about the deadly consequences of dismissing criticism because you think you know the motivations of the critics?
* Was the lesson that a prudent journalist ought to fear and respect the fact-checking powers of the Internet?
* Or was it that by stretching yourself thin you had stretched thin the credibility of the very network you thought you were serving by taking so many assignments?
* Maybe the lesson is not to apologize when you think you did nothing wrong.

Jay caught on the same head-scratching quote from new/old CBS truth czarina Linda Mason that made me harumph yesterday:
The blogger is a feedback loop and fail safe device. Part of what she does is monitor the online world for what is being said about Dan Rather and his reporting. Such a person, well connected to the discussion, would have been extremely valuable to you during the twelve-day period, Sep. 8-20, 2004. After six months of your blog, statements like this from Linda Mason, your new vice president for standards:
"Dan does think he's constantly attacked. If we backed off every story that was criticized, we wouldn't be doing any stories."
would be rendered inoperative by reason of being inane.
And then comes the knockdown punch:
So I kind of resent your attitude toward your numerous critics who operate their own self-published sites on the Web. They were being more accurate than you were, much of the time.
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Used

: Ed Cone and Glenn Reynolds point to a post from former Dean web siren and campaign shaman Zephyr Teachout about "financially interested blogging."

On Dean’s campaign, we paid Markos and Jerome Armstrong as consultants, largely in order to ensure that they said positive things about Dean. We paid them over twice as much as we paid two staffers of similar backgrounds, and they had several other clients.diablo 2 play disk .iso

While they ended up also providing useful advice, the initial reason for our outreach was explicitly to buy their airtime. To be very clear, they never committed to supporting Dean for the payment -- but it was very clearly, internally, our goal.

Listen to what she's really saying there, for it is an open and honest object lesson to any blogger:diablo 2 play disk .iso

The campaign used these guys. The campaign knew that. But the bloggers didn't. The bloggers thought their wisdom was being sought out; they were paid to consult. No, they were paid to market, to flack. diablo 2 play disk .iso

Zephyr wisely says that my favorite word of the day era -- transparency -- does not deal with this. She's right. These guys were transparent about having a business relationship. I could say it's more about character and about allowing yourself to be bought but that's not fair; Matt Stoller, whom Zephyr also cites, says he's a consultant by trade and this is what he does. OK, then perhaps it's about expectations: If you are paid by an organization -- for more than just taking ads, but for interacting with that organization -- then you should not expect to be taken at face value when blogging (reporting/commenting/punditing) about that organization or its competitors. That doesn't mean you can't blog, but it clearly sets the stage. Bob Lutz, vice-chairman of GM, is blogging about GM and I know his perspective: He's being honest about Saturn needing oomph and I respect him for saying that, but I don't expect him to reveal company secrets or start ragging on Chrysler. (Similarly, in this, my personal blog, I will sometimes brag about something my employer is doing that's relevant but I will not engage in discussions about that employer's business or policies or actions because I can't be expected to have a candid discussion like that in public and if I did, what I said would be clearly influenced by my paycheck.)diablo 2 play disk .iso

Zephyr says it better:

I don’t trust the framing of anyone who is regularly writing and speaking about people they are taking money from, even if they told me about it regularly. I don’t think they have the capacity – its demanding too much of human personality – to step back and say, what are the most important issues in the world? What are the most important races? What are the debates I think our community should commit itself to?diablo 2 play disk .iso

There’s no laws on this stuff – all we have is culture. Its early enough in the self-publishing community to work on building a culture where financially interesting blogging is publicly rejected. Its also early enough to untangle the debate, so that bias (which is unavoidable) and financial interest (which is highly avoidable) are seen as completely different topics, not all moshed together in part of an old and overly catholic regime.

She's heading down the right path. But we also have to look at the distinct issue of advertising. Even though I don't take ads here (because I don't have to... yet and I'm lazy), I firmly believe that marketing will underwrite this new medium and let is flourish where it otherwise could not. I also think that corporate blogs, such as Lutz's, are a valuable addition to the greater dialogue (don't you wish Steve Jobs were blogging -- with open comments -- these days!). And I don't think Kos should stop blogging -- but I do think we need to look at the context in which we place that blogging. diablo 2 play disk .iso


: One more thing: I wish Zephyr would put her name on her blog... somewhere. I get frustrated with bloggers -- the ones who aren't trying to hide behind made-up identities -- who forget to make their names prominant. In this case, I'm trusting that Ed and Glenn know the Z in Zonkette is for Zephyr, kos cuz I didn't know that. In other cases, when I quote a blogger, I get tired of digging through three levels of hell about pages to find the person's name or how it's spelled. If you're proud of your blog, then stand on a mountain and shout it out: "My name is...."diablo 2 play disk .iso

: UPDATE: Tim Blair adds: "They should have told Markos to shut up." Well, and Kerry's campaign did cut him off -- delinked him -- after he said this. Moral to the story: Pick your mouthpieces well. It cuts both ways. diablo 2 play disk .iso

: UPDATE: Today's Wall Street Journal has a relevant column by David Wessel:

But disclosure isn't a panacea, warns Carnegie Mellon University's George Loewenstein, who works at the intersection of economics and psychology, studying how people behave.diablo 2 play disk .iso

Disclosure can "let people off the hook morally," Mr. Loewenstein said in a review of his research at last week's American Economic Association meetings. A well-intentioned doctor or stock analyst may not realize how much his advice is tainted, and the act of disclosure may offer him unjustified relief -- "a moral license," the professor terms it. In a manifesto he and a colleague published in the Journal of the American Medical Association in 2003, Mr. Loewenstein called for a ban on all gifts by drug companies to doctors and medical students, even small ones. Doctors' associations say gifts don't influence doctors' judgment; economists reply by asking why drug companies spend so much on marketing to doctors then.diablo 2 play disk .iso

The essence of disclosure is the hope that conflicts of interest are ameliorated by giving equal information to both adviser and consumer. If I tell you that I have a financial motive for skewing my advice, then you'll take that into account and everything will be fine. But think about it: You have a cough. The doctor says you ought to have an X-ray, and, by the way, you should know that I have a stake in the X-ray facility to which I'm referring. What do you do? Do you tell the doctor, no thanks, I'll skip the X-ray? Do you risk offending the doctor by telling him you'd rather go to a competitor's X-ray facility? Do you shrug and say the insurance company is paying for it anyhow?

In the end it is always a matter of individual integrity and trust.diablo 2 play disk .iso

See also my earlier post on Armstrong Williams as a cautionary tale for bloggers. diablo 2 play disk .iso

: LATE-NIGHT UPDATE: The Friday Wall Street Journal writes about this story here (free link). One of the reporters talked to me about it (I'm not quoted). diablo 2 play disk .iso

: Glenn Reynolds has added lots to his post and opened the comments. diablo 2 play disk .iso

Brush with geek fame

: At MacWorld, Doc comes within a degree of separation from Robin Williams.diablo 2 play disk .iso

January 12, 2005

New neighbors

: Business Week starts two new blogs. The tech blog is up our alley and well done (just wish they had an RSS feed for it... hint... hint...). There's also a deal blog. [via Steve Rubel]diablo 2 play disk .iso

TiVo czar

: It's either the best of jobs or the worst of jobs: TiVo is looking for a CEO as Michael Ramsay bumps himself up to full-time chairman. It's the best because it really could trigger the explosion of TV, now that the TiVo is throwing its fate with the internet (see all the exploding tV blather below): It could set the precedent for the new means of distributing media. It's the worst because it's just a tough business challenge going up against cable and satellite big boys. diablo 2 play disk .iso

Missing the point by a mile

: At the end of a very good online column today -- started with a funny Crossfire of the Mind -- Howard Kurtz drops this head-scratching quote from the new ombudsman/cop/conscience/whatever of CBS News:

"We didn't come clean soon enough," Linda Mason said yesterday. But, she added, "Dan does think he's constantly attacked. If we backed off every story that was criticized, we wouldn't be doing any stories."
Misses the point by a mile. Let's try to turn this quote around so it makes sense:
If you listened to the criticism that came in on your stories, you'd be doing better, more accurate stories.
That was the mistake here, Ms. Mason. That is what transparency -- a word you've been throwing around -- is really all about. diablo 2 play disk .iso

Media on media

: Going to be on Brian Lehrer's show on WNYC (and Sirius) at 11:05a talking about Armstrong Williams, TV coverage of the tsunami, and embeds in Iraq. The show's blog here. diablo 2 play disk .iso

Cue Taps

: Howard Fineman at MSNBC comes out and writes the obit for big, old media:

A political party is dying before our eyes — and I don't mean the Democrats. I'm talking about the "mainstream media," which is being destroyed by the opposition (or worse, the casual disdain) of George Bush's Republican Party; by competition from other news outlets (led by the internet and Fox's canny Roger Ailes); and by its own fraying journalistic standards. At the height of its power, the AMMP (the American Mainstream Media Party) helped validate the civil rights movement, end a war and oust a power-mad president. But all that is ancient history.
He says the new "opposition party" is "Blogger Nation." diablo 2 play disk .iso

It's in great measure a paen to good old days of big mainstream media: "Still, the notion of a neutral, non-partisan mainstream press was, to me at least, worth holding onto. Now it's pretty much dead, at least as the public sees things."diablo 2 play disk .iso

I'm not so nostalgic. I like our new future.diablo 2 play disk .iso


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Exploding TV fraternity grows

: Wired editor-in-chief and blogger Chris Anderson writes a great post on exploding TV, with more promised.

As your thumb crawls through your several hundred digital cable channels, TV may appear anything but shackled. Yet it is. What seems like everything imaginable is instead a very thin slice on the video world. The existing channel structure mostly rewards focused programming with enough depth to fill a 24/7 window every day of the year. So the DIY channel and History en Espanol now pass muster, but the Halo 2 Physics Hacks channel does not. An acceptable loss, you say? How about last year's great season on Bravo, long ago overwritten by your DVR to save space?diablo 2 play disk .iso

Both the channel-centric reality of TV and its ephemeral nature are artifacts of the distribution bottleneck of cable broadcast. TV is still in the era of limited shelf space, while the lesson of the Long Tail is that more is always better. The growth of cable capacity over the past decade pales next to the growth in video creation over the same period and the size of the potential microaudiences for anything and everything.

: See also Fred Wilson pointing to John Battelle pointing to Mark Cuban on the future of searchable video.
We are about to enter an era where kids can do a search on google, icerocket.com, yahoo and other search engines and get all the video they want of TV broadcasts. Put in a topic. Boom. All the video you could ever want. Put in a name. There it is. Video and transcripts to go with it....diablo 2 play disk .iso

We do live in interesting times. We are the first generation to memorialize everything that we do on video. We are entering the first generation that will able to search through all of that video and find what ever they want.

: See again Fred on new ways to record TV here and here. diablo 2 play disk .iso

: See Jay Rosen telling CBS to release full video and transcripts of the interviews it bites for its shows. See me telling them how to join the future here. diablo 2 play disk .iso

: See the announcement of Vlog It!, new video blogging software from the good folks at Serious Magic, makers of Visual Communicator. Today I had a great chat with Mark Randall, the creator of this wonder, about the future of citizens' video. They're working on some really neat things I'll tell you later. diablo 2 play disk .iso

: See also Vloggercon. See often RocketBoom, a vlog. See Unmediated.org every day. Please don't see the vlogs I made two years ago. I just ordered my Visual Communicator upgrade; I'll make new (and, I hope, better ones) soon. diablo 2 play disk .iso

: Last week, when there was much talk about what the tsunami videos mean to the future of citizens video online and on TV, I said outlined to both the Wall Street Journal and On The Media (transcript here) why I think the elements have come together for the explosion of TV. I've said it before but it keeps getting truer:diablo 2 play disk .iso

1. Cheap equipment. The cameras are getting better and costing less while the audience's tolerance for quality (thanks to warfront satphones) is decreasing and those lines are crossing so yuou can produce video that's good enough for not much money. diablo 2 play disk .iso

2. Easy tools. See Visual Communicator, above. See Mac tools. diablo 2 play disk .iso

With cheap and easy equipment and tools, anybody can create credible video inexpensively.diablo 2 play disk .iso

3. Distribution. Bandwidth and hosting are expensive. Bandwidth costs are coming down. But BitTorrent solves the problem by spreading the cost of serving across the audience and it will soon be ready for prime time. Add RSS (a la podcasting) and the ability to subscribe to a show and get it in the background. Add ubiquitous wireless broadband, coming soon. Jon Stewart's Crossfire rant is the proof of the pudding: It got a few hundred thousand viewers on big, old CNN -- and if you missed it, you missed it -- but on BitTorrent and iFilm, it got at least five or six million viewers. diablo 2 play disk .iso

The new, distributed network is far more powerful that the old, closed network. And note well that this is the network nobody owns. diablo 2 play disk .iso

4. Search. The last problem was finding the video. But thanks to metadata on blogs, among other things, you'll be able to find video. The tsunami videos are the proof of that. diablo 2 play disk .iso

In the old days of TV, a few months ago, if you wanted to make a show you had to have expensive equipment and expertise and if you wanted the show to be found, you had to know a guy named Rupert and have a fortune for marketing. diablo 2 play disk .iso

In the future of exploding TV, a few months away, anybody can create video programming and do it inexpensively with new equipment and tools; they can distribute it online and they can "market" it (that is, it can be found) thanks to metadata and search and links. All this levels the playing field. diablo 2 play disk .iso

I feel the need for a Death of Networks summit. Coffee's on me.diablo 2 play disk .iso

: Finally, see many of my posts on exploding TV here (can I claim any credit for coining that?) and some related posts on a place for my stuff here. See posts on exploding TV all over the internet here. diablo 2 play disk .iso

The fuse is lit. diablo 2 play disk .iso

: UPDATE: Chris Anderson has a followup post here and promises more. Hell, this could be a book... Oh, yeah, it's going to be.diablo 2 play disk .iso

: Steven Johnson -- who's also writing a related book I've had the privilege of reading ... and it's great! -- has a magnificent post today from an earlier book, Emergence, in which he predicted much of this. Make sure to read the entire excerpt and especially his refinements -- namely that he thought ratings (a la /., eBay, et al) would be the organizing principle of this while Chris and I see this as an extension of blogs (which were merely a mewling babe when Steven wrote Emergence): It's still about the judgment of the public, not the media executives, but that judgment is captured not in ratings but in conversation. Great distillation of what's happened. A snip from the book:

But TiVo and Replay -- and their descendants -- will also fall under the sway of self-organization. By 2005, not only will every television set come with a digital hard drive -- all those devices will also be connected via the Web to elaborate, Slashdot-style filtered communities. Every program broadcast on any channel will be rated by hundreds of thousands of users, and the TiVo device will look for interesting overlap between your ratings and the larger community of television watchers worldwide. You'll be able to build a personalized network without even consulting the channel guide. And this network won't necessarily follow the ultra-personalization model of the "Daily Me." Using self-organizing filters like the ones already on display at Amazon or Epinions, clusters of like-minded TV watchers will appear online. You might find yourself joining several different clusters, sorted by different categories: retirement home senior citizens; West Village residents; GenXers; lacrosse fanatics. Visit the channel guide for each cluster, and you'll find a full lineup of programming, stitched together out of all the offerings available across the spectrum.diablo 2 play disk .iso

Despite the prevailing conventional wisdom, the death of the network programmer does not augur the death of communal media experiences. If anything, our media communities will grow stronger because they will have been built from below. Instead of a closed-door decision on West 57th Street re-branding CBS as the "Tiffany Network," a cluster of senior citizens will form organically, and its constituents will participate far more directly in deciding what gets top billing on the network homepage. To be sure, our media communities will grow smaller than they were in the days of "All In The Family" and "Mary Tyler Moore" -- but they'll be realcommunities, and not artificial ones conjured up by the network programmers.

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The torture of fellow bloggers in Iran

: My fellow bloggers, we must keep the attention and heat on the torture and censorship of our colleagues in Iran. diablo 2 play disk .iso

My fellow journalists, we must defend the human rights of our bloging colleagues there. diablo 2 play disk .iso

The latest story says the Iranian judiciary is condemning the bloggers who said they were being tortured -- and mind you, they said this via the former vice-president of Iran, a blogger himself (whose own blog was blocked after he wrote about this). Says the AP:

Iran's hard-line judiciary on Tuesday denounced journalists who claimed they were tortured into making confessions, saying the newsmen were inciting people against the government.diablo 2 play disk .iso

More than 20 journalists from print, Internet and other media outlets have been detained since September in a crackdown on the pro-reform press.diablo 2 play disk .iso

Several of the journalists told a presidential commission last month they were tortured into confessing to charges such as insulting sacred beliefs and endangering national security after publishing articles critical of conservatives in the government.diablo 2 play disk .iso

"My interrogator punched me in the head and stomach and kicked me in the back many times to force me confess to having illegal sex and endangered national security through my writings," [said Hanif Mazrouei, one of the Web bloggers detained].diablo 2 play disk .iso

Mazrouei spent 66 days in solitary confinement and was blindfolded most of the time. No official charges were brought against him. He and the others have been freed but are frequently summoned to court.

: Also see Brooding Persian, Hoder, Iranian Truth about censorship and blocking of blogs and sites in Iran. diablo 2 play disk .iso

: RELATED: Lady Sun, a well-respected Iranian blogger, has just returned to the 'sphere. diablo 2 play disk .iso

In defense of

: Absolutely delights to see that the Media Bloggers Association -- via the good work and offices of Robert Cox -- has established the Bloggers Legal Defense Project and appointed an attorney to go with it.

The Media Bloggers Association announces the appointment of Ronald D. Coleman, of the Coleman Law Firm, PC as general counsel. Coleman will be build a team of attorney around the country to provide MBA members with first-line counsel on matters relating to the use of intellectual property, defamation and other issues arising from their weblogging.
Coleman blogs here. diablo 2 play disk .iso

Only last month, I wished that we had such a thing and Cox et al have made it happen. Bravo!diablo 2 play disk .iso

CBS News Top 10

: Letterman's No. 10 change at CBS News: "Stories must be corroborated by at least two really strong hunches."
No. 7: "Change division name from CBS News to CBS Newsish."
No. 1: "Use beer, cash, and hookers to lure Tom Brokaw out of retirement."
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It's a small, small 'sphere, after all...

: Wonderfully freaky experience yesterday afternoon. I'm standing in line ready to get my usual sandwich at my usual joint, Cosi (yes, it's a sad life) and the guy next to me says, Excuse me, but are you Jeff Jarvis. I panic, fearing this is some long-long friend whose name age erased or perhaps somebody I once didn't hire. Turns out it was someone who reads this blog and recognized me via the picture. Sheer chance. Small world. We sat down and talked about niche blogging and advertising, of course. diablo 2 play disk .iso

Riff

: I love visiting Susan Crawford's brain. Today's post about bluegrass and BitTorrent:

I went to a fine concert this evening that ended up with everyone (two fiddles, one banjo, one guitar, one mandolin, drummer, and a simian cellist) standing in a row at the front of the stage playing away. Plenty of eyebrow cues were going around, and when the simian cellist didn't have enough to say the mandolin guy picked right up. The crowd loved it.diablo 2 play disk .iso

Kenosis is a way to distribute BitTorrent distribution, so if one tracker fails the next will pick right up. As far as I can tell from the description, it provides a secure, distributed, and stable platform for p2p BitTorrent anonymous filetrading. Nodes in its network communicate how "close" they are to each other. No more centralized tracking. Plus the comments reveal that the authors want to make a lot of progress on distributed trust -- so you'll be confident in your downloads. diablo 2 play disk .iso

I bet the crowd will love it.

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Meeting of the minds

: Marketing visionary Seth Godin gives a nice compliment to marketing visionary Hugh MacLeod as the latter puts up his Hughtrain on ChageThis (and I'm feeling so amiable I won't even snark about the PDF tonight). diablo 2 play disk .iso

More corporate intimidation

: Apple tries to muzzle bloggers, aka citizens, aka customers. Now GM tries to strong-arm them. Glenn Reynolds notes the blogging irony: They do this just as the company's vice-chairman starts a (well-received and well-done) blog. Right hand, meet left hand. diablo 2 play disk .iso

January 11, 2005

Hey New York Times: Go after Apple

: The New York Times is editorializing up a storm trying to extend journalists' shield laws to the federal level and to protect its reporter, Judith Miller, who's headed to jail for not revealing a confidential source. diablo 2 play disk .iso

Well, The Times should stand up to editorialize and fight for equal protection for the citizen journalists -- the fellow journalists -- being sued by Apple as it seeks the sites' sources of leaked information. diablo 2 play disk .iso

It's the least The Times can do for putting down citizen journalists again and again (today's: "the so-called blogosphere"). It's the least The Times can do to protect the future of news. diablo 2 play disk .iso

The EFF has stepped up to represent the two bloggers -- at AppleInsider and Powerpage.

The EFF countered saying bloggers' sources are protected by the same laws that protect sources providing information to journalists.diablo 2 play disk .iso

"Bloggers break the news, just like journalists do. They must be able to promise confidentiality in order to maintain the free flow of information," EFF Staff Attorney Kurt Opsahl said in a statement. "Without legal protection, informants will refuse to talk to reporters, diminishing the power of the open press that is the cornerstone of a free society."

Steve Safran at LostRemote calls for a boycott of Apple coverage. Calacanis is fuming at Steve Jobs. Staci Kramer at PaidContent piles on. Ditto Dan Gillmor.diablo 2 play disk .iso

Now it's time for The New York Times to join the parade to protect journalists, all journalists, under shield laws. diablo 2 play disk .iso

Of course, Apple should be forever ashamed of itself. The company has been built on its cult-love status: exactly what motivates customers and bloggers to try to find out what the company is going to do next. diablo 2 play disk .iso

But Steve Jobs and Apple are control freaks. diablo 2 play disk .iso

They should be freaks about giving their customers control. diablo 2 play disk .iso

: UPDATE: Forgot to link the NY Times news coverage today. The story's good. It's the editorial I'm waiting to read, though. diablo 2 play disk .iso

: WEDNESDAY UPDATE: Jonathan Miller (who writes for the NYT) leaves this good comment:

I think you're getting a little too exercised over the NYT, Jeff. Recall just a few years ago the case of Vanessa Leggett, the 'non-journalist' who was jailed for failing to give up a source? The editors came out very strongly against prosecutors. Here is an excerpt from 2001:diablo 2 play disk .iso

"Integral to our freedom of the press is the notion that the First Amendment protects those who are engaged in journalism, not those certified as journalists by the government. If the government refuses to recognize a fledgling freelancer as a real journalist, it may next decree that someone who works for a small newspaper also fails to make the grade."diablo 2 play disk .iso

I'd hardly categorize that as "putting down citizen journalists again and again."

diablo 2 play disk .iso

Out of control

: Has the iPod jumped the shark? The entire point of the iPod is that it gives you control. Hell, the entire point of media that succeeds these days is that it gives you control. But the new, cheap, cute iPod takes that control away by shuffling the cuts you put on it. Gimmick. Off target. Doesn't mean it won't sell -- it's cheap; it's iPod -- but it corrupts the Apple/iPod message. diablo 2 play disk .iso

More about Apple's other major corruption of its good-guy image later. diablo 2 play disk .iso

: UPDATE: In a more careful reading of the site, I see that it has an in-order mode but they do deemphasize that to emphasize the shuffle shtick. I think that's a marketing mistake, then. Glenn Reynolds had the same uneasy feeling. diablo 2 play disk .iso

: Mossberg likes it. diablo 2 play disk .iso

Viacom: Sell CBS News

: The only cure for what ails CBS News is to sell it. diablo 2 play disk .iso

I was going to say "kill it." But that would be wasteful. There is still a lot of good reporting coming out of this old, tarnished jewel. More reporting is better than less. diablo 2 play disk .iso

But one theme we keep hearing regarding the problems at CBS is the "culture" there. Said CBS Chairman Les Moonves: "This is a rude awakening for CBS News and the CBS News culture has to change." It's the culture that needs curing. And you don't do that the way CBS is going about it: keeping the same president; appointing a 39-year veteran to be the new watchdog; refusing to acknowledge the full sins and biases; finding no new means to listen to the public....diablo 2 play disk .iso

The only way to cure this culture is to kill it. And the only way to kill the culture -- aside from killing the patient -- is to sell it. diablo 2 play disk .iso

Note that I did not say "merge." In a merger, the CBS snots would act like the top dogs still. Hey, they'd say, we come from the Tiffany Network; we're CBS, ferchrissakes. diablo 2 play disk .iso

They need to be humbled. diablo 2 play disk .iso

Considering what has been happening lately -- Rathergate and ratings that keep dropping -- you'd think they'd be humbled already. But they're not. It's that damned culture. It's harder to kill than yogurt. diablo 2 play disk .iso

This makes great business sense for Viacom: I'm sure they don't really want to be in the ever-shrinking network news business, where audience and then, inevitably, revenue will continue to fall. CBS is overly expensive. Viacom has proven to be incapable of managing CBS News effectively; it's hard to manage sacred cows, as the Rathergate commission demonstrates (if these guys should have been fired, they should have been fired by management long ago; you can't manage via blue-ribbon panels). CBS does not have the advantage NBC does of a cable division that can share promotion and cost and benefits. CBS News is the odd man out at Viacom, the cow in the chicken farm. Selling it off lets them concentrate on entertaining us (and dealing with the FCC) and doesn't affect the brand and audience on the rest of CBS at all. So Viacom should sell CBS News -- and its news timeslots -- and make a good buck on the deal. diablo 2 play disk .iso

And this makes sense for the future of CBS News, for it demonstrates to everyone there that the future of network news is not network news. It's cable. It's the internet. It's mobile. It's news on demand: anywhere, anytime news. It's conversation that leads to news and follows news. It's news produced by citizens or, to paraphrase Jay Rosen: Our producers are viewers and our viewers are producers. (See the start of Jay's and my prescription here.) It's news distributed by the public, like Jon Stewart's Crossfire and tsunami videos. It's news remixed by the public, adding editing and value and credibility along the way. It's news that serves no end of niches and no more masses. It's nothing like CBS News today.diablo 2 play disk .iso

And besides, the new bosses would have the balls to fire Dan Rather's ass -- and Andy Heyward with him. diablo 2 play disk .iso

So who should buy it? The candidates:diablo 2 play disk .iso

CNN: Well, that is the first, most obvious, and frequently cited nominee. And it makes sense: CNN needs a broadcast outlet to share promotion and cost. They already have a news operation and it's run more efficiently than CBS. The staff at CBS would find them more palatable than some of the other choices I'll list. diablo 2 play disk .iso

Fox: Shushing antitrust worries, think about the possibilities: Fox buys CBS and turns it into the kernal of a liberal cable news channel. So we get right TV and left TV: now that's fair and balanced. Oh, sure, it's impossible to imagine a greater culture clash than Fox and CBS News, but that's precisely what makes this such an entertaining prospect. diablo 2 play disk .iso

The New York Times or Washington Post: This teaches a lesson in reverse: The future of print news isn't print anymore, folks. It's everything I listed above. The problem with these organizations is, of course, that they think of themselves as the Tiffanys of print. Or perhaps it would shake up their old ways. Long shot. diablo 2 play disk .iso

The Guardian: They want a beachhead in the U.S., having contemplated American publications. The brand is very popular online here. The political positioning is exactly in sync. diablo 2 play disk .iso

Yahoo or Google: They each have news aspirations but they're as challenged as publishers as Microsoft has been. So they buy CBS News and explode the distribution network, turning every story into a video post that can be permalinked and searched and distributed and commented on. diablo 2 play disk .iso

Comcast: Please no. diablo 2 play disk .iso

The DNC: Why the hell not? That's one sure way to guarantee that we know the political bias: It's the world through a liberal lens. diablo 2 play disk .iso

The public: What if they spun off CBS News as a public company that suddenly had to be responsive to that public? What if bloggers bought up as many shares as they could? BlogTV? Public News?diablo 2 play disk .iso

: UPDATE: A commenter adds another nomined Bloomberg. diablo 2 play disk .iso

Fogging? Mogging? Bogging? Dogging? Jogging?

: Howard Kurtz finds out that blogging is a bad word:

Has "blog" become a radioactive word? Check out these comments from Editor & Publisher:diablo 2 play disk .iso

"'I think there's a real role for blogs in the future of online journalism,' says Doug Feaver, executive editor of washingtonpost.com. But how exactly to handle them, he says, 'is one of the main questions for mainline news sites.' For starters, there's the question of terminology. 'We're going to have to call them something else,' Feaver says, noting the 'baggage' the term carries with some newspaper editors.diablo 2 play disk .iso

"His designated successor, Jim Brady, who takes over in February, notes that when they discuss blogs with editors from the print Post, they don't use the 'b' word."diablo 2 play disk .iso

And here I thought I was blogging away! How deluded of me. It's actually an online compilation written in real time with links to news stories and some bl--I mean, some journals of Web opinion. I stand corrected.

diablo 2 play disk .iso
January 10, 2005

Good ol' days

: TVNewser gets an exclu interview with the new CBS VP in charge of ass-covering, Linda Mason. She has been at the network since 1966! They didn't exactly go for new blood and fresh perspectives and shaking things up, did they? diablo 2 play disk .iso

FoxNews' Brigitte Quinn told me when we were off-camera today that when she was at CBS Radio, there was a separate society of Murrowites. I wonder whether Mason is one of them; she is of that vintage. The point: All the Murrow Legacy hooha is part of what's wrong with CBS, I think; it's part of the misguided belief that this is the Tiffany Network and that they can do no wrong. They most certainly can.diablo 2 play disk .iso

This isn't about recapturing some good old day.'diablo 2 play disk .iso

This is about figuring out the tomorrow of news. diablo 2 play disk .iso

Mason says she wants CBS News to be transparent. Let's help her define that. diablo 2 play disk .iso

: LATER: Jay Rosen and I agree that this is about rethinking the news business. He has a very good and very clear suggestion for where CBS should start: Publish complete interviews you conduct, CBS, and let us judge your selections.

Personally, I hope that broken contraption "trust us, we're CBS," forces the network into the clear skies of a new idea: We used to do our reporting in a way that required the public to trust us, the professional journalists. It worked for a while, but times and platforms change. Now we have to do our reporting in a way that persuades the public to trust us.diablo 2 play disk .iso

CBS News: are you up to it?

Right. Add that to the advice I gave here: Slice - Add - Link - Listen. diablo 2 play disk .iso

Media whiplash

: Started the day on Air America's Morning Sedition; sandwiched in FoxNews (for whom my primary value was that I was four blocks away); ended it with Hugh Hewitt. diablo 2 play disk .iso

I'm enjoying Morning Sedition's Marc Maron and Mark Riley more every week. As we dissect media, sometimes we agree and sometimes we don't. They're good at radio.diablo 2 play disk .iso

I also have enjoyed two appearances on Hewitt's show; he's a radio pro who keeps things moving with good questions. We, too, disagree about some things and agree about others (namely, Dan Rather and blogs) but the discussion is good. diablo 2 play disk .iso

I bookmark the day with a liberal show and a conservative one but they're both good at radio -- at news -- because they're good at conversation. diablo 2 play disk .iso

The future

: Pew just put up another big study of the future and the Internet, based on surveys with experts. diablo 2 play disk .iso

The fools

: Even the Rathergate Commission disses blogs. Andrew Sullivan found the quote on page 153:

This was followed on the morning of September 9 by further attacks, mostly by bloggers with a conservative agenda, challenging the authenticity of the documents. These included stories on Powerlineblog.com and littlegreenfootballs.com. Finally, by about 3 p.m., Matt Drudge, the author of the widely read Drudge Report website, had joined the fray, and, thereafter, the onslaught of attacks on the authenticity of the Killian documents was unrelenting.
"Bloggers with a conservative agenda"? How dare they? How about "bloggers who care about the truth"? Or "bloggers who care about reforming journalism"? Or "bloggers who can pound sand in a rathole, unlike Mr. Rather"? And how can they object, then, to people characterizing Rather -- antimatter to bloggers' matter in this case -- as someone with a liberal agenda? What's good for the goose is good for the goosed. diablo 2 play disk .iso

And how does the commission handle just that questionof CBS bias?

The Panel does not find a basis to accuse those who investigated, produced, vetted or aired the Segment of having a political bias. The Panel does note, however, that on such a politically charged story, coming in the midst of a presidential campaign in which military service records had become an issue, there was a need for meticulous care to avoid any suggestion of an agenda at work. The Panel does not believe that the appropriate level of care to avoid the appearance of political motivation was used in connection with this story.
I, of course, will take this a step further, believing in the need for and benefit of transparency, as I do. So don't call it "bias." Don't call it "liberal." Instead, we should expect Rather to give us his "perspective." Do you like George Bush, Mr. Rather? Do you respect him? Do you think he is a good President? Do you believe he gave his full service in the military? That perspective unquestionably colors coverage and unless Rather and the producers are open about it, people are free to assume what their perspective is based on their actions. That's the issue, guys. diablo 2 play disk .iso

It's simplistic and insulting and wrong to dismiss the bloggers as people with a political "agenda." And it's also simplistic and insulting and wrong to expect the public to believe that you have no agenda. diablo 2 play disk .iso

Lots of people have agendas. The worst kind are the hidden ones. diablo 2 play disk .iso

: The other problem with trying to sum up either side in this in one word -- "liberal" or "conservative" -- is that it misses the far more subtle and important issue of the quality of the journalism, the credibility of the reporting, the service to the public. I had an email exchange with a CNN news producer I've come to respect after many long brainstorms about many stories and she said:

these are people who are good people who did their job less well than they should have but are NOT ideologically driven. i know mary murphy and betsy west well. josh howard is a mensch. what the bloggers don't consider in covering this story is that all news now moves faster than the speed of thought. these people did an inadequate job in a very frantic and competitive environmnet. yes, they were making charges about a sitting president and i don't condone their work. but mary and betsy have worked in news for many many years and their failure to ask the right questions in a timely fashion should not obscure their enormous contributions over the long haul. at the end of the day these people are-- like everyone else-- just people. they weren't on top of their game. they engaged in group think. but the one's i know are not partisans. and to have this story become a defining moment for them and for the network they work for seems to me to be wrong.
There are bigger issues here -- and bigger lessons to learn! This is also about improving and protecting the service of journalism. diablo 2 play disk .iso

: This producer said -- just as the Brigitte Quinn said when we were off-camera on FoxNews this morning -- that we've all made mistakes in our careers. So on the one hand, that makes us loathe to pile on Rather and the CBS producers. But on the other hand, it's all the more reason to be open and transparent about the mistakes. diablo 2 play disk .iso

CBS' and Rather's real sin -- and too often journalism's real sin -- is hubris: the belief that we're right and we don't make mistakes and we don't need to explain ourselves. That is precisely what is wrong here. diablo 2 play disk .iso

If -- as I've said before -- Rather had come out as soon as the bloggers caught the apparent -- obvious -- forgery and said, "Thank you; let's get to the truth together," people wouldn't necessarily like him any better, but they'd respect him more. If these producers and their bosses -- the finger-pointing, buck-passing ones still employed -- had come out immediately and acknoweldged their screw up, I'll bet they'd all be not only wiser but still employed today. But they didn't. They hid behind their hubris and the belief that they don't make mistakes. We all do. The sooner we own up to them, the better it is for our credibility. diablo 2 play disk .iso


: LATER... Chicken: Drudge says Rather is taking the day off. diablo 2 play disk .iso

: LATER STILL... I'm scheduled to be on Hugh Hewitt's show re Rather at about 8:40p ET. diablo 2 play disk .iso

More Rathergate

: Just got off FoxNews; going back, probably, in the 2pm hour. The reporter there, who got to read the report while I was blabbing, said they commission did not conclude that the memoes were forged. Jeesh.diablo 2 play disk .iso

I see that the report is calling for more commissions and committees and all that -- which is just the wrong thing to do: It puts yet more distance between the journalists and the public they are supposed to serve. They should be doing just the opposite: tearing down the walls, making journalists responsible for interacting with the public. diablo 2 play disk .iso

This is bigger than Dan Rather. This is bigger than CBS News. This is about the news and the new relationship -- the conversation -- journalism must learn to have with the public, or the public will go have it without them. diablo 2 play disk .iso

: Of course, RatherBiased.com has lots of analysis. Good stuff. diablo 2 play disk .iso

I'm sitting in a Cosi and keep trying to download the full report but Acrobat keeps crapping out on me. Grrrrr. UPDATE: Got it. diablo 2 play disk .iso

: Joe Gandelman says Rather got off easy. Knowing Joe, I'll bet he'll compile lots of links. Ditto TVNewser, of course.diablo 2 play disk .iso

: Sisu grabs on a quote from FoxNews: Bloggers are like a bar.