The Knight Foundation’s Gary Kebbel writes: We’re seeking your comment, and that of your readers, on a multimillion dollar request for proposals that we are calling “The Knight Brothers 21st Century News Challenge.” The request will be issued in September, but now we are seeking ideas that will help us shape the rules of the […]
Posts from ‘June, 2006’
Washington Post Gets it Wrong on Net Neutrality
David Isenberg (a colleague at the Berkman Center) deconstructs a dramatically flawed Washington Post editorial on network neutrality, observing, that the Post, “like the blind man and the elephant, gets a few things right, a few things wrong and draws the wrong conclusion.”
Citizen Business Reporters, and Disclosure Issue, in New Site
Journalist Chris Carey is partnering with Mark Cuban on a new project that offers great promise and raises some serious questions. Chris writes, in an e-mail: I’m leaving the St. Louis Post-Dispatch at the end of this week to launch an investigative business journalism site, Sharesleuth.com. The blog-style news site will be devoted to exposing […]
On the Road
I’m heading to Helsinki for Aula 2006, an event that brings together some interesting folks to chat about the direction of media and technology. More to come…
Congress' Latest Diversion
AP: Fines to Rise for Indecency in Broadcasts. Congress gave notice to broadcasters on Wednesday that they would pay dearly for showing material like Janet Jackson’s 2004 Super Bowl “wardrobe malfunction,” passing legislation that would multiply indecency fines 10 times. Congress also gave notice — as if we needed it — that rather than deal […]
A Transition
Robert Scoble is leaving Microsoft for a company called PodTech. Interesting move, to say the least. Congrats to Robert, who’s doing the right thing.
Now Journalism Jobs are Being Outsourced
David Cay Johnston writes a commentary for the Newspaper Guild, saying: (O)nly a fool would think that newsrooms will escape a trend that has already ended the careers of aeronautical engineers, software designers, auto workers, machinists, call center workers and growing legions of other Americans. Indian firms like Hi-Tech Export solicit work from proofreading and […]
Gatekeeping at NYT Editorial Page
Brian Akre of General Motors’ PR staff says he tried and failed to get his company’s side into the New York Times after GM was slammed (I think with some accuracy) by Thomas Friedman. In “The Ban on `Rubbish’ in The New York Times,” published in GM’s FYI blog, you can read Akre’s account. If […]
Buzz Needs Transparency
(Here’s an op-ed column I wrote for PR Week, on the issue of buzz marketing.) When I was in my 20s, I rented an upstairs apartment from a middle-aged couple. Not long after I moved in, they invited me down for a beer. After a brief chat, they launched into a pitch to a) sell […]
Vital U.S. House Vote Today on Net Neutrality
The U.S. House of Representatives is voting today on amendments to a new telecom law. One in particular, supported by Ed Markey of Massachusetts and Anna Eshoo of California among others, is vital in keeping the Net open to innovation from the edges. If you want to prevent the big telecom companies from turning the […]