Center for Citizen Media Rotating Header Image

Posts from ‘November, 2006’

Rating the News

NewsTrust, where people rate the quality of news stories, has launched a beta site. The potential of this approach is terrific: community involvement in understanding how well journalists — including bloggers — do at their jobs (whether it’s a professional or amateur activity or something in between). Clearly, this is an early iteration. But the […]

Guest Posting: Feds Should Stop Fake Video News

Earlier this week I posted this piece about video news releases (VNRs) and their undisclosed use by TV “news” programs. I loathe the practice, but worry more about the negative consequences of federal intervention, which some favor, than the good it might do. Diane Farsetta, senior researcher at the Center for Media and Democracy, one […]

Would-Be Next President Wants "Re-examination" of Free Speech

Manchester (NH) Union Leader: Gingrich raises alarm at event honoring those who stand up for freedom of speech. Former Speaker of the House Newt Gingrich yesterday said the country will be forced to reexamine freedom of speech to meet the threat of terrorism. Gingrich is voicing what all too many Americans believe, that free speech […]

Double Whammy on Non-Disclosure

UPDATED Long Island Business News runs an op-ed column under former U.S. Sen. Al D’Amato’s byline entitled, “Newsday’s new day: Murdoch or consortium?” It’s basically a suggestion that Tribune Co. sell its Newsday newspaper to Rupert Murdoch’s News Corp. Two things to consider. First, as the New York Daily News’ Ben Smith notes, “D’Amato is […]

YouTube, Verizon and Network Dealmaking

San Jose Mercury News: YouTube, Verizon announce video deal. YouTube plans to announce a deal with Verizon Wireless today to bring user-submitted videos from the Web to mobile phone customers nationwide, marking the biggest marriage yet between a video Web service and mobile phone carrier. This makes some sense, but it also tells you where […]

Video News Release Sleaze: Not a Government Matter

(This is a column I wrote for PR Week.) The VNR mini-scandal took a sadly predictable turn earlier this month. Two media and marketing watchdog groups issued a new report showing that the use of unlabeled VNRs by local TV “news” programs was continuing even in the face of heightened scrutiny. The report, from Free […]

Political Journalism Job Open in Washington

Bruce Drake, managing editor of the new Capitol Leader journalism project in Washington, writes: Allbritton Communications, here in Washington DC, is starting a Capitol Hill newspaper and has brought aboard John Harris and Jim VandeHei of the Post, and myself, to launch that as well as a robust website dedicated to politics and government… Key […]

Latest Online Advertising Annoyance

Here’s the latest way to annoy people online — hotlinks to words in articles that go to advertisements. The pictured item (click on it or here for a full-sized image) is a from a PC Magazine column by John Dvorak. The word “computer” is highlighted in green, and underlined. Put the mouse over the word […]

Journalism Dean Wanted

The University of California, Berkeley is looking for a new dean of the Graduate School of Journalism.

Newspaper as Blog Portal

Aftonbladet is Sweden’s biggest afternoon tabloid newspaper. It’s part of a media group, Schibsted, that has been leading the way globally in making the essential moves from print to the Internet. (See this Economist story for more details.) Aftonbladet’s Web team has done some remarkable things, but one achievement is fairly far ahead of the […]