UPDATED The New York Times’ David Barstow has an astonishing piece in today’s paper, “One Man’s Military-Industrial-Media Complex,” about former “drug czar” and retired general Barry McCaffrey, one of many retired military people working as supposedly independent analysts for various news organizations but who are anything but independent. The story’s biggest surprise — perhaps it […]
Posts under ‘Issues’
These Anonymous Critics ARE Cowards
The AP reports, “Palin derides anonymous critics on Fox as cowards,” a reference to a recent Fox News segment in which a correspondent relayed a variety of negative attacks from, he said, members of the McCain campaign staff against Sarah Palin. No matter what you think about Palin in general, she’s right in this case. […]
CNN's Small Mistake, Apple Shareholders' Big One
UPDATED NY Times: Apple Denies ‘Citizen Journalist Report’. Apple’s stock took a brief roller coaster ride this morning after a CNN “citizen journalist” wrote that an “insider” reported that Steve Jobs had been rushed to the hospital with chest pains. Aha! Those infernal citizen journalists are ruining the world! Calm down. CNN got used. Maybe […]
Skype Cannot be Trusted, Period
As Salon notes in “Skype sells out to China“, the eBay-owned service has collaborated with a Chinese company to enable spying on the allegedly encrypted messages that Skype users send each other to and from, and within, China. This disgusting sellout should surprise no one. Skype and its corporate parent, eBay, have been evasive about […]
Malaysia Government Gets Hammered for Jailing Blogger
CNET: Blogger jailing backfires on Malaysian government | Politics and Law. If the Malaysian government had hoped that the recent detention of controversial blogger Raja Petra Kamarudin would quell the country’s vociferous blogger community, it may need to look elsewhere.
Blogger Libel Insurance
Citizen Media Law Project: New Insurance Program for Bloggers Offered by the Media Bloggers Association. The new insurance, which is currently available only to members of the Media Bloggers Association (MBA), provides coverage for defamation, invasion of privacy, and copyright infringement claims. Premiums start at $450 per year for $100,000/$300,000 in coverage ($100,000 per claim […]
Double Standard in Olbermann-Matthews Downgrading
NBC has every right to take Keith Olbermann and Chris Matthews out of their anchor chairs for political events. But there’s a bizarre double standard at work in much of the traditional media commentary on this. In the Washington Post, for example, Larry Grossman, former president of NBC News, is quoted as saying that MSNBC […]
Copyright Challenge in New Push for Open Government Data
Carl Malamud, a hero in providing access to information, has posted online the the 38-volume California Code of Regulations, over which the state claims copyright ownership. The Santa Rosa (Calif.) Press Democrat reports the story.
Online Ad Company's Very Questionable Activities
Free Press and Public Knowledge have put out a report claiming that “NebuAd Wiretaps Consumers and Hijacks Web Sites.” Quote: Consumers are having their Web browsing intercepted and Web sites are having their computer code altered by NebuAd, a company that provides targeted advertising for Internet Service Providers (ISPs), according to a technical investigation by […]
An Important New Documentary
At UC Berkeley’s Journalism School tomorrow evening, there’s a Screening of “Citizen McCaw”: the new documentary film about the journalism ethics battle and meltdown at the Santa Barbara News Press. The screening will be followed by a panel discussion on the state of journalism with former News Press Editor Jerry Roberts, “Citizen McCaw” director Sam […]