The Agonist - Media Criticism

Web Sites That Dig for News Rise as Watchdogs

Tue, 18 Nov 2008 05:28:45 -0800

Richard Pérez-Peña | San Diego | November 17

NYT - Over the last two years, some of this city’s darkest secrets have been dragged into the light — city officials with conflicts of interest and hidden pay raises, affordable housing that was not affordable, misleading crime statistics.

Investigations ensued. The chiefs of two redevelopment agencies were forced out. One of them faces criminal charges. Yet the main revelations came not from any of San Diego’s television and radio stations or its dominant newspaper, The San Diego Union-Tribune, but from a handful of young journalists at a nonprofit Web site run out of a converted military base far from downtown’s glass towers — a site that did not exist four years ago.

As America’s newspapers shrink and shed staff, and broadcast news outlets sink in the ratings, a new kind of Web-based news operation has arisen in several cities, forcing the papers to follow the stories they uncover.

Who is telling the truth?

Tue, 11 Nov 2008 21:18:57 -0800

If you do not ever forward anything else, please forward this to all your contacts...this is very scary to think of what lies ahead of us here in our own United States...better heed this and pray about it and share it.

more after the jump

The Big Question: Is Hazel Blears right to accuse political bloggers of undermining democracy?

Wed, 05 Nov 2008 17:42:36 -0800

Ed Howker | Nov 6

The Independent - Why are we asking this now?

Communities Minister Hazel Blears made a speech to the Hansard Society yesterday in which she criticised political bloggers in the UK. "Political blogs are written by people with disdain for the political system and politicians, who see their function as unearthing scandals, conspiracies and perceived hypocrisy," she said. Conservative grandee Lord Baker has described the comments as "extraordinary". He said: "She needs to tune into the modern world. People have a right to say what they think and if she doesn't like it she can blog back". However, Blears maintains that: "Until political blogging adds value to our political culture, by allowing new voices, ideas and legitimate protest and challenge, and until the mainstream media reports politics in a calmer, more responsible manner, it will continue to fuel a culture of cynicism and despair."

interesting points are raised, that also apply to US bloggers and press

Voting in the Clouds

Wed, 05 Nov 2008 13:37:26 -0800

This is the lead image currently online at the NYT. I love how this shot, voters at Woodland Elementary, perfectly serves as a metaphor for the Obama campaign. Here we see six older voters in multicultural technicolor mirror the stylized picket fence painted on the wall. A group of small children run across the foreground of the mural. They are somewhat obscured behind the voting stations. This is not their day after all. They play while we participate in democracy. Though they play in the background they are in the forefront of our thoughts. We can imagine what the children are running towards. They are running towards the future. Our eyes look up to the sky where a clock hangs in the clouds as time stands still for the next 12 hours. These voters, like that fence, are all that separate those kids from their dreams.

Sullivan On Blogging

Sun, 19 Oct 2008 04:44:03 -0700

Other than this one bullshit sentence: "Glenn Reynolds at Instapundit does this for the right-of-center; Duncan Black at Eschaton does it for the left," I pretty much liked this article on blogging by Andrew Sullivan. He was, after all, one of the original bloggers. It's interesting, in post-modern, lit-crit kind of way.

Possibly The Dumbest Headline Ever

Fri, 17 Oct 2008 02:57:00 -0700

Today's LA Times is running a story on the revolution in Iran. Here's the headline:

U.S. policies may have contributed to Iran revolution, study says

I realize for most Americans the headline may come as a shock, but for those of us here who know a little something about Iran, it's got to be the most obtuse headline ever. My first reaction upon reading it was, "ya think?" Still, credit to the LA Times for running a story counter to the CW. Those don't come around so often.

More lawsuits trip up bloggers on Internet

Mon, 13 Oct 2008 07:12:47 -0700

Dan Margoglies | Oct 13

Kansas City Star - Local blogger Dan Ryan has never been sued for his postings, although one commenter whose anti-Semitic ravings he deleted accused him of slander and threatened "to own my house."

Even so, Ryan, whose daily musings about politics, homemade beer and whatever else strikes his fancy appear at www.gonemild.com, said he was not overly concerned about getting sued.

"I have the benefit of being fundamentally judgment-proof — like most bloggers," he joked, referring to his relative lack of wealth. Also, he said, "I try to avoid anything slanderous or anything that would be actionable."

Ryan's caution may stem from his training as an attorney. Most bloggers, though, are less attuned to the niceties of the law. An increasing number are finding themselves on the wrong end of a lawsuit.

Whither A Maverick?

Wed, 08 Oct 2008 06:41:43 -0700

Rolling Stone takes a hatchet to McCain's utterly false "maverick" image. The title sets up a clever double play, simultaneously discrediting the narrative and referencing McCain's increasingly childish behavior;

Make-Believe Maverick

A closer look at the life and career of John McCain reveals a disturbing record of recklessness and dishonesty

Dishonest. That's almost calling him a liar. Robert Grossman's brilliant illustration reduces and captures the sad caricature that is quickly becoming the template. All the facts have been available public record since, well duh. But the corporate media isn't typically interested in facts. It's all about the narrative. Drill baby drill! Well this well is finally tapped. I'm coming around to the idea that the elite press has come to the simple conclusion that their money is simply safer under an Obama administration. But let's not discount the tremendous, tireless push back work that takes place in the blog-o-sphere and the terrific work done by real maverick journalists like Cliff Schecter and Brock and Waldman. Not to mention, McCain's own free-fall campaign has been its own worse enemy. Hearing Sara Palin go on and on about "a team of mavericks" just doesn't have that authentic "mavericky" feel now does it?

Blog growth slows; more bloggers are bringing home the bacon

Wed, 24 Sep 2008 11:19:15 -0700

Jacqui Cheng | September 24

Ars Technica - It's the second half of 2008, and contrary to some doomsday predictions, blogging has yet to reach its peak. The blogosphere has continued to expand, according to Technorati's State of the Blogosphere 2008 report, and we are now beginning to learn more about what powers the blogging community. Though growth has slowed, bloggers are apparently becoming pretty savvy at making money while pursuing their blogging interests.

133 million blogs have been tracked by Technorati between 2002 and now. This number is almost double the 72 million tracked as of March of 2007, and quite a bit higher than the 35 million from spring of 2006 and 8 million from 2005. Though blogging in general is still on the upswing, the growth rate has clearly slowed in recent years—a trend that we noted last year as well.

more, with some interesting analysis...

CNBC Very Interesting This Morning

Fri, 19 Sep 2008 06:13:04 -0700

It is a measure of the catastrophe unfolding right now that the pretty-people on CNBC are having really heated and serious discussions. Tempers were actually flaring a few moments ago as I watched. There's actually serious debate as to what in the world the Federal government is doing and how it got us into this mess. For example, words like lax enforcement of regulations on the books; the understaffing, actually the gutting of the SEC; the greed and corruption of the 'shadow banking system'. I could go on. I'm just pleased that finally the talking heads are sitting up and actually taking notice that they have a role to play. Maybe, for once in the last twenty years they might actually rise to the occasion. Optimistic, I know. But what else do we have to cling to?

Update: Interesting discussions still ongoing. And surprise of surprises, someone actually chimed in and raised my question about Paulson and Goldman and shorts and conflict of interest! I guess CNBC is now reading The Agonist.

Creationist campaigner has Richard Dawkins' official website banned in Turkey

Thu, 18 Sep 2008 18:59:43 -0700

Riazat Butt | Sept 19

The Guardian -

A Turkish court has banned internet users from viewing the official Richard Dawkins website after a Muslim creationist claimed its contents were defamatory and blasphemous.

Adnan Oktar, who writes under the pen name of Harun Yahya, complained that Dawkins, a fierce critic of creationism and intelligent design, had insulted him in comments made on forums and blogs.

According to Oktar's office, Istanbul's second criminal court of peace banned the site earlier this month on the grounds that it "violated" Oktar's personality.

Oktar, a household name in Turkey, has used hundreds of books, pamphlets and DVDs to contest Darwin's theory of evolution. In 2006 his publishers sent out 10,000 copies of the Atlas of Creation, a lavish book rejecting evolution on every one of its 800 pages.

Dawkins, one of the recipients, described the book as "preposterous". On his website the British biologist and popular science writer said he was at "a loss to reconcile the expensive and glossy production values of this book with the breathtaking inanity of the content".

Warning sounded on web's future

Tue, 16 Sep 2008 01:35:08 -0700

Pallab Ghosh | Sept 16

BBC - The internet needs a way to help people separate rumour from real science, says the creator of the World Wide Web.

Talking to BBC News Sir Tim Berners-Lee said he was increasingly worried about the way the web has been used to spread disinformation.

Sir Tim spoke prior to the unveiling of a Foundation he has co-created that aims to make the web truly worldwide.

It will also look at ways to help people decide if sites are trustworthy and reliable sources of information.

Entertainment: CNBC

Mon, 15 Sep 2008 04:48:44 -0700

I'm watching CNBC right now. It sure is entertaining.

The big rumor this morning is AIG. Will it fail or not? I'll leave it to others to comment on that possibility. Although I'll preface it with a reminder that many said the monoliners wouldn't fail, that they were too important. But they did.

One lesson of this crisis: there is nowhere to hide.

Something else I heard on a Bloomberg podcast today while walking home from work was that Paulson and Bernanke did some front running with the Fannie/Freddie deal because they knew Lehman was going to fail. Kind of makes sense to me.

But as a general rule, anytime an anchor says, "this is going to be an historic morning," pretty much means the day will be very underwhelming.

Maybe, maybe not. We'll see.

Anyway, use this as an open thread and/or open post for the editors to post news stories or make comments on developments as the day progresses and the markets churn while I sleep and awake to either nothing, or absolute carnage.

I'll not be surprised to see either.

Now when the losses from the big bets on the oil bubble come in, then it will get amusing.

Next year, when the credit system is cross wired like a Christmas tree and the bill for the bail out comes due... we could see a climax to this bear market -
Stirling Newberry

** Bush: Economy Strong Enough to Handle Turmoil
** Wall Street crisis: Is this the death knell for derivatives?
** World stocks dive as Lehman collapses, oil slumps to $93bbl
** Wilbur Ross sees about 1,000 bank closures: report

When Good People Believe Bad Information

Fri, 05 Sep 2008 12:47:41 -0700

In the last five years, the media has become the stomping ground for corporate mouthpieces that not only own most of the media outlets, but also control the advertising revenues that keep these television, radio and newspapers afloat. This is a direct result of the “fairness doctrine” being scrapped by the FCC and also the placement of Michael Powell (the son of Colin Powell) to head the agency. The Telecommunications Act of 1996 also added fuel to the fire. According to Network:

The Telecommunications Act of 1996. Under the 1934 Communications Act, everything was clear and precise - there was NO option but to regulate - and the Commission did what the Act instructed it to do. The 1996 Act, however, introduced the so-called forbearance doctrine, where the Commission could, on its own initiative, refrain from regulating an industry segment. That's when things began to collapse. In its haste to create local exchange competition, the FCC went either too far or not far enough in the early days. Three methods of local competition were introduced: (1) Local resale, but the discounts were not deep enough and so hardly anyone chose that option; (2) Unbundled Network Elements (UNEs), where discounts were probably too deep, so everyone jumped in; and (3) Facilities based competition, which has not taken off because of the UNE discounts. Chairman Powell, who strongly favors facilities-based competition decided to "fix" the problem by moving too far too fast in the opposite direction by essentially deregulating UNE price regulation for the Incumbent Local Exchange Carriers. The result: Policy disarray and chaos!

AP's 'Talking Points' Defending Fournier Surface

Mon, 01 Sep 2008 21:32:41 -0700

New York | September 1

Editor &Publisher - Longtime Associated Press political writer, and now AP Washington bureau chief, Ron Fournier, has been targeted by liberal groups and blogs lately for what they perceive as biased AP reporting against Barack Obama and Joe Biden. This was pushed along by a recent report at Politico.com that Fournier had been approached about working for John McCain in 2006.

AP has denied any slant and today Politico writer Michael Calderone posted on their site what AP calls "talking points" sent to AP editors by Ellen Hale, AP's vice president for corporate communications. Full story at Politico.com.

It's about time Fournier was targeted for his obvious biases. spk