Pitching your idea

From "Seinfeld": George proposes to Jerry a unique approach to pitching a new TV comedy series to NBC. George freaks out just before pitch meeting. After the pitch meeting that George screwed up by saying he wouldn't compromise his "artistic integrity, Jerry explodes.

After quitting a job in anger, George ponders career options. (H/t to Sam M.)

Public knowledge/public broadcasting connection

An academic study was conducted into current events knowledge possessed by the publics in Denmark, Finland, UK and US. Guess which country has the lowest level of public knowledge? Us. These academics suggest that the dominance of public broadcasting in Denmark and Finland -- compared to the commercial dominance in US media system -- has something to do with the findings.

Tax funding of public broadcasting in other advanced democratic countries is many times higher than in the U.S. Chart on page 8 of this paper.

Public TV in US ain't like this

Weeks before the Iraq invasion, Jeremy Paxman of BBC's "Newsnight" and skeptical British citizens literally cross-examine Prime Minister Tony Blair about evidence/reasons/legality behind the invasion. This interview with Blair resurfaces during official Iraq inquiry in 2010. Here's another tough Paxman interview of Blair having nothing to do with Iraq.

Broadband stimulus

As part of the Obama stimulus/recovery act, $7-9 billion was aimed at building out our country's broadband network. As the Wall Street Journal reported in November:

The largest U.S. Internet providers, including Verizon Communications Inc., AT&T Inc. and Comcast Corp., opted against applying for the broadband stimulus funds. All of the companies voiced reservations about some of the conditions that grant recipients would face, namely provisions that would require the providers to abide by open Internet, or net neutrality, rules that might hinder some future efforts to offer pricier Internet services.

Net Neutrality

A recent federal court decision in so-called "BitTorrentgate" ruled, according to AP, that the FCC lacks authority to require broadband providers to give equal treatment to all Internet traffic flowing over their networks. That was a big victory for Comcast Corp., the nation's largest cable company."

When Net Neutrality threatened to become federal law late last year, there was intense opposition and lobbying from companies like AT&T. It's worth remembering the ex-senator who was one of the main obstacles for years: Ted Stevens (R-Alaska). Here was his attempt to explain his opposition to Net Neutrality in 2006...and his explanation put to music.

Comcast, one of the big cable/Internet companies, gets caught trying to keep the public out of a public hearing on Net Neutrality and Internet freedom.

Rightwing libertarians claim Net Neutrality is just one more unneeded law in search of a problem.

Internet Access: Digital divides

My middle-class daughters grew up with computers in the home and fast Internet.They are NetNerds. In poor rural areas and inner cities, such tools for learning and commerce are often out of reach. Here are videos of rural Southerners asking the government to step in and help folks get broadband.

Internet hoaxes

This hoax portraying Tommy Hilfiger as a racist still circulates.

Indy media should be independent of both parties

During the '08 presidential campaign, liberal bloggers acted in the fine tradition of journalistic watchdogs when they exposed dishonesty in many Republican ads attacking candidate Obama, like this one and this one.

But they didn't blow the whistle on indefensible Obama campaign ads -- like this one in Spanish aimed at Latino voters smearing McCain as anti-immigrant with comments made by Rush Limbaugh, who was not in any way part of the McCain campaign. When translated, the ad says, "They want us to forget the insults we've put up with, the intolerance" -- as a picture of Limbaugh appears onscreen with quotes OF LIMBAUGH saying, "Mexicans are stupid and unqualified" and "Shut your mouth or get out." The ad continues: "They made us feel marginalized in a country we love so much. John McCain and his Republican friends have two faces. One that says lies just to get our vote and another, even worse, that continues the failed policies of George Bush."

Here was a McCain Campaign ad and another aimed at Latinos and immigrants that probably got less play than the Obama ad attacking McCain.

Fox New Follies

Whenever I look at Drudge's litany of false claims, the only silver lining I can find is that at least Drudge's factual errors are not as continuous as on Fox News.

Another Drudge Exclusive

In 2007, Drudge accused CNN reporter Michael Ware of "heckling" Republican senators during a news conference in Iraq and "laughing and mocking their comments." Drudge based the report on an anonymous "official" who Drudge quoted as saying: "I've never witnessed such disrespect." The claim was picked up by rightwing blogs and the Washington Times. Ware responded that he hadn't said a word during the news conference. This video of the John McCain-led news conference -- obtained by indy outlet Raw Story -- shows Ware sitting in the back, silent.

"World Exclusive" according to Drudge

Maybe Drudge is better off sticking to aggregating content from elsewhere (with revved-up headlines) than doing his own "reporting."

Harry Potter Alliance vs. Big Media

H/t to Monica W. Fans of Potter challenge media conglomeration, aka "Voldemedia"

Ethical blogger action?

Here's an apparent example of a blogger acting professionally and ethically as per SPJ Code of Ethics: Blogger Ken Krayeske, who gained fame by questioning University of Connecticut's basketball coach about his huge taxpayer-paid salary, announced a while ago that he wouldn't be covering City Hall because his girlfriend has a job there.

Bill Clinton Diatribe

Mayhill Fowler says she didn't hide that she was recording former President Clinton's angry attack on a Vanity Fair reporter, while he greeted voters in a ropeline as he campaigned for his wife in June 2008. (UNFORTUNATELY THE HUFFPOST AUDIO AVAILABLE UNTIL RECENTLY IS NOW INOPERABLE). Clinton did not know Fowler was a "citizen journalist" for HuffingtonPost. Should Fowler have identified herself? Should politicians talk to some members of the public (he assumed Fowler supported his wife) one way and others a different way? Would Clinton have given his honest views to Fowler if he fully understood she was an actual journalist?

Mayhill Fowler's earlier reporting scoop that launched "Bittergate" uproar.

Big $$ to YouTube Stars

What the Buck? Indeed. Could Michael Buckley really have earned over $100k in a year from YouTube videos. . .and then gets a development deal from HBO?

YouTube star Lisa Donovan or "LisaNova" truly is talented. Even more than Tina Fey, she's made a career out of playing Sarah Palin, including in the famous McCain/Palin rap.

Cory Williams and his smpFilms hit the bigtime with "Hey Little Sparta" (better known as "The Mean Kitty Song", 33 million views!). He claims to be earning over $200k per year, partly from (ugh!) product placements within his videos.

PhillyD is my 13-year-old daughter's favorite YouTube star, with current events, tech and celeb news.

Become a YouTube Star and appear in a hugely popular music video with Weezer or the earlier one from Barenaked Ladies.

"Where the hell is Matt?" became so popular, the guy has long had his travels paid by corporate sponsors.

Unplugging article plugs gadgets

Article in Time magazine about unplugging from the grid and gadgets -- laced with links to gadgets, Iphone apps. (H/t Elizabeth)

Court rules against Net Neutrality

Big win for Comcast in court against Net Neut.

Top journalist declares: "Stop going to journalism programs."

Interviewed by Time, journalist/author Malcolm ("Tipping Point," "Blink," "Outliers") Gladwell said this when asked to give advice to young journalists:

The issue is not writing. It's what you write about. One of my favorite columnists is Jonathan Weil, who writes for Bloomberg. He broke the Enron story, and he broke it because he's one of the very few mainstream journalists in America who really knows how to read a balance sheet. That means Jonathan Weil will always have a job, and will always be read, and will always have something interesting to say. He's unique. Most accountants don't write articles, and most journalists don't know anything about accounting. Aspiring journalists should stop going to journalism programs and go to some other kind of grad school. If I was studying today, I would go get a master's in statistics, and maybe do a bunch of accounting courses and then write from that perspective. I think that's the way to survive. The role of the generalist is diminishing. Journalism has to get smarter.

Arianna Huffington on future of journalism

In May 2009, publisher/blogger Arianna Huffington testified before a U.S. Senate committee on the future of journalism:

What can't work is to act like the last 15 years never happened, that we are still operating in the old content economy as opposed to the new linked economy, and that the survival of the industry will be found by "protecting" content behind walled gardens. We've seen that movie (and its many sequels, including TimesSelect). News consumers didn't like them, and they closed in a hurry. And the answer can't be content creators attacking Google and other news aggregators.

What if online news is put behind pay walls?

It’s 2012 and news is no longer free. Fall '09 indy media student Jean Kemshal-Bell edited Simon Dumenco prediction about “Life After the Pay Wall" published in Advertising Age.

It’s 2012 and news is no longer free. Michael Wolff, founder of the news-aggregation site Newser, is in prison, the first high-profile casualty of the 2011 anti-aggregation law. To avoid punishment the Huffington Post has turned into an Arianna Huffington fan-fiction site – and has better traffic than ever. It’s an era where news is luxury, where a yearly subscription to the New York Times cost $7,000. Mobsters are now trafficking pay-wall passwords because it’s more lucrative than counterfeit handbags. All paid-news consumers have to agree to a "Premium Content Code of Honor" that prohibits them from sharing news with non-subscribers.

How the Huffington Post finds headlines

Blogpost from Fall '09 indy media student Matt Biddle summarizes how HuffPost uses help from its community or reactions from its readers in choosing headlines, which are a part of HuffPost's success.

What was the flaw to the Titanic?

Powerful quote from NYT publisher Arthur Sulzberger on the need for mainstream news organizations to "re-create ourselves" to respond to new technologies/blogs:

What was the critical flaw to the Titanic? Even if the Titanic came in safely to New York Harbor, it was still doomed. Twelve years earlier, two brothers invented the airplane.

I saw this quote in a very smart blogpost from Fall '09 indy media student Jean Kemshal-Bell.

Fox News cuts away from Obama . . .

. . .for breaking news of an airplane landing without incident. H/t to Andrew.