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29 Jun 2009 00:53

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Politics, Tech: Two examples of old people who don’t get new journalism

  • Judge: Let’s outlaw linking! In this corner: Seventh Circuit Appeals Court Judge Richard Posner, based out of Chicago. A pretty smart guy.
    His argument: Posner, in an argument on his blog, says that “Expanding copyright law … to bar linking to or paraphrasing copyrighted materials without the copyright holder’s consent, might be necessary to keep free riding on content financed by online newspapers.”
    Why he doesn’t get it Because his idea is against the very nature of the Internet and nobody would support him. Plus, his article has a trackback function enabled to encourage linking!
  • Judge: Let’s outlaw linking! In this corner: Seventh Circuit Appeals Court Judge Richard Posner, based out of Chicago. A pretty smart guy.
    His argument: Posner, in an argument on his blog, says that “Expanding copyright law … to bar linking to or paraphrasing copyrighted materials without the copyright holder’s consent, might be necessary to keep free riding on content financed by online newspapers.”
    Why he doesn’t get it Because his idea is against the very nature of the Internet and nobody would support him. Plus, his article has a trackback function enabled to encourage linking!
  • Columnist: Let’s tighten laws! In this corner: Connie Schultz, a Pulitzer Prize-winning columnist for the Cleveland Plain Dealer, still a solid print product.
    Her argument: Schultz says that there’s too many free riders on the journalism bandwagon and they’re coming at the cost of newspaper revenue. She subscribes to David and Daniel Marburger’s theory that copyright law needs to force aggregators to share ad revenue with producers.
    Why she doesn’t get it While her idea is less crazy than Posner’s (she’s not advocating the blocking of linking), it’s cut from the same cloth. Also, you can share her column on Reddit and Digg!

28 Jun 2009 23:51

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Politics: Max Headroom: Iran’s still the talk-show talking point of choice

  • David Axelrod stammers “Meet the Press” had Obama’s main strategist trying to explain why HuffPo’s Nico Pitney asked a planned question at a press conference. Watch him sweat.

  • David Axelrod stammers “Meet the Press” had Obama’s main strategist trying to explain why HuffPo’s Nico Pitney asked a planned question at a press conference. Watch him sweat.

  • Fareed Zakaria compares Fareed Zakaria (one of our favorite CNN analysts, BTW), compares Iran to the fall of Communism in Europe, and says it’s unlikely Iran will fall the same way. He sides with Obama.

  • David Axelrod stammers “Meet the Press” had Obama’s main strategist trying to explain why HuffPo’s Nico Pitney asked a planned question at a press conference. Watch him sweat.

  • Fareed Zakaria compares Fareed Zakaria (one of our favorite CNN analysts, BTW), compares Iran to the fall of Communism in Europe, and says it’s unlikely Iran will fall the same way. He sides with Obama.

  • Fox News disagrees Fox News brought on analyst Dr. Walid Phares for “Fox and Friends” to debate whether the U.S. should intervene in Iran. His answer? Yeah, Obama needs to stop being timid.

27 Jun 2009 20:51

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Politics, U.S.: NPR: Debating “torture” vs. “harsh interrogation techniques”

  • If journalists use the words ‘harsh interrogation techniques,’ they can be seen as siding with the White House … If journalists use the word “torture,” then they can be accused of siding with those who are particularly and visibly still angry at the previous administration.
  • NPR Ombudsman Alicia C. Shepard • Debating the merits of describing the techniques on terrorism suspects in the U.S. as torture, vs. the administration-preferred “harsh interrogation techniques.” It’s a dialogue on how language can be used by those on both sides of a debate – one which Shepard found herself right in the middle of thanks to a column she wrote earlier in the week, which Salon’s Glenn Greenwald roundly criticized. We use both at random intervals, just to screw with people. • source

27 Jun 2009 12:39

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Politics, U.S.: A handy guide to GOP presidential wannabes-turned-also-rans

  • Now, their latest hope, South Carolina Gov. Mark Sanford, is bummin’ thanks to an Argentinean ladyfriend. Ouch. source

27 Jun 2009 11:07

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Politics, U.S.: Mark Sanford’s wife, Jenny: “Not only will I survive, I’ll thrive.”

  • Am I O.K.? You know what? I have great faith and I have great friends and great family. We have a good Lord in this world, and I know I’m going to be fine. Not only will I survive, I’ll thrive.
  • Jenny Sanford • On her husband, South Carolina Governor Mark Sanford’s, admission that he had been cheating on her with a woman in Argentina. She’s a strong individual just like Sanford. She is scorned woman. Hear her roar. • source

26 Jun 2009 17:01

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Music, Politics: Speaking of charity lunches, Billy Corgan is regretting his

  • I was surprised to see a minor detail I was unaware of that said the winner must pay the bill at lunch turn into an attack on me and my supposed fortune. What an @$$hole I am to not want to buy lunch?
  • Billy Corgan • Regarding the hate he’s facing from some corners of the Interweb because the winner of a charity lunch with the Smashing Zwankin has to pay the check. (Which we kind of agree is bull.) He goes on to say that he thinks it’s kind of unfair that he’s seen as a bad guy for attempting to do a noble thing, just because he’s been perceived as being a jerk in the past. How come you have to write a long rant instead of coughing up $50 for a meal, dude? At least split the check. • source

24 Jun 2009 23:21

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Politics, U.S.: Fox News mixes paper and plastic when it takes out the trash

Just ’cause you don’t like something a Republican did (in this case, Mark Sanford) doesn’t automatically make him a Democrat. source
 

24 Jun 2009 20:52

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Politics, U.S.: Blogger Nico Pitney: Public enemy No. WHO FREAKING CARES?

  • That’s right. I wanted to use this opportunity to ask you a question directly from an Iranian.
  • Huffington Post blogger Nico Pitney • Being asked a question by President Barack Obama. Pitney is getting lots of criticism because apparently he knew Obama would be calling on him, despite the fact that, well, he asked a question that wasn’t pre-screened and was merely planned (from an Iranian citizen). Yeah. This is clearly as bad as the Jeff Gannon situation a while back. Nothing to see here, folks. • source

23 Jun 2009 10:37

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Politics: Columnist: Subsidize news … by making information more free

  • We care about these things because they provide information that improves public welfare and allows for more effective democratic decision-making. Why not make it easier for the news business to do its job?
  • Atlantic columnist Conor Clarke • Playing off the oft-discussed idea of government-subsidized news and instead using it as an argument that the Freedom of Information Act should be followed more closely by government bodies. He also notes that, when this data is easier to get, “it gives news organizations an incentive to write about those issues rather than Britney Spears’s hair or Michelle Obama’s arms.” And wouldn’t that be awesome? • source

21 Jun 2009 23:21

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Politics: Max Headroom: Twitter and Iran are totally on pundits’ minds

  • Tweet-happy McCain On “Face the Nation,” Sen. John McCain gives credit to social networking sites for their huge role in the protests in Iran – and notes, with excitement, that these are American technologies.

  • Tweet-happy McCain On “Face the Nation,” Sen. John McCain gives credit to social networking sites for their huge role in the protests in Iran – and notes, with excitement, that these are American technologies.

  • Go get ’em, Clay! Clay Shirky, one of media’s greatest thinkers, talks on “Fareed Zakaria GPS” about how the whole world is not just watching, but participating, in the Iran conflict. He says it’s too early to tell if it worked.

  • Tweet-happy McCain On “Face the Nation,” Sen. John McCain gives credit to social networking sites for their huge role in the protests in Iran – and notes, with excitement, that these are American technologies.

  • Go get ’em, Clay! Clay Shirky, one of media’s greatest thinkers, talks on “Fareed Zakaria GPS” about how the whole world is not just watching, but participating, in the Iran conflict. He says it’s too early to tell if it worked.

  • Strange bedfellows Playing off a joke Obama made over the weekend, “Fox News Sunday” discusses whether the media is biased towards the president. Ah, the media talking about the media.