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27 Jan 2012 19:44

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Biz: CBS Sports fires blogger who flubbed Joe Paterno death report

  • Bad sourcing plus poor timing: Adam Jacobi took to Twitter earlier this afternoon to reveal that CBS Sports — which ran with a erroneous story that Joe Paterno had died hours before he actually did, based on a single tweet from a student Web site, originally linked to and otherwise unsourced (then retracted it, naming the source and initially refusing to take full credit for the error) — fired him over the incident. “In the end, CBS had to let me go for the Paterno story going out the way it did,” Jacobi wrote. “and I understand completely. Thanks, everyone, for reading.” The Washington Post’s Erik Wemple calls the move classy on Jacobi’s part, and an important line in the sand for CBS: “Not only does CBSSports.com put on notice its employees that multiple sourcing matters,” Wemple writes,”it puts on notice the entire industry.” While we don’t necessarily think Jacobi should’ve been fired, CBS made a good move, as it initially looked like they would let the sword fall onto Onward State. It would’ve been better if they took credit right away. (photo via Flickr user audreyjm529) source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

20 Dec 2011 21:05

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Culture: More thoughts on Wesley Durden, TLC and ethics in reality television

  • I understand that a lot goes into putting these shows together, but there has to be a better way to deal with actual reality when it creeps into our reality programs.
  • Tucson Weekly’s Dan Gibson • Offering up a good point on last night’s news that a reality show contestant, Wesley Durden, committed suicide, but the TLC show, “Next Great Baker,” hid it from the audience until he had been eliminated from the program. “They did throw a card up at the end,” Gibson points out, “but this still seems like a series of bad decisions to me and wildly insensitive to the guy’s family and friends, but maybe we’re still all supposed to be upset that the same network runs a show about Muslims or something.” And that, friends, is a great point. Here’s a network that’s getting criticized for the wrong thing: Instead of getting wrongly criticized for airing reality shows about Muslims, they should be getting rightly criticized for their intense focus on ratings in the face of the ethical treatment of the people it puts on its shows. source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

18 Dec 2011 11:03

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World: Piers Morgan’s tabloid past haunting his TV host present

  • So heartwarming that everyone in U.K.’s missing me so much they want me to come home.
  • CNN host Piers Morgan • Joking earlier this year in regards to allegations he faces over possible involvement in the News of the World phone-hacking scandal. Morgan, a former tabloid newspaper editor who’s built a second life as a TV host, will take part, via video-link, in a judicial inquiry into the alleged practices of “News of the World” and other British tabloids. Morgan’s past could come to haunt him in the future. source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

11 Dec 2011 12:17

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World: Scotland Yard: News of the World scandal much wider than thought

  • 803 victims in News of the World phone-hacking scandal? source
  • » That’s what Scotland Yard says: They’ve investigated over 2,000 cases at length, and think they’ve found hundreds of examples of the same hacking that befell the newspaper earlier this year. “Operation Weeting has been in contact with or been contacted by 2,037 people,” Scotland Yard says, “of which in the region of 803 are ‘victims’, whose names have appeared in the material.” More people are likely to get investigated, but as their personal information is limited, it’s believed they were less likely to be hacked by the newspaper.
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

21 Oct 2011 11:05

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World: News Corp. pays off phone-hacking scandal victim’s family

  • $3.2 million the settlement headed to Milly Dowler’s family, via News Corp.
  • $1.6 million the settlement headed to a charity of the Dowler family’s choosing source
  • » The scandal that killed a newspaper: With the News of the World scandal a bit of a low point for the company this year, it’s understandable that they might want to get this dealt with. But the Dowler family has made sure it was to their liking: “Nothing that has been agreed will ever bring back Milly or undo the traumas of her disappearance and the horrendous murder trial earlier this year,” they said. “The only way that a fitting tribute could be agreed was to ensure that a very substantial donation to charity was made in Milly’s memory. We hope that projects will be undertaken so that some good can come from this.” Meanwhile, News Corp. now has a second scandal under its large journalistic umbrella, though this one (the WSJ’s circulation scandal) is fortunately more business-oriented and less invasive on another person’s life.
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

20 Sep 2011 11:14

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Biz: Ted Turner: Rupert Murdoch may have to resign from News Corp.

  • From one rich mogul to another: Former Turner Broadcasting owner Ted Turner, who knows a thing or two about running his mouth, says that Murdoch has made tactical errors in his handling of the phone-hacking scandal, including his claim that he didn’t know anything about the hacking. “Well, he should have known,” Turner said. “He was chairman of the board. He’s responsible. I took responsibility when I ran my company. You never heard me say, ‘Well, I didn’t know.’” The two moguls once famously feuded, after Turner claimed Murdoch’s media outlets (including Fox News, a direct rival to the Turner-founded CNN) were largely behind the Iraq war, because it helped his company. Turner says they eventually buried the hatchet, however, after he bought Rupert a bison burger and praised the Wall Street Journal. Well, this may perhaps change that situation once again. Heh. source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

07 Sep 2011 00:06

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Tech: Michael Arrington to AOL: You guys said editorial independence!

  • cause Facing an editorial crisis caused by the announcement of something called the CrunchFund, AOL forced Michael Arrington to step away from his baby, TechCrunch, in an attempt to ease up on an apparent conflict of interest that gave Arianna Huffington fits.
  • reaction Arrington isn’t having that. Earlier today, he reiterated the editorial independence AOL was supposed to give him. He gave them three options: Keep TechCrunch editorially independent, sell the site back to the shareholders, or he walks. Boom.  source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink
 

04 Sep 2011 16:10

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Biz: James Murdoch turns down bonus; Rupert Murdoch takes his own

  • In light of the current controversy surrounding News of the World, I have declined the bonus that the company chose to award to me. While the financial and operating performance metrics on which the bonus decision was based are not associated with this matter, I feel that declining the bonus is the right thing to do.
  • James Murdoch • Explaining his reasons for not accepting a $6 million bonus from News Corp. in the wake of the News of the World scandal. Accepting the bonus would have increased his 2010 take-home pay by 74 percent. His dad Rupert, meanwhile, accepted a $12.5 million bonus of his own. Do you think James made the right move? And if so, should Rupert Murdoch have followed the same track? source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

02 Sep 2011 13:13

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Tech: Michael Arrington, TechCrunch another example of incestuous tech ethics

  • As we wait to see just how involved Arrington will remain, as a media company that should supposedly hold up some sort of journalistic ethics, AOL is coming out looking quite sleazy.
  • The Atlantic Wire’s Rebecca Greenfield • Offering her take on the debacle revolving around Michael Arrington and TechCrunch. Here’s the issue we see, as outsiders: Michael Arrington has always been as much of a player in Silicon Valley as he’s been a journalist, so there’s always been a small conflict of interest there. But by making the “player” element a bigger part of his job title by creating a venture capital fund, he makes himself a target. But wait. Tech journalism is already incestuous and ethically broken. A few examples: Business Insider’s Henry Blodget was once a financial analyst barred from the securities market for fraud. The WSJ’s Kara Swisher is married to a female Google exec (which she discloses). And Gizmodo parent Gawker Media pays for stories that can draw millions of eyeballs to their sites. The difference is that AOL, which bought TechCrunch a year ago, is a big company that knows better. Or should. And the end result is that it makes AOL look really bad. source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

19 Aug 2011 16:23

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Culture: ‘Real Housewives’ death won’t stop Bravo from airing the show

  • realityEven after a main character committed suicide, Bravo won’t cancel their hit reality show “The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills.” Russell Armstrong’s suicide follows on the heels of marriage and money problems that were likely caused by the show. Originally, the show’s return to airwaves wasn’t even going to be delayed.
  • actuality This situation shows how reality TV affects the stars — and the lengths networks are willing to take to keep the moneymakers on the air. People are fascinated with reality TV and want to watch others live their lives — but reality stars make a big sacrifice to keep up the facade. Russell Armstrong is a perfect example of that. source
Posted by Justin Jones • 0 Comments • Permalink
 
 
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