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12 Dec 2009 09:42

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Politics: The Wall Street Journal on Tiger Woods: Gossip can be useful

  • The Tiger gossip is replete with moral messages and motivations that are compelling, instructive and powerful. Moral guidance can often sound like a collection of tired bromides when expressed in the abstract. But when told as part of a compelling drama—as gossip—it can appear as an eloquent demarcation of good behavior.
  • Wall Street Journal columnist Nicholas DiFonzo • In an article defending gossip’s usefulness in the media. He’s says that why much gossip can be ugly, sometimes it can teach lessons to outsiders. Woods’ situation is especially messy – the cheater passed off as the wholesome family man, the do-no-wrong sports figure doing lots of wrong – but it makes the lessons stronger. source

10 Dec 2009 11:20

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Biz: BREAKING: Editor & Publisher ceasing operations. Oh no!

One of the best publications ABOUT newspapers is gone. You know the newspaper industry is in bad shape when THAT happens. Le sigh. source

02 Dec 2009 23:37

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Tech: Digg might be about to do newspapers a huge favor

  • So what’s in it for Digg? While the company might sacrifice some page views, it could get an even better sense of the content being blasted around the Web.
  • Forbes Senior Editor Brian Caulfield • On Digg’s new API, which is designed to make it stupidly easy to Digg posts all over the Webb. (Whoops, sorry, we put that extra “b” on “Web” by accident.) Caulfield argues that the site is attempting at a decentralized approach much like Twitter with the move – a move that could help journalism significantly. source

18 Oct 2009 12:20

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17 Oct 2009 12:20

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U.S.: Daily poll: On Balloon Boy and the 24-hour news cycle

  • We just watched Balloon Boy dad Richard Heene’s “big announcement”: He put a box in front of his house and told reporters to put questions in the box. Wha? Sounds like someone’s living his personal PR nightmare. Anyway, this got us to thinking. Between this and talk-show chatter, is the 24-hour news cycle broken? Let us know what you think.source

08 Oct 2009 08:45

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Biz: Rupert Murdoch: An old guy who wants to screw over new media?

  • Murdoch, at 78, doesn’t, practically speaking, have the time to see the online world into maturity—nor the intellectual interest to want to be part of the effort. Rather, his strategic effort may more logically be to slow it down.
  • Vanity Fair columnist and Newser co-founder Michael Wolff • Discussing Rupert Murdoch’s stance on online media and forcing consumers to pay for the news. Wolff suggests that Murdoch is old and probably isn’t thinking long-term about the industry at the moment, but short-term at his bank account. Murdoch owns enough of the media industry that people would notice if he started charging for some of it. • source

06 Oct 2009 11:15

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03 Oct 2009 22:07

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World: Is Italy’s Silvio Berlusconi on a mission to suppress the press?

  • We ask the prime minister to stop the campaign of accusations against journalists and to tell the truth.
  • Italian Press Federation head Franco Siddi • On the lawsuits Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi has been filing against major newspapers in Italy. The PM, who either owns or is related to the owners of many major Italian media outlets, has been suing newspapers covering the major sex scandals against him. Silvio Berlusconi says the protests are a joke. • source

02 Oct 2009 19:11

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Biz: A Hulu for publishing: Will media finally get its act together online?


About time someone noticed. We're not going to give the publishing industry a full pass here, but it's great to see they're finally attempting to cobble together a plan for magazines to have a life outside of glossy paper.
  • The plan Time Inc. is pushing to create a Hulu-style app for magazines, and other publishers (such as Wired publisher Condé Nast) are getting on board. The idea is to focus strictly on the content and the distribution system instead of where the content might show up. (Good idea, because you guys know nothing about devices.) source
  • The plan Time Inc. is pushing to create a Hulu-style app for magazines, and other publishers (such as Wired publisher Condé Nast) are getting on board. The idea is to focus strictly on the content and the distribution system instead of where the content might show up. (Good idea, because you guys know nothing about devices.)
  • Why it might work Let’s say Apple releases a tablet. Or Microsoft does something with its Courier prototype. The media industry could totally do some awesome things with it, such as multimedia, interactive graphics, or contextual stuff like Apture (used above). If they do it right, they finally – finally! – have a unique product that people would pay for again. source
  • The plan Time Inc. is pushing to create a Hulu-style app for magazines, and other publishers (such as Wired publisher Condé Nast) are getting on board. The idea is to focus strictly on the content and the distribution system instead of where the content might show up. (Good idea, because you guys know nothing about devices.)
  • Why it might work Let’s say Apple releases a tablet. Or Microsoft does something with its Courier prototype. The media industry could totally do some awesome things with it, such as multimedia, interactive graphics, or contextual stuff like Apture (used above). If they do it right, they finally – finally! – have a unique product that people would pay for again.
  • Why it might not To this, we defer to Fake Steve Jobs (a.k.a. Daniel Lyons), who made some really interesting points a couple of days ago. His argument is that content manufacturers completely lack imagination, and as a result, tech companies are eating their lunch. He nails it. If they just recycle the same crap from print, nobody will want it. source

22 Sep 2009 10:52

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Biz: The online news micropayments debate begins anew

One one side: Folks like NewsCloud’s Jeff Reifman, who say micropayments can work. On the other: Smart guy Clay Shirky, telling everyone they’re dreaming. source