These newspapers slit their own throats by siding with the group of politicians – I mean, it would be like General Motors funding candidates who promised to get rid of Driver Education.
Michael Moore • Discussing the fate of the American newspaper. To further emphasize his point, he says that “we live in a nation of 40 million functional illiterates,” and this was caused by cuts in education that Republican leadership led to. While we don’t think that point is particularly sound, we’ll get behind this one regarding capitalism: “Same theory of General Motors that I watched twenty years ago. How can we get rid of half the employees but still put out the same number of cars? We’ll just make everybody work twice as hard and we’ll save money doing that. And that’s what happened to our newspapers.” • source
Sorry, I don’t use the word media. I don’t use the word news. I don’t think that those words mean anything anymore. They defined publishing in the 20th century. Today, they are a barrier. They are standing in our way, like ‘horseless carriage.’
Chris Anderson • Talking to a German Magazine, Spiegel, about his new book, “Free,” which makes this broad argument that information isn’t of value anymore and that everything should be free. Anderson claims not to read traditional media sources anymore and starts out the interview with this gem of a quote: “This is going to be a very annoying interview. I don’t use the word journalism.” Then he goes further, suggesting journalism – and media in general – will be a hobby. Dude, just because you’re a genius and came up with that Long Tail theory doesn’t mean you should act like a child. • source
Our analysis 0:05-0:09 – Sarah Palin’s speech, already crazy, takes a turn about here, linking the military to freedom of speech. 0:09-0:14 – Oh God, please don’t. 0:23-0:51 – In your analysis of the press, could you be more bitingly cynical, Sarah? 0:52-1:04 – She just killed whatever credibility she had left with the press. 1:05-1:28 – Just don’t tell her crowd of supporters. They still love her. 1:29-1:38 – Trust us. Ricky Hollywood doesn’t regret his moment in the sun. source
When a Western reporter comes to Iran, like a politician or specialist, he will be made to fit into the Western complex. For that person, the interests of the Westerners, who take advantage of every occasion to stand against Iran, are of utmost importance.
“Jailed Newsweek reporter Maziar Bahari” • In a confession published by Iran’s semi-official Fars News Agency. He also admitted filing false reports during the elections, a claim the people who sign his paycheck deny. Bahari has been out of touch with his family and lawyer since his June 21 arrest, and the Iranian government is full of $*#&. • source
It was impossible to confirm first-hand the extent of the new violence in the capital because of draconian new press restrictions on coverage of the post-election mayhem.
New York Times reporters Nazila Fathi and Alan Cowell • In a story about the latest rash of Iranian violence. Hundreds of protesters fought with riot police today and at least some people were confirmed dead in the melee. This is just getting awful, awful, awful. • source
Consumer habits have changed dramatically. People have gotten used to getting the news they want, when they want it, how they want it, and where they want it. And this change is here to stay.
Arianna Huffington • Talking about newspapers, the media and her role in the whole mess with The Huffington Post. She was on Charlie Rose this week debating the topic with Tom Curley of the Associated Press and said some really insightful things. Huffington knows what she’s talking about. • source
He’s right, you know Shirky makes this argument that all the stuff that the newspaper industry is doing right now is essentially trying to prop up an unsustainable model ruined by the Internet. Well, yeah. It’s the nature of creative destruction, something I wrote about a couple of months ago. But despite this, the content itself is more popular than ever. We read it because we love it. Even when we bitch and moan about the bias, we secretly love it.
Nothing will work Shirky’s main point: Experiment like crazy. Fail. Lose your shirt. Because you might eventually come up witha new type of threadwhich is a lot better than the one that held together your crappy shirt. I’d like to think that I got his point without having to be told it bluntly. I think a lot of people I know didn’t really get his point until it hit them in the face so hard that they couldn’t stop staring and they felt stung. It’s creative destruction. Don’t fight it.
Everything might work My friends are getting laid off, event the ones outside the newspaper industry. Newspapers are getting closed. The media feels like a watchdog that’s running out of sweet, sweet kibble. And it’s not because kibble’s in short supply – it’s because it’s getting dumped into a different bowl and it has a slightly different taste. It’s not going back into the old bowl. And you’re going to starve to death eating stale kibble. source
