round-up

Reading round-up: Journalists fail, start charging for news and more!

Mike Keliher, , , , , , , , 11 Comments

I simply can’t keep up lately with all of the interesting stuff I’m reading and ranting/raging about, wanting to share and to vent, so I’m writing a link-laden round-up post. It’s sort of the blogger’s equivalent of “fuck it, I’m wearing sweatpants today.” We’ll save the substance for the comment discussion, eh?

Irish student hoaxes world’s media with fake quote
I’ll let the story’s lead sum this one up, as I’m depressed and confused beyond words: “When Dublin university student Shane Fitzgerald posted a poetic but phony quote on Wikipedia, he said he was testing how our globalized, increasingly Internet-dependent media was upholding accuracy and accountability in an age of instant news. His report card: Wikipedia passed. Journalism flunked.”

MediaNews will ‘move away’ from making print free on Web
The company that owns, among several other papers, our own Pioneer Press is mad as hell and has divulged plans to not take it anymore. The CEO “announced to employees recently a plan to provide less print content on the Web for free and differentiate Web site news from the print product.”

Twitter and ABC launch a tweetable news show
“It’s a model that causes a lot of heated debate and verbal exchanges, perfect for an easily-distracted online audience. […] There will be a Twitter widget that allows viewers to chime in on the discussion or ask questions during the debate. The Nightline anchors will also use Pixel touchscreen technology to display and interact with the debate occurring on Twitter. […] This could a be very cool concept or this could fall flat on its face.” Call me a cynic, but I’m down for $10 for “flat on its face.”

Jew haters welcome at Facebook, as long as they aren’t lactating
“Way more countries have laws against holocaust denial (11 or so) than breast feeding (0), but guess which one is banned on Facebook?” Facebook made a big stink (still simmering) a while back when it determined photos of mothers breastfeeding their babies to be indecent. Fear not, though, you defender of free speech: Anti-Semites roam free on Facebook. Best part of this story: the sarcastic red call-out on the Facebook image.

I’ll leave you with that one because my jaw is still on the floor.