The Ethics of News vs. Reviews

Background:

Last Wednesday, editors at CNET told representatives at Dish that Dish’s Hopper with Sling would be a finalist for CNET’s “Best of CES” award. On Thursday morning, about 25 minutes prior to its announcement of the winner, CNET told Dish that the Hopper with Sling had been withdrawn from consideration due to Dish’s lawsuit with CNET’s parent company CBS over the Hopper DVRs’ commercial-skipping feature. CNET did not indicate to Dish, or to anyone else outside the company, that its editors had in fact already voted to name the Hopper with Sling Best in Show, nor that editors had been made to revote on a directive from CBS CEO Les Moonves.

CBS declared a new policy declaring that they will no longer review products manufactured by companies that are in litigation with respect to that product. They also issued a statement that CNET maintains 100% editorial independence when it comes to covering actual news. Then Greg Sandoval, a senior writer for CNET, resigned and said on Twitter that he no longer has confidence “that CBS is committed to editorial independence.”

Two worthwhile thoughts on this:

1. NY Times’ David Carr:

It’s not CNET that is imperiled, but CBS. Very ugly business. I completely understand why the find “Hopper” so threatening — it is a dagger right to the heart of their business — but if that kind of commercial censorship occurred at our shop, people would freak out. New brands have to compete for top talent and voices and if CBS turns out to be an owner — odd, given their legacy — that can’t keep its business and journalistic interests straight, no one is going to want to work there.

2. DisCo’s Rob Pegoraro:

Hard-news stories (like search-engine results!) are never entirely objective; people made value judgments in assigning them, choosing sources to quote, and giving those pieces their spot on the page or in the paper. Reviews are never entirely subjective and ought to cite objective defects such as slow performance, poor battery life, privacy risks or missing features.

And in the evolving and sometimes fumbling tech industry, assessing the hardware, software and services it serves up is an especially important part of the work of journalism. We need to suffer through these products ourselves–unless you’d prefer that we waited to see you find their problems, then reported the controversy.

Readers, in turn, don’t view news and reviews as distinct entities. If they start seeing one part of a site’s work subject to a corporate overlord’s remote control, they will read everything there skeptically. If they stick around at all.

FJP: Yikes, CBS.

I guarantee you that the routine beat reporting of that newspaper every day produces at least a half-dozen stories that would be less interesting to the community than a half-dozen or more stories they could have done about the community events that showed support for the Devlin family. The Devlins’ health struggles have been a community story, with Scouts and schools and workplaces rallying for support in a variety of ways that were as important as the meeting stories their newspaper was covering and more interesting.

Steve Buttry, What new beats would help newsrooms cover local news better?

Buttry is referring to the death of his 16-year-old nephew, Patrick Devlin, which was never covered by the newspaper covering his metro area, except for an obituary. Devlin had been working on an Eagle Scout project at the time of his death. His sister, also seriously ill, was sent on a trip by the Make-A-Wish foundation, all of which are stories that the community would have cared about. 

FJP: Worth reading to consider what stories do and don’t matter to a community and how meaningful and efficient coverage can be achieved.

Dear Mr. President: Share what you want out of Obama's second term on NPR

It’s pretty simple to do, and very interesting to explore:

Take a photo of yourself holding a sign with a key word or phrase you want the president to remember.

Then explain, in as many words as you want, what you mean and see yourself here.

Scientology Everywhere kateoplis: Dear Atlantic, What? Yours, Kate FJP: With the upcoming publication of Pulitzer Prize winner Lawrence Wright’s, Going Clear: Scientology, Hollywood, and the Prison of Belief the church — long known for aggressive pushback against reporters — is starting a PR offensive. The advertorial in the Atlantic about church leader David Miscavige overall awesomeness comes just a few days after the Hollywood Reporter published excerpts from Wright’s book. The first explores how John Travolta became a Scientologist, the church’s strategies to make sure he didn’t stray, and how his original handler Spanky Taylor had her child taken away and ended up in the organization’s disciplinary program, The Rehabilitation Project Force. The second, How David Miscavige and Scientology Seduced Tom Cruise, profiles both Miscavige and Cruise and digs deeper into the upper hierarchies of Scientology. The church’s immediate response to the Hollywood Reporter came from Karin Pouw: “Of the 200 people [Wright] spoke with, only 9 were Scientologists. … Most of the remaining 200 were apostates, many who have shopped similar false claims to the gossip media for years.”

Scientology Everywhere

kateoplis:

Dear Atlantic,

What?

Yours,

Kate

FJP: With the upcoming publication of Pulitzer Prize winner Lawrence Wright’s, Going Clear: Scientology, Hollywood, and the Prison of Belief the church — long known for aggressive pushback against reporters — is starting a PR offensive.

The advertorial in the Atlantic about church leader David Miscavige overall awesomeness comes just a few days after the Hollywood Reporter published excerpts from Wright’s book.

The first explores how John Travolta became a Scientologist, the church’s strategies to make sure he didn’t stray, and how his original handler Spanky Taylor had her child taken away and ended up in the organization’s disciplinary program, The Rehabilitation Project Force.

The second, How David Miscavige and Scientology Seduced Tom Cruise, profiles both Miscavige and Cruise and digs deeper into the upper hierarchies of Scientology.

The church’s immediate response to the Hollywood Reporter came from Karin Pouw: “Of the 200 people [Wright] spoke with, only 9 were Scientologists. … Most of the remaining 200 were apostates, many who have shopped similar false claims to the gossip media for years.”

kateoplis

fjp-latinamerica: Spanish: now the second most popular language on Twitter Spanish is now the second-most-used language on Twitter, only after English, according to Spain’s Cervantes Institute. Despite this “spectacular” evolution, the potential growth of  Spanish-speaking users continues to be outstanding given that more than 60 percent of Latin Americans do not have access the Web. Spanish is the third most-used language on the Internet and ranks second in the ‘offline’ world, with 500 million speakers, only behind Chinese. Image: Twitter en Español Follow FJP Latin America on Tumblr and Twitter.

fjp-latinamerica:

Spanish: now the second most popular language on Twitter

Spanish is now the second-most-used language on Twitter, only after English, according to Spain’s Cervantes Institute.

Despite this “spectacular” evolution, the potential growth of  Spanish-speaking users continues to be outstanding given that more than 60 percent of Latin Americans do not have access the Web.

Spanish is the third most-used language on the Internet and ranks second in the ‘offline’ world, with 500 million speakers, only behind Chinese.

Image: Twitter en Español

Follow FJP Latin America on Tumblr and Twitter.

fjp-latinamerica

You have to make stuff. The tools of journalism are in your hands and no one is going to give a damn about what is on your resume, they want to see what you have made with your own little fingies. Can you use Final Cut Pro? Have you created an Instagram that is about something besides a picture of your cat every time she rolls over? Is HTML 5 a foreign language to you? Is your social media presence dominated by a picture of your beer bong, or is it an RSS of interesting stuff that you add insight to? People who are doing hires will have great visibility into what you can actually do, what you care about and how you can express on any number of platforms.
David Carr, media columnist for the New York Times, via yesterday’s Reddit IAmA.
I say that news organizations should become advocates for open information, demanding that government not only make more of it available but also put it in standard formats so it can be searched, visualized, analyzed, and distributed. What the value of that information is to society is not up to the gatekeepers — officials or journalists — to decide. It is up to the public.

Jeff Jarvis, BuzzMachine. Public is public… except in journalism?

While the above quote may stand on its own, a little context: not everyone liked the map of gun permit owners that was published in the aftermath of the Sandy Hook shooting. Jarvis believes that the decision of whether or not the map is morally sound belongs to the public — not to journalists.

Other media thinkers have said otherwise. The Times’ David Carr argued yesterday that the map, which showed the addresses of gun permit owners in New York’s Westechester and Rockland counties, isn’t journalism.

Well, is it?

Monday Afternoon News: 10 Million People Bathe in Allahabad’s Rivers It’s the beginning of Kumbh Mela, a Hindu festival—and the largest gathering on earth— that occurs every 12 years and lasts for 55 days. Millions of Hindus make the pilgrimage to the confluence of the Ganges and Yamuna rivers in Allahabad, India, where they cleanse their sins in the rivers’ water.  BBC: For festival-goers, one of the most memorable spectacles of the day was when the Naga sadhus, or ascetics, sprinted into the river reciting religious chants, many clad only in marigold garlands. The naked ash-smeared men arrived in a colourful procession and waded into the chilly waters of Sangam - the point at which the rivers converge. The Kumbh Mela has its origins in Hindu mythology - many believe that when gods and demons fought over a pitcher of nectar, a few drops fell in the cities of Allahabad, Nasik, Ujjain and Haridwar - the four places where the Kumbh festival has been held for centuries. Although the gathering is held every 12 years, this year’s festival is what is known as a Maha Kumbh, which only occurs every 144 years and is always held at Allahabad. It will last for 55 days, a period of time determined by an astrological calculation There are six particularly auspicious days during the festival—the next one being Feburary 10—when 35 million people are expected to bathe. Image: via BBC. See more here.

Monday Afternoon News: 10 Million People Bathe in Allahabad’s Rivers

It’s the beginning of Kumbh Mela, a Hindu festival—and the largest gathering on earth— that occurs every 12 years and lasts for 55 days. Millions of Hindus make the pilgrimage to the confluence of the Ganges and Yamuna rivers in Allahabad, India, where they cleanse their sins in the rivers’ water. 

BBC:

For festival-goers, one of the most memorable spectacles of the day was when the Naga sadhus, or ascetics, sprinted into the river reciting religious chants, many clad only in marigold garlands.

The naked ash-smeared men arrived in a colourful procession and waded into the chilly waters of Sangam - the point at which the rivers converge.

The Kumbh Mela has its origins in Hindu mythology - many believe that when gods and demons fought over a pitcher of nectar, a few drops fell in the cities of Allahabad, Nasik, Ujjain and Haridwar - the four places where the Kumbh festival has been held for centuries.

Although the gathering is held every 12 years, this year’s festival is what is known as a Maha Kumbh, which only occurs every 144 years and is always held at Allahabad. It will last for 55 days, a period of time determined by an astrological calculation

There are six particularly auspicious days during the festival—the next one being Feburary 10—when 35 million people are expected to bathe.

Image: via BBC. See more here.

bostonreview:

Democracy Now and Lawrence Lessig remember the life and career of Aaron Swartz.

FJP: See also Lessig’s post, Prosecutor as Bully.

bostonreview

I Don’t Have a Pension Via.

I Don’t Have a Pension

Via.

Observed US Temperature Change A new report by the US Global Change Research Program explores climate change and its implications. The first draft, issued for public review, is the work of a 60-person advisory committee and 240 different authors. It draws on data from across US agencies. Via the report (PDF): U.S. temperatures will continue to rise, with the next few decades projected to see another 2°F to 4°F of warming in most areas. The amount of warming by the end of the century is projected to correspond closely to the cumulative global emissions of greenhouse gases up to that time: roughly 3°F to 5°F under a lower emissions scenario involving substantial reductions in emissions after 2050 (referred to as the “B1 scenario”), and 5°F to 10°F for a higher emissions scenario assuming continued increases in emissions (referred to as the “A2 scenario”)… Human-induced climate change means much more than just hotter weather. Increases in ocean and freshwater temperatures, frost-free days, and heavy downpours have all been documented. Sea level has risen, and there have been large reductions in snow-cover extent, glaciers, permafrost, and sea ice. Winter storms along the west coast and the coast of New England have increased slightly in frequency and intensity. These changes and other climatic changes have affected and will continue to affect human health, water supply, agriculture, transportation, energy, and many other aspects of society. Image: Observed US Temperature Change, via the NCADAC. “The colors on the map show temperature changes over the past 20 years in °F (1991-2011) compared to the 1901-1960 average. The bars on the graphs show the average temperature changes by decade for 1901-2011 (relative to the 1901-1960 average) for each region. The far right bar in each graph (2000s decade) includes 2011. The period from 2001 to 2011 was warmer than any previous decade in every region. (Figure source: NOAA NCDC / CICS-NC. Data from NOAA NCDC.)” Select to embiggen.

Observed US Temperature Change

A new report by the US Global Change Research Program explores climate change and its implications. The first draft, issued for public review, is the work of a 60-person advisory committee and 240 different authors. It draws on data from across US agencies.

Via the report (PDF):

U.S. temperatures will continue to rise, with the next few decades projected to see another 2°F to 4°F of warming in most areas. The amount of warming by the end of the century is projected to correspond closely to the cumulative global emissions of greenhouse gases up to that time: roughly 3°F to 5°F under a lower emissions scenario involving substantial reductions in emissions after 2050 (referred to as the “B1 scenario”), and 5°F to 10°F for a higher emissions scenario assuming continued increases in emissions (referred to as the “A2 scenario”)…

Human-induced climate change means much more than just hotter weather. Increases in ocean and freshwater temperatures, frost-free days, and heavy downpours have all been documented. Sea level has risen, and there have been large reductions in snow-cover extent, glaciers, permafrost, and sea ice. Winter storms along the west coast and the coast of New England have increased slightly in frequency and intensity. These changes and other climatic changes have affected and will continue to affect human health, water supply, agriculture, transportation, energy, and many other aspects of society.

Image: Observed US Temperature Change, via the NCADAC. “The colors on the map show temperature changes over the past 20 years in °F (1991-2011) compared to the 1901-1960 average. The bars on the graphs show the average temperature changes by decade for 1901-2011 (relative to the 1901-1960 average) for each region. The far right bar in each graph (2000s decade) includes 2011. The period from 2001 to 2011 was warmer than any previous decade in every region. (Figure source: NOAA NCDC / CICS-NC. Data from NOAA NCDC.)” Select to embiggen.

mauricecherry: Freelance Freedom 293: Casual Perspective FJP: Been there — Michael

mauricecherry:

Freelance Freedom 293: Casual Perspective

FJP: Been there — Michael

freelanceswitch.com

So What You're Saying is that the Minority Report is Basically Here

Via Wired:

New crime-prediction software used in Maryland and Pennsylvania, and soon to be rolled out in the nation’s capital too, promises to reduce the homicide rate by predicting which prison parolees are likely to commit murder and therefore receive more stringent supervision.

The software aims to replace the judgments parole officers already make based on a parolee’s criminal record and is currently being used in Baltimore and Philadelphia.

Richard Berk, a criminologist at the University of Pennsylvania who developed the algorithm, claims it will reduce the murder rate and other crimes and could help courts set bail amounts as well as sentencing in the future.

Yesterday they raided radio stations; today we have explosions at journalists’ homes.

There is an open effort to terrorize the media, a vital part of our democracy.

Simos Kedikoglou, spokesperson, Greek Government, in response to an attack against five journalists by a group called Lovers of Lawlessness. The group claims the journalists are sympathetic to the austerity measures being imposed on the country due to its economic crisis. New York Times, Journalists in Greece Are Becoming Targets.

The News: On Friday, attackers detonated gas canisters at the homes of an editor, two broadcasters, a crime reporter and a former journalist who’s now spokesman for a government agency privatizing Greek assets.

“These attacks are the most visible expression of an increasingly dangerous climate for all journalists, who are being turned into the scapegoats of a crisis they are just analysing,” said Reporters Without Borders in a statement.

As the Times reports, “Activism by far-left groups appears to be on the rise after a series of attacks and threats against journalists last year by Golden Dawn, the far-right neo-facist group.”

No one was injured in the attacks.