Over the years, this blog has examined how ordinary citizens and eventually bona fide newsmakers — from NGOs to CEOs to politicos — have the capacity to create, manage and syndicate original content, in effect giving them mostly unchecked control over their “media” personas. The advent of blogs, sponsored Facebook sites, Twitter feeds and YouTube […]
Conversation M̶i̶n̶i̶n̶g̶ Declining Read More »
As you set out on this historic day, you may wish to read the urgent plea Stanford University Law Professor Lawrence Lessig posted on the eve of the election. It recounts where we were at this time in 2000 and 2004, and the dangers of complacency. Lessig, like many of us who choose the future
Say it ain’t so, Lorne Michaels. You invented and then re-invented television’s most valuable piece of youth-oriented programming, and I hear you’re poised to betray those who’ve made it so. We all know how Tina Fey’s artful, yet scary take on one vice presidential candidate has opened America’s eyes to the real Sarah Palin, even
Live from NY: It’s Sarah Palin Read More »
We awake today to news of a 21-page novel published last night by the McCain campaign to pre-empt what’s expected to be a negative report on Mr. and Mrs. Palin’s efforts to abuse the Alaskan governor’s office. In case you’ve been out of the country, a bi-partisan legislative task force has been looking into charges
I wonder if McCain campaign COO Steve Schmidt pulled a Tom Cruise and hired his sister? Here’s campaign spokeswoman Tracey Schmitt’s explanation given to reporters who were barred from capturing Sarah Palin’s first date with a foreign leader. “The decision was made for this to be a photo spray with still cameras and video cameras
I love Joan Walsh’s comparison of Sarah Palin’s comments on Iran to those of Miss South Carolina on why Americans don’t know simple U.S. geography. First Miss South Carolina: “I personally believe that U.S. Americans are unable to do so because, uh, some people out there in our nation don’t have maps. And I believe
Not Ready for Prime Time Read More »
You may not believe it, but most reporters at the leading news organizations take their trade very seriously. So much so that any hint of taint in their journalistic pursuits raises all kinds of red flags within their news organizations. And these days, with no paucity of pundits, the prospect of getting red flagged for
As if the airlines didn’t have enough bad news, today we learn how American Airlines lost a human body, United’s stock tanked from a newspaper misprint, and JetBlue resorted to eBay to auction off airline tickets. Actually, when I heard that last piece of news, I actually gave JetBlue some credit for some out of
Satire The discovery today of a decomposing human body in Republican vice presidential candidate Sarah Palin’s garage has tongues-a-waggin’ in the small town of Wasilla, Alaska. The National Enquirer broke the news on its website after one of its reporters tripped over the skeletal remains while rummaging through the governor’s gun and taxidermy collections. The
Corpse Discovered in Palin Garage Read More »
I put myself in the dog house this past weekend — Sunday morning to be exact. It happened when I came across Daily Kos’s well-reasoned assertion that Gov. Palin’s fifth child may actually be her grandson, not her own son as she claims. How else can one explain the photo of her intact figure at
