Monday, September 14, 2009

Kurtz: “Public respect for the media has plunged to a new low”

Interesting: “Public respect for the media has plunged to a new low, with just 29 percent of Americans saying that news organizations generally get their facts straight. That figure is the lowest in more than two decades of surveys by the Pew Research Center, which also found just 26 percent saying news outlets are careful that their reporting is not politically biased. And 70 percent say news organizations try to cover up their mistakes. That amounts to a stunning vote of no confidence. The new wrinkle is that Democrats are increasingly unhappy with a profession long viewed as liberal, with 59 percent saying news reporting is often inaccurate, up from 43 percent two years ago.”

Topics: media, kurtz

Tuesday, July 28, 2009

The Birther Explosion: If the Media Covers It, It’s News

For media watchers, the dramatic escalation of the ‘birther’ story is a fascinating study in the continued capacity of the traditional media to steer the national discourse…

We’ll know we’ve reached a tipping point (still far off) when the media hypes something, the online commentariat hypes something else, and the latter becomes the center of national attention.

Topics: media, obama, birther, birth-certificate

Thursday, July 23, 2009

Predictably, Obama’s One Answer on Race Is Getting More Attention than Health Reform

Summed up on Twitter by Howard Kurtz: GMA and Today both led with Obama slamming Gates arrest. Health care? Zzzz

Topics: media, obama, health-care, race, profiling, health-reform

Monday, July 13, 2009

NYT: How the Media Wrestle With the Web

The New York Times looks at the issue of sourcing in the social media age...

Topics: internet, media, new-york-times

Friday, July 10, 2009

How Many Bloggers Were (Secretly) Invited to the White House 4th Bash?

Gawker is getting attention with this scoop: “Reporters from roughly 30 television networks, newspapers, magazines, and web sites celebrated the Fourth of July with Barack Obama at the White House last weekend. Why didn’t you know that? Because they were sworn to secrecy.” My question is this: how many members of the online community were invited? Were any of the bloggers who laid the groundwork for Obama’s presidency in attendance?

Topics: media, white-house, bloggers, press

Friday, June 26, 2009

Interesting Exchange Between Ana Marie Cox and Jake Tapper on Media Priorities

This goes to my mantra about the lack of attention paid to the terrible tragedies occurring across the globe, specifically the crimes against women and children.

@jaketapper In heaven now - Farrah, MJ, and the 100s of innocents from the Marange Diamond fields killed by Mugabe’s government > http://bit.ly/OxmF5

@anamariecox Not on TV, obv not important. RT @jaketapper: In heaven now: Farrah, MJ, and the 100s killed by Mugabe’s government http://bit.ly/OxmF5

Topics: media, jake-tapper, ana-marie-cox

Friday, June 19, 2009

Toobin: No Bias in the Media (Except CNN’s Competitors)

During a Wednesday segment titled, “Is Fox News ‘Fair and Balanced?’” CNN contributor Jeffery Toobin made a curious point. He doesn’t believe there’s any institutional bias in the media other than at Fox News and MSNBC. The comments come as CNN seeks to revive its ratings against both cable news networks and seeks to retool itself as a straight news source…

Topics: media, obama, cnn, fox, bias, toobin

Wednesday, June 17, 2009

How Much Do We Hear About World Hunger?

I posted an article on UN Dispatch with a title that speaks for itself: World’s Hungry Top 1 Billion, 4 Million New Hungry People a Week. One of the things we’ll be exploring on CTN are the editorial judgments that determine the kind of information the American public receives and the prioritization of certain news stories over others. The story above will likely get little attention, but one would think it deserves proportionally more than some other issues and events. What do you think?

Topics: media, hunger

Tuesday, June 16, 2009

“Is Iran the end of the MSM?” No.

Online communication tools won’t obviate the need for traditional media outlets, no matter that those outlets are going through a painful metamorphosis. I want my news from both sources, working in tandem. If anything, the Iran story is an example of the complex interrelationship that keeps the media on their toes and mobilizes the online community - together they’re providing a more multi-dimensional picture of events than ever before.

Topics: media, iran, twitter, msm

Wednesday, June 10, 2009

Miss California Carrie Prejean Fired

Well, to much less fanfare than the last go round about whether or not she would keep her crown, Miss California Carrie Prejean has been stripped (oh dear, poor use of terms) of her crown and sash. It is not immediately clear why, though according to “documents obtained by FOXnews.com” the producers of the Miss California USA Pageant feel she has repeatedly breached her contract. In a bolt of irony, celebrity blogger Perez Hilton calls Prejean “small-minded” in a blog post of the latest development … right before he does a “happy dance” to celebrate her firing.  Now that’s small minded.

Topics: media, fox, california, prejean