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April 29, 2014 media notes: Ethiopia jails journalists; first IPSO chair appointed; teaching the right skills in journalism school

4/29/2014

For Tuesday, April 29, 2014, here are some media stories of note:

The Committee to Protect Journalists reports Ethiopia has renewed its crackdown on journalists. It has jailed nine and accused them of fomenting dissent by working with international human rights groups and creating instability through social media.
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The first chair of the Independent Press Standards Organisation has been appointed in Britain. Sir Alan Moses has been an appeals judge involved in several media cases. The new regulator has been the subject of intense debate in the U.K., with several media firms balking at participation.
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Texas State professor Cindy Royal wonders if journalism schools are teaching the right skills."We work in tech," she writes for the Nieman Journalism Lab. It is vital to understand the techniques, the business models, the role of data, the power of social networks and the news of the craft, she argues.

April 16, 2014 media notes: CPJ's Impunity Index; Twitter and Turkey; Chartbeat CEO on picking the right newsroom metrics

4/16/2014

For Wednesday, April 16, 2014, here are some media stories of note:

The Committee to Protect Journalists produces an annual Impunity Index, identifying where journalists are most likely to be killed and killers are most likely to run free. Atop this year's list are Iraq (on top since the Index's inception in 2008), Somalia and the Philippines. The CPJ reports that 96 per cent of victims are local journalists and that four in 10 were threatened before they were killed.
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Twitter is still trying to resolve its dispute with Turkey. For two weeks it was banned in the country, until the courts ruled the ban was unconstitutional. YouTube remains blocked. Twitter appears to have agreed to close certain accounts, but it is not prepared as yet to open an office in Turkey, where it derives about $35 million in advertising revenue annually.
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Chartbeat CEO Tony Haile, writing for the American Journalism Review, has an insightful take on the relationship between newsrooms and online performance metrics. He argues that they're needed, but that organizations have to be careful about which ones they choose and how they are applied. They shouldn't be incentives, but they should be informative. They should be "combinatorial" to ensure two or more metrics act in tandem and to ensure they do not oversimplify the impact of stories. He doesn't necessarily prescribe particular metrics, but believes that the long-term performance of content should be a prime factor.

March 20, 2014 media notes: Bloomberg chair on China, Pakistan PM promises change, Rwanda harasses journalists

3/20/2014

For Thursday, March 20, 2014, here are some media stories of note:

The chairman of Bloomberg LP has suggested that the company's journalists should have thought more about digressing from its core business coverage in China. Peter Grauer did not mention particular articles, but it appeared to be in reference to recent coverage of the family fortunes of a Chinese political official. When the article appeared, China ordered state enterprises not to subscribe to the Bloomberg terminal services. Grauer said China is a market Bloomberg must absolutely be in. The Grauer speech suggests business pursuits, and not investigative journalism, serves as the priority.
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The Committee to Protect Journalists notes that Pakistan's prime minister has promised greater protection and safety for the country's journalists. The New York Times says Nawaz Sharif, in a speech Wednesday, indicated his government will investigate targeted violence, ease travel restrictions and review the blacklisting of The New York Times' bureau chief there.
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The Guardian reports on harassment of journalists in Rwanda through a Twitter account linked to the president's office. It notes that Reporters Without Borders has been chronicling the organized campaign. Last week an American journalist who revealed the scheme was deported. The Twitter account has been directing hostile messages and blocking the accounts of several journalists.

February 12, 2014 media notes: global press freedom index, annual report on press risk, Facebook's impact on news

2/12/2014

For Wednesday, February 12, 2014, some media stories of note:

Reporters Without Borders has issued its annual global press freedom index. Finland, The Netherlands and Norway led the list. Turkmenistan, North Korea and Eritrea are the bottom three. The United States dropped 13 spots to 46 and the U.K. three spots to 33, primarily due to surveillance issues. The media watchdog warned that countries are interpreting security needs in an excessively broad manner.
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The Committee to Protect Journalist has released a series of reports today as part of its annual risk assessment on the conditions for journalism worldwide. It noted in 2013 several deteriorating situations, including fatalities and censorship in Egypt, restrictive legislation in Ecuador, Russia, Vietnam, Liberal and Zambia, firings and forced resignations in Turkey, targeted violence in Bangladesh and Russia, abductions in Syria, and crackdowns on online journalism in Russia, Vietnam and Bangladesh. In all eight volumes chronicle the situation.
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Derek Thompson, writing for The Atlantic, examines Facebook's impact on the news. He notes that social media are sending far more page views to sites than are search engines and that, in Facebook's case, is isn't necessarily news but evocative content that succeeds with users.

February 4, 2014 media notes: journalist flees Egypt as arrest video seen, Turkey cracks down, and the need for corrections

2/4/2014

For Tuesday, February 4, 2014, here are some media stories of note:

The trial of Al Jazeera journalists in Egypt has led one Dutch journalist to quickly leave the country for fear of imminent arrest, and the release of video of two of the arrests on a government-friendly television station is being seen as intimidation of journalists in the country. The New Yorker's Joshua Hersh looks at how journalism is suddenly an Egyptian crime.

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In Turkey, a bill about to pass through its Parliament would tighten the government grip on the Internet and further restrict what are already strong measures to suppress press freedom. The Committee to Protect Journalists reports the bill would permit the government to block URLs without court approval, mandate data protection for two years and consolidate service providers into a single association.

A new report by Freedom House chronicles the campaign by the Turkish government to exert media control and intimidation by limiting debate on issues central to the country's democratic ambitions.

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Late last week it emerged that a former New Jersey state official was shedding new light on the controversy involving Governor Chris Christie and a traffic tie-up last year in a district that did not support Christie politically. The governor has asserted he did not know his officials ordered the traffic snarl (on the pretense of a traffic study). Now a former official says there is evidence to refute the governor. Initially, The New York Times said the former official "had the evidence to prove" this. But the story later changed to say "evidence exists." Margaret Sullivan, the Times' public editor, says the newsroom should have noted the editing change for readers of the story because it was a significant iteration.

January 28, 2014 media notes: CPJ on Sochi suppression, Guardian on ProPublica, WSJ on the crowded digital field

1/28/2014

Here are some media stories of note for Tuesday, January 28, 2014:

The Committee to Protect Journalists has issued a report in advance of the Sochi Winter Games that focuses on Russia's efforts to suppress the chronicling of corruption, environmental problems and human rights abuses. The report cites "official repression and self-censorship" in the run-up to the Games on such issues as migrant worker exploitation, forced evictions and environmental degradation.

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The Guardian profiles Richard Tofel, the head of ProPublica, the investigative journalism non-profit underwritten by philanthropy. In it Tofel notes the mission of the organization is to end abuses of power, to change and reform. He acknowledges it is difficult to measure the impact of journalism to satisfy some donors who want a clear result of their contributions. That being said, he wants to demonstrate the need for journalism to be financially assisted in the digital age of business model change.

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The Wall Street Journal examines the stretch on digital advertising dollars and the effort by organizations to diversify their offerings to capture revenue. Several new outlets have been launched in recent months to further crowd the field, and some have started to stage conferences to build new sources of funds.

media notes 12.30.13

12/30/2013

Here are some media notes for Monday, December 30, 2013:

The Committee to Protect Journalists has issued its year-end report on the dangers of reporting worldwide and it identifies Syria, Iraq and Egypt as the most deadly countries for journalists. Some 70 journalists have been killed in 2013, with the Syrian civil war at the root of some 29 deaths in the year. The continuing Iraqi bloodshed and the political tumult in Egypt are also responsible for journalist deaths.

The New York Times, a giant media outlet, looks at how hobbyists are keeping afloat smaller media, specifically magazines that are keen chroniclers of pastimes. It notes that the business models of these publications depend on the dedication of their editors and readers to constant support to preserve them.

Dan Gillmor, in a year-end piece for The Guardian's Comment is Free, expresses optimism about the year ahead. While it is true that some larger media face challenges, even dissolution, the world is awash with start-ups and investigative entities that hold great promise for journalism. Even if every major organization were to disappear, he says, journalism would not.

media notes 12.18.13

12/18/2013

Here are some media stories of note for Wednesday, December 18, 2013:

Two major reports are out on the threats to journalists worldwide.

The Committee to Protect Journalists notes that 2013 has been the second-worst year on record for jailing. Some 211 were jailed. Turkey (which for the second year in a row led the way), Iran and China are the three top countries locking up journalists.

And Reporters Without Borders notes 71 reporters have been killed this year in connection with their work. Meanwhile, there was a 129-per-cent growth in abductions (87, up from 38 in 2012).

And a new Gallup poll ranks journalists low in honesty and ethics. Kristen Hare, writing about the poll for Poynter, notes only 20 per cent ranked television reporters and 21 per cent ranked newspaper reporters as highly honest and ethical. Only 14 per cent said the same of advertisers.

media notes 12.07-08.13

12/7/2013

Here are some media stories of note for the weekend of December 7-8, 2013:

China's crackdown on foreign journalists reveals much about the thinking of the country's new leadership, writes Evan Osnos for The New Yorker. The threat to expel foreign journalists (largely by failing to renew their visas) is the clearest indication yet of the approach leadership will be taking to their self-perceptions as they confront their challenges. The leadership is indicating that reporting about the sudden financial gains by individuals is a great threat and worth sacrificing the larger goals of the country in order to avoid the telling.

Reuters looks at how former Chinese piracys haven now pay to legally licence the content but also employ people to sleuth the Internet and identify pirate sites to close. It is part of a new arrangement in China designed to respect copyright and vilify the violating operations.

Robert Mahoney, the deputy director of the Committee to Protect Journalists, writes on the chill on the British press, exemplified by this week's Commons committee appearance by Guardian editor Alan Rusbridger. Mahoney argues the effort by authorities to deal harshly with the Guardian's publication of surveillance secrets leaked by Edward Snowden sends a signal to other regimes: "If the editor of a national newspaper in a country with a functioning democracy and 300-year-old tradition of a free press can be threatened and bullied, what more does an autocrat need to do except invoke national security and cite the British example?"

Jack Shafer, the media columnist for Reuters, worries that any effort by the Federal Trade Commission to regulate sponsored content could have more serious consequences than leaving it alone. Shafer speculates that the reader/advertiser/publication symbiosis may have broken down, but that is no reason to permit the FTC to determine how to fix it. At the very least, it will have to be more gentle on journalism than it has been on advertising.

media notes 11.11.13

11/11/2013

For Monday, November 11, 2013, here are some media stories of note:

CBS' 60 Minutes delivered an apology Sunday night for its segment two weeks ago on the attack on the U.S. outpost in Benghazi. The program's correspondent, Lara Logan, said one of the two principal sources for the report had misled 60 Minutes about his activities on the night of the attack. Logan said the program was "sorry" and that it had been a mistake to include Dylan Davies, the British security contractor. The program did not elaborate on why it featured Davies, whose book on the matter has been pulled from shelves by publisher Simon & Schuster.

Craig Silverman, writing for Poynter, examines the parallels and differences between the Logan/Davies error and the 2004 National Guard story Dan Rather reported (an episode that preceded his departure from CBS News). Silverman examines how the context has changed (speed, in particular) but how many of the elements (errant source, poor vetting) were quite similar.

Venezuelan authorities have released Miami Herald journalist Jim Wyss. He had been detained without cause for two days after he had attempted to interview military officials near the Colombian border. Wyss has recently reported from the region on economic difficulties and the municipal election campaigns in Venezuela.

The Associated Press, citing the Committee to Protect Journalists, reports that at least 30 journalists have disappeared or been kidnapped in Syria in an "unprecedented" series of attacks and threats to journalists. Many organizations have not reported on the incidents in order to gain the release of their reporters through negotiations.

Bloomberg News has denounced as "false" a New York Times story Saturday indicating Bloomberg had spiked some stories about corruption that it feared would upset Chinese authorities. The Wrap reports that Bloomberg says the stories were not postponed or spiked out of fear.

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