Category: Corrections

February 24, 2014 media notes: Spain convicts over Tweets, NYT profile gender pitfalls, Upworthy apologizes and corrects

2/24/2014

For Monday, February 24, 2014, here are some media stories of note:

A Spanish woman has been convicted of inciting terror through Twitter. The 21-year-old student called for a left-wing organization to resume its killings of politicians. The New York Times notes the case is the first of its kind in Spain and one of the first worldwide that deals with the extent of free speech in social media.
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The New York Times Magazine has lately published two controversial political profiles of former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and Texas State Senator Wendy Davis, and they fell into the stereotypical pit of describing physical appearances or wondering if they could have it all. Margaret Sullivan, the Times public editor, trains her eyes on these profiles and questions some of their approaches. She concludes they fell below the standards of the Times and hopes the next batch of political profiles of women avoid the gender missteps.
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Upworthy got itself an earful in recent days from its feature about McDonald's McNuggets. It put them under a microscope and concluded they were trouble. Public comments were not terribly supportive, so Upworthy fell on the sword, let its audience tell the story of the problem with the piece, and created a more worthy Upworthy video from someone who knows science.

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.

media notes 11.04.13

11/4/2013

For Monday, November 4, 2013, here are some media stories of note:

Last week brought about some high-profile journalistic ethics questions, with no resolution necessarily imminent.

For instance, NBC has entered a development deal for a movie based on the story of Brett Anderson and his teenaged daughter who was kidnapped and whose mother and brother were murdered. This followed exclusive news interviews on NBC. Is it an ethical breach for one arm of your company to pay those who were sources of information for another arm of your company? Paul Farhi of the Washington Post looks at the dilemma and doesn't conclude one way or the other.

Then there is a 60 Minutes report last week on last year's attack on U.S. officials in Benghazi. Last week Media Matters raised the question of the differences in the story 60 Minutes heard from an eyewitness and the story he supposedly told the FBI and other U.S. officials. Media attention has grown on the different stories, as have calls for a retraction, but 60 Minutes has so far held its ground and stood by the story.

Lewis D'Vorkin, the chief product officer at Forbes, has a distinct view on digital accuracy: He thinks quality means something different in print than in digital, that the Internet is a self-correcting body due to the public scrutiny and intervention, and that his organization has a code of ethics but freedom to operate within it as a contributor with a finger on the Send button. In his view: "Accountability must be moved to the producer of the content."

As for consumers of content, there is good news for Twitter: Its news consumers are young, educated and mobile, ingredients bound to attract advertising support. A new Pew Research report indicates 8 per cent of U.S. adults get news through Twitter. Analysis of the data also indicates that much of what is shared is breaking news, that sentiments shift constantly, and that conversations don't necessarily reflect public opinion.

Last month a Yale University study suggested major U.S. media were more clearly conservative in their depiction of National Security Agency surveillance, using pro-surveillance terms more often than pro-freedom terms in their stories. It has extended this analysis into more consciously conservative media and affirmed the finding. Its conclusion: the coverage isn't necessarily a reflection of a "pro-state" bias because that's difficult to define, but it is "capturing a meaningful divide" in society.

media notes 11.02-03.13

11/2/2013

Media notes for the weekend of November 2-3, 2013:

The Russian news agency, Rosbalt, is being closed by the government's media watchdog agency after it featured two YouTube videos (one from a car accident scene, one from the renegade rock band Pussy Riot) with swearing. Der Spiegel said about 60 employees are affected. The agency has 30 days to appeal to the courts or it will be shuttered. The government's most recent media bill this year outlawed swearing as a "misuse of press freedom."

Royal charter or no royal charter to impose regulation, there is a determination by many British newspaper groups to go their own way with a self-policing body. Roy Greenslade, the venerable Guardian media columnist, follows the effort to create the Independent Press Standards Organization (IPSO). An appointments panel is soon to be named and will then choose the members who will oversee the body. All should be up and running in 2014, if in defiance of the government.

The Los Angeles airport shooting Friday unsurprisingly spurred the same sort of freneticism in media that gripped the travelling public in the facility: speedy reaction, speculation, then correction. A fake Twitter account suggested the former head of the National Security Agency and not a TSA agent) was shot, while other accounts reported the gunman was killed (he wasn't). Dylan Byers of Politico shrugs his shoulders on this and wonders if it's time to stop worrying about media mistakes in breaking news. To discuss his case, he sent out a batch of Tweets and got follower reaction. Adi Robertson and Russell Brandom, writing for The Verge, have a broader look at how the age-old rules of retraction for old media are still taking shape on Twitter, one urgent episode at a time.

media notes 09.24.13

9/24/2013

For Tuesday, September 24, 2013, here are some media stories of note:

Eric Newton, writing in the Columbia Journalism Review, argues it is important to listen to the critics of the proposed American journalist shield law. He notes there has been a hasty acceptance of the value of the law without a rigorous, journalism-like scrutiny of its implications. While he accepts that organizational support for the concept is valuable (in-fighting has killed other measures), he thinks the country needs a better debate before proceeding.

Rem Rieder, the media columnist for USA Today, picks up on the suggestion by Pardon The Interruption sports host Tony Kornheiser: TV news should have fact-checkers and be prepared to admit mistakes on the spot. Mistakes are built into the business, but correcting them quickly and clearly mitigates any"It's the right move," Rieder writes.

Mathew Ingram, writing for paidContent, reports on the digital innovations at the Washington Post and Boston Globe as good examples of how newspapers can respond to seismic change. Rather than wallow in complaints that Google is stealing their content, they've introduced tools to help readers consume. Since no one really knows what the digital future will be like, Ingram says, experimentation is good practice.

media notes 23.04.13

4/23/2013

Some media notes for Tuesday, April 23, 2013:

Jack Shafer, writing for Reuters, defends the mistake. He notes that journalism has been making errors big and small forever, although he also observes that corrections and retractions don't happen the way they could. The difference now is the audience's ability to help correct the record and "talk back" to the press, making the second draft of history much better.

Frédéric Filoux, writing for his weekly Monday Note, wonders what the fuss is about with sponsored editorial content, also known as native advertising. He says the controversy is a "festival of fake naivety and misplaced indignation." Editorial content has often been there to flatter the advertising that surrounds it, he says. That being said, he also believes the site's editor, and not its chief revenue officer, should be the one to decide if that advertising crosses the line.

Ombudsmen often determine when the line is crossed, and the Washington Post drew criticism when it recently discontinued the role and replaced it with a readers' representative. Craig Silverman, writing for Poynter, profiles Doug Feaver and how his job will differ. Feaver came out of retirement to take the part-time role, which ostensibly answers readers of the paper and its site. His first column noted the disappearance of the Print button on the site, something that restored once he identified the complaint. But he's not there to serve as an ombudsman, he notes.

A follow-up: An amendment to legislation proposes that smaller blogs (those with fewer than 10 employees and two million pounds in revenue each year) will be exempt from the harsh penalties if they do not join the new press regulator under the royal charter governing media in the country. The Editors Weblog notes this is a welcome relief for organizations that would have been subject to the penalties originally devised for large companies.

media notes 20.02.13

2/20/2013

Some media stories of note for Wednesday, February 20, 2013:

James Jenega, writing for Poynter, discusses five ways for journalists to engage more with audiences. His basics: take corrections seriously, discuss the newsgathering process, hold public events, engage in conversations with the public, and take social media seriously.

Mark Sustern, a venture capitalist and former tech entrepreneur, is reading into the recent success of the Harlem Shake phenomenon an online trend in video production and consumption. He predicts a more participatory model, with audiences determining plot twists and a diminution of the one-way transmission of content.

Digiday's Josh Sternberg notices that publishers, particularly the smaller ones, are opting out of chasing sheer page views and are turning their attentions to more mindful pursuits of custom content. In many cases they are creating content deals with sponsors and attempting new business models based on targeted messaging to audiences.

media stories of note: 14.01.13

1/14/2013

Media stories of note for Monday:

Anette Novak, an international media consultant, suggests the audience should be asked to grade the quality of journalistic content to help improve it. In her latest blog for the International Newsmedia Marketing Association, she says the creation of paywalls is only part of the challenge for news organizations --- they must also demonstrate what they're doing is of quality. "As an experiment in 2013, news organizations should let consumers show the way forward by asking them to grade the angle, accuracy, and strength of storytelling in our journalism," she writes. "What if the wisdom of the crowd helps us deliver the caviar content?"

Several news organizations permit readers to help correct online content through submitted forms or alert buttons. The New York Times says it is working on a more sophisticated system for its content. Its senior editor for standards, Greg Brock, tells Journalism.co.uk the existing approach is not strong enough and the Times is working on a "fairly simple" electronic corrections form.

David Carr, the media columnist for The New York Times, weighs in on the controversy involving the publication of gun ownership data in a New York town. He describes himself as an absolutist on the need for records to be public, but makes a distinction when it comes to publication of content. There has to be a strong public purpose, and he felt this publication didn't meet the test.
"We live at a time when data of all kinds can be unleashed with very little friction; part of the value of the news business comes from making sense of it all," he writes. "When we push the button on something, we expect people to pay attention. We should make sure we are pushing that button for the right reason."