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March 27, 2014 media notes: Turkey, Twitter and YouTube; Britain threatened Guardian; ethics of AOL's Ford series

3/27/2014

For Thursday, March 27, 2014, here are some media stories of note:

One step forward, one step back in Turkey. A court has refused to uphold the government's ban on Twitter, although it is not yet clear if the service is being restored all that readily in the country. So far the government is holding fast to its ban. But Turkey has also started to block access to YouTube after recordings of a key security meeting were leaked on it.
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The deputy editor of The Guardian says the British government threatened to close the organization when it began reporting surveillance data from Edward Snowden. Paul Johnson told a conference that the threat came from British intelligence agencies that visited the paper as it carried classified information from the former National Security Agency contractor.
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Poynter's Sam Kirkland writes on the challenge of independence with sponsored content in examining the role Ford played, and didn't play, in its "This Built America" series of videos on AOL. He notes how the underwriter had little or no role (except in one instance of helping to determine particular states to profile). It's an interesting look at how to handle ethical issues with advertisers and independence.

March 24, 2014 media notes: Turkish Twitter battle, Glenn Greenwald on Edward Snowden, Quartz explains Internet

3/24/2014

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

A serious skirmish is under way in Turkey as the government attempts to suppress social media platform Twitter and all sort of efforts take place to circumvent the interference.
The Washington Post reports on how the government has strengthened its measures, including a crackdown on efforts to shift to public DNS servers to get out from under the blocked Turkish ISPs. Some users are able to use Virtual Private Networks, while others are moving over to the Tor browsing tool, but both are more complex workarounds and not necessarily accessible to all.
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Glenn Greenwald sheds light on the process by which the records former National Security Agency contractor Edward Snowden are handled. Greenwald says Snowden gave documents nine months ago to a select set of journalists (not including The New York Times, which had the latest revelation from them on the weekend), made clear he didn't think all should be published, but has since left them to their devices and judgment.
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Tim Ferholz and Daniel Yanovsky, writing for Quartz, provide a thorough explanation of how the Internet works. They look at the reasons why download speeds vary and the overall governance and economics of the Internet, particularly why some of the debate on net neutrality is a bit misguided.

February 18, 2014 media notes: newspapers and civic engagement, NSA and Assange, trial of Al Jazeera journalist

2/18/2014

For Tuesday, February 18, 2014, here are some media stories of note:

Andrew Beaujon, writing for Poynter, reviews a study by a Portland State University professor on the impact of two newspaper closings on civic engagement. Not surprisingly, the study found declines in civic engagement in Seattle and Denver that may be "plausibly" linked to the loss of one of their newspapers. While several outlets can serve that engagement, the impact of a paper can often only be understood once it is lost, the report suggests.
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The early efforts of First Look Media involve The Intercept, the digital magazine overseen by Glenn Greenwald, who has leaked surveillance documents from former National Security Agency contractor Edward Snowden. A new batch of documents indicates the NSA was conducting surveillance on WikiLeaks leader Julian Assange and pressuring supporters of WikiLeaks. Meantime, Guardian media columnist Roy Greenslade notes press freedom groups are urging the British prime minister to call off an investigation into The Guardian's conduct in publishing the earlier leaks.
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For nearly two months now, Al Jazeera journalists have been held in Egypt and sent to trial, the first of which is imminent. Such leading media organizations as BBC, NBC and Reuters have written a statement of support for Peter Greste and are calling on Egyptian authorities to abandon the legal chase and release him and his colleagues.

February 10, 2014 media notes: First Look's first look, deportation in Turkey, and the pending golden age

2/10/2014

For Monday, February 10, 2014, here are some media stories of note:

The first yield of First Look Media, Pierre Omidyar's substantial investment in journalism, surfaced today. The Intercept is the effort of Glenn Greenwald, Laura Poitras and Jeremy Scahill and will focus on further revelations from the surveillance secrets spirited away by Edward Snowden. The initial contributions include a story on the imprecise use of drones to assassinate and an aerial photographic essay on security operations.
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Mahir Zeynalov, writing for Al Arabiya, chronicles his travails under the Turkish government: smears, persecution, deportation. He looks at the effort to trump charges and deny rights in the country, all over one anti-prime ministerial Tweet, that forced him back to Azerbaijan.
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Paul Steiger, the founder of ProPublica, delivered a speech last week in receiving a foundation award. In it he argues that the period of the 1950s to 1970s was the closest thing America had to a golden age of journalism. About today's situation, he says: We are not quite there yet. He buys into digital-first thinking. But he worries about economics. Significantly lacking is an understanding of how journalism will be financed.

February 5, 2014 media notes: big media's muscle, the phone-hacking totals, and the concept of fencing stolen secrets

2/5/2014

Here are some media stories of note for Wednesday, February 5, 2014:

We may have digital abundance, but we also have big media dominance. The Los Angeles Times reports on a new study by the Sanford C. Bernstein firm indicates that a few players have immense impact and clout over the advertising and subscription revenues of the U.S. media industry. Disney's hold is about 20%, while Time Warner's is about 18%.
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What was the fuss over the phone-hacking calls? Now we know more. The trial in the U.K. over the News Corp. phone-hacking scandal has quantified the extent of intrusion. It has heard that 6,813 calls targeting 282 voicemails were placed in 2005 and 2006 by those in the employ of News of the World. More than 4,700 of the calls were made by the paper's journalists.
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We all know that Edward Snowden possesses classified information. We also know he leaked it to journalists. But, if the journalists sold their stories, is that "fencing" stolen material and a crime? The subject was floated Tuesday at a federal hearing between two critics of Snowden's (the head of the House Intelligence Committee and the director of National Intelligence) and the head of the FBI. Not so clear, the FBI chief said: the activity may be protected by press freedom rights. Other experts agree the concept is questionable. Paul Farhi of the Washington Post explores the issue.

January 17, 2014 media notes: Obama's speech and press freedom, legacy media needs, Patch's future.

1/17/2014

Here are some media stories of note for Friday, January 17, 2014:

President Barack Obama spoke extensively Friday on security and surveillance issues, seven months after Edward Snowden began leaking secrets about the National Security Agency's activities. Obama has promised mild reforms to the agency's work. The Freedom of the Press Foundation, though, believes the measures are not nearly enough to help journalists protect vital sources of information. And Glenn Greenwald, who reported most of Snowden's early leaks, believes the moves are mere public relations to mollify Americans. Surveillance that provoked outrage will not change, he says.

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The prominent research and marketing firm, Borell Associates, reports that three-quarters of advertising will continue to flow to legacy media this year. But by 2018, any legacy growth will be done. In an interview with StreetFight, firm leader Gordon Borrell says legacy firms should treat digital as innovation, not extension.

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Earlier this week AOL offloaded its hyperlocal Patch online news service to a hedge fund in a form of a partnership. FOX Business News is reporting that Patch will be dismantled, with elements sold to others and decisions made shortly on personnel and operations to be dismissed.

January 2, 2014 media notes: transparency, surrender, leniency

1/2/2014

Here, in a new year, are some media notes for Thursday, January 2, 2014:

It has long been a truism that media do not hold themselves to the same account as they do the institutions they cover. Their need for transparency and public accountability is the subject of Erik Wemple's latest media column for the Washington Post. He surmises that, for all their criticism of the U.S. government's information-control approach, media might be even less open and would benefit from practicing what they preach.

Andrew Sullivan summons outrage and intemperate language to note the "surrender" by media to advertisers, specifically in the decision by Time Inc. to reorganize its operation and have its editors report to the business executives. The New York Times noted the move earlier this week as part of a story on Time's plan to spin off its publishing company. Sullivan concludes: "This is the way the press ends. Not with a bang, but a 'revenue opportunity.'"

The New York Times, in an editorial that describes Edward Snowden as a worthy whistleblower, urges the Obama Administration to end his vilification and find a way to encourage him to come home. Snowden, the former National Security Agency contractor who has been the source of several major stories in the last year on surveillance at home and abroad, has been living in Russia after he fled the U.S. A criminal count has been placed against him, but the Times suggests none of his disclosures has harmed U.S. intelligence. "When someone reveals that government officials have routinely and deliberately broken the law, that person should not face life in prison at the hands of the same government," the Times editorial board wrote. The Guardian, whose former columnist Glenn Greenwald worked with Snowden to divulge the surveillance secrets, has also written about the need for leniency. It said the government can exercise "moral courage" in providing clemency.

media notes 12.26.13

12/26/2013

Here are some media stories of note for Thursday, December 26, 2013:

Twitter has not yet been the grounds for a defamation lawsuit. Rock star Courtney Love is about to be involved in a test case. A Los Angeles jury will hear a suit by her former lawyer against her concerning one of her Tweets. Gigaom writes that this will help the U.S. courts define the boundaries for the social media platform.

If many newspapers are experiencing difficulties in embracing social media, social media isn't experiencing difficulties in embracing newspapers. Jeremy Barr, writing for Poynter, looks at the widespread sharing of newspaper front pages across social media.

Dan Gillmor, the Internet veteran and instructor at Arizona State in digital media literacy, writes about the necessity of the "Snowden effect" in journalism, in which large organizations collectively give weight to an important topic. Gillmor argues that journalism has to raise and spread big topics.

media notes 12.24-25.13

12/25/2013

Over the holiday season media notes will be intermittent. Here are some stories of note for Dec. 24-25, 2013:

Edward Snowden has given his first interview in some time and declared his mission accomplished. He provided 14 hours of interviews to Barton Gellman of the Washington Post in which he explains his motivation to leak surveillance secrets to the media. He said he didn't want to change society, but to give society the chance to determine if it wanted to change.

Snowden also provided an alternative Christmas message to Britain's Channel 4 in which he calls for a restoration of privacy and an end to mass surveillance.

The New York Times obtained the new quiz journalists in China need to take to renew their press cards starting early in 2014. It provides 10 questions from the test. One notes that the difference between ethics in Chinese and western press is the former is about service to the public, the latter is about freedom of the press.

media notes 12.05.13

12/5/2013

Here are some media stories of note for Thursday, December 5, 2013:

We've heard it repeatedly: Television is dead, people will use their laptops, tablets and smartphones now to watch video. Well, not exactly. In fact, not at all. Television (at least in the U.S.) is hot, except that it's hot in a timed-oven kind of hot, with personal video recorders delaying the viewing. Once you look at the PVR-delayed consumption, and video-on-demand consumption, television viewing is up. Live-TV viewing is slightly down, but delayed-TV viewing is well up. Peter Kafka of AllThingsDigital notes that the numbers don't necessarily serve television's industry well (advertisers have yet to pay well for those time-delayed viewers), but it's clear TV is liked. It's just on our timetable now, he says.

The U.S. Federal Trade Commission's workshop Wednesday on native advertising was touted as a watershed event in which government would put on the table its concerns about the blurry lines between editorial and advertising. But the FTC chair, Edith Ramirez, didn't suggest new regulations were coming. She did say, though, that some forms of sponsored content have transgressed appropriate boundaries and misled consumers they are editorial and not advertising content. She promised continued vigilance on the issue. AdAge noted the vigorous defence by the advertising agencies and online sites about their practices.

Ivan Verstyuk, a senior editor at the RBC news agency in Ukraine, writes about the deeply troubled media business in his country. Paid-for news is routine and business interests are advanced without sufficiently critical faculties applied.

Countries feature different approaches to journalistic expression, as we know, but Foreign Policy outlines the distinction between two countries that we might think would be pretty aligned and congruent. The U.S. and U.K., though, are tackling the leaks of former National Security Agency contractor Edward Snowden in radically different ways, and it is possible the U.K. could charge The Guardian for sharing its non-redacted files with The New York Times. It isn't what it published, but what it shared.

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