Posts Tagged ‘journalism’
On That Thing That You’ve Probably Heard About
So, um, a lot has been made about this whole Gizmodo/iPhone/search warrant thing. I’ve put off weighing in (which has been extremely difficult for someone who, like me, is fascinated by issues like media ethics and criminal law), but so much of the commentary thus far has seemed so incredibly off-base (especially regarding the legal, procedural elements of the case) I felt compelled to add my two cents.
But first, standard disclaimer: I’ve been an intern at Gawker Media, which owns Gizmodo, since last July. That said, I learned about this story the same way (and at the same time) everyone else did. I haven’t discussed the story with anyone at the company, I don’t have any insidery details, I’m not a lawyer, I don’t know anything about what the lawyers are actually thinking, and my take on this whole situation is a complete armchair analysis that in no way reflects or represents the position of my colleagues or employers. In fact, my opinion is based almost entirely on too many Law & Order re-runs and a handful of journalism and law classes (including First Amendment and criminal procedure). We all know what educations in those fields are worth these days, so take it with a proverbial grain of salt. More »
The Case of NYU’s Phantom Philanthropy Records
An interesting story in today’s Washington Square News where my intrepid former colleagues, quite literally, “follow the money” and expose both NYU and the state’s Department of Education as — at the very least — shoddy record keepers, and maybe (but probably not) part of a $30 million fraud conspiracy!
The article in question is interesting for a number of reasons, but especially for its underlying suggestion that NYU may or may not have accepted a $30 million donation from Saudi Arabia shortly after September 11th, lied about it to avoid the public relations shitstorm, and got away with it because neither NYU nor the state agency NYU is required to report foreign donations to can find that year’s records!
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DA Drops DUI Against Condé Nast’s Newest Ed
W’s New Editor Stefano Tonchi Takes a Plea
Stefano Tonchi landed one of the most coveted jobs in fashion when he was named editor of W ten days ago. Good thing he doesn’t start until April 12. He went on trial today in Beverly Hills for a DUI.
Tonchi, the former editor of T, the New York Times‘ style mag, was arrested last January after Beverly Hills police stopped him for what police officials described as a “routine traffic violation.” According to the Beverly Hills Police Department, Tonchi refused a breathalyzer test at the scene and was subsequently arrested when he failed a battery of field sobriety tests.
The Los Angeles County District Attorney’s office filed a single misdemeanor DUI charge against Tonchi last February and he was arraigned last March, but the trial was delayed for over a year while the defense filed several motions to suppress evidence, according to the courthouse docket. Now that he has some time off between jobs — Tonchi was named editor of the Condé Nast-owned title on March 22 but won’t take over until April 12 — presumably it’s a good time to take care of business. Tonchi’s trial started this morning in LA Superior Court, according to court records.
A Condé Nast spokeswoman declined to comment on Tonchi’s criminal charges and calls to his lawyer were not immediately returned.
UPDATE: Tonchi’s attorney, Michael Cavalluzzi, tells us he worked out a plea with LA County prosecutors this morning shortly before the trial was set to begin. Cavalluzzi said the district attorney agreed to drop the DUI charge and allowed Tonchi to plead only to the initial traffic violation—failure to stop at a limit line. He also added that Tonchi himself did not appear in court this morning, since it was “just an infraction.”
It’s Because Christiane Amanpour Is Leaving, Isn’t It?
Are You Still Watching CNN? (Because Nobody Else Is)
First-quarter Nielsen ratings are out, and everyone is talking about CNN’s (continued) primetime ratings free-fall. While Fox News remains No. 1, MSNBC and CNN’s sister network HLN are now regularly outperforming The Coop and his cohorts.
In today’s New York Times, Bill Carter gives a run-down of CNN’s sad state of affairs. According to Carter, Larry King not only had his worst quarter ever during the first three months of 2010, but is now threatened by View co-host-turned-primetime HLN talking head Joy Behar. Anderson Cooper isn’t faring much better: CNN’s silver fox saw his audience drop 42 percent in the first quarter and now finds himself occasionally losing to repeats of Olbermann and Maddow on MSNBC.
As you can see above, Fox News continues to be far and away the most highly watched news network in primetime. But MSNBC, which is also down in overall primetime viewers (but hasn’t been losing them as quickly as CNN), is now in second place.
If Blogs Are Becoming More Like Newspapers, They’re Still Not Quite There Yet
One of Gawker’s night (+weekend, now, I guess?) editors, Ravi Somaiya, wrote this piece yesterday about how blogs are becoming more like newspapers. Naturally, it grabbed my attention, since my experience is with newspapers (which are, you know, not doing so hot), and I intern at a blog (Gawker, in fact. When worlds collide!!)
While I agree that blogs can be great at summarizing or repackaging or expanding content with commentary or analysis or a fresh angle, etc. (and that that, and no longer “rehashed news stories with a dash of puerile snark,” is what they must rely on to be competitive), it seems to me like it would be very difficult for blogs — at least in their current form and on a broad scale — to legitimately compete with newspapers for news.
Attention-grabbing headlines, editorial transparency, and heated competition for readers may be things that blogs have in common with newspapers, but they’re also what blogs have in common with cable TV punditry. (Well, maybe not the transparency part, but you get the idea.)
But becoming more like newspapers (emphasis on the news part)? I’m not sure we’re quite there yet. More »
