Editor critical of Thai leader loses his job

Our First Amendment protections of freedom of the press are unique. This article from the New York Times on the editor of an influential English language newspaper that has criticized Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra. The editor has been moved out of his job, renewing criticism by journalists and the opposition of government interference in Thailand's press.

Veera Prateepchaikul, who has been the editor of the paper, The Bangkok Post, for nearly two years, was moved Friday to another job in the corporation that runs the paper.

In December, Mr. Veera ran an unusually bold front-page headline based on a statement in King Bhumibol Adulyadej's annual speech in which he warned the prime minister not to be arrogant.

Few people disputed what the king had said about the prime minister, whose aggressive style had brought similar comments from him before.

But the coverage by The Post is said to have infuriated Mr. Thaksin, who ran a telecommunications and media conglomerate before becoming prime minister in 2001 and who has bristled at his critics.

The main opposition party and Thai journalists have complained that he tries to interfere with the editorial content in the newspapers.

Key quote: "There has been a gradual reining in of the press since Thaksin came to power," said Lin Neumann, who until last month was based here as a representative of the Committee to Protect Journalists. "Every Thai journalist says there are a lot of phone calls from the government."

New online souce on Georgia; good for writers and editors

The New Georgia Encyclopedia is a new online state encyclopedia just finished and published, according to the AJ-C. From the site:
The New Georgia Encyclopedia provides an authoritative source of information about people, places, events, institutions, and many other topics relating to the state.

On this site you will find articles and images on nearly every aspect of Georgia as well as convenient links to other Web sites related to the history, culture, and life of the state.

Great lede on a NY Times story on English counties fighting for Robin Hood bragging rights:

NOTTINGHAM, England -- Not since Mikhail Baryshnikov defected from the Soviet Union has there been such a fuss over a man in tights.

Gainesville newspaper changes hands

From the Atlanta Journal-Constitution: Gannett has traded The Times in Gainesville for a handful of papers in Tennessee.

The Times' new owner is Savannah-based Morris Multimedia, the smaller of two Georgia media companies run by members of the same family.

The Times, which has a circulation of 20,100, will be the largest newspaper in the Morris Multimedia chain. Morris Multimedia also is getting several smaller publications in the Gainesville area, including the Forsyth County News.

In exchange, Morris is giving Gannett a handful of publications in Tennessee, including The Review Appeal of Franklin, with a circulation of 6,800, and The Daily News Journal of Murfreesboro, which has a circulation of 15,000. Gannett, owner of USA Today, has more than 100 daily newspapers in the country, as well as smaller publications and television stations.

Both companies said the trade will enable them to build geographic concentrations of publications.

Gannett owns other papers in Tennessee, including The Tennessean in Nashville. Morris Multimedia's other publications in Georgia include shoppers, real estate advertisers and small newspapers like The Coastal Courier in Hinesville.

Morris Multimedia was founded by Charles Morris in 1970, after he broke off from his family business, Morris Communications.

Augusta-based Morris Communications is controlled by Charles' older brother, Billy Morris. Morris Communications owns papers in Georgia such as The Savannah Morning News, The Augusta Chronicle and The Athens Banner-Herald.

When is a rumor NEWS?

From The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, Sunday, Feb. 15
By MARLON MANUEL

This is the election that — for good and bad — discovered the Internet.

Howard Dean, the former Democratic front-runner for president, created a candidacy out of thin air with an online strategy that circulated his name like cyberspam — and raised millions of dollars in the process.

President Bush and others are bypassing conventional television advertisements by e-mailing supporters with links to attack videos on opponents.

So-called Web "bloggers" of every political persuasion are posting their unfiltered campaign observations on a daily basis.

But as with most things on the Web, there's a dark underbelly to virtual stumping: cybermud, which flies far faster than the conventional kind, leaving a stain that's harder to erase.

The Internet excels at innuendo. Speed is its virtue; veracity is not.

And candidates this election year are discovering Web-fueled gossip spreads faster and penetrates deeper than ever before.

When talk-radio commentators,TV pundits and bloggers re-dish dirt to the real world, the wave obliterates the divide between fact and fiction.

Candidates' quandary

Smeared candidates have tough choices: Deny a Web rumor and potentially give it credence for the mainstream media, or leave it alone and let a knowing public speculate — which can be just as damaging.

"It's such a different set of rules than ever existed before," said Bill Carrick, a political consultant who worked on Dick Gephardt's unsuccessful presidential campaign this year. "The campaign is left with a very bad choice: Slap it down or try to ignore it and ride it out and hope that it doesn't get covered by the mainstream press."

It's not only trouble for campaigns.

Traditional media, the old guard of newspapers, magazines and television networks, struggle in their role as truth-keepers in a world that happily gawks at cyberspeculation.

Once, campaign operatives goaded eager reporters by whispering half-truths about opponents, daring the Fourth Estate to check them out.

Today, what were once whispers are shouted online for all to hear.

"Clearly, the normal filters established by most news organizations are not present with the Internet," said Whit Ayres, a Republican pollster

based in Alpharetta.

Drudge slings mud

Last week, for example, the Drudge Report, an online scandal site, alleged in an unsourced report that some news organizations were investigating rumors that Democratic presidential candidate John Kerry had been involved in indiscretions with an intern.

On Friday, Kerry was asked about the report on a syndicated morning talk show.

"Let me ask you this," New York shock-jock Don Imus asked Kerry halfway through the senator's 12-minute call-in. "Is there anything — anything — that's going to come up? Now, for example. There's this Drudge Report about an intern, and I'm sure you've heard about it."

"Yeah," Kerry said.

"I don't know that it's been reported anywhere, but people are talking about it," Imus said.

"Well, there's nothing to report, so there's nothing to talk about," Kerry told Imus. "I'm not worried about it. No. The answer is no."

Later Friday, Kerry answered questions at a

campaign stop in Wisconsin.

"I just deny it categorically," Kerry said during a town-hall style question-and-answer session in Madison. "It's rumor. It's untrue, period."

An 'uncomfortable line'

Fox News, CNN and Headline News have played the Imus clip, which was simulcast on MSNBC.

"So, does that denial make it news?" CNN anchor Aaron Brown mused on-air Friday night, alluding to but never directly stating the Drudge allegation.

"Is it fair to take the denial and use it to spread the rumor because that's what's happening?" he asked. "And, while I feel comfortable about how we're going to deal with this all tonight, I also know that we are pushing up against an uncomfortable line in a day when facts and fiction can spread far too fast."

Through Saturday, no domestic mainstream media had published evidence corroborating the Drudge allegation — though some news organizations and trade journals engaged in public hand wringing over what to do.

In Saturday print editions and Friday evening Web postings, many newspapers published Kerry's denials.

The New York Daily News tabloid Saturday offered a front-page cover with the headline, "Stray? It ain't so: Kerry."

One London tabloid known for its prurience and sensationalism said it interviewed the parents of Kerry's alleged paramour. The parents called Kerry names but didn't say their daughter had had a romantic liaison with the Massachusetts senator.

Rumor mill will thrive

Expect more of the same ethical dilemmas through November, predicted Steve Lovelady, managing editor for the campaign desk of the Columbia Journalism Review.

"The whole profession seems wracked by self-doubt, angst and a sort of identity crisis," Lovelady said in an e-mail exchange. "Inhabitants of newsrooms everywhere are tagged with the scornful label of 'dead-tree media' and they worry that they may indeed be the last generation of dinosaurs, not equipped to survive in a fast-and-loose climate. Given that, I think it's safe to say the examples . . . are only going to multiply."

CNN political analyst Jeff Greenfield said the trend is forever planted on the terrain of political campaigns.

"In this brave new world of instant communications, literally tens of millions of people will know about the story no matter what the networks and top-tier newspapers do," Greenfield said. "The press loves to talk about its gatekeeper function, separating fact from rumor from falsehood but the truth is this role of the media has been effectively wiped out."

From our (COM 303) discussion this morning:
an example of how to turn a product press release into a story; also related to Jordan Stanley's press release on sports-theme "dating" online, this from today's New York Times:

"TECHNOLOGY with roots in antiterrorism will soon make the singles scene safer and friendlier, not to mention more efficient, if a software system called the Love Detector lives up to its billing.

The Love Detector is based on layered voice analysis, a system that was developed for security work by Nemesysco, an Israeli company, and adapted for personal use by V Worldwide, the international distributor."

Key quote: "This technology will really alter human relationships," she said. "It gets rid of a lot of the unhealthy games that can have devastating results."

F.C.C. Begins Rewriting Rules on Delivery of the Internet
By STEPHEN LABATON

Key quote: from FCC chair Michael Powell -- "We can talk about rewriting the Telecommunications Act," he said. "But the Telecommunications Act is nine years old and it is being rewritten by technology."

WASHINGTON, Feb. 12 — The Federal Communications Commission began writing new rules today that officials and industry experts said would profoundly alter both the way the Internet is delivered and used in homes and businesses.

In one set of proceedings, the commission began writing regulations to enable computer users to gain access to the Internet through electric power lines. Consumers will be able to plug their modems directly into the wall sockets just as they do with any garden variety appliance. Officials said the new rules, which are to be completed in the coming months, would enable utilities to offer an alternative to the cable and phone companies and provide an enormous possible benefit to rural communities that are served by the power grid but not by broadband providers.

In a second set of proceedings, commissioners began considering what rules ought to apply to companies offering Internet space and software to enable computer users to send and receive telephone calls.

A majority of the commissioners suggested that the new phone services should have significantly fewer regulatory burdens than traditional phone carriers. The agency also voted 4-to-1 to approve the application of a small Internet company, Pulver.com, asking that its service of providing computer-to-computer phone service not make it subject to the same regulations and access charges as the phone carriers.

Industry experts say that neither the phone service nor the broadband delivery systems offered by electric companies will take any sizable market share for at least the next two years. But in moving forward with the new regulations, they said the agency was reducing regulatory uncertainty and encouraging major companies and investors to make investments in the new technologies to enable them to move to market more quickly.

The F.C.C. chairman, Michael K. Powell, and his two Republican colleagues on the commission said the agency's decisions on the two sets of rules and the Pulver application would ultimately transform the telecommunications industry and the Internet.

"This represents a commitment of the commission of bringing tomorrow's technology today," Mr. Powell said. He added that the rules governing the new phone services were intended to make them as ubiquitous as e-mail, and at possibly a significantly lower cost than traditional phones, since the services would have lower regulatory costs.

A Republican commissioner, Kathleen Q. Abernathy, said that the agency and industry "stands at the threshold of a profound transformation of the telecommunications marketplace" as more companies — including such giants as AT&T and Verizon — move from circuit-switching phone technology to Internet-based technology.

But one Democratic commissioner, Michael J. Copps, raised objections to the Pulver petition and questioned the underlying themes of deregulation in the two rulemaking proceedings. He said that they had set the agency on a course that could effectively rewrite the Telecommunications Act of 1996 and make it easier for the incumbent phone companies to escape necessary regulation.

Mr. Copps also criticized the majority of the commission for rejecting a request by law enforcement agencies that the F.C.C. first work out the legal and technical problems in monitoring phone calls over the Internet before granting Pulver's application or considering new rules for the Internet-based phone services.

"I believe it is reckless to proceed, and I cannot support this decision at this time," he said of the Pulver application. "The majority apparently prefers to act now and fix law enforcement issues later — along with universal service, public safety, disability access and a host of other policies we are only beginning to address."

Mr. Powell replied pointedly to Mr. Copps's criticism that the agency was rewriting the Telecommunications Act by offering a new deregulatory climate that the old phone companies might seek to take advantage of.

Look to the right of this post
I've added an RSS feed of the top stories direct from the New York Times. This should make studying for current events quizzes a lot easier. It will be my first stop for question fodder.

Mistakes lead list of reasons why readers doubt fairness
The Freedom Forum's Bob Haiman says factual errors, not perceived reporting bias on political issues, are the biggest reason the public doesn't trust the media. And when mistakes are made, they often are not easily, quckly or clearly corrected. Haiman moderated a panel discussion fairness and credibility at the N.C. Press Association's Winter Institute.

A One-way Blog for Traditional Editors
The World Editors Forum, part of the Paris-based World Association of Newspapers, has launched a new blog for "working editors and senior newspaper executives" called editorsweblog.org. The aim, writes WEF director Bertrand Pecquerie, is "a cooperative weblog and a real international forum." WEF board members are supposed to be posting, but at this point -- admittedly, this is a new site -- Pecquerie seems to be the only one. And, curiously, readers are not invited to reply to the postings. As a result, it seems to me to be an old-style journalism effort that doesn't tap the potential of conversation within a broad-based community of editors. As Dan Gillmor says, "My readers know more than I do."
From Poynter.

The state of journalism

March 2004 issue of The Atlantic Monthly has a long piece titled "When the Front Page Meets the Big Screen" by Mark Bowden. Among other things, Bowen writes about "Shattered Glass," other journalism films, and the current state of reporting and reporters.

Ledes, ledes, ledes

Long sentence followed by short for punch and power:
"BINGA, Zimbabwe -- Three days after getting word that cholera was again killing villagers outside this district capital, Binga's political and medical leaders gathered at the town's disheveled hospital to take stock of their arsenal against a potential epidemic.

It didn't take long."


Personalized approach:
"When Scott Grannman, a technology instructor, heard that one of his former students had clicked on a strange e-mail attachment and infected her computer with the MyDoom Internet virus last week, empathy did not figure anywhere in his immediate response.

'You actually got infected by the virus?" he wrote in an e-mail message to the former student, Robin Woltman, a university grant adminstrator. "You, Robin? For shame!"


No cliches; using slang appropriately
"Hip-hop has long been synonymous with jeans big enough to upholster a sofa, with throwback sports jerseys draped to the knees, with outrageouly priced, limited-edition sneakers and with the diamond-barnacled hardware that has entered the vernacular as bling-bling."

Lede for a study on weight, from Friday's New York Times. Notice how the source of the study isn't mentioned; no need to in lede:
"We knew we ate more; we knew we had gained weight. Now a new study that looked at 30 years of Americans' eating habits has pinned down how many more calories, carbohydrates and fats are eaten daily."


Don't go there ledes
"Ever wonder what your tuition money pays for? Well, besides general operating funds for the College, $4.70 from every paid credit hour goes into the Student Activities Budget, formulated by an Interclub Council Budget Committee." UGH

and

"On October 20 and 20, FCA hosted "Awaken with Unforsaken," an event featuring the raw and emotionally spiritual sound of the band "Unforsaken" along with a bake sale." UGH UGH

and

"I need two tickets for July 5, please." >> under the headline "Braves tickets for sale"

and

"As the Berry Vikings prepare for their season-opening double-header against Bryan College Saturday, Vikes coach David Beasley has liked what he's seen so far.

'Practice has been going well,' he said. 'The kids are working very hard and trying to improve every day.'" ARGH!

and

After, headline "Nation's retailer report robust January sales" :
"Consumers lured by record-breaking cold temperatures and clearance sales continued their spending spree in January, lifting sales well above exectations for many of the nation's retailers. Even those merchants who lagged the competition in recent months did well."

Bird flu's potential danger nightmarish
From the AJC, read during class today:

Note the buried lede and the use of the quote.

M.A.J. McKenna - Staff
Sunday, February 1, 2004

The illness began with a headache like the blow of a sledgehammer. The victims shook with chills and burned with fever, and they whispered of agonizing muscle aches. They fought for breath as their lungs filled with fluid; as their bodies were starved of oxygen, their skin turned the deep gray of roofing slates. Within days --- sometimes within hours --- they died.

The first cases showed up in Boston, but the infection raced across the country on every road and railroad. In two weeks, Florida. In a month, California. In a single week, 2,000 people died in Chicago, 3,000 in Philadelphia, and more than 5,000 in New York.

Buffalo ran out of coffins. Philadelphia ran out of gravediggers. In Atlanta, every public gathering was banned.

The year was 1918. The disease was influenza. A common virus had produced a brand-new strain, one never seen before. Within 11 months it killed 675,000 Americans, and as many as 50 million people around the world.

Today, world health authorities are anxiously watching Southeast Asia, where a new strain of flu virus has spread to at least nine countries, infecting an unknown number of people and killing at least 10.

When they imagine the possible forms the unfolding epidemic could take, 1918 is what they see.

"I feel totally powerless," said Dr. Arnold Monto, a flu authority at the University of Michigan, "to do something about what I think is a potentially dangerous situation."

At End of Hose, A Hellish Blend Of Fire and Ice
(read during class)
By ANDY NEWMAN and MICHELLE O'DONNELL
Spray from fire hoses freezes on the uniform, turning firefighters into siff-armed ice figures. Spray hits the face and causes frostbite, or runs beneath the collar and breeds hypothermia.

Hydrants freeze. Water freezes in hozes. Hoses freeze to the ground. Staircases turn into frozen waterfalls, and firefighters wearing 60 pounds of equipment slip and fall and blow out their knees.

Fighting fires is never easy, but in winter, when fires multiply, so do the dangers. Now firefighters do not battle just thick smoke and oxygen-hungry flames; they must deal with the opposite extreme, ice and the freezing night. . . .

"It was a tough night last night," Capt. Michael Lee of Engine 236 said.

For COM 301 writers:
Three speech/event opportunities for your Feb. 13 writing assignment.
1) Rome Rotary meets Thursday at noon at the Coosa Country Club and hosts Washington D.C. attorney John Hewko with the prominent firm Baker and McKenzie.

2) African American History Month Event: Film Screening of "Nat Turner: A Troublesome Property," Wednesday, February 4, 2004 at 7:00 p.m. in the Science Auditorium. Discussion following the screening will be led by Dr. Kenneth S. Greenberg, a history professor at Suffolk University in Boston, Massachusetts and the writer and co-producer of the film.

3) The Interfaith Council sponsoring a panel on "Faith in Action." CE credit event assembles staff reflecting on their faith as it influences their behavior at Berry. Panelists will be: Dora Ditchfield, Bernice Henderson, Cal Knowles, Diane Land, David Quinn and Carol Willis. Moderator: Tama Kott.
Time: 4:30 – 5:30 p.m., February 9.
Place: Interfaith Center (first floor of East Mary Wing, Ford)

Short sentence after a long one for power. And punch.

From a review in the Wall Street Journal of John McWhorter's new book, "Doing Your Own Thing" (Gotham, 2004): "An easy language English is, no one ever said. Out reel the sentences till back they reel in. Like a slow and sinuous snake, a passage may, with calm deliberation, slide through dozens of subordinate clauses to form periodic constructions of some genuine stateliness. Or not."

Wow.

Religious sensitivity
A recent op-ed piece in the New York Times argued that the media invites confusion by not translating "Allah." John Kearney's argument: When journalists write about Muslims, or translate from Arabic, Urdu, Farsi or other languages, they should translate "Allah" as "God." Journalists don't, after all, say Jews worship "Yahweh."

I don't know. I don't think I agree. I don't think Muslims would agree.