http://www.cjr.org/ Columbia Journalism Review: The future of media is here en Copyright 2013 Wed, 22 May 2013 11:40:52 -0500 http://blogs.law.harvard.edu/tech/rss every Tea Party organization that found itself under the IRS microscope was wrongly targeted--a nuance sometimes lost in the coverage. Take True the Vote , a project of...]]> http://www.cjr.org/united_states_project/true_the_coverage.php http://www.cjr.org/united_states_project/true_the_coverage.php United States Project Wed, 22 May 2013 11:40:52 -0500 The Motley Fool's Brian Richards posts a fascinating look inside the pump and dump world of penny-stock promoters, reporting how the hype machine worked in the case of a shell company called Goff Corporation. Richards describes Goff as "a social recruiting-company-turned-Colombian-gold miner," which should have been enough to scare off any investor with a light on upstairs. Fortunately for penny-stock... http://www.cjr.org/the_audit/bloggers_for_hire_on_a_penny-s.php http://www.cjr.org/the_audit/bloggers_for_hire_on_a_penny-s.php The Audit Wed, 22 May 2013 06:50:00 -0500 CopyrightX, an online course run out of Harvard this spring as part of the EdX program, was unusual in a couple of ways. It might not strictly be called a MOOC--a massive open online course--because it wasn't open. More than four thousand people applied, and enrollment was capped at 500. Half of the selected students were women. There were equal... http://www.cjr.org/cloud_control/copyright_1012.php http://www.cjr.org/cloud_control/copyright_1012.php Cloud Control Tue, 21 May 2013 14:56:29 -0500 Elizabeth O'Brien's May 15 Marketwatch piece on proposed changes for Medicare is one of the best I have seen since the government's health program for elderly and disabled people surfaced last year as a likely target for the federal budget axe. It still is a target, and that makes O'Brien's effort all the more important. Her story acknowledges an aspect... http://www.cjr.org/the_second_opinion/medicare_uncovered_who_should_pay_who_can_pay.php http://www.cjr.org/the_second_opinion/medicare_uncovered_who_should_pay_who_can_pay.php The Second Opinion Tue, 21 May 2013 11:00:00 -0500 Frustrating as they may be, every journalist wonders at some point about the identity of his or her most devoted online hecklers, but The Climate Desk's James West and Tim McDonnell just couldn't let it go. Citing research that found that "uncivil discourse" in social media and comments sections can have a polarizing affect on consumers of science news, and... http://www.cjr.org/the_observatory/climate_change_comments_social.php http://www.cjr.org/the_observatory/climate_change_comments_social.php The Observatory Tue, 21 May 2013 06:50:00 -0500 In Oklahoma, particularly in the springtime, dangerous weather is a part of life. And so are the local TV news stations in my home state. Chances are good that the bottom corner of your TV screen come May has the familiar map of the state covered with red, yellow, and green Doppler radar images on loop denoting the severity of... http://www.cjr.org/the_audit/okcs_tv_news_stations_shine_in.php http://www.cjr.org/the_audit/okcs_tv_news_stations_shine_in.php The Audit Tue, 21 May 2013 06:50:00 -0500 The State newspaper, South Carolina's capital city daily in Columbia, gave uncharacteristically prominent play Sunday to the influence that ex-lawmakers and other public officials have as they lobby their former colleagues at the State House. "At least 66 former lawmakers, legislative staffers and state regulators have registered to lobby the Legislature in the past two years, according...]]> http://www.cjr.org/united_states_project/hat_tip_to_the_state_for_sc_state_house_for_sale_series.php http://www.cjr.org/united_states_project/hat_tip_to_the_state_for_sc_state_house_for_sale_series.php United States Project Mon, 20 May 2013 15:15:00 -0500 pleaded guilty to DWI." Another "pled guilty of DWI." A third "entered a plea of guilty to DWI charges." What's going on, aside from way too much drinking? Prepositions are little words with great power. As discussed here many times, just a few letters can radically alter meaning. Just change "I'm stuck on you" to "I'm stuck with...]]> http://www.cjr.org/language_corner/pleas-ing_words.php http://www.cjr.org/language_corner/pleas-ing_words.php Language Corner Mon, 20 May 2013 15:00:00 -0500 Jeff Jarvis reprints the clip above, in an article dismissing the privacy concerns surrounding Google Glass. The Victorian attitudes of Newport's cottagers, he clearly implies, were misguided and misplaced. "Rest assured," he writes. " I will ask you whether it's OK to take a picture of you in private." The key words, here -- words which weren't even part... http://www.cjr.org/the_audit/how_technology_redefines_norms.php http://www.cjr.org/the_audit/how_technology_redefines_norms.php The Audit Mon, 20 May 2013 12:40:01 -0500 I have been commenting on Washington scandals for nearly four decades--ever since the dead-drunk Wilbur Mills, the unduly lionized chairman of the House Ways and Means Committee, was stopped by the police in the middle of the night accompanied by a stripper, Fanny Foxe, who immediately dove into the Tidal Basin. As a national columnist rather than a reporter, I... http://www.cjr.org/united_states_project/walter_shapiros_rough_rules_for_responsible_scandal_mongers.php http://www.cjr.org/united_states_project/walter_shapiros_rough_rules_for_responsible_scandal_mongers.php United States Project Mon, 20 May 2013 11:15:00 -0500 In a 2011 court case in Diyarbakır, Turkey, a student is on trial for membership in a terrorist organization. The case is legally open to the public, but no journalists are present in the small, cramped courtroom. After several hours, one of the police officers perusing his Twitter account outside discovers that someone is tweeting updates from the trial. He... http://www.cjr.org/behind_the_news/turkey_counter_media.php http://www.cjr.org/behind_the_news/turkey_counter_media.php Behind the News Mon, 20 May 2013 06:50:00 -0500 Wall Street Journal front page on Saturday. Editors splashed this headline across the top of the paper: Higher-Ups Knew of IRS Case Hearing Shows Obama Administration Officials Were Told in June 2012 of Probe Into Tea-Party Targeting Headlines like these, with their dark insinuations, play right into the hands of the paper's columnists, who...]]> http://www.cjr.org/the_audit/audit_notes_wsj_on_the_irs_cou.php http://www.cjr.org/the_audit/audit_notes_wsj_on_the_irs_cou.php The Audit Mon, 20 May 2013 06:50:00 -0500 Rep. Howard Coble knows the reputation of intellectual property law--that it is dull and boring. But at a Congressional hearing on Thursday, he had a message for anyone who shared that viewpoint: "Get used to it, because IP is not going away," he warned. Yesterday's hearing was the first that the Judiciary Committee held after its chairman, Rep. Bob Goodlatte,... http://www.cjr.org/cloud_control/anything_but_dull.php http://www.cjr.org/cloud_control/anything_but_dull.php Cloud Control Fri, 17 May 2013 16:09:42 -0500 Star Trek movie and every episode of every TV show in the franchise Dear Twitter...]]> http://www.cjr.org/the_kicker/must-reads_of_the_week_17.php http://www.cjr.org/the_kicker/must-reads_of_the_week_17.php The Kicker Fri, 17 May 2013 14:50:10 -0500 The dilemma for journalists this week: How should you cover a series of proto-scandals with seemingly little in common? As far as we know, internal Obama administration edits of talking points about the Benghazi attacks, Internal Revenue Service targeting of conservative groups for additional scrutiny, and the Justice Department's seizure of Associated Press phone records aren't part of some overarching... http://www.cjr.org/united_states_project/covering_facts_versus_the_narrative.php http://www.cjr.org/united_states_project/covering_facts_versus_the_narrative.php United States Project Fri, 17 May 2013 11:00:00 -0500