The unprecedented access Zuckerberg and Facebook granted for this book was an opportunity but a problem, too. Read Audit Chief Dean Starkman on that.
The Audit
12:23 PM - September 28, 2010
Access As Distortion Field
Facebook author spins for the company in the Washington Post
‘See you on the other side’ - Meet Jessica Lum, a terminally ill 25-year-old who chose to spend what little time she had practicing journalism
#Realtalk: This is the best moment to be in journalism - The old stuff isn’t coming back, but that’s okay
Streams of consciousness - Millennials expect a steady diet of quick-hit, social-media-mediated bits and bytes. What does that mean for journalism?
Sticking with the truth - How ‘balanced’ coverage helped sustain the bogus claim that childhood vaccines can cause autism
An ink-stained stretch - Can Aaron Kushner save the Orange County Register—and the newspaper industry?
This is the best moment to be in journalism (25)
The WSJ editorial page hits rock bottom (19)
The New York Times told me to take this down
“If you wouldn’t mind using another publication to advertise your infringement tool, we’d appreciate it”
In AP, Rosen investigations, government makes criminals of reporters
“[A]s flagrant an assault on civil liberties as anything done by George W. Bush’s administration”
Jay Carney press briefing blues
“Reporters are increasingly skeptical about Carney’s demeanor and the veracity of some answers”
Jaron Lanier wants to build a new middle class on micropayments
A future where writers can gain wealth through a “freelance economy”
CJR's Guide to Online News Startups
Uptown Messenger – Hyperlocal news for a neighborhood in New Orleans
Who Owns What
The Business of Digital Journalism
A report from the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism
Questions and exercises for journalism students.
Ryan, a recent A Forbes/Zogby poll found that 63% of Americans say they don’t trust Facebook with their personal information, but the network still adds maybe a million users a day. Do you think the "up in arms" criticism is fair?
#1 Posted by Taylor Buley, CJR on Thu 30 Sep 2010 at 05:17 PM
At my age (77) I was not a prime candidate for Facebook. I am the kind of guy who, descending the steps of the Apple Store next to F.A.O. Schwarz, wrecks tghe demographics. Nonetheless, ealier this week I signed up; what a blizzard of nonsense came down on my head. I fled to the unsubscribe page. When they asked me why I was fleeing, I stated, "repelled by the founder."
#2 Posted by Mike Robbins, CJR on Thu 30 Sep 2010 at 06:31 PM
Hi, Taylor--
Agreed that it's somewhat complicated, that's why I wrote this: "Kirkpatrick even flacks for Facebook by denying that its users “are up in arms” about its privacy violations. He notes that user counts continue to grow, but doesn’t acknowledge the network effect has Facebook users right where the company wants them: over a barrel."
And I as I said in the link embedded there:
"These network effect and lock-in concepts are something the press hasn’t explored well enough.
With Facebook, you don’t own your own information. You can’t export your data to back it up or to use it on another social network. If you leave, you lose your information. The hundreds of comments I have on the 200 pictures I’ve put up of my three-month-old twins, for instance—I can’t keep those."
I'd love to quit Facebook. But it's sort of like getting mad and quitting AT&T pre-1984. Yeah, you can take your principled stand, but you're going to be cut off from a primary mode of communication. MySpace et al aren't real alternatives anymore.
#3 Posted by Ryan Chittum, CJR on Thu 30 Sep 2010 at 09:00 PM