Did sports blogs ruin sports journalism?

Loud and very dated 2008 debate between newspaper/magazine journalist Buzz Bissinger ("Friday Night Lights") and founding editor Will Leitch of Deadspin.com, the sometimes raunchy sports blog/website. Debate aired on Bob Costas' HBO sports show.

Early Dissident Newspapers Were NOT Very Reader-Friendly

See crowded layout of William Lloyd Garrison's abolitionist publication, The Liberator, here and here. Not exactly HuffingtonPost. No half-naked actresses. Cady Stanton's/Anthony's feminist publication, The Revolution, was almost as dense.  Content was king (or queen) back then.

Internet and Media Hoaxes

Question: Are younger educated people who were raised on the Internet LESS likely to be taken in by hoax emails such as Obama as "radical Muslim" than Jon Stewart's 80-year-old aunt? Or clothing designer Tommy Hilfiger as racist?

Today, viral video hoaxes seem more common than text hoaxes -- like "Golden Eagle Snatches Kid" hoax, which, unknown to this ABC News panel, was perpetrated by animation students using computer imaging in Montreal. And like "Worst Twerk Fail EVER - Girl Catches Fire," a hoax perpetrated by the Jimmy Kimmel show as self-promotion.

NBC "Today" show interviewed me a year ago (9/30/13 -- my bit starts at 2:25) about separating fact from fiction in media and Internet.

Is U.S. media system failing U.S. democracy?

Typical of similar academic studies over the years, a 2008 study compared the level of public knowledge about current events in Denmark, Finland, United Kingdom and the United States. It found that the countries where TV/radio is dominated by public broadcasting -- Denmark and Finland -- were the best informed. Our country, dominated by corporate commercial media, was the least informed. The study's authors suggest that differing media systems play a role in those results.

A 2003 study of public knowledge of facts related to the Iraq War found that misperceptions among U.S. residents (that evidence linked Iraq and al Qaeda; that weapons of mass destruction had been found in Iraq; and that world public opinion favored the US invasion) were greatest among those whose primary info source was Fox News -- and least among those whose primary info source was public broadcasting. (A Pew poll taken in Aug. 2010 found that almost 1 in 5 Americans believed President Obama to be a Muslim; only 34% knew he is a Christian. 43% chose "don't know.")

Does the tree fall in the forest if over 300 thousand people march . . .

. . . through the media capital of the world for action on climate change, and U.S. mainstream media largely ignore the event?

The 40-year secret revealed: These are the citizen burglars. . .

. . . who broke into a Pennsylvania FBI office in 1971 to prove the Bureau was lying when it claimed not to be spying on peace and civil rights activists.

Nightmare in Tunisia . . . for Longtime Dictator

Tunisia is a small, Mediterranean country in North Africa.  Back in 2007, Tunisian citizen-journalists and bloggers had documented the tourism/shopping sprees of the dictator's wife aboard the presidential plane to Europe and global fashion capitals. (H/t Global Voices)

In 2010, the TuniLeaks website was set up to post (WikiLeaks-released) internal U.S. Embassy documents candidly exposing the corruption of Tunisia's dictatorship.

Fascinating photo (released by Ben Ali's office) of dictator Ben Ali visiting the hospital bed of the desperate young man who set himself on fire in protest in Dec. 2010 -- the young man didn't live long enough to learn that his act led to the overthrow of Ben Ali after sustained nonviolent protests.

Amid the protests, Tunisian rapper El General put out this widely-circulated music video attacking Ben Ali and urging folks to join the protests. It led to his arrest for a few days. Soon after, the dictator fled. The song went on to become an anthem in Tunisia, Egypt and elsewhere.

U.S. jazz legend Dizzy Gillespie performs his classic jazz tune "Night in Tunisia," first recorded in 1944.

Hawkish military analysts who appear on TV . . .

. . . are often closely connected to corporations that profit from perpetual war, reports Lee Fang in this expose for The Nation.

A police murder of 28-year-old sparks Egypt uprising

In June, 2010, Khaled Said was beaten to death by police in public for the crime of Internet use and, apparently, exposing police corruption. His martyrdom inspired protests and Internet organizing that led to the uprising six months later that ended the Mubarak dictatorship. Middle East-based Google exec and activist Wael Ghonim set up the galvanizing "We Are All Khaled Said" Facebook page in Arabic.  (Here's an English FB version of "We Are All Khaled Said.")

Video cameras and blogging for human rights

Launched in 1992 with the help of musician Peter Gabriel, the nonprofit Witness.org began distributing video cameras in hopes of minimizing human rights abuses. Now they train people in the safe use of cell phones and cameras to record abuses. Their slogan: "See it. Film it. Change it."

The Israeli human rights group, B'Tzelem, provides cameras to Palestinians so they can record Israeli settlers who harass Palestinians, including incidents of intimidation in and around the Palestinian city of Hebron, which rightwing Israeli religious settlers believe God has bequeathed to Jews.

Vancouver Film School students created an inspiring video, "Iran, A Nation of Bloggers," and put it online months before the tech-fueled protests over Iran's disputed 2009 election.

Mexico's "Yo Soy 132" Youth Movement

This Internet-driven movement didn't alter the outcome of Mexico's July 2012 presidential election -- since the candidate being "imposed" by the two major TV networks ended up winning.  But the student activists of Yo Soy 132 had impact; they set up an historic presidential debate that was carried online (the TV-promoted frontrunner was the only candidate who didn't up).  It was this YouTube video that launched the movement.

President Caught on Video: "Get Lost, You A*#hole"

In 2008, then-President of France Nicolas Sarkozy caught on video calling a disgruntled citizen an "idiot" or "dumbass" or "a**hole" (depending on translation). French politicians are having difficulty tolerating the scrutiny of online coverage (including online video) -- especially compared to deferential coverage they're accustomed to from traditional media.

One of our former presidents (then governor of Texas) caught on video.

Global Voices Online

Global Voices is a community of more than 800 writers, bloggers, experts and translators around the world who post reports from blogs and citizen media, emphasizing "voices that are not ordinarily heard in international mainstream media." For example, this Vlog post on Latin American subway musicians & performers.  Or, an interview with Kim Badawi, who chronicles the "Gaza Stripper" and other cross-cultural subjects.  Or, a win for activists in Brazil. 

This 2011 post features short videos from a competition on gender equality in the Ukraine.

This 2010 post features a public protest by a brave professor and blogger in China, offering himself as a slave.

Egyptian bloggers & online activists paved the way for 2011 uprising

With the Mubarak dictatorship in control of all major media in Egypt, brave Egyptian "citizen journalists" risked imprisonment and torture to blog or tweet about human rights abuses. Here's renowned Egyptian blogger Wael Abbas interviewed on BBC in January 2010. Over the years, Abbas was harassed, censored and assaulted by authorities -- and was briefly detained in Feb 2011 during the uprising.

P.S. Sharif Abdel Kouddous covered the 18-day uprising in 2011 for Democracy Now!, and he was the central character in an HBO documentary about the Egyptian revolution. For his work in Egypt, he was awarded (on I.C. campus in April 2012) the Izzy Award for outstanding achievement in independent media.  (Here's a paperback "Tweets from Tahrir.")

Tavi Gevinson -- fashion blogger becomes publisher at 15

This interview was recorded when fashion blogger Tavi was 15, and had founded Rookie. At age 16, she appeared on Colbert Report. By age 17, she was costarring in the Hollywood movie, "Enough Said."Now, at age 18, she's a Broadway actress, starring opposite Michael Cera.

Upworthy.com: It's a strange place that always strips me of 45 mins of my life

Upworthy.com promotes social/political issues virally through clever headlines and visuals or video, like this animation on advertising/media impact on girls.

Net-based Protest To Save Net Neutrality

In one day, a coalition of groups generated the following, in support of Net Neutrality: 
      Calls made to Congress: 286,192 . . .  Emails sent to Congress: 2,167,092 . . .  Comments filed at the FCC: 722,364 . . . Calls per minute to Congress (during peak hours from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m.): 1,000 . . . Participating websites: more than 10,000 . . . Facebook shares of spinning icon: more than 1,120,000

The Controversy over WikiLeaks

In Dec. 2010, blogger Glenn Greenwald (a WikiLeaks supporter) explained independent journalism to a CNN correspondent. WikiLeaks website is here. This leaked video (with more than 14 million YouTube views) shows the killing of employees of the Reuters news agency and wounding of children by US attack helicopters in Iraq.

Photo above was taken in August 2012 when I visited the Ecuadoran embassy in London (WikiLeaks' founder had taken refuge inside); I was there days after the British government threatened to invade the embassy . . . a serious breach of international law.

Local Nonprofit Watchdog News Sites

As dailies have shrunk, local online nonprofit news sites have sprouted, such as the well-funded VoiceofSanDiego.org and the professionally-staffed MinnPost.com ("a thoughtful approach to news"). Across the country, local watchdog outlets are trying to figure out how to survive, reports Jodi Enda in American Journalism Review.

Winners of First Izzy Award: Glenn Greenwald & Amy Goodman

Soon after accepting their Izzy Awards in Ithaca in March 2009, Greenwald and Goodman spoke about independent media on public TV's Bill Moyers' Journal.

News 21: Student Journalism, Multimedia Presentation

News 21 is a foundation-funded student journalism outlet that has emphasized in-depth reporting and multimedia presentation. It originated with 8 journalism schools/departments at big campuses that each investigated and reported on a different area, for example: Univ of Southern California(USC)/money in politics; UC Berkeley/food safety.

Short Video Impacts 2008 Presidential Election

This 2008 Brave New Films video short "McCain's Mansions" (with more than 600,000 views) boiled up through the media food chain into the mainstream.  It impacted the campaign, as shown by this self-promotional video, "The Making of McCain's Mansions."

Glenn Greenwald answers absurd question from establishment journalist

In June 2013, Meet the Press host David Gregory asked Greenwald a question based on false assumptions and ending: "Why shouldn't you, Mr. Greenwald, be charged with a crime?" He got a loud answer.

Are some journalists too cozy with their official sources?

In 2003, a CNN executive actually boasted about having given the Pentagon an advisory role on who his on-air experts would be during the Iraq war. . . . At 2007 Radio-Television Correspondents Association Dinner, top journalists (including then-NBC White House correspondent David Gregory) were literally dancing with a top source, controversial Bush aide Karl Rove. These are social/charitable events where journalists and newsmakers are expected to have some fun, but is it symbolic of too much coziness? . . . Whether dealing with political leaders or celebrity athletes, the quest to gain access to famous newsmakers can undermine independent journalism, according to indy TV host Cenk Uygur of The Young Turks, one of the most successful web-based TV shows.

Billionaire Pierre Omidyar explains First Look Media . . .

. . . and his commitment to supporting independent journalism, in a video released last January.

Bold question from indy blogger launches big controversy

Former student in this class Chris Lisee blogged about the impact that a single off-key journalist can have.

"Independent Media in a Time of War" featuring Amy Goodman

A group of volunteer citizen-journalists (Hudson Mohawk Independent Media Center) produced a short documentary based on an April 2003 speech by Amy Goodman of Democracy Now!  At the time, many in mainstream media were cheering what they believed was a successful, nearly-completed invasion of Iraq; President Bush's approval rating was sky high.

"Stickin' It To The Man"

In the movie School of Rock, a substitute teacher (played by Jack Black) explains the purpose of rock 'n' roll to his 5th grade students. Do independent media share a similar purpose?  (The School of Rock kids in the original cast just had a 10-year reunion with Jack Black. H/t Sabrina D.)

NYT investigative reporter James Risen still threatened with jail . . .

. . . for doing his job as a journalist.  I explained the Risen case on Thom Hartmann's Big Picture TV show (Aug 14).
                                   

Daily Show segment on NY Times is called "End Times"

The Daily Show's cruel 2009 look at the New York Times' "day-old news."  It made me feel quite sympathetic toward the Times.