Why can't we have this kind of public TV in US?

Weeks before the 2003 U.S./British invasion of Iraq, the BBC's Jeremy Paxman and skeptical British citizens literally cross-examined Prime Minister Tony Blair about evidence/reasons/legality behind the invasion -- an interview whose transcript and Blair's comments became part of Britain's official Iraq inquiry in 2011. (Here's another tough Paxman interview of Blair . . . unrelated to Iraq. And here, Paxman interviews Rusell Brand in Oct. 2013.)

In our country, pressure from politicians + lack of insulated funding = embarrassing timidity at so-called "public television"...as evidenced by PBS surgically removing Tina Fey's comedic swipes at Sarah Palin from a broadcast in November 2010.

Country by country comparisons of taxpayer spending on public broadcasting here.

In Feb, a mini-scandal blew up over corporate underwriting of U.S. public TV and I was interviewed on the topic by The Real News Network. Here's a "Family Guy" take on PBS sponsorship and content. (H/t Miranda M)

Are we losing fast, open Internet in USA?

In the opening scene of the Outfoxed documentary, media scholar Robert McChesney explains how big media corporations (acting almost like gangsters) have made media policy behind closed doors, dividing the cake among themselves. If the FCC were doing its job, it might pose gentle but probing questions of gangsta Murdoch and "Murdochopoly," as Jon Stewart does here. (Years ago, Murdoch famously said: "Monopoly is a terrible thing, until you have it.")

The USA, where the Internet was invented, lags behind other countries in download speed and upload speed. In 2009, big Internet providers such as Verizon, Comcast, AT&T DID NOT APPLY for any of the billions in federal stimulus grants for expanding broadband infrastructure, according to the Wall St. Journal, because recipients of our tax money had to agree to respect Net Neutrality.

On HBO in June, "investigative comedian" John Oliver offered a powerful commentary in support of Net Neutrality, generating so many comments to the FCC that it crashed the Commission's website. Months of public pressure sparked President Obama last week to finally speak clearly that his FCC should protect Net Neut. 

P.S. "Survey Shows Satire News Programs Inform People Better Than Actual News on Net Neutrality," reports Dan Van Winkle in summarizing a University of Delaware survey.  (H/t Chelsea T)

P.S.S.  In 2010, a Daily Show segment on Net Neutrality lampooned Google for cutting a deal with Verizon that would subvert Net Neut. 

P.P.S. In January 2011, I was asked to appear on a talk-radio show on a big city station to analyze Keith Oblermann's exit from MSNBC; when I suggested a link to the Comcast takeover and criticized Comcast's opposition to Net Neutrality, a producer asked me during a commercial break to stop the "Comcast-bashing" because "they're our biggest sponsor."

Breitbart website injects video distortions into mainstream media

The late Andrew Breitbart, a former assistant to Matt Drudge, ran BigGovernment.com and other websites (now found at Breitbart.com). In July 2010, the Obama White House forced U.S. Dept of Agriculture employee Shirley Sherrod to quit after BigGovernment posted a 100-second video excerpt purporting to show that, during a speech to the NAACP, Sherrod had boasted about discriminating against a white farmer while she was a federal employee in the Obama administration. Actually, as Breitbart later semi-corrected, Sherrod was describing events in the 1980s when she was Georgia field director for the Federation of Southern Cooperatives, a nonprofit that had grown out of the civil rights movement to help Black farmers. More importantly, a fuller version of the speech aired by CNN indicated that Sherrod told the story to illustrate how she had overcome her racial hostility toward whites and ultimately helped the white farmer save his farm.

Ten months earlier, in 2009, other selectively-edited tapes distributed by Breitbart's website (played repeatedly on Fox News and elsewhere) helped put the anti-poverty group ACORN out of business. Rachel Maddow dissects the distorted presentation that doomed ACORN. (Fox News had goaded others in media for not doing enough ACORN-smearing.)

It wasn't just Fox News that promoted the misleading ACORN story. The Public Editor of the paper of record, the New York Times, went to absurd lengths to defend his paper's inaccurate coverage

When Drudge posts "Exclusive," readers beware

Perhaps Matt Drudge should stick to aggregating content from others (often with his revved-up headlines) rather than "report" -- as demonstrated by this 1999 "World Exclusive," which helped push a hoax into the mainstream media.

And as demonstrated by his 2007 "exclusive" in which he accused CNN reporter Michael Ware of "heckling" Republican senators during a news conference in Iraq and "laughing and mocking their comments." Drudge's evidence-free charge -- based on an anonymous "official" -- was picked up by rightwing blogs and the Washington Times. Video of the news conference showed Ware hadn't opened his mouth.

PewDiePie? WTF?

This guy brings in millions of viewers and big bucks with videos like this. (H/t Chelsea)

Mainstream TV news reports can suffer from formulaic-ness (in content AND form)

BBC correspondent Charlie Brooker lampoons the sameyness (and cliches) of  mainstream TV news reports.

First viral video? George Holliday records Rodney King beating by LAPD

Pre-citizen journalist George Holliday records "world's most famous home video." Here's an excerpt.

Undercover videotaping of animal abuse at factory farms . . .

. . . has prompted "food libel" or "food disparagement" laws in a dozen states, aimed at protecting powerful agribusiness interests that apparently have something to hide. Here's a video report from U.C. Berkeley News21 students.

2008 Presidential Election: Huffpost citizen journalist had major impact

Mayhill Fowler, a citizen journalist for HuffingtonPost's "Off the Bus" project, posted a report that launched the "Bittergate" uproar that nearly derailed Obama's 2008 campaign. The Bittergate of 2012 campaign: "47%-gate."

In getting a later scoop, Fowler said she didn't hide that she was recording ex-President Clinton as he savaged a Vanity Fair reporter as "sleazy" and "slimy" and "dishonest" and "a scumbag, while greeting voters in public as he campaigned for his wife in June 2008. BUT Clinton obviously did not know Fowler was a HuffPost "citizen journalist." Should she have ID'd herself? (She clearly got a more honest take from Clinton than if he'd known she was a journalist.)

Should public figures know nowadays that anything said in public -- especially rants (or racism) -- will be recorded and available forever? Exhibits A (and A1) features a U.S. senator and B features a comedic actor.

Edward Snowden Coverage: If U.S. Mass Media Were State Controlled, Would They Look Any Different?

My June 2013 piece on some of the mainstream media reaction to Snowden and his revelations about widespread NSA surveillance.  NY Times journalist Andrew Ross Sorkin's commented: "I'd arrest him [Snowden] and I'd almost arrest Glenn Greenwald." Meet the Press host David Gregory asked Greenwald, "Why shouldn't you, Mr. Greenwald, be charged with a crime?"

Blogger Took Ethical Action

Here's an example of a blogger acting quite professionally and ethically. Ken Krayeske, who questioned University of Connecticut's basketball coach about his huge taxpayer-paid salary -- announced in Oct. 2009 that he wouldn't be covering Hartford City Hall because his girlfriend had a job there. If he'd disclosed the relationship and kept covering City Hall, that  might have been sufficient from an ethical standpoint.

AOL's Journalistic Value$

Soon after AOL announced its merger with HuffingtonPost in February, 2011 Business Insider (followed by the Boston Globe) published leaked AOL documents offering a glimpse into that company's journalistic approach -- not one that Arianna Huffington would endorse. (H/t to former indy media student Leah T, for posting the Insider's summary of AOL's guidelines.)

Indy Musicians Stay in Touch with 'True Fans' . . .

. . . by using Facebook, reported NPR's Laura Sydell in 2010. The report discusses cellist Zoe Keating and singer-songwriter Suzanne Vega.

YouTube Videos/Web TV News Can Have Impact

The Young Turks is a web TV phenom, and YouTube played a major role in its success; here's a Turks' video on media censorship. A London daily recently profiled Cenk Uygur and The Young Turks


Brave New Films' "McCain's Mansions" played a role in the 2008 election campaign, thanks in part to YouTube.

Early You Tube Stars Get Real Income

What the Buck? Here's Michael Buckley's "My You Tube Story." According to a Dec 2008 NY Times report, "You Tube Videos Pull In Real Money," Buckley earned over $100k in the previous year (plus an HBO development deal) from his YouTube video-commentaries or rants about celebs.

For years, my 17-year-old daughter's favorite YouTube star and main source of daily news has been Philly D (of "The Philip DeFranco Show"), who offers his take on current events and celeb news. (Should I have been monitoring my daughter's online activities better?)

YouTube star Lisa Donovan or ""Lisa Nova"has talent for sketch comedy and parodies. Like Tina Fey, she liked to play Sarah Palin, including in this infamous McCain/Palin rap. Later she launched a company promoting hundreds of YouTube video producers. Cory Williams and his smpFilms hit the bigtime with "Hey Little Sparta" (aka "The Mean Kitty Song" -- 78 million views). He told the NYT in 2008 that he was earning over $200k per year, partly from (ugh!) product placements in his videos.