Is Twitter Overrated?

Hundreds of people are battling each other for a job as "lifestyle correspondent" for Murphy-Goode Winery in Sonoma. They want a wine enthusiast to promote the vineyard on blogs, Facebook, and Twitter. But others are wondering if social media really affects the way people buy. An article by Joe Mandese on Media Post says social media is overrated as a means to deliver consumer dollars.

Why journalists deserve low pay

This opinion piece by media economics professor Robert Picard has been making the rounds. He makes his case in the Christian Science Monitor on why he thinks journalists deserve their low pay.

Today all this value is being severely challenged by technology that is "de-skilling" journalists. It is providing individuals – without the support of a journalistic enterprise – the capabilities to access sources, to search through information and determine its significance, and to convey it effectively.

Shepard Fairey Ripped Off My Picture First

Filmmaker and journalist Ed Nachtrieb posted a piece on Salon's user-generated site, Open Salon, about how artist Shepard Fairy appropriated a picture of Nachtrieb's to create a piece of art. As many of us already know, Fairy is the artist behind the famous Barack Obama "Hope" poster that was based on a photo of Obama taken by the Associated Press. Nachtrieb's photo is of an armed Chinese soldier at the onset of martial law in Beijing 20 years ago. Nachtrieb doesn't address the fair use issue that Fairy is claiming against the AP's lawsuit, but Nachtrieb does say he'd like Fairy to at least credit where he gets the photos used to inspire his art.

Law students teach Scalia about privacy and the Web

Here's a story from the NYT about what a class at Fordham Law School was able to find online about SC Justice Antonin Scalia. Speaking about privacy rights and the Internet at a conference, Scalia was quoted by the AP as saying:

“Every single datum about my life is private? That’s silly.”

The professor saw it as a teaching moment. The class was able to find Scalia's home address and phone number, his wife's e-mail address and what foods and movies he likes. The 15-page dossier they compiled wasn't meant to be made public but the professor spoke about it at a conference and the news was reported online at Above the Law. Scalia's response to Above the Law:

“I stand by my remark at the Institute of American and Talmudic Law conference that it is silly to think that every single datum about my life is private. I was referring, of course, to whether every single datum about my life deserves privacy protection in law.

“It is not a rare phenomenon that what is legal may also be quite irresponsible. That appears in the First Amendment context all the time. What can be said often should not be said. Prof. Reidenberg’s exercise is an example of perfectly legal, abominably poor judgment. Since he was not teaching a course in judgment, I presume he felt no responsibility to display any.”

Would You Pay $13,000 for an Internship?

The Huffington Post is auctioning two- to -three month internships.
The bids are actually up to $13,000.

Do you think it's worth it? Yes you will get experience at a reputable media outlet. You will no longer be out of the job market. You can expand your skills. And if you do well, I guess you can land a job after the internship ends.

Why Newspapers still dont have the answer....

Nat Ives argues in "Advertising Age" that Frank Rich's idea - newspapers should charge for their offerings just like cable companies - is flawed because the product just isn't the same.

The American press on suicide watch

Interesting piece by NYT columnist Frank Rich, who brings up a number of things we've discussed in classes about the future of media.

In the Internet era, many sectors of American media have been re-enacting their at first complacent and finally panicked behavior of 60 years ago. Few in the entertainment business saw the digital cancer spreading through their old business models until well after file-sharing, via Napster, had started decimating the music industry. It’s not only journalism that is now struggling to plot a path to survival. But, with all due respect to show business, it’s only journalism that’s essential to a functioning democracy. And it’s not just because — as we keep being tediously reminded — Thomas Jefferson said so.

Stepping Aside

Newsweek columnist Anna Quindlen has written her last
columnn.

She wrote about stepping aside for a new generation of voices.