"News to Me" - 5 new articles
Funny man Gene Weingarten's tips for getting by as a journalistAmid the holiday season of layoffs (The New York Times sharpens the knife after 74 take buyouts) and publication closings (Editor & Publisher ends its 108-year run) comes a breath of funny air from The Washington Post's Gene Weingarten. He reveals the secrets of today's journalism that will make you laugh and cry, especially if you're in the industry and recognize the hint of truth behind each disclosure.  Want vs. need in news consumptionRupert Murdoch has a column in today's Wall Street Journal that raises interesting points about the structure of news businesses, charging for content, and the pros and cons of government involvement in media regulation and subsidization. But there is one little paragraph that struck me especially:
First, media companies need to give people the news they want. I can't tell you how many papers I have visited where they have a wall of journalism prizes—and a rapidly declining circulation. This tells me the editors are producing news for themselves—instead of news that is relevant to their customers. A news organization's most important asset is the trust it has with its readers, a bond that reflects the readers' confidence that editors are looking out for their needs and interests.Although I see his point, I worry about what constitutes the news people want, especially in the opinion of a man whose varied media interests include the tabloid-ish New York Post, the biased Fox News Channel and Fox Broadcasting Co., which has been known for quality programming such as "Temptation Island." Of course, Murdoch's News Corp. has plenty of quality in the offing, too, by way of the Wall Street Journal and shows like "The Simpsons" and "House." But if what people want as news is every sordid detail of Tiger Woods' personal life as opposed to every detail of the Obama administration's plan for Afghanistan, I do worry about the future of the American brain. As in the marriage of smut and decency found in News Corp.'s products, there must be a way to merge the two in a healthy way for news organizations. If only I knew how to do it... 
'Daily Show' catches Fox using old footage to embellish storyI continue to worship at the altar of "The Daily Show with Jon Stewart." Last night, my husband said we had to watch Tuesday night's show because he'd heard the crew makes a good catch that embarrasses Fox News. Sold. We watched and indeed the error was huge. Fox used old footage to make a weekend rally seem much larger.
Here's Hannity's response:  Headliners at The Onion: Peeling Back the SkinThe pressure is on with this blog post. How do you write about The Onion on a level worthy of its humor? I'm not sure so I won't bother trying. For an interesting behind-the-scenes peek at how The Onion works, check out this article in The New York Times.  Barking up the wrong tree with journalism?There are few better signs that the journalism industry is going to the dogs than the craigslist ad I see every so often under the "writing/editing jobs" section of the D.C. site. "PET LOVERS WANTED" the teaser states. Thinking it's a publication looking for someone to write about pets, I inevitably click on it only to find out it's a Bethesda, Md.-based dog-walking company looking for people to walk dogs. Interestingly, the ad asks that applicants be able to commit to the job for at least six months. That's more job security than many journalists get!  More Recent Articles | ||||||||||||
