Associated Press Gets Angry – Fair use blogging

The AP is getting a little angry lately. Why? Because all of you irresponsible bloggers are using their stories and not sharing your enormous profits. Hey, if they want my ad profits they can have them, all 19 cents of them.

from NY Times

Taking aim at the way news is spread across the Internet, The Associated Press said on Monday that Web sites that used the work of news organizations must obtain permission and share revenue with them, and that it would take legal action against those that did not.

A.P. executives said they were concerned about a variety of news forums around the Web, including major search engines like Google and Yahoo and aggregators like the Drudge Report that link to news articles, smaller sites that sometimes reproduce articles whole, and companies that sell packaged news feeds.

They said they did not want to stop the appearance of articles around the Web, but to exercise some control over the practice and to profit from it.

The A.P. will also pursue sites that reproduce large parts of articles, rather than using brief links, and it is developing a system to track articles online and determine whether they were used legally.

Justin Gardner at Donklephant made a good point about the nature of blogging and the sharing of news

from Donklephant

See, a lot of blogging I see these days starts off by reading a story from the mainstream media, excerpting a small portion of it and responding to it. That’s what we do here at Donklephant, with the exception of a few essays and video reports. But, by and large, the business of blogging is about quickly sharing information with our readers and providing commentary along with it.

Blogging is often the digital equivalent of the barber shop/salon, kitchen table, and general store of previous generations. People gather their news, then sit around to discuss it. No one claimed they were the author of the stories they heard. They just repeated them, or shared the paper they might have in front of them, and gave their opinions.

This is like the AP is trying to hold back a flood by standing in front of the oncoming deluge holding a hand up and yelling STOP.

I use AP stories occasionally, but there is seldom a need for me to rely solely on them. With Google News I can find multiple sources for the same story in seconds. I always give a link to my sources not matter how much I use, so they certainly aren’t missing out on the credit.

Go ahead AP, tell me I can’t share the news I read from your newsstand. I’ll just go to one of the thousands next door.

Sunday Editorial on Editorial’s – The Portland Press Herald’s sad decline

Regular readers know that I am not a fan of the Portland Press Herald. My issues with the daily really boil down to personal choice. There is only so much time in the day. I can’t read everything, local or otherwise. I’m not going to waste my time reading something of questionable quality. I’m not going out of my way to attack the PPH. I can get Maine news from any number of sources on the web, including aggregated sources from Google News. When I can pick and choose the best of the best, why waste time with the least of the rest? My father in-law has said all he needs to read are the headlines of the Press Herald and he’s already got all he needs.

The Portland Press Herald has been in a steady decline since last summer. The paper has been on sale since March of 2008. Things headed even further south that June. Four bureaus were closed and 36 employees let go. A group recently approached owners of the Blethen Maine Newspapers, who owns the PPH, Kennebec Journal, Sentinel, and Sunday Telegram, in a effort to close a deal. It should be known that Blethen is now owned by a Seattle news corp.

from Recovering Journalist

Portland Press Herald/Maine Sunday Telegram: Put up for sale by the Blethen family last March; several allegedly close calls, but still no sale. Most recent development: The signing a couple weeks ago of a letter of intent for a sale, apparently to a group including previous attempted buyer Richard Connor, a Pennsylvania publisher. This would be Connor’s third swing at the papers, and it’s still not clear he can find financing, especially in this economy.

In all of this confusing mess it’s no surprise that the PHH’s quality has suffered. PPH writers are now missing stories from their own back yard. One opinion writer this morning calls the Press Herald on its lackadaisical journalism.

from PPH

I find it interesting to note that in the past week, The New York Times has published two long, detailed stories about life in Maine.

One was about the University of Maine at Presque Isle baseball team; the other about the lack of dentists in rural areas. Both were well-written and insightful. Both got plenty of space with pictures. [The Portland Press Herald] missed these. You constantly ignore other stories about life in our state, apparently satisfied with trying to puff life into your meager Web site, or with print content from wire services.

As one with some experience in the newspaper field, it would appear to me that you are comfortable with riding out your current ownership in the expectation that life will get better with a new owner.

That’s lazy journalism and an attitude not likely to improve with a change on the masthead. You are either in the business of journalism– eager to seek out stories, intent on reporting about life in our region – or you are not. A decent paper does not rely on PR releases or wire services.

You even relied on a freelancer to report on Yo-Yo Ma’s visit to Portland – truly a missed opportunity.

It’s no wonder you have a tough time economically: you have become irrelevant to Maine when your readers can find better stories in papers from away. Hopefully, luck is on your side. You’ll need it. You aren’t going to make it on craft.

With venerable papers like the Rocky Mountain Times, Seattle Post-Intelligencer, and San Francisco Chronicle either closed or close to closing the Press Herald can’t afford to be second rate. They shouldn’t be filling their paper with stories written by people from away or letting Maine stories go by the wayside. That is why we want local papers. I can get my national and world news at a click. I can get my local news at a click too, but a local writer should be adding that touch of knowing the people and environment they are writing about. That special something really shines through in writing and grabs the attention of readers.

Make me want to read what you write! Otherwise you deserve to fail.

I should point out that somehow the PPH and Maine Sunday Telegram won best paper of the year from New England Newspaper Association in their circulation range.

Sunday Editorial on Editorial’s – The Portland Press Herald’s sad decline

Regular readers know that I am not a fan of the Portland Press Herald. My issues with the daily really boil down to personal choice. There is only so much time in the day. I can’t read everything, local or otherwise. I’m not going to waste my time reading something of questionable quality. I’m not going out of my way to attack the PPH. I can get Maine news from any number of sources on the web, including aggregated sources from Google News. When I can pick and choose the best of the best, why waste time with the least of the rest? My father in-law has said all he needs to read are the headlines of the Press Herald and he’s already got all he needs.

The Portland Press Herald has been in a steady decline since last summer. The paper has been on sale since March of 2008. Things headed even further south that June. Four bureaus were closed and 36 employees let go. A group recently approached owners of the Blethen Maine Newspapers, who owns the PPH, Kennebec Journal, Sentinel, and Sunday Telegram, in a effort to close a deal. It should be known that Blethen is now owned by a Seattle news corp.

from Recovering Journalist

Portland Press Herald/Maine Sunday Telegram: Put up for sale by the Blethen family last March; several allegedly close calls, but still no sale. Most recent development: The signing a couple weeks ago of a letter of intent for a sale, apparently to a group including previous attempted buyer Richard Connor, a Pennsylvania publisher. This would be Connor’s third swing at the papers, and it’s still not clear he can find financing, especially in this economy.

In all of this confusing mess it’s no surprise that the PHH’s quality has suffered. PPH writers are now missing stories from their own back yard. One opinion writer this morning calls the Press Herald on its lackadaisical journalism.

from PPH

I find it interesting to note that in the past week, The New York Times has published two long, detailed stories about life in Maine.

One was about the University of Maine at Presque Isle baseball team; the other about the lack of dentists in rural areas. Both were well-written and insightful. Both got plenty of space with pictures. [The Portland Press Herald] missed these. You constantly ignore other stories about life in our state, apparently satisfied with trying to puff life into your meager Web site, or with print content from wire services.

As one with some experience in the newspaper field, it would appear to me that you are comfortable with riding out your current ownership in the expectation that life will get better with a new owner.

That’s lazy journalism and an attitude not likely to improve with a change on the masthead. You are either in the business of journalism– eager to seek out stories, intent on reporting about life in our region – or you are not. A decent paper does not rely on PR releases or wire services.

You even relied on a freelancer to report on Yo-Yo Ma’s visit to Portland – truly a missed opportunity.

It’s no wonder you have a tough time economically: you have become irrelevant to Maine when your readers can find better stories in papers from away. Hopefully, luck is on your side. You’ll need it. You aren’t going to make it on craft.

With venerable papers like the Rocky Mountain Times, Seattle Post-Intelligencer, and San Francisco Chronicle either closed or close to closing the Press Herald can’t afford to be second rate. They shouldn’t be filling their paper with stories written by people from away or letting Maine stories go by the wayside. That is why we want local papers. I can get my national and world news at a click. I can get my local news at a click too, but a local writer should be adding that touch of knowing the people and environment they are writing about. That special something really shines through in writing and grabs the attention of readers.

Make me want to read what you write! Otherwise you deserve to fail.

I should point out that somehow the PPH and Maine Sunday Telegram won best paper of the year from New England Newspaper Association in their circulation range.

Palin Saga Continues – Bristol and Levi break engagement

I just heard today that Bristol Palin (if you don’t know who that is you must live in a cave) and Levi Johnston broke off their engagement recently. There should probably be a joke there or some kind of “that’s what you get!” comment, but I just don’t have it in me.

from NY Times

The engagement between Gov. Sarah Palin’s daughter Bristol Palin, 18, and Levi Johnston is off. Mr. Johnston, 19, told The Associated Press that he and Bristol Palin mutually decided “a while ago” to end their relationship. Mr. Johnston declined to elaborate. The two are the parents of a boy, Tripp, who was born Dec. 27. Governor Palin revealed her daughter’s pregnancy days after being named as Senator John McCain’s running mate on the Republican presidential ticket.

When the announcement came on the news this morning I felt sympathy for Bristol and her son. My wife and I got pregnant two years ago. Our choice to get married and raise our child together was made in private. No one influenced us, we weren’t on the news, and our lives were used as a PR morality tale. We were able to make the choice to get married based on our love for each other and nothing else.

I feel a great deal of sorrow for Bristol Palin and Levi Johnston. Something that should be one of the most special times in a parent’s life was played out on the nightly news. Tabloid journalism tarnished a beautiful event with searches for the next big headline. Just look at the headline E! gave the story – Bristol Palin and her Baby Daddy break up. It’s is E!, an absolute stinking latrine that does not remotely deserve to have the title of journalism anywhere near it, but come on people.

Some out there may hint that they think Bristol Palin got what was coming to her thanks to Mommy Sarah. To those who hold that opinion I say what the Hell is wrong with you?! Can you not detach politics from the rest of life? I abhor Sarah Palin’s politics. I find her a dreadful ideologue. That doesn’t entitle her children to be open to such ridicule. As a parent I find the invasion into her children’s privacy vile. Say what you want about Sarah Palin, or any candidate, but children should have been completely off limits. One should not have to pay for the sins of the father.

I’ll leave you with one of the comments I read on this story that pretty much sums up my argument: This is not news and it is none of anyone’s business.

Let It Go – Fueling the Rush fires

Remember Nightmare on Elm St? Freddy Kruger could attack people in their dreams. Kruger’s came from whether or not people believed in him. In the most recent film to feature the slasher, Freddy vs Jason, Freddy had become powerless because the folks in Springwood have placed a moratorium on speaking about the killer. It seems that no one in the Democratic party has seen any of the Nightmare movies. If they have they didn’t see what I saw. If the Dems and left pundits had they would shut the Hell up about Rush Limbaugh.

Rush is the talk of the town right now. Bloggers left and right can’t seem to type enough about him. The Dems blame him for spoiling the bipartisan spirit. Repubs are trying desperately to find the millimeter of Limbaugh’s ass they have yet to kiss. If the Whitehouse is looking for anyone to blame in this mess they ought to look in the mirror.

It all started with a little comment by Rush. You all know it by heart now. “I hope Obama fails.” The comment was splashed all over every sort of media outlet you could imagine. People got pissed. People ranted and raved. The President told Republicans to stop listening to Rush if they wanted to get things done. Then came the firestorm, just like Limbaugh wanted. Rush put out the bait and many, including myself, took it.

The Democrats made this Frankenstein’s Monster, now they’ve got to deal with it. Constantly trying to strike back at Rush is not the answer. An egomaniacal entertainer like Limbaugh thrive off that. He can take it back on the air and say “ah ha they attack me because they’re afraid.” And the cycle continues. The same goes for pundits like O’Reilly and Olbermann. They feed off publicity, good or bad. Though Keith is really just leeching off the infamy of those he blasts. He’d have a fifteen minute show if he didn’t

How do the reasonable people out there put a stop to this? We’re doing it already. Though the media, and unfortunately our government, thinks we care what Limbaugh has to say they’re wrong. Limbaugh speaks to a certain base. He doesn’t represent all republicans or even a majority. Limbaugh’s followers are mainly on the fringes. Even if people may agree with what he says on occasion, his abrasive delivery keeps a good portion away. It’s not any different than Michael More.

Michael More became the poster boy for anti-American leftism during the Bush administration. Roger and Me and Bowling for Columbine were two of my favorite movies. I never saw Fahrenheit 9/11, but it was clear after that point that More had taken a left turn and was driving till he ran out of gas. Republicans tried their damnedest to link More to the Democrats any way they could. The Democratic core loved Michael More and didn’t care about the associations. Dem politicians and moderates quickly claimed they’d never heard of that More guy. The moderate public turned away from More and he became a non-issue. He still pops up once in a while, but the media power he seemed to once wield is gone.

Limbaugh appears to be a similar animal

from Donklephant

Remember those dark days for Democrats just a few years ago when controversial characters like Michael Moore and Cindy Sheehan became symbols of the liberal movement? Certain portions of the base loved it. The rest of American turned away.

Limbaugh could very well have the same effect on the conservative movement. And here’s why — like the Michael Moore of the Bush era, Limbaugh seems to be actively rooting against America. That’s not to say he’s anti-American (or that Moore is/was either), just that he’s so vituperative in his critique of the current administration that his words can easily be turned against him and the right in general.

Politically speaking, Democrats are smart to play up Limbaugh’s influence within the Republican party. But they don’t want to overplay it. If Obama’s early economic initiatives fail or if he mishandles an unforeseen foreign crisis, Limbaugh has the rhetorical power to whip American resentment into real anger. The more prominent he is, the more damaging to the Democrats he could be.

Limbaugh’s core will always love him. That should be of no concern to anyone. If the Republicans grow some balls and disassociate from Limbaugh, Rush will sink back to the safety of his strongest supporters. He will still periodically lob a few grenades into the trenches on the other side. That is what he does, and like his opinions or not he does it well. Keep poking Rushbo, keep bowing to him and you might find voters wont discount him as easily as they did More.

Katie Couric Not Center of Universe – Sarah Palin And Media Responsibility

Even after the election was over people still couldn’t get enough of Sarah Palin. The circus side show that is Sarah Palin continues to make headlines. A soon to be released documentary entitled “Media Malpractice: How Obama Got Elected.” contains an interview with Palin. Sarah Palin makes it abundantly clear in the interview that she is still bitter she did not remain a media darling throughout the election.

Palin targeted CBS reporter Katie Couric in her interview for the documentary. For those who don’t remember, Couric had asked Palin in an interview during the election season what newspapers and magazines she read, a pretty basic question. Palin couldn’t answer except to say “anything and everything”. Katie Couric told David Letterman after the election that she was disappointed no one followed up in future interviews. “Katie, you’re not the center of everyone’s universe,” replied Palin.

Palin blamed what she called unfair coverage on the old ghost of media biased along with classism and sexism. Palin apparently took Couric’s question on what she read as an attack on those “folks up there in Alaska”, inferring that perhaps Katie meant they didn’t read at all.

“To me the question was more along the lines of: Do you read? What do you guys do up there? What is it that you read? And perhaps I was just too flippant in my answer back to her…”

Palin also questioned the media’s coverage of Caroline Kennedy in an obvious attempt at class warfare.

“I’ve been interested also to see how Caroline Kennedy will be handled and if she’ll be handled with kid gloves or if she will be under such a microscope also. It’s gonna to be interesting to see how that plays out and I think that as we watch that we will perhaps be able to prove that there is a class issue here also that was such a factor in the scrutiny of my candidacy versus, say, the scrutiny of what her candidacy may be.”

The coverage of Caroline Kennedy has been fair. I have seen many questions raised to her qualifications as a senator on the blogs of The Moderate Voice and Donklephant as well as The Wall Street Journal, The Atlantic, The Boston Globe, and The Washington Post have all reported fairly on Kennedy and not always favorably.

Frankly, I enjoy Sarah Palin. She has led me to put “SY” on descriptors of myself, though the only thing folksy about me is perhaps my large beard. Palin has spawned some of the best SNL in over five years. Unlike Ann Coulter who makes me sick when she speaks, Sarah Palin gives me a delightful chuckle. Perhaps that is why she scares me ten times more than the obvious looming right wing specter of Coulter.

Katie Couric Not Center of Universe – Sarah Palin And Media Responsibility

Even after the election was over people still couldn’t get enough of Sarah Palin. The circus side show that is Sarah Palin continues to make headlines. A soon to be released documentary entitled “Media Malpractice: How Obama Got Elected.” contains an interview with Palin. Sarah Palin makes it abundantly clear in the interview that she is still bitter she did not remain a media darling throughout the election.

Palin targeted CBS reporter Katie Couric in her interview for the documentary. For those who don’t remember, Couric had asked Palin in an interview during the election season what newspapers and magazines she read, a pretty basic question. Palin couldn’t answer except to say “anything and everything”. Katie Couric told David Letterman after the election that she was disappointed no one followed up in future interviews. “Katie, you’re not the center of everyone’s universe,” replied Palin.

Palin blamed what she called unfair coverage on the old ghost of media biased along with classism and sexism. Palin apparently took Couric’s question on what she read as an attack on those “folks up there in Alaska”, inferring that perhaps Katie meant they didn’t read at all.

“To me the question was more along the lines of: Do you read? What do you guys do up there? What is it that you read? And perhaps I was just too flippant in my answer back to her…”

Palin also questioned the media’s coverage of Caroline Kennedy in an obvious attempt at class warfare.

“I’ve been interested also to see how Caroline Kennedy will be handled and if she’ll be handled with kid gloves or if she will be under such a microscope also. It’s gonna to be interesting to see how that plays out and I think that as we watch that we will perhaps be able to prove that there is a class issue here also that was such a factor in the scrutiny of my candidacy versus, say, the scrutiny of what her candidacy may be.”

The coverage of Caroline Kennedy has been fair. I have seen many questions raised to her qualifications as a senator on the blogs of The Moderate Voice and Donklephant as well as The Wall Street Journal, The Atlantic, The Boston Globe, and The Washington Post have all reported fairly on Kennedy and not always favorably.

Frankly, I enjoy Sarah Palin. She has led me to put “SY” on descriptors of myself, though the only thing folksy about me is perhaps my large beard. Palin has spawned some of the best SNL in over five years. Unlike Ann Coulter who makes me sick when she speaks, Sarah Palin gives me a delightful chuckle. Perhaps that is why she scares me ten times more than the obvious looming right wing specter of Coulter.