Month: August 2024

80s Radio Broadcasts in California, Found

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Article in Slashdot by Editor David, 8/19/24

Headline: Internet Archive Streams Re-Discovered 1980s Radio Show About Early Computers

“In the 1980s, a radio show about home computers was broadcast on a handful of California radio stations. 40 years later, reel-to-reel tapes of the shows were re-discovered — and digitized — by an Internet Archive special collections manager.

“Interviews in the recovered recordings include Timothy Leary, Douglas Adams, Bill Gates, Atari’s Jack Tramiel, Apple’s Bill Atkinson, and dozens of others. The recovered shows span November 17 1984 through July 12, 1985.”

https://idle.slashdot.org/story/24/08/19/0454252/internet-archive-streams-re-discovered-1980s-radio-show-about-early-computers

 

When Being a Brave Reporter Can Get You Killed

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Article from The Guardian by Andrew Gumbel, 8/17/24

Headline “Journalist Jeff German was stabbed to death. Las Vegas watches as the accused politician goes on trial”

Sub-head: “German had written about workplace harassment by Robert Telles, a county lawyer, before he was killed”

“Two months after German’s death, his colleagues at the Review Journal retrieved his notes and contacted his sources and fleshed out a long story about . . . ” the alleged murderer.

“Part of the investigative team’s goal was to pay homage to their fallen colleague in the language he understood best: old-fashioned, muck-raking journalism. ‘All we did after Jeff was killed was work on the investigation and deal with our trauma and grief,’ Prast said.

“In a precarious news business, however, in which investigations are expensive and newsroom budgets strapped, the Review-Journal has gone through two years of upheaval, leaving only one of German’s colleagues still at the paper.”

The full story:  https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/article/2024/aug/17/jeff-german-las-vegas-journalist-murder-trial

Newspapers of the Future? Wait . . . The Onion?!

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Article in the New York Times by Benjamin Mullin, 8/16/24

Headline: “No Joke: The Onion Thinks Print Is the Future of Media”

Sub-head: “The satirical site is hoping a newspaper with fake stories and fake ads will lead to real money”

“The Onion: ‘Americans Demand New Form of Media to Bridge Entertainment Gap While Looking From Laptop to Phone’

“The Onion will hand out its new print edition next week at the Democratic National Convention in Chicago — where The Onion is based — though Mr. Collins joked that the publication was not credentialed to cover the event.

“The major influx of influential journalists will make it a perfect opportunity to debut the print edition, said Jordan LaFlure, The Onion’s executive editor.”

https://www.nytimes.com/2024/08/16/business/media/the-onion-print-paper.html?searchResultPosition=1

When News Becomes Ads

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Article in Associated Press by David Bader, 8/16/24

Headline:  “They look like — and link to — real news articles. But they’re actually ads from the Harris campaign”

In the struggle for our minds, the line between advertising and actual news is shrinking.

“If you’re not looking too closely, some recent Kamala Harris ads may give the false impression that some leading news organizations are taking sides in the campaign for president.

“The advertisements, which have turned up in some Google search feeds, include links to legitimate news stories but feature — in words that appear to be headlines from the originating news organizations — pro-Harris messages written by the Democrat’s campaign.”

https://apnews.com/article/advertising-harris-google-guardian-2551b67dcf742df0d079122b25dd63d9

 

 

Political Media Too Dull to Appeal to Most?

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From an article in Politico by Joanna Weiss,

Headline:  “Send Snoop to the Convention: What Political Media Can Learn From the Olympics “

“Let’s face it, political TV is in a rut. Nine years after former President Donald Trump burst on the scene, upending every political convention, his behavior has become familiar, and the countdown to the next election has started to feel stultifying for many voters — especially after months when Americans seemed bored by the most recent iteration of a race between the same two old white guys.

“Now, there’s an opportunity to build on the energy of Vice President Kamala Harris’ entrance in the campaign — and perhaps make the coverage of the next few weeks even livelier and more revelatory than before. ”

https://www.politico.com/news/magazine/2024/08/11/celebrities-political-coverage-convention-olympics-00173462

How Media Lose Credibility Through Hysteria

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Media pundits know best!  Always believe the pundits!


Article by Jennifer Rubin in her weekly ‘live-chat’ session in the Washington Post on 8/14/24.

Answer to a reader’s question in regard to the recent over-reaction of most media to the stock-market dip:

“‘How does an old guy in Wisconsin, with a modest but very real portfolio, understand the economy better than the would-be “experts” on the East Coast? Why are the pundits and “experts” so quick to shout “doom.” It can’t all be clickbait…or is it?

“The negative news bias and hysteria-to-induce-alarm might get eyeballs and clicks in the short term, but they undermine the credibility of the press. The latter winds up misinforming the voters. It would help if major outlets brought back competent ombudsmen.”

response by another reader:

“Yes, the mainstream media continues to lose credibility and this past weeks’ market reports prove that. No way would there be a collapse, though it was reported as such. The market recovered by the end of the week. Those of us “little guys” out there know this. It’s the media (and the Trumpers) that look for disaster around every corner, looking for that needle in a haystack, and yet they largely overlook Trump’s alarming mental deterioration (Re: his Harris/Brown fantasy helicopter trip).”

https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2024/08/14/jennifer-rubin-live-chat

 

Cop Charged After Raid on Newspaper

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Washington Post photo.

Continuing saga of the Kansas police chief vs. Marion County Record.  Cop now charged with a felony.  Raid a newspaper and an editor’s home  – FAFO.

Article in the Washington Post on 8/13/24 by Ben Brasch and Sofia Andrade.

Headline:  “Ex-police chief who led raid on Kansas newspaper faces felony charge”

“The Aug. 11, 2023, raid of the Marion County Record’s newsroom and the home of its editor and publisher, Eric Meyer, brought the nation’s attention to a county of 12,000 residents roughly 60 miles north of Wichita. The raid sparked national outrage from press freedom advocates.”

https://www.washingtonpost.com/media/2023/08/26/marion-county-newspaper-police-raid-what-really-happened/

Bangladesh Could Have Free Press Soon

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From The Guardian article of 8/9/24 by Redwan Ahmed and Kaamil Ahmed.

Headline:  “Bangladeshi journalists hopeful of press freedom as Hasina era ends”

Recently the authoritarian leader Sheikh Hasina fled the country after protesters forced her out.  This followed years of oppressive rule and censorship of the press.

“Arrests, abuse and forced disappearances at the hands of Bangladesh’s security forces have loomed over journalists for most of Hasina’s 15-year rule, preventing them from routine reporting for fear of writing anything that could be perceived as embarrassing for the government.”

Link:  https://www.theguardian.com/global-development/article/2024/aug/09/bangladeshi-journalists-hopeful-for-return-to-press-freedom-as-hasina-era-ends

Right-wing media push “migrant crime” story

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Article from Media Matters 8/9/24 by Chloe Simon & Noah Dowe

Headline:  “Right-wing media continue abhorrent racism and xenophobia as they try to push baseless ‘migrant crime’ wave narrative”

“Right-wing media’s fixation with an alleged “migrant crime” wave has continued in 2024, even while violent crime and border crossings decline. In trying to make migrant crime a key election issue . . . ”

Link to article:  https://www.mediamatters.org/immigration/right-wing-media-continue-abhorrent-racism-and-xenophobia-they-try-push-baseless