enarcmot

Now – What Was That Thing Called “Journalism” Again?

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Article in futurism.com,  5/11/23 Is Google getting ready to replace human journalists? From Futurism 5/11/23

Headline:  “Google Unveils Plan to Demolish the Journalism Industry Using AI”

https://futurism.com/google-ai-search-journalism


Chat GPT Future Journalist?

“The Silicon Valley giant has long claimed that its goal is to maximize access to information. SGE (AI-powered search interface, dubbed ‘Search Generative Experience’) though, seemingly seeks to do something quite different — and if the company doesn’t figure out a way to compensate publishers for the labor it’ll be gleaning from the journalists, the effects on the public’s actual access to information could be catastrophic.”

 

How to Translate the Media

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From Daily Kos, May, 2023 :

“. . . when a reporter relays information from “a source close to” someone important, we’re probably looking at a shopped story—one the source was explicitly asked to give to the media. When they say “who wasn’t authorized to speak publicly,” that just means the source doesn’t want their own name attached. And yes, “source close to ‘(newsmaker)’ can often just mean ‘(newsmaker)’ themselves.”

Death of the Newsroom by Maureen Dowd

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Opinion article in the New York Times by Maureen Dowd 4/29/23

Headline:  “Requiem for the Newsroom”


“Newsrooms have been shrinking and disappearing for a long time, of course, due to shifting economics and the digital revolution.

“But now I’m looking for proof of life on an eerie ghost ship.

“. . . when a big story broke at The Star . . .  you could see history happening. People would cluster over a reporter’s desk, pile into the boss’s office and sometimes break into incredibly loud fights. There were weirdos in newsrooms, and fabulous role models occasionally, and the spirit of being part of a motley entourage. Now it’s just you and the little cursor on your screen.”

https://www.nytimes.com/2023/04/29/opinion/journalism-newsroom.html?action=click&module=Well&pgtype=Homepage§ion=Sunday%20Opinion

 

 

Media freedom in dire state in record number of countries, report finds

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Article in The Guardian by Oliver Holmes, 5/2/23.

Headline:  Media freedom in dire state in record number of countries, report finds

Sub-head:  World Press Freedom Index report warns disinformation and AI pose mounting threats to journalism

“The Middle East is the world’s most dangerous region for journalists. But the Americas no longer have any country coloured green, meaning “good”, on the press freedom map. The US fell three places to 45th. The Asia Pacific region is dragged down by regimes hostile to reporters, such as Myanmar (173rd) and Afghanistan (152nd).

“’We are witnessing worrying trends, but the big question is if these trends are a hiccup or a sign of a world going backwards,’ said Guilherme Canela, the global lead on freedom of speech at Unesco. ‘Physical attacks, digital attacks, the economic situation, and regulatory tightening: we are facing a perfect storm.’”

 

 

https://www.theguardian.com/media/2023/may/03/media-freedom-in-dire-state-in-record-number-of-countries-report-finds

Loss of Local News Outlets is a Loss in History

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Article in History Today by Rachel Matthews, Carole O’Reilly, Martin Conboy, 5/5/23

Headline:  “What do historians lose with the decline of local “news?


“The move to digital has put papers online and also removed the surrounding trappings, such as town centre offices or newspaper sellers, from our streets. Financial pressures mean fewer staff, who are reliant on remote methods of communication rather than being visible in communities.

“The loss of the printed local newspaper has robbed historians of many crucial opportunities to learn about their communities, the mechanisms of democracy and the changing character of any given locality.”

https://www.historytoday.com/archive/head-head/what-do-historians-lose-decline-local-news

 

Newspaper seller, London, 1900. George Grantham Bain Collection.
Newspaper seller, London, 1900. George Grantham Bain Collection.

 

Journalism is not a Crime Says Prez

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Article from United Pres International by Joe Fisher, 4/30/23

Headline:  “Biden shows support for free press at White House Correspondents’ dinner”

“The president’s speech was tailored to supporting journalism in light of attacks against a free press, particularly by Russia. He called on Russia to release Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich, who has been in a Russian prison for a month.”

https://www.upi.com/Top_News/US/2023/04/30/president-biden-white-house-correspondents-age/5451682872825/

Printing Plant Fire Cheats Last Local Paper Out of its Last Edition

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Article in the New York Times by Cory Kilgannon, 4/26/23

Headline:  “A Newspaper Was Planning Its Last Edition. Then the Press Caught Fire.”


“. . . but on Monday morning, Ms. Baranauckas received an email with some troubling news: There had been a fire at the printing plant in Rockaway, N.J.

“Gannett would not comment on the Local’s situation but did release a statement saying that there were no injuries in the fire. ‘Two printing presses sustained damage and some production schedules were impacted,’ it said.

“For the Local, alternatives were scarce; it’s not so easy to find someone to print a newspaper these days. But Ms. Baranauckas was resolute.

“We will figure out a way to do it,” she said. “If I have to print it out on my home printer and walk it door to door, that’s what I’ll do.”

https://www.nytimes.com/2023/04/26/nyregion/montclair-local-newspaper-fire.html

FCM Website Attacked by Bots.

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The Friends of Community Media website (ourfcm.org) was recently under an attack seemingly by DoS bots (dedicated denial of service), designed to overload the system.  This was done with fake bot email addresses.


Many of these were fake email addresses with an address that had the domain name appended to the email address as .ru – an extension representing Russia. The FCM website  required registration before viewing. Each of these fake emails became registered and started to fill up the FCM WordPress database.

This was a mistake and made the site vulnerable.

With this attack up to10 new registrations a day started occurring starting in January, 2023. These eventually mounted up to over 5,000 fake addresses which had to be manually deleted.

To respond, the admin of ourfcm.com stopped people requiring to be registered on the site. Also, a message was sent back to some of the phony emails that said, “Mumakhala ngati nyani akuphanguka” – an appropriate phrase in another language. Responses to the FCM message were kicked back as not being real email addresses.

Unfortunately many sites like this one, are subject to attack by the deniers of free information-flow that can challenge authoritarians and dictators.

Journalism Under Attack by Zealots in Some U.S. Towns

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Article in The Guardian by Marlena Sloss, 4/22/23

Headline:   A California journalist documents the far-right takeover of her town: ‘We’re a test case’

“Doni Chamberlain (reporter at http://anewscafe.com) has made a point of not interacting with those who attack her directly, and continuing her reporting. But the exchanges, along with the menacing, graphic threats to her and her staff and others in the community, and the lack of action from law enforcement have fundamentally changed how she approaches her job.

“But the threats make doing journalism in Shasta county particularly challenging, she added. Finding sources is difficult. Many people are afraid of speaking out, even anonymously.”

https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2023/apr/21/california-journalist-far-right-takover-shasta-county