Curated knowlege, trenchant insights & witty bon mots
I have no personal insights, but here's a snippet of a June 21 Ouimet posting: Last night at the Drake Antonia Zerbisias explained to a packed room why she won't be writing a column on media criticism any more. It was all off the record but from what I understand it was a cracking good [...]
Mon, June 25 2007 » Main Page, Media » Comments Off
Tony Long, copy chief for Wired News, defends the thesis of Web 2.0 critic Andrew Keen; namely, the Internet is a refuge for “mediocrity and dilettantism.” (thanks, Kevin!) From the Wired commentary: The Cult of the Amateur: How Today's Internet Is Killing Our Culture bemoans the rise of amateurism in all spheres of professional life, specifically [...]
Mon, June 25 2007 » Main Page, Media » Comments Off
From the BBC: Fans of MySpace and Facebook are divided by much more than which music they like, suggests a study. A six-month research project has revealed a sharp division along class lines among the American teenagers flocking to the social network sites. The research suggests those using Facebook come from wealthier homes and are [...]
Mon, June 25 2007 » Main Page, Media, Minutiae » Comments Off
Sometimes justice does prevail! From the Washington Post: The D.C. administrative law judge who sued his neighborhood dry cleaner for $54 million over a pair of lost pants found out today what he's going to get for all his troubles: Nothing. In a verdict that surprised no one, except perhaps the plaintiff himself, a D.C. [...]
Mon, June 25 2007 » Main Page, Minutiae » Comments Off
The Guardian's Glastonbury 2007 home page. BBC Online – Glastonbury 2007 (includes video of sets) BBC News – Festival season 2007 The Independent – Sure it's a bit corporate at Glastonbury. So what? (commentary, Mark Ellen, editor, The Word magazine)
Mon, June 25 2007 » Main Page, Minutiae » Comments Off
From the BBC: Nato has said it needs to do better in its operations in Afghanistan, after coming under criticism from Afghan President Hamid Karzai. Mr Karzai accused Nato and US-led troops of failing to co-ordinate with their Afghan allies, thereby causing civilian deaths. A Nato spokesman said Mr Karzai had a right to be [...]
Mon, June 25 2007 » * Big Picture Stuff, Main Page » Comments Off
From a Saturday Globe and Mail story on the drought hitting the southern and southwestern United States: Worst of all for some, the Jack Daniels distillery in Lynchburg, Tenn., has warned it may have to reduce or suspend production, because the iron-free spring waters on which it relies are flowing as much as two-thirds below [...]
Mon, June 25 2007 » Main Page, Minutiae » Comments Off
From the NYT: While the networks tussled over which would land the first interview with Paris Hilton after her release from jail, the upstart Web site TMZ.com was breaking most of the news. On June 3, TMZ.com was the only media outlet to capture on video Ms. Hilton’s surrender at the Los Angeles central jail [...]
Mon, June 25 2007 » Main Page, Media » Comments Off
And as a result, some French journalists are feeling the chill breeze of self-censorship blow across the backs of their necks. From the NYT story: It took just a few days for Rue89 to emerge as an online refuge for critical political articles and readers suspicious of cozy ties between the new French president, Nicolas [...]
Mon, June 25 2007 » Main Page, Media » Comments Off
From the BBC: The kidnappers of BBC correspondent Alan Johnston have released a new video of him in which he is wearing what he says is an explosives vest. In the tape, Mr Johnston says his captors have said they will detonate the vest if force is used to try to free him. It is [...]