Finding Political News Online, the Young Pass It On - New York Times

Appleseed: The News Literacy Project | Tides Center

Practical Traveler: Trans-Atlantic Flights - Getting to Europe Is About to Get Easier - Travel - New York Times

I am especially interested in all the ways that Raleigh-Durham Airport and Nice Cote d'Azur airport plan to profit from these changes.

The War Endures, but Where’s the Media? - New York Times

A Murdoch Sets Her Own Course in TV - New York Times

This is quite an interesting story.

Katharine Q. Seelye - On Line - Election 2008 - Politics - New York Times

There is no doubt in my mind but that we will all be voting on the web for the President and other electec officials one day. What's so fascinating about this is the resiliency of concern over some areas of technological advancement. We are prepared to accept more mistakes, I would argue, when the mistakes are not embedded in a machine but rather in plane view, rather than in a place where none of us non-techies can penetrate. Oversight of this process is essential, and we should move more intelligently toward this goal of online voting.

"Obama France"

I was curious to know whether there are any organized groups of French people - and others in France - supporting OBAMA. This blog was the closest thing that I could find. Some quite interesting observations by whoever is doing this - one "cpachai" according to the profile associated with the blog. Why are so many people like this so reluctant to say who they really are?

In any case, it's a site worth a look.....

"Three New York Moguls in Talks to Buy Newsday" - The New York Times

This is another extraordinary sign of the times. We will look back on this period, I think, as one during which newspaper publishing became a much more personal as opposed to corporate undertaking. Owner-publishers will emerge from odd places and both First Amendment principles and our political system are bound to be affected by how this plays forward.

Blogging and Newspapers, a Lesson in How Not to Brand and Market - Blog Maverick

Bravo!

Send an Email - United States Representative Steve King

This is the Congressman who reportedly said that terrorists would dance in the streets if Barack OBAMA is elected President.

I wanted to ask him if he really said that.

But he has this set up - as do too many Representatives - to preclude any non-constituent from communicating with him.

It is perfectly appropriate for his constituents to have a preferred route of access, but to preclude the rest of us - unless we print and mail a letter or make a phone call - reflects a weakness unbecoming of a Member of the House of Representatives. In more colloquial terms, only wimps behave this way, and therefore this guy must be a wimp, I conclude.

Of course, he is free to correct the record here. I let anyone offer a comment and post all who write clearly regardless of whether they agree or strongly disagree. I seem to recall something about how democracy hinges on such exchanges.

Well, it seems to be true according to this report from the Associated Press. How sad to think that the good people of Iowa actually elected this man.

He needs a tremendous amount of professional and, above all, spiritual guidance. I hope someone connected to him - family, friends or constituents will offer to fill that void.

"Police: UNC Student Killed With Handgun" - AP

For God's sake, let's get rid of handguns. They have no place in a civilzed society. Special interests be damned; if the majority feels that people other than law enforcement should not be able to own handguns, w3hy shouldn't the majority prevail? If it provokes a Second Amendment challenge, so be it. Not to try is cowardice.

newsobserver.com | Wake schools speaker policy faces review

I am embarrassed to live in the same state as do the people responsible for imposing such an obnoxious policy on speakers of any kind. It is repulsive to me and to First Amendment principles. The people responsible for it ought to be asked to leave office; they are not fit to serve in my estimation.

Report: N.C. needs more lawyers | newsobserver.com projects

"Living in Huntington Village, Long Island - The Heart and Soul of Suburbia" - New York Times

My home town.

"How Internet Censorship Works" - Howstuffworks

We all ought to understand this much better than most of us do....

"Web Site That Posts Leaked Material Ordered Shut" - The New York Times

This is a very troubling move by a lone federal judge. I hope that all parties involved will use it as a means to reaffirm the law that the US Government should virtually never ever be able to shut off speech whether it looks like a domain address or a lonely pamphleteer on the street corner.

A Realist Called Obama - New York Times

This sure captures my feelings about OBAMA and why I am supporting him. Roger COHEN speaks for me on this one, as he often does.

Candidate hypotheticals...

Why are we are we not seeing more creative, smart hypotheticals posed to CLINTON and OBAMA especially. These need not touch real people, places, circumstances. They can be imaginary problems in imaginary places, but we need to hear more about how each would tackle the same problem. These are best posed with the other candidate not hearing the response of the first. That's really the only way that we can improve our sense of how each would address problems. The hypotheticals could even be given to the candidates in advance an even made public. That all makes those exercises a lot closer to real life.....

Why not?

Here are the NC Democratic super delegates, according to the Washington Post:

"NORTH CAROLINA
Democratic National Committee DNC Affiliation Type
Joyce Brayboy MEMBERS-AT-LARGE
Susan Burgess NAT'L DEMOCRATIC MUNICIPAL OFFICIALS CONFERENCE
Jeanette Council NORTH CAROLINA DNC MEMBER
Jerry Meek NORTH CAROLINA DNC MEMBER
Dannie Montgomery NORTH CAROLINA DNC MEMBER
Muriel K. Offerman NORTH CAROLINA DNC MEMBER
David Parker NORTH CAROLINA DNC MEMBER
Carol W. Peterson NORTH CAROLINA DNC MEMBER
Everett Ward NORTH CAROLINA DNC MEMBER
Democratic Governor
Michael F. Easley
U.S. House of Representatives
G.K. Butterfield
Bob Etheridge
Mike McIntyre
Brad Miller
David Price
Heath Shuler
Melvin Watt

State's Total Number of Super Delegates: 17"

and here is what the News & Observer (Raleigh) reports is the current state of commitment:

"WHO HAS COMMITTED?
COMMITTED TO CLINTON
* Susan Burgess, Charlotte, member of the Democratic National Committee
COMMITTED TO OBAMA
* U.S. Rep. G.K. Butterfield of Wilson
* Everett Ward, Raleigh, member of the Democratic National Committee
* Dannie Montgomery, Anson County, member of the Democratic National Committee
NOT COMMITTED
Remaining 13 superdelegates, including Gov. Mike Easley and U.S. Reps. David Price of Chapel Hill, Brad Miller of Raleigh and Bob Etheridge of Lillington. "

"Encrypted Laptop Poses Legal Dilemma" - The New York Times

What a fascinating legal issue this is!

"Madison daily Capital Times switching to free weekly paper" - The Business Journal of Milwaukee

Newspapers must work harder than ever to get good content and services delivered to people who want what they have to offer. Some will pay for some things, but it looks less and less likely that a sufficient number will want to pay for the current newspaper "package" to keep the model alive for much longer. It does not have to end this way but I fear it will.

La famille kényane de Barack Obama se plaint de l'afflux de journalistes

Barack OBAMA's Kenyan family is geting interviewed a lot by reporters.

RGJ.com: New dean at UNR wants to improve journalism

A superb editor in a wonderful new role.

"In CBS Test, Mobile Ads Find Users" - Media News

This could be used for a great many "local" news stories as well. Pssst, the police just responded to a robbery around the corner from where you are standing......

NBC17, Breaking News, Local News, Weather, NBC17, Raleigh Durham Cary Chapel Hill - NBC 17

It's surprising, to say the least, to see how hard it is for media managers - and others - to understand how the market moves between and among various media.

For example, there was a big pitch today on the local NBC station - WNCN - about how the manager wants to hear from viewers. Send me an e-mail and I promise you a response, he said.

myreview@wncn.com

I thought I would check this out on the station's website to learn more about what they were doing with the comments received from viewers.

There is not a single mention of this e-mail address or the on-air request for comment on the website.

Is the relationship between the television and the internet media that hard to understand?

"The Platform: Reading Newspapers on the Kindle"

This is pretty interesting. I have not tried the device yet, but, you know, we have spent a couple of decades thinking and arguing about print v. electronic and within "electronic" about PC v. Mac and then all the various styles, sizes and formats. In the end, people are finding that they can do a lot more with what they get electronically but it is not the same experience as reading on paper. Like so many of these debates, what seems most suprising is that it is taking so long for technology and the marketplace to work this out. Is it enough simply to say that you can get The New York Times a hundred different ways and therefore we are all content simply to make our choice. I don't think the future of that institution - The Times - rests very well on that foundation and that may explain why the whole process seems so unstable.

NPR: Twelve, Betting on a Dozen Books Each Year

newsobserver.com | Panel pushes ambitious transit plan

It sure would be nice to think that Chapel Hill could have a rail connection to all of its neighbors, including Hillsborough...but probably not south to Pittsboro, but why not?

'Ban restaurants from serving obese people' - Telegraph

This is a bill in Mississippi!

Debate thoughts

Why was it that The New York Times story about President CLINTON and Khazakstan did not arise?
--
Would it not be better to start posing meaningful hypothetical problems and situations to the candidates rather than to continue to parse the past? Wouldn't that be more consistent with OBAMA's focus on the future?

Microsoft Bids $44.6 Billion for Yahoo - New York Times

Many years ago, newspapers and Microsoft saw themselves as two of the biggest competitors in the future of electronic communication. So it was and so it seems, once again, to be.....

MinOnline :: Breaking News & Views :: New Engagement Metrics from BusinessWeek.com

An excellent move.

Harvard's Gates Heads New Online Forum - New York Times

How the candidates rate on First Amendment issues

This needs to be fleshed out a LOT more in the days and weeks ahead.....but it is a good start.

Newspaper Web Sites Draw Record Viewers

Around the World, the U.S. Campaign Is Close to Home - New York Times

Wikipedia survey to analyse volunteer community - Internet - www.itnews.com.au

Le Monde.fr : Incertitude sur les places boursières européennes après la chute des marchés asiatiques

At least Le Monde has created one page which it is updating fairly regularly with news from around the world relating to stock markets. Why are not other news organizations doing this?

Keeping posted...

Perhaps 15, no, maybe 20 years ago I was trying to use a new service at the time - I don't recall the name, but it was linked in some way to the early Compuserve. The idea in any case was to allow online access - prior to the web - to more up to date wire service and newspaper stories. What I wanted to follow as I remember it was the latest news on a hurricane or some such subject. All I got was time worn stories that failed to give me the "here and now".

So, too, I have found is the case even today.

It is astounding to see global stock markets is such astounding flux at 5:30 AM Eastern Standard Time today and to have so few news organizations, or purported "news" organization like Google News bringing this news to us. The New York Times has done the best job, but there seems to be nothing between New York Times-filed stories.

Why have we evolved so little over two decades?

Hundreds of Layoffs Expected at Yahoo - New York Times

L.A. Times Editor Is Forced Out - New York Times

Zagat Publisher Seeks Buyer - New York Times

How The Arab Press Sees Bush Trip, If Beauty Is In The Eye Of The Beholder, So Is News In The Expanding Universe Of Middle East Media - CBS News

French Cabinet Position Not Enough? Then Try Mayor. - New York Times

newsobserver.com | Olives fit in healthful diet

Family plans to sell Weather Channel parent

allAfrica.com: Africa: Press Freedom Round-Up 2007 (Page 1 of 3)

Saudis Confirm Detention of Blogger - New York Times

Bush Signs Bill for Public Access - New York Times

Looking at America - New York Times

Without Correspondents In Pakistan, TV Networks Rely on Producers and Part-Timers - TV Decoder - Media & Television - New York Times Blog

Despite Woes, McClatchy Banks on Newspapers - WSJ.com

The Ink Fades on a Profession as India Modernizes - New York Times

Laptop Project Enlivens Peruvian Hamlet - New York Times

The real test of this program comes when we see HOW the computers actually were used by the young people. Do they make better people of themselves as a result, or do they only have a good time? The latter is certainly positive, but the former has so much more potential. Which will it be?

newsobserver.com | Federal budget bears gifts for Triangle

The real question with all of these items is whether they were subjected to debate and discussion or whether any of these are earmarks and if so, who put them in the legislation.

Girl Power Is in Full Force Online - New York Times

Quoted in the News? Post a Comment, Please - New York Times

BBC World Service | Free To Speak

BBC World Service Free To Speak

Splashnews.com: The Only Site you need for Celebrity Photos

I had not seen this site until today.

Newspaper/Web Readers More Likely to Be 'Influencers'

Trees in North Carolina

I sent this note today to Hampton DELLINGER, one of the candidates for Lieutenant Governor of North Carolina in next year's elections:

"This news is really discouraging, especially after seeing so many trees recently cut around us in Southern Village.http://www.newsobserver.com/news/story/820340.html

You should consider - if you have not already - a campaign pledge to halt the decline in North Carolina trees. In other words, take the position that under your watch, you will work -- i.e., do all that you can from the bully pulpit you will have as Lt Gov - to retain and expand the total number of trees in the state. Surely there must be measures of this and I believe that this is the sort of bold initiative that GORE talked about in Oslo today.

If you choose not to do so, I'll be real interested in knowing why."

Saturn of Chapel Hill

I encountered a Saturn of Chapel Hill van on 15-501 the other day. It was tailgating, moving between lanes in an unsafe manner and traveling well above the speed limit. When I called the dealership, I got the runaround and finally was told by the general manager that he would not assure me that they had taken action and suggested I call the police next time. One would have thought that a firm that sells motor vehicles would care about road safety a lot more than surely seemed to be the case. When I called the Chapel Hill Police, they asked for the details - the Saturn people did not - and promised to follow up with a call to the dealership. They were promising to do their job; Saturn of Chapel Hill seemed to me to be shirking their community responsibilities. The manager told me it was not my business. My answer to that is that anything that affects road safety is the business of all of us.

HADLEY interview on NPR

Why should NPR have run out of time interviewing Stephen HADLEY, the National Security Advisor, about Iran two days ago? Shouldn't we expect NPR to change its schedule when there is something as important as this with someone as close to the "action" as is HADLEY? I would expect NPR to do this, and - perhaps most surprising - I would have thought that they would have continued the interview off air but on line if that was the only option. To do less than that, as was the case, is a big disappointment.

Citizen to Citizen

NPR : Daimler to Market Smart Car in U.S. in January

Motoring | Customers line up for tiny Smart car | Seattle Times Newspaper

Dow Jones CEO Resigns, As News Corp. Moves In - WSJ.com

C.I.A. Destroyed Tapes of Harsh Interrogations - New York Times

This is not the US system of criminal justice as I came to love it. How can any of us read a story like this and react with anything less than horror that people who work for us, sworn to uphold principles critical to our system of justice, could do such things. Those in positions to do so should initiate investigatory actions aimed at all who may have been involved in such actions, and they all should be brought to justice. It is the only way we can begin to regain a system of justice from the damage inflicted upon it in recent years.

TV people out in the cold....

Why is it that TV performers, all too often called reporters or correspondents, insist on standing outside in the cold, rain, snow or other inclement weather to do their "standup" performances? Why wouldn't a reasonably intelligent human prefer to get out the bad weather if they could, which they can most of the time?

PC Pro: News: Controversy over secret Wikipedia society

GE appliance energy consumption - why so hard to get?

We are in the market for a smaller oven to use when we want to cook something that really does not merit using the oven yet is better cooked in a regular oven rather than in a microwave oven.

So I called the GE "answer line" and finished an hour later with only a vague comparison between our current oven and microwave and a GE Advantium oven that could go over our gas burners.

Why should it be so hard - in this time of escalating environmental consciousness - to get an answer to my question? There was nothing on this point on GE's website that I could find and the people on the phone gave me the impression that no one had ever raised this question.

GE has a long way to go in my book to measure up to the environmentally-conscious image it tries to construct for itself through advertising.

Bloomberg.com: Worldwide

Thursday is best for free daily readership - sfnblog

The Associated Press: Edwards' 'Ticket Wishlist' Kept Secret

Li Changqing wins Golden Pen of Freedom - sfnblog

U.S. Accuses Iraqi Photographer of Aiding Rebels - New York Times

NPR : Reading Study Shows Remarkable Decline in U.S.

Amazon.com: Kindle: Amazon's New Wireless Reading Device: Kindle Store

See this story from NPR.

Nation & World | Internet control by U.S. promises to be hot topic at U.N. forum | Seattle Times Newspaper

In Korea, a Boot Camp Cure for Web Obsession - New York Times

VOA News - Pakistani Media Networks Close After Government Pressure Ends Overseas Broadcasts

Polish Daily Launches with ProtecMedia Milenium

Polish Daily Launches with ProtecMedia Milenium

AFP: UN Internet forum focuses on fighting sex predators

My Network, My Cause - New York Times

China to Share Reporter Profiles With Interviewees - New York Times

China's "Citizen" Reporters Dodge Censors And Critics - New York Times

News Ban Bodes Ill for Georgia Democracy - New York Times

Ron Paul - Internet - Presidential Campaign - New York Times

Ousted Justice in Pakistan Urges Defiance - New York Times

Where are the rest of us - the world's lawyers - at a time like this? Are we prepared to go to Pakistan to show solidarity?

The Foreign Legions - New York Times

The Swamp: Obama on Justice Department interrogation memo

This is the right response to the Justice Department memo. I will be interested in following what the other candidates, especially Hillary CLINTON, have to say....

Justice Dept. Said to Endorse Harsh C.I.A. Interrogations - New York Times

This is an outrage. I am now at the point where it is no longer possible to refrain from demanding that we return to the principles of fairness and justice upon which I always was taught to believe that our country was built.

A President who condones such actions no longer deserves to hold that post, and we Americans ought to convince him that he and his Vice President must resign. I never thought I would have to think and write this, but this is now beyond quesiton.

Time to think about this...

As the news spins on the possible Microsoft investment in Facebook, think for a moment what it means that 42,000,000 people have "joined" this site. It is second to MySpace! Now think for a moment about the difference that either one has made to you and your life, if any, regardless of who "you" are......

In ’08 Campaign, Money Chase Circles the Globe - New York Times

I sure wish the campaigns were more focused on "winning" the election in the hearts and minds of people who are not rich Americans, especially those who are not US citizens at all. Instead, it's all about money in the same way that Alan GREENSPAN correctly wrote that the Iraq invasion was all about oil. How sad we have come to this point in the US political system evolution. It could be - and should be - so much more than that.

$1 Million Given to Literacy Group - New York Times

Bravo to Random House for this move! Others should follow in very large numbers, both in dollars contributed and in people contributing. Which bookstores offer an option, with each purchase in stores and online, the chance to buy a book for someone who cannot afford one? Are there any that do this?

"Edwards to Pull Out of Fund for Lenders" - The New York Times

I'd put this in the category of "more bad judgment exercised by John EDWARDS". My vote for President is going to the candidate with the best track record of showing good judgment. EDWARDS has already amassed a huge deficit on that score that I think will prove impossible to overcome. See my earlier comments on the same point.

Banner blocking

The version of Norton antivirus software that I use allows me to block banner ads on most websites. It also gives me the option of allowing some, but I have not taken the time to figure that out. I had originally blocked all banners, and thought many web pages looked more attractive and simpler without the banners.
Recently, I unblocked them to see what I was missing. Yes, there were a couple of banners that caught my eye, and I was intrigued by some of the interactive functionalities provided in some of the banners.
But.....I have now switched back to blocking. Yes, I realize I am undermining some of the web revenue model, but I found most of the banners to be irrelevant, too distracting, taking more time to load when I access the sites where the banners appear, and generally not worth it.
Why would anyone want to see all those ads unless for others, the ads turn out to be either of direct interest or simply entertaining?

Push and Pull

The question of whether we like finding the newspaper in front of our homes or prefer to go find it on the web is an important one. A lot of the economics of the news business depend on that answer. Think about the different ways you now get news, the news that's important to you and the news you might like to have had earlier or better. If the obligation is entirely on you to go find "it" somewhere, you may or may not get there ahead of the others in front of whom you would like to be - whether family, friends or others. The concept of delivered news is under assault for the wrong reasons. It merits some reconsideration that does not start off with either the inevitability of the internet or this morning soggy newsprint newspaper.

New newspaper points of sale

Nice, France, saw the dedication yesterday of a new kiosque for newspaper and magazines next to the local courthouse in the Old City. It is remarkable to note how many local leaders are reported to have attended the event, and to realize that the city has been working to renovate a number of important kiosques around town. So far, seven have been done.

The real question is how big a difference this makes for the value proposition of printed newspapers and magazines. It would be interesting to see what impace the new structures has on both sales and image.