These are some of the things that have caught my attention lately. It’s a more eclectic mix than just the news business, but then so’s life:

• Frustrated reporters locked out of Gaza war zone | The Associated Press – Israel scrapped arrangements Monday to allow the first foreign reporters into the Gaza Strip since the military launched its offensive against Palestinian militants, adding to mounting media frustration at being locked out of the war zone.
  The ban on foreign media, which has been appealed to the Israeli Supreme Court, drew criticism from journalists that Israel is trying to manage the story.
  Israel asserts that opening border crossings for journalists would endanger staff at the terminals, which have often been targeted by militants.
• Israel’s Gaza strategy | Martin Kramer’s Sandbox – The Israeli operation is meant to impress on Hamas that there is something far worse than the sanctions—that Israel is capable of hunting Hamas on air, sea, and land, at tremendous cost to Hamas and minimal cost to Israel, while much of the world stands by, and parts of it (including some Arabs) quietly applaud. Israel's aim is not to bring down Hamas at this stage, but to compel it to accept a cease-fire on Israel's terms—terms that leave the sanctions in place.

  Many Western and Arab governments see the logic of this. They would like to see Abbas and the Palestinian Authority back in authority over Gaza, thus restoring credibility to the "peace process." Because they wish to see Hamas contained if not diminished, they have moved slowly or not at all to respond to calls for action to stop the fighting. The question now is how Israel turns its military moves into political moves that achieve the shared objectives of this coalition of convenience.

• Bowen diary: Deluge of envoys | BBC News – This diary is not going to be about the media, but in the interests of full disclosure I will try to expose some of the workings of the news machine here.
  The days are long for a reporter covering the war. Since I came over here from London the day after Israel started its offensive, I have spent part of every day in Jerusalem, and then gone down to the border with Gaza, which is about an hour and a half away by car.
  The terrain is flat, but there are a few small hills which have been colonised by TV teams and their satellite trucks.
  Journalists stand there, trying to get a long range view of what is going on, and pictures of Israeli attacks. It has got harder in the last few days, as the Israelis have penetrated deeper into the Gaza Strip.
  They are further away, and harder to see.
• Zionists are the new Nazis | Gulfnews – The case for journalism education in the Middle East: "Today, the whole world stands as a witness to the fact that the Nazi holocaust was a mere lie, which was devised by the Zionists to blackmail humanity. The same Zionist entity swindled the world out of billions of dollars over the years to compensate the wrong and unjust which they claim to have been inflicted on their people."
• Now for My Next Trick, I’ll Turn Brand into Cash | SarahLacy.com – I'm more successful working for myself than I was on staff for just one publication: income, name recognition, opportunities, amazing once-in-a-lifetime experiences. And, while I'm not immune, I'm safer heading into this downturn than in the past because all my income doesn't hinge on one gig. In terms of journalism, it's way more successful. I have the challenge only to find great stories and tell them. And generally any story I love, I've got a platform for it. Sometimes it's a visual story; sometimes it's a big idea story that's financially complex but perfect for a column. Frequently, stories aren't right for TechTicker or BusinessWeek, but might work for  this blog or a freelance project or maybe even (hint?) a new book. I can't tell you how freeing that is after years of laboriously pitching stories, writing stories I didn't care about & having to play the newsroom game. But when it comes to stats, the synergy and the cross promotion hasn't been as easy as it would seem on paper.
• New powers for police to hack your PC | The Independent – Police have been given the power to hack into personal computers without a court warrant. The Home Office is facing anger and the threat of a legal challenge after granting permission. Ministers are also drawing up plans to allow police across the EU to collect information from computers in Britain.

  The moves will fuel claims that the Government is presiding over a steady extension of the "surveillance society" threatening personal privacy.

• Directgov starts 2009 with three new senior directors | PublicTechnology.net :: e-Government & public sector IT news + job vacancies: – Guy Ker is the new Director of Publishing. He is a former Managing Editor of Channel Four News and his last post was Chief Operating Officer at ITN.

  Guy will be responsible for publishing government information and services for citizens across all Directgov digital channels – web, mobile and TV – and ensuring the smooth running of publishing across Directgov. He will be championing Directgov to all government stakeholders and maintaining the proposition for citizens – as a clear, easy to use and trusted channel.

• The gentle science of persuasion, Part 6: Scarcity | Knowledge@W.P. Carey – [H]umans are more motivated to act by the idea of potential loss than of potential gain. Numerous studies have proven just that.

  Researchers in 1988 conducted a study (that eventually appeared in the Journal of Applied Psychology) in which they sent slightly contrasting messages to homeowners in the same neighborhood to test the power of loss language: Half of the homeowners were told how much money they could save by fully insulating their homes; they other half were told how much they could lose if they didn't insulate their homes.

  "Basically what the researchers said was, 'If you insulate your home fully, you'll save 50c every day.' That was for half of the homeowners." Cialdini says. "With the other half, homeowners were told, 'If you fail to insulate your home fully, you'll lose 50 cents every day. In the end, 150% more people insulated under loss language than gain language. It was the same 50c, but people are more mobilized into action by the idea of losing something."