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The unintended influence of Rupert Murdoch
The influence of Rupert Murdoch is a subject of much discussion online. Personally, I’m in agreement with Felix Salmon of Market Movers, who wrote: [W]here editorial independence is valuable, Murdoch values it. Where it isn’t, he doesn’t. So even if he’s interfered in editorial decisions in China in the past, that doesn’t mean he’ll do…
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Thomson buys Reuters
Thomson buys Reuters. And whilst we all expect decency to prevail, I can’t help thinking that the first line of the Reuters Trust is this: that Reuters shall at no time pass into the hands of any one interest, group or faction Thoughts anyone?
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Featurizing hard news
Kevin Allman blogs on a practice creeping into American journalism that I would suspect has come directly from television news: I was having dinner with a group that included a few journalists when the topic turned to “featurizing” hard news – the increasingly common practice of burying the lede under “human interest” details in hopes…
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Sweeney antagonistes (etc.)
The cult of John Sweeney may be smaller than that of L.Ron Hubbard, but it owes more to diuretics than dianetics. Here’s Sweeney explaining how a school theatrical role as an RSM in Oh What A Lovely War! inspired him to an outburst that had my three-year-old son saying, “That man is frightening me.” (Joan…