Sandwich wars turn nasty

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/01/29/business/media/29adco.html?_r=1&ref=media&oref=slogin
Subway is suing Quizno's over an ad made for a contest. Read the New York Times story.

Mag for Iranian woman order closed

Iran magazine shut down because of morally questionable content: http://www.adnkronos.com/AKI/English/CultureAndMedia/?id=1.0.1819565032

Pope asks media to act ethically

http://www.ejc.net/media_news/pope_calls_on_media_to_adopt_info_ethics/
Info-ethics is like bio-ethics, the Catholic pope says.

Utah Supreme Court OKs reporters privilege

http://www.ejc.net/media_news/utah_high_court_adopts_broad_privilege_for_reporters/
Utah Supreme Court OKs privilege for reporters; no need for them to identify confidential sources in court: a positive move for journalists.

Ads are everywhere--even in security baskets at airport

http://www.medialifemagazine.com/artman2/publish/Alternative_media_43/Now_ads_in_security_baskets_at_airports.asp
Another place for advertisers to get their msgs to targeted audiences. Ingenious or too much?

Covering the death of Heath Ledger

http://www.foliomag.com/2008/ethics-covering-heath-ledger
The weekly entertainment mags fight for the check-out line sale.

Just for fun: Sloppy proofreading leads to outrage

http://www.mlive.com/news/saginawnews/index.ssf?/base/news-25/120110166445440.xml&coll=9
A classified ad that should have been placed under "animals for sale" instead gets placed under "good things to eat." The outrage!

UK automobile ads and the environment

http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/2008/jan/24/ethicalliving.climatechange?gusrc=rss&feed=networkfront
Media Guardian's "Ethical Living" columnist points out how auto ads overseas make fun of environmentalists. Ouch.

Such hoopla! Gannett scares CSU Collegian staff

http://biz.yahoo.com/ap/080123/co_campus_paper_gannett.html
Interesting that I should be working on a story for Quill about the two Florida college newspapers bought by Gannett several months ago while this uproar is going on in my own back yard. One Florida college newspaper says having Gannett as its publisher hasn't changed a thing.
This story from the Denver Post: http://www.denverpost.com/business/ci_8056845

Writing obits before a celeb is dead too morbid?

http://www.thestar.com/News/article/295850
The Associated Press has written Britney Spears obit--just in case. This practice of writing obits of the famous has been done by newspapers and wire services for years. But it makes some people a bit queasy. Take a look at the story at the link above.

In Afghanistan, don't print info from the Internet then take it to school!

http://www.techcrunch.com/2008/01/23/mental-note-do-not-print-stuff-from-the-internet-in-afghanistan/
Yikes. A college student in U.S.-backed Afghanistan printed an anti-Islam article from the Web and took it to school to discuss with faculty and peers. Now he may be sentenced to death.

Myths about the "Google generation"

The "Google generation," born after 1993, are not as savvy on the Internet as one would think. They plagiarize a LOT. See the results of the study at this link: http://arstechnica.com/news.ars/post/20080118-the-google-generation-not-so-hot-at-googling-after-all.html

Oops! Headline about race, gender irks South Carolina women

http://edition.cnn.com/2008/POLITICS/01/21/emails.race.gender/
A headline of CNN's home page has upset its readers, viewers; it seemed to say will African-American South Carolina women have to choose between race and gender when it comes to Obama and Hillary.

Illegal movie file sharing by college students--or not?

The Motion Picture Association is a bit off with its percentage of college students illegally downloading movies; see the story at http://insidehighered.com/news/2008/01/23/mpaa

Latest LA Times editor fired over budget

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/01/22/AR2008012202970.html
Read the story about the firing of the third L.A. editor in three years by media critic Howard Kurtz; he writes: "A new editor is brought in, promises of journalistic excellence are made, financial reality intervenes, and before long the editor is banished, leaving behind a stunned newsroom. "

McDonald's pulls ads from report cards

Adage.com reports the outrage in Florida where a school district was allowing ads by McDonald's on student report cards. McDonald's was printing the cards for the district. Hmmm. Here's the article:http://adage.com/article.php?article_id=123176

Take note: Wikipedia is not a reliable source!

Posted at http://www.journalism.co.uk/2/articles/530941.php on 17/01/08 by Oliver Luft

Agence France Presse has banned its journalists from using Facebook and Wikipedia as sources, the agency's London bureau chief told a Lord's Committee yesterday.In response to a question from the Lord's Committee on Media Ownership and the News about the trustworthiness of online sources, Pierre Lesourd said that internal rules that governed the entire organisation prevented journalists from relying on many new 'virtual' sources for news."We have internal rules that are regularly updated [on this matter]. Wikipedia for example, we have a written rule inside the company that forbids any journalist using Wikipedia," he said.
Facebook is also not acceptable.
"We have the same thing, updated last week, for Facebook because of the incident with Bilawal Bhutto in Oxford."Some newspapers picked up pictures on Facebook about Mr Bhutto, which turned out to be fake."We are trying to be vigilant about it but, obviously, everyday a new virtual source appears. We have to be very careful."Speaking to Journalim.co.uk today, Mr Lesourd clarified the policy, stating that reporters working for the international agency could not pick up information from these sites for news without referring to other, more reliable sources for factual clarification.
Amen!

Diane Keaton uses the "F" word, all hell breaks loose

http://www.latimes.com/entertainment/news/tv/la-et-language18jan18,1,820058.story?coll=la-entnews-tv

After Diane Keaton uses the "F" word on "Good Morning America," entertainment execs gather to discuss social responsibility vs. artistic freedom. See the Los Angeles Times story at the link above. The word just slipped out! Should ABC be fined?

Golfweek editor fired over noose cover photo

http://weblogs.baltimoresun.com/sports/ordine/blog/2008/01/golfweek_editor_fired.html

Just in: The Baltimore Sun reports the editor of Golfweek was fired today after publishing a cover photo of a noose--the photo was supposed to represent a comment made by a Golf Channel analyst about Tiger Woods. See the full story at the link above.

Ms. magazine refuses ad from American Jewish Council

Ms. magazine refused to run a full-page advertisement submitted by the American Jewish Congress featuring three prominent Israeli women because it did not fit with its mission. See the New York Sun story at http://www.nysun.com/article/69607

Hypocritical or not?

Kicking a photographer: Where's the rule book?

From Medialifemagazine.com:
Politician kicks off his term by booting photographer
Verbally abusing media members is a rite of passage for politicians, but most draw the line at physical abuse. That’s why a recent confrontation between a member of Colorado’s House of Representatives and a Rocky Mountain News photographer is causing so much rancor in the state capital. Rep. Doug Bruce allegedly kicked Rocky Mountain News photographer Javier Manzano in the knee Monday after Manzano snapped a picture during the state body’s morning prayer. The photographer fell backward and knocked over a camera. When word of the incident leaked, it caused a firestorm in the Colorado capital, where a House special committee has been formed to investigate the conduct of the Republican state representative, who has refused to apologize. Bruce, who just began his term, has called for Manzano to apologize instead, insisting the photographer broke the rules of decorum by taking pictures during prayer, though there’s no rule on the books against such action.
More on this from the First Amendment Center via AP:
http://www.firstamendmentcenter.org/news.aspx?id=19555
See the video here:
http://www.rockymountainnews.com/videos/detail/bruces-kick-tape/

Dowd's/NYT's dateline problem

http://www.talkingpointsmemo.com/horsesmouth/2008/01/dowds.php
Read the story at the above link (from blogger/reporter Greg Sargent) about esteemed New York Times columnist Maureen Dowd. She apparently filed a story from Jerusalem with the dateline of a city in New Hampshire! Yeow. The NYT says this is no problem. What do you think? Misleading or not?

Also, the NYT editorial page editor is quoted in a New York Observer story at this link:
http://www.observer.com/2008/rosenthal-blasts-critics-over-dowd-column

Men's Vogue mag makes promises it does not keep

The men's version of Vogue magazine has lost credibility among celebs because of promises not kept. Never lie! See the ugly truth at this link: http://www.nydailynews.com/gossip/2008/01/10/2008-01-10_mens_vogue_mag_driving_stars_crazy.html

Sears' Web site too customer friendly?

Look up your Sears purchases and anybody else's! What? Sears has no comment. See the dilemma at http://ethicsnewsline.wordpress.com/2008/01/08/sears-criticized-over-privacy-issues/

LA TImes: Mags exploit celebrities' children

The Los Angeles Times reports: On last week's cover of Life & Style magazine, a toddler pouted above the headline "New Trouble for Shiloh." Good thing the 20-month-old daughter of Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie can't read, because the story went on to detail the "sad pattern" of her neglect. Just a week earlier, Life & Style's cover line screamed, "Britney's Kids to Be Tested for Drugs: The crisis at home is the most heartbreaking it's ever been!" Celebrity children are targeted by tabs and gossip Web sites, and the emphasis isn't on family values. Read the story: http://www.latimes.com/features/printedition/image/la-ig-kids6jan06,1,2841363.story?ctrack=5&cset=true

Bhutto's son would like some privacy, please

The son of assassinated Pakistani opposition leader Benazir Bhutto has pleaded for the media to respect his privacy as he continues his studies at Oxford University. He has taken over his mother's role mother's role as the chairman of her party. He's upset by "the lengths journalists have gone to access comments about me on the social networking site Facebook."
See the story at http://www.pressgazette.co.uk/story.asp?sectioncode=1&storycode=39859&c=1