Archive for the ‘media’ Category

And more on Helen Thomas

Posted: June 6, 2010 by datechguy in media, opinion/news
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…apparently Lanni Davis, Craig Crawford and her publisher have had enough:

I concur with the following response from my agent to Helen Thomas’ lamentable remarks about Israel, and will no longer be working with Helen on our book projects. — Craig Crawford

“It is with a heavy heart that Nine Speakers, Inc. announces its resignation as the agent for Helen Thomas, Dean of the White House Press Corps. Ms. Thomas has had an esteemed career as a journalist, and she has been a trailblazer for women, helping others in her profession, and beyond. However, in light of recent events, Nine Speakers is no longer able to represent Ms. Thomas, nor can we condone her comments on the Middle East. Nine Speakers will continue to enthusiastically represent all of our other current and future clients.”

Meanwhile while I don’t share the insult the woman’s looks bit at the other McCain (hey at that age simply being alive is pretty good) but I do agree with him concerning Rachel Corrie vs Shiri Negari

Shiri died that day, just two weeks before her 22nd birthday, in a blast that ended the lives of 18 other people ranging in age from 11 to 72. They were all killed on orders of Hamas — the same terrorist organization that rules Gaza, where 23-year-old Rachel Corrie arrived to join the anti-Israeli ISM contigent in January 2003, barely seven months after the blast that destroyed Bus No. 32A.

If you want another explanation why I stand with Israel, this is one of them.

Fundraiser Day 4 .11% Sullivan, why you should kick in: A source

Posted: June 4, 2010 by datechguy in media, personal
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As you can see the relative Sullivan number has gone up due to contributions yesterday by a fellow in the press (thank you very much). This highlights a reason why if you are a reporter or a news organization you should considering kicking into the Am I worth have a much as Andrew Sullivan fund.

I’m a source.

If you are a reporter of a local, national or even an international news service you know that you can’t get everywhere or be everywhere. There are times when you have to have a source on the ground.

When you link to and build relationships with a blog or a blogger you have an additional source for first hand information. From Watertown, to Washington, from Danvers to DoraVille I have been present for first hand events.

Kicking in that $50 to help preserve a potential source would seem like a cheap investment to me. If you agree I’d ask you and others in your organization to hit DaTipJar and keep that potential source available.

It’s a lot cheaper than a bureau isn’t it?

Update: Today’s events in Fitchburg are a perfect example of what I’m talking about. Wouldn’t it be easier to kick in to keep me full time and just give a call for some stringer work rather than having to send a full time person out here to sit and wait for hours?

Plus Who can argue with such blogger luminaries as Little Miss Attila and Cynthia Yockey? That’s what I call references!

Morning Joe: Cafe Cafe Cafe

Posted: June 4, 2010 by datechguy in media, opinion/news
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Before I had to run my youngest to school after missing his bus the gang talked about Cafe standard and using the Oil spill to reduce them again.

Let me point out that the way cafe standards are reduced is not by redesigning the engine they are reduced by decreasing weight and removing steel, which leads to more highway deaths.

Rather than re-invent the wheel I’ll simply refer you to here here here here and of course here but I’ll give you two quotes from these sources. First the WSJ.

That difference is reflected in the real world. The death rate in minis in multi-vehicle crashes is almost twice as high as that of large cars. And in single-vehicle crashes, where there’s no oversized second vehicle to blame, the difference is even greater: Passengers in minis suffered three times as many deaths as in large cars.

And the American Thinker

How many deaths have resulted? Depending on which study you choose, the total ranges from 41,600 to 124,800. To that figure we can add between 352,000 and 624,000 people suffering serious injuries, including being crippled for life. In the past thirty years, fuel standards have become one of the major causes of death and misery in the United States — and one almost completely attributable to human stupidity and shortsightedness.

Compare those numbers to the casualties that we have suffered in 10 years in Iraq & Afghanistan and think about it.

Why I’m worth at least half as much as Andrew Sullivan Day 2

Posted: June 2, 2010 by datechguy in blogger for hire, media, opinion/news
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The first in a series of posts of fundraising post over the next two months to try to support myself as a blogger.

Why should you support bloggers in general and myself in particular. Reason 1: Personal accountability

I talked to several people during my trip to Georgia, those I talked to know exactly who is writing about what they said. As a solo blogger I am responsible for what I write and stand behind it. Both the reader and the subject of the writing know that the buck stops here so as my personal honor is at stake It matters to me that I get it right.

To contrast:

NBC responded to thank us for our statements and again promised that they would “make sure” that the Today Show aired both of our statements “as a fullscreen graphic during the segment tomorrow.” We were grateful because we knew that our statements would counter any accusation of “inciting hatred.” And boy was it necessary because in his interview on NBC this morning McGinniss doubled down on his accusation to actually compare us to the Nazis!

But there was just one problem: NBC broke their promise and didn’t run our statements after all. So, the “journalist’s” sensational claims about us being Nazis went unchallenged. We emailed NBC this morning to ask why our statement wasn’t aired. We were given a lame excuse and told that they would run it tomorrow (after the damage had been done) and that they would be happy to interview me about it (which was their aim all along because journalism today is all about ratings and not about truth).

When nobody’s personal honor is at stake there is no incentive to worry about the truth. As Palin concludes:

I’d like to believe that it’s not too late to demand integrity from our media. Thank goodness for social networking sites like this and new media sites which have allowed us to get around the “lamestream” media and present the facts.

Couldn’t have put it better myself. If you want to help support this new media site all it takes is a hit of DaTipJar to be one of those 800 people that I’m hoping to raise $50 from.

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