October 31, 2004
Blogs have obviously arrived. Don't screw it up. =)
Onlinejournalism.com's Thomas Kelley points out an Independent article by David Usborne about the influence shift that took place in 2004 with regard to media and politics, stating that "2004 will be remembered for the legitimate arrival of blogs as a journalistic tool."
Your magazine is in my newspaper!
Okay, so maybe you don't read that mag insert that comes inside your Sunday newspaper - but you noticed it, right? Well, prepare to learn something - Rex Hammock leads us to an article by R.S. Pollack at the Newspaper Association of America that gives the skinny on how those publications come to be and why they exist in the first place.
Have you seen "Saw" yet?
Now I haven't seen "Saw" yet, so I'm trying to be careful reading other people's reviews so I don't learn too much about the film. Just read Cobb's, and I definitely want to check out this flick now. He explains what the real "horror" of the movie is:
The problem with Saw is that there is very little disbelief one has to suspend in order to watch it. It makes it all the more horrifying that this could indeed happen - of course it could, if a screenwriter can imagine it.
An interesting way of doing things - putting the viewer in a situation that is closer to being feasible because one wouldn't be able to keep themselves out of the situation - whereas many horror or spy or action movies have the main characters being a different breed than the average filmgoer. Not to say that this hasn't been done before - I'm sure I've seen 50 films with that being done - but it's all about context, now isn't it.
What the heck, take a guess.
Big Easy TV is looking for reader suggestions of television folks who might be "on thin ice" at their station as November Sweeps time rolls up.
If you're looking to sync your coverage....
Baseball Crank has a nifty post pointing out poll-closing times for Election Day. If you're looking to sync up your television habits in order to know when to order the next round (you know you're going out for this one), then check it out.
Worse than using non-exclusive stock images
I finally found the one thing absolutely worse than using the same stock images in print/online advertisements that someone else is. It has to be using the same commercial actor in television ads that run to a similar target market during the same programming. Case in point:
Taco Bell is currently running an ad for its Zesty Chicken Border Bowl, which has a guy who asks the help at the counter if it's true they don't make his "bowl" until he places the order, then proceeds to taunt the employee by not completing the words "Zesty Chicken Border Bowl" over and over. I'm sure you've seen it, if you've watched ANY television with commercials in the last month. [ed: Bill Simmons comments (see 8:24)]
So tonight, I'm watching the ESPN's NFL coverage, and sure enough, there's the guy again in one of those nifty new Miller Lite commercials where the referees are throwing flags at unsuspecting Bud drinkers. In this spot, the actor, "Dan" as he's named, is trying to act all cool delivering Budweiser to the local bar, staffed by two women. He's pummelled with at least three yellow flags from the Miller refs, who call him on "illegal use of a handtruck" and "taste masking." This ad seems to go directly after Budweiser's recent ads claiming that its "Born on dating" and new "Same day" beer in "select cities" makes it superior to its competition.
Needless to say, I've seen "Dan" working for multiple companies within the same hour or two - I'm sure I'm not the only one. Not to hold "Dan" back from making a living, but I think advertisers need to think a little bit on this one.
You're never to far for election coverage
Strategiy.com informs that Orbit News in the United Arab Emirates will feature "extensive coverage on the most heated topic of [Tuesday, November 2], the election of the new US President."
Orbit News features programming from all of the American news networks, and will, as far as I can tell, offer announcements and analysis from a wide array of pundits and anchors from U.S. broadcasts.
Keep 'em if you like 'em
Bill Wagner of the Record Searchlight answers an reader inquiring about the value of newspapers detailing historical events, specifically sports-related in this case. Wagner says that "there just isn't that much interest in newspapers these days," which I'd unfortunately have to agree with. If you're looking to sell them, that is. But I find that if you have a newspaper with something of interest or a fantastic headline, pulling it out to show a friend or colleague usually gets a good response. Unfortunately, almost everything "old" has taken on some sort of need for valuation - when in reality, it's all about whether or not it's important enough for you to keep it around - in a box, or hanging on the wall. My St. Louis Post-Dispatch copy from when Mark McGwire hit his 70th home run is still around (yes, I know Barry Bonds quickly broke that record), and my New York Yankees 75th Anniversary Coca-Cola is still in the fridge, somehow surviving three moves.
With regard to newspapers, I'd certainly start keeping them around if you find one you want to save. You never know when they'll all get thrown away.
But who came up with the sneakerphone?
On Saturday, Steve Megargee wrote in the Knoxville News Sentinel about the creation of Sports Illustrated at Time, Inc. 50-odd years ago. Most importantly, about the man who, innocuously enough, was one of the "founders" of the magazine, Bob Cowin.
Tell us how you really feel
James J. Kilpatrick offers up a piece of his mind for a New Yorker article from the October 4 issue that discussed the problems at CBS News. But it's not the content itself that Kilpatrick takes issue with - it's the grammar and punctuation.
Asking Moyers what he thinks
The Los Angeles Times' Patrick Goldstein sits down with Bill Moyers, the soon-to-be-ex-host of "Now With Bill Moyers" on PBS, to talk about the presidential election and Moyers' plans after leaving the show.
Usually, the media spins politics....
In the Santa Cruz Sentinel, Tom Honig writes that "2004 will forever remain in my head as the election that shook the foundation of journalism."
Has politics sent the media spinning this year, or did the media bring it on themselves, coinciding with a big election year?
"You heard it here third, ladies and gentlemen"
Baltimore Sun television critic David Zurawick offers details on how the news networks will change how they normally do business in presidential elections for this year's coverage in order to.....get it right.
Tuesday night, viewers will witness what amounts to a philosophical about-face: For the first time in the 56-year history of TV election coverage, the major networks and cable channels covering the presidential vote will aim not to be first.
Kudos to all of them - they should be commended. No need to go back and forth on who they think "may have" won. Get it right, or don't get it at all. I've heard criticism of the plans CBS put forth, but I think they aren't making that bad of a decision - if they don't know by 3am on Wednesday morning who the President is, then it probably isn't going to "break" before the morning news hits.
October 30, 2004
The body's not even cold yet...
Jacques Steinberg writes in the New York Times that while the last month of NBC News anchor Tom Brokaw's career might be a celebration and a big moment for the incoming Brian Williams, it's a chance for the other network news shows to grab some viewers.
That transition is expected to touch off a period of anchor shopping among some of the nearly 25 million viewers who still watch the evening news on the broadcast networks each night.
But will it really? Dan Rather and CBS News are having their troubles, and may not be the first choice for viewers who are "shifting" - but can Peter Jennings and ABC Nightly News make some waves? Or will viewers stand pat and stick with Williams?
Wanna go hunting?
If you're interested in "big game hunting," hopefully you're not planning to head out to Montana near NBC News anchor Tom Brokaw's land. The Associated Press reports that the soon-to-be-retired newsman is asking the state to "reconsider its decision" for big game hunting on property adjacent to Brokaw's.
Related: AP's David Bauder writes about the grand finale to Brokaw's career that should be this Tuesday's Presidential election.
Trash your opponent all you want - just don't use us as proof
The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette has an article by Jerome Sherman about a lawsuit put forth by another Pittsburgh paper, the Tribune-Review, against a Pennsylvania state Senator. The Tribune-Review claims that the Senator, Allen Kukovich, is misusing statements by his opponent from the paper in campaign literature. Kukovich, however, believes otherwise - pointing out the Tribune-Review's endorsement Republican candidate Bob Regola.
Comment Spam
I apologize if the site has been slow today - I received about 580 comment spams that got through Blacklist, and the site has blocked about 1,000 more attempts since about 7am Eastern time this morning. I know that someone is obviously getting paid for this, but, like other bloggers, am beginning to wonder how quickly these spammers make sure they get paid for spamming - because I'm just as determined to destroy their work as they are to destroy mine.
If you happen to be one of these comment spammers, please feel free and read my policy on the subject. I'm sure you will find it right up your alley.
October 29, 2004
Calacanis asks Vibrant Media for a debate
Friday night, Jason Calacanis challenged Vibrant Media CEO Doug Stevenson to a debate at the AD:TECH event a little over a week from today in New York City.
Vibrant Media, you might remember, is the maker of IntelliTXT technology. This product adds "contextual" advertising links into webpage content, with "double underlines" to differ the advertisement hyperlinks from usual ones. The company believes that this method is helpful, and are standing behind their clickthrough rate, which seems higher than other ads in the contextual arena. However, they do not address the fact that these "advertisements" aren't necessarily helpful at all for the people reading the articles. Links were put in the text in order to give people background or further information about the topic they are reading - not to have someone looking at some information about earthworms and see an advertisement on the word "worm" that takes you to a software security firm.
[Previously discussed here and here]
NBC News OBL Translation
Robert Cox has the translation from NBC News of the latest Osama bin Laden videotape.
As if you needed another reason
The fine folks at Regret the Error never cease to offer proof on why you should read their site - case in point - this post, where they point out...[ahem]...their own mistakes for the week. Heck, they've even got a category for their corrections. Fan-tastic.
Music in video games continues to be huge effort
The FUSE blog points out that the newest EA racing effort, Need For Speed Underground 2, will contain an interesting mix of old and new - and that's only in one song. As it turns out, Snoop Dogg has a cover of The Doors' "Riders on the Storm" on the game's 26-song soundtrack. He'll be performing the song on November 6 on Spike TV.
Clear Channel format change suprises some
On October 16, Debbie Gilbert wrote in the Gainesville Times about a format change on a Clear Channel-owned radio station that not only came as somewhat of a surprise to listeners, but to some employees of the station as well. As it turns out, Clear Channel's September 16 announcement that they would be switching formats on up to 20 of their stations to a Spanish-language broadcast had already started taking effect by the time the news hit the wires. On September 15, Spanish music started playing over the WHEL-FM 105.1's airwaves - with management of the news/talk station being told 10 minutes before it happened. And, according to the station's general manager Monika Demuth, "Clear Channel didn't do their homework to see what the demographics were" in the area - which is reportedly under 2% Hispanic.
Friday Random Ten
It's time for this week's Friday Random Ten, "Day off from work" edition. Make sure you check out Rox's entry as well, and post yours!
1. "Lemon" - U2
2. "Fear (Hybrid's Super Collider Mix)" - Sarah McLachlan
3. "Break It Down Again" - Tears for Fears
4. "Made You Look" - Nas
5. "Sippin' On Some Syrup" - Three 6 Mafia
6. "The Anthem" - Sway & King Tech
7. "Teenage Dope Fiend" - Flickerstick
8. "I Can See (See It In Your Eyes)" - Alice Deejay
9. "I Know There's Something Going On" - Frida
10. "Cold As Ice" - M.O.P.
Brands on the newscast
Friday's New York Daily News has an article by Richard Huff about a recent "slip up" by New York's Channel 4 NBC affiliate. According to the story, NBC featured a corporate sponsor of their Democracy Plaza exhibition, currently inhabiting a good portion of Rockefeller Center, on-screen during a newscast. Of course, showing "sponsors" of the news really isn't legit - NBC states that it was an accident. But it brings about an interesting question - transparency. Obviously there are commercials during television newscasts, and those are generally accepted. But with increased focus on "time shifting" via DVR/PVR technology with regard to other programming, the world of :30 spots is going to change eventually. And unless the news is the only place we're going to see that style of advertising, newscasts will most likely have to accept some sort of change in order to keep their broadcast on the air.
October 28, 2004
What journalism means to one student
Cerritos College's Talon Marks features an article by David Gomez about the ins and outs of being a journalist. Gomez describes how he felt about getting involved with the school newspaper, and how he has a new respect for journalism as a whole now.
CNNfn to leave airwaves
The Associated Press reports Thursday that CNN's "struggling" financial news station, CNNfn, will cease to exist after mid-December. At Lost Remote, Cory Bergman points out that CNNMoney will stay afloat, however.
Steve Malzberg leaves 770 WABC radio
David Hinckley has the scoop in the New York Daily News about longtime radio host Steve Malzberg's resignation from 770 WABC this week.
More details are available on Malzberg's website, where an announcement will be made Friday, October 29, about his new home on another New York-based radio station.
[update] Malzberg will be on 1600 WWRL as of Monday, doing the 6-10am show with Karen Hunter, a current host on the station.
Dear Red Sox,
I thought it would be worthwhile to congratulate the Boston Red Sox on their first win of the World Series in 86 years after their four-game sweep of the St. Louis Cardinals on Wednesday evening. They did, after all, defeat my beloved Yankees in seven (gulp) games, making history as they did so.
For the last week, I've been wondering if I could feel for the Sox and their fans. After all, I am a huge New York Rangers fan, another team that went a long drought (though, I must say, only 54 years) between championship seasons. The Rangers were always taunted by their local rivals, the Devils (who were fun with "19-never" chants for awhile), and the Islanders, but were able to get out of that slump, only to soon after enter another one - the lack of playoff-bound teams. But after I thought about it awhile, I realized the Sox are much, much more embattled and universally ridiculed than the Rangers ever were.
So after attempting to root for the Cardinals for a game or two, I quickly realized that nothing would stop the Yawkey Way monsters. No ill-advised parade planning, no falls off the Green Monster for unlucky fans, not even The Curse. Hell, Mark Bellhorn kept hitting a bit.
So, while I am remiss to admit this, the Red Sox are the best team in Major League Baseball for 2004. Thankfully, though, 2004 is over as a season. Next year will bring major changes for all teams in the league, and the rivalry can continue.
In closing, one must start "hot stove baseball," the ongoing, ending-only-when-pitchers-and-catchers-report discussions, off with a bang. I have one thing to say, and one thing only. [continued after the fold]
[Thanks to Jerry for the idea!]
Media war coverage film getting bigger distribution
Cinema Libre Studio, the same group who recently distributed "Outfoxed," the film that was critical of FOX News, has announced it is releasing Danny Schechter's "WMD: Weapons of Mass Deception," to theatres later this year. "WMD" covers the media's coverage of the war in Iraq, and how it presented Americans with misconceptions about what was "really" going on in order to get big ratings. The film has taken home multiple awards this year, including "Best Documentary Feature" at the Austin Film Festival, "First Place Documentary" in August at the Detroit Motor City International Film Festival, and the "Jury Award for Best Documentary" at this year's Film Fest New Haven.
Bloggers weigh in
Jim Rutenberg writes in Thursday's New York Times about the "hefty voice" that bloggers are carrying these days, especially in political and media-related issues.
Even legit brand names get booted off radio commercials
Kevin Brass at the Austin Chronicle covers the recent booting of radio commercials for wine selling under the "FAT Bastard" brand name on stations in the Austin, Texas area. The curious thing is that the commercials are only being removed from stations where quite a few complaints have been received, not across the board in the market at all stations owned by the same broadcaster.
October 27, 2004
Minnesota media rules get attention
The Associated Press picks up on the story out of Minnesota this week, where it was announced that there would be rules on when members of the media could be at polling sites on Election Day next Tuesday.
Looking for opinions on PBS' political coverage
Today, a friend of mine let me know about an email conversation he had with PBS regarding their political coverage this election season. I've included, with his permission, the details below. Personally, I'm not one who thinks that PBS has that much of a slant to it when it comes to political coverage, but I don't watch much more than "NewsHour" here and there. However, this is the second such suggestion I've been given this week that the station might not be offering such a fair share to both "sides of the story." I'll let you judge for yourself, but please comment (or email) away if you feel the need.
-----Original Message-----
From: Allen, Terry
Sent: Wednesday, October 27, 2004 12:07 PM
To: XXXXXXX
Cc: Zhou, Lina
Subject: programming
Dear Mr. XXXXXXX:
Thank you for writing to Thirteen/WNET New York. We sincerely appreciate comments from our viewers, as we are
committed to presenting a diversity of voices and a wide array of viewpoints through our public affairs programming.
Although I do not find STOLEN HONOR or CELCIUS 41.11 on our list of upcoming programs, I hope you'll agree that all perspectives of election choices are represented in Thirteen's variety of programs such as TUCKER CARLSON: UNFILTERED, JOURNAL EDITORIAL REPORT, THE NEWSHOUR, WASHINGTON WEEK, FRONTLINE, TAVIS SMILEY, CHARLIE ROSE, WALL STREET WEEK and NOW WITH BILL MOYERS-not to mention such notables as INDEPENDENT LENS, P.O.V., and FRONTLINE/WORLD.
We understand that not all viewers will agree with any single program's point of view, which is one reason why Thirteen provides hundreds of hours of public affairs programming each year. Our schedule offers a diverse variety of perspectives; we do hope that you will continue to watch Thirteen/WNET, and find programs that you enjoy.
Again, we appreciate your interest, and look forward to your ongoing support.
Sincerely,
Terry Allen
Manager, Member & Viewer Relations
-----Original Message-----
From: XXXXXXXX
Sent: Wednesday, October 27, 2004 10:27 AM
To: EdOnline Account
Cc: XXXXXXXXX
Subject: Donation question re: programming
Importance: High
I see you ran and are about to run several anti-Bush programs, including last night's "Rumsfeld's War". Are there any plans to run programs showing the other perspective, say "Stolen Honor" or "Celsius 41.11"?
Just want to know before making my next donation.
XXXXXXXX
Go Banner Ads, it's your birthday!
Over at AdLand, they're celebrating (?) the 10 year anniversary / birthday / hellspawn launch of banner advertising. This might be the first and only time I suggest you check out some banner ads, so don't hold it against me.
Pioneer Press letters to the editor get their say - but not in the Press
City Pages has an article on Wednesday by Jim Walsh about the recent suspension of two Pioneer Press reporters for attending a political concert. More specifically, the article is about the Press not covering the story on its own pages until the paper's editor, Vicki Gowler, wrote about why the disciplinary action was taken.
Since this story went public, or, as Walsh tells it, has "appeared in newspapers all over the United States and United Kingdom and popped up in several journalism and media websites and blogs," a stack of letters to the editor have been sent to the Press in defense of the reporters. But as of today, none of them had run in that paper, as far as I can tell.
I reached out to Walsh this morning to ask if he had heard anything from the Pioneer Press about City Pages' posting of the letters, but as of this morning, there was no formal response. After checking in with the Press, however, I received a copy of a letter sent by Gowler over to Steve Perry, City Pages editor. The full text of the letter is below.
Oct. 27, 2004
Steve Perry
Editor, City Pages
401 North Third Street, Suite 550
Minneapolis, MN 55401
Following is the text of a letter to the editor from the Pioneer Press responding to today's City Pages story by Jim Walsh. In fairness, I would appreciate posting of this letter online, rather than delaying publication until next week's print edition.
To the Editor,
I am surprised and disappointed that City Pages did not contact the Pioneer Press for our position before publishing its story today about the recent suspension of two reporters.
I hope the following information will provide some perspective on the story by reporter Jim Walsh.
Our handling of this issue is consistent with longstanding practice. The situation involves a personnel issue at the Pioneer Press, and we do not cover such internal matters, including disciplinary actions involving individual employees.
On the related issue of what we choose to publish on our Viewpoints page, following is a statement from Editorial Page Editor Art Coulson:
"We do not publish letters about internal personnel matters, including individual disciplinary actions, at local companies. That would include the Pioneer Press. We also do not generally publish letters from out of state, as many of these were. We do not publish letters that contain factual errors, as several of the letters in question did. We receive more than four times as many letters as we have room to publish (that ratio is actually higher this election season) and we give preference to letters that are concise, local and on a topic of broad general interest."
Finally, I'd like to point out that Walsh did not include in his story a letter to the editor that was supportive of the Pioneer Press.
Vicki Gowler
Editor
It looks like while some might criticize the Pioneer Press for not publishing a story about a staff issue, they do seem to have a policy on the topic, so you cannot fault them for it. I'm truly more surprised that Gowler didn't take City Pages to task a little bit more for running the letters - but then again, someone at the Press had to have sent them over to the site, so that's a just opening another can o' worms.
WaPo clarifies editorial endorsements
Leonard Downie Jr., the executive editor of the Washington Post, clarifies the political endorsements on the newspaper's editorial pages and their relationship to the way candidates are covered in news articles.
This could lead some readers to conclude that candidates endorsed by The Post's editorial page might be given more favorable coverage in the news pages. This is not so.
...
This separation can be difficult for readers to understand. But we take it very seriously. We are determined to keep our coverage of the news -- especially an election campaign -- fair, unbiased and nonpartisan.
Even though many who follow the media on a regular basis might disagree on the "biases" of various news outlets, it is important for people to make this distinction - editorial pages don't drive the lean, if any, of a publication. There are plenty of examples that should make this plain as day - the Wall Street Journal being my favorite.
If only our role models could always know what they meant
Dallas Morning News columnist Norma Adams-Wade shares her appreciation and adoration for Julia Scott Reed, former News columnist and colleague in the 1970's. Reed, who passed away at age 87 last week, represented a lot to Wade over the years. Wade informs that Reed was "the first black writer hired full time at a major daily newspaper in Dallas and one of the first at a major daily in the South," and, by the way this piece is written, a lot more than just a role model.
Tempe, we have a problem
In Arizona State University's Web Devil, Ryan Kost writes about how the school's Walter Cronkite School of Journalism and Mass Communication is "facing accreditation headaches."
News gets old, but never really disappears
The News & Record features an item by Lorraine Ahearn about how news "moves on" and gets old, after awhile - but never really goes away. You can throw it away, burn it in the furnace, or shift ahead 20 years - but it's still news. Old news is still news, right?
October 26, 2004
Minnesota's election coverage to be different in '04
Minnesota's Star Tribune has an article on Wednesday about new regulations put on the media with regard to their coverage at polling places in the state. Mark Brunswick has the details, most importantly the time limits that journalists can spend at any one location and the necessary process that must be followed in order to get access in the first place.
Marketing as a core requirement
Bob Liodice over at the Association of National Advertisers blog asks "Is the CMO Really Necessary?" in an entry on Tuesday. The CMO, or Chief Marketing Officer, is a position that I'd go out on a limb and assume that a lot of people aren't familiar with at all, and that there are many companies who don't have someone in this role at all - this agrees with Liodice's sentiments and assessment. But that doesn't mean the position shouldn't exist.
[ed: One thing I would have done in this case is clarified the term CMO, however. As per my assumption above, it's not quite as publicly accepted as an acronym / title as CEO or CFO is.]
Weblogs, Inc. grows a bit
Recently, Weblogs, Inc. co-founders Jason Calacanis and Brian Alvey were on the lookout for an Editorial Director and a VP of Sales & Marketing. That search all came to fruition in the last week, with the announcement Tuesday about some new additions to their staff. Judith Meskill of meskill.net and the Social Software Weblog is taking on the Editorial Director position, and Shawn Gold is the new VP of Sales & Marketing.
Congrats to Judith & Shawn on their new roles, and to Jason, Brian, and the whole Weblogs, Inc. team on this great news!
Indymedia server seizure: Now it's a story
In early October, a story came out that two Rackspace servers that contained Indymedia websites had been seized in the UK, and many bloggers and Indymedia writers wondered why there was no pickup on this story by traditional media sources. After a few days, the discussion grew to a few Internet-focused publications, but that was about it.
Today, the Associated Press' Ellen Simon writes about the situation, including Indymedia's claim that this seizure amounted to "censorship." I'm going to go out on a limb and say that a lot of people failed to pick up on this story based on their opinions of what Indymedia has to say in its content - but they're missing the point. If we're all trending towards an online environment for news sources, what's going to happen when you're getting a lot of your news from an "alternative" source that doesn't have the backing of a New York Times or Tribune Company? Those companies aren't about to have materials seized from the Internet, but that doesn't mean that your favorite blogger or alt-site couldn't be shut down just like that.
[AP story via Drudge]
Journalist killed in Bangladesh
Digital Chosunilbo has a report on the killing of Bangladeshi journalist Shahid Anwar, assistant editor of the Daily Asian Express. Anwar is the second journalist killed in two months in the country.
[update] The New Nation states that Anwar was not a journalist, and was a businessman posing as one. The publication says that "misuse of the profession of journalism has become a big problem," which I'm sure is just working wonders for the credibility of journalists in the country.
Blogging for class
Not sure how I missed this the first time around, but Andrew Cline reminds us about The Journ Burn, the blog set up for students in his Journalism 270 course at Southwest Missouri State. I've added it to the blogroll here at TMD.
Freedom of press takes yet another hit
The Washington Times carries a story about the firing of Xiao Weibin, an editor of Tong Zhou Gong Jin, a liberal Chinese publication. Weibin was removed from his position for reasons not yet given, although the prevailing theory is that his beliefs about reform in the country were not taken very well by the government, which owns the magazine.
New York Post looking into Daily News circulation
The New York Post's Holly Sanders and Tim Arango have a story Tuesday about a potential circulation concern at their crosstown rival, the New York Daily News. According to their investigation, some practices that the Daily News claim meet the standards set by the Audit Bureau of Circulation seem a little suspicious, including grocery stores paying for newspapers up front, giving them away to customers when they make other purchases of various amounts, and then being reimbursed for the bulk of the costs of the papers - by the newspaper itself.
While the ABC does not "comment on circumstances at any particular paper," the article does contain a quote from Michael Moran, executive vice president of auditing services at the Bureau, when presented a similar scenario as a hypothetical. "The circulation-audit procedure we have would cause us to ask questions. An auditor would ask questions and want to investigate further."
The Post and News have been embroiled in a war of words when it comes to circulation for the last few years, and this doesn't look like it'll help matters. I'd expect either an investigation or further announcement by the News at some point on this subject.
Drudge: CBS News was "saving" Iraq explosives story
Drudge has a headline up right now about CBS News' reportedly "saving" the story about 377 missing tons of explosives in Iraq, which has come to light in the last two days, in order to pull it out next week just before Election Day.
News of missing explosives in Iraq -- first reported in April 2003 -- was being resurrected for a 60 MINUTES election eve broadcast designed to knock the Bush administration into a crises mode...
CBSNEWS PLANNED BUSH MISSING EXPLOSIVES STORY FOR ELECTION EVE
Matt Drudge has updated his previous report, but makes a statement that's a little off base - "It is not clear who exactly shopped an election eve repackaging of the
