While CNN's Jonathan Klein might feel that bloggers are at home in their pajamas all the time, it seems that NBC anchor-to-be Brian Williams has a similar thought. MarketWatch's Jon Friedman reports that Williams recently said that bloggers are "on an equal footing with someone in a bathroom with a modem."

Well, I wonder if it'll be long before the Pajamadeen decide to turn their ire on Williams. You're on in 5,4,3......

[via The Corsair]

The 'net is abuzz with the discussion about what might happen to "Jeopardy" contestant Ken Jennings' on tonight's episode, and for good reason. Let alone the fact that rumors have been abound (thanks, Kottke!) for months, but Jennings is scheduled to appear on Dave Letterman's show this evening, and A&E is featuring a piece on the show's champions on Wednesday, according to the Toronto Star's Vinay Menon.

But more importantly (of course) is the fact that not one, but two bloggers are quoted in the article. Both Damian Penny of Daimnation! and Marc Weisblott of Better Living Centre and Radio Weisblogg get their say in.

Woo hoo! Go bloggers! (Sorry, Ken!)

On Tuesday, Reporters Without Borders published a statement regarding Hussein Khogali, editor of the Sudanese newspaper Alwan, who has been held captive for eight days by the police with no charges being made public. Alwan is considered an "opposition" press to the Sudanese government.

The Philadelphia Inquirer's Michael Klein informs that Rachel Buchman, a radio reporter at WHYY-FM, has resigned from her position at the station after a personal message she left on a the voicemail of laptoplobbyist.com was brought into the public eye by the site's executive director, Chris Carmouche.

It's good to see that the Post can trust sources like TMD for its Page Six column.

Related: "Diane Sawyer, anchorwoman?" - TMD

Steve Rubel has some scoop on Pegasus News, a company that is working to create a new "model of local market content and advertising." It's like hyperlocal media on a macro- level. I'm intrigued, to say the least.

They're looking to do the local newspaper a one-up, but with a pay-for-play model that, at least based on their hopes, will be fair to everyone involved, from the readers to the advertisers. And considering the plan says "We will distribute content via a website, e-newsletters, RSS feeds, a daily print edition, SMS messaging and any other medium we can think of," one would imagine you'd get your money's worth if you were involved.

Just read over at L.A. Observed that journalist Leroy Aarons, known for founding the National Lesbian and Gay Journalists Association and his time at the Washington Post and Oakland Tribune, died Sunday at age 70 from bladder cancer.

More here at the San Jose Mercury News.

At the American Journalism Review, Caroline Zaayer writes about Gary Puleo, a staffer at Pennsylvania's Norristown Times Herald who lost his job at the paper in 2003 after plagiarism concerns. Puleo has since been brought back on the job after arbitration and further clarification about the methods for gathering background information for news articles.

Well, I just didn't get around to doing this on Friday, but it's a ritualistic kinda thing, so here goes. Break out your mp3 player or software, and post the first ten songs that come up.

1. "Here Comes The Rain Again" - Eurythmics
2. "Dirty Day" - U2
3. "No Problem" - Lil' Scrappy
4. "Furious Angels" - Rob Dougan
5. "Everytime - Hi Bias Radio Mix" - Britney Spears
6. "Go DJ" - Lil' Wayne
7. "The Nocturnal Is In The House" - P.M. Dawn
8. "Heat Miser" - Massive Attack
9. "Sanctified" - Nine Inch Nails
10. "Down Payment Blues" - AC/DC

And when you're done, go check out Rox's list - she posts hers on time at least.

ESPN.com staffer and freelance blogger Reemer is looking for some comments from readers of that site regarding their Insider product. Says Reemer:

• If you are not an Insider, why not? Do we need to do a better job of showing you what Insider offers? Or, is there not enough that has compelled you to buy? What content or tools would be worth it to become an Insider?
• If you are an Insider, what do you like about it? What would you like to see more of?

I've toyed with the product before, and have seen what's "behind the curtain" a bit through friends - there's some good stuff back there, indeed. But the product itself isn't made clear in the upfront. Take the ESPN.com homepage, for instance. I can understand while "realtime" stats/scores would be considered a premium product, but when it comes to news/content, it becomes a little tougher. The right side of the page has the "ESPNews Headlines," which are bulleted out and are open to the public - then there are one or two items that have the 'in' logo signifying that only Insiders can view the content.

Why are those articles given a pricetag while others aren't? Are they "better" articles? Is it merely that the content will be paid for a day or two, and then go above the firewall later in the week?

Promote the 30 day trial more. Let word of mouth settle in.

Many readers of the ESPN.com site are probably, or at least were at one time, Sports Illustrated subscribers. The SI site has access for print subscribers, offering either the same content as can be accessed via snailmail plus some more. Promote this in the same way to the casual ESPN reader - "If you like what you see in ESPN Magazine, then Insider is for you." But don't pitch current customers, pitch the same target market that you would for the potential print customers. Many more people are getting their content online - the cost isn't prohibitive if you consider what people pay per month on a sports weekly - so make it worth their while.

PUSH the wireless alerts and things, but not stuff that people can already get for free. I can get the Yankees scores for free delivered to my phone through my wireless provider - trades and other "breaking" news are the key.

PUSH the webcasts.

PUSH access to ESPN.com (or even ESPN TV) personalities and writers.

Take out a BlogAd. I'm *sure* Henry Copeland will be more than happy to help you put together a proposal. Realizing that people on the 'net are slick (I know you do, Reemer) is the best thing you can do. If people feel that your paid content is inferior, they will just sit it out and wait until someone gives it to them for free. Create demand. Heck, get the Sports Guy to do an online radio show or something.

I'm sure there's more, but this is what I can think of right now.

[via Off Wing Opinion]

The Santiago, Chile-based segment of Indymedia, santiago.indymedia.org, announced its departure from the Indymedia network on Saturday, citing differences in opinion on various topics. It seems that the Santiago group's hardline beliefs apparently don't mesh with the core Indymedia standards or values.

The Associated Press reports that BusinessWeek editor-in-chief Stephen Shepard will leave the publication in April of 2005. No replacement has yet been named.

The Cleveland Plain Dealer's Clint O'Connor has been listening to both SIRIUS and XM satellite radio services for the last few weeks, and by golly, he seems to like what he's hearing. O'Connor does an excellent job of pointing out the ins and outs of both services, from the sports packages to stations that compare to terrestrial stations that have since changed format, such as Cleveland's formerly-big band WRMR [previously discussed here] which disappeared much to the chagrin of many listeners.

The Associated Press reports that NBC Sports president Dick Ebersol survived a plane crash in Colorado on Sunday. Also on the plane were Ebersol's sons, Charles and Teddy - the latter of whom is still missing at this time. Both pilots were killed in the crash, which happened on takeoff.

[update] Lost Remote's Cory Bergman posted on this earlier today, linking to a news item from Denver's News 9 NBC affiliate, which stated that the pilot, one flight attendant, and another passenger were killed.

[update 11/29 8:18pm] On Monday evening, the Associated Press reported that Ebersol's youngest son, Teddy, is presumed to have been killed in the crash along with Luis Alberto Polanco Espaillat and Warren T. Richardson III. While the AP has not identified which man was the plane's pilot, a commenter on this site has stated that Polanco was the pilot and her uncle. This has not been confirmed otherwise.

[11:45pm] Lost Remote's Cory Bergman posts an update on this story - Edward Ebersol's body has been found in the wreckage - he was 14.

A few months ago, word had leaked out on the web, specifically on Jason Kottke's blog (though other 'mainstream' pubs claim credit) that "Jeopardy" super-winner Ken Jennings would be defeated after winning 74 episodes. It was projected that this would happen sometime in November, based on the number of days the show was to run in the Fall season.

As it turns out, this was right on, Kottke reports Sunday morning. Tuesday, November 30 looks to be the date, and he's got the audio to "prove" it.

Even with people knowing what's going to happen, I'm still gunning for a ratings bonanza and a ton of TiVos being set for this. How long before we'll get statistics over how this was "highest number of pre-set recordings" or something, at least for a non-sporting event or movie?

John Shiffman writes in Sunday's Philadelphia Inquirer that the 'early' edition of the Sunday paper, sold on Saturday, mistakenly had a price of $.50 on the cover, as opposed to $1.50. While stickers that had the correct price were quickly distributed and placed on the papers, there is no word on how many issues were sold at the lower price - though the newspaper did state that they would reimburse any retailer who "lost" money on the sales.

TIME magazine's Richard Zoglin asks "10 Questions" to NBC's Tom Brokaw about a few things, including Dan Rather and Peter Jennings.

Alex Massie writes in today's Scotland on Sunday that ABC's Diane Sawyer "has emerged as the dark horse" candidate to replace the departing Dan Rather in CBS News' top anchor slot. TVNewser's Brian Stelter pointed out on Friday that Sawyer has said this wasn't the case - at least according to the New York Post - but would bringing a 'familiar face' to the newscast be enough to attract viewers normally in tune to seeing Sawyer on "Good Morning America" or other fluffy interview shows on ABC? Personal feelings aside, I can't say for sure that this wouldn't be a "smart" decision on the part of CBS, if they were trying to grab a batch of viewers that their ratings show they are obviously lacking. But does Sawyer make an improvement to the struggling network newscast, or would it merely serve as a slight ratings grab?

[ed: I especially like the Post's speculation that Sawyer "might prefer a more cushy and equally high-profile job like anchoring a network evening newscast." You know, instead of hardcore work like interviewing guests about their new dog medication or discussing the latest shopping tips for this holiday season. And don't lecture me on getting up early in the morning, blah blah blah. If you paid me like $5 million I'd get up whenever you asked.]

[Comics created using stripcreator - impetus provided by Cobb]

Iowahawk has posted some "selected excerpts" from a holiday film you probably won't be seeing on CBS this year, "It's a Dan-derful Life."

[via LGF]

In the United States - and most of the West - the media is outwardly criticized for being unfair in some cases, especially in their political coverage. While this may be true, they're not usually described as being untruthful in their broadcasts and printed pages. This isn't the case everywhere on the planet, unfortunately.

For those who might be considered as leading "sheltered" lives when considering press freedoms, this is a historic week when it comes to mass media. For in the Ukraine, a huge change is afoot, as some television media outlets have decided to become more honest with the public, and not let the current government hold its power over them any longer.

On Thursday, Roman Olearchyk wrote in the Kyiv Post about public statements made by television stations 1+1 and UT-1 - the latter being a state-owned entity. 1+1 replaced its news program editor, Vyacheslav Pikhovshek, as part of their transition, and UT-1 took a decidely different tact towards its reporting.

A recent survey of journalists funded by Democratic Initiatives Foundation, a western-funded NGO, singled out Pikhovshek as the “least trusted” journalist in Ukraine.

Much like our news media moves out the old guard in order to change their tune as far as ratings go, 1+1 is 'listening' to the people - journalists are citizens, too. Olearchyk also reports on strikes by staffers at UT-1, purely looking for "fair coverage" by the stations.

To understand how such a thing as a lack of "true" press freedom could exist is kind of a fascinating thing for most, including myself. With the advent of the Internet and other broadcast methods, one might think that eluding an intrusive government wouldn't be too difficult. But when the mass media is literally controlled by the state, the inundation of propaganda and the like is probably overwhelming to the point of effectiveness. Passive society means limited opposition. That's where the journalists come in. By effectively refusing to cover stories in a certain manner, they take away the "bread and butter" of the government, as it is not able to spew its directives and belief system to the public-at-large.

The CIA provides some statistics on the Ukraine, which has approximately 47 million persons on a land mass a little smaller than the state of Texas. While the country is considered "independent," as it seems what might be considered the "old guard" still has its claws in the government, media, and economic resources - hence the media's bias towards what the state wants to be said. And unlike the current situation in Russia, which has shifted towards the state-run media outlets repeating the party line for the most part, the Ukraine's rank and file seem to be taking a stand. And it's working. On Saturday, the country's Parliament effectively (but not truly) overturned recent elections, reports the New York Times's Steven Lee Myers. The media had been acting in lock-step with the state's push for current Prime Minister Viktor Yanukovich to continue on as president, replacing Leonid Kuchma, who had led the country for a decade. But no longer. As Australia's The Age prints in this item, "Media comes clean," the world - or at least the Ukraine, is a better place for it.

Said 1+1's Lyudmila Dobrovolska on Friday [via the Telegraph]:

"We take full responsibility for the distorted information aired on our channel under the direction of various political forces," it read.

"From now on we will give only objective and truthful information, and the opinions of all the political parties in the country."

Every once in a while the media does something commendable to make people realize that it's not just all about ratings, personal biases, and "bad news" - this is one of those times.

At Venezuelanalysis.com, David Coleman reports that new regulations passed in Venezuela this week not only clamp down on the broadcasting of sex and violence on the country's media outlets, but that some political opposition groups believe that press freedom could be hindered due to the implementation of this law.

Blog Maverick's Mark Cuban has some not-so-great things to say about the media's coverage of last week's fracas at a Detroit Pistons - Indiana Pacers NBA game. While he is right that many in the sports media are doing nothing other than coming up with statistically unproven theories on why the fans and the players got into a fight, what is wrong with society today, etc., he needs to clarify his problem, rather than lumping all the coverage together. Of anyone, he should know that most of what a viewer sees on television related to sports shows is commentary - not "news" reporting.

The one thing Cuban does point out which seems to be a problem with the media as a whole these days is the blurring of lines between reporting and commentary.

Since when are reporters supposed to start with conclusions posed as questions , rather than uncover facts and report on them. Are reporters the “new columnists” ?

Good question. The answer is that most sports reporting these days has become commentary on the action, rather than straight up recounting of the facts surrounding the game. Sure, there are the beat reporters who cover a team all year, but some recount the games and write up the articles that go with the box score - there are many more columnists who offer their perspective. The problem is that most people are shown the statements made by the commentarists rather than the "news" of the story. For instance, after the aforementioned incident in Detroit, ESPN's coverage went to their NBA desk, which had John Saunders, Tim Legler, Stephen A. Smith, and I believe Greg Anthony, though I could be wrong about Anthony's participation. Saunders was calling fans "punks" and Legler and Smith were offering their thoughts on what went on and why - that's not supposed to be "newsy," it's supposed to be commentary. Since the reporters coming up with the hard news get the two minutes to document the fact that "fan X has Y criminal record," and the commentary then begins for the next ten, the perception people have is obviously that the reporting is horrible, or lacking, at the very least.

But stepping back to the reporters themselves....Cuban seems to feel that the reporters are posing their questions in a way that isn't designed to obtain facts, but a way to create a "tease" factor. It'd be one thing to say "we hear that so-and-so is injured, can you comment," but another to say "do you think the lack of morals in this country is what is contributing to problems at NBA arenas?" You're putting an answer to the question first, and making a judgement call on a lack of morality in America - it's not necessarily factual speculation. So should we be asking ourselves if this was always the case, and now we are happening to hear such things because Cuban is outspoken and lets the public in on his thoughts? Or, do we speculate that sports journalism has turned a corner of late?

At Ecademy, Joanne Mallon offers tips on how to make yourself presentable when appearing on television. Heck, even if you suffer from stagefright, at least you'll look good doing it.

Earlier today I was alerted to TissueBox Advertising, a company whose purpose, even by just reading the name, should be self explanatory. TissueBox states that it can put together a campaign of particular school-age demographics for a potential client, print up the tissue boxes, and distribute via donation to a school. To this point, many schools have chosen to "opt-in" to distributions in the future, with only 7% opting-out, according to the company. And to the company's credit, they do have current/former school employees on their Advisory Board, as detailed here - but does that really matter?

So the question is, is it a good thing that companies are sponsoring tissues in school classrooms? Sure, it's great that the products are there, because everyone knows what a problem it is to get your kid to have tissues of their own r not wipe their nose on their shirtsleeve - but what's the cost? Now I don't have children of my own, and am a marketer by trade, but sometimes something feels a little iffy to me. In this particular case, I cannot decide if it's just the methodology that bothers me or something else.

The problem a lot of people have with marketing to teens (and younger children) is that it is, in a lot of cases, an effort to get individuals, many of whom don't have money of their own just yet, outside of a few dollars' allowance, to become brand loyal, and push for certain products to be purchased by their parent or guardian. While I'm sure all intentions are good here, and I for one do not take too much issue with advertising to young people in general, is a school the "right" opportunity to advertise your product or service? In this particular case, I think a serious look would have to be taken at the benefit of having your ad in front of students on a daily basis as opposed to the furor that could be caused by parents and kids who took offense to the tissue boxes. A school system is more than likely going to "go" with a plan to have tissues donated to it because of the value proposition put forth. I can't say that parents and students would feel the same, unfortunately.

Related: The Media Awareness Network looks at marketing to teens and young children.

On Wednesday, OpinionJournal featured a piece by screenwriter Bridget Johnson that asked why the public murder of filmmaker Theo van Gogh in Amsterdam on November 2 hasn't been discussed more by Americans in the movie-making industry - and she's spot on. Think about it - we now live in a world where if you disagree with a film someone makes, something that might not even be their ideology (although, in this case, van Gogh was outspoken about Islam), and you kill them on a city street. It's not like Amsterdam is in the middle of nowhere, in an unprotected, uncivilized state somewhere at the corner of the globe - it's a major city.

While I can't say that anything has really "changed" in the world in the last decade, it's clear that "I'm mad as hell and I'm not going to take it anymore" [credit: Network] has become the mantra for anyone willing to take things to another level. Is this something that could happen in Hollywood, New York, or even Bollywood? Absolutely.

Which leads back to the question - is it that film directors and writers in America aren't 'scared' of something like this happening, or are they just letting it pass like an extremist event that doesn't spell any trouble for their collective future?

If we aren't going to complain about the murder of a filmmaker over the content of a movie, then we should start worrying when magazines are banned from an entire country because the content in one article is deemed "biased," as happened with this week's issue of Newsweek in Pakistan.

[Hat tip: Ken]

[update: 11/30 5:12pm] Jeff Jarvis posts about a reaction from an unlikely source - "Wheel of Fortune" host Pat Sajak - who also gives a piece of his mind to those in Hollywood who haven't expressed their thoughts on the van Gogh murder.

David at VodkaFish laments the "bad angle" in sports television today, specifically those currently appearing in National Football League broadcasts. I can't help but agree. Not normally one to stand in the way of progress, I think that CBS, FOX, and ABC are all just putting together these overhead and "other" angles in the repertoire of camera shots without realizing what it does to a viewer's experience. There have been multiple occasions where a camera angle has been less than perfect, but the blocked extra point that David references has got to be one of the worst examples I've seen this season.

It took FOX four games of the World Series to realize that they were cutting into the first pitch of a half-inning because they were stacking in commercials this year - don't you think the networks should be realizing that while they might think they are in the business of selling advertising, the viewing public doesn't believe that should be the case? Until you figure out how to get these (mostly robotic) cameras working perfectly, save them for replays or wide-angle overhead shots.

If you're interested in the common ground - or impact - that law can have on the media, then it looks like Robert Ambrogi's new blog, Media Law, might be a place to visit regularly. Ambrogi is an attorney and was formerly editor of the National Law Journal and Lawyers Weekly USA.

In light of recent developments regarding censorship, media consolidation, and other "hot" topics, Media Law could represent a great resource for non-legal peoples to utilize when trying to interpret news and government action.

Over at Slowplay.com, Eric Anderson thinks that Ron Artest's NBA brawl video is much better album promotion than Young Buck's videotaped - but edited from the broadcast - stabbing at the Vibe Awards taping last week.

Just a few days ago, NetZero television ads spoofing AOL's "Make the Internet better" campaign went on the air. On Thursday, it appears that Budweiser has joined the fun, creating a spoof of their own on Miller's "Referee" spots that feature football referees calling penalties on people drinking Budweiser or offering it to others.

The first time I caught it was during CBS' Thanksgiving Day coverage of the Colts-Lions NFL game. It features some referee-dressed people going up to partygoers, taking their "fresh beer" and replacing it with "this Miller Lite," much to the chagrin of the people being de-beered. It seems the referees didn't want the Miller, and thought that "fresh" beer was a better choice.

Damian Penny caught it as well. He thinks the refs are "the most annoying on television," so I'm not sure if this is good or bad from his perspective.

Have a story to tell about Tom Brokaw's time as a newsman? MSNBC and "Dateline NBC" are asking for input to publish on their site.

CBC Sports Online reports that Scott Taylor, sports reporter for the Winnipeg Free Press, has left the paper after admitting to plagiarism in a recent article about the NFL.

[update: 11/25] According to today's Winnepeg Sun, Taylor says that he didn't plagiarize a USA Today piece for his Free Press column of November 5.

[ed: originally posted here]

This afternoon, I was tipped off about this post by a seemingly anonymous blogger going by the name "Bill," who has been writing the "Blogging versus Journalism" site since October 4. That post from Monday bears a significant resemblance to this column by Steve Outing from November 19 at Editor & Publisher. It is not the whole article, but grafs used here and there, with a few tweaks to the text. There is no credit, no mention of Outing or E&P, nothing.

I'm not sure if the blogger is really a journalist or not, as the blog*spot site is "justacrazyjournalist.blogspot.com," but s/he isn't doing any favors for him/herself, nor bloggers as a whole.

I thought perhaps this was an oddity, and took a random scroll through the site's archives. While many of the entries are blockquotes with attributed links, that isn't the case for everything, unfortunately.

As Drudge would say, "DEVELOPING."

[Thanks, Mark]

[update] Some good examples here and here.

The discussion is continuing here at Steve Rubel's Micro Persuasion. Rubel is rightly "keeping an open mind" on the matter, but anonymity is keeping us from being able to get a response from "Bill" at this point. Needless to say, this looks kind of iffy, IMHO.

[update 11/25] The Steve Outing-related piece seems to have been removed from the blog*spot site with no further comment from the 'source'.

[ed: originally posted here]

Ron Orol writes in today's Daily Deal that the FCC seems to be moving towards denying a push for 'a la carte' cable television pricing.

[ed: previously discussed here and here. Originally posted here]

The Miami Herald's Christina Hoag informs about a $55,000 fine that is pending against WQAM-AM 560 out of Miami. The station is being fined for comments made by Scott Ferrall, a host who had been fired by the station a year ago this month, on a sports-themed show in September of 2003.

And in a development that Jeff Jarvis is sure to love, the fines would be the result of one complaint, filed by Coral Gables-based attorney Jack Thompson (FMQB calls him a "attorney/indecency crusader"). To boot, Thompson is calling for WQAM's license.

So how do we really feel about how complaints and the FCC works - do we think that one complaint should be enough to get a company or individual in trouble? Does there need to be some sort of consensus? One thing is for sure, there's no 'consensus' that what the current system is doing is right.

[ed: originally posted here]

RatherBiased is compiling a great roundup of Dan Rather-retirement related coverage. They're definitely the one-stop shop for news on this topic.

[ed: originally posted here]

On Tuesday, the UMASS Daily Collegian printed a good read by Adam O'Neal about a session where the school's journalism students were informed on how they can do a better job when writing about people with disabilities.

[ed: originally posted here]

Reports surfaced last week that Gannett was to purchase midwest newspaper publisher HomeTown Communications. On Wednesday, the Cincinnati Post's Greg Paeth informs that this potential merger "is expected to draw scrutiny from the U.S. Justice Department."

[ed: originally posted here]

A short while ago, CBS News announced that evening news anchor Dan Rather would be stepping down after the March 9, 2005 newscast, but will stay on with the network. Check out all the details here at RatherBiased.com - where you can also find the statement that Andrew Heyward, news division boss, sent out to CBS affiliates today.

The Springfield Republican has an obituary Tuesday for John Bart, who held roles as reporter, copy editor, and columnist at the paper. Bart died Saturday at age 62 from cancer.

The News & Observer's David Ranii writes about the switchover that Raleigh's 100.7 FM, WTRG, recently went through, when the Clear Channel radio station flipped from an 'oldies' format to 'adult-alternative', without much warning to listeners. Ranii also details the wannabe trickery that station owners go through in advance of the actual format change - when they play various other types of music in order to confuse the competition. I suppose this is so other stations don't go changing their formats on a whim or something.

North Carolina's WRAL-TV is reporting that the Durham Herald-Sun may be up for sale.

Haaretz.com has an article by Yair Ettinger about the feelings of Jewish Israelis towards Arab journalists, specifically regarding trust of their reporting.

On the Knoxville News Sentinel's website, there is a blog written by staffer Michael Silence. On Monday, Silence wrote that sportswriter Gary Lundy passed away after suffering a heart attack while in the newsroom, and left the comments open for people to pay their respects. What happened next is amazing - readers, former co-workers, people who were students with Lundy at the University of Tennessee all wrote in, even a former pastor at the Methodist Church he attended shared his thoughts and prayers.

Please, read the whole thing.

[Thanks, Mark]

Well, I saw that Rolling Stone was publishing their "Top 500" songs of all time, so I figured I would work up my own, but just didn't get around to it. Then, I saw Michele had started posting hers, and knew I had to get on the ball. These are *my* thoughts on the best 1,000 songs, as per those I've actually ever heard without just listening to them for the purpose of this exercise. Trash 'em, bash 'em, make a suggestion or seven, whatever.

It's a work in progress and here it goes - in no particular order, at least at the moment.

1. "Black" - Pearl Jam
2. "No Sleep Til Brooklyn" - Beastie Boys
3. "Welcome to the Jungle" - Guns 'N' Roses
4. "Fuck tha Police" - N.W.A.
5. "Don't You Forget About Me" - Simple Minds
6. "Hell's Bells" - AC/DC
7. "Rapture" - Blondie
8. "The Reflex" - Duran Duran
9. "Mexican Radio" - Wall of Voodoo
10. "Slam" - Onyx
11. "Love Bites" - Def Leppard
12. "I Can't Drive (55)" - Sammy Hagar
13. "Killing in the Name Of" - Rage Against the Machine
14. "Runaround Sue" - Dion
15. "You Really Got Me" - Kinks
16. "Hang on Sloopy" - The McCoys
17. "In Bloom" - Nirvana
18. "Sloop John B." - Beach Boys
19. "Light My Fire" - The Doors
20. "Somebody to Love" - Jefferson Airplane
21. "Reflections" - The Supremes
22. "Ain't No Mountain High Enough" - Marvin Gaye & Tammi Terrell
23. "Such Great Heights" - The Postal Service
24. "(Sittin' On) The Dock of the Bay" - Otis Redding
25. "Proud Mary" - Creedence Clearwater Revival
26. "A Boy Named Sue" - Johnny Cash
27. "Where My Girls At" - 702
28. "Ice Cream" - Sarah McLachlan
29. "You Make Me Wanna" - Usher
30. "No Diggity" - Blackstreet & Dr. Dre
31. "Just a Girl" - No Doubt
31. "Waterfalls" - TLC
32. "Insane in the Brain" - Cypress Hill
33. "When Doves Cry" - Prince
34. "Like a Virgin" - Madonna
35. "Like a Prayer" - Madonna
36. "End of the Road" - Boyz II Men
37. "Faith" - George Michael
38. "3 A.M Eternal" - The KLF
39. "Summer of '69" - Bryan Adams
40. "Wind of Change" - Scorpions
41. "I Want a New Drug" - Huey Lewis & the News
42. "Wicked Game" - Chris Isaak
43. "Poison" - Bell Biv DeVoe
44. "Pump Up the Jam" - Technotronic
45. "Enjoy the Silence" - Depeche Mode
46. "Love Shack" - The B-52's
47. "Every Rose Has Its Thorn" - Poison
48. "Buffalo Stance" - Neneh Cherry
49. "Even Flow" - Pearl Jam
50. "Smells Like Teen Spirit" - Nirvana
51. "18 and Life" - Skid Row
52. "Need You Tonight" - INXS
53. "Send the Pain Below" - Chevelle
54. "Seasons Change" - Expose
55. "Thriller" - Mic