Category Archives: Journalism

Tiger kills zookeeper because … the tiger had a set of keys?

Information wants to be free. Hamerton Zoo Park officials really fucked up the public statement. You probably noted the story about the zookeeper killed by a tiger in England the other day. This is a tragic story in every way. It’s also a maddening example of inept cover-your-ass PR language by the Hamerton Zoo Park’s spokespeople. By now we should all

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Trump's Mainstream Media Accountability Survey will leave you speechless

This methodological tour de force is a triumph in honesty, objectivity and good faith. Bigly. You should reply in kind. I’ll keep this brief. Donald has a poll up asking for your honest opinion on a series of  completely fair, unbiased and objective questions about “the media.” The Mainstream Media Accountability Survey asks questions like: 10: Do you believe that the mainstream

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Examining the Reddit guide to fake news

The crew on the CoolGuides subReddit are to be commended for a noteworthy effort, but there are a few things we’d like to see adjusted. There’s an interesting project under way over at Reddit. Interesting in that it tackles the increasingly pressing question of journalistic credibility here in the golden age of fake news (and how can you possibly not respect an effort called

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Remembering 2016: the year when everyone died

No, famous people won’t stop dying on January 1. But we lost too many bright lights this year and we hope that 2017 will be better. Here’s a list of noteworthy people who died in 2016. For the past several months a lot of us have been saying we can’t wait for this damned year to be over. 2016 gave us

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ALL OF THE ABOVE: The REAL reason(s) Clinton lost the election

Analyzing Clinton’s loss: can we PLEASE let go of our compulsive binary either/or thinking? Ever since the stunning outcome of the election several weeks ago we have been subjected to one analysis after another as to why Hillary Clinton lost to Donald Trump. Dozens and Dozens. Hell, make that hundreds and hundreds, probably. I’m seeing more of these stories in my

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Boulder, Colorado Bureau of Investigation planning new DNA analysis in JonBenet Ramsey case

Can new procedures tell us who killed the child pageant queen? Were there multiple murderers? According to NBC News, “new DNA testing is planned in the unsolved murder of 6-year-old JonBenet Ramsey.” The news was first reported by NBC affiliate KUSA in Denver, Colorado, and by the Boulder Daily Camera. The two news outlets did a joint investigation in October

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The Tiffany Martínez case and journalistic malpractice in the first degree

Journalism RIP: gone and apparently forgotten Here’s a sampling of the Google News headlines this morning for a search on [tiffany martinez]: Professor Leaves Racist Note on Student’s Paper – Yahoo News-22 hours ago The broader implications of unfairly accusing a Latina student of plagiarism – Inside Higher Ed-Nov 1, 2016 Professor accuses Latina student of plagiarism for using the

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Resolved: that future presidential debates ought to use the Lincoln-Douglas format

Partisan discourse can’t sink much lower. Now is the time to resurrect a format that was made for political debates. The third and final “debate” between presidential contenders Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump is now mercifully in the rearview mirror, but like a direct hit from an aggrieved skunk, it might take weeks for the stink to fully die down. This trifecta

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Trump, WaPo and the GOP: gutless politicians, tepid journalism

Apropos of Denny’s insighful analysis earlier today, the Washington Post blows the headline. Instead of Broad array of military luminaries condemn Trump over attacks on Khan family a less gutless rag would have gone with Broad array of military luminaries condemn Trump over attacks on Khan family but none withdraw endorsements ‪#‎justsaying‬ ‪#‎profilesincourage‬

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Hey Brian Windhorst: The NC legislature held a special session to PASS #HB2. Why can't they do the same to repeal it?

I love Brian Windhorst, but he needs to get his act together on this one. The NBA is mulling pulling the All-Star Game from Charlotte over the state’s reprehensible HB2 “bathroom law.” Good – this is as it should be. But the ESPN story cited here, penned by NBA reporter Brian Windhorst (whom I really really like), has a little problem.

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What you need to know about Bernie Sanders and mainstream media in one Washington Post headline

This is what passes for reason inside the muted corridors of serious establishment “journalism.” Flipping through the morning’s news and I came across this: I really know dick about Collum Borchers (or the editors who write his headlines), but a quick look at his archive page suggests a faint whiff of Beltway/Village wankery.

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