Saturday, January 31, 2004

DaveNet: Is CBS Lying? 

Washington Post: "Sen John F. Kerry, who has made a fight against corporate special interests a centerpiece of his front-running campaign for the Democratic presidential nomination, has raised more money from paid lobbyists than any other senator over the past 15 years, federal records show." 

Chris Allen shares his concerns about Orkut.  

Over the last couple of weeks a process that was formerly hidden became visible, as the powers of television, radio and print decide which candidate they want to run against George Bush in the fall. Doc Searls famously told of the role developers and users play in the design of Apple computers. ("The influence of developer will be minimal. The influence of customers and users will be held in even higher contempt.") It seems the role for voters is similar. Chris Lydon tells of a story that was snuffed during the Carter run to the Democratic nomination in 1976. "I have been unable to discover that you believe in anything other than yourself," said Carter aide Bob Shrum of Carter, on the record and for attribution. But the editors of the NY Times refused to risk exposing Carter. The last half of the 20th Century was an excessive monoculture, centralized thinking system, where we think, as Citizen Kane snapped "What I tell them to think!" The American news executives who deleted the Dean candidacy through misinformation should do as the leadership of the BBC did -- resign and make way for an overdue reformation of journalism, and as a result the American political system. It's time. As Lydon tells us, the corruption isn't new. What's new is that it's visible now that we can inform each other without relying on them. 

Kaye Trammel: Protecting Your Secret Blog. 

Let's say for the sake of argument, the Kerry campaign wants to buy insurance through weblogs that the CNN, ABC, Fox, CBS conglomerate can't do unto them what they did to Dean. What would they do? 

In a fascinating meta-discussion about a Wolf Blitzer interview with Presidential candidate Dennis Kucinich, Jay Rosen explains why television reporters ask such embarassing questions of public figures. "Blitzer is a pro. He knows how to ask what the pros, in a calculus all their own, call the tough questions." 

Wired: "It appears their efforts to save Hubble, along with political pressure, may be paying off." 

BBC: Second rover safe on Mars surface. 

Susan Kitchens is blogging it. 

NY Times: "CBS says it has a policy against running issue advertisements during the Super Bowl."