News

23 October 2005

Murdoch versus the minnows

It didn't feel like a rebellion, more a minor uprising, but as a succession of small shareholders berated Rupert Murdoch from the floor of New York's Hudson Theatre, the News Corp chairman's patience began to wear thin. The company's first AGM since moving from Australia to America had begun amicably enough at 10am on Friday, as a small gathering of around 100 investors, analysts and journalists...

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23 October 2005

Hey, stupid, this is not an ad

APPARENTLY, the American Society of Magazine Editors has a considerably lower opinion of magazine readers (and, for that matter, magazine editors) than one might expect. The organization's latest guidelines, issued last week, are intended, in part, to dissuade magazines from printing advertising that could be confused with editorial content. It seems that too many Americans are dazzled by glossy...

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23 October 2005

Times' Ombudsman Suggests Review of Miller

NEW YORK (AP) - The New York Times' ombudsman said the newspaper should review reporter Judith Miller's journalism practices to address "clear issues of trust and credibility" in her role in the CIA leak investigation. Miller's attorney called the newspaper's recent criticism of her "shameless." Times Public Editor Byron Calame also said the paper should consider updating its ethics guidelines on...

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23 October 2005

Puncturing the Goenka legend

In the 1970s, when my involvement with journalism was largely restricted to seeing the press from the perspective of a reader, there was no doubt in my mind that Ramnath Goenka, the Indian Express’s feisty proprietor, was one of the good guys. In those days, people like myself tended to judge journalists and their proprietors on a single criterion: where did they stand on the Indira Gandhi issue...

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23 October 2005

NY Times reporter in CIA case criticized in paper

NEW YORK (Reuters) - A reporter for The New York Times came under sharp criticism in the pages of her own newspaper on Saturday, over her conduct related to a probe into the outing of a CIA operative. The Times' executive editor was quoted in the paper as saying reporter Judith Miller appeared to have misled it about her role in the controversy, and a top columnist suggested the Times' reputation...

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23 October 2005

Journalist's trail of deception and lies

Interview young journalists for a job these days, and their inevitable response to the question as to why they want a career in the written word comes back to basic principles: expose injustice, fight for the public's right to know, and - in one memorable case - change the world. In reality, journalism is more often a mixture of mundane police calls, follow-ups, caption-writing and fruitless phone...

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23 October 2005

Media firms urged to resist blackmail by the advertisers

DUBAI – "Media establishments should forge a common platform in order to be able to eliminate the ‘influence’ and ‘blackmail’ tactics adopted by advertising, marketing and public relations agencies. "This call was made during the Ramadan Majlis held by the Dubai Press Club on Thursday night, titled ‘Media Issues’. Abdullatif Al Sayegh, CEO of the Arab Media Group; Ali Al Hadithy, Managing Director...

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23 October 2005

Nepalese cops raid private station in media clampdown

Police on Friday raided a major private radio broadcaster, seizing key studio and transmitting components after the station defied a government order to halt newscasts, an official said. Kantipur Radio channel -- which belongs to the country's largest private media group -- was raided by dozens of police on Friday, said Amit Dhakal, news editor of the Kathmandu Post, the English daily published by...

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23 October 2005

Newspapers dig for answers on their fate

In a recent e-mail chat about the future of their business, several young New York Times reporters concluded with dismay that most of their friends don't subscribe to the newspaper. At the San Jose Mercury News, hardened news hawks facing staff reductions have begun eyeing public relations jobs they once would have disdained. In Philadelphia, a news photographer who has "loved every minute" of his...

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22 October 2005

How Miller was used by source

IN an extraordinary memo on the Judith Miller affair sent to the New York Times staff late Friday afternoon, the paper's executive editor, Bill Keller, did something far more important than admit errors and explain why they occurred. He took the focus of this lacerating incident off the Times' internal workings as a media institution and put it squarely where it belongs: on Miller, the individual...

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