__/ [ John A. Bailo ] on Sunday 17 December 2006 09:38 \__
> http://story.news.ask.com//article/20061217/D8M2ACFO1.html
>
>>>>
> The annual honor for 2006 went to each and every one of us, as Time cited
> the shift from institutions to individuals - citizens of the new digital
> democracy, as the magazine put it. The winners this year were anyone using
> or creating content on the World Wide Web.
>
> "If you choose an individual, you have to justify how that person affected
> millions of people," said Richard Stengel, who took over as Time's managing
> editor earlier this year. "But if you choose millions of people, you don't
> have to justify it to anyone."
>
> The magazine did cite 26 "People Who Mattered," from North Korean dictator
> Kim Jong Il to Pope Benedict XVI to the troika of President Bush, Vice
> President Dick Cheney and former Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld.
> <<<
>
> Note: Linus is among the People Who Mattered.
>
> Wow, what an about face from last year, when they virtually force fed
> Dictator Gate$, his shoe-laden wife Imeda, and iPod huckster Bono down our
> throats!
The short story: Microsoft controls The Times.
The longer story:
Time Magazine could be among those which are close to Bill's interests. First
exhibit:
Bill Gates lends cash to buy newspapers - $350 million to MediaNews
,----[ Quote ]
| Gates involvement has been very behind the scenes. In fact many of
| those involved in the deal didn'teven know he was one of the investors.
| It was carried out through the Gates Foundation, the world's largest
| philanthropy outfit.
`----
http://www.theinquirer.net/default.aspx?article=33849
I urge you to look at this brand-new article that revolves around an ongoing
controversity.
"The Register this week started pushing the Times to explain its quoting
stance after noticing that Rob Enderle - the most quoted technology analyst
on the planet - had been blocked from commenting on companies with which he
has a financial relationship. The ban against Enderle appeared odd, given
that Times reporters continue to cite analysts from larger firms who also
have financial relationships with the companies discussed.
[...]
A couple of things in that statement stand out.
For one, the paper only tries not to quote analysts who have business ties to
a vendor. It's missing a firm policy.
Secondly, the flimsy policy prohibits reporters from querying those analysts
that would seem to know their subjects best. In a story about Microsoft, a
reporter should apparently quote an analyst who covers LSI Logic or orange
juice makers, not one who covers Microsoft.
A better policy might insist that the Times disclose the ties between an
analyst and a vendor, leaving the reader to make the credibility judgement.
As it stands, objective Times reporters must not form opinions about the
companies they cover and must then quote analysts who don't cover the
companies for opinions. That seems more like praying for accuracy than
pursuing it.
The funny - or sad - thing is that the paper doesn't come close to following
its own advice.
Just days after banning Enderle from discussing Microsoft because he has
Microsoft as a client, the Times quoted Gartner analyst Michael Silver and
AMR Research analyst Jim Murphy in a story about Microsoft's Windows and
Office software.
If the paper would prefer not to quote an analyst who has experience with a
client, it did a poor job. Silver is Gartner's vice president in charge of
client computing. Microsoft happens to do lots of business with Gartner and
also happens to have a client-software monopoly. We're guessing that Silver
knows Microsoft's products well and has direct involvement with the company.
And, sure enough, he appears a number of times on Microsoft's own site and
thousands of times in stories about Microsoft.
Jim Murphy - wait for it - covers Microsoft too and is even more prolific
than Silver.
Both analysts, however, should hang their heads in shame because Enderle has
ten times the Microsoft opining skills.
Since the Times can't follow its own policy, it should come as no surprise
that other publications have shunned the Gray Lady as a standards setter.
Rob Enderle this week made it into 51 stories - and counting - about
Microsoft. ComputerWorld, InformationWeek, PC World, MarketWatch and
InternetNews.com all quoted the analyst without ever touching on his
relationship with Microsoft."
The article closes with: "Lord knows, the Times could use some help."
This is part of the following:
NY Times bans Microsoft analysts from Microsoft stories
Source: http://www.theregister.co.uk/2006/12/15/nytimes_ms_ban/
The United States realises the dangers it has brought upon itself. See for
example:
Corporate Propaganda Still On the News: Study Finds Local Stations
Overwhelmingly Fail to Disclose VNRs
,----[ Quote ]
| A new study by the Center for Media and Democracy says Americans are
| still being shown corporate public relations videos disguised as news
| reports on newscasts across the country.
`----
http://www.democracynow.org/article.pl?sid=06/11/14/1518200
FTC Moves to Unmask Word-of-Mouth Marketing
,----[ Quote ]
| The Federal Trade Commission yesterday said that companies engaging
| in word-of-mouth marketing, in which people are compensated to
| promote products to their peers, must disclose those relationships.
|
| [...]
|
| Word-of-mouth marketing can take any form of peer-to-peer communication,
| such as a post on a Web blog, a MySpace.com page for a movie character,
| or the comments of a stranger on a bus.
|
| As the practice has taken hold over the past several years, however,
| some advocacy groups have questioned whether marketers are using such
| tactics to dupe consumers into believing they are getting unbiased
| information.
`----
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/12/11/AR2006121101389.html?nav=hcmodule
--
~~ Kind greetings and happy holidays!
Roy S. Schestowitz | "These characters were randomly picked"
http://Schestowitz.com | RHAT Linux | PGP-Key: 0x74572E8E
12:05pm up 59 days 22:19, 7 users, load average: 0.70, 0.55, 0.53
http://iuron.com - Open Source knowledge engine project
|
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