She’s dying, and this, this is what CBS “News” has to say: Betsy Gleick, executive editor of People magazine, which first reported Elizabeth Edwards’ current condition on its website, said, “She is at home, she is surrounded by loved ones. Her children are all there. She has good friends there. Her sister is there. And they are sort of hanging out and talking and looking at photos, and that’s what we know. She’s obviously very sick. She had stomach pains over Thanksgiving, and they found that the cancer had spread to her liver.” Well, thank God we’ve interviewed People magazine’s … Continue reading Elizabeth Edwards

Anna Tarkov: In case you didn’t catch it, the writers of WaPo’s The Fix want you to know that they’re super savvy about the political process and they know better than you. Now, I am prepared to accept this kind of thinking on some level. For instance, most of us would agree that a meteorologist knows more about the weather than we do. They have tools that we don’t have and they have a specialized degree which required them to learn all sorts of things about clouds and wind and moisture and currents. Thus if a meteorologist says hey, I’m … Continue reading Earning Your Superiority

Talented Internet, this: The news media’s romance with the fringe may be a stark reflection of how the business has changed in just the past few years. Before there was an Internet, before the explosion of sources of news and commentary, mainstream news organizations could maintain something like a gatekeeper role, downplaying or ignoring stories they deemed unfit for public consumption. Such a paternalistic media culture wasn’t all for the better, of course; who knows how many legitimate stories never surfaced because a few media elites decided not to pay attention? In any event, such restraint seems almost impossible now, … Continue reading The Internet Not Only Kills Journalism, It Excuses Shitty Journalism Too!