Media

November 10, 2005

Ninety Years of Prostitutes

What should an enterprising reporter title his review of Gabriel García Márquez's newest book, Memories of My Melancholy Whores? The slim novel is about a writer who has slept with more prostitutes than he can remember, and who, on his 90th birthday, decides to treat himself to a 14-year old virgin. It has gotten generally good reviews.

Education

November 4, 2005

The Essay and the Tutor

Many college admissions officers are downloading students' new SAT writing sections to compare them to the essays the students submit as part of their college applications. As the New York Times explains, admissions officers seem to think that putting the prepared essay up against the one written on the spot will allow them to decipher which students have received extensive outside help on their applications. Sadly, this practice does nothing more than underscore the benefits of expensive tutoring services.

Sports

November 3, 2005

Warren Miller: The Commercial

Warren Miller's newest ski documentary—if you can call it that—came to San Francisco last night. Guests paid $17.50 each for the honor of watching Higher Ground, in which amazing cinematography fights for time with grotesque product placement in what seems to be an extended Jeep commercial.

Internet

November 3, 2005

Bugmenot Lives

Bugmenot—the site that provides usernames and passwords to let online readers bypass annoying (and potentially privacy-invading) registrations at many news portals—has been down today, and an ominous sign stating "Notice: This domain name expired on 10/29/05 and is pending renewal or deletion" has been posted on its homepage. For many who rely on the site, this shutdown is reminiscent of when the site when offline last August, and the site's anonymous owner told BoingBoing "Our stinkin' host pulled the plug on us without notice." But this time is different, according to bugmenot's new sever host, NearlyFreeSpeech.net.

Media

November 2, 2005

Forbes Does Blogs

The vitriol spewed about bloggers in this month's cover article for Forbes Magazine, entitled Attack of the Blogs, is so biased that after a few reads, it seems like the blatant conflations of truth and fiction must be willful. The article claims that blogs as a whole exist to smear companies and people, and uses poorly reported anecdotes to back up its thesis. Gelf envisions Forbes editors sitting around discussing ways to improve online readership and hitting upon a strategy: Publish a (free) story that pisses off bloggers so much that they feel compelled to complain, and in doing so, direct their streams of readers to the Forbes site. Indeed, a similar strategy of angering listeners has made Rush Limbaugh a must-hear for many of the country's liberals. Gelf is more than happy to play along.

Media

October 31, 2005

Falling Faster than Bad Soufflé

In our third Gelf Cliché Watch, we have compiled even more of the assorted random pop-culture references that journalists like to sprinkle on their prose. (The first two are here and here.) One of our favorites has to do with the upcoming Israeli elections, but there are plenty more after the jump.

Peres will win the primaries on November 9 like a knife going through pâté de foie gras—Ha'aretz, Oct. 21.

Media

October 29, 2005

Clinton vs. the Free Press

Does the media give Bill Clinton a free pass, even nearly five years after he left office? Clinton spoke Thursday at an event also featuring New York's Republican mayor, Mike Bloomberg. Clinton has endorsed Bloomberg's opponent, Fernando "Fit to Be Routed" Ferrer, but is friendly with Mayor Mike. Here's the New York Times's light-hearted take on the apparent Clintonian position that the press has no business covering a public encounter between two public figures:

Media

October 28, 2005

Bush Says Scooter Libby Is a Man

Press advocates defend journalists' right to protect anonymous sources as a way to ensure that whistleblowers have a public forum to come forward. The irony of the CIA leak probe is that the reporters whose anonymous sources' identity were sought weren't being sought out by whistleblowers, but by manipulators. Too often, unnamed and named sources alike capitalize on journalists' desire for an exclusive to leak tendentious information, knowing that many people we consider reporters act more like stenographers. How appropriate, then, was coverage of President Bush's reaction Friday to indictments handed down against a top aide to his vice president.

Media

October 25, 2005

The Onion's Gag Order

Today the New York Times reported that the White House had sent a letter to The Onion, asking the satirical newspaper not to use its seal. (The article contained this Onion-esque quote from a White House spokesman, in reply to a question about how the staff learned of the Onion's use of the White House seal: "Despite the seriousness of the Bush White House, more than one Bush staffer reads The Onion and enjoys it thoroughly. We do have a sense of humor, believe it or not.") Gelf asked Todd Hanson, a member of The Onion's writing staff, to comment on several aspects of the case. Hanson's reply:

Media

October 23, 2005

A Smarter TimesSelect

Some New York Times columnists aren't happy that the paper is now charging readers for online access to their work. "I'm sad to lose an awful lot of readers, and a lot of readers in places like China and Pakistan who don't have credit cards or the ability to sign up," Nicholas Kristof tells Editor & Publisher. Says Thomas Friedman, "I have a lot of international readers in places like Egypt, where $50 could be their college tuition for a while." But it turns out there's a way for the Times to keep its global prominence while preventing Americans from freeloading on insights from Kristof, Friedman, et al. There's a precedent set by another newspaper called the Times, across the pond in London, that could be flipped on its head to provide access to New York Times fans in China, Pakistan, and Egypt.