Oregon Media Insiders

I know he's no Kulo fan (who is?) and he is ready to lead the lynch mob against Neal (who isn't?). But isn't this over the top — especially since it involves granting some measure of veracity to anything Lars says?

Just a sample of Steve's snarl:

i had never paid attention to AM970 before this morning, but i thought rather than streaming Stephanie Miller via Seattle's Air America Radio station, or her own live feed (with ghastly music in place of local commercials), i'd try the local feed. AM970. i check out their website, and it turns out they had some other program on at her live 6am-9am slot; she's broadcast, taped (or however they do it now in this new millenium) 3pm.

so i get home from work and turn on my radio to listen to the end of the show and it's Tom Leykis?
! as the kids say, wtf? so i pop back to the website — and today, while i was at work, they change their format. somewhat.

over at Loaded Orygun, Carla reports that a scathing editorial from the early morning edition of the Sunday Oregonian simply does not exist online. the editorial, entitled "Find the guts to fix Measure 37", basically says the handful of M37 litigants are putting their own private gain against that of the rest of the state.

Carla and Brian Hines, who reported the missing editorial, wonder if this is a standard practice at the O -- not including all editorials online -- or if they can indulge happily in conspiracy theory fun (ie, the O pulled the editorial under pressure from -- someone).

this morning on his Air America Radio program, Al Franken announced that he's leaving his show on Feb 14th, and that his spot in the schedule is going to be filled by Thom Hartmann. i've been trying to find more info but so far, nothing (and did not hear Hartmann this morning. Thom is currently doing afternoons on AAR, although affiliates are free to play it at other times (or not at all). now he'll be getting the primo timeslot. will this mean a change at KPOJ? the Heidi Traub Show? Mornings with Jefferson Smith?

i'm going to miss Al, that's for sure. he'd stumble now and then, but he's still one of the funniest people in the world.

Update from Lynn: Air America has also been sold. The new buyer is SLG Radio LLC, wholly owned by NYC realtor guy Stephen Green. Good luck to Thom on the prominent national gig.

I write at BlueOregon. A lot. I take it very seriously, and I try to make sense while pushing buttons. Not the easiest trick, but I'm trying to learn. One thing I do, like almost everyone there, is allow comments. I also try to ignore the comments, because their are some A1 wackjobs trolling their way in. Worse, there are liberals and progressives who are so sure of their own opinions, they end up resorting to name-calling and personal attacks when they don't like the responses they're getting. If I let myself, I can really get dragged into some unpleasant waters. So mostly I (try to) ignore the comments and move on to the next piece.

i am sick of KPOJ's ridiculous and antiquated streaming technology. like Ms OMI, i'm a Mac user; this should not be a punitive offense. with most streaming media sources on the web, it's not. i can pick up the national Air America Radio stream thru a Real-based widget; i was even able to add OPB to the available list of radio stations at the widget's website. i can listen to hundreds of radio stations that stream online with no problem.

but not KPOJ. for reasons i have yet to fathom, KPOJ uses technlogy that works with IE/Win. not only does this rule out most Mac users, it's shutting the door on Windows Firefox users -- which are now half or even more of the users on Windows. i can get streaming to work some of the time on IE/Mac, but try finding a copy of IE for Mac! if i hadn't had a copy on my backup hard drive, i wouldn't have it at all.

the NY Times website demonstrates how to juxtaposition images and headlines for maximum idiot effect:

besides, it's rude to Phil & Fred's moms

not sure what to make of this yet:

These issues and many other examples of threats to Oregon’s open meeting laws will take center stage beginning Sunday, March 12, the opening day of “Sunshine Week.

a student writer for the OSU Barometer decided that the responsible way to address the repercussions of the Danish cartoons was to call Mohammed a pedophile; the Barometer's editor thought free speech required he be allowed to do so. She was probably right, but common sense would suggest (very very loudly) that telling her writer he was being a knucklehead would also have been the right thing to do.

the Gazette-Times has the full story.

now the Barometer is vetting material through a Muslim student group. living here in Corvallis, i can vouch that the political scene on-campus is nearly dead, but it's amazing these kids could be so daft. it's one thing to say that Muslims around the world are not doing a lot of good by resorting to violence; it's another thing to use vile language against the Prophet! this is not about free speech; it's about being intelligent. free speech has no need of these kinds of chowderheads. free speech is an empty shell, a joke, if not used with respect. the damage this will do is huge, and the biggest victim in the end will be -- free speech.

this is an excellent critique of Woodward's fall from grace, and a warning to all who forget the tale of Icarus.

[Edited for fair use. Please don't quote entire articles, folks.--L]

November 19, 2005
Tim Rutten: Regarding Media
Woodward joins a decadent dance

Woodward's disclosure was motivated not by a sudden pang of conscience, as it turns out, but by the sudden necessity of testifying under oath before a federal grand jury. Along the way, he incidentally revealed not only that he had concealed this information from his editors and readers for fear of subpoena, but also that he had in the interim gone on several television shows to trash the special prosecutor investigating the affair. Moreover, it now emerges, the reporting that went into his last best-selling book, "Plan of Attack," involved the submission of written questions in advance to Vice President Dick Cheney, a fact he never bothered to share with the book's readers.

There is something singularly appropriate about the fact that the Plame affair should involve Woodward, whose skillful and courageous use of the ur-voice among confidential sources virtually created a whole genre of Washington reporting. It's a journalistic strategy style dependent on the cultivation of access to well-placed officials greased by promises of "confidentiality." It's a way of doing journalism that still serves its practitioners' career interests, but less and less often their readers or viewers because it's a game the powerful and well-connected have learned to play to their own advantage.