Anytime anyone spreads false information about a public company over a communication medium like the internet, its message boards, chat rooms or otherwise, that will raise questions as to whether someone is committing securities fraud.
- John Reed Stark, head of the US Security and Exchange Commission's office of internet enforcement
In Joanna Chung and Justin Bear, "SEC Probes United's Sudden Slump," Financial Times, September 12, 2008
The web's power over people's understanding of reality became quite vivid on news on September 8, 2008, when United Airlines stock lost more than 75% of its value because a 2002 article about its bankruptsy filing that had been published that year the South Florida Sun-Sentinel (owned by the Tribune Company) mistakenly appeared on Google News. The appearance led readers on the site to believe it was happening that day, and they responded by selling the stock. A few days later, US security regulators opened an informal investigation of how that happened.
It seems that the glitch began when on early Sunday morning a single visitor to the Sentinel website viewed the 2002 story reporting on United's bankruptcy filing. That visit was enough to have the old article land on the Sun-Sentinel's most-viewed list at that hour. "Google said its web-trawling program spotted the link and indexed it as a new story when it could not find a 2002 dateline. Tribune has said it would have been obvious to a reader that the article was six years old."
Each company, in other words, says that the mistake was the other's fault. United, in the meantime, is considering filing a lawsuit against both. The lurking question: Will--or when will--this sort of agenda-setting mistake happen again on Google News or elsewhere on the web, and with what consequences?
Showing posts with label journalism. Show all posts
Showing posts with label journalism. Show all posts
Wednesday, September 17, 2008
Wednesday, September 3, 2008
Bloggers and the Palin Nomination
The Palin story played right to the strengths of the blogs.
- Tom Rosenstiel, executive director of the Project for Excellence in Journalism
In William Triplett, "Bloggers Investigate Sarah Palin; TV News Struggles to Catch Up With the Internet," Variety, September 2, 2008
When John McCain announced that Alaska governor Sarah Palin would be his running mate, many non-Alaskans didn't know much, if anything, about her. To many bloggers, the need for that knowledge was a call to arms. Rosenstiel says that "the best bloggers" knew that they could retrieve information about Palin's background through online research "without the need for classic reporting." He notes that the mainstream media had their hands full trying to deal with the implications of Obama's acceptance speech in Denver and the impact of hurricaine Gustav on the Gulf Coast and the Republican convention. The downsizing of journalism staffs added to the difficulty that traditional journalists had in responding quickly to the new name.
Not everyone agrees that bloggers have been so helpful. "Much of what I read on the blogs was hugely derivative of Anchorage Daily News coverage of Sarah Palin's political career, so unless you can cite a specific blog scoop, I've yet to be impressed by what they've turned up," says Jack Schafer of Slate. "On the downside, I think bloggers were far too eager to spread rumors about Trig Palin being Bristol Palin's son without even bothering to examine the child's birth certificate for proof."
Nevertheless, mainstream journalists have increasing been checking the blogosphere for updates. "When you see cable news analysts on TVs getting ready to talk, what are they doing? Looking on the Web," says one academic analyst. One Republican congressman noted that the bloggers' immediate investigative chatter "is a sign of things to come with conventions as we know them."
- Tom Rosenstiel, executive director of the Project for Excellence in Journalism
In William Triplett, "Bloggers Investigate Sarah Palin; TV News Struggles to Catch Up With the Internet," Variety, September 2, 2008
When John McCain announced that Alaska governor Sarah Palin would be his running mate, many non-Alaskans didn't know much, if anything, about her. To many bloggers, the need for that knowledge was a call to arms. Rosenstiel says that "the best bloggers" knew that they could retrieve information about Palin's background through online research "without the need for classic reporting." He notes that the mainstream media had their hands full trying to deal with the implications of Obama's acceptance speech in Denver and the impact of hurricaine Gustav on the Gulf Coast and the Republican convention. The downsizing of journalism staffs added to the difficulty that traditional journalists had in responding quickly to the new name.
Not everyone agrees that bloggers have been so helpful. "Much of what I read on the blogs was hugely derivative of Anchorage Daily News coverage of Sarah Palin's political career, so unless you can cite a specific blog scoop, I've yet to be impressed by what they've turned up," says Jack Schafer of Slate. "On the downside, I think bloggers were far too eager to spread rumors about Trig Palin being Bristol Palin's son without even bothering to examine the child's birth certificate for proof."
Nevertheless, mainstream journalists have increasing been checking the blogosphere for updates. "When you see cable news analysts on TVs getting ready to talk, what are they doing? Looking on the Web," says one academic analyst. One Republican congressman noted that the bloggers' immediate investigative chatter "is a sign of things to come with conventions as we know them."
Saturday, August 9, 2008
PR Firm: One Fifth of Major Marketers Buying Favorable News Coverage
I'm not saying it's a huge problem. But 19% of senior marketers saying they do it constitutes a problem.
-Mark Haas, CEO of public relations firm Manning Selvage & Lee
In Michael Bush, "Just So You Know, No One Paid for This Article," Advertising Age, Aug 4, 2008
Hass was referring to a finding in a recent survey by his firm of chief marketing officers that 19% of them said their organizations had bought advertising in return for getting news story about them. Representing one in five senior marketers, that is up for 17% last year. Although one aim of public relations is to get favorable media coverage, Hass contends that it gains legitimacy through a process in which the PR practitioner needs to persuade a media practitioner that the story the PR person is pitching deserves coverage. Paying for this sort of coverage means the standard vetting that goes on through the PR give-and-take with media is lost. Moreover, says Hass, if this sort of pay-for-play influence on editorial becomes broadly public, it could cause media to lose credibility. "There needs be credible, independent media," he stated, "and the marketing industry should not be doing anything to undermine credible editorial quality." A cynic might add that Hass doesn't want his clients to get into the habit of simply paying for favorable editorial attention--an activity that would lessen the value of Manning Selvage & Lee's work.
New media seems to be a particular problem, according to the survey findings. More than half (53%) of the senior marketers said that the marketing industry as a whole is not following ethical guidelines in the new-media realm. "It's almost like there's a different standard for online activity, and that's a little worrisome because that's a growth area," said Hass. "That's something that the industry needs to be attentive to, because the reputational damange that can occur if a marketer is dishonest online is huge."
-Mark Haas, CEO of public relations firm Manning Selvage & Lee
In Michael Bush, "Just So You Know, No One Paid for This Article," Advertising Age, Aug 4, 2008
Hass was referring to a finding in a recent survey by his firm of chief marketing officers that 19% of them said their organizations had bought advertising in return for getting news story about them. Representing one in five senior marketers, that is up for 17% last year. Although one aim of public relations is to get favorable media coverage, Hass contends that it gains legitimacy through a process in which the PR practitioner needs to persuade a media practitioner that the story the PR person is pitching deserves coverage. Paying for this sort of coverage means the standard vetting that goes on through the PR give-and-take with media is lost. Moreover, says Hass, if this sort of pay-for-play influence on editorial becomes broadly public, it could cause media to lose credibility. "There needs be credible, independent media," he stated, "and the marketing industry should not be doing anything to undermine credible editorial quality." A cynic might add that Hass doesn't want his clients to get into the habit of simply paying for favorable editorial attention--an activity that would lessen the value of Manning Selvage & Lee's work.
New media seems to be a particular problem, according to the survey findings. More than half (53%) of the senior marketers said that the marketing industry as a whole is not following ethical guidelines in the new-media realm. "It's almost like there's a different standard for online activity, and that's a little worrisome because that's a growth area," said Hass. "That's something that the industry needs to be attentive to, because the reputational damange that can occur if a marketer is dishonest online is huge."
Tuesday, August 5, 2008
Research Group: News Firms Need to Counter Young-Adult "News Fatigue"
[P] eople were conditioned to respond to headlines and updates as presenting whole news stories, when in reality they do not. We observed consumers click and re-click news updates and headlines and continue to do so, seemingly regardless of the outcome.
- Context-Based Research Group
In Associated Press and Context-Based Research Group, "A New Model for News Studying the Deep Structure of Young-Adult News Consumption," Associated Press, June 2008.
The Context-Based Research Group, an applied-anthopology company, interviewed and observed 18 young adults in the US, UK, and India regarding their news habits. One conclusion was that these people continually confront news while they are multitasking--accessing email while watching television and talking with friends, for example. Yet rather than digging deeply into stories as they click or watch, they seem to be seeing the same stories only at the surface levels. The young adults developed what the researchers call news fatigue. "Many consumers in the study were so overwhelmed and inundated by news that they just did not know what to do. Participants with news fatigue would try to ascertain whole news stories, but they regularly and repeatedly were left unsatisfied. . . . The more overwhelmed or unsatisfied they were, the
less effort they were willing to put in."
The researchers noted that programs such as The Daily Show and Howard Stern Show helped to put more structure and depth on news for the Americans in the sample than they would normally get. To the anthropologists, this and other findings suggest that young adults do want news with some depth. The researchers suggest that news firms such as the Associated Press need to create appealing content that presents not just facts and updates to a story, but also the story behind the story (the back story) and the implications (future story). Moreover, the news organizations need to "deliver it across all the channels these consumers use." But the researchers see the challenge: "[E]ven if you create news people can use, how do you reach consumers who spurn established packaging and consume information in haphazard, nonlinear fashion?"
Here, say the anthropologists, is where the news professionals must enter the discussion: "Anthropologists cannot answer that more difficult question for the news industry, but the value
proposition is clear for both producers and consumers: Young people are tired of the same old news and want something better. They just need some help."
- Context-Based Research Group
In Associated Press and Context-Based Research Group, "A New Model for News Studying the Deep Structure of Young-Adult News Consumption," Associated Press, June 2008.
The Context-Based Research Group, an applied-anthopology company, interviewed and observed 18 young adults in the US, UK, and India regarding their news habits. One conclusion was that these people continually confront news while they are multitasking--accessing email while watching television and talking with friends, for example. Yet rather than digging deeply into stories as they click or watch, they seem to be seeing the same stories only at the surface levels. The young adults developed what the researchers call news fatigue. "Many consumers in the study were so overwhelmed and inundated by news that they just did not know what to do. Participants with news fatigue would try to ascertain whole news stories, but they regularly and repeatedly were left unsatisfied. . . . The more overwhelmed or unsatisfied they were, the
less effort they were willing to put in."
The researchers noted that programs such as The Daily Show and Howard Stern Show helped to put more structure and depth on news for the Americans in the sample than they would normally get. To the anthropologists, this and other findings suggest that young adults do want news with some depth. The researchers suggest that news firms such as the Associated Press need to create appealing content that presents not just facts and updates to a story, but also the story behind the story (the back story) and the implications (future story). Moreover, the news organizations need to "deliver it across all the channels these consumers use." But the researchers see the challenge: "[E]ven if you create news people can use, how do you reach consumers who spurn established packaging and consume information in haphazard, nonlinear fashion?"
Here, say the anthropologists, is where the news professionals must enter the discussion: "Anthropologists cannot answer that more difficult question for the news industry, but the value
proposition is clear for both producers and consumers: Young people are tired of the same old news and want something better. They just need some help."
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