Blogs' contribution to war coverage

Adam Javurek, a journalist in Prague, interviewed me by email recently on the subject of warblogs. His article appears in the Czech weekly Respekt. Here's the article on the reporter's website as well as his postscript on warblogs. Oh, one thing: It's all in Czech.

With that in mind, here's the full English version:

In what way are "warblogs" better than traditional media? What can do warbloggers better than journalists from CNN or BBC, for example? Whatís wrong with their news and stories from Iraq? Why do some people trust warblogs more than "old media"?

Most of us turn to traditional news organizations for coverage of the war. But the story doesn't stop there. The weblog community adds depth, critical analysis, alternative perspectives, foreign views, and first-person accounts by Iraqi citizens, peace activists and others on the scene. The American media are far too insular and show only a fraction of what's going on.

Unlike establishment media, bloggers indulge in writing that is vivid, vibrant, emotion-laden, and driven by personal experience rather than the formula of detachment that deadens far too much traditional journalism. You get a wide range of perspectives on the war rather than the narrow range permitted by the U.S. media.

Some journalists in Iraq have their weblogs. I think, there are three possible reactions on part of the employers:
- let it be
- order to stop it
- incorporate it to empoyer's website

Are "old" media able to absorb warblogs and their specific style of writing, or these two worlds are too much antagonistic?

The problem is not that the formats don't mesh. The problem is in the mindset of old media refusing to accept these innovative new forms of personal media. Old media such as CNN and Time have refused to make room for weblogs. A CNN official said, "CNN is interested in a more structured presentation of the news than blogging offers." That shows an appalling lack of respect for the millions of people who now rely on weblogs to supplement their media intake. It shows that old media are out of touch with the wishes of millions of news consumers.

What are your favorite warblogs?

Wade Hudson, a peace activist in Baghdad.
The Command Post
and The Agonist (this was before the blog's piracy came to light).

CNN's silence on torture

In today's Boston Phoenix, Dan Kennedy hears from CNN honcho Eason Jordan, who got in trouble over the op-ed piece he wrote for the New York Times last Friday in which he revealed that CNN had operated for years in Iraq under ethically difficult circumstances. Writes Jordan:

... Since my op-ed piece in the New York Times Friday stirred a controversy, I want to share my thoughts with you about it. In the op-ed, I described how the Iraqi regime intimidated, tortured, and killed people who helped CNN over the years. It was a tough piece to write. But I felt strongly the stories needed to be told as soon as telling them would not automatically result in the killing of innocent colleagues, friends, and acquaintances -- most of them Iraqis.

Some critics complain that the op-ed piece proves CNN withheld vital information from the public and kowtowed to the Saddam Hussein regime to maintain a CNN reporting presence in Iraq. That is nonsense. No news organization in the world had a more contentious relationship with the Iraqi regime than CNN. The Iraqi leadership was so displeased with CNN's Iraq reporting, CNN was expelled from Iraq six times -- five times in previous years and one more time on day three of this Iraq war. Those expulsions lasted as long as six months at a time.

The NY Times also has a media report, CNN's Silence About Torture Is Criticized.

The politics of battling spam

NPR: In a two-part special report for Morning Edition, NPR's Rick Karr explores the politics of spam, and reveals some tips on how to prevent unwanted commercial e-mail from filling up your e-mail account.

New music rules are needed

In the Daily Princetonian (which also offers an RSS feed), the EFF's Fred von Lohmann has some strong words on the RIAA's decision to sue four college students, including one from Princeton. Excerpt:

Suing college students. Forcing ISPs to rat out customers. Petitioning Congress for unprecedented vigilante powers. Deploying armies of lawyers to sue technology companies. Threatening universities and corporations. Demanding that ISPs disconnect tens of thousands of Internet users. Hiring electronic enforcers to monitor computer users.