Punked

Balloon boy, all a big hoax, it seems…

Old Versus New Media: Food Writer Edition

Cook’s Illustrated editor Chris Kimball has thrown down the gauntlet!

If you haven’t been following this food blogger versus professional writer battle that’s been simmering, it started when Kimball wrote a fairly silly op/ed in the Times, bashing both the so-called amateurish writing of bloggers, as well as the larger movement of participatory culture that is happening in all areas of media, where “regular people” have been given a voice through social media. When it comes to food writing, Kimball doesn’t seem too keen on this at all:

…in a click-or-die advertising marketplace, one ruled by a million instant pundits, where an anonymous Twitter comment might be seen to pack more resonance and useful content than an article that reflects a lifetime of experience, experts are not created from the top down but from the bottom up.They can no longer be coronated; their voices have to be deemed essential to the lives of their customers.

Bloggers have hit back; in particular, Adam Roberts, over at the Amateur Gourmet, has a great response:

The derision and condescension in this statement is baffling. Every food writer—from MFK Fisher to Ruth Reichl herself—started at the bottom and worked their way up. Kimball, at the end of his column, invokes Julia Child, a cook who didn’t start her food career until much later in life. If she’d had a blog documenting her time at Le Cordon Bleu (and maybe she would have, if she’d been born a few decades later), would Kimball complain that she hadn’t spilled enough blood in the kitchen yet? That “inexperience rarely leads to wisdom?”

It’s naïve to think that all food writing on the web is created equal, that the “million instant pundits” are all valued the same. The truth is that there are, indeed, an enormous number of food blogs out there, but it’s still a meritocracy: only the good ones gain traction. The most popular food blogs are popular because of their quality; in many ways, their content is better than much of what you’ll find in actual food magazines, including Kimball’s.

Kimball comes across here as elitist, an old guard fighting off the new. If he doesn’t read food blogs, he’s missing out on a diverse world of recipes and ideas and perspective on food. His notion of an “anonymous Twitter comment” is also strange — while we may not see each other on Twitter, the people I talk to there are hardly strangers. And yes, if someone I follow (and trust) on Twitter makes a recipe or restaurant recommendation, I’ll surely be paying attention.

In any case, perhaps looking to settle this (or cash in on the controversy, more likely!), Kimball has upped the ante, challenging any recipe found on a wiki to one of his from the Test Kitchen:

So, I am willing to put my money, and my reputation, where my big mouth is. I offer a challenge to any supporter of the WIKI or similar concept to jump in and go head to head with our test kitchen. We will jointly agree on a recipe, on the rules, on a time frame, etc. At the end, we will ask a panel of impartial judges to make and test the recipes and declare a winner.

It’s a fantastic idea, and should be lots of fun.

Let the games begin!!!

Parasitic Media: Butcher Edition

A good example of parasitic media, this time involving, well, butchers.

What’s significant here, though, is there’s not a blogger in sight: New York mag writes a story, copied by the Times, copied by Nightline.

New York details the, um, “borrowing,” here.

Greatest. Quote. Ever.

“The world is literally her oyster.”

- Meg Stapleton, spokesperson for Sarah Palin

link

Unethical

That’s the only word I can think that properly describes this.

I would like to understand why it’s not unethical, and how it could be considered proper journalism.

Demise of Journalism, Part 168

The State releases national media’s desperate attempts to score an interview with the then-missing Sanford:

National media blitzed Gov. Mark Sanford’s staff, offering big ratings and, possibly, a sympathetic venue in an effort to land the first interview with the governor after his six-day trip to Argentina.

In addition, a blogger and state leaders reached out to Sanford’s office to try to coordinate a way to “push back” on the growing mystery surrounding Sanford’s absence.

The behind-the-scenes maneuvering is detailed in e-mails released by the governor’s office this week in response to The State’s request under the freedom of information act.

This (that is, the institution of journalism) is all-too-cozy with its sources to serve the public’s interests.

Journalism Is Doomed

Politico:

For $25,000 to $250,000, The Washington Post is offering lobbyists and association executives off-the-record, nonconfrontational access to “those powerful few” — Obama administration officials, members of Congress, and the paper’s own reporters and editors.

The astonishing offer is detailed in a flier circulated Wednesday to a health care lobbyist, who provided it to a reporter because the lobbyist said he feels it’s a conflict for the paper to charge for access to, as the flier says, its “health care reporting and editorial staff.”

The offer — which essentially turns a news organization into a facilitator for private lobbyist-official encounters — is a new sign of the lengths to which news organizations will go to find revenue at a time when most newspapers are struggling for survival.

It’s like watching car go over a cliff, in slow, slow motion.

Your Liberal Media

Dan Froomkin, columnist and blogger extraordinaire, fired:

Washington Post Media Communications Director Kris Coratti tells POLITICO that “our editors and research teams are constantly reviewing our columns, blogs and other content to make sure we’re giving readers the most value when they are on our site while balancing the need to make the most of our resources. Unfortunately, this means that sometimes features must be eliminated, and this time it was the blog that Dan Froomkin freelanced for washingtonpost.com.”

The Politico story has reaction from across the blogosphere, and it ain’t pretty.

And the “mainstream media” wonders why no one takes them seriously these days?

CNN: Leave No Idle Speculation Unspeculated

BRIAN TODD, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Now, we asked Airbus for a briefing on possible causes on the electrical warning system, what protections are built in for lightning strikes. An Airbus spokeswoman said it’s way too early at this stage, and the company does not want to engage in speculation, Wolf. Of course, that’s the responsible thing to do.

The one thing known from the start about the tragic plane crash earlier this week was that we knew absolutely nothing about what happened. No black box, no mayday. But that, though, did not prevent CNN from “engaging in speculation” about the crash, even after its reporters acknowledged it would be irresponsible to do so.

Following are many examples of CNN’s irresponsible, tabloid-style approach to the news.

Maureen Dowd: Plagiarist

Oh this is rich.

I never understood why Dowd even has the job she has. She hasn’t been relevant for many years. Mostly, from what I can tell, she writes a gossip column.

Lately, there has been a lot of consternation about the demise of the newspaper industry. And some really, really stupid ideas to save it.

Newspaper journalists, you really need to get over yourselves. Not that we don’t need newspapers, but it seems like people in the newspaper have a very difficult time with the whole self-reflection thing.