College Daily Dumps Online Editor for Stealing, Not Sharing, Others' Opinions

 (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Grand Junction based Colorado Mesa Univ.'s student paper, The Criterion, has dismissed its online editor for allegedly committing at least 16 instances of plagiarism from more than 22 publications, Poynter.org reports.

The Criterion's editor-in-chief axed the online editor, who was not identified in the paper's post about the transgressions, and invited readers to report on any additional purported purloining by the online editor. At least the former Criterion staffer, who ought to be re-thinking her career choice about now, infringed on copyrighted material from noteworthy sources, including AP, The Washington Post and The Wall St. Journal.

Federal Appeals Court Backs FDA Against Tobacco Companies

Seal of the United States Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

In an 84-page ruling in Discount Tobacco & Lottery, Inc. et al. v. U.S. Food & Drug Administration (Docket No. 10-5234/5235), the United States Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit has upheld controversial FDA regulations mandating that tobacco companies display graphic warnings about the dangers of smoking on cigarette packages and advertisements.

As reported by the law blog of The Wall St. Journal, the appellate court decision written by Judge Eric Clay found the warnings "serve as disclaimers to the public regarding the incontestable health consequences of using tobacco." A half-dozen tobacco companies, including R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Co. and Lorillard Tobacco Co., allege their First Amendment speech rights are being abridged by the FDA regs, which are drawn from the 2009 Family Smoking Prevention and Tobacco Control Act [H.R. 1256].

The Sixth Circuit ruling doesn't specifically address the grisly depictions in the warnings of blackened lungs and cadavers, but rather, upheld the validity of the law requiring the warnings appear on the top 50 percent of the front and back of cigarette packs. The appeals court struck down the use of color imagery in the warnings, handing the plaintiffs a victory of sorts.

United States District Court for the District of Columbia Judge Richard Leon in R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Co. et al. v. U.S. Food & Drug Administration et al. (Case No. 1:11-cv-01482) issued a preliminary injunction preventing the FDA regs from taking effect that the government is appealing (see "TUOL" post 3/1/12). 

Google's Safari Hijinks Prompts Congressmen to Seek FTC Inquiry

Image via WikipediaFederal Trade Commission Chair Jon Leibowitz last Friday received a letter from Congressmen Ed Markey (D-Mass.) and Joe Barton (R-Texas) urging the agency to probe whether social media giant Google has engaged in "unlawful privacy practices" by using source code chicanery to bypass Web browser Safari's privacy settings, Jurist (www.jurist.org) reports.

Responding to a Feb. 17 article that appeared in The Wall Street Journal, the Representatives, who serve in the Congressional Bi-Partisan Privacy Caucus, queried the FTC concerning whether Google's actions that enabled it to track Safari users without their consent ran afoul of a 2011 settlement agreement between the FTC and Google occasioned by the social network Google Buzz's breach of privacy rights during its launch. The accord prohibits Google from misrepresenting its privacy policies to users and requires user consent before the sharing of personal information with third parties.

According to the Journal article, Google employed special computer code that deceived Safari, Apple's Web browsing software, into allowing Google to monitor Safari users, neutralizing Safari's default settings that block user tracking. The Journal article claims Google disabled the code soon after the Journal contacted the social media company for the article.

Google is set to implement its new privacy policy March 1. The company was targeted earlier this month in a lawsuit filed in the United States District Court for the District of Columbia by the Electronic Privacy Information Center against the FTC (Case No. 1:2012-cv-00206). The suit, filed under the Administrative Procedure Act [5 U.S.C. sec. 706(1)] seeks injunctive relief that would compel the FTC to enforce the consent order of October 13, 2011, in In the Matter of Google, Inc. (FTC File No. 1023136).

Google is also under fire from the European Union, which this month sent a letter to Google urging it to delay implementing its new privacy policy until the EU fully investigates it.

Readers taken aback by Google's behavior in this matter are well-advised to heed comedian Bill Maher's reminder that it's no accident that within the name Google is the word ogle.

NY Press Drops Print Version, Retains Online Presence

Image via WikipediaManhattan Media-owned New York Press, the 21-year-old alternative weekly, has ceased its print edition because of sagging ad revenues, but will continue to exist online, The Wall St. Journal reports.

Founded originally to compete against the Village Voice, the Press will soon relaunch its Website, according to the Journal.

UPDATE: Winklevoss Twins Save Face--Lose Facebook

Image via WikipediaAfter "careful consideration," Cameron and Tyler Winklevoss--America's favorite twin former Olympic rowers--and their business partner, Divya Narendra, founder of ConnectU, told the U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit Wednesday that they would not seek Supreme Court review of the appellate court's adverse ruling in May concerning their ownership dispute with Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg over the social network giant.

According to The Wall St. Journal and Associated Press, the Winklevosses (Winklevi?) have decided to make do with the settlement on which they signed off in 2008 that netted each $20 million in cash and Facebook stock in return for abandoning their lawsuit against Zuckerberg. The Ninth Circuit rejected their challenge of the settlement that they claimed they were mislead into accepting. (See "TUOL" post 5/17/11.)

Hollywood chronicled the dispute among former Harvard classmates Zuckerberg and the Winklevoss twins regarding the development of Facebook in "The Social Network." Reportedly, the Facebook stock held by the Winklevosses today exceeds $100 million in value.

When the Ninth Circuit refused to invalidate the settlement in May, the Olympian twins spoke of petitioning the U.S. Supreme Court to review the decision, which sparked criticism in the media that they were out of their sculls, so to speak.

Couric & Lauer 'Dream Team' to Reunite in Syndication?

Image via WikipediaThe Wall St. Journal today is reporting on the possible re-teaming of one-time Today Show co-hosts Katie Couric and Matt Lauer in a syndicated talk show next year.

Former NBCUniversal chief executive Jeff Zucker reportedly is among those fanning the flames about a possible Couric/Lauer partnership in 2012. Couric's contract as anchor of the CBS Evening News expires in June, and she is expected to depart (see "TUOL" post 6/4/11). Meanwhile, Lauer, who succeeded Bryant Gumbel as Today Show co-host in 1997, is only contractually bound to the morning show through the end of 2012. Rumors are also swirling that Lauer's present co-host, Meredith Vieira, is ready to sleep-in and not return to the Today Show grind when her commitment ends later this year. Ann Curry, the program's news anchor, has been pointed to as being Vieira's likely successor.

None of the Today players is speaking on the record about the morning machinations, nor has Katie been pinned on the Matt issue.  Not that anyone's asking, but the ever-helpful "TUOL" staff is delighted to offer the following titles for a Couric/Lauer syndicated yakker:  "The Perky/Jerky News Hour;" "The Himbo-Bimbo Morning Show;" and "Swimming in the Shallow End with Katy & Matt."

'We Donate, You Decide'

Image via CrunchBaseThe Rupert Murdoch-owned News Corp., parent of Fox News, The Wall St. Journal, The New York Post and other media entities, and its political action committee, News America Holdings, have contributed $1 million to the Republican Governors Assn.("RPA"), The New York Times reported in a story first-broken by Bloomberg News.

Campaign finance trackers deemed the $1 million contribution one of the largest political donations ever given by a media organization.  A News Corp. spokesperson said the RPA's stance on low taxes and economic growth, rather than its political affiliation, was the basis for the contribution.  News Corp. has donated to Republican and Democratic causes and candidates in the past, but never in such a large sum.

The News Corp. spokesperson said the media conglomerate's wall separating editorial and business decisions would ensure that the political contribution does not influence political news coverage. Viewers of Fox News might wonder whether sentries at the "wall"  have a standing order to  "detain all Democrats."