Tweet Cleaning

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Responding to an online petition supporting British activist Caroline Criado-Perez, the target of abusive posts that included rape threats, microblogger colossus Twitter this week said it will add a software-friendly button that will enable users to report offensive posts, the New York Times reported.

In the last month, Twitter already added such a button to its iPhone and iPad versions, and will expand the report abuse function to its Android and desktop Web versions, according to the Times article..  Del Harvey, the company's senior director for trust and safety, cedes that the company can't monitor the more than 400 million tweets posted daily, and notes that Twitter already has in place a complaint-reporting system, albeit one that involves completing a form.

Besides the button, Twitter also recommends that users unfollow offensive accounts, block abusive tweeters and report threatening messages to police.

No WAAY: TV Reporter Fired for Personal Blog Disclosures

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Shea Allen, until last Friday an investigative reporter for Huntsville, Alabama, ABC affiliate WAAY-TV, this week appeared on The Today Show, Inside Edition and gave interviews to more than a half-dozen radio stations. Not bad exposure for a young reporter who attended Georgia's Kennesaw State University.

The problem is that Allen garnered national attention, not for her journalistic prowess, but because she was fired by her employer concerning a personal blog item she posted a week ago entitled Confessions of a Red-Headed Reporter.  Initially, she took down the blog post at the station's behest, but then re-posted it with the explanation: "The post was taken down because I was momentarily misguided about who I am and what I stand for." Channeling freedom of the press icon John Peter Zenger, she went on to say: "To clarify, I make no apologies for the following re-post. It's funny, satirical and will likely offend some of the more conservative folks. But it isn't fake and it's a genuine look into my slightly twisted psyche."

What exactly were the reporter's "confessions" or insights that prompted WAAY, which has not commented officially on the "personnel matter," to part ways with Allen? The revelations include:

• I've gone bra-less during a live broadcast and no one was the wiser.
• My best sources are the ones who secretly have a crush on me.
• I hate the right side of my face.
• I'm frightened of old people and I refuse to do stories involving them or the places they reside.
• I've taken naps in the news car.
• I've stolen mail and then put it back (maybe).

Some members of the nation's ever-growing perpetual rage industry are in a dither that Allen's First Amendment rights were trampled  by WAAY-TV in its ham-fisted effort to silence her message.  It could be an over-reaction on the station's part, or maybe the station was embarrassed that it was parading this on-the-airhead on its newscast as a broadcast journalist, the same description that has been applied to the late Peter Jennings and Bill Moyers, for example.

Even though there was no social media in his heyday, somehow the anchor-groupie staff of  "TUOL" can't imagine Walter Cronkite posting: "I'm doing the newscast commando-style tonight without my tighty-whities."

Allen follows in the footsteps of the 1-day wonder news anchor who appeared on Today as part of his national rehabilitation tour after he was fired for dropping an F-bomb and other expletives during his cringe-inducing, flop-sweaty inaugural newscast.

It's becoming less of a mystery as to why public disdain for journalists is on the rise.

Thomson Reuters Twitter Feed Hacked by Pro-Assad Group

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Hacking is the great equalizer for "armies" that might not fare so well on the battlefield, as financial data and news giant Thomson Reuters learned yesterday.

The Web site Allthingsd.com reported that the Syrian Electronic Army ("SEA"), which backs President Bashar al-Assad in the Middle East nation's bloody, nearly two-and-a-half-year-old civil war, briefly co-opted @ThomsonReuters to spew seven tweet links to images that included pro-Assad cartoons that BuzzFeed captured.

The Thomson Reuters account was temporarily suspended until the company regained control of it. The SEA last April and May took credit for hacking into Twitter accounts of CBS, The Guardian and Financial Times, according to the Allthingsd article.

Turns out you can't believe everything you read in social media world, a shocking revelation to no one.

Talkin' Turkey: PM Threatens Times of London with Legal Action

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A month after branding Twitter  a "provocateur" (see "TUOL" post 6/26/13), Turkey's Prime Minister, Recep Tayyip Erdogan has the Times of London in his sites, threatening the daily with legal action over a full-page political ad criticizing him for his "dictatorial rule," Al-Jazeera reported today.

Hollywood's Susan Sarandon and Sean Penn are among the signatories in the ad that objects to the PM's handling of anti-government demonstrations and blames Erdogan for the deaths of five protesters. Demonstrators, whom the PM has condemned as "terrorists" and "looters," are demanding his ouster.

"We will pursue legal channels regarding the Times," Erdogan is quoted as saying in the Al-Jazeera. It's puzzling to "TUOL" what Erdogan believes is being 'broadcast' on such legal channels that would give rise to an actionable claim against the daily for running a paid advertisement.

Sinclair Boosts Its Local TV Station Stable

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Hunt Valley, Md.-based Sinclair Broadcast Group, already the nation's largest local television station owner, will augment its holdings by purchasing Allbritton tv stations for $985 million, the Poynter.org Web site reported today.

Robert Allbritton is unloading the tv stations, which include WJLA-TV in Washington, D.C. and Lynchburg, Va. station WSET-TV, to focus on his other enterprises, including Politico, according to the Poynter article. To comply with FCC station ownership restrictions, Sinclair will divest itself of stations in Alabama, South Carolina and Pennsylvania.

Zimmerman Rekindles Defamation Suit Against NBC

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Just under two weeks since a 6-member jury acquitted him of all charges in the shooting death of unarmed teen Trayvon Martin, George Zimmerman is ready to head back to a courtroom to restart his dormant defamation suit against NBC, the iMediaEthics.org Web site reported.

The case, Zimmerman v. NBC Universal Media LLC et al. (Case No. 2012CA006178), filed in Seminole County Circuit Court last December (see "TUOL" post 12/7/12), which alleges defamation and intentional infliction of emotional distress, was stayed last February per a motion by NBC pending the outcome of the criminal case against Zimmerman.

The suit concerns an edited tape of a 911 call placed by Zimmerman that aired on the Today show in March 2012, that the plaintiff alleges depicts him as racist. NBC apologized in April 2012,  for the edits made to the taped call and dismissed staffers involved in airing the story, including a reporter and producer who also are defendants in the suit.

Zimmerman is likely to have to prove actual malice to prevail in his suit, as the high-profile murder trial elevates him to the status of, at least, a limited public figure.

http://www.imediaethics.org/News/4056/George_zimmerman_moves_to_restart_libel_lawsuit_against_nbc_over_edited_911_tape.php 

McClatchy Second Quarter Profits Plunge

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Sacramento, Calif.-based media conglomerate The McClatchy Company reported a dramatic decline in Second Quarter earnings compared to a year ago, as print advertising and newspaper circulation continues to crumble industry-wide.

Net income for Q2 was $11.8 million, down from $26.9 million over the comparable period a year ago. Profits fell $5 million to $11.1 million, compared to the 2012 second quarter total of $16.1 million. Total Second Quarter revenues reached $308.8 million, a 3.5 percent decrease from results a year ago.

McClatchy owns 30 daily newspapers and numerous weeklies nationwide.

Forbes' Case of Mistaken Preference Prompts Apology to Ireland Prez

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An online article in Forbes magazine that erroneously described the 72-year-old president of Ireland as an "acknowledged homosexual" has prompted the business periodical to apologize to its readers and to the Emerald Isle's leader, the Associated Press reported today.

Michael D. Higgins, a Limerick native who is married and the father of four, has not responded to Forbes' gaffe or apology. Higgins, a poet who was elected President in 2011 defeated, among other candidates, openly gay Sen. David Norris, according to the AP story. Billionaire founder of the magazine, Malcolm Forbes, was outed by a magazine as gay shortly after his death in 1990.

Forbes has since pulled the inaccurate story from its Web site.

SouthComm Pulls the Plug on Nashville's The City Paper

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A 13-year-old free Nashville news weekly will disappear after its Aug. 9 edition because of sagging advertising revenues, the publication's owner told staffers today.

SouthComm CEO Chris Ferrell said some staffers of The City Paper would be laid off, while others would be absorbed by the  chain's other papers, Nashville Scene and Nashville Post. The City Paper began as a weekday daily in 2000 and was acquired by SouthComm in 2008.

NY Judge: Google Must ID Anonymous Blogger

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New York Supreme Court Justice Debra A. James has ordered Google, Inc. to disclose the identity of an anonymous blogger whose two Web sites allegedly defame a Manhattan-based consumer lawyer.

As reported by the Wall St. Journal Law Blog (blogs.wsj.com), in a Stipulated Order in Fredrick Schulman v. Google, Inc. et al. (Case No. 155629/2013), Justice James ruled the plaintiff had demonstrated a potential cause of action against the creator of the sites fredrickschulmancrookedattorney.com and stopfredrickschulman.blogspot.com and was entitled to pre-action discovery identifying the blogger under CPLR sec. 3012(c).

Schulman alleges he has suffered harm to his reputation and pecuniary loss because of the "malicious" online campaign against him.  Google was ordered to notify the unnamed blogger and alert him/her that he/she may challenge the efforts to disclose his/her identity.  The court discontinued the plaintiff's action as to Google.

Canada Dry: Sun Media Corp. Shuttering 11 Newspapers; Axing 360 Jobs

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Earlier this month, Quebecor, Inc.-owned Sun Media Corp. announced 360 staffers would be pink-slipped as the media conglomerate decided to close 11 newspapers as the industry continues its hopeful march to digital salvation in the wake of declining print advertising and eroding circulation.

Bloomberg News reported that eight newspapers in Saskatchewan, Quebec, Manitoba and Ontario will fall by the wayside, along with editions of the free city paper, 24 Hours, in Edmonton, Calgary and Ottawa. The company hopes to realize a savings of 53 million dollars Canadian ($55 million) by the move, which Sun Media COO Julie Tremblay insists was necessary to remain competitive.

Less than a year ago, Sun Media slashed 500 jobs and turned off the lights at two Ontario production facilities, according to Bloomberg News.

Keith Olbermann Returning to the Line of Fire

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With Vegas oddsmakers focusing their action on what Kate & William will name the royal newborn ("TUOL" scored 20-1 odds on Murray), it's been impossible to lay down bets on how long baseball aficionado and political firebrand Keith Olbermann will survive his return to his ESPN sports commentary roots.

Earlier this month, it was announced that Olbermann inked a two-year deal to helm a late-night show on ESPN2. It's part of his career resurrection that also saw him signed by Turner Sports to co-host an Atlanta-based TBS program with Baseball Hall of Fame pitcher Dennis Eckersley that will cover the MLB post-season, which on TBS includes the National League championships, both Wild Card playoff games and 18 League Division playoff games, Eckersley pitched before both the unforgiving fans of the Chicago Cubs and Boston Red Sox, so he should be able to withstand any controversy generated by the volatile Olbermann.

For Olbermann, the ESPN2 gig marks a less-than-triumphant return to where his career took off as co-anchor of ESPN's SportsCenter with Dan Patrick that came to a rancorous end in 1997. From there, Olbermann, a knowledgeable and devoted fan of the National Pastime (think Bob Costas bitten by a rabid animal), aired out his liberal viewpoint on MSNBC's Countdown for eight years, before unamicably parting ways with the cable news network to join Al Gore's Current TV (see "TUOL" post 2/8/11), before an unfriendly parting of the ways...(you get the idea).

Olbermann has been absent from television for more than a year, but has amassed more than 450,000 followers on Twitter.  His return to sports this fall on ESPN2 is occurring as rival Fox Sports 1 cable tv rolls out Crowd Goes Wild on weeknights that lured another television icon, Regis Philbin, back onto the airwaves.

"TUOL" believes Olbermann getting fired by ESPN2 within the year is more of a sure thing than Prince Murray.

Smackdown Between Amazon & Copyright Troll?

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A California-based photo agency has sued Amazon-owned social network Goodreads for copyright infringement after a site group member allegedly posted a celebrity image without permission, the paidcontent.org Web site reported this week.

BWP, Inc. filed suit in Los Angeles seeking $150,000 under the damages provision of The Copyright Act [17 U.S.C. sec. 504(c)] after a young bookophile purportedly posted an image of hunky IM5 boy band member Dalton Rappatoni without authorization on a Goodreads group page. The group at issue seems to consist of four teen-aged girls who think Rappatoni is dreamy, so it's unclear how deep the pockets would be for the plaintiff to recover on its claim.

The paidcontent article raises the possibility that the lawsuit may be an example of "copyright trolling," a practice that Internet users and, increasingly, some judges, find offensive, in which copyright holders employ software to search the Internet for violations and sue bloggers and individuals with impunity to force short-money settlements. Troll companies often ally themselves with law firms for a contingency fee.

"TUOL" is not positioned to comment on the facts of this particular case, but would issue a caveat that any entity backed by a colossus such as Amazon is no pushover. Look for Goodreads to seek shelter behind the Digital Millenium Copyright Act ("DMCA") [17 U.S.C. sec. 1201 et seq.] that allows Internet Service Providers to escape liability by swiftly blocking access to infringing material posted by third parties upon receiving notice from the copyright holder.

'Pranked' TV Station Faces Defamation Suit from Asiana Airlines

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Still reeling from the July 6 crash-landing of its Flight 214 at San Francisco International Airport that killed three and injured 180, Asiana Airlines is in no mood for puerile racist humor, and will file a defamation suit against the "pranked" Oakland TV news station that aired an erroneous story about the disaster, according to reports by CNN and the Associated Press.

KTVU-TV anchor Tori Campbell promptly apologized on-air after the station named and displayed a graphic identifying the pilots of the ill-fated Korean flight with the bogus names of Wi Tu Lo, Ho Li Fuk, Sum Ting Wong and Bang Ding Ow. The station, a CNN affiliate, said a National Safety Transportation Board official, who later proved to be an unidentified summer intern, confirmed the accuracy of the offensive names before the station ran the information. The NTSB has also issued an apology.

Asiana Airlines said it planned to take legal action because it was "demeaned" by the racially discriminatory account of the crash by KTVU-TV. Poor taste, however, is not the standard for prevailing in a defamation case, and it's difficult to envision how Asiana Airline's reputation was damaged by the false report. Except for the station's news executives who were asleep at the wheel, most people who heard the account probably did not believe the ridiculous names. Neither could KTVU-TV be found liable for actual malice, because, although it didn't distinguish itself journalistically by falling for the cruel prank, it did, nonetheless, attempt to corroborate the phony names by contacting the NTSB, a sound journalistic practice.

Asiana Airlines would be better served by reviewing its flight training practices than by bringing dubious face-saving lawsuits, and the doofus responsible for the wacky monikers might consider how he or she would explain to the survivors and family members of the Flight 214 fatalities why his or her attempt at humor was so screamingly funny.

Fuhgeddabowtit: Gov. Christie Grappling with NJ Daily Over Sandy-Related Records Request

North Jersey Media Group-owned daily The Record is engaged in a struggle in Mercer County Superior Court with feisty Gov. Chris Christie concerning a request under the Garden State's Open Public Records Act ("OPRA")[N.J.S.A. 47:1A-1] for Hurricane Sandy-related billing records, the Courthouse News Service reports.

The newspaper chain sued the state, the Governor's office and Custodian of Records Hilary Hewitt for invoices involving Witt Group Holdings dated from October 2012, to the present. Witt was hired to provide strategic support and consultation as the state attempted to regain its footing following the physical and economic devastation caused by Hurricane Sandy.
                                                                                
According to the media company's complaint, records regarding the Witt contract are a matter of public interest because of reports that Witt, along with at least four other companies hired by the state post-Sandy, have made political contributions to GOP causes and the Republican Governors Assn. The newspaper group alleges the state has been dragging its feet in response to the OPRA request, subsequently producing a Witt invoice for the period ending December 2012, in the amount of $553.812 that was unaccompanied by worksheets.

The NJMG claims worksheets ultimately produced by the Governor's Office were overly redacted as authorities relied on an advisory, consultative and deliberative privilege contained in OPRA. Hurricane Sandy was fierce, but "TUOL" suspects it's got nothing on a Gov. Christie agitated by a news media request for transparency.
                                                                                                         

Texas Appeals Court Tosses Defamation Suit Against Local TV Station

A three-judge panel for The Court of Appeals for the First District of Texas last week ruled that a trial court erred in denying a local television news station the use of the state's anti-SLAPP ("Strategic Lawsuits Against Public Participation") law as a defense in a defamation claim by the founder of a school for special needs students.

Justice Jim Sharp wrote the 21-page opinion in KTRK Television, Inc. v. Theaola Robinson (Case No. 01-12-00372-CV) that decided the station should have been able to invoke the Texas Citizens Participation Act ("TCPA") [Tex. Civ. Prac. & Rem. secs. 27.001-011] in its defense against the plaintiff's December 2011, lawsuit alleging she was defamed by reports aired by the ABC affiliate that purportedly accused her of embezzling $3 million in state funds. The station was covering a dispute between the Texas Education Association and Benji's Special Education Academy, the charter school Robinson founded in 1980.

"The reports did not say or imply that the entire $3 million in state funds had been misappropriated or embezzled," Justice Sharp wrote. "Rather, the statements speak to the insufficiency of financial records to account for spent state funds."
                                                                           
The appeallate panel said the plaintiff's defamation claim lacked sufficient proof and should have been dismissed under the TCPA.  (Tip of the hat to the Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press Web site, www.rcfp.org, for reporting on the case.)

                                                                              

Media Outlet Less GOOD than Before

Just a year after GOOD Worldwide LLC shut down its magazine and abruptly terminated much of its editorial staff on a grim June day, the media platform last week laid off its creative producer and a coder, Poynter.org reported.

 CEO Ben Goldhirsh last fall oversaw GOOD Worldwide LLC as it remade itself into a "community platform" that reports on and promotes nonprofits, businesses and individuals engaged in "pushing the world forward." Apparently, the company hasn't stopped pushing employees out the door.

Ga. Newspaper Chain Dumps Photography Dept.

Southern Community Newspapers, Inc. ("SCNI"), a five-daily, two-weekly newspaper chain, has eliminated its photography department, Poynter.org reports.

Following the ignoble lead of the Chicago Sun-Times (see "TUOL" post 5/30/13), which recently dumped its entire staff of 28 photographers, SCNI boss Michael Gebhart decreed: "Journalists need to write, shoot video, post on the Internet and edit."  Three photographers were pink-slipped by SCNI and a fourth was shifted to a company videographer position.

With the entire newspaper industry reeling in the face of shrinking circulation and declining advertising, a depressing trend is developing (something darkroom photogs are no longer doing) that does a disservice to news consumers. Short-sighted newspaper executives are paying short shrift to the storytelling skills photojournalists bring to the table, and it won't be long before the ripple effects are felt in other news media and in journalism schools.

                                                                                      

CPJ Takes Gambia to Task for Oppressive Media Law Reform

The Parliament of the West African Republic of Gambia has enacted measures in recent months that endange its citizens' freedom of speech and restrict press freedom, according to the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ).

On the same day earlier this month that the U.S. celebrated its birthday, the Gambian Parliament revised the 2009 Information and Communication Act, increasing penalties for individuals who use the Internet to spread false information or instigate violence against or criticism of public officials to a 15-year jail term and a fine of  three million Dalasis ($82,207), according to the CPJ.  Gambian Information Minister Nana Grey Johnson said the measure was enacted to thwart "unpatriotic behavior" against government officials.

Back in April, the Parliament revised the Criminal Code to characterize President Yahya Jammeh and National Assembly members, among other government officials, as "public servants," although the nation's Constitution does not recognize those positions as "public servants." The amendment was accompanied by a boost in the fines and jail time assessed against individuals who provide false information to public servants.

That same month, Gambia banned the use at Internet cafes of Skype and other VoIP platforms, citing the "national interest." CPJ accused Gambian leaders of trying to shield themselves at the expense of providing citizens access to modern communications.

                                                                   

UPDATE: 1st Circ. Lowers the Boom on Tune-Infringin' Tenenbaum

Perhaps it was illegal download overload after years of blogging about BU grad and former online music lover Joel Tenenbaum (see "TUOL" posts 5/21/12, 9/19/11, 7/9/10, 8/3/09 & 7/28/09), but we were remiss in not reporting a decision late last month by the United States Court of Appeals for the First Circuit in Sony BMG Music Entertainment et al. v. Joel Tenenbaum (Case No. 12-2146) upholding the recording companies plaintiffs' $675k judgment against the defendant for illegally downloading copyrighted songs on defunct KaZaA and other peer-to-peer music networks.

In a decision written by Judge Jeffrey Howard, the appellate court noted that the defendant over the years 1999 to 2007 downloaded and distributed copyrighted music across various peer-to-peer platforms without permission. The amount of the judgment, pursuant to the damages provision of the Copyright Act [17 U.S.C. sec. 504(c)] allows for an assessment of between $750 and $150,000 for each instance of infringement. Damages were assessed against Tenenbaum for 30 purported illegal downloads at $22,500 apiece, or 15 percent of the maximum penalty, to reach the $675k award.

Tenenbaum argued the damages award violated his due process rights and were out of whack, contending that a more reasonable sum would be $450, reached by estimating each of the 30 albums illegally downloaded costs $15. The First Circuit, however, said such a calculation ignores the actual damages suffered by the plaintiffs, the challenge of proving copyright infringement, and most important, the deterrent effect of Section 504. The opinion acknowledged that Congress specifically amended The Copyright Act [17 U.S.C. sec. 101 et seq.]  to prevent music piracy through statutory damages.

Judge Howard made no effort to conceal the appellate court's disdain for the defendant's conduct, noting how Tenenbaum allegedly continued to download songs despite warnings from family, BU and others, and pointing out how Tenenbaum did not own up to his actions during Discovery in the case, initially blaming burglars, and then a foster child living in his family's home, for the downloading activities. The court emphasized that Tenenbaum testified at trial to downloading as many as 5000 songs, not the mere 30 for which he was held liable.

The devoted staff of "TUOL" (which is listening to music as it prepares this post) believes there is a genuine legal question over whether the copyright infringement damages authorized by the statute are disproportinate in non-commercial downloading cases such as this one. Unfortunately, an unsympathetic defendant and a questionable trial strategy by his defense team resulted in an outcome that doesn't satisfactorily reach that question. A corollary of the old legal bromide, "bad cases make bad law," is that misconduct leads to missed opportunities for legal reform.