EU-DIGEST

Miami Herald for sale

McClatchy Co., the Calif.-based newspaper chain is looking to sell off one of its largest papers. It cited unnamed sources.Declines in print advertising drove the decline, falling 23.3 percent to $128 million in October. On-line advertising revenue partially offset the decline, with a 12.4 percent gain in October to $16.4 million. In June, the Herald announced widespread layoffs with plans to cut 250 full-time jobs or 17 percent of the newspaper's workforce. According to the paper’s website, it has 1,165 full-time and 244 part-time employees. McClatchy purchased the Herald from Knight-Ridder in 2006 for $4.5 billon. Knight-Ridder had owned the paper since 1937. The Herald has a prime waterfront location in downtown Miami, but with the downturn in the real estate market, it's unclear if that would generate interest among buyers.

Labels: Media, Press, US

The media must not allow government to proscribe free speech - by David Mamet

The so-called Fairness Doctrine, the enforcement of the doctrine that any broadcast medium, voicing one political opinion must voice another, dissenting opinion will be the beginning of the end of free speech. Here's why: Who is to say what is political opinion? The line between political opinion and reportage is so blurred now as to be almost indistinct. Should such a pernicious doctrine become widespread, energy will be devoted to persuading and inevitably suborning those authorities who seek to rule on any utterance.

Labels: Media

The pursuit of profit is putting the historic role of the press as the watchdog of democracy at stake, MEPs from all political parties have warned. Measures to protect editorial independence and quality of content are desperately needed in order to prevent interference from owners, shareholders or governments, says a report adopted Tuesday in the European Parliament's culture committee.The cases of unrestricted ownership concentration or of scarce content pluralism in the media are endangering cultural diversity and freedom of expression not only within national markets but also at European level," said Socialist committee chair Katarina Batzeli. Passing 33 votes to one, with no abstentions, the report had the support of all parties. Liberal MEP Marielle de Sarnez said in the wake of the vote that Europe needed to pay attention to "the risk to independence posed by the existence of media groups owned by large companies."

Labels: EU, Free Press, Media

US Pres. Elections: Election polls show Americans are bigots- US Press controls the Public - by Tony L

If you believe what the media has been telling us about this election, African-American voters are voting a certain way, Latinos are voting another, and Women, White Men, and Older People are voting in clumps based on what they feel will be best for each of their various groups. In fact, turn on your tv right now. Go to CNN, Fox, or MSNBC... (even NPR!), and you will see that 90% of the coverage on this election is all about what percentage of a certain segregated group of the population is voting this way or that.

The TV and Radio networks are at least in part responsible for these results. The Media has this great opportunity, now more than ever, to do America a service by focusing on educating the voting population on the very important decision American voters are about to make: Who will be the next President of the United States of America? Write the networks and complain about this indecent and sensationalist reporting. Just maybe someone will have the concience to change it.

Labels: Democracy, Media, Press, US elections