Journalism: January 2004 Archive Page

Mars Express, circling high above the surface, made the discovery on the Red Planet's south pole, said agency scientist Jean-Pierre Bibring -- an indication that Mars may once have sustained life. --Europe probe detects Mars water ice (CNN)

Interesting... CNN's European version of the Mars story says "More than 40 years of Mars exploration have yielded inconclusive evidence of whether water was present on the planet," while the American version of the story doesn't interpret the previous finds as inconclusive at all: "NASA's Mars Odyssey, also an orbiter, confirmed water ice at the north pole, along with dry ice -- frozen carbon dioxide -- in 2002."

So who gets credit for the discovery?

Teens Finding Stupid Ways to DieJerz's Literacy Weblog)

I've come across several recent examples of "It's fun until someone gets killed." It's bad enough when a young person dies, but when the family has to grieve over such stupid reasons... ouch, that hurts. My heart goes out to these families.

The very premise of an online game is that it is uncontrollable - indeed, even the banned players have found ways to sneak back in various disguises. | That, in turn, presents a thorny set of philosophical problems. How do you seek to curb the baser instincts of a community of autonomous players? Is repression the answer? Or do you have to give people incentives to behave better all by themselves? --Andrew Gumbel --Blood on the Virtual Carpet (Independent)

I filed this under "Journalism" because it features a virtual newspaper reporting on the unsavory activities of the virtual residents of a in The Sims.

Crucially, Mr Medjahdi said he could see no photographers anyway near the car, despite initial police suspicions that they might have distracted the driver. "I got a complete picture from my side and rear-view mirrors of what was happening beside me. There was no other vehicle in my field of vision. I saw no cars with the Mercedes, no photographers on motorbikes around the car. There was no one," he said. --Diana crash witness speaks (ThisIsLondon.com)

I had occasionally caught myself wondering... if the princess's car were being pursued by paparazzi, where are the photos of the crash? Either they were lousy paparazzi, or the driver had already eluded them. How did the "pursued by paparazzi" meme get started, if the only eyewitness to the crash reports that there were none? It appears simply to be the opinion of Mohamed al-Fayed, father of Dodi Fayed, the princess's companion who was also killed in the crash:

Early eye-witness accounts broadcast on radio and television around the world portrayed a sickening scene in the Alma Tunnel, with paparazzi swarming around the wreck of the Mercedes, taking pictures moments after the crash, giving no thought to calling the emergency services and obstructing people who had come to give help to those inside the car.

A little googling shows me a news CNN report from 1999 that concludes, "there was no evidence they [photographers] were close to the car when the accident occurred, the report found". I confess I'm not that interested in royal politics, but I'm surprised that I didn't know about this alternate story, which isn't as powerful as the "pursued by photographers on motorbikes" meme.

The Kelley controversy comes at a time of growing public mistrust of the mainstream media. In the past year, critics have questioned: Fox's Geraldo Rivera and NBC's Peter Arnett over their reporting on the Iraq war; The Washington Post for reporting that Jessica Lynch had been shot and stabbed and not correcting the account for 21/2 months; CNN executive Eason Jordan for saying he suppressed stories of Iraqi brutality out of concern for people's safety; Salt Lake Tribune Editor James Shelledy, who resigned after two reporters sold information on the Elizabeth Smart case to the National Enquirer; and CBS's use of a music special to leverage a Michael Jackson interview. --Reporter 'Panicked' In Probe  (Washington Post (will expire))

This article updates the resignation of USA Today reporter Jack Kelley, the latest high-profile reporter whose credibily has come under fire.

RSF counted 42 journalists slain in 2003, while CPJ concluded in a separate report that the total death toll was 36. Both groups said the toll was about twice as high as in 2002 and that the war in Iraq was the primary reason for the increase. --Jim Lobe

--2003 Bad Year for Press Freedom  (Common Dreams)

Thanks for the suggestion, Jim.