Mediagazer: New evidence about Amina, the “Gay Girl in Damascus” hoax (Ali Abunimah/The Electronic Intifada)

7:45 AM ET, June 13, 2011

Top News:

Jeff Jarvis / BuzzMachine:

The orthodoxy of the article, part II — Frédéric Filoux willfully misrepresents me so that he may uphold the orthodoxy of the article. He will be disappointed to learn that we agree more than he wishes. Here is what I am really saying about the article.

Discussion: Guardian

Frédéric Filloux / Monday Note:

Jazz Is not a Byproduct of Rap Music — Defining article as a “luxury or a byproduct” as Jeff Jarvis did last month, is like suggesting jazz is secondary to rap music, or saying literature is a Deluxe version of slamming. Reading Jarvis' Buzz Machine blog is always interesting, often entertaining and more than occasionally grating.

New York Times:

For Instant Ratings, Interviews With a Checkbook — Before the subjects of headlining news stories agree to a television interview these days, some have one question: how much money can I make? — ABC and NBC, embroiled in a fight for viewers in the mornings, are increasingly in the news …

Julie Moos / Poynter:

ABC's Chris Cuomo defends checkbook journalism: ‘It is the state of play right now’ — During an interview with Howard Kurtz on CNN's “Reliable Sources” Sunday morning, “20/20″ co-anchor Chris Cuomo defended paying Meagan Broussard for photos she sent Anthony Weiner …

Discussion: Adweek and Chickaboomer

Amanda / slash blog:

Person as Distribution Channel: A Case Study of YouTube Star Dave Days — YouTube phenomenon Dave Days brings teenage girls to tears in the same way Justin Bieber does. While he's not actually a mainstream celebrity, I think he's the best example of the new media movement toward …

Discussion: @mathewi

Tanzina Vega / Media Decoder:

Publisher Brings Digital Shopping to Its Magazines — The photos and quizzes in Hearst's online magazines are about to get a digital upgrade. — On Monday, Hearst Magazines Digital Media will announce two new features for its online publications that will make it easier for readers to buy the products they see on the page.

Discussion: eMedia Vitals

David Carr / New York Times:

Same Gaffes, but Now on Twitter — Richard Nixon did some terrible things in order to maintain a grip on the Oval Office, but the dumbest may have been recording what went on there. — Nowadays, the hidden recorder is no longer necessary: the Internet has become the Rose Mary Woods of the digital age …

Brian Stelter / New York Times:

Casey Anthony Coverage Gives HLN an Identity — For almost two decades, trials that tapped into the American people's judge-and-jury fascination unfolded in real time on Court TV, the cable channel that helped make television viewers into witnesses to the judicial system.

Erick Schonfeld / TechCrunch:

(Founder Stories) How Mike McCue Came Up With Flipboard: “What If We Accidentally Deleted The Web” — So you sold Tell Me,and then presumably had lots of options for as to what to do next? A lot of people will go off on BBCs or angel investors. You decided to jump back in and do another start up.

David Lieberman / Deadline.com:

EMMYS: Looking Far Into The Future of TV — There's one thing we can say with absolute confidence about the Emmy awards a decade or so from now: Apple, Google, Netflix or possibly some other broadband and digital technology companies will be part of the ceremony after having wreaked havoc with the TV business.

Elizabeth Jensen / Media Decoder:

Nickelodeon as Provider of Homework — Nickelodeon has often underpinned its preschool television shows with curriculum-based teaching, but like a parent sneaking vegetables into the pasta, it tended to hide the educational values. — Not any more. With the July 1 introduction of a line …

Ali Abunimah / The Electronic Intifada:

New evidence about Amina, the “Gay Girl in Damascus” hoax — Ali Abunimah and Benjamin Doherty write: — We have gathered compelling new evidence regarding the “Gay Girl in Damascus” blogger hoax. — Those responsible for this hoax have caused a great deal of concern and anguish …

Discussion: Washington Post, NPR, Guardian, The Lede, Guardian, Haaretz, A Gay Girl in Damascus, The Next Web, Gawker, Composite, loose wire blog, Financial Times, GigaOM, New York Magazine, @monakareem, @justimage, @acarvin, @acarvin and Boing Boing

Lewis DVorkin / Forbes.com:

Forbes Update: Our Newsroom for the Digital Era Is Now Up and Running — I love the newsroom. Yes, I keep saying that. I can remember the exact layout of my first, when I was a cub reporter 40 years ago at The Daily Iowan, the University of Iowa student newspaper.