Mediagazer: On elephants, obsessions and wicked problems: A new phenomenology of news (Gideon Lichfield/news thing)

3:01 AM ET, September 17, 2012

Top News:

Gideon Lichfield / news thing:

On elephants, obsessions and wicked problems: A new phenomenology of news — Goodbye to the beat — The first “beat reporters” were probably the men sent by newspapers to hang around the criminal courts in the early 19th century. Today almost every news outlet is organized around fixed beats …

Discussion: @zseward and Talking Biz News

Ken Doctor / Nieman Journalism Lab:

The newsonomics of the Quartz business launch — Quartz — Atlantic Media's business news startup, set to take flight later this month — may be bursting into the marketplace at a gem of a time. — Tepid growth is taking hold in the U.S., with second recession worries ebbing; Europe appears headed for a “soft landing.”

David Carr / New York Times:

The Puppetry of Quotation Approval — Now that it's become clear that many journalists covering politics and government agree to quotation-approval as a condition of access, it's tough not to see the pageant of democracy as just that: a carefully constructed performance meant to showcase the participants in the best light.

Discussion: Kirk LaPointe's … and Rehak/Stuebing Mostly Media

Margaret Sullivan / New York Times:

He Said, She Said, and the Truth — IN journalism, as in life, balance sounds like an unassailably good thing. — But while balance may be necessary to mediating a dispute between teenage siblings, a different kind of balance — some call it “false equivalency” — has come under increasing fire.

Discussion: Mother Jones, bookforum.com, The Huffington Post, Big News Network.com and Pressing Issues

Justin Ellis / Nieman Journalism Lab:

How Human Rights Watch got into the quasi-journalism business — Media from nonprofits has boomed in recent years. But that doesn't just mean the ProPublicas and Texas Tribunes of the world — nonprofit advocacy groups are also inching their way into the media business.

Hazel Sheffield / CJR:

James Brown estate case reporter slapped with subpoenas — The 60-year-old journalist believes South Carolina is attempting to hush her — When the judges responsible for distributing the estate of the late musician James Brown started refusing freedom of information requests …

Discussion: Estate of Denial and Common Sense Journalism

Emily Harris / MediaShift:

Engelberg: ProPublica Wants Broader Base of Small Donors — Raising money, gaining audience, having impact. Despite a $10 million annual budget, 34 reporters, and partnerships with multiple major news organizations, ProPublica faces similar sustainability issues as many startup publishers.

Allan Lengel / Deadline Detroit:

Can the Free Press Survive the Mass Exodus of Experience And Talent? — The strange gurgling noise you hear on W. Lafayette Blvd is the sound of talent trickling down the drain. Since last summer, the paper has lost 20 staffers, who quit for a variety of reasons, and it soon will lose 22 more reporters …

Rani Molla / The Content Strategist:

BuzzFeed's Social Media Editor on Why Twitter is the New Press Scrum — This post is part of the Social Media Editor Series, featuring interviews with social media editors from news organizations about what they do and where they see social media in journalism going.

Leonard Downie Jr / Nieman Journalism Lab:

Len Downie: The teaching hospital model works, but it will require drastic change — When the Nieman Journalism Lab asked for my thoughts at the beginning of another academic year, I realized how my career has been book-ended by meaningful experiences in journalism education.

Julie Posetti / MediaShift:

In Australia, Backlash to Murdoch Scandal Could Erode Press Freedom — Rupert Murdoch's toxic News of the World legacy has the potential to undermine press freedom in his country of birth — Australia — where the national government is considering recommendations for the regulation of all news content ... including low-traffic blogs.

Claire Cain Miller / New York Times:

Google Has No Plans to Rethink Video Status — SAN FRANCISCO — Google said on Friday that it would not comply with a White House request to reconsider the anti-Islam video that has set off violent protests in the Arab world in light of its rules banning hate speech on YouTube, which it owns.

Discussion: Forbes, Mashable!, Media Law Prof Blog and Reuters

Patrick Sawer / Telegraph:

Richard Desmond casts doubt on future of Irish Daily Star after it prints topless photos of the Duchess of Cambridge — The future of the newspaper which printed topless pictures of the Duchess of Cambridge is in doubt after a publisher who jointly runs it said he was pulling out of the deal.

Discussion: Guardian and Guardian

Mathew Ingram / GigaOM:

David Carr on newspapers, Twitter and citizen journalism — New York Times writer David Carr may not want to admit that he is a kind of rock star in media circles, but judging by the sold-out crowd of media types who showed up to watch him be interviewed by CBC radio host Michael Enright …