Mediagazer: Trouble at The Columbia Journalism Review? (Kara Bloomgarden-Smoke/The New York …)

10:25 AM ET, December 18, 2012

Top News:

Mike Brunker / NBC News:

Richard Engel and NBC News team freed from captors in Syria — Richard Engel at the end of a reporting trip in Syria in July of this year. — NBC News' Chief Foreign Correspondent Richard Engel and members of his network production team were freed from captors in Syria after a firefight …

Andrew Kaczynski / BuzzFeed:

How NBC News Kept Richard Engel's Disappearance Secret — “It is important not to spread this rumor/report.” Engel escaped his captors in Syria Monday night. — Shortly before 7:30 AM yesterday morning, reports came in the from Turkish media that NBC News Middle East correspondent Richard Engel …

Discussion: JIMROMENESKO.COM, Boing Boing, Chickaboomer and Minnesota Public Radio

Jack Shafer:

Newtown teaches us, once again, to discount early reports — “It's inevitable that some first reports will be wrong,” Dan Rather warned viewers on Sept. 11, 2001, as he and his colleagues at CBS covered terrorist attacks on New York and Washington in real time.

Discussion: The Daily Caller and BuzzFeed

Margaret Sullivan / The Public Editor's Journal:
Errors in Newtown Shootings Coverage Reflect Growing Pressures

Discussion: Poynter, NPR, ZDNet and Softpedia News

Erik Wemple / Washington Post:
Connecticut shootings: Not a media story

Discussion: The Daily Beast, Media Decoder and College of Journalism feed

Andrew Beaujon / Poynter:
Sandy Hook coverage: Is ‘good enough’ good enough?

Discussion: mediabistro.com, Erik Wemple, Forbes, The Daily Beast, CJR, Denver Post, Mediaite, Yahoo! News, TVNewser and AdAge

Eric Deggans / Tampa Bay Times:
Understanding Newtown shooting coverage: Accepting errors in breaking news seems the biggest mistake

Discussion: New York Times

Rhonda Roland Shearer / iMediaEthics:

CJR Reporter Lying, Exploiting a Source? What's happening at Columbia Journalism Review? — Bruce Porter, a retired Columbia University journalism professor and the author of the book-turned-movie Blow, decided in 2011 that he would find Marcy, the then-teen source he betrayed …

Kara Bloomgarden-Smoke / The New York Observer:

Trouble at The Columbia Journalism Review? — Rhonda R. Shearer, the widow of Stephen Jay Gould and proprietor of media watchdog site iMedia Ethics, just published an extensive article on her site investigating a Newsweek article from 1967-and a follow up article that was published last month by The Columbia Journalism Review.

Craig Silverman / Poynter:

In real-time journalism, declaring what you won't report can be just as important as what you will — It started with confusion at the scene of the crime. A source told CNN the killer was named Ryan Lanza. — Soon several news organizations published images from a Facebook profile belonging to a man with that name.

Discussion: Guardian and Yahoo! News

Michael Wolff / Guardian:

Did NPR's Andy Carvin overreach his Twitter calling on Newtown shooting? — Carvin became a one-man social media hub on the Arab spring, but the school shooting exposed flaws in his retweet method — If it bleeds, it leads - that most reliable axiom of journalism - may be nowhere as true as on Twitter.

Discussion: Poynter, @ckanal, @fieldproducer, @antderosa, @bradleydaviswsj, @mattseaton, @jayrosen_nyu, @tamerelg and @jayrosen_nyu

Eileen Brown / ZDNet:

So Instagram can now sell your photos: Get over it — Summary: The Instagram community is complaining about the change to its terms and conditions which allows Instagram to generate revenue from your photos — without compensating you. — Eileen Brown — Instagram made a change …

Discussion: Guardian, BBC, The Atlantic Online, Wired, SlashGear, Softpedia News and CNET

VOA:

Sharp Increase in Number of Journalists Killed in Line of Duty — A U.S.-based group that promotes press freedom says combat-related deaths in Syria and “targeted” murders in three other countries have made 2012 one of the deadliest years on record for journalists.

Discussion: Committee to Protect …

Jeff John Roberts / paidContent:

Washington Post signs up with NewsCred in push for dollars, exposure — NewsCred, which offers publishers and brands a growing library of elite news content, announced this week that the Washington Post is the latest to join its syndication service. — According to NewsCred CEO Shafqat Islam …

Discussion: NetNewsCheck Latest, eMedia Vitals, Business Insider and AllThingsD

Adam Poltrack / Digital Trends:

The Aereo Internet TV legal battle: What's happening, and why it matters — Not yet tuned in to the legal battle between Aereo and the big TV networks? We're here to catch you up and explain why the outcome may be so important. — “No cable required.” That's the battlecry that Internet startup, Aereo, foregrounds on its website.

Peter Kafka / AllThingsD:

Video News Start-Up NowThisNews Taps MTV Pioneer Judy McGrath for Advice — NowThisNews wants to be the CNN for the generation that grew up with Facebook and iPhones. Or, at least, their MTV News. — So here's a good person to ask for advice: Former MTV boss Judy McGrath, who has signed on as an adviser for the video start-up.

Discussion: PandoDaily

Andrew Beaujon / Poynter:

Baron: It's ‘probable’ Washington Post newsroom will shrink — Incoming Washington Post Executive Editor Marty Baron tells Paul Starobin “It's probable” the paper's headcount will go down, but that he hopes the Post can do more on local reporting. “I don't think for a minute that local journalism …