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It’s too bad that scary column mug is attached to Michael...

Thu, 09 Feb 2012 14:22:32 -0500

It’s too bad that scary column mug is attached to Michael Wolff’s column on Thomson Reuters possibly buying out the Financial Times. The news is kind of a big deal in the media world … well, as long as you can get past the mugshot.

Inside Breaking News: BreakingNews at Social Media Week

Thu, 09 Feb 2012 12:39:43 -0500

Inside Breaking News: BreakingNews at Social Media Week:

breakingblog:

Attention New Yorkers: BreakingNews’ Lauren McCullough will be joining a panel of colleagues at Social Media Week New York on Feb. 16 at noon for a candid discussion about ways traditional news organizations can incubate innovation in their culture.

The panel, “Creating Start-Ups…

If you’re within shouting distance of NYC, this is the Social Media Week session you wanna go to. (This one too, but sadly it’s sold out.) If you’re not, there are hundreds of others around the world. Take a couple hours off from work next week. Expand your brain.

Currently jumping from roof to roof: This guy, currently...

Thu, 09 Feb 2012 11:53:34 -0500

Currently jumping from roof to roof: This guy, currently chillin’ in Westwood, Los Angeles, California. Happening live. Watch here.

After three-state Tuesday sweep, checkbooks open up for Santorum

Thu, 09 Feb 2012 11:19:40 -0500

$1million raised in just 24 hours after Santorum’s super Tuesday source

» That’s quite a haul in 24 hours. The Santorum campaign confirmed on Wednesday afternoon that, after the candidate’s sweep of Tuesday’s primary battles, over $1 million in new donations have poured into the campaign’s coffers — roughly $800,000 of which came from online donors alone. Not bad, sweater vest.

Federal government, states agree to settle with mortgage industry

Thu, 09 Feb 2012 11:12:27 -0500

$26 billion “historic” settlement with the mortgage industry

$17B of that settlement is expected to help out more than 1 million homeowners — breaking that dow, that’s an average of $17,000 each
50 states could sign on as part of the settlement, making it the largest multistate settlement since the big tobacco deal in 1998
$2,000 the amount some homeowners who already lost their homes to foreclosure could get as part of the long-planned settlement source

» But is all this enough? While some will say the settlement doesn’t go far enough in addressing the concerns homeowners have dealt with in the years since the housing bubble burst, officials suggest it could provide $40 billion in mortgage relief by reducing loan principals, which would make the dollars go further. Problem is, it’s estimated that homeowners collectively owe $700 billion more on their homes than they’re actually worth. So while the dollar number sounds high, it may only be a drop in the bucket comparatively.

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Immediately after Steve Jobs died, Michael Morisy of MuckRock...

Thu, 09 Feb 2012 10:36:00 -0500

Immediately after Steve Jobs died, Michael Morisy of MuckRock filed a FOIA request for Jobs’ FBI files. Today, that FOIA request has been filled. Find anything interesting? Post about it in the replies! What are you waiting for?

"The home minister has pledged (I will be) the first former president to spend all my life in jail. …..."

Thu, 09 Feb 2012 10:25:06 -0500

“The home minister has pledged (I will be) the first former president to spend all my life in jail. … the facts on the ground are that tomorrow I will be in jail.”

- Maldivian president Mohamed Nasheed • Suggesting that he would be jailed shortly, days after resigning or getting forced from power. Despite word from his political party that Nasheed was beaten by police, he showed no signs of injury when he was interviewed. Despite this, word of his possible arrest certainly isn’t an empty threat — he spent years in jail under long-serving President Maumoon Abdul Gayoom, and has been arrested 27 times before. The fairly tiny country of 330,000, a span of islands located in the Indian Ocean, gets many tourists, ensuring a high level of interest in the case. source (via • follow)

We just want to point out how awesome our culture is that Leonard Cohen, after over 45 years on the beat, can finally have a top-five debut on the Billboard 200.

Thu, 09 Feb 2012 00:26:03 -0500

We just want to point out how awesome our culture is that Leonard Cohen, after over 45 years on the beat, can finally have a top-five debut on the Billboard 200.:

At No. 3 this week is Rock and Roll Hall of Famer Leonard Cohen with the debut of “Old Ideas” (41,000). It’s the icon’s highest charting album ever and best sales week since SoundScan began tracking sales in 1991. The beloved artist’s new album is his first studio effort since 2004’s “Dear Heather,” which debuted and peaked at No. 131 (9,000 in its first week).

Oh yeah, Lana Del Rey debuted at No. 2. But who cares? To put this in perspective: Cohen’s next-highest-charting album, “Songs From a Room,” came out 43 years ago. And it charted at No. 63. Props to L. Cohen for finally getting a big enough cult to actually move album units.

DC folks: Who wants to have a Tumblr meetup at Books-A-Million...

Thu, 09 Feb 2012 00:07:44 -0500

DC folks: Who wants to have a Tumblr meetup at Books-A-Million this Saturday morning?

skidder: Does Mark Zuckerberg really support Mitt Romney? (That...

Wed, 08 Feb 2012 23:44:38 -0500

skidder:

Does Mark Zuckerberg really support Mitt Romney? (That link he liked goes here.) This showed up in my news feed (yes, I subscribe to his profile) but doesn’t seem to appear on his profile. Mere months ago he was wearing a tie for Obama!

Update: No, he doesn’t. But this shows that even Mark Zuckerberg himself can have his intention confused in the Facebook News Feed.

How to piss off the Internet by simply removing essential context. A fascinating story worth a read from Gawker.

South Carolinian adults are not so aware of the Vice President

Wed, 08 Feb 2012 21:18:08 -0500

29.3% of South Carolinians don’t know the VP source

» Joe B. Anonymous: According to a recent poll conducted by Winthrop University, the above percentage of adult residents of South Carolina couldn’t name the current Vice President of the United States. In fact, 3% of those polled claimed Dick Cheney was still roaming the halls of the White House. Sounds like Joe Biden has some work to do on his name recognition, no?

In case you missed it: Pete Hoekstra’s racist Super Bowl...

Wed, 08 Feb 2012 20:58:18 -0500

In case you missed it: Pete Hoekstra’s racist Super Bowl ad

“We take your jobs”: We’re a couple days behind on this one (though, admittedly, hannahhorvath did tip us off), but seriously, how about this patently racist ad that aired during the Super Bowl in some markets? It hinges on a particular brand of racial paranoia (the woman in this ad is American, and has absorbed a lot of heat for taking part), itself born from a profound economic paranoia. And it gets worse — apparently the microsite for the video had some perceived-racist source code in it. Reaction to the ad has been strong. What do you think? source

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Big successive days for marriage equality movement

Wed, 08 Feb 2012 20:23:45 -0500

yesterday A three-judge panel of the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals struck down California’s Proposition 8, the gay marriage ban which voters approved in 2008. As we noted, the ruling didn’t endorse same-sex marriage as a right, but said voters had no rational reason to prohibit it; a step forward regardless.
today Washington’s state legislature passed, by a vote of 55-43, a bill that legalizes same-sex marriage. The bill will almost assuredly face a legal challenge by opposing advocacy groups, but Democratic Governor Chris Gregoire will likely sign it into law at some point during the next week. source

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"Roland Martin’s tweets were regrettable and offensive. Language that demeans is inconsistent with..."

Wed, 08 Feb 2012 20:04:01 -0500

“Roland Martin’s tweets were regrettable and offensive. Language that demeans is inconsistent with the values and culture of our organization, and is not tolerated. We have been giving careful consideration to this matter, and Roland will not be appearing on our air for the time being.”

- A statement issued by CNN • Explaining their decision to suspend Roland Martin from their network, following a series of Super Bowl tweets that landed Martin in hot water with GLAAD, among other LGBT advocacy groups. He said if you knew a guy who liked David Beckham’s underwear ad, you ought to “smack the ish out of him.” Martin insisted, while apologizing for the offense, that he was attempting to be disparaging of soccer fans, not a man sexually attracted to Beckham, but these excuses fell in deaf ears when it came to his employer. source (via • follow)

Mother sues New York City for an amount larger than the city's budget

Wed, 08 Feb 2012 19:57:54 -0500

$900 trillion lawsuit against the city of New York source

» The city’s 2012 budget? $65 billion: Despite the big number, there is a strong tinge of sadness to the case. Fausat Ogunbayo, a Staten Island mother of two, had her two children (ages 16 and 13) taken away back in 2008 amid concerns for her mental stability. However, an appellate court ruling last month provided her with some legal ammo, saying that despite Ogunbayo’s history of mental illness, that didn’t immediately equate neglect, as the city claimed. Now she’s suing the city, saying that it violated her civil rights, along with her children’s, and claiming that the separation caused ”over three years of terror, horror, grievous harm, time lost, substantial economic hardship and injuries.” She may have a case; she may want to knock down that dollar total, though.

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"She was a teacher who would escort little girls into Berndt’s classroom when he was all alone...."

Wed, 08 Feb 2012 15:43:03 -0500

“She was a teacher who would escort little girls into Berndt’s classroom when he was all alone. Berndt would come over in the middle of day, whisper in her ear, and they would giggle, and then teacher would pick out two girls, escort them through a common door, so that they were stuck with a pedophile in this classroom.”

- Lawyer Bryan Claypool • Speaking on the rash of horrific charges to emerge from the pedophilia case at Miramonte Elementary, in the Los Angeles County School District. Claypool says he notified the Sheriff’s department after becoming aware of a female teacher, who he believes “patently aided and abetted” the alleged pedophilic abuse methods of fellow teacher Mark Berndt, one of two former teachers arrested on such charges. As a consequence of the scandal, and the public outrage directed at the school, the entire staff has been removed pending further decision. Be warned, the full details of this story are quite graphic and disgusting. source (via • follow)

Egypt/U.S. relations strained over detained American NGO workers

Wed, 08 Feb 2012 14:41:18 -0500

one As we’ve mentioned before, the Egyptian military government has barred 19 U.S. citizens from leaving the country. They worked for pro-democracy NGOs, and are being held on claim they took foreign money without official approval.
twoSenators John McCain, Kelly Ayotte and Joe Lieberman have warned of a potential “disastrous rupture” in U.S./Egypt relations. At risk is nearly $1.3 billion in military aid, which the U.S. has already threatened to halt. source

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A poster inspired by yesterday’s amazing marshmallow...

Wed, 08 Feb 2012 14:10:00 -0500

A poster inspired by yesterday’s amazing marshmallow cannon situation. Obama’s mouth has never been so agape.

Iris, Android’s Siri clone, has a biblical insight about...

Wed, 08 Feb 2012 13:56:09 -0500

Iris, Android’s Siri clone, has a biblical insight about abortion

“Is abortion wrong?”: You typically might not think to ask such a heady question of your mobile phone, but if you happen to have Android’s “Iris” (is it good marketing to so obviously reverse the name “Siri?”) you’ll get a strong response. The issue seems to be that Iris is powered by an Ask Jeeves style search engine called ChaCha, which answers user questions with answers from paid freelancers. Meaning that in asking your phone whether abortion is wrong, you’re actually asking an unknown human being – one which might have a strong opinion on the subject. source

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Here’s a mockup of the Web site for Atlantis Cable News,...

Wed, 08 Feb 2012 11:38:00 -0500

Here’s a mockup of the Web site for Atlantis Cable News, the fictional network at the center of Aaron Sorkin’s upcoming HBO show, “The Newsroom” (no relation to the ’90s Canadian dramedy of the same name). The show, starring Jeff Daniels and Jane Fonda, will be a bit of a harkening back to past Sorkin shows, taking a similar approach to “Sports Night” and “Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip,” but applying it to an MSNBC/Fox News-style cable news network. Will be fun to watch. (h/t Poynter)