The Inquisitr » cnn

Lou Dobbs: Senate, White House A Possibility

AHN — Fri, 20 Nov 2009 23:43:40 +0000

West Palm Beach, FL (AHN) – Former CNN host Lou Dobbs says he is not ruling out running for Senate or making a run for the White House in 2012.

Dobbs, 64, has been answering questions about his future since leaving CNN earlier in November after being pressured by network executives to alter his style of journalism and take a more middle-of-the-road approach.

Dobbs is known to be a big critic of President Barack Obama, and is strongly anti-immigration.

The 30-year veteran said if he decides to run for U.S. Senate it will be in New Jersey, where he is a resident, and if he decides to run for the White House it will be on a third-party ticket. Dobbs has not made a decision as of yet.

CNN’s video of Ron Clark Academy students annoys right-wing

Kim LaCapria — Wed, 07 Oct 2009 17:37:47 +0000

I think they’re adorable, but many conservatives are again crying “socialist indoctrination” about a video circulating of students from the Ron Clark Academy doing a song and dance routine about healthcare reform.

Once more FOX News prefers spreading lies instead of reporting the truth

Steven Hodson — Sat, 19 Sep 2009 00:03:16 +0000

I get that the news business is a cutthroat one. A business where just about anything goes but one would think that outright lies wouldn’t be something a network would lower themselves to. As always though FOX News proves themselves to be the network that is willing to spread lies instead of reporting facts and the truth.

The latest marketing move by the network has the ad you see above placed in full page glory in the Washington Post, the Wall Street Journal and the New York Post.

The fact that FOX News would have people that they were the only news network to cover the Teaparty March this past weekend in Washington is so full of crap I can’t believe they had the balls to run the ad. Not only did I see coverage of the event across a number of networks but TVNewser had a post this morning listing the networks that did cover the event. These networks included:

NBC News (5.2 million viewers watched the coverage)
MSNBC
ABC News
CBS News – both radio and television
CNN

This was such a blatant lie and an insult to the other network journalists who covered the event that Rick Sanchez had enough

Whether you like Sanchez or not it was nice to see some-one actually give FOX News the smackdown it deserves for trying to flaunt such an easily proven lie as being something even remotely close to being truth.

Why CNN won’t let go of Lou Dobbs just yet

Steven Hodson — Thu, 17 Sep 2009 21:12:49 +0000

In every business there is the concept of ‘the loss leader’. The idea is that you offer a product at such a low cost that people who wouldn’t normally come through the door come in to buy that product. At the same time there is the hope that they will end up buying something else at a regular price.

Here at The Inquisitr my writing about technology could be considered to be that ‘loss leader’. While it typically attracts a smaller demographic than say the people who read about Michael Jackson or the latest disaster it is hoped that while the reader is on the site they will end up reading other posts thereby increasing the pageviews. When it comes to television news – especially with cable news – these loss leaders, while they may cause some problems, are important because they bring in a demographic that might otherwise go elsewhere.

With the recent drive to hit FOX News in the wallet by trying to get advertisers to drop their support of the Glenn Beck show we are seeing Beck become more of a loss leader for the network. For all the outrage that his demagoguery might cause the network looks at the demographics of the audience he does pull in and how much of that traffic then converts to watchers of other shows on their network – news or otherwise. I am sure that there is a break point where the influx of viewers for his firebrand rhetoric will not balance out the loss of advertising dollars. At that point I am pretty sure that Beck would be shown the door – but don’t count on that happening for some time.

When it comes to FOX competitor CNN they realize that as repulsive as it might be to have that same kind of viewership associated with the CNN brand they are also a business which means they have to make money. Making that money means that they have to find some way to appeal to the “Glenn Beck” and “Rush Limbaugh” crowd.

This is where Lou Dobbs comes in because while he might be a little tamer than a Beck or Limbaugh he still appeals to the same mentality of viewership that the other two do. The problem is that right now CNN is facing the same pressure as FOX News is in that there are organizations out there putting pressure on advertisers to drop running ads on the Dobbs show.

Where Beck is becoming a loss leader moneywise for FOX News so is Lou Dobbs for CNN. From CNN’s point of view Dobbs is almost a necessity because he does draw in a growing demographic that would go elsewhere. As Jason Linkins noted in a post at Huffington Post

CNN is facing pressure on a number of fronts to drop Lou Dobbs from their roster of on-air talent, a move that would force millions of Americans seeking out news about the conspiracy to spread leprosy throughout America via illegal Mexican immigrants to turn instead to the guy who lives under the bridge by the old tire factory.

Sure CNN might be walking a fine line with the more loyal CNN viewers but as long as Dobbs keeps bringing in a demographic that would normally go to one of their competitors, especially FOX News, I think we can be assured that Dobb’s job is pretty safe. Yes he might be told every once in a while to tone down his particular type of rhetoric but as long as there is the potential of his viewers sticking around to watch other CNN shows then his value as a loss leader is worth the cost of possibly losing advertisers of his show.

12 most annoying types of Facebook users

Dennis Bjørn Petersen — Mon, 24 Aug 2009 09:21:54 +0000

CNN Technology has composed a list of the 12 most annoying types of Facebook users. I’m not saying that I can find any of these types on my friends list, but perhaps a few traits…

Here are 12 of the most annoying types of Facebook users:

The Let-Me-Tell-You-Every-Detail-of-My-Day Bore. “I’m waking up.” “I had Wheaties for breakfast.” “I’m bored at work.” “I’m stuck in traffic.” You’re kidding! How fascinating! No moment is too mundane for some people to broadcast unsolicited to the world. Just because you have 432 Facebook friends doesn’t mean we all want to know when you’re waiting for the bus.

The Self-Promoter. OK, so we’ve probably all posted at least once about some achievement. And sure, maybe your friends really do want to read the fascinating article you wrote about beet farming. But when almost EVERY update is a link to your blog, your poetry reading, your 10k results or your art show, you sound like a bragger or a self-centered careerist.

The Friend-Padder. The average Facebook user has 120 friends on the site. Schmoozers and social butterflies — you know, the ones who make lifelong pals on the subway — might reasonably have 300 or 400. But 1,000 “friends?” Unless you’re George Clooney or just won the lottery, no one has that many. That’s just showing off.

The Town Crier. “Michael Jackson is dead!!!” You heard it from me first! Me, and the 213,000 other people who all saw it on TMZ. These Matt Drudge wannabes are the reason many of us learn of breaking news not from TV or news sites but from online social networks. In their rush to trumpet the news, these people also spread rumors, half-truths and innuendo. No, Jeff Goldblum did not plunge to his death from a New Zealand cliff.

The TMIer. “Brad is heading to Walgreens to buy something for these pesky hemorrhoids.” Boundaries of privacy and decorum don’t seem to exist for these too-much-information updaters, who unabashedly offer up details about their sex lives, marital troubles and bodily functions. Thanks for sharing.

The Bad Grammarian. “So sad about Fara Fauset but Im so gladd its friday yippe”. Yes, I know the punctuation rules are different in the digital world. And, no, no one likes a spelling-Nazi schoolmarm. But you sound like a moron.

The Sympathy-Baiter. “Barbara is feeling sad today.” “Man, am I glad that’s over.” “Jim could really use some good news about now.” Like anglers hunting for fish, these sad sacks cast out their hooks — baited with vague tales of woe — in the hopes of landing concerned responses. Genuine bad news is one thing, but these manipulative posts are just pleas for attention.

The Lurker. The Peeping Toms of Facebook, these voyeurs are too cautious, or maybe too lazy, to update their status or write on your wall. But once in a while, you’ll be talking to them and they’ll mention something you posted, so you know they’re on your page, hiding in the shadows. It’s just a little creepy.

The Crank. These curmudgeons, like the trolls who spew hate in blog comments, never met something they couldn’t complain about. “Carl isn’t really that impressed with idiots who don’t realize how idiotic they are.” [Actual status update.] Keep spreading the love.

The Paparazzo. Ever visit your Facebook page and discover that someone’s posted a photo of you from last weekend’s party — a photo you didn’t authorize and haven’t even seen? You’d really rather not have to explain to your mom why you were leering like a drunken hyena and French-kissing a bottle of Jagermeister.

The Maddening Obscurist. “If not now then when?” “You’ll see…” “Grist for the mill.” “John is, small world.” “Dave thought he was immune, but no. No, he is not.” [Actual status updates, all.] Sorry, but you’re not being mysterious — just nonsensical.

The Chronic Inviter. “Support my cause. Sign my petition. Play Mafia Wars with me. Which ‘Star Trek’ character are you? Here are the ‘Top 5 cars I have personally owned.’ Here are ‘25 Things About Me.’ Here’s a drink. What drink are you? We’re related! I took the ‘What President Are You?’ quiz and found out I’m Millard Fillmore! What president are you?”

Debunking Twitter teen myths one television station at a time

Duncan Riley — Fri, 21 Aug 2009 20:08:11 +0000

No, the above image isn’t a mock up, and yes, I do appear to be in a cave, but on a serious note I appeared on CNN this morning (US Pacific) as part of a panel discussing issues with Twitter and Facebook.

Of the three times I was able to speak, its the middle point I’m proud of: debunking this ridiculous notion that teens don’t use Twitter. Obviously it was limited in time, but more on that data in an earlier post here.

The other interesting aspect was the use of Skype to do live broadcast video, something I’ve never seen before, although that’s more of a reflection on the fact that I don’t watch television. As you can see from the video, the audio quality wasn’t great, and I was switched to phone for audio after the first question. The tech pushing the quality improvements behind Skype and similar services is definitely improving, but likewise it struggles in translating to the screen, unless you’ve got a great internet connection. In this case it was the shared WiFi at Gnomedex, which while reliable, isn’t particularly fast.

Enjoy:

Twitter gives CNN a smack of reality

Steven Hodson — Sun, 14 Jun 2009 17:50:20 +0000

At one time I was a big fan of CNN. Walk into our home and you could probably find it playing on one of the two televisions we own, much to my wife’s irritation. If it was happening in the the world you could be sure that you would hear about it on CNN.

Let me rephrase that – you could have heard it on CNN. These days though it seems to be all about some dumb beauty queen having her crown taken way or some other mundane bland repetitive non-news.

A perfect example of this is the recent events in Iran where the people are literally rioting on behalf of Mir Hossein Mousavi because of his unexpected loss to sitting president of Iran, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, In this case the most current and reliable source of news coming out of the region has been on Twitter. Along with passing along news as it was happening in Iran there was also a growing movement of people calling CNN to task over their coverage of what could be a world changing event.

Remember this is Iran, the country where shortly before the election the country’s complete SMS suddenly went dark. This is the country where being a blogger is a dangerous profession that could land you in jail, if not dead.

Yet for much of Saturday there was no word of these protests on CNN, who instead reported only about the winner of the election.

Yet even as word of the urban strife, seemingly led by those posting to Twitter, spread next around the world on news networks like the BBC, NPR, and the Times, CNN remained mostly mute. Even when the network’s Internet site finally posted a story late Saturday, the network’s first "story highlight" was, "Ahmadinejad plans rally after winning second presidential term.”

Source: cnet News

Even one of our fellow blogs, ReadWriteWeb, noticed this inequity in what was being reported

And it wasn’t long before word of CNN’s theoretical reporting failure began to make its way into more established media. Under the headline, "Dear CNN, Please Check Twitter for News About Iran," the popular blog ReadWriteWeb blasted the network for its failure to cover the clearly massive story in the Middle East.

"Hours after Iranian police began clashing with tens of thousands of people in the street," ReadWriteWeb wrote late Saturday night, "the top story on CNN.com remains peoples’ confusion about the switch from analog TV signals."

Source: cnet News

None of this changed either as Sunday morning rolled around with CNN still focusing on the victory rather than the protests in the streets of Iran. In Twitter thought the reports from the streets are still rolling along with the increasingly popular hashtag of #CNNFail.

In this case it seems that the real reporting of news is coming at us in 140 characters while CNN continues to play it safe. So much for a new network that claims to be all about the news regardless of where it is happening.

[picture: cnet News]

BREAKING: CNN gets first interview with anti-abortion killer of Dr. Tiller [VIDEO]

Steven Hodson — Tue, 09 Jun 2009 22:53:01 +0000

This just popped up on the feeds – CNN has managed to grabbed the first interview with anti-abortionist Scott Roeder the accused killer of Kansas doctor George Tiller.

Roeder would not admit to CNN’s Ted Rowlands that he killer tiller but said if convicted the “entire motive was the defense of the unborn”

North Korea journalist case highlights American hypocrisy

Duncan Riley — Tue, 09 Jun 2009 00:53:22 +0000

As much as I hate to start a post quoting Ashton Kutcher, his sentiment sums up the outrage in the United States over the jail sentence handed down to two American journalists:

“This should be a national crisis… We have to demand that something be done. This is our country, it’s our military,” Ashton Tweeted on Monday. “I say it’s special ops time… If we can save that Captain from pirates we can save these journalists.”

I am sympathetic to the plight of Laura Ling and Euna Lee, and that it is fair to argue that by western standards, the 12 year sentences doesn’t nearly fit the crime, but lets take a closer look.

Reports are saying that Ling and Lee were taken on the China/ North Korean border where they were “reporting about the trafficking of North Korean women.” But there’s a flaw in that statement: the proximity to the border is irrelevant, because they were arrested inside North Korea. If they had been taken inside China, the “international incident” wouldn’t just involve North Korea and the United States, it would most definitely involve China, who would be outraged about an incursion into its territory by North Korean troops.

So these two “journalists” were arrested inside North Korea, having crossed the border without permission or appropriate paperwork. What if the incident were the other way around: two North Korean “journalists” crossed into the United States, cameras at hand, without paperwork. Better still, substitute North Korean journalist for a muslim journalist.

We already know the answer, and despite the occasional travel brochure suggesting otherwise, Gitmo isn’t overly pleasant for those detained there.

It’s terribly rich for America to complain about two entirely stupid journalists who purposely put themselves in harms way, knowing to well what the consequences might be, while America routinely detains anyone remotely suspected of being a threat, and holds them without trial nor natural justice.

To hold others to such high standards, you yourself practice those standards; when you do not, it can only be considered hypocrisy.

I do hope that Ling and Lee are released, and the issue is resolved. But the incident should be cause to reflect that America is long since dropped the flame when it comes to justice. President Obama promises hope, but every day prisoners at Gitmo do not face trial, nothing really changes.

Euna Lee and Laura Ling convicted and sentenced to North Korean labor camp

Steven Hodson — Mon, 08 Jun 2009 07:42:21 +0000

The Central Court of North Korea have found two U.S. journalists, Laura Ling and Euna Lee, guilty of illegal border crossing and have sentenced them both to 12 years in North Korean labor camp. The only statement out of the U.S. State Department is that they have seen reports of the convictions and are trying to confirm them with the North Koreans.

"We are deeply concerned by the reported sentencing of the two American citizen journalists by North Korean authorities, and we are engaged through all possible channels to secure their release," said spokesman Ian Kelley in a statement. "We once again urge North Korea to grant the immediate release of the two American citizen journalists on humanitarian grounds."

Source: CNN

Ling and Lee, reporters for Al Gore’s media venture CurrentTV, were taken into custody back on March 17th who has been advised apparently by his lawyers not to say anything in public about the matter. To this point only a Swedish ambassador has been allowed to see them , other than that any contact has been severely limited.

[picture via CNN]

CNN’s Sanchez give O’Reilly a good smack [VIDEO]

Steven Hodson — Fri, 05 Jun 2009 23:12:14 +0000

It appears that Bill O’Reilly has once more put his foot in his mouth and forgot to engage his brain before opening that mouth. I am sure some of you will think that this is nothing new but this time his toe nibbling resulted in an almost five minute slap down from Rick Sanchez on CNN.

The whole dust up is over the amount of reporting that was done about the coverage of the shooting of two military recruiters, one of whom died. O’Reilly in his most insulting condescending manner said that he only saw a single report of the incident on CNN and that because of this lack of coverage they had no business advertising themselves as a straight news reporting network.

Well this kind of rubbed Sanchez the wrong way considering the fact that he did two separate reports, one of which was with a retired FBI agent, over the shootings. In fact the number of reports on CNN went well beyond that but I tell you what take the five minutes and have a look at Sanchez as he makes some nice jabs – especially at the end – towards O’Reilly.

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[hat tip to mediabistro]

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Answering an ad on Craigslist to rape someone’s wife not such a good idea

Steven Hodson — Thu, 04 Jun 2009 21:25:38 +0000

People do stupid things all the time. They even advertising stupid things all the time and not always on Craigslist. This however definitely has to rank right up there in the Darwin Award level of dumb ass ideas.

According to a report on CNN some twit in North Carolina advertised on Craigslist seeking out an equally stupid person to come to his home and “…. have sex with his wife using some type of scare tactic.” Not only did the guy get a response but he got two of them from the same person.

The only reason this got out was because someone called 911 and reported that some armed male had appeared in the couple’s bedroom and assaulted the woman while her husband looked on.

Police responded to the home at about 2:45 a.m. after receiving a 911 call indicating a male armed with a knife appeared in the couple’s bedroom and sexually assaulted the man’s wife, authorities said.

The man was present at the time of the assault, and two young children were in the home, but were unharmed and unaware of the incident, the police statement said.

"During the investigation, investigators interviewed the victim and her husband," the statement said. "Investigators became suspicious when they noticed there was no sign of forced entry to the home. Investigators also developed information that led them to note specific inconsistencies in the initial statement provided by [the man]."

But on Tuesday, police found that the man "had responded to at least two personal ads on Craigslist.com in an effort to arrange for someone to come to his home and have sex with his wife using some type of scare tactic."

"Investigators believe [he] arranged this incident without the knowledge or consent of the victim," the police statement said.

Needless to say the offending idiot is facing charges that includes first-degree rape, two counts of first-degree sexual assault offense and one count of attempted first-degree sexual offense. No word though on what the husband got slapped with.

Of course we are now waiting for the press conference of government officials in North Carolina who are running for election in order to blame this all on Craigslist.

Ashton Kutcher beats CNN in Twitter race

Dennis Bjørn Petersen — Fri, 17 Apr 2009 08:19:21 +0000

About three hours ago Asthon Kutcher reached 1,000,000 followers on Twitter. He beat @CNNbrk with about 2000 followers. About 30 minutes later the CNN feed reached the mark

Ashton Kutcher (@aplusk) confirmed his win with this tweet: “You guys are amazing.” CNN briefly after tweeted “Congrats @aplusk. Ashton Kutcher is the first twitter account to reach 1MM followers.”

Kutcher had another joker in his hand. He will be appearing on The Oprah Show Friday morning (US time) and that would probably had given him the last followers he needed.

3 days ago Ashton Kutcher challenged CNN in a video on the network’s Larry King live programme. He wanted to show CNN how an individual could potentially have an equal voice to a major network. He is donating 10,000 mosquito nets worth $100,000 to Malaria No More.

Until earlier this week @CNNbrk was run by John Cox, but CNN “acquired” the Twitter account for an unknown amount. According to Twitter rules you aren’t allowed to sell your Twitter account.

The next person to reach the 1,000,000 mark could be Britney Spears. She is about 40,000 followers away.

About 18 minutes in the video Ashton reaches the mark.

PS: Ashton hasn’t dropped under 1 MM followers since. He is still gaining more.

So what do you do with 1 million followers?

Steven Hodson — Wed, 15 Apr 2009 23:43:21 +0000

So what’s the big news these days?

The recession starting to see an upswing in China?

North Korea reactivating its nuclear program?

The Obama clan get a new hypo-allergenic puppy?

No. It’s all about some actor named Ashton Kutcher, whose only real claim to fame at this point is being married to Demi Moore, looking to reach 1 million followers on Twitter before the CNN news bot does. Yes folks in an effort to finally prove how totally useless Twitter can be we have Larry King accepting the challenge on behalf of CNN that the new organization will reach that magical number before Kutcher does.

Robert Scoble once said it isn’t the number of people of following you on Twitter that is important but rather the number of people you are following. Well if we look at those numbers in regards to the two combatants in the PR slugfest of the century we can see they are both losers. Currently CNN while ahead in the follower’s number game is lagging behind Kutcher, which isn’t say much either.

Kutcher is following: 70 people

CNN is following 6 people

Where it can make sense for CNN to have as any followers as it does, because it is a news broadcaster after all, Kutcher’s obsession with reaching that earth shattering milestone of 1 million is pointless and stupid. It also shows how as much as the folks in social media would like everyone to believe that it is all about the conversation the real point of Twitter is to prove how little you value your friendships. After all how could you even come close to being able to give a rational explanation about any value of having a million people following you.

You can’t, and in the process you prove to the world just how silly this Twitter thing can be – which is too bad because Twitter could be much more than this. Also an interesting little side bit to this. Until today CNN didn’t even own the CNN profile on Twitter but once they saw the obvious PR value of it they hauled out the checkbook and bought it up from one Jamie Cox of San Francisco.

So on one hand we have senility encroaching Larry King issuing a YouTube video talking about how he’ll take on Kutcher on his Twitter thing – does Larry even know what Twitter is? On the other hand we have doucebag Kutcher bribing the Twitter masses with the help of game maker EA as well as emotionally blackmailing us with promises of buying 10,000 bed nets to help fight malaria.

And why?

Other than for some perverse ego boost on Kutcher behalf and momentary PR of how cool they are on CNN’s behalf this bullshit serves no other purpose than a momentary distraction for the Twitter masses.

Isn’t our use of technology bloody wonderful.

Now about that recession?

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One person found, two NFL players still lost at sea

Duncan Riley — Mon, 02 Mar 2009 23:07:55 +0000

Nick Schuyler, one of four people missing at sea along with NFL Players Corey Smith, Marquis Cooper has been found alive.

Schuyler was found clinging to the overturned 21 foot boat owned by Smith Monday afternoon, 35 miles off Florida in the Gulf of Mexico.

Schuyler told the Coast Guard that the boat flipped over during a storm on Saturday night and the four clung to the boat hull, but later became seperated. In one glimmer of hope: Schuyler said the still missing men were wearing life preservers.

Schuyler is being treated for hypothermia at Tampa General Hospital and is listed in serious but stable condition.

The coast guard continues to search for the missing NFL players lost at sea.

Our earlier report here.

They serve what on NorthWest flights?

Duncan Riley — Wed, 18 Feb 2009 04:02:43 +0000

CNN’s Zain Verjee has men on her mind, or in particular what hangs beneath their legs.

Not once, but twice during a piece to camera on the very serious issue of peanuts on NorthWest flights, Verjee managed to confuse her nuts, and say penis instead.

Here’s CNN’s Zain Verjee on the serious risks penises present the next time you fly the now even friendlier skies:

Inaugural day sneakiness from CNN

Steven Hodson — Sat, 07 Feb 2009 20:53:10 +0000

What will probably go down as one of the most significant days in US history has come and gone with Barak Obama now sitting in the Oval Office of the White House. Another marker as well has to be the number of people who watched this historic moment on the Internet. Streaming video of the event was spread around the world from just about every major news organization but it appears that CNN may have set the stage for future online events being streamed much better.

According to a post by Brian Livingston over at Windows Secrets the main reason CNN’s coverage of the event was technically ahead of the game was because as part of watching their streaming video of the event was the installation of a peer-to-peer (P2P) client on your computer. The way it worked was when you selected to view the live stream from the CNN site you would have seen a dialog box asking you to allow the installation of the Octoshape Grid Delivery enhancement for Adobe Flash Players. This dialog doesn’t show for their regular video – only for live streaming events.

So what is the Octoshape Grid Delivery enhancement?

Well, it is basically nothing more that a P2P client that runs in the background and when you surf to a site that utilizes this P2P technology your machine become a node that streams the content as well as lets you watch it. Some folks might not see anything wrong with that but when you stop to consider two very important facts one has to wonder – as did Brian Livingston in his post – why more of an uproar isn’t being made of this.

The first thing to consider is that by installing the Octoshape Grid Delivery module you are turning your computer into a broadcast station for any content utilizing that technology. Whether you like it or not you make your computer a part of a P2P network that provides no notification that you are in fact streaming data (video or sound) outward. They are using your bandwidth without your explicit permission not to mention – your knowledge.

On January 20th the traffic was so high that the Internet Storm Center reported that the traffic on Port 8247 – the port being used by the P2P program – was thousands of times higher than usual

Now granted, some folks might be okay with that (I’m not) but here’s another point to consider – especially as we move into a world of Internet provider bandwidth and data transfer caps. All this activity on the 20th would have gone against your caps and doing so without your knowledge. This kind of sneaky use of P2P technology doesn’t bode well for the future when you suddenly get a notification of either overage charges or speed downgrades from your ISP because you have used up your allotment for the month.

As Brian points out in his post

Costs to end users. Many ISPs around the world restrict how much bandwidth users can consume. Those providers charge by the megabyte for any traffic above that level. Users who installed Octoshape’s app and served traffic upstream as well as down may get an unpleasant surprise in their next monthly bill. Octoshape anticipated this in the company’s EULA by saying, "You are responsible for any telecommunication or other connectivity charges incurred through the use of the Software."
In addition, ISP terms of service usually prohibit customers from using their Internet connection to host a server.

Make’s me glad to have watch the Inauguration on YouTube but I can also say I won’t be watching any live streams from CNN anymore.

No related posts.

Costa Rica Earthquake Scares Locals

Duncan Riley — Thu, 08 Jan 2009 22:02:54 +0000

Costa Rica suffered a earthquake Thursday (January 9), causing widespread panic.

The 6.1 Costa Rica earthquake is said to have shattered windows and cracked walls, but there are no reports of injuries so far.

The Costa Rica earthquake epicenter was 22 miles (35 km) northwest of the capital of San Jose and was measured at a depth of 28 miles.

Authorities urged people to remain calm.

More if we have it.

The dismantling of CNN

Steven Hodson — Sat, 13 Dec 2008 21:16:00 +0000

It is one thing to hear about old media slashing budgets and tossing good people to the curb like yesterday’s garbage but it is another to watch as a major news organization seems to be dismantling itself before our eyes. For those of you that don’t really pay attention to the ins and outs of what old media does this probably won’t be of any interest. For those social media mavens who glibly trumpet every failing of old media this is probably old news.

But I have been watching a number of blogs since I first posted here at The Inquisitr about the departure of Miles O’Brien from CNN; and the dismantling of the science technology news section by the company. Since that report there has been a steady stream of news about journalists – excellent and reputable journalists either leaving or being dumped. Sure there has also been the regular staff type departures but when you start seeming names like Jamie McIntyre, Jennifer Eccleston and Kelli Arena to name just a few you have to wonder what the hell is going on.

When you look at any of the bio’s of those leaving and realize the depth of their contacts developed over years of building trust it makes one shake their head in amazement. Journalist’s like these people don’t just happen over night. Kelli Arena spent the better part of her career at CNN building a network of trust at the Justice Department. That isn’t something you can replace overnight. The same with Jamie McIntyre with his stint at the Pentagon or Miles with NASA and other science agencies.

In one brief period CNN has strip itself of its top tier of journalists leaving us with the likes of Nancy Grace; who’d I’d like to take out back and leave her there. Then there is Wolf Blitzer who hasn’t seen a politician yet whose ass he wouldn’t kiss for a story – if you can call his reports that. As Jackie Schechner; an ex-CNN’er, said in a post about Kellie Arena leaving

Put aside the fact there is no better-connected Justice Correspondent on the planet and you can kiss your early access to important national security news goodbye, no woman knows the ins and outs of CNN and the business of TV news like Kelli Arena.

Not one to mince words Greta Van Susteren; who got her TV start on CNN, had this to say on her blog Greta Wire

They did it again! CNN fires people just in time for Christmas! Make you sick?

People often ask why I left CNN…..I didn’t like management. I liked my colleagues in the news gathering but the corporate culture that seized management when AOL came in (Steve Case and Gerry Levin) was disgusting. Everything changed. Don’t get me wrong – I like corporate organization and a corporation should make money – what I don’t like is a mean spirited selfish management that, despite not doing its job of efficiently running the company, lines it pockets. And then the topper? because the management didn’t run the company well, CNN fires loyal people to meet some bottom line the management failed to meet. Blame the little guy not the way the company is run? Go figure! Well….CNN management did not disappoint me yesterday…meaning, it met my low expectations.

All this comes on the heels of Jonathan Klein being quoted in a article at the Observer as saying

"We can afford more people on our air and off our air. So, goddamn it, we’re going to have more people."

One has to ask at what cost though. CNN, while it likes to brand itself as the most reputable voice in news it is in many ways becoming a laughing stock of news. On either side of the political spectrum you will find pundits taking swipes at the organization that seems more interested in faux holograms than in keeping well respected journalists doing their jobs.

Old media across the board is having a harder and harder time staying relevant in the growing Internet and social media world. It doesn’t help itself when organizations like CNN keep allowing over paid incompetent executive like Mr. Klein keep shooting itself in the foot.

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CNN shuts Tech news division as O’Brien leaves network

Steven Hodson — Wed, 03 Dec 2008 23:14:42 +0000

Miles O’Brien might have been irriating some times to watch as he reported on things like NASA, technology and science but I always like watching his reports. It was nice to be able to get some tech news; or at least tech angles, mixed in with the rest of the disaster news that CNN loves to pump out.

Unfortunately though the head honcho’s at CNN have decided that technology related stuff is news worthy enough to merit its own news division. As MediaBistro is reporting Miles O’Brien is leaving CNN and they are shutting down its science, environment, space and technology unit

O’Brien’s departure comes as the network dismantles its science, space, environment and technology unit in Atlanta. That includes O’Brien as well as six producers. O’Brien has been CNN’s chief technology and environment correspondent since being replaced as anchor of American Morning in April 2007.

Personally I am really sorry to see this happen and I think it is really short-sighted of CNN to integrate the science and tech into their general editorial schedule. As we move forward in an increasingly tech oriented world and the environment is becoming even more of an issue not having a specific focus on them is disappointing.