Despite breaking a non-disclosure with a PR rep (above, far left), we slept soundly last night.
journalism
Krempasky, Walmart Apologist, Responds To Consumerist Outing
By 9.27.06
Blogosphere hall monitor for Walmart, Mike Krempasky, took the time to reply to our post disclosing emails we exchanged about a meeting we had several months ago. A meeting he would rather we not discuss, but we did anyway on behalf of the No Respect! podcast. After the jump, his remarks and our ripostes, wherein we ponder the ethics of lying to a PR flack… and whether that’s even technically possible.
Walmart Is Mad At The Consumerist
By 9.27.06
Earlier this summer, we did an interview with the No Respect! podcast. They asked us about The Consumerist in general and Walmart in particular. Especially of interest was our meeting with Mike Krempasksy (above, center, tie), who runs the Walmart blog war team at Edelman PR. After a series of disapariging posts, Mike wanted to meet up with us for drinks. He opened the meeting with, “This is all off the record.” The next thing out of his mouth was, “What can we do to get you to stop writing about our companies?” You can hear more about it in this episode of the No Respect! podcast.
If The Times Is Treason, We’re Heresy
By 6.27.06
The New York Times might be a left-wing propaganda machine hell-bent on sowing villainy and communism amongst the American populace, but treasonous? Well, that’s what the chairman of the House Homeland Security Committee says, and he wants to see The Old Gray Lady hang for its crimes against The State.
A Worse Virus Than Mac Trojans: Bad AP Journalism
By 5.3.06
According to this piece by the Daring Fireball blog dissecting an AP article on the recent rumors that Macs are susceptible to viruses, sometimes journalism is fluffy and insipid.
Television Stations Airing Seeded PR News Reports
By 4.7.06
You might remember last month’s Wal-Mart blogging scandal, in which it came to light that Wal-Mart was feeding information to bloggers. Many bloggers were posting the propaganda wholesale without attributing the (obviously) subjective source. Slimy MSM toads chortled as a chink in blogging’s armor appeared: why, mainstream media is objective. They’d never betray the precious sanctity of their journalistic integrity, as holy and binding as stone tablets handed down from YHWH. They would never simply ejaculate PR propaganda into our faces wholesale — they were better than that.
Florida Police Retaliate Against Investigative Journalist
By 4.5.06
This morning we noted an item about an investigative reporter who’s being treated like a wanted criminal by the Dade County, Flordia police he’s investigating. The police posted an online BOLO, or Be on the Lookout notice, usually used to post notice about loose criminals.
Time to Human, Cell Phone Companies Day 3
By 4.5.06
All the mobile phone carriers performed very well today.
How Long to Get a Human?
By 4.4.06
Here’s how long it’s taking to reach a human at various mobile phone carrier customer service lines today.
How Long Does it Take to Get a Human?
By 4.3.06
In the wake of purple ribbons, zombies and looking up words in the dictionary, we thought we might want to try something resembling journalism. To that end, we’ve started the Time to Human project.
More on AP Blog Plagiarism: “We only credit blogs we know.”
By 3.29.06
Some follow-up to the story we reported on the other day about the AP not crediting bloggers. Luscious Larissa Alexandrovich, the blogger who was plagiarized by AP for a story she did on revised guidelines for US security clearance, wrote us to point our attention to the new tact AP is taking to excuse the plagiarism: now they claim that while they do credit bloggers, they don’t credit bloggers they don’t know.
AP Journalists Plagiarise Blogger
By 3.28.06
Journalists don’t respect bloggers. That’s okay, we don’t respect journalists much either. Although we will always admire a clever writer, an excellent observationalist, a sound investigator or a great reporter, the entire concept of the “journalist” — untouchable, clergy-like purveyors of knowledge and opinion in a modern world that would be lost without them — makes us want to headbutt splayed scissors. Journalists are the guys too inept and self-righteous to be good reporters, commentators or essayists.
