Why would they go crazy over waterboarding, but ignore the drone strikes … because they’re protecting the president.Bill O’Reilly • Explaining why he thinks NBC is ignoring the drone strike memo leak—you know, the one exclusively obtained by NBC News’ Michael Isikoff—while responsible networks like Fox News discuss it at every opportunity, It’s unclear how O’Reilly and his staff were unaware that NBC broke the story, or that Isikoff made appearances on numerous NBC and MSNBC broadcasts this week, but the O’Reilly Factor host is expected to discuss his mistake on Thursday night’s broadcast. Anybody think he’ll apologize? source
We’re sorry to report that EveryBlock has closed its doors.
It’s no secret that the news industry is in the midst of a massive change. Within the world of neighborhood news there’s an exciting pace of innovation yet increasing challenges to building a profitable business. Though EveryBlock has been able to build an engaged community over the years, we’re faced with the decision to wrap things up.
Thank you for having let us play a role in how you get your neighborhood news. Thanks for the contributions, for the questions, and for allowing us to connect you to each other, in many cases to make great things happen in your community. Along the way, we hope we’ve helped you be a better neighbor.
The site, which ended its run as an NBC property, was one of the Knight News Challenge’s biggest success stories, having proven so successful that it was acquired by MSNBC.com in 2009. Alas, it was not meant to last. The creator, Adrian Holovaty, is well known in the programming community as one of the creators of the Django framework, and EveryBlock, in a lot of ways, was a showcase of what could be done with the framework. I saw Holovaty speak about four years ago, and that NBC News couldn’t find a way to keep this product moving is very sad. :(
EDIT: Poynter has more details on the shutdown. According to NBC News’ Vivian Schiller: “[EveryBlock] is a wonderful scrappy business but it wasn’t a strategic fit with our growth strategy and — like most hyperlocal businesses — was struggling with the business model.” Holovaty is quoted as saying he totally didn’t see the shutdown coming.
There was a media blackout on this story, but Gawker notably broke it. Fortunately, NBC News journalist Richard Engel and the rest of his team were able to escape harm after being kidnapped in Syria last week. They were freed after a firefight at a Syrian checkpoint. “It is good to be here. I’m very happy that we’re able to do this live shot this morning,” Engel said. Very glad to hear he’s OK; Engel is one of our best.
(Source: twitter.com)
Live-drawing the debate with NBC News. #NBCPolitics
Whoever had this idea deserves a promotion.
Yesterday, we made an editorial call resulting in the Sept, 11 moment of silence not being seen. While we dedicated a substantial amount of airtime to anniversary events, we still touched a nerve with many of your viewers … and for that we apologize.NBC News chief Steve Capus • Apologizing for something that made them look particularly off on Tuesday — instead of airing the moment of silence to honor the victims of September 11 (unlike every other network), they aired an interview with Kris Jenner, the mother of the Kardashians, about her breast augmentation — a questionable interview choice which drew attention to the oversight. The network says it had not regularly aired the moment of silence on since 2006, with the exception of the ten-year anniversary.
A look back at pre-split MSNBC: How did a news brand, meant to be the ultimate TV/online integration, split in two? Sixteen years after the fact, we look back at the circumstances that at first made MSNBC a good idea for Microsoft and NBC News, and the difficulties that eventually led the two companies to go their separate ways. For fans of cool tools, we made this with Jux, which is something of a Tumblr for slideshows. Check it out.
Under the joint venture, NBC News was the exclusive news provider for MSN.com, which now will be able to negotiate partnerships with other news organizations in order to appeal to the widest possible audience.
MSN.com has begun hiring for a new news operation — as yet unnamed — that will launch in the fall, he said.
The company also plans wider alliances beyond a single network.
Yahoo wants to buy Hulu now too. They’re going on an “I...
I’m moving back to New York in a few days. Unlike past...
OMG. I got so...
In this week’s Newsweek, a little...
Tumblr this morning. [h/t anne]
#@#$%!.tumblr.com
Here’s a hidden feature that shipped in...
Still early, but we have one. More as we get them.
EDIT: Here’s the banner on MSNBC’s front page:
However, AP and CNN have not projected for D.C. as of yet. The polls close in Wisconsin at 9 p.m. Keep up over here with Politico’s livestream.
During our investigation it became evident that there was an error made in the production process that we deeply regret. We will be taking the necessary steps to prevent this from happening in the future and apologize to our viewers.A message from NBC News • Apologizing for their editing of the 911 tape with George Zimmerman, which removed a 911 interviewer’s question, giving the listener the impression that Zimmerman offered up the race of Trayvon Martin without prompting, when, in fact, he was asked. The Washington Post’s Eric Wemple puts the apology in perspective: “No matter how you feel about Zimmerman, that bit of tape editing was unfair to the truth and to Zimmerman’s reputation, such as it is.”
We’re sorry, this is just low: Back in 1997, Newt Gingrich faced a tough punishment for ethics violations similar to those that caused his predecessor’s downfall. So, clearly, with Mitt needing some strong ammo to hold him off in Florida, this is probably the right line of attack. Problem is … well, what the hell does Tom Brokaw have to do with this? Mitt’s latest ad in Florida is just a long replay of a news clip from that era, with a little bit of dramatic music to really sell the whole thing. Brokaw is understandably pissed: ”I am extremely uncomfortable with the extended use of my personal image in this political ad,” he said in a statement. “I do not want my role as a journalist compromised for political gain by any campaign.” We’re pissed for him —Romney just co-opted his trusted image to score some cheap points. Not cool. NBC has asked the Romney campaign to remove their news footage from the clip, and they better. source
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