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Friday, September 23, 2016

Friday Dragon Of Yahoos and Google Varieties: The most dangerous beat in journalism

Build a man a fire, and he'll be warm for a day. Set a man on fire, and he'll be warm for the rest of his life... Via AM

Yahoo: BB asks was it unreported or unnoticed - Unprecedented state-sponsored hack on Yahoo stole personal info ...
NEWS.com.au 
BBC News
STLtoday.com
CIO

If journalists aren’t interested in being part of the truth squad, they should find another sport."
Washington Post Media Columnist Margaret Sullivan

Dan Shaviro (NYU), IRS Preemptive Strike?

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The more the press digs into the the sordid details of the Wells Fargo fake account scandal, the more rancid the stench. Wells Fargo’s Management by Magical Thinking Comes Up Short in the Cover-Up Category

CNN has just found a smoking gun that should enable prosecutors to bring charges against Wells Fargo CEO John Stumpf.  As short seller David Einhorn says, “No matter how bad you think it is, it’s worse.” That’s proving true at Wells Fargo as former employees allege systematic whistleblower retaliation Wells Fargo Fake Accounts Hidden by Fake Whistleblowing: Former Employees, Including HR Officials, Allege Systematic Retaliation

Federal Information Security: Actions Needed to Address Challenges, GAO-16-885T: Published: Sep 19, 2016. Publicly Released: Sep 20, 2016. “Cyber incidents affecting federal agencies have continued to grow, increasing about 1,300 percent from fiscal year 
2006 to fiscal year 2015. Several laws and policies establish a framework for the federal government’s information security and assign implementation and oversight responsibilities to key federal entities, including the Office of Management and Budget, executive branch agencies, and the Department of Homeland Security (DHS).
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Highlights of a Forum: Data and Analytics Innovation: Emerging Opportunities and Challenges, GAO-16-659SP: Published: Sep 20, 2016. Publicly Released: Sep 20, 2016.

“Forum discussions considered the implications of new data-related technologies and developments that are revolutionizing the basic three-step innovation process in the figure below. 

Starstruck States Squander Millions of Tax Dollars on Film Productions, USC Study Finds; Tax Incentives Handed to Filmmakers Offer Minimal Return in Terms of Job or Wage Growth Yet Some States Opt to Outbid Each Other for Films: Nearly all 50 states have lured Hollywood productions with millions of dollars in special tax incentives for filmmaking, but new USC research shows the incentives fail to deliver the long-term economic benefits promised by industry lobbyists and lawmakers

The most dangerous beat in journalism: You think covering the environment is just rewriting Sierra Club press releases, reporting on contaminated water in Flint or detailing plans to develop landfills on the outskirts of town? Consider: Since 2005, 40 journalists around the world have died while reporting environmental stories Cambodian Journalists Are Dying Trying to Save the Country's Forests
Here is what we looked like, 50 years ago today when Computer Weekly was launched:
In 1999, when internet commerce was still in its infancy, Klein published Reputation: Studies in the Voluntary Elicitation of Good Conduct. Seventeen years later, e-commerce towers before us, resting on a foundation of reputational incentives – everything from old-fashioned repeat business to two-sided smartphone reviews

The Beginning of the End of the World Umair Haque

Mental Floss – “A new study reveals that most of the high concentrations of pharmaceuticals in wastewater don’t come from people flushing their meds willy-nilly down the toilet, as New Scientist  reports. Rather, we are flushing meds through our bodies into the sewers.  Czech out Science of the Total Environment ...

Seventeen years later, e-commerce towers before us, resting on a foundation of reputational incentives – everything from old-fashioned repeat business to two-sided smartphone reviews

The comparison of today’s Russia to yesterday’s U.S.S.R. is baseless. I know this, and rage inwardly at my inability to convey my understanding to others. Could this be because I have been unable to communicate the change of heart I underwent during my more than two years in the Russian capital? Let me try again, starting in a Moscow street called Bolshaya Ordynka. The existence of this place, at the end of the Soviet era, was a great shock to me. Moscow in 1990 was at first sight a festival of concrete. Its cityscape was the Leninist word made flesh, arrogant proletarian lumps deliberately defying all concepts of beauty and grace, the very suburbs of hell.
The Cold War is Over First Things

“Sit with us” app avoids making loneliness common knowledge

WashPost Makes History: First Paper to Call for Prosecution of Its Own Source (After Accepting Pulitzer) The Intercept

"Constitution Check: Do online publishers have a right to gather news?" Lyle Denniston has this post today at the "Constitution Daily" blog of the National Constitution Center.

Many millions of years ago, dinosaurs ruled the Earth and sea dragons were not just Hollywood creations ...

“Many millions of years ago, dinosaurs ruled the Earth and sea dragons were not just Hollywood creations, but fearsome predators that stalked the oceans. It’s a world that vanished long ago, but one that continues to fascinate those seeking to understand the origins of life on our planet. Starting today, anyone, anywhere can explore this world on Google Arts & Culture. We’ve partnered with 50+ of the world’s leading natural history institutions to bring this lost world to life again online. More than 150 interactive stories from experts, 300,000 new photos and videos, and more than 30 virtual tours await you…” via Google Official Blog

Accounting skulduggery hides $26b in losses 

“Here’s my semi-shameful secret: I like reader reviews. I often make a point of seeking them out. When reporters used to interview me on the subject, I’d feel obliged to note that you can find reviews on Amazon and (even more commonly) on Goodreads that are as considered, thorough, and well-written as anything that used to appear in your local newspaper. But actually I don’t care much about those reviews. I already know how people like me, people who read books professionally and with a particular set of aesthetic values, respond to a text. I go to reader reviews to see how the other half reads.” 



Missed the Online News Association conference? Here’s what you need to know