Keeping up with the Murdochs – By Chris Daly It’s not easy keeping track of the unfolding Murdoch scandal(s), with d… http://ow.ly/1j6wm2
Category Archives: Uncategorized
Copy, right? – By Chris Daly Our wacky l
Copy, right? – By Chris Daly Our wacky legal system at work. Here is what our founders wrote in the Constitution (A http://ow.ly/1j6wm7
Filed under Uncategorized
Terror or Fear? (cont.)
By Chris Daly
In trying to assess the troubling verdict in the Tarek Mehanna case, I am impressed by the analysis provided by one of the witnesses. Yale political scientist Andrew F. March is on the right track in his analysis, which appears in today’s Times Sunday Review section.
Like Prof. March, I just cannot find any evidence or testimony in Mehanna’s recent trial in U.S. District Court in Boston that unambiguously links him to any actions that are crimes.
He may have wished to be a terrorist.
He may have sympathized with some terrorists.
He may have thought and spoken and blogged in favor of anti-American causes.
But I do not see where he ever did anything to harm an American. That is what remains so troubling about this case. It appears that the federal prosecutors over-reached in charging him with unpopular thoughts and speech, and — equally troubling — the jury went along with it.
I guess the moral is: watch what you think. . .
Norman Rockwell
Filed under Uncategorized
The bear facts
By Chris Daly
For the past week or so, I have been puzzling over my reactions to a new multimedia project from the Canadian National Film Board. It’s called “Bear 71,” by Jeremy Mendes and Leanne Allison.
It is described as “an interactive multimedia project” that tells “the true story of a grizzly bear.” It is fascinating. It is absorbing. It is beautiful. It is a high-tech, multi-layered way of spending time with an individual bear. As far as I can tell, nothing is made up. All of the information comes from radio tracking, video, and other sources.
The weird thing about it is that it is narrated from the bear’s point of view.
Does that mean it is still non-fiction?
I’d love to know what other people think, so please watch it, then leave a comment.
Filed under Uncategorized
Cameras in court
By Chris Daly
Praise for the Supreme Judicial Court of Massachusetts for recognizing the right of the people to know what goes on in their courts.
In a recent ruling, the state’s highest court ruled in favor of the OpenCourt initiative, which seeks to post court proceedings online.
From my experience in covering trials, arraignments and other court proceedings in several states, I would say that far too many judges, clerks, guards and others consider the judiciary branch their own territory and resent the intrusions of the mere public (not to mention journalists) in what they consider “their” courthouses.
And a hat-tip to WBUR, a Boston NPR affiliate, for pushing this project. (And thanks to the Knight News Challenge, too.)
Filed under Uncategorized
Murdoch scandal (cont.)
Here is the latest on the Murdoch scandal, from the AP, via the Boston Globe.
The take-away:
Critics say that Murdoch was either in on the coverup or too incompetent to realize what he was agreeing to, with lawmaker Tom Watson famously accusing Murdoch of being “the first mafia boss in history who doesn’t know he’s at the head of a criminal enterprise.’’
Filed under Uncategorized
The Wiki abides
By Chris Daly
No surprise: the venerable Encyclopedia Britannica is throwing in the towel and doing away with its print edition.
This is not just one of those “signs of the times” moments. It is really a testament to the vision of one man: Jimmy Wales, the founder of “Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.”
He is the one who did what had to be done: mobilize the technology of the web and channel the collective intelligence of millions of people into a collective, collaborative, open-ended fountain of knowledge. Bravo, Jimmy.
Now, let’s all try to make it better.
Filed under Uncategorized
Math for journalists (cont.)
By Chris Daly
How long can Newt Gingrich last in the Republican primary? I don’t know (the future is not my field), but here is one way to look at it.
So far, he has received $10 million from the Adelsons. According to Fortune, they are worth about $25 billion.
Let’s do the math on that one:
1/10th of $25 billion = $2.5 billion
1/10th of $2.5 billion = $250 million.
So, a figure of $250 million equals 1% of the Adelson fortune. Let’s keep going.
1/10th of $250 million = $25 million.
Half of that = $12.5 million.
So Adelson has given less than half of one-tenth of 1 percent of his fortune to Gingrich. At this rate, he could give Gingrich $5 million a week for 50 weeks and just end up giving away 1% of his fortune. Meanwhile, of course, if Adelson is invested broadly in the stock market, and if the “Obama rally” continues, Adelson will “earn” more than that amount by not doing anything at all.
In other words, the super-rich can bankroll an entire presidential campaign and hardly even notice — certainly nothing that would change his tax bracket.
Filed under Uncategorized
Testing my new Hootsuite account. http:/
Testing my new Hootsuite account. http://ow.ly/9sP7J http://ow.ly/i/uBZq
Filed under Uncategorized
Prof Chris Daly's Blog 