How to make $18k from two shitty photos

For a lesson in how to deal with the media or perhaps not how to deal with the media,take a look at Gawker's commentary on the fate of Jasper Schuringa,the North West airlines hero who literally put out the flames as Flight 253 approached Detroit

Schurnga sold the "TV Rights" of the first of his two photos to CNN for $10K.
The "print rights" went to the Post for $5K.
Later, Schuringa was paid upwards of $3K by ABC News for a second photo, which Schuringa tried to sell to other local news outlets for $5K, unsuccessfully.
Jasper Schuringa made at least $18,000 from two shitty, blurry photos.

I particularly like the analysis of his interview on CNN

it only gets good around 6:45, when Schuringa appears to be looking off-camera, trying to end the interview, and in doing so, preserving his product for further sale.

Ht-Martin Stabe

How the media changed its perception on the war on terror

Seven or eight years ago, the prevalent story was that evil religious fanatics were bent on destroying our democratic societies and killing as many innocent civilians as possible. Today, the war on terror is frequently depicted in the media as an unjust and ill-executed war that has undermined the freedoms and values it was supposed to uphold.

writes Sally Neighbour in the Australian

It is a good article and well worth a read looking at the use of the media by both the terrorists and the West and according to Sally

Al-Qa'ida has made "the media battle" a key front in its war, a strategy that helps explain why the jihadist movement continues to flourish. Yet intelligence and security agencies engaged in the so-called war on terror have been slow to seize this imperative, choosing instead to remain in the shadows, avoiding the vigorous media and public debate about terrorism and how it should be combated. Their reluctance has allowed the jihadists to gain the upper hand in the crucial battle for hearts and minds.

Ht-Normblog

Nine of the Easter plotters not charged but where is the coverage

Strange how all the coverage over the so called Easter bomb plot has not really be replicated as nine of the remaining eleven are not to be charged but deported.

Craig Murray is not happy with the BBC coverage earlier this morning

At 07.00 this morning, BBC News gave a mention of less than ten seconds to the release from anti-terror questioning of the nine men they still called "terror suspects". This was followed immediately by a non-news piece on the testing of barriers to protect us from car bombs, which gave the BBC the excuse to show two bomb explosions at 07.03, right at the front of the news. That will take people's minds off the fact the terror plot was a fabrication, and get them good and scared again!

To be fair to the Beeb there was a much longer piece on the Today programme at 8.00

Pilger on why the media should forget political tittle tattle

A couple of articles about the media on both sides of the Atlantic.

Writing in the New Statesman,John Pilger as always controversial writes that

The media turns the other way, or perverts the truth, while an increasingly imperialist United States, with Britain in tow, pursues its expansionist interests

and argues that the media whilst happy to indulge in political tittle tattle is unwilling to look at our politicians records when it comes to foreign affairs.

Journalists from all areas are implied but it is Larry Elliot of the Guardian who comes for the beating for he

has written that the Prime Minister "resembles a tragic hero in a Hardy novel: an essentially good man brought down by one error of judgement". What is this one error of judgement? The bank-rolling of two murderous colonial adventures? No. The unprecedented growth of the British arms industry and the sale of weapons to the poorest countries? No. The replacement of manufacturing and public service by an arcane cult serving the ultra-rich? No. The Prime Minister's "folly" is "postponing the election last year".

Whilst the media on both sides of the pond have firmly placed the blame on Russia for the troubles in the Caucasus and holds up the country as a pariah of war and aggression

Meanwhile over at the Columbia Journalism review, Ryan Chittum looks at the press's reaction to the current financial meltdown and wondering why the media are not asking more probing questions

The press should ask why companies whose collapse would threaten economic apocalypse aren’t being slimmed down and split up until they’re not so scary. Instead, we have Bank of America, the nation’s biggest commercial bank, swallowing Merrill Lynch, the second biggest investment bank with nary a peep from the press about whether this is a good idea. B of A was already too big to fail. Now it’s something worse

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