Nora Ephron is gone -- and I can't believe it. Professionally, her legacy will be that of an exceptionally gifted and versatile artist who could do it all, and do it all incredibly well. Personally, she'll be cherished as a wife and mother, and a devoted, giving, treasured -- and irreplaceable -- friend. Indeed, she was as talented at friendship as she was at everything else she tried.
For Nora Ephron, life was something to celebrate. And explore. And bitch about. And then celebrate again. You didn't have to read all of her brilliant essays to immediately see that the woman had a titanium-strength point of view -- and she was achingly funny about it.
Barack Obama is facing the most dangerous period of his presidency. The danger is that he will not appear to be in control of events. If that perception takes hold, voters will conclude that the president is not up to the job. And they will abandon him.
Cable giants like Comcast and Time Warner have come to dominate information access in the United States. And they're using this new power to squeeze out competitors and remake new media in their old image.
David Cameron must have thought that by bringing Leveson into existence, he had successfully dodged having to deal with furious requests for a crack-down on the tabloid press. But, almost a year later, the inquiry has turned into a Frankenstein's monster.
The Newsroom is a paint-by-numbers Sorkin effort, given a frisson of media interest and buzz only because the workplace this time is the media itself. Nothing gets us going like someone we don't like preaching to us about our shortcomings.
So far I've learned that if I'm single it's my fault, how to add pizzazz to my scrapbooking and it is a huge no-no to eat certain things in front of your man or else you will gross him out to the point of no return.
The first paragraph of Citizens United is just arrogant, self-interested foolishness. The second is that plus something far more dangerous.
The trend of jettisoning a brand's original DNA in favor of ratings is everywhere in cable right now -- and as a branding professional, I wonder how that will affect the overall branding of TV in the long haul.
Considering the extent that young people are using new media to communicate their political views or exhort others to action, one has to wonder about the accuracy and veracity of the information they're using to formulate their message.
For the sake of argument, let's explore the possibility that spoiling our children -- creating "brats" who are very comfortable being waited and doted upon -- is good for them.
Backpage is a very bad neighbor. It is time for Dallas citizens and the Dallas City Council to join the nationwide fight to demand that Backpage stop making a profit from selling children. Not on our watch. Not our children. Not in our backyard!
Did you know that Nixon knew four months after Watergate that Associate FBI Director Mark Felt was leaking information to a Washington Post reporter? Or, that Felt was named as Deep Throat in the press two months before Nixon resigned?
Mitt Romney is not exactly big on the Internet. Obama nets more supporters and dollars through his online campaign, and draws more traffic in news and search -- one of the rawest indicators of what Americans are looking for online. But is that even a good thing?
Can Egypt now leave its recent dark times behind and reclaim its past glory? Can it make history again?
What you're up against is the power of the richest, most profitable corporations in history at a time when the sky's the limit, not just for carbon dioxide, but for the infusion of private and corporate money into what we once called democratic politics.
When Sorkin's characters wax poetic about the responsibility of news people and the importance of journalism, now you can just smile and ask yourself, 'Would Jeff Daniels character do what he's doing for $162.50 a week and would you watch it for your own good?'
In a world of exponentially increasing information, people need ways to navigate the volume. The way we navigate this new world is, interestingly, the same way we have navigated the world since the beginning of humanity -- we are turning to our friends.
With rare exceptions, the media don't bother to tell their audience when candidates are making assertions that are utter nonsense.
Howard Fineman, 2012.26.06
