Slantly.com is Digg for opinions

On the new Slantly.com (in beta), you vote on controversial issues and claims submitted by other users. For example, PS3 is better than Xbox 360. (I voted no, of course). And then the most popular and controversial votes rise to the top. But here’s the interesting part: the site was created by “old friends and colleagues at Internet Broadcasting,” explains Rex Sorgatz.

Add comment December 16th, 2007

WNBC.com’s Mitchell Report misstep

WNBC.com had what looked like a big scoop Thursday morning: the list of players that would appear in the George Mitchell steroids in baseball report later that day. WNBC.com’s story was cited far and wide - and with the muscle of one of the nation’s top local TV stations behind it, the report was trusted by most. As TheSmokingGun reports, the list was flawed - and listed more than a dozen folks that did not appear in the final report.

WNBC.com has issued a very brief correction.

TSG also points out that sports blog Deadspin released the exact same list - but with this disclaimer: that the list “could very likely be one of those Web urban legends that somehow got around.”

3 comments December 16th, 2007

Top corrections of 2007 (so far)

RegretTheError.com has its annual list of the most interesting flubs and corrections made this year. CNN gets top billing for transposing Osama bin Laden and Barack Obama on two different occasions. But some of the deeper material will definitely leave you laughing.

Typo of the year, from the Houston Chronicle - in a photo caption related to Anna Nicole Smith:

“When Redding, a longtime scout for Playboy, discovered Smith, the model could barely right a sentence…”

Here’s the correction I can most identify with, from the UK Guardian:

We misspelled the word misspelled twice, as mispelled, in the Corrections and clarifications column on September 26, page 30.

When recipes attack (from the UK Observer)!:

We should clarify that the stir-fried morning glory recipe featured in Observer Food Monthly last week uses an edible morning glory Ipomoea aquatica, found in south east Asia and also known as water spinach. This should not to be confused with the UK Ipomoea, also known as morning glory, which is poisonous.

Best misquote (from the Sydney Morning Herald):

David Marr unfortunately misquoted me in “A fallen leader of faith” (August 4-5). I actually said that I endured the naked beatings, paternal bum caresses etc from Frank Houston, not enjoyed them. I can assure readers that the experience wasn’t pleasurable but painful, both at the time and for some years later.

Read them all here.

Add comment December 16th, 2007

Late night shows could be back on soon

Today’s NY Times reports David Letterman’s Worldwide Pants has been working on a deal that would return his show - with writers - to the air in the near term. Letterman is working as an independent agent apart from the AMPTP - and can do so because he owns his show (and Craig Ferguson’s Late Late Show). NYT also says Jay Leno and Conan O’Brien may announce a plan to break ranks and get back on the air January 2nd. Jon Stewart is also hoping for an interim agreement like Letterman’s, but that could be harder because Stewart doesn’t own The Daily Show.

ALSO: The WGA is set to tell the AMPTP that it wants to negotiate with each media company separately.

Add comment December 16th, 2007

Newspaper editor finds spotlight blistering

Convergence has been the word over the past decade or so - with TV, print, web and radio all merging into one big media mush. But there are a few places where things don’t go so smoothly. Carolyn Washburn, managing editor of the Des Moines Register took the national stage during two televised debates this week. The forums have been widely panned - and not just for style. Washburn decided not to talk about Iraq or immigration. The Washington Post’s Dana Milbank has a roundup of some of the chatter on the debates. Even though we’ve all become so used to people being Jacks and Janes of all trades - there are a few places where some specialization comes in handy: like hosting 90 minutes of live television.

(Disclosure: I met with Washburn several times during her time at the Idaho Statesman in Boise while planning — what else — a debate.)

1 comment December 16th, 2007