media

Wait, wait: parse that WMD statement

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If you didn’t hear Wait, Wait this weekend, you missed the Dean Scream Buzzer and attempts at immitation and an attempt to parse the administration’s latest statement on weapons of mass desctruction – worth the price of admission itself.

Chron + Science = humor

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Today’s front page story on Spirit arriving at Mars provide for a welcome afternoon chuckle.

After an entirely correct, and likely regurgitated explaination of the mission:

“Spirit is one of two $410 million U.S. robotic spacecraft on the way, equipped with cameras and instruments to search for evidence that cold, arid Mars may once have been wet and warm enough for some form of life.”

Emphasis mine.

Then later on in the article they discuss plunging through the thin atmosphere and ludicrously add:

“Spirit still will be moving at 1,000 mph, leaving a long contrail in its wake.”

For those unfamiliar with the atmospheric physics, a contrail (a condensation trail) is caused by airplanes (or anything else hurling through the atmosphere) causing high pressure on their leading edge which causes evaporated water vapor to be forced to condensate into tiny liquid water molecules, also well known for making clouds.

Apparently Mark Carreau didn’t get that far in high school science.

Cached article:

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Blonde on Blonde

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Joal [sic] Ryan in this Puff Piece makes fun of Jessica Simpson for not knowing if the mainstream Americana food Chicken of the Sea is “chicken or fish”. Problem is, his subtitle is “Now who’s going to tell Jessica Simpson chocolate mousse is a vegetarian dish?”.  In actuality, Chocolate Mousse contains gelatin, and is therefore … Read more

Open Letter – sloppy media

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Open letter to Associated Press, Martin Reynolds of the Gartner Group, and the Houston Chronicle.


James T. Campbell, Houston Chronicle Reader Representative, readerrep@chron.com
Scott Clark, Assistant Managing Editor, Business, edtgsc@chron.com
Conrad Bibens, Wire Editor – Business, conrad.bibens@chron.com
Martin Reynolds, (VP ?) Gartner Group, martin.reynolds@gartner.com
in lieu of an ombudsman contact on the AP web site…
Managing Editors, Associated Press, apme@ap.org
Edward Jones, President, Associated Press Managing Editors, edjones@freelancestar.com
Stuart Wilk, Vice President, Associated Press Managing Editors, swilk@dallasnews.com
General Contact Address, Associated Press, info@ap.org

There seems to be an unbalanced bias between two articles that ran in the Houston Chronicle’s business section this week and both of which came via the Associated Press.

They were both very small, wire articles and could have been shoved in to fill the gap of a few column inches. One was on Apple Computer, the other on Microsoft – certainly could be viewed as balancing the coverage. But they show signs of subtle bias and laziness in our media; small signs in small articles that reflect upon the whole. They reflect the media as a mouthpiece of the corporations. One has a partial quote that seems to be placed for maximum emotional effect. (Is there a need to keep the readers of a three inch column entertained in the last paragraph?)

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