Media

France goes after blogging critics

The government-owned TV channel France 2 is suing bloggers who've criticized one of their news reports. They're using a law to protect the press from slander, a law that harkens back to the notorious Dreyfus case in the 19th century.

In 2000 the channel broadcast a news story using video of a Palestinian father shielding his son from gunfire in Gaza. At the time the channel said the gunfire came from Israeli positions. However, the station's reporter admitted he was not present when the video was taken.

That led to charges that the whole video was staged. … Read more

Yahoo-Facebook merger could be win-win

A Yahoo acquisition of social-networking site Facebook could be a boon for both companies, analyst Mark May of Needham & Co. says.

The Wall Street Journal (subscription required) and MarketWatch (both are Dow Jones publications) have reported that Yahoo is talking with Facebook about buying it for as much as $1 billion. Both cite unidentified sources close to the companies.

A Yahoo spokeswoman said the company does not comment on rumors, and Facebook did not reply to an e-mail seeking comment.

May said he has no insider knowledge about whether the reports are accurate or whether a deal is imminent. … Read more

Bebo beats cyberbullies to the punch

Bebo is looking to take some of the rejection out of rock music.

The music social networking site announced a new feature on Thursday that allows Web page owners to pre-vet all posts to their pages. The change enables owners to preview all responses, and delete or permit them based on their own discretion. They can also delete previous posts they do not like and ban specific posters altogether.

The reasoning behind this is to "combat bullying" and prevent "derogatory comments," Bebo said.

(Since when was the rock world "friendly?")

Songs on Bebo are … Read more

HP: Trust me--open this attachment

The irony was immediately apparent to several of my co-workers. They're reporters on the Hewlett-Packard public relations e-mail list. Each got an e-mail from HP at 6:10 PT, Sept. 21, 2006. With a PDF attachment.

This comes after revelations that someone working for HP sent an e-mail attachment to a reporter that investigators believe may have contained a clever tracking mechanism.

So, do you trust HP this time? We did open the attachment, which announced a news conference.

Besides, we have nothing to hide, not even our sense of irony. Everything we know about HP is already online.… Read more

A movie for all stereotypes, 'Borat' previews in S.F.

Nothing unifies a group of twentysomethings like an anti-semitic Kazakh journalist.

The comedy about a bumbling, racist reporter with a very loose grasp of English, "Borat: Cultural Learnings of America for Make Benefit Glorious Nation of Kazakhstan" premiered for a select group of MySpace members Wednesday night at the AMC Metreon movie theater in San Francisco. The event was part of the popular social networking site's new film screening series known as Black Carpet.

Fans were treated to a surprise appearance by Sacha Baron Cohen, the British actor who plays Borat. Obviously caught off-guard, the crowd leapt … Read more

A Web 2.0 magazine of the future

Social networking is transforming yet another business, this time in old-media publishing.

JPG Magazine is doing the ultimate pulp mashup, tapping its community to provide material and vote on what gets published in print. All work is submitted for review by fellow photographers, and those chosen get $100 and a free subscription to the magazine.

As simple as this process sounds, it could have a seismic effect if adopted on a broad scale. JPG is essentially creating a print publication run by readers, drastically reducing the need for a traditional editorial staff. The idea combines all manner of Web 2.… Read more

And the winner is ... YouTube?

It's no secret that the Webby Awards, at one time the toast of digerati set, have seen better days. Once dubbed the "Oscars of the Internet" by the New York Times, they have soared and plummeted like a dot-com IPO.

Still, the Webbys have survived to see their 10th anniversary this year, and--true to the event's history--its organizers are looking to ride another wave to the top, this time through a Web 2.0 rebirth. And that, in a word, means videos.

A spinoff called The Webby Film and Video Awards has been created as "… Read more

Video blogger heading back to jail

A federal appeals court has revoked bail for Josh Wolf, the San Francisco video blogger who has refused to turn over unpublished footage of political protests to a federal grand jury.

A three-judge panel of the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, the same panel that last week upheld a lower court's decision to hold Wolf in contempt of court, ordered his bail revoked on Monday.

Wolf will be turning himself in at 1 p.m. at a federal facility in Dublin, Calif., Wednesday, which meets the deadline given to him by the court, said Jose Luis Fuentes, … Read more

The 'coolest' free fonts around

Every time we post an item on type fonts, we're surprised at what a passionate topic it can be--especially when they're free. (One reader once commented, for example, that "true type fonts are evil.")

But regardless of controversy, it can be difficult to choose which fonts to use when there are so many available. That's why we appreciate sites such as Urban Fonts, the self-described "coolest free font collection." Our personal favorite: a Papa.