Outsourcing hits a new class of workers: Journalists
JonesTown and this article are big hits this month, tickets for the Glebe Bookshop seminar with Chris Masters are all sold and the venue at Sydney Uni is huge HC Nelson is ready to rock n roll ... The long arm of 'offshoring' reaches into the news industry
Another attempt to ease the onerous Web site registration process: A San Francisco startup called PrefPass is looking to do for this annoying everyday task what Amazon has done for online shopping: One click and you've got what you want. Helping Web surfers wipe out registration
The Blog, The Press, The Media: Conquering 'Everests of Data' - Anyone can sue anyone at any time
An excerpt from The Street-Smart Writer:
Libel and slander both are forms of defamation; defamation is the legal term for any published false statement about a living person or organization (yes, you can defame a company!) that injures the subject’s reputation. “Injury to reputation” generally is considered to be exposure to hatred, contempt, ridicule, or financial loss.
Libel is the written act of defamation, slander is the spoken act; no one can sue you for slander for what you write. Whether libel or slander, the defamation must be published—communicated to someone other than the subject of the defamation.
Defamation law is a complex subject, full of exceptions, “privileges,” defenses and the like. The following is a general overview:
Fact vs. Opinion. Most state courts recognize a distinction between statements of fact and opinion; “true” opinion cannot be proved or disproved and thus cannot be defamatory. Contrary to what many people believe, however, the mere fact that your statement is in the form of an opinion will not shield you from a defamation lawsuit. In other words, simply adding “in my opinion” to your statement is not enough, if the statement otherwise is defamatory; you must have disclosed facts to justify that opinion. WRONG: “My co-worker John Doe is a filthy cheat.” This is defamatory: an unproven, pejorative (“filthy” and “cheat”) statement about a private (non-public figure) individual. Adding “in my opinion” to the statement doesn’t help. INSTEAD: “I saw John take five toner cartridges from the supply closet and put them in his car. I believe he is a cheat.” This is your opinion based on disclosed facts, and (if true) is not defamatory.
Humor and Parody. As with true opinion, certain other statements are considered nonfactual because they are understood to be meant humorously or as satire. Authors often rely on this, but beware: If reasonable persons could find truth in the material and it would damage the subject’s reputation, it may be defamatory.
Name Calling. Under the law in most states, mere name-calling (“he’s a jerk”) is not defamatory because epithets cannot be proved true or false, and reasonable persons understand that they are not meant to be assertions of fact.
Fiction. In fiction writing, the Supreme Court interprets the First Amendment to hold an author and publisher liable for publishing a defamatory statement only upon a showing of negligence—that is, a plaintiff in a defamatory-fiction lawsuit must show that the publisher of a defamatory statement knew or should have known that a “fictionalized” character was objectively identifiable as a real person.
Public figures. If you write about public figures (politicians, movie stars, professional athletes, celebrities, etc.) you have additional protection: Public figures must show that the defamatory statement was published with “actual malice.”
Defenses. In the United States, truth generally is an absolute defense to defamation: If what you say is true, it cannot be defamatory (a minority of states, however, allow the defense only if the statement was made in good faith). Most states also have a variety of “privileges” that may protect statements made in particular contexts, such as in court or in the legislature.
Just remember this: If you want to write something negative about a person, company, or group, you either must have documentation to back up everything you write, or you must frame it clearly as your opinion that is based on facts.
• While the pen is mightier than the sword, many writers lack a shield [Multi-published author Jenna Glatzer and publishing law attorney Daniel Steven take you into the murky waters of the publishing industry and fill a lifeboat full of safe firsthand instructions and advice about how to avoid being scammed by publishers, agents, and phony contests The Street Smart Writer: Self-Defense Against Sharks and Scams in the Writing World ]
• · If YOU think the password protection on your MS Word file is keeping it safe from prying eyes, chances are you're wrong. The time it takes to crack password-protected Microsoft Office files has tumbled from a 25-day average to a matter of seconds, thanks to a decades-old code-cracking technique that until recently was not viable. Code cracking is the new pot of gold ; Apple is certainly not the first to try to build a product that crosses the great consumer electronics divide between the TV and all that digital video and audio content taking up ever-larger sections of PC hard drives. Others have sought to cross it, most have failed. I don't expect the same from Apple. Apple's iTV: Bridging the Big Divide
• · · Web-based mentoring: what it is, why it’s important, why it’s the next phase of learning for people, and why organizations are flocking toward it Tradition Meets Technology with Web-Based Mentoring
A Man Without a Country
