Brian Williams has gone, but false news is bigger business than ever | Emily Bell

The web has simultaneously enabled an accelerated cycle of untrue stories and rumour, and the ability to debunk themEvery journalist is familiar with the type of story that is “too good to check”. It is a warning label on tales that beg to be true but probably aren’t. In the pre-social-media era, an incorrect story, and sometimes an outright lie, might have sat hidden in plain sight for months or even years. Spectacular fabrications such as those of the New York Times reporter Jayson Blair, who was discovered in 2003 to have fabricated or plagiarised elements of dozens of stories, rocked venerable institutions to their core. Last week the US news establishment took another torpedo to its hull.Brian Williams, the host of NBC’s Nightly News, was suspended last week for six months with no pay, after a military newspaper, Stars and Stripes, published a story where Williams admitted he had exaggerated a story about flying in a helicopter that came under fire in Iraq. The incident in 2003 happened when Williams was, in fact, following a helicopter that was struck by missile fire, but in retellings he shifted to a position where not only had his helicopter had been hit, but the US crew “figured out how to land safely”. It just wasn’t true. To make matters worse for NBC news executives, Williams posted a rather mealy-mouthed apology on Facebook without any of them knowing. Related: Is NBC firing Brian Williams, or just humiliating him? The conflation of information and... Continue reading at 'The Guardian'

[ The Guardian | 2015-02-15 00:00:00 UTC ]
News tagged with: #plain sight

Other news stories related to: "Brian Williams has gone, but false news is bigger business than ever | Emily Bell"


News Briefs: Week of November 17, 2014

HBG sales fell 18% in third quarter and more in this week's publishing news briefs. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2014-11-14 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this |


Land Rover commissions novelist William Boyd’s latest

In a rare move for the publishing world, Land Rover has sponsored "An Ice Cream War" novelist William Boyd's new short fiction and turned it in into a gorgeous interactive campaign. The post Land Rover commissions novelist William Boyd’s latest appeared first on Digiday. Continue reading at Digiday

[ Digiday | 2014-11-13 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | All news stories tagged with: #short fiction #land rover #publishing world #rare move


What If Novels Were Treated Like Business Books?

After attending the FT Business Book of the Year ceremony in London, Roger Tagholm wonders, what if novels had subtitles like business books do? The post What If Novels Were Treated Like Business Books? appeared first on Publishing Perspectives. Continue reading at Publishing Perspectives

[ Publishing Perspectives | 2014-11-13 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | All news stories tagged with: #business books


Gift Books Can Be a Big, and Tough, Business

Publishers of spiritual or religious gift books face unique challenges in a complicated business. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2014-11-12 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | All news stories tagged with: #gift books


Piketty named FT/McKinsey Business Book of the Year

Thomas Piketty's Capital in the Twenty-First Century has triumphed at the Financial Times and McKinsey Business Book of the Year Awards. Piketty's book, a nearly 700-page exploration of economic processes that concentrate wealth and build inequalities, was chosen as the winner of the £30,000... Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2014-11-12 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | All news stories tagged with: #six-strong shortlist #year awards #thomas piketty


Short Takes: Religion Publishing News Briefs, November 12, 2014

Nominations for small publishers awards are closing; more awards and honors; new app brings the liturgy to Catholics on their phones; 100,000 have joined Max Lucado's Prayer Challenge. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2014-11-12 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | All news stories tagged with: #app brings #short takes


Piketty Takes 2014 'FT,' McKinsey & Co Business Book of the Year Award

The prize, which comes with a £30,000 purse, was presented to Thomas Piketty’s editor, Harvard's Ian Malcolm, at a ceremony in London on November 11. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2014-11-11 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | All news stories tagged with: #thomas piketty #business book


Random House Business Books gets persuasive

Random House Business Books is to publish Pre-suasion by Robert Cialidini, a follow-up to the author’s book Influence (HarperBusiness). Publishing director Nigel Wilcockson acquired UK and Commonwealth rights from Caspian Dennis at Abner Stein. In Pre-suasion, Cialdini will build on his... Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2014-11-08 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | All news stories tagged with: #abner stein #caspian dennis


News Briefs: Week of November 10, 2014

Open Road dodges $1 million bullet and more in this week's publishing news briefs. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2014-11-07 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this |


German news publishers want Google to rip their content after all

At some point, we've all said no to an offer of help before realizing that some help would actually be rather useful. It's a situation that German news publisher Axel Springer has found itself in after spending months lobbying Google to stop indexing... Continue reading at Engadget

[ Engadget | 2014-11-07 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this |


News Corp's Thomson talks of online progress at the Times and Sun

But he doesn't provide any figures to back up his positive claims about subscriber totalsThe Times "is delivering both volume and higher revenue per subscriber", says the News Corp chief executive and former Times editor Robert Thomson.He added: "Digital, which already accounts for nearly... Continue reading at The Guardian

[ The Guardian | 2014-11-06 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | All news stories tagged with: #higher revenue


First News competition for Pushkin Children's

Pushkin Children’s Books is launching a competition with children’s newspaper First News to promote a new "winter" edition of The Letter of the King by Tonke Dragt.   Originally published in Dutch in 1962, The Letter for the King was published by Pushkin Children’s Books in an English... Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2014-10-31 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | All news stories tagged with: #english translation #tonke dragt #pushkin children #originally published


Spain is making Google (and others) pay news publishers a tax

For companies like Google, facing problems with the law across Europe has become a common thing. The most recent example of this is now taking place in Spain, where the country's parliament just gave the go-ahead to what's being known as the "Google... Continue reading at Engadget

[ Engadget | 2014-10-31 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | All news stories tagged with: #taking place


Halloween 'bigger than ever' for children's market

Sales of Halloween-themed children’s books increased by more than 65% in the fortnight ending 11th October, as booksellers across the UK gear up for one of their busiest Halloweens yet. A search of terms such as “vampires”, “witches” and “ghosts” in the Nielsen BookScan TCM 5,000 revealed that... Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2014-10-28 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | All news stories tagged with: #time period #previous fortnight #28th september #volume sales


Thomas memoir and Moore biography on William Hill shortlist

Gareth Thomas’ autobiography and a book about footballer Sir Bobby Moore are among the seven titles shortlisted for the William Hill Sports Book of the Year Award. The books will compete for a £26,000 prize in the award’s 26th year. Yellow Jersey Press, an imprint of Vintage, and Bloomsbury... Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2014-10-25 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | All news stories tagged with: #26th year #titles shortlisted #gareth thomas #shortlisted books


Fake news site National Report: ‘We’re doing a public service’

Is National Report a menace or a public good? Fake news publishers are taking advantage of how people read and share news. But National Report says its doing good work. The post Fake news site National Report: ‘We’re doing a public service’ appeared first on Digiday. Continue reading at Digiday

[ Digiday | 2014-10-24 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | All news stories tagged with: #people read #taking advantage #public good #public service


German publishers capitulate and let Google post news snippets -- for now

German publishers said they are bowing to Google’s market power, and will allow the search engine powerhouse to show news snippets in search results free of charge, at least for the time being.The decision is a step in an ongoing legal dispute between the publishers and Google. Publishers are... Continue reading at PC World

[ PC World | 2014-10-23 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | All news stories tagged with: #vg media #news snippets #share revenue #republishing parts #search engine #market power #german publishers


Inside Bloomberg Media’s digital video business

Bloomberg has placed video at the center of its digital efforts, a strategy that is beginning to pay off for the business publisher. The post Inside Bloomberg Media’s digital video business appeared first on Digiday. Continue reading at Digiday

[ Digiday | 2014-10-22 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | All news stories tagged with: #digital efforts


Short Takes: Religion Publishing News Briefs, October 22, 2014

The 2015 International Christian Retail Show has opened booth registration, debuting a new exhibitor platform. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2014-10-22 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | All news stories tagged with: #short takes


McSweeney’s New Business Model: Nonprofit

Writing for SF Gate, John McMurtie reports that the San Francisco based publishing house McSweeney’s will become a nonprofit. The post McSweeney’s New Business Model: Nonprofit appeared first on Publishing Perspectives. Continue reading at Publishing Perspectives

[ Publishing Perspectives | 2014-10-17 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | All news stories tagged with: #business model