Coach v. Columnist

Check out this column in today's State Journal, commenting on Badger Football Coach Bret Bielema's statements on the media rumor mill. The comments posted to the bottom are also worth reading.
Who's right? Does Bielema have a point that reporters speculate too early? Or does Oates prevail with his idea that reporting is necessary and simply getting spoon-fed by the Athletic Department shouldn't be what he and his colleagues are about?

Accuracy in Advertising

A local example of how inaccuracy can bite you. Those ads cost a pretty penny to make and to run, yet their effectiveness has been significantly diminished by the simplest of errors. Media coverage of the mistake has outstripped the attention the spots may have earned on their own.
Makes a 10-point deduction for fact errors in J202 look like chump change. You've asked me repeatedly if we had a "10 Commandments of Media Ethics," what would be the first one. I'm nothing if not consistent: in news and strat comm, above all things, get it right.

User-News and the "MSM"

This piece from the San Francisco Chronicle covers a recent study showing lead stories in mainstream news outlets differed significantly from top topics in user-governed news sources (e.g., Digg, Reddit and Del.icio.us).
What sources do you use for news? Should an editor at the Wisconsin State Journal be more trusted when it comes to what's worth running or should you pay attention to rankings based on what's tops among millions of readers/viewers? (The State Journal took some chiding when it set up a system to let readers vote online to pick one story for each day's front page.) What is a legitimate news source? Should news consumers have more of a voice in news decisions?

Washington Post On Being

Yesterday a 202er asked me what I think is the "best of the Web." Hands down, the thing that captures that for me is a Washington Post online series called "On Being." It's just a person or pair answering questions directly to the camera that's deftly edited into a brief package. A new one goes up every Wednesday, and I have yet to not be blown away. Check it out today and every Wednesday.
In general, the Post blows me away online. Their "Being a Black Man" is definitely worth a look.
Locally, the State Journal has been behind but just got an award nomination for their Hip Hop 101 package.