Stepping away from work for a week gave me a chance to look at four developments with a fresher perspective. Hat's off to my HonestReporting colleague and friend, Alex Margolin, for keeping Backspin's fires stoked.
1. Bar Rafaeli's Branding Breakdown
Whether or not you agree with certain aspects of Israel-branding efforts, I don't understand how Bar Rafaeli could appear on top talk shows like Ellen DeGeneres and David Letterman with absolutely nothing to say about her home country.
Are Mondoweiss and Aluf Benn the only people who share my sentiment, or am I missing something?
2. Following Up On the BMJ
I missed out on HonestReporting's shot across the British Medical Journal's bow, but the fallout continues. Melanie Phillips picks up with a question HR didn't ask:
. . . what have the Arab/Israel impasse and Israel’s military strategy towards the Palestinians got to do with the practice of medicine?
Indeed. When it comes to credibility of medical journals, the BMJ's at the top of the totem pole. All the doctors who jump through the hoops of peer review to get published in periodicals of this caliber should be outraged.
Harry's Place also weighs in.
3. The News Blues
The NY Times takes its first steps in the world of citizen journalism, Philadelphia newspapers declared bankruptcy, the Rocky Mt. News closed, and Hearst Corp. papers will charge for online content.
The tip of the iceberg? The Washington Post rounds up the sad state affairs at other dailies. Will some big cities soon be without newspapers?
4 Mulling Media Restraints
During Op Cast
Lead, I was ambivalent about Israel's media restrictions.
The journalist/blogger part of me isn't comfortable with
restraints in general. But after the MSM's debacle during the Lebanon and knowing
how Hamas can play the media corps like a fiddle, I didn't
lose sleep over the issue. (Neither did many Backspin readers.)
Well, the Jerusalem Post did, and I'm second-guessing myself. It's very tough, but I still believe Israel made the right call. What do you think?
