The Big Issue

The New York times has finally begun constructing its new Internet paywall, starting in Canada. J-Source asks: will others follow? The move, announced almost a year ago, has been declared a disaster by some, an inevitability by others. An earlier NewsCorp paywall experiment drove away 90 per cent of its online readers. The paywall marks a second attempt for the Times, which - along with the Wall Street Journal - removed its last paywall in 2007. However, a January 2011 experiment involving U.S. publications with paid online content found readership held steady, perhaps providing confidence to give it another try. Meanwhile, the industry’s free-Internet advocates are exploring ways to eliminate the need for paywalls.

As events continue to unfold in the Arab world, recent J-Source posts tackle the role of journalism. Jaron Gilinsky’s survival guide to the Egyptian revolution explains why journalists need to go precisely where they are not wanted. Journalists now pressing their way into Libya are doing just that. Meanwhile Claude Adams begs,“Forget the Canadian angle, give me the news.” Women reporters gain a welcome boost in 'Yes, mothers can cover revolutions,' and Al Jazeera asks a $64,000 question: Must the revolution be televised to succeed? Read about Libyan citizen journalists, then follow a link to an interesting comparison that puts bizarre interviews with desperate despots in perspective.  These are times even seasoned local journalists find hard to believe. 

UK investigative journalist Brian Deer was in Toronto last week to lead a panel discussion about the autism-vaccine link controversy, hosted by The Canadian Journalism Foundation (J-Source covered it live). In 1998, medical journal The Lancet published a paper written by Andrew Wakefield that claimed he had discovered a link between autism and the meales mumps rubella (MMR) vaccine. The story was widely published, spread by Wakefield, parents and the occasional uninformed celebrity, resulting in several deaths and an increase in childhood mumps. Deer was the only journalist that thought to investigate Wakefield's claims, and dug up enough evidence to have the paper officially revoked -- but not before the damage was done.

A Globe and Mail panel discussion asks: Why did it take a journalist to expose the fraud? The Montreal Gazette spreads the blame to journalists, for not catching the story sooner, a position shared by Psychology Today. And it's not just this story: the Stanford School of Medicine found that media coverage of autism differs dramatically from scientific focus. (Writing about autism? Reporters can find helpful resources here and here.)

Meanwhile, journalists are still doing damage control. In 2005, Salon.com and Rolling Stone magazine co-published a story about Wakefield's so-called findings. It was still available online at Salon, amended with five corrections, as recently as January, when the publication decided to remove it. Editor-in-chief Kerry Lauerman wrotes that "At the time, we felt that correcting the piece -- and keeping it on the site, in the spirit of transparency -- was the best way to operate... We've grown to believe the best reader service is to delete the piece entirely."

As turmoil deepens in Egypt, media critics accuse U.S. broadcasters of serving up “blather and confusion” from the mouths of “unqualified panellists.” Most columnists agree that Al Jazeera continues to lead on-the-ground coverage, despite being expelled. “The day belongs to Al Jazeera,” declared the New York Times. The BBC also stands out from the pack with solid, informed coverage. CBC.ca has posted an interesting web feature on protest coverage on the web during the Internet blackout. Meanwhile, the U.S. isn’t a complete black hole: Democracy Now!, for example, has pulled off some credible indepth coverage, despite limited resources. In addition to reports from their correspondent in Egypt, Tuesday’s DN episode takes a look at how people are getting news, including interviews with Al Jazeera English’s Tony Burman and members of the Committee to Protect Journalists. Egypt's state TV is keeping its lens focussed on looting. 

Egypt has long been on the CPJ’s watch list for it’s “deplorable” state of press freedom. In addition to jailing and harassing journalists, in recent months the Egyptian government placed restrictions on live coverage of the November elections, and banned recording and broadcasting of court cases. In the current protests, journalists are reportedly being targeted, including the arrests and beating of AP’s team.

(photo by Mona Shosh)