Trashy Tabloid Analysis: Star Sources

Star Magazine is the "trashy tabloid" that was first analyzed. Life & Style and in Touch Weekly were purchased at the same time (by a very brave man named Dennis Rose) in order to assist in the Trashy Tabloid Analysis that was previously explained.

It is very hard to get through a single tabloid from cover to cover due to the amount of analysis that needs to be done. There are many things than can be focused on, but from pages 1-39 (out of the 84 pages) the biggest thing noticed within this specific tabloid (this may be true of the others, but the analysis is going to be of each single tabloid and then at the end there can be comparisons)is that there are no sources to the stories.

The pages that have been analyzed thoroughly and read are pages 1-39, so this analysis is only for Star Magazine December 27, 2010 issue pages 1-39 with a focus on credibility of sources.

The magazine claims to have so many "Exclusive Interviews," but the only interview that falls under that category is the interview with Kristen StephensonPino. She tells the magazine all about how Johnny Depp is into her and all sorts of things. Of course, the only other sources credited within that article (titled "Johnny Hits On Teen Model") are anonymous sources. Unfortunately, the magazine mentions that she is a "full natural C-cup" before informing readers that Kristen is 19-years-old. So, the fact that she is a full natural C-cup is clearly more important than how old this "teen model" is. Maybe pages 39-84 will be more impressive.

The other articles all had quotes from "insiders" or "pals." How about going out and finding someone who will go on record so that the article can be credible. That's not journalism - that's laziness. Why should anyone trust what is being said by someone who won't even reveal the name publicly. For all we know the "inside source" is some random person on the street that the "reporter" found.

Then there's the cover story about Ashton Kutcher being involved in a "MURDER SCANDAL."
All right - his ex-girlfriend from many years ago had been murdered, and he will apparently be making statements in court regarding what he knew about her and the alleged killer. Also, the magazine calls the alleged killer a "cold-blooded serial killer" without ever saying "allegedly" or anything that could save face.

The entire article has not even a single interview with Ashton Kutcher. So, it's an article about Ashton Kutcher "being involved in a murder scandal," but the only interviews are a Detective and a "friend."

At least attempt to get an interview from someone credible and then put "*CREDIBLE PERSON* was unable to be reached for comment" or "*CREDIBLE PERSON* refused to comment." Something that shows that the reporter isn't just a lazy person who sits around listening to gossip and interviewing random people on the street. Seriously, I feel bad that Dennis had to pay money for this publication. I am glad that the analysis will be thorough, but honestly. This isn't journalism.

The quote from the friend is: "Ashton's worried sick about taking the witness stand."
That is according to "a friend."
Really? Why don't you go ask Ashton himself.
Why doesn't the friend have a name?

This drove me crazy throughout the entire analysis process - which is why I stopped on page 39. I haven't even gotten to the big Tom Cruise - Katie Holmes cover story yet. Fingers are crossed that there is an actual interview done with Tom or Katie and included within the article. Seriously.

If the only "sources" that your publication has are "friends," "pals," "insiders" and "guests" then either your reporters are lazy or no one wants to go on record - if no one wants to go on record and have their name associated with a quote then GO FIND SOMEONE WHO WILL. Go find someone who is willing to have their name printed in the magazine in attribution to the quote. It's understandable to have maybe one anonymous source every so often, but if the ONLY source in your article is an ANONYMOUS source - then you don't have an article. The blogs on the internet have more research and credible sources than that publication which has a paid staff and has a nice readership.

It would be nice to see demographics and statistics of the readership of Star. There is also an article within the first 39 pages regarding one of the stars of MTV's Teen Mom - something to do with her being pregnant again and not knowing who the father is - that didn't have any sources either...

Nikky Raney reading Star Magazine

That's all for pages 1-39.
This magazine was the most expensive of the three. This one was $3.99 and the other two were $2.99, but don't worry there's no sales tax in New Hampshire.

Is this publication trying to be a respected news source or is it content with being filled with gossip and unreliable information? It's sad that magazines like Newsweek are faced with tough times in publication - but magazines like Star are selling no problem. There's something wrong with this picture -- and the Future of Journalism needs to fix it.



Originally Posted at The Future of Journalism

Oakland's Tiki Tom's Restaurant - The Last Video - Part One

On October 7th, 2010, Oakland's Tiki Tom's Restaurant burned down in a blaze of fire that rang up an estimated $750,000 worth of building damage. There was, and still as of this writing, no known cause of the fire. According to several sources, the building was chain locked, and while the power had been turned off, PG&E reported it wasn't their doing.

The fire was officially labeled "suspicious."

Everything was burned, including the boat, a Tampa 66 Chris Craft according to Tom Davies AKA "Tiki Tom", docked on the Oakland Estuary, and in back of the eatery.

The restaurant that was located at 329 29th Avenue with the frog on top was at the center of what it's owner, "Tiki Tom" called "The Oakland Riviera" during a video tour.

This blogger was taken there the day before my 48th birthday on August 4th, and by long-time friends Bob and Barbara Schock, who are new Oakland District Four Councilmember Libby Schaaf's parents.

As I taken with the atmostphere, food, and cocktails of the place, I asked for the owner's permission to make a full video of Tiki Tom's, and out came Tiki Tom himself. (Who looks a lot like my long-time friend Lars Frykman, but without the beard.) The result was one of the wackiest tours I've ever taken of anyplace in my life.

The video - the last one of the entire restaurant and perhaps the only one that includes the boat in its interior - reflects that.

On the day we visited, there was almost no one in the place.  Save for one guy at the bar and four of what turned out to be Tom's friends near the water-side and rear of the facility, and the wait staff, Tiki Tom's was empty.  They were happy to be able to serve us.

But once I turned on the Flip Video Camcorder (one the CNN iReport staff gave me for being an iReport beta contributor in 2007 and that Flip created especially for CNN) man his eyes lit up, and off we went, starting with a talk about the frog on the top of the building.  (I didn't say he was going to be on CNN, or anything like that, but hey having that specially-made camcorder works.)

I asked him about the frog, and he went into a hilarious wild-man rant, saying it's at the top of the place because "people can't find it without the frog. They go round-and-round like they're in Mexico, man!" Then Tom went on a rant about how he got it that was so fast and funny it was hard to understand.  What he was saying was that his buddy who owned it paid $10,000 for it, and he paid $500 worth of drinks for it, "now leave my frog alone!"

Too funny.

He recommended I order their signature dish, the coconut prawns.  I did, and they were excellent, along with the oysters and sanddabs.  Then the Tiki Tom tour started.

Tom said that Tiki Tom's has, or now had surfboards dating back as far as 1930 with the youngest one made in 2002, making his place the only West Coast, California, all exclusive surfboard collection, handcrafted and ridden by Tom himself at every beach along the California coast."   Tom even shared his scar from being bitten by an "albino alligator."

Then, with belly full of a lot of seafood, and Michael Jackson's Beat It blaring through the place, Tom took me on a quick tour that ended on his boat, the Tampa 66 Chris Craft.

We got on the boat via a ladder that's not directly connected to it, so you really have to watch your step.  But once you're on it, it's part time.  Or was.

Tom said he had a lot of parties on the boat; I got the impression that if the boat could talk, a best-selling book and movie would result.  At the very least.

Richard Branson's Surfboard?

On the way back to the table where I left Bob and Barbara, Tom pointed to a surfboard on the ceiling he said was once owned by Virgin Billionaire Richard Branson.   More on that, later.

Tiki Tom, The Oakland Character

Since the fire, Tom Davies has not been officially seen.  I don't know what happened to him.  But, given all that I've seen and heard, and nothing not online or in this video or blog, I think Tom may have been cash-strapped and figured that burning the place down was the only way to recover some money and help his staff.



Just a guess.

We asked the waitress where everyone was and she said they were a little lean on patrons, or words to that effect. It's no secret the weak economy has been hard on Oakland, as it's near 20 percent unemployment rate has shown.   But it's really, really sad that Tom lost his beloved business and boat.  It's also sad that Oakland's lost such a wonderful place.

From the video below, it looks like he had a lot of friends and had a lot of fun:



Stay tuned.

Niners Troy Smith Argument With Singletary Burns Up Twitter (Video)

The San Francisco 49ers find themselves in the wild position of being able to clinch the NFC West with a win while the NFC's 10 and 6 Green Bay Packers may miss the playoffs. This weird turn of events has Niners Head Coach Mike Singletary frantic, and pushing his quarterbacks, including the once-favored Troy Smith, who, when pulled, argued with the coach on the sidelines.

Here the video:



The exchange, where it seems Singletary would not back down and had to be "cooled" by Ted Ginn, Jr., burned up Twitter. As of this writing, "Niners" is a top Twitter Trend. Here's some tweets after the missed field goal:

Sunrise206 Lili
1 more quarter to go! Need to finish strong and get this win. This is it! #49ers #NINERS
4 minutes ago

creoledotcom Aisha Lavan
new field goal kicker new coach & new QB !! #niners but i stay a FAN till the END !!
2 minutes ago Favorite Retweet Reply

Patriarch Patriarch
Niners are breaking down mentally....it doesn't look good.
2 minutes ago Favorite Retweet Reply


Take a look at the video and share it now, because no telling how long it's going to last on YouTube (it's not my video, by the way).

This is news, so in a perfect World, a DMCA complaint should not be answered by YouTube. The reason is, we as the public should not have news hidden from us in this way. It's not right and YouTuber thebsoreport should issue a challenge if a DMCA complaint is filed.

Please, stop using DMCA's to block the reporting of news.

But I digress.

As of this writing, the Niners are down 14 to 15 as the 3rd Quarter comes to a close.

Stay tuned and check out Kevin Lynch's game updates at SFGate.com.

Merry Christmas 2010: Atlanta (Snow!), San Francisco, and Justin Bieber

Wow. As long as it took Christmas 2010 to get here - 2010 seemed like two years instead of one year, considering all that has happened - it's almost over.

Hard to believe.

Here, in the vlog above, are some of the great times this blogger had with friends and family in Atlanta and in San Francisco.

A lot of food and drink was consumed by all.

And to end the Christmas day, it's started snowing here in Atlanta.  It's a rare happening here.  So much so that many churches are closed for Sunday.  And for churches to close in the South, you know conditions have to be bad.  

Temperatures have dropped from 55 degrees on Wednesday to below 20 as this is written: a 35 degree drop in just three days.

It makes me think twice about going to the Saints - Falcons Monday Night Football game at The Georgia Dome.  The comfort of the big screen is suddenly more desirable than the dome.

Not that I'm complaining about the snow.  What would Christmas be without it?

Well.  OK.  It would be a Christmas without snow.

Remember to take time to call friends and family this weekend. And remember that Christmas is the day of the birth of Jesus Christ, who eventually died in sacrifice for all of us.

And on that note, here's Justin Bieber wishing you a Merry Christmas:

iPhone: At New York's Penn Station, Be Careful When Using It

If you're an iPhone or smartphone owner and find yourself in New York City's Penn Station, as this blogger does frequently when visiting Manhattan, be careful if you need to use it out in the open.  Someone may try to grab it.

I ran across this tweet by Don Van Natta, Jr:

DVNJr Don Van Natta Jr.
Just had a guy try to rip my iPhone out of my hands outside Penn Station. He failed. Try to take my iPhone and you're going to get hurt.

That happened not on Christmas day, today, but on December 21st, but it's still wrong.

Apple needs to build-in voice recognition software that periodically checks in with the user. That way, if someone does steal an iPhone, and it "recognizes" that the user is someone else, the phone will just shut down.

That aside, the person who tried to take his iPhone learned a hard lesson: don't mess with an iPhone owner.

Twitter Down, Then Up, Sort Of, On Christmas Day

First, Merry Christmas! And it's that greeting, and its variations, that fills thousands, if not millions of tweets, all causing one thing: Twitter down.

Well, Twitter appears to be back up now, but not in it's exactly normal condition. For example, this blogger's Twitter account reports the number of followers, and followed, but when the links to the lists are clicked on, the words "you have no followers at this time" come up.

That's weird.

Well, while we're all waiting for Twitter to come back to full normal, check out their latest acquistion: Fluther.com.

Fluther.com is a site that uses crowdsourcing to help members find answers to questions. I just joined, and was presented with five questions I've got to deal with.

But they'll have to wait. It's Christmas! Folks are coming over. There's a lot of great food to be consumed. And I've got to watch the LA Lakers clobber the Miami Heat, then turn to the Warriors game!

Merry Christmas!

Ryan Seacrest @ryanseacrest Looks Tired At Twitter

@ryanseacrest, originally uploaded by @Twitter.

This is the photo of a man who works too much! American Idol Host and hardest working man in media, Ryan Seacrest looks like he could use a morning coffee in this photo uploaded by Twitter staff November 10th, and after Ryan's visit to Twitter Headquarters.

Wow, what did Seacrest do the night before?

ITunes Dominates Christmas Search Trends

On Christmas morning, iTunes, Apple's music and movies download success, is dominating search trends as reported on Google Trends.

1. stores open on christmas 2010
2. leapfrog.com/connect
3. www.itunes.com/download
4. itunes.com/download
5. itunes download
6. itunes store
7. www.apple.com/support/manuals/ipod
8. i tunes
9. twas the night before christmas text
10. winn dixie


As of this writing, five of the top 10 searches include the keyword "iTunes."

Wild!

NORAD Santa Tracker Has Santa Ending In Hilo, Hawaii, Not North Pole

Merry Christmas! Say, perhaps NORAD's Santa Tracker is a bit off. Well, OK, a lot off. It has Santa ending his epic sleigh ride in Hilo, Hawaii, and not The North Pole.

If you've never seen the NORAD Santa Tracker, here's my video on it, first:



There should be a video of Santa landing at The North Pole!  

Stay tuned.

NORAD Santa Tracker - Christmas Eve Santa Tracking

This year, 2010, once again this blogger is following (kinda) the Santa Tracker, but while tree trimming, wine drinking, and talking, and listening to Nat and Frank (Nat King Cole and Frank Sinatra).

 But here's my NORAD Santa Tracker Video, because I just had to!



This business of going to the NORAD website to track Santa Claus' trip around the World is rather cool, but I'm in the middle of watching It's A Wonderful Life, so I decided to embed the tracker right here in my blog:



As of 6 PM PST / 9 PM EST, Santa Claus is , well, he's moving really fast! (If the embed doesn't work in your browser, click on the NORAD link.)

Merry Christmas!

Oakland News: Councilmember Ignacio De La Fuente Gets DUI Arrest

Sad news. According to the San Jose Mercury News, veteran Oakland City Councilman Ignacio De La Fuente (pictured) was arrested for DUI (Driving Under the Influence) Thursday night at 7:30 PM.

Nacho was arrested, booked, released, and given a future court date to appear.

The CHP (California Highway Patrol) Officer said something that can and should do him in, in court: that "he believed De La Fuente was speeding" and that the officer "noticed impairment."

So, let's see here.

First, the CHP officer didn't have a speed gun to have evidence to back his claim of speeding. Second, the officer didn't have a Breathalyzer to record Ignacio's blood - alcohol level to back his claim that Ignacio was "impaired."

What the hell was this CHP officer doing?  No speed gun.  No Breathalyzer.  And he just hauls Ignacio in, anyway.  Near Christmas.  

Nuts.

I don't care - not a big rats butt - if it happens to everyone; it's not supposed to happen to anyone. So, for those of you who applaud this news, don't.  Stop supporting a screwed up system just because you love to see bad things happen to good people.

If the Alameda County Superior Court judges are worth the votes it took to get them into office, this case should be dismissed.  It damn well better be.

It should be against the law for any officer to make a DUI arrest without instrument record to back his or her claim.   That's just wrong.

Maybe now that Ignacio's got a taste for this crap, as I do, he'll become an advocate for a better system. The one California has in place is nothing more than a money-mill to maintain a California prison-industrial system.

Merry Christmas and don't drink and drive.  Let's have a weekend where the cops have a ZERO arrest record.  Don't give any CHP officer an excuse to arrest you.   Oakland police have better things to do.

Get a limo, like I did in this video:

Oakland News: Top 21 Oakland Christmas Gifts

Merry Christmas Oakland!

Normally, this would be a "top 10" list, but we have so many well deserving Oaklanders, and people who do business in Oakland, that I expanded it to 21.

Why 21?

Because once I started thinking about who deserves an Oakland Christmas Gift, the list just kept going on and on.

It's the by-product of knowing a lot of people in this town. A lot of people who deserve positive recognition. I could have gone on to 40, but had to cut it off at some point.

Here's the list!

1. For former Oakland Mayor and now California Governor-Elect Jerry Brown: patience and focus. He's going to need both.
2. For Oakland Teachers: $500 more per teacher, per month. That would help many, many well-deserving and hard working teachers in Oakland.
3. For Mayor-Elect Jean Quan: A Green Oakland Mayor's Bus so she can travel free of parking ticket worry, and get around in a socially-responsible way!
4. For Al Davis and The Oakland Raiders: A NEW STADIUM. The Coliseum was only refurbished to bring the Raiders back to Oakland, not to give the Raiders a state of the art stadium. I told this to the Oakland City Council in 1997, when I was Elihu Harris' Economic Advisor. Then-Oakland Councilmember and now Alameda County Supervisor Nate Miley wanted to choke me. "We just spent $197 million and you're telling me it's not state-of-the-art?," he asked. Yep. It's wasn't then, and it's not now. The corridors are too narrow by five feet. The suites at the west side of the Coliseum need a big upgrade. And the places where slip-and-falls can and do happen are still abundant. The lights are not bright enough to be completely effective for night games. There's no after-game restaurant or hotel to take in patrons waiting for BART when they leave the games, let alone gain revenue. In short, and I could go on, and we're just getting by.
5. For The Oakland A's: An owner who cares about Oakland. It's hard to get anyone behind you in Oakland, when you're always trying to get out of it. The drive for a new stadium has nothing to do with any civic love for A's Managing Owner Lew Wolff, and everything to do with Oakland's love for the A's. Mr. Wolff can treat Oakland much better than he has to date. He's tried to leave Oakland almost since he took ownership of the organization; that has to stop.
6. For Oakland Police Chief Anthony Batts: 100 new police officer positions and the money to keep them.
7. For Oaklanders who's cars were towed because of the trollish parking enforcement system: $2,000 each toward a new car. Considering that you have to wait one year for Oakland to pay you back for its parking errors, you (er, we) deserve it.
8. For the 10 Candidates in The Oakland Mayor's Race: a bottle of wine each for making Oakland politics fun again!
9. For Rod Dibble at The Alley: a $100 tip for being an Oakland treasure at the piano!
10. For Lara and Gar Truppelli, owners of The Lake Chalet Restaurant: the Oakland Foodies Change Award for having the courage to completely alter their menu and staff in just one year, and for opening up the Lake Chalet to fun events. That's a huge facility on Lake Merritt. A jewel nonetheless.
11. For Oakland Rapper Too Short: A "Too Short Day" by the Oakland City Council. Too Short put Oakland on the map as much as the Oakland Raiders have. He deserves it.
12. For East Oakland: A battery manufacturing plant. That area needs jobs as the unemployment rate is over 20 percent,and more. Such plants are springing up around America. Oakland needs one.
13. For Oakland City Attorney John Russo: an Oakland City Council that won't screw with his already tight budget.
14. For Oakland Gang Members: EMPATHY, in large doses.
15. For outgoing Mayor Ron Dellums and Former Oakland-Mayor Elihu Harris:  Legacy Videos. Because their final years in politics - for Dellums as The Mayor of Oakland and Harris as Peralta Community College Chancellor - have marred their incredible political careers, the videos are a reminder of the great works they have done.
16. For Oakland's Media: ad revenue, from some source.
17. For Oakland Former City Manager and Legends Henry Gardner, Dick Spees, and Richard Winnie: Days for each of them by The Oakland City Council.
18. For New Oakland District 4 Councilmember and friend Libby Schaaf: Big Army Boots! To make sure she remains grounded, focused, and humble in her new and deservedly lofty position.
19. To Russ and the staff at Gaylord's Cafe on 41st and Piedmont: A Certificate Of Excellence In Late Night Cafe Operation! Gaylord's stays open until 12 midnight, and has become a focal point for Oakland's Internet-Based Workforce.
20. To Oscar Grant and His Family: An "Oscar Grant Day" by the Oakland City Council, to remind us of the need for a police force that's a friend to, and not an adversary of, the community.
21. To Grand Lake Theater Owner Alan Michaan: An all-day free-parking area of 40 cars and only for patrons of the Grand Lake Theater.

Merry Christmas Everyone!