New Career Opportunities Daily: The best jobs in media.

Dr. Stephen Kent out of the University of Alberta is the world expert on Scientology:

He has published research on Scientology, the Children of God/The Family, fundamentalist Mormon polygamy, and other new and alternative religions operating in Canada, the United States, and around the world.

FBLA: What are your thoughts on the news that Wikipedia has banned Scientologists from editing their page on its site?

SK: My understanding is that the ban is not a blanket prohibition against all Scientologists, but instead bans edits coming from one IP address that goes to a particular Scientology building. People wanting to edit articles must register, which allows the Wiki editors to monitor their submissions and potentially ban them if their comments consistently prove to be disruptive.
Scientology must continue to remove critical material about it from the Internet, so this issue will continue.

FBLA: Why do they need to remove all critical material?

SK: Scientologists consider critical material about the organization to be what they call ‘entheta,’ and the organization’s policy is to remove entheta from the environment. The issue for Scientologists is not accuracy but rather negativity, and the group works tirelessly on its public relations presentation. The organization has fought a losing battle to keep ‘entheta’ off of the Internet. Undoubtedly that material kills interest on the part of many who otherwise might have explored the beliefs and practices. It also has helped some members read critical information and defect.

Interesting stuff. Who thinks Dr. Kent should dress up as Craig Newmark for Halloween?

New Career Opportunities Daily: The best jobs in media.

This morning Village Voice Media responded to the Craigslist post with a self-righteous rant in the form of a press release. Our favorite part:

We will continue to exercise our right to accept legal, adult postings from our users and concentrate on growing backpage.com. We are aggressively building additional technical solutions as well as increasing our manual site inspections to improve the efficiency of removing content that is illegal or otherwise violates our Terms of Use.

Translation: We will continue to make big bucks off of prostitution and human trafficking, while doing everything possible to cover our asses legally.

Read the entire VVM press release after the jump-

continued…

New Career Opportunities Daily: The best jobs in media.

Brilliant.

New Career Opportunities Daily: The best jobs in media.

The Huffington Post, which famously pays nothing to it’s writers, has a ridiculous piece by Jason Notte about “Ten Features That Are Dying with your Newspaper;” included on the list are editorial cartoons and one comic, The Family Circus. Notte writes:

9. Editorial Cartoons: You know those witty, insightful, stinging illustrated summaries of current events that make their way onto the op-ed page? In 10 years, you may be in the minority. If newspaper’s death knell is ringing, editorial cartoonists are pulling the rope. The head of the American Association of Editorial Cartoonists said four years ago that the number of full-time editorial cartoonists in the U.S. had dropped from 200 to 80. For his part, cartoonist and AAEC president Ted Rall has been putting together nearly as many layoff updates as illustrations these days. Remember when censorship was an editorial cartoonist’s biggest worry? Apparently, those were the good times.

This is typical of the Huffington Post’s attitude about the “death of newspapers” as they crow about how they are the next new big thing in journalism – although they operate on round after round of venture financing, without a sustainable business model, stocked with content from volunteers.

Damn. We can smell the burning hair from here.

Previously on FBLA: We Have a Little Crush on Simon Dumenco

New Career Opportunities Daily: The best jobs in media.

Anyway, we like Andrew Wallenstein from The Hollywood Reporter’s commentary on All Things Considered about the move by NBC to have Leno at ten every night:

To understand what NBC is up to in late night, consider the comb-over. Some men paste the remaining hair on their heads over their bald spots. And NBC takes the few big hits it has and just stretches it over fallow sections of its schedule. Hey, it’s easier than what most networks do, which is try to launch brand new hit shows.

Wallenstein notes that with this add – there will be four funny white guys with talk shows every weeknight on NBC.

Hm. There’s an overdone premise.

New Career Opportunities Daily: The best jobs in media.

We just can’t stop cringing. Yeesh.

Christina Hoag at NBCLA writes:

A reporter for a small newspaper was forcibly removed from a press area near Air Force One shortly before President Barack Obama arrived at Los Angeles International Airport to depart California early Thursday.

Secret Service personnel remove Brenda Lee from near Air Force One after Lee attempted to give President Obama a letter, Thursday May 28, 2009, at LAX.

Airport security officers carried the woman away by the feet and arms as she protested her removal.

She later identified herself as Brenda Lee, a writer for the Georgia Informer in Macon and said she has White House press credentials. The newspaper’s Web site says it is a monthly publication, and a Brenda Lee column is posted on it.

Lee identified herself as Roman Catholic priestess living in Anaheim.

It takes real talent to make Jeff Gannon look professional.

Previously on FBLA: Jeff Gannon Thinks Scott McClellan Has No Credibility

New Career Opportunities Daily: The best jobs in media.

I grew up with Nick Markowitz. We had a three-day hand-holding affair the summer of 7th grade. He was a part of my tight circle of goofy theater kid friends who were transformed into a traumatized fraternity after his murder.

In the summer of 2000, Nick’s older brother Ben owed a $1,200 drug debt to Hollywood. Ben and Jesse- who had played in Little League together- were now feuding.

In a haphazard plan to exact revenge and ransom, Hollywood and his friends kidnapped Nick, who was 15. The boys took Nick to Santa Barbara, where they partied, hung out with girls. Hollywood consulted a retired attorney about the circumstances. Instead of possibly facing a life-sentence for aggravated kidnapping, it was decided that they would kill Nick and make it look as though he disappeared. Ryan Hoyt, also in debt to Hollywood, and now on death row, volunteered to fire the gun.

This is the first article in a short series Vargas-Cooper is writing for The Awl, with the next installment coming in about 10 days time.

New Career Opportunities Daily: The best jobs in media.

From their site:

I’m a Blogger… Get Me Out of Here! is a competition based on NBC and Granada USA’s “I’m a Celebrity… Get Me Out of Here”. We pit bloggers against each other in a contest to see who can survive to the final round, and win a trip to live blog behind the scenes at the I’m a Celebrity set in Costa Rica!

The sadist in us really wants to see New Jersey native, Krakauer in a Central American jungle. So vote him up here. Good times.

Previously on FBLA: TVNewser Comes to LA

New Career Opportunities Daily: The best jobs in media.

Jill Sobule sings,”You said you got a secret plan, you hired Glenn Beck and ruin the Republicans.”

We like Sobule. She volunteers at Write Girl, which makes her totally awesome.

Via Sobule’s Huffpo blog

Previously on FBLA: Merry Christmas From the Family

New Career Opportunities Daily: The best jobs in media.

New Career Opportunities Daily: The best jobs in media.