The headline of an article in today’s New York Times by Motoko Rich, “Literacy Debate: Online, R U Really Reading?,” may be missing a question more important than the one it asks—more important, at least, to educators. That is, can online reading be merged with more traditional reading forms and methods to develop a new (and more culturally and technologically appropriate) form of reading? Fortunately, the piece does finally address the question.

I was standing on the sidewalk, had a noise in my head.
There were loudspeakers babbling, but nothing was said. – Richard Farina

See, here’s what “they” don’t get: It’s not that we of the great unwashed are unruly, rude, and unlettered—but that “they,” the people who (in their own minds) have earned the right to speak to us, do nothing but babble.

The YouTube, MySpace, Facebook; all of these sites are significant amongst the millions and millions of internet websites around the world. These are among the more popular and more controversial sites that plague favorite past times. The big question, however, is are these web browsers and the many others out there on the internet the new source of education and entertainment?

Anatoly Kirichenko
Future of the Internet

interesting observations, promoted -- cho

A couple of days after the New York Times, according to some, helped the Public Integrity Section (PIS) of the Bush Justice Department shaft Spitzer the stories start going the rounds again about how vulnerable the Times is to a takeover. This one came up this morning.Firesale at the Times. The story has some legs of its own because the hedge fund group that is accumulating shares (Harbinger) now has a bigger position than the NYT’s family owners. The structure of the company prevents them taking over ownership directly but they are now in a position to do a lot of damage to the share price. Judging from the shares’ price performance over the last few years that’s probably not something that will impinge too much on the thinking of the paper’s present ownership.

House Committee Dismisses Criticisms of
Internet Thought Control Bill - H.R. 1995

By Michael Collins
Washington, D.C.
Part 2 (Part 1)

By an Overwhelming Majority

Congress Brings You…

Why is this happening?

• “Women comprise 51 percent of the entire U.S. population, but own a total of only 80 stations, or 5.87 percent of all full power commercial television stations.”

• “Minorities comprise 34 percent of the entire U.S. population, but own a total of 43 stations, or 3.15 percent of all full-power commercial television stations.” That percentage decreased between Oct. 2006 and Oct. 2007.