Childhood, Uncensored; New York Times, 12/28/12

Catherine Saint Louis, New York Times; Childhood, Uncensored: "Last year, Ms. Myracle’s so-called Internet girls series — consisting of the titles ”ttyl,” “ttfn,” and “l8r, g8r” (ask a young person to decipher the texting language) — topped the list of challenged and banned books nationwide, according to the American Library Association’s Office for Intellectual Freedom. (Angela Maycock, its assistant director, estimated that only 20 to 25 percent of challenges to books on school or public library shelves are reported.) Earning such a ranking requires a groundswell of people going to their libraries and declaring, “This is trash,” Ms. Maycock explained."

Newspaper on Cape Cod Apologizes for a Veteran Reporter’s Fabrications; New York Times, 12/28/12

Katherine Q. Seelye, New York Times; Newspaper on Cape Cod Apologizes for a Veteran Reporter’s Fabrications: "In their apology, the publisher and editor wrote, “Clearly, we placed too much trust in a reporter and did not verify sourcing with necessary frequency.” To prevent it from happening again, they said they would make spot checks of sources more often and hold ethics training sessions. Mr. Pronovost said he had expected “to get hammered” by critics “as the latest example of lax standards,” citing past cases of plagiarism and fabrications at other publications, including The New York Times. Instead his newspaper was praised in journalism circles and received positive messages for the front-page apology and response."

Blogger Christopher Fountain Hits Back Against Gun Owners' Map, Publishes Addresses Of Journal News Staff; HuffingtonPost.com, 12/27/12

HuffingtonPost.com; Blogger Christopher Fountain Hits Back Against Gun Owners' Map, Publishes Addresses Of Journal News Staff: "Blogger Christopher Fountain retaliated against a New York newspaper, which recently published the addresses of local gun owners, by publishing the addresses and phone numbers of the newspaper's staff. The Journal News published the names and addresses of legal gun owners in Westchester and Rockland counties. The paper has been criticized for allegedly putting people in danger."

Cranberry man files suit against LinkedIn; Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, 12/27/12

Rich Lord, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette; Cranberry man files suit against LinkedIn: "A Cranberry man who heads a local foundation has filed suit against the networking firm LinkedIn Corp. to find out who put his name, personal cell phone and email on the popular site. And so far, LinkedIn won't tell him. Rick D. Senft, president and CEO of the Passavant Memorial Home Foundation, filed suit today in U.S. District Court in Pittsburgh."

The Shocking Amazing Spider-Man Plot Twist That Inspired Death Threats; Wired.com, 12/27/12

Laura Hudson, Wired.com; The Shocking Amazing Spider-Man Plot Twist That Inspired Death Threats: "Poor Spider-Man. Five years after the webslinging superhero was forced to retroactively erase his marriage to Mary Jane in a desperate deal with the devil (true story), things are about to get even worse for Peter Parker in Amazing Spider-Man #700, a issue so controversial that it inspired numerous death threats against the book’s long-time writer Dan Slott. So what could happen to Spidey that would make his satanic retroactive divorce look tame in comparison?"

Netflix Social Sharing Bill Passes Without Email Privacy Protection; HuffingtonPost.com, 12/26/12

HuffingtonPost.com; Netflix Social Sharing Bill Passes Without Email Privacy Protection: "The "Netflix amendment" to the Video Privacy Protection Act is headed to President Barack Obama's desk for his signature after it was unanimously passed by the Senate on Dec. 20. The bill was crafted to let the movie rental giant allow users to share their online viewing habits on social networking sites like Facebook. Privacy protections imposed after Supreme Court nominee Robert Bork had his video rental history exposed in 1987 had prohibited users from doing that."

New York Journal News Publishes Gun Owners' Names In Westchester, Rockland Counties; HuffingtonPost.com, 12/25/12

Rebecca Shapiro, HuffingtonPost.com; New York Journal News Publishes Gun Owners' Names In Westchester, Rockland Counties: "Some critics felt the Journal News article put people in danger. "Do you fools realize that you also made a map for criminals to use to find homes to rob that have no guns in them to protect themselves? What a bunch of liberal boobs you all are," one commenter wrote on the newspaper's website. Others worried that the names would expose law enforcement officials. "You have judges, policemen, retired policemen, FBI agents — they have permits. Once you allow the public to see where they live, that puts them in harm’s way," Paul Piperato, the Rockland county clerk, told Journal News reporter Worley."

When Media’s Decision in the Face of Events Is to Say Nothing About Them; New York Times, 12/23/12

Will Storey, New York Times; When Media’s Decision in the Face of Events Is to Say Nothing About Them: "For the previous decade, The A.P. had been adjusting to an increasing demand for entertainment-related news. There was frustration in the newsroom about reporting entertainment news, but widespread recognition that the industry was changing and that they had to reconsider what was newsworthy. “The A.P. was feeling our way through this transition,” Mr. Washington said. “What do we cover? What do we not cover? Do we dip our toe or go in waist-deep?” He went on to point out that reporters make decisions about what is news and what is not news every day, and that as the industry evolves, the types of news that are covered change. “Everyone knew that J.F.K. and Marilyn Monroe were sleeping together,” he said, “but no one reported it.”... “In some ways, it’s commendable,” said Edward Wasserman, a professor of journalism ethics at Washington and Lee University. “What they’re doing is making public the criteria they’re applying; they are inviting the public to consider whether the criteria they are applying are valid.” On the other hand, he added, “To say, ‘I don’t care what he has to say, he’s a clown’ — you run the risk of giving insufficient consideration to potential newsmakers.”"

Giving Mom’s Book Five Stars? Amazon May Cull Your Review; New York Times, 12/22/12

David Streitfeld, New York Times; Giving Mom’s Book Five Stars? Amazon May Cull Your Review: "Amazon has not said how many reviews it has killed, nor has it offered any public explanation. So its sweeping but hazy purge has generated an uproar about what it means to review in an era when everyone is an author and everyone is a reviewer. Is a review merely a gesture of enthusiasm or should it be held to a higher standard? Should writers be allowed to pass judgment on peers the way they have always done offline or are they competitors whose reviews should be banned? Does a groundswell of raves for a new book mean anything if the author is soliciting the comments?"

As Debt Rises and Job Prospects Dim, Some Say It's Time to Put a Warning Label on Graduate School; Chronicle of Higher Education, 12/9/12

Stacey Patton, Chronicle of Higher Education; As Debt Rises and Job Prospects Dim, Some Say It's Time to Put a Warning Label on Graduate School: "The student-debt problem, coupled with the dearth of jobs, has sparked a national conversation about whether going to graduate school is worth it. Attendees at the conference said it is unethical to keep admitting students to programs and training them for jobs that don't exist while they are racking up piles of debt only to risk finding university employment as just an adjunct, or obtaining some other low-wage job for which a graduate degree is not necessary, or ending up on food stamps."

eBooks For Libraries Web Site Relaunches, Focus is Now Public Awareness About Issues; Library Journal, 12/11/12

Gary Price, Library Journal; eBooks For Libraries Web Site Relaunches, Focus is Now Public Awareness About Issues: ""The eBooks For Libraries web site, sponsored by Library Renewal and the Topeka & Shawnee County Public Library in Kansas, has relaunched and will now provide public awareness and news about ebooks for libraries. David Lee King writes, “Our goal isn’t to complain, but to share information about the current ebook landscape, and how it affects libraries. We’ll explain current issues, and what they actually MEAN for libraries... We do hope eBooks For Libraries takes some time to explain privacy concerns with ebooks (including borrowing them from the library and reading on a Kindle) with those who visit their site. Libraries have earned a lot of well-deserved praise for keeping reader records private. We, at the very least, should make users clear about what ebook information is shared and with whom. In other words, be transparent, informative, and clear. That’s all.”"

Basketball Players’ Night Off Makes a Stand for Sitting Out; New York Times, 11/30/12

Sam Borden, New York Times; Basketball Players’ Night Off Makes a Stand for Sitting Out: "“I don’t think he did anything unethical,” said W. Michael Hoffman, the executive director of the center for business ethics at Bentley University in Waltham, Mass. “I’d also say that if Stern decides to sanction, that would be closer to an ethical discussion. To sanction him for Popovich trying to do his job the best way he determines? That is what leaders of any organization are hired to do. Popovich’s primary obligation is to the team.”...Hoffman acknowledged the conflicting ethical obligations in the Spurs’ situation — Stern’s emotion came from what he apparently perceived as an act disrespectful to the fans and the game, while Popovich felt compelled to act in the best interest of his team — but cautioned that imposing discipline was wrong if there were no specific guidelines given ahead of time."