By Tracie Powell House Republican leaders Fred Upton (R-Mich.) and Greg Walden (R-Ore.) sat in front of a dry erase board with the hash-tag, #CommActUpdate, written in marker, to talk with former Federal Communications Commissioner Robert McDowell (a GOP appointee) via Google Hangout about updating the 1996 Communications Act. If ever there was an oxymoron. It is also symbolic of what's wrong with Washingto ...

By Tracie Powell When it comes to blurring the lines between advertising and news content, some journalists are leading the way. In the past, news organizations worked extra hard to keep their news and advertising departments separate. But the digital age, and the increasing importance of native advertising to news gatherers' bottom line, is changing all of that. Mashable's Chief Strategy Officer, Adam Ostr ...

By Tracie Powell Katie Couric's brand has underwhelmed and under-performed ever since she left NBC's Today Show in 2006. Yet Yahoo now thinks she'll be a big eyeballs and revenue draw as its new global news anchor. She might bring some initial attention to the aging Internet company, but I write why it probably won't work in the long-term in this weekend's The Washington Post. Can Couric attract a younger, ...

By Afi Scruggs Although the furor is waning over the Flint Journal’s handling of Councilmember Wantwaz Davis’ criminal past – the newspaper did not report that he is an ex-felon until the day after the election – one question remains: How will the newspaper prevent a similar lapse? Editor Marjory Raymer apologized to readers, but she has not said what the paper will do to prevent similar episodes from happe ...

By Tracie Powell It may sound like an episode of CSI (take your pick from the franchise), but journalists are using high-tech tools to combat photo manipulations, an increasingly needed skill in an era where news organizations are relying more and more on user-generated content. The rise of digital cameras and the move to digital photo formats makes image manipulations a lot easier. Now everyone can fire up ...

By Mike Green There are literally hundreds of programs, efforts and initiatives across the nation targeting the empowerment of America's black boys. The result of so many efforts is demonstrable failure to move significant needles that measure success. Most of these efforts are severely under-funded and most miss the mark with their predominant focus on marketing mantra from the 20th century (i.e. get a goo ...

News sites that publish mugshots as a service or to attract traffic are being affected by a Google tweak that keeps the photos from the top of search results. READ THE WHOLE STORY HERE.  ...

Is Twitter Ruining America and American politics? "Why do we need journalism when we have social media" is the rallying cry of those who have a perspective to share. If you have something to say — a cool link you saw or a photo or a review of a restaurant — you go on Facebook and Twitter and Yelp and say it. Why do you need journalists to tell you about links or how good restaurants are when you have social ...

By Tracie Powell Throughout its 168 year history, Scientific American is known as much for its writers as it is for its exploration of science and technology. Many famous scientists, including Albert Einstein, have written for the magazine. Danielle Lee is another one of its well-known scientific writers. Lee, a biologist who studies animal behavior, mammals and the ways organisms interact with their enviro ...

So you've probably already seen Marina Shifrin's interpretive dance video exit from her place of employment that went viral this week. Well, her former bosses at Next Media Animation respond with a dance video of their own in which they announce, "We're Hiring." Have resume, will travel! Enjoy the video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1ukGrwL4ky4 And just in case, by some miracle, you missed it, here's Mari ...