Jon Friedman

Media Crack

Boston Globe's 'Friendly' Joke

In your soothing Wednesday media column: the Boston Globe has a sense of humor, Jon Friedman turns 10, the Weekly Standard's getting dumped, Steve Doocy's kid finds a job, and crazy people want to start a new newspaper. More »

06/10/09

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By Hamilton Nolan

Comment by Front_Towards_Enemy: The Boston Globe is sinking fast while its Union goes about re-arranging the deck chairs and demanding better living quarters. more » | Other threads
series of tubes

Capturing Jon Friedman
Jon Friedman, the superlative media columnist for MarketWatch, wants to say just one word to you. Just one word. Are you listening? Web. There's a great future in the web. Just think about it. Friedman himself has embraced this "web," it seems, and now he has a little YouTube thing where he will explain the future of the media to you in one minute or less, every week. If you have never heard or seen Friedman, it is an enlightening experience! For example, now we understand why he doesn't "get" Anderson Cooper. But Friedman's is a reassuring message—that there is room for all of us on this "web," regardless of age, appearance, or ability to craft and present a compelling opinion. (Video after the jump!) More »

06/09/08

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By Pareene

Comment by lizzybennett: you know, a good plastic surgeon can pin those things back... more » | Other threads
mass appeal

Jon Friedman Doesn't "Get" Anderson Cooper
MarketWatch media guru Jon Friedman just doesn't get the deal with that Anderson Cooper fellow. You know the one, right? Infinite blue eyes, enveloping gaze, powerful (but gentle) arms, distinguished and shimmering silver hair? Works on CNN? Well Friedman thinks he's the bunk! People just like Anderson 'cause he's adorable, and warm, and kind, and earnest! Not for any good reasons! Or, as Friedman puts it: "Yes, CNN's Anderson Cooper has heart. He oozes empathy. He's clearly a good-hearted fellow and, by all accounts, as likeable as all get-out." YES, YES, BUT WHY IS HE SO POPULAR? And, more importantly, why don't people feel the same way about Jon Friedman?? (Click thru to see the t-shirt we just bought for Jon, btw.) More »

06/04/08

3,164

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By Pareene

Comment by Road_Rash: @htotheomo: Ummmm no. more » | Other threads
journalismism

5 Years After Jayson Blair, Newspapers Too Broke to Care About Ethics
Superstar MarketWatch media columnist Jon Friedman remembered recently that there was this young fellow who worked for the Times once who got in trouble for making things up and lying. It was a bit of a scandal! It happened five years ago this... season, so Friedman asks a couple folk what they think of the current state of media ethics. Salon's Joan Walsh says the Jayson Blair (for that was the fabricator's name) scandal forced writers and editors to remind themselves not to lie, or to maybe fact-check once in a while. Editor & Publisher's Greg Mitchell says the scandal encouraged more papers to issue corrections more often and not plagiarize so much. But a couple critics note that Jayson Blair is really the least of the newsmedia's woes in 2008. More »

05/07/08

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By Pareene

Comment by BowlingAlleyLawyer: @Ssscorpion: I gotta disagree with you there. I don't think people really want non-partisan reporting. They want to either yell... more » | Other threads
magazines

Jon Friedman Also Misses 'George'
MarketWatch media guru Jon Friedman wants to know why you kids aren't reading three of his favorite magazines anymore: U.S. News & World Report, The Sporting News, and Fast Company. We want to know whatever happened to Collier's Weekly! And where's our new issue of The American Mercury? [MarketWatch]

03/14/08

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By Pareene

Comment by Malegirdle: is Jon Friedman a successfully mainstreamed developmentally disabled man? because there has to be some inspirational meta-reason why anyone is... more » | Other threads
jon friedman

Jon Friedman Says Something We Don't Really Object To
Marketwatch media person (and frequent target of Gawker ridicule) Jon Friedman actually wrote a thought that is sorta original and correct and interesting! According to him, MSNBC's ratings may suck, but they "stand out in one underappreciated category: embarrassing, mealy-mouthed apologies." He refers to David Shuster's suspension for his remarks about Chelsea Clinton (ably dissected down to the very last gruesome detail by Rachel Sklar here), which, along with Chris Matthews' half-hearted and partially reversed apology for being insane about Hillary, has MSNBC holding the early lead in the "apologizing to the Clintons" race. Of course, in the overall apology race, Fox did force anchor John Gibson to apologize for laughing it up at the death of Heath Ledger. But he didn't really mean it so that doesn't count. [Marketwatch]

02/15/08

379

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By Pareene

Comment by slakboy: What would Ashleigh Banfield do? more » | Other threads
class warfare

Friedman: Ron Rosenbaum Will Save The Internet
Marketwatch media critic Jon Friedman's MEDIA WEB QUESTION OF THE DAY: "Who is your favorite writer on the Internet?" Ours is MarketWatch media critic Jon Friedman! Today he wants to introduce you to 61-year-old Ron Rosenbaum, who, writing at Washington Post-owned internet magazine of conventional wisdom plus occasional contrarianism Slate, "represent[s] a turning point in the evolution of online journalism." Finally, these new-fangled internet websites are hiring ultra-established, book-writin' old white dudes. More »

01/25/08

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By Pareene

Comment by trojanhorse: @raincoaster: good one more » | Other threads
the new model

The 'Times' Bets It All On Graphics
Vivian Schiller General Manager, NYTimes.com: I just want to say one word to you—just one word. More »

10/03/07

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By abalk

Comment by collegecallgirl: My aunt is on the cutting edge of this trend. She sends me Photo Parades of kids I've never even... more » | Other threads
bad spin

Why People Care About 'Portfolio'
Today endlessly irksome media columnist Jon Friedman writes: "It's still hard to believe that a monthly, which has published a total of two issues, can seem so important. Yet Portfolio has taken on the aura of a big-budget Hollywood production, where pandemonium appears to be everywhere. Unfortunately, the magazine raises comparisons with "Heaven's Gate" and "Gigli." ("Do you even remember the latter's plot line?" Friedman asks. Sadly, some people do.) Friedman trots out Portfolio's publisher David Carey and Conde publicist Perri Dorset to dismiss the hubbub and claim that everyone's just talking about their stories. And, for real? It's "hard to believe" that this magazine—for which Conde Nast crowed about spending $100 million and poached nearly every business journalist with a pulse and maybe one standout clip—"can seem so important"? More »

08/20/07

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By Doree Shafrir

Comment by Dusty in the Wind: So should I not feel so bad no is replying to my pitch inquiries over there? more » | Other threads
our celebrities, ourselves

Jon Friedman Loves Julia Allison
Much like the many men who want to do Julia Allison but don't want to be known as having done the charming Star Editor-at-Large, plenty of reporters want to write a story about Julia Allison, but don't want to be known for having penned a profile of the bubbly media figure. Marketwatch's Jon Friedman finds the perfect solution to the dilemma: Pretend it's a happy piece about a stupid weblog, and then, with that window-dressing in place, Allison it up! It's a charming, self-inoculating strategy, and who are we to begrudge the guy? Julia Allison, like it or not, is traffic! Think about that when you write your angry comments about why we're giving her so much coverage, okay? More »

08/15/07

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By abalk

Comment by MisterHippity: Please do not feed the Julia Allison post. more » | Other threads
media bubble

Conrad Black Even Swears Like Nixon
In an interview with the Guardian, Conrad Black calls his fraud trial "bullshit" and announces that he's at war with the U.S. government. The paper also has an excerpt from Black's forthcoming biography of Richard Nixon, which praises the former president's "surpassing dignity." Read into that what you will. [Guardian] More »

Media Critic's Finger Firmly On The Pulse

[W]hy did "60 Minutes" feel the need to include in Sunday's show a melodramatic segment dealing (again) with the Duke alleged-rape case? The program showed the furious parents of the accused lacrosse players sounding off before a national audience....Then again, maybe I'm in the minority here. Perhaps America craves the spectacle of furious mothers railing against a flawed legal system.

Jon Friedman

60 Minutes "made Nielsen's top-10 list by delivering its best audience in key demographics in over a year last Sunday," CBS notes in a press release. The newsmag had 14,470,000 viewers and delivered an 11.2/16. "The broadcast finished at #6 in viewers and #5 in households to make the weekly top-10 list for the fifth time this season. In adults 25-54, 60 Minutes (6.0/12) had it best delivery since Jan. 8, 2006 and best adults 18-49 (4.9/11) delivery since Dec. 11, 2005." Scott Pelley had an interview with President Bush and Lesley Stahl had a double-length segment on the Duke rape case...

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