[SIGCIS-Members] footnote re: Washington Post problems

Wed Apr 25 18:46:29 PDT 2012

Hey SIGCISers,

I thought about emailing this link earlier in the week, then decided against it, but now I've re-decided for it. I saw this interesting post from the Wash Post ombudsman regarding the recent resignation of a blogger-reporter for improper citation practices:

http://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/elizabeth-flocks-resignation-the-post-fails-a-young-blogger/2012/04/20/gIQAFACXWT_story.html

It reminded me of the problem Nathan E. had with his work not being credited (that was also the Wash Post, right?) and the whole "inventor of email" thing. It also suggested to me a secondary (but not alternative) narrative for these oversights: Namely, the decimation of the Wash Post and other great newspapers' newsrooms because of that potent mix that is public trading (i.e. relentless search for more profits with fewer staff) and the continued assault that online aggregators, the web, etc, is making on papers' bottom lines. I don't think this is any excuse for the blasé attitude the Post showed towards Nathan and others regarding its reporters' failures. Even so, it also suggests to me that there are broader, more profound structural and financial forces--many of them interwoven with digital media--that are creating these conditions for gross shortcomings in research, reportage, and oversight at the Wash Post and other newspapers. And, also, that these structural issues will undermine efforts at addressing problems in the newsroom (and limit the good influence we historians can have--but it arguably also increases the value of our work as readers and critics who fact check from without, as it were). As someone who also lives by the work I do with my words, and who sometimes questions the infrastructural arrangements compensating for those words, I read the story above and felt some gloomy kinship for the folks at the Wash Post.

Best,
Bernard

Bernard Dionysius Geoghegan
Institut für Kulturwissenschaft
Wissenschaftlicher Mitarbeiter
Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin

www.bernardg.com

On Apr 25, 2012, at 5:51 PM, Thomas Haigh wrote:

> Hello SIGCIS members,
> 
> You might consider submitting for these small awards. Our members have had
> some success in the past -- Andrew Russell won the "research grant" in 2010.
> (http://www.asis.org/SIG/SIGHFIS/about_sighfis.htm) The deadline is looming.
> The best unpublished paper award is attractive primarily if you hope to
> attend the ASIS&T meeting anyway, as the $500 prize for the best paper award
> would be largely consumed by conference registration costs.
> 
> Tom
> 
> -----Original Message-----
> From: sighfis-l-bounces at asis.org [mailto:sighfis-l-bounces at asis.org] On
> Behalf Of Lai Ma
> Sent: Monday, April 16, 2012 7:54 AM
> To: asis-l at asis.org; sighfis-l at asis.org
> Subject: [Sighfis-l] REMINDER : ASIS&T History Fund Awards 2012
> 
> The ASIS&T History Fund Advisory Board announces the following two
> competitive awards for 2012:
> 
> 1) The ASIS&T History Fund Research Award
> 
>      This award will be for a maximum of $1,000 and will be awarded for the
> best research support proposal submitted by May 1, 2012. All topics relevant
> to the history of information science and technology may be proposed. The
> proposal should state: the central topic or question to be researched,
> qualifications of the researcher (brief vita should be included), a budget,
> and how the funds will be expended. All funds must be expended by June 30,
> 2013. Submit proposal to http://www.softconf.com/asist/History_Fund/ (choose
> the "Research Award" 
> category) by May 1, 2012. If an award is made for 2012, the winner will be
> notified by June 1, 2012.
> 
> 
> 2) The ASIS&T History Fund Best Paper Award
> 
>      This award will be for a maximum of $500 and will be awarded for the
> best paper submitted by May 1, 2012. All topics relevant to the history of
> information science and technology will be considered. The paper should not
> have been previously published or submitted to a journal. The paper should
> not exceed 30 pages double-spaced, including notes/references, using APA
> style manual. The ASIS&T History Advisory Board will review all submissions
> and decide if an award is to be made by June 1, 2012. If an award is made
> the winner will be expected to present the paper at the 2012 ASIS&T Annual
> Meeting pre-conference and give first rights of refusal for publication to
> the Journal of the American Society for Information Science and Technology.
> Submit papers to http://www.softconf.com/asist/History_Fund/ (choose the
> "Research Award" category).
> 
> 
> The ASIS&T History Fund was established by the ASIS&T Board of Directors in
> June, 2000 for the purposes of supporting and encouraging research and
> publication in the history of information science and technology. 
> The Fund is supported by donations (including book royalties) from ASIS&T
> members and others with interest in the history of information science and
> technology. The Fund Advisory Board encourages further donations from anyone
> interested in supporting historical study of information science and
> technology.
> 
> Members of the ASIS&T History Fund Advisory Board for 2012 are:
> Kathryn La Barre, Chair
> Sarah Buchanan, Chair-Elect
> Julian Warner, Past Chair
> Michael Buckland
> Samantha Hastings
> 
> For further information on submitting a proposal for the grant award or the
> best paper award for 2012 please contact Lai Ma at lama at indiana.edu.
> 
> 
> 
> 
> _______________________________________________
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> Sighfis-l at asis.org
> http://mail.asis.org/mailman/listinfo/sighfis-l
> 
> _______________________________________________
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