BuzzMachine

The names

: Yad Vashem has put the names of more than 3 million victims of the Holocaust online. [via TimesOnline]

On second thought, take that shrimp off the barbie

: Shocking news: Australians are fatter than Americans. That’s doubly shocking because they have better beaches.

Criticizing the FCC

: Now here’s the third post quoting critics going after the FCC — at long f’ing last. The latest is James Wolcott (and quoting Jim always causes such… ahem… interesting comments):

In my book, I called for the toppling of Michael Powell at the FCC, whose arrogant, anti-democratic meddling becomes more autocratic with each inflation of his neck size.

I was thinking too small, which is unusual for me.

Jeff Jarvis has a bigger, better idea: abolish the FCC. Get rid of the whole busybody, bureaucratic shebang.

This is a call which can unite liberals, conservatives, and true libertarians–in short, all those who believe the First Amendment and free speech aren’t outmoded ideals that can be breeched whenever some bully behind a desk chooses to exercise his prerogatives and grab face-time on the news. Michael Powell has become a glutton for attention and it’s time to starve him and the rest of the white-collar censors.

Amen, brother it criticism. Let’s say it again: This is a call that [sorry… once a copy editor, always a copy editor] can unite liberals, conservatives, and true libertarians.

Chop suey commentary

: Frank Rich writes Chinese menu columns: He slaps together one thought from column A and one thought from column B that don’t belong together. And, yes, an hour later, your brain feels empty.

In his column tomorrow, he starts bemoaning the FCC’s censorship and the chill that brought 66 stations to preempt Saving Private Ryan.

Merely the threat that the F.C.C. might punish a TV station or a network is all that’s needed to push them onto the slippery slope of self-censorship before anyone in Washington even bothers to act. This is McCarthyism, “moral values” style.

But then, because the F words came in a movie about war, he tries — pulling from column B — to make this an issue not of government censorship but of the prowar Republicans. Get it? A movie about war was censored while we’re at war and so this must be a Bush coverup.

Can you say non sequitur?

Media on media

: I’m going to be on Brian Lehrer’s WNYC show (which I always enjoy) on Monday at 10:40 to talk about the FCC and all that. The show’s blog post on the story here.

: My interview with Bob Garfield on On the Media is up now here. They do a good job of editing down a longer chat into its key bits. Transcript up soon.

: Here’s audio of my appearance on David Lawrence’s show. He’s a good guy who’s also fighting this good fight.

: I’m supposed to have a perspective piece in the Philadelphia Inquirer tomorrow on the future of blogs, post-election. I’ll link to it when it’s up.