Writing-Related Links (#SFWApro)

Journalism on and offline (that is offline with a web presence) is making an increasing push for page clicks and linking them to compensation. This could work out well for journalists (bonuses for attention-grabbing stories) or badly—cuts in salary, then telling you you’ll have to make up the difference through page hits. Most incentive-payment systems I’ve dealt with work out much better for the publisher.
Plus, of course, what happens to the necessary-but-not-gripping stories about city government, regulations, basic research, etc. (Lord knows articles on science try to make things as sensational as possible already)? I make mine as interesting as possible, but a lot of people will skip such topics because they’re pre-assumed to be boring.
Another problem touched on in the article: Some financial sites that open up to wider contributors get hit by people promoting stocks they’re invested in (or dumping on stocks they’re actually dumping). I could see that as a problem in lots of ways, much as various companies and government agencies have been caught rewriting Wikipedia.
•Gawker’s new platforom for commenters doesn’t impress Columbia Journalism Review.
•TV writers don’t think the Comcast/Time-Warner merger is a good idea.
•Anna Kashina wonders if the main character has to have a POV. I must admit that reading Blades of the Old Empire I didn’t think of Kara as the main character though she’s obviously an important one. Part of that, I think was that she doesn’t have a POV and she’s also part of an ensemble cast, as opposed to a Sherlock Holmes story where Holmes is always at the center of everything (as my review at the second link shows, I liked the book just the same).
•The standard rationale for a lot of sexism in Hollywood movies is that young men buy most of the tickets. Now it turns out women are the main audience, but Amanda Hess predicts Hollywood won’t change (why should it if women are already in the audience).
•Fatal Attraction has long been criticized for the sexism (homicidal predatory working woman Glenn Close contrasted with the sweet housewife protecting her family). This article argues that making her less of a raging psycho actually works against women: Why should female characters have to behave when men don’t? I think the author underestimates the sexism level of the film, but it’s still an interesting point (viaStillness of Heart)
•Via LadyRomp, several actresses on Hollywood sexism.
•Google and Viacom reach a settlement over the legality of some copyrighted material on YouTube.
•Amazon is extending credits to some consumers over the big ebook price-fixing lawsuit.