Four in the evening

1. Russia and Nigeria launch what is perhaps the most poorly named business venture in history. BBC (via TPM)

2. Jill Stewart launches another volley at Los Angeles Times media critic James Rainey in response to his critical column about the LA Weekly editor. Once again, she cites awards at the LA Press Club as evidence that she's on the right track. LAT

3. Ann Arbor is about to lose its only daily newspaper. Poynter

4. Scott Martelle on Michael Jackson, Marshal McLuhan and the evolution of new media. Scott Martelle

CNN's medium is a mess

I've watched a fair amount of CNN's coverage of the Iranian protests today. Between the giant CNN ads at the bottom of the screen (BREAKING NEWS!) and the fetishistic fascination with Twitter, iReports and camera shots of computer screens showing videos and photos posted on various websites, I'm left to wonder if the entire network has gone fucking insane.

Are the producers there more interested in showing how they're getting information - and advertising that they're hip to the new social-networking tools - than in figuring out what the hell is going on in Iran? Can important reporting escape this self-referential echo chamber anymore?

The Iranian people aren't protesting because they have access to Twitter, they're using Twitter (and emails, and phone calls, and word of mouth, and chants, and blogs) to help organize their protests.