Eubie's notes

2005 Honda Accord, reviewed by Forbes. Also Accord was top pick by Consumer Reports.

NY Times — Under Bush, a New Age of Prepackaged Television News. The government has made for several years video press releases where they hire people to perform interviews and package the material like interviews.

Video releases were started under the Clinton administration and continues with the Bush administration. Segments are sent to TV stations. At this point there’s little difference between video and traditional press release.

Many corporations also do this Medialink Worldwide Inc. is a major business in this industry, according to the article.

TV stations air the pieces, but do they let viewers know this is a prepared piece by the interested party? Too often they don’t. There’s where the foul occurs. Readers or viewers can decide the credibility of the material shown, just let them know the source of the information.

It’s a lengthy article, but it’s great reading when the news directors try to explain or don’t bother explaining why they showed the segments without letting viewers know the source. Also the need to cut costs at local television stations make video press releases a tempting solution in filling the need for material.

NY Times — Savings: Lots of Talk, but Few Dollars

Personal savings have declined fairly steadily for more than two decades, even as tax incentives for savings have proliferated. According to a recent analysis by Elizabeth Bell, Adam Carasso and C. Eugene Steuerle at the Urban Institute, the federal government now spends more on tax breaks for retirement savings than Americans actually save.

and

By contrast, one of the hottest ideas in Washington grows out of new research on the behavior of savers. Recent studies by researchers at the Wharton School of Business and Harvard showed that employee contributions to 401(k) plans soared at companies that automatically enrolled employees and gave them a chance to opt out.

I can order this teakettle from Target.com at anytime of the day, but it takes seven weeks to ship it to me.

CNET —FAQ: Blogging on the job. “Being a blogger can get you in trouble nowadays, at least if you write something that sufficiently vexes your employer.”

From Tim Bray, technology director at Sun Microsystems: Ten Reasons Why Blogging is Good For Your Career. “For most people, blogging is a career-booster, both in your current job and when you’re looking for your next one.”

WSJ — Blogs Expose Personal Finance: The Good, the Bad and the Ugly. Looks at browing field of personal finance blogs

What really struck me about many of these blogs, and the people behind them, was the level of sensitive financial information they were willing to reveal. In the “real world,” people tend to jealously guard the intimate details of their financial lives: What you earn, how much you’ve saved, what you owe is viewed as so personal that many are unwilling to share the details with anyone — occasionally even their spouses.

Baltimore Sun — Roth 401(k) beckons for many workers next year. Next year, many employers are expected to add a modified Roth 401(k).

Fidelity — Fidelity Survey Provides Real-Time Look at the Retirement Readiness of Today’s Recent Retirees “Although many recent retirees (66%) report that they are living the lifestyle that they had hoped in retirement, over half (57%) look back on the years before leaving the workplace and wish they had done more to prepare, according to a new study by Fidelity Investments.”

NY Times — Analyzing the I.Q. of Money. “Walter Hertler, a technical analyst, thinks he has it figured out, and many stock market investors won’t like the news.

American Medical News — Medical costs lead more people to bankruptcy: Most debtors had health insurance when the illness that fueled their financial problems struck. Study from Health Affairs: MarketWatch: Illness And Injury As Contributors To Bankruptcy. “Among those whose illnesses led to bankruptcy, out-of-pocket costs average $11,854 since the start of illness; 75.7 percent had insurance at the onset of illness. Medical debtors were 42 percent more likely than other debtors to experience lapses in coverage. Even middle-class insured families often fall prey to financial catastrophe when sick.”

NY Times — After Writing a Will, You Still Have I’s to Dot. “But when people fail to make estate-planning decisions while they are alive and well, the results for their heirs can be costly and stressful.”

Wikipedia’s reputation is growing, partially in the belief that all its contributors collectively know more than even the staff and contributors of established encyclopedia publishers. Wired looks at a few of those who contribute to Wikipedia, how the contributors police themselves for accuracy and vandalism in The Book Stops Here.

Wired profiled March 8 profiled some of the top “editors” on Wikipedia. Editors are those who contribute and clean up others entries. Some spend hours each day volunteering on the Wikipedia.

College professor Clay Sharkey writes on his reaction to receiving papers where students cite Wikipedia as a source. He says Wikipedia entries are as good as the other encyclopedia entries, but students should still go to the primary sources. Sharkey continues a discussion about Wikipedia with danah. Tip: Brian Chin in buzzworthy

Poynter — In Search Of: The Best Online Reading Experience. “Reading on a computer brings a new set of design challenges. And it’s way more complicated than Gutenberg might have imagined. But the good news is that there’s a lot of research being done on this topic.”

Article also has preview of new fonts that will debut with Microsoft’s Longhorn OS. Another good article from Poynter linked from the article is Eight Things You Can Do Now To Improve On-Screen Readability

Atlanta Business Chronicle — ChoicePoint’s Smith is at a crossroads

Business First of Buffalo — Maple producers tap into cash crop

Houston Business Journal — Kidnapping for ransom a rising risk overseas: Insurance costs vary depending on country

Business First of Louisville — National campaign prompts dialogue on infection rates at hospitals

Biz Demographics: Hartford carries the heaviest economic stress of any large city

Silicon Valley/San Jose Business Journal: Startup uses tiny probes to store data

Los Angeles Business from bizjournals: Bugs and Daffy head to the future

Puget Sound Business Journal: Massive study threatened by vitamin E report scare

Silicon Valley/San Jose Business Journal: Up from nothing: He just wanted a job. He found a business.

Sometimes a great notion: He spent years turning an idea into a business.

From scratch: She learned enough to build her business to $10 million a year.

The turnaround queen: She helps companies rethink how they sell themselves.

Chasing the flames: His business descended from his days shooting video of fires.