The name is an homage to the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists Doomsday Clock. But "Dr. Strangelove" works too.
The germ of the idea for The Journalism Doomsday Clock--though it languished for over a year--was not the current commercial implosion of the profession. It was in fact a case of a plagiarist caught at a major television network. Said person was also a much touted "teacher" for seminars sold by purported media gadfly site Media Bistro
When journalists from a couple of big city papers contacted Media Bistro for comment on their expert pedagogue, the folks at the site stonewalled, and then abruptly (well, after a few hours) removed any mention of the plagiarist/teacher from their site.
It struck us as another example of pretenders claiming to impart journalistic wisdom on the unsuspecting populace. In other professions, it might be called fraud.
Hence, the Doomsday reference. Today, the name of our site has taken on new significance as major news organizations cut back, close, and all but eliminate news rooms across the country. To be sure, professional journalists are under assault, not only by the corrupt and powerful (which is as it should be) but by an economic tsunami and a flood of "information" on the World Wide Web.
Is this a good thing? We think not. Therefore we bring you, The Journalism Doomsday Clock.
