Friday, May 26, 2017

"The Media's Best Kept Secret Was A Free Wall Street Journal Login, And Now It's Gone"

BF:
For years, one of the best/worst kept secrets in media circles was a login that unlocked the Wall Street Journal's formidable paywall. Username: media. Password: media.

...


Like the best urban myths, the origins of media media have been lost in the grey fog of time. But here's what we do know: The email address and subscriber name associated with the account listed two current and former NBC Universal employees, and it was used by NBC's communications department to access the Journal at least five years ago, according to a person familiar with the matter.

At some point, media media escaped the confines of NBC and made it into the wild, where it spread like the best, most welcome kind of invasive species.