IBD: Where Are the Journalistic Watchdogs on Social Security
April 29th, 2007 8:04 AM
Earlier this week, an Investors Business Daily editorial noted the weak treatment the Social Security Trustees' Report (summary here) received from the Formerly Mainstream Media:
Journalists in Washington are supposed to be public watchdogs. But when it comes to the crisis facing Social Security, they act more like lapdogs for politicians determined to shirk their responsibility.
The Washington…
Two Food Stamp Follies: Oregon Governor's Publicity Stunt, and the Rep
April 28th, 2007 6:33 PM
Oregon governor Ted Kulongoski got lots of attention earlier this week as he tried to show us how allegedly inadequate the Food Stamp program is (bold is mine):
Ore. gov. starts week on food stamps
By Julia Silverman, Associated Press Writer | April 25, 2007
SALEM, Ore. --If Gov. Ted Kulongoski seems a little sluggish this week, he's got an excuse: he couldn't afford coffee.
In fact, the…
AP Reporter Filed Story on Dem Debate 45 Min Before It Started
April 28th, 2007 3:42 PM
I have heard of journalists thinking they're gods of objectivity but this is a new one. Apparently, when you become an elite journalist, you also become a prophet. AP reporter Nedra Pickler (her real name) filed a story on the recent Democratic presidential debate 45 minutes before the event had even started. Mickey Kaus reports (h/t Small Dead Animals):Why have a debate? AP has already written…
Pro-environment Candidates Fly to Presidential Debate on Separate Plan
April 26th, 2007 10:15 PM
Assume for a second that you were a pro-environment presidential candidate that believed in anthropogenic global warming. Would you be trying to demonstrate that energy conservation and reducing carbon emissions were not just so many words in a stump speech, but something you truly believed in?Would you also expect that an impartial press might be analyzing your activities to make sure they…
Scientists Demand Changes to ‘The Great Global Warming Swindle’ DV
April 26th, 2007 10:40 AM
This is really hysterical: a group of scientists has sent a letter to the producer of the British documentary “The Great Global Warming Swindle” (video available here) demanding that changes be made to the film before the DVD version is released.Yet, despite the egregious errors and factual misstatements made by soon-to-be-Dr. Al Gore in his schlockumentary “An Inconvenient Truth,” no such call…
AP Reporter Fails to Describe Constitutional Objection to DC Congressi
April 24th, 2007 7:06 AM
In his report last Thursday (HT Smoke 'Em If You Got 'Em) on Congress's passage of a bill that would grant congressional representation for the District of Columbia, Associated Press writer Jim Abrams opened with nearly celebratory language. He also noted the existence of a constitutional objection to the law but failed to explain how ironclad that objection most likely is:The people of the…
Quiet Story of the Week: Maryland Abandons Wal-Mart Law Appeal
April 21st, 2007 9:58 AM
Of course there were many other newsmaking events this week, but the relatively silent treatment this story received from Old Media is still not a surprise (the link is to a story at a trade publication's web site; very few papers had a related story written by the Associated Press):
Maryland Abandons ‘Fair Share’ Health Care Fight
Skiers Protest Global Warming Hours Before Record Snowstorm Arrives
April 14th, 2007 2:41 PM
Are those combustibles, potables, and sharp objects still in a safe place? Good, because the Silly Saturday Snowstorm Stories continue.As reported Saturday morning by the Associated Press (emphasis added):WILMINGTON, N.Y. -- Skiers unfurled a protest banner in April snow on Whiteface Mountain on Saturday to kick off a nationwide day of demonstrations aimed at drawing attention to global warming.…
