Due to the recent budget cuts and the rising cost of electricity, the light at the end of the tunnel has been turned off. We apologize for the inconvenience.Nothing further to add.
Monday, June 16, 2008
Light at end of tunnel
Seen in "The Vent" today, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution's daily collection of wit, wisdom, wisecracks and -- oh, you read it and fill in the blanks -- this gem:
Tuesday, June 03, 2008
Link: National Journal and Hotline
A must for political junkies (belatedly acknowledged by a political junkie who surfed into it today) is The National Journal which includes not only commentary by Ronald Brownstein, formerly of The Los Angeles Times and one of the best White House reporters in the business, and longtime consultant Charlie Cook, but also a link to The Hotline, the daily newsletter. Here's the blurb on the "About Us" page:
National Journal Group is the leading source of nonpartisan reporting on the current political environment and emerging policy trends. Our print, online and broadcast properties include National Journal, CongressDaily, The Hotline, NationalJournal.com,The Capital Source, The Almanac of American Politics, Convention Daily, "National Journal On Air" and "Washington Week with Gwen Ifill and National Journal ."(Italics omitted.)
With 110 editors and reporters focused solely on Washington, National Journal Group's publications provide unmatched insight and set the editorial bar in political reporting. As a result, National Journal Group enjoys unparalleled readership loyalty from decision makers and policy influencers across the nation. National Journal Group's publications have become trusted professional resources for Members of Congress and their senior staffs, the Executive branch, federal agency executives, government affairs professionals, corporate and association leaders, and the political news media.
Sunday, June 01, 2008
ABC bias? A comment and a mea culpa
Well, now I've up and done it. I've posted to the comments "forum" on an online political column. It's by Jake Tapper of ABC News, and it chronicles another "pastor disaster" in Barack Obama's campaign. Except it turns out to be the same "disaster" that had been reported before. In today's column, Tapper linked to a second YouTube snippet from Fr. Michael Pfleger's May 25 sermon "from the pulpit of Sen. Barack Obama's now former church."
Here's the timing. Sunday, May 25. Fr. Pfleger, of St. Sabina Church on the South Side of Chicago, preached at Trinity United Church of Christ. At week's end the first YouTube snippet, in which the visiting priest mocked Obama's opponent Sen. Hillary Clinton, started rocketing around the Internet -- and the mainstream media. Saturday afternoon, May 30, at a campaign stop in South Dakota, Obama announced he had submitted a letter of resignation from the church. (Protestants often join a specific parish by signing a membership book and transfer membership by letter, so the procedure isn't uncommon.) Then on Sunday, May 31 (today) at 10:46 p.m. (Eastern time), Tapper published the new snippet under the headline "Rev. Pfleger: "America is the Greatest Sin Against God." I don't question the accuracy of the snippet. Fr. Pfleger is a well-known firebrand, and, well, YouTube is what it is. Nor did I question Tapper's license to editorialize. His column, a blog, really, is called "Political Punch: Power, pop, and probings from ABC News Senior National Correspondent Jake Tapper." It carries his picture, and that, too, identifies it as an opinion piece.
But I did question Tapper's timing. So I wrote in the comments field:
Another reason, I'd say, why we really ought to keep our ledes down to 20 or 25 words.
Here's the timing. Sunday, May 25. Fr. Pfleger, of St. Sabina Church on the South Side of Chicago, preached at Trinity United Church of Christ. At week's end the first YouTube snippet, in which the visiting priest mocked Obama's opponent Sen. Hillary Clinton, started rocketing around the Internet -- and the mainstream media. Saturday afternoon, May 30, at a campaign stop in South Dakota, Obama announced he had submitted a letter of resignation from the church. (Protestants often join a specific parish by signing a membership book and transfer membership by letter, so the procedure isn't uncommon.) Then on Sunday, May 31 (today) at 10:46 p.m. (Eastern time), Tapper published the new snippet under the headline "Rev. Pfleger: "America is the Greatest Sin Against God." I don't question the accuracy of the snippet. Fr. Pfleger is a well-known firebrand, and, well, YouTube is what it is. Nor did I question Tapper's license to editorialize. His column, a blog, really, is called "Political Punch: Power, pop, and probings from ABC News Senior National Correspondent Jake Tapper." It carries his picture, and that, too, identifies it as an opinion piece.
But I did question Tapper's timing. So I wrote in the comments field:
How, exactly, does this qualify as news since Obama already resigned from the church during yesterday's news cycle?Here's the mea culpa: When I read Tapper's 45-word-long lede, I didn't notice he'd tucked away a reference to "Obama's now former church" in the middle of all the verbiage. So when I wrote my comment, I thought he didn't spell that out till the fifth graf.
Why, exactly, did you not mention his resignation till the fifth graf?
Where are your journalistic ethics?
How, exactly, can I explain this to my students?
Posted by: journalism t\Teacher | Jun 1, 2008 11:42:27 PM
Another reason, I'd say, why we really ought to keep our ledes down to 20 or 25 words.
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