Sen. Barack Obama had this interesting anecdote in last night's debate: OBAMA: You know, I've heard from an Army captain who was the head of a rifle platoon — supposed to have 39 men in a rifle platoon. Ended up being sent to Afghanistan with 24 because 15 of those soldiers had been sent to […]
Jay Rosen at Pressthink and I have a bet on how New York Times ombudsman Clark Hoyt will "rule" on Thursday's McCain innuendo story. Jay predicts that Hoyt will "essentially say[ing]: you didn't have it." I don't think Hoyt's got the the guts -- or the ethical standards -- to even suggest this was a […]
The Politico has posted a response from Sen. John McCain's campaign to the New York Times hit piece in this morning's paper. It's some pretty deep-in-the-weeds stuff as written, but it does point out some problems with the Times story. Greg Sargent, no conservative, tries to tamp down on some of the glee on the […]
It's still sitting on my TiVo, so I'll hopefully watch it when my vacation hits next week, but two Sundays ago CBS newsmagazine "60 Minutes" interviewed the two remaining Democratic hopefuls for president. The interview was so devoid of probing or difficult questions, that even the Columbia Journalism Review had a hard time holding their […]
I typically work a swing shift (which is heck on the social life), but I've also pulled all-nighters working at various newspapers -- most of them when I was special sections editor/reporter/systems editor at The Daily World in Aberdeen, Wash. I actually pulled more all-nighters at that job than I did in college. Having said […]
More than a decade ago when I was a reporter for the Lompoc Record I had a great story drop into my lap. A female student (she was 18) at one of the area high schools (there are two) had received work-study credit for stripping. I'm not talking about removing the bark from wood, I'm […]
I found this one-panel webcomic, better-drawn than I could accomplish, that sorta just says it all.
THIS POST HAS BEEN UPDATED It's perhaps the most basic thing you get taught in a journalism class: Get both sides of the story. If Group A accuses Person B of Bad Thing X, you do your darndest to get Person B's side of the story. If Person B doesn't respond, you put that in […]
It was buried at the end of the Associated Press report on the House vote to hold two White House officials in contempt. The House voted Thursday to hold two of President Bush's confidants in contempt for failing to cooperate with an inquiry into whether a purge of federal prosecutors was politically motivated. The first […]
Starting in the early morning hours of Sunday, terrorists worldwide could take solace in the fact that U.S. intelligence agencies would have to jump through all sorts of hoops to listen in on their private phone conversations. How did this happen? First a FISA court ruled bizarrely, that terrorists have a right to privacy. Well, […]