The deadline is now. Thirty years ago, I faced a deadline once a day. For any reporter today, the deadline is … well, now. The technological leap into the Internet era that changed the notion of deadlines has consequences, as I wrote three years ago: Speed kills. Accuracy dies when hordes of people, each with […]
Author Archives | Dr. Denny
So you wanna be a citizen journalist? Good luck with that.
Citizen journalist. Citizen journalist? How does that adjective modify journalist? What is a citizen journalist? How does a citizen journalist differ from a plain, ink-stained (or digitally adept), adjective-unfettered journalist? CJs (let’s call them that; it sounds cool) are in demand. MSNBC wants them. It asks, “Be part of the dialogue of the issues affecting […]
Is CNN’s Howard Kurtz still credible? We’ll see.
How much credence should I place, beginning now, in whatever media reporter and critic Howard Kurtz says or writes? First came his ill-considered contretemps regarding NBA player Jason Collins’ announcement that he is gay. That led to this morning’s mea culpa on Kurtz’s “Reliable Sources” program on CNN, quizzed on his credibility by two other […]
Pew study: Newspapers’ hard times continue
Shocked! Shocked we should be! But the latest report on the State of the Media by the Pew Research Center’s Project for Excellence in Journalism comes as no surprise. The bottom line: Fewer resources equals compromised journalism. From a PEJ press release summarizing the 2013 report‘s overview: The report pinpoints multiple signs of shrinking reporting […]
Redistricting: by deceitfully moving a line, I can rule forever
In America, most — but probably not all — citizens who seek public office do so with initial good intent. They wish to perform a public service. That quaint, altruistic notion lasts, on the national level, perhaps 10 minutes after the swearing-in ceremony. Lobbyists descend. Party leaders demand fund-raising success now. The novice lawmaker is […]
At last: How to get Congress to work a full week
Americans do not have an effective Congress because its members’ fears of political poverty leave them spending too much time begging for money from those who have lots of it. That leaves too little time for members to deliberate, seek nuanced compromise, and, ultimately, legislate effectively. Many proposals to fix this coin-operated Congress have been […]
Children, baseball bats, and foreign policy
The boy, bigger than the rest, strode into the schoolyard, carrying a shiny, new, 34-inch Louisville slugger. He saw groups, some large, some small, of other boys. In darker, shady corners, lone boys lingered. The big boy looked around, here, there, everywhere. Everyone noticed that. Some of the other boys had bats, too, but none […]
The new transparency: Newspapers mine public data, and not everyone’s happy about it
Better get used to it, people. As governments increasingly place public information online, news organizations are going to demand access to it and print it — but not always with appropriate context. That must change. Among the leaders of the data-mining charge appears to be media conglomerate Gannett Co. Inc., owner of 82 U.S. daily […]
Is $6 billion in political spending a big deal?
Is $6 billion a lot of money? Depends. To Bill Gates or Warren Buffett, perhaps not so much. To me and 99.99 percent of Americans, yeah, it’s a lot of money. But, like much in life, the assignment of value often lies in placing context around any piece of data. So what context should embrace […]
When (and why) should an energy subsidy end?
A German-made 900kWh PowerWind56 wind turbine dominates the summit of Mount Institute in Hawley, Mass. It provides, says a ski industry website, 100 percent of the electricity needs of Berkshire East. That’s the ski area, formerly known as Thunder Mountain, at which I learned to ski. From the valley floor, the brilliant white blades seem […]
Four more years? Of what? Same old shit, no matter who wins.
I have cast a vote for president every four years for nearly half a century. Doing so is an obligation of citizenship. Each cast ballot has reminded me of those, in other nations, for whom voting is neither easy nor free of fraud or coercion. Sadly, in this election, voting may not be easy for […]
Our hardworking folks in Congress: more interested in keeping their jobs than doing their jobs
When voters elect members of Congress, they are hiring them to do a job. Voters, through their taxes, compensate those politicians well — $174,000 a year, and more if they have committee or leadership roles. Many, if not most, voters — unless they are among the 12.5 million without jobs — work about 35 hours […]
S&R Honors
Click here to learn more about past honorees...- IRS/Tea Party controversy: progressive groups “targeted,” too, and corporate media once again refuses to tell Americans the whole truth
- “Useful Enemies”: U.S. admitted not just Nazis after WWII, but their sadistic collaborators
- The time a source has to respond to request for comment? Virtually none.
- Profiling the Tea Party: In defense of the IRS. Sorta. Or not.
- Saturday Video Roundup: “Imagine the Band,” by John Lennon and Wings
- Mystery Unraveled: How a white, moderate, married, churchgoing, middle-class, middle-aged woman could vote for Obama
- An open letter to Burt Rutan, regarding his WSJ commentary on human-caused climate disruption
- Meet the men of Match.com: Really, guys, are you serious?
- Climate scientists still besieged
- Pelosi on Bush: “He’s not worth impeaching”
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Tea Party “profiling” case: progressive groups “targeted,” too, and corporate media once again refuses to tell Americans the whole truth | Scholars and Rogues: […] Party controversy. The debate got starte…
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Jim Booth: My only comment has to do with the writing... I re…
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- Carnival of Cities for 15 May 2013 | Sheila's Guide To The Good Stuff: […] Turkey Scholars & Rogues present…
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Samuel Smith: I try not to draw too many conclusions about peopl…
