Shikha Dalmia at Reason.com had a few things to say about liberals and their penchant for ignoring inconvenient evidence in an article entitled, “The Myth of the Scientific Liberal.” Since part of the subject matter involves climate disruption, I’m sure Brian Angliss would ordinarily have much of weight and merit to contribute, but alas, time […]
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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 […]
Why bad school rankings hurt our children (or, are you listening, US News Best High Schools Rankings?)
by J. Stephen O’Brien The annual US News rankings of US high schools is out today. Here are the assessments of two high schools in two states. High School #1 Reading proficiency score: 3.4 Math proficiency score: 3.1 Students proficient in reading: 92% Students proficient in math: 92% High School #2 Reading proficiency score: 2.9 […]
What would you ban?
I’m gonna go a little bit out on a limb and ask about taboos with a little compare and contrast. And no, even though I start this out with an example about gun control, the point isn’t about that. It’s about taboo and how that might apply to other rights, their expression, and the rationale […]
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 […]
San Jose Mercury-News having a hard time understanding who the real victims were in Vegas shooting
We are what we pretend to be, so we must be careful about what we pretend to be. - Kurt Vonnegut You may have seen the story about the Hollywood action movie-style murder on the Las Vegas strip early yesterday morning. All the stories I’m seeing focus on the shooting victim, one Ken Cherry (aka Kenny […]
The shooters: a photoessay
by Dan Ryan They were young boys shooting corks from toy rifles at a street fair in a poor Tokyo neighborhood. It was a sunny, gorgeous Saturday in late April, 2012, the beginning of an extended holiday called Golden Week. And the gunplay was an innocent thing, just kids having fun taking harmless pop-shots at […]
CNN commits journalistic malpractice. Again.
Remember Richard Jewell? He was accused of placing a bomb in Atlanta’s Centennial Park during the 1996 Olympics. He endured a horrific trial (and conviction) by media and had his life destroyed. Turned out he was innocent. The guilty party was anti-abortion terrorist Eric Rudolph. Jewell sued several media outlets (including CNN), reaching settlements in […]
Bad journalism: it isn’t just a Manti Te’o thing. Remember Columbine?
As we try to unravel the whole Manti Te’o/”Lennay Kekua” mystery – is she dead? Is she alive? Does she exist? Was Te’o in on it or is he the biggest rube in America? – “sports journalists” (one of my favorite oxymorons, btw) are taking a right kicking, and deservedly so. Everybody out there who […]
Manti Te’o and the worst (and best) in sports journalism
The ridiculous Manti Te’o story that Deadspin broke today represents the best, and the worst, in sports journalism. We’ll get to the worst in a bit here – and there is plenty to say about the worst – but let’s talk about the best. The reporting job that Timothy Burke and Jack Dickey did with this story is […]
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 […]
Update: Milford, DE’s new twist on “whites only” – Signs are gone
UPDATE ‘Threatening’ signs removed at schools The good news is that the signs have been removed. As it turns out, plausible deniability may mean this was actually an innocent mistake: The only reason she [Dr. Phyllis Kohel, Milford School District Superintendent] can think of is that someone duplicated the signs that are posted at the […]
Peek-a-boo! Now you see it, now you don’t coverage of Boehner’s Sandy aid betrayal
Getting one’s head around the flurry of headlines on this issue is a good trick. First, I spotted an article earlier in the day at CNN about Rep. Peter King (R-NY) blasting Boehner and the House for failing to act on the $60 billion bill for Hurricane Sandy aid. CNN subsequently updated that article, but […]
Gun control advocacy: let’s talk about blood on hands, shall we?
Just three days before Christmas, The Journal News, a Gannett company, decided that there might not be enough red in our holidays. Map: Where are the gun permits in your neighborhood? The map indicates the addresses of all pistol permit holders in Westchester and Rockland counties. Each dot represents an individual permit holder licensed to […]
S&R Honors
Click here to learn more about past honorees...- Profiling the Tea Party: In defense of the IRS. Sorta. Or not.
- Saturday Video Roundup: “Imagine the Band,” by John Lennon and Wings
- The Rest is Noise (6)—Descent into the Maelstrom
- I hate handguns, but I have still considered owning one
- Redneck jokes are racist
- 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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wufnik: I tend to agree. There are a couple of other thing…
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Samuel Smith: For two times in two tries you have attempted to d…
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Jim Booth: May be much to what you say, here, Wuf. Think abou…
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Frank Dilatush: Interesting Sam, I thought I spoke _directly_ to t…
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