Posts

Showing posts from May, 2007

Crazy like a Fox. Not.

I'm not kidding myself: the debates have been less than riveting and sometimes even demeaning. During them the next commander-in-chief has participated in awkward "pick me! pick me!" moments and after them sore losers have felt a compelling need to revise and extend comments that had been limited to 30-second bites -- or just an auction-house twitch. Only today, nearly a month after he joined fellow Republican debaters at the Reagan Library who "do not believe" in evolution, Sam Brownback takes to the op-ed page of the New York Times to explain himself. "As one of those who raised his hand, I think it would be helpful to discuss the issue in a bit more detail and with the seriousness it demands," he writes. Why Bother? Because Nixon went to China So, the debates are not conducive to thoughtful discussion, they favor the well-rehearsed "impromptu" put-down (think Rudy expressing shock, shock, at Ron Paul and Mike Huckabee vs Congress via Jo

Who's to Blame When A Newsroom is Decimated?

UC Berkely journalism professor Neil Henry opines in the San Francisco Chronicle about the Chron's decision to cut 100 newsroom jobs and suggests that Google and Yahoo should do something to subsidize journalism since they benefit so greatly from it: "It stands to reason that Google and corporations like it, who indirectly benefit so enormously from the expensive labor of journalists, should begin to take on greater civic responsibility for journalism's plight. Is it possible for Google to somehow engage and support the traditional news industry and important local newspapers more fully, for example, to become a vital part of possible solutions to this crisis instead of a part of the problem? "Is it not possible for Google and other information corporations to offer more direct support to schools of journalism to help ensure that this craft's values and skills are passed on to the next generation? "Is it not possible for these flourishing corporations

The Iraq Two-Step

Image
I'm getting more confused every day about what a way out of Iraq will look like. Is it any wonder? The president continues to say it is a vital national interest to engage Al-Queda in the chosen land of Iraq. We'll leave if Iraq asks us to, consequences notwithstanding. That's called respecting a sovereign state. We won't leave if Congress asks us to, consequences notwithstanding. That's called surrender. The administration is pinning its current hopes on the success of what it calls a "surge." This allegedly temporary increase in troop strength and activity is supposed to stabilize Baghdad enough to give the political processes a chance to work. The argument against a timetable is that it gives the enemy a date certain around which to plan. And the enemy wins either way: by increasing their activity now, they give ammunition to those who would call the "surge" a failure, and by retreating to fight again when the "surge" is over they

Rosie Negotiates, Part II

Image
T he reviews of Rosie O'Donnell's on-air fight with Elizabeth Hasselbeck are in, and the winner is: live TV. I wonder if ABC is considering re-opening the negotiations with their soon-to-leave "The View" star? "The View" is supposed to be a combustible mix but casting is always a crapshoot and contrived friction always rings hollow. Wednesday's terribly personal exchange seemed terribly real and utterly fascinating, on a par with John Stewart's skewering of Tucker Carlson a couple of years ago. O'Donnell occasionally expresses herself so inartfully that her words do not match what one charitably believes she believes. Her remarks on the collapse of World Trade Tower 7 allowed her critics to argue O'Donnell was suggesting US complicity in the 9/11 attack. This time she By walking away from her own Emmy-winning talk and an eponymous magazine years ago Rosie has established that she is motivated more by the length of a commitment than the comp

James Frey, Redux

Image
The settlement between James Frey and his publisher and readers of "A Million Little Pieces" who sued claiming they were duped into buying what was promoted as a memoir but was in part fiction has received tentative approval by a judge. I've written at some length before on this saga, so I will just point to the last Planet Abell item on this subject , in which I use what I can recall of elementary school arithmetic to conclude that the $2.3 million deal makes whole a tiny fraction of potential victims (I use this word with some reluctance) and affects a small portion of total revenues. I remain conflicted on this subject; I still have not read the book but do not intend to return my copy. Frey is a talented writer whose hoax was nowhere near the scale of Clifford Irvings' . Is a couple of million dollars' penalty enough or not? Is it too much?

Who'da Thought It?

Fascinating tale told by former Undersecretary of Justice James Comey of a Tom Clancy-esque (or Mario Puzo?) drama to renew authority for the then-still-secret domestic wiretap program. My biggest takeaways: Who knew John Ashcroft could take a principled stand? Is it only irony that Alberto Gonzalez, who tried to end-run authorization, replaced Ashcroft?

Where is the Republican Clinton?

Image
(Disclosure: edited 2/26 for typos) Something has been bothering me about the field of Republican presidential hopefuls, and it isn't the absence of Fred Thompson or Newt Gingrich. This is it: Since 2000 (a political eternity) there has been no doubt about an open GOP ticket for '08. Dick Cheney made clear he was not going to run for president after a presumptive two-term Bush administration, leaving no heir presumptive. And yet there is no young, vibrant Republican in the mix or even mentioned as a dark horse. No conservative media darling whose candidacy is so audacious, so presumptuous, it just might work. There is room in the tent -- witness talk of Thompson and Gingrich, who poll better than some announced candidates in some polls, and even whispers of a third-party putsch by Michael Bloomberg and Chuck Hagel . Of the presumed leaders John McCain is a re-tread and, thanks to his support of the of Bush war strategy, a far cry from the "rebel" he was perceived of a

CBS Drops Gen. Batiste Because ...

CBS News has canned Gen. John Batiste "due to his participation in an ad criticizing President Bush." T he initial post on the CBS Public Eye quoted Standards and Special Projects Linda Mason as saying that viewers of the ad "might have the feeling everything he says is anti-Bush. And that doesn’t seem like an analytical approach to the issues we want to discuss.” In an update to the post Mason "expanded" her remarks. “General Batiste took part in a commercial that’s being shown on television to raise money for veterans against the war,” she said. “It isn’t just that he took an advocacy position.” The ad does not solicit money, but targets moderate Republicans to support Democrat-led Congressional initiatives regarding Iraq war funding and checks. But leave that aside. And also that Mason said that, despite his infraction, CBS may yet turn to Batiste, though not as a paid consultant. What's really confusing is whether it is his opinion or its expression

Pasadena by way of Bangalore

Image
R obert Niles, the editor of the USC Annenberg Online Journalism review, has a nifty commentary about a publisher in his hometown of Pasadena who has decided to outsource reporting of city council proceedings to contract hires in -- Bangalore. As originally reported in Los Angeles Times , the move will allow web publisher James Macpherson of PasadenaNow to pay two reporters less than $20,000, considerably less than if he tried to cover the council from, oh, say, Pasadena. As easy as it is to scoff and start a office pool about when the first embarrassing gaffe will be published, this looks like an honest attempt to figure out how to cover important local stories that might not otherwise get covered by an enterprising "little guy" publisher. It's not so much the distance but the credibility of expertise that matters. But there are real things to worry about. It's not so much the distance but the credibility of expertise that matters. Anyone who has covered a large te

Reuters Grows Up, Again

Image
R euters appears to be on the verge of merging with Thomson, a deal that would create a financial news and information powerhouse to rival Bloomberg by reducing the field to two major players. It should also enhance the profile of Reuters editorial, which for all the time I was part of it looked over its shoulder to protect itself not so much from external threats but powerful insiders who questioned its relevance far too often for comfort. The proposed deal as outlined by Reuters CEO Tom Glocer would be a bit complicated; the companies would tie up as a "Dual Listed Company" with two identical boards, and each would remain separately listed on exchanges. The company would be called "Thomson-Reuters" but the combined news gathering and publication divisions would be called "Reuters." The Trust Principles and the Reuters Founders Share Company , which aim to ensure editorial independence, would be retained. Glocer said he would become the CEO of the merge

And Now for Something Completely Different

Image
I 'll have to wait for "The Daily Show" to come up with the official count of how many times Ronald Reagan's name was dropped, but other key facts by my personal reckoning: Chris Matthews lost control at about 8:44 Three questioners, each with his own schtick (reading from a monitor?), is a distraction It is OK to be against stem cell research (even with Nancy Reagan staring you down in the front row), for congressional intervention in matters like the Schiavo case and to use the need for "victory" in Iraq as the catchall answer to any question about the war -- including a very pointed one about dealing with an endless supply of enemy recruits. I had never seen Mitt Romney in an extended forum (if you can call 60 seconds long) or on TV doing anything other than defending himself in sound bites, so I can appreciate now what his supporters see in him: a smooth, prepared, articulate candidate of dare-I-say presidential Why is it that only the fringiest of the c