Monthly Archives: September 2010

Post Coverage of Progressive March Finally Makes the Paper

Date: September 30, 2010

Author: Bob Griendling

Categories: Fox News, Protests, Washington Post

On Monday I wrote to the national desk of The Post wondering where was coverage of the One Nation progressive march scheduled for Saturday. I also had an exchange of emails with staffer Dan Balz. He argued that The Post had coverage in July, but that story was about the One Nation coalition forming, not about any march on Washington.

On Tuesday, a story about Saturday’s plans appeared online, posted about midday. I expected the story to appear in the dead tree edition the next day. It didn’t. Instead, a similar version of that story appeared online again yesterday, with a new time tag. But if you click on my original Monday link to the story, you get the new version, which deleted a paragraph I quoted in my Tuesday post about how this rally may compete with the Jon Stewart/Stephen Colbert rally scheduled for the end of October.

(This is not the first time The Post has posted a story and then reposted an edited version. The first version is no longer available.)

So far, this rally has received much less coverage by The Post leading up to it than did the Glenn Beck “restoring Honor” rally on August 28.

In the week before Glenn Beck’s “Restoring Honor” march, The Post published in its dead tree edition:

· Three op-eds

. A 2,342-word story on how the march would be a “measure of tea party strength.”

· On the day of the march, it published a 2,722-word story on the “meaning of the march.”

· Plus a 795-word story about TV coverage of the march.

· And a 1,331-word story on how to host a march on the Mall, giving further exposure to Beck’s march.

So far for the progressive’s rally, we have basically the same 600+ story that has been online for two days but finally makes the paper today and an op-ed by Harold Meyerson.

Meanwhile, E.J. Dionne comments today that the upcoming rally has received much less attention than the Beck rally because Fox News seems to set the mainstream media agenda. Amen.

Obama/Bush Double Standard

Date: September 29, 2010

Author: Bob Griendling

Categories: Mainstream Media

The headline on this The Caucus blog post is similar to others reporting President Obama’s recent backyard chats: In Iowa, a Skeptical Audience Greets Obama. That may be fair enough.

But I’m curious why reporters aren’t making the obvious comparison: George W. Bush would never subject himself to an audience, even when he was giving a public speech, that wasn’t hand-picked and assured to be a GOP partisan one.

You CAN Video a Cop Making an Arrest

Date: September 29, 2010

Author: Bob Griendling

Categories: Law enforcement, Privacy

You may recall the story in June about a motorist who videotaped a police officer writing him a ticket and posted the video on YouTube. He was arrested and charged with violating Maryland’s wiretap law. The prosecutor claimed that police exercising their public duty have an expectation of privacy. The You Tuber was facing 16 years in prison.

Well, some activist judge dismissed the case.

Judge Emory A. Pitt Jr. had to decide whether police performing their duties have an expectation of privacy in public space. Pitt ruled that police can have no such expectation in their public, on-the-job communications.

Pitt wrote: "Those of us who are public officials and are entrusted with the power of the state are ultimately accountable to the public. When we exercise that power in public fora, we should not expect our actions to be shielded from public observation. ‘Sed quis custodiet ipsos cutodes’ ("Who watches the watchmen?”)."

Graber was also charged with possessing a “device primarily useful for the purpose of the surreptitious interception of oral communications" — referring to the video camera on his helmet. The judge disagreed with the prosecutor that the helmet cam was illegal, and concluded the state’s argument would render illegal “almost every cell phone, Blackberry, and every similar device, not to mention dictation equipment and other types of recording devices."

Pitt’s decision is the first ruling in Maryland to address the legality of citizens taping police in the course of their duties. Because it is a circuit court ruling, it is not binding on other judges. However, unless it is appealed, said Graber’s attorney, David Rocah of the ACLU of Maryland, "it is likely to be the last word" on the matter and to be regarded as precedent by police.

No word yet on whether the state’s attorney will try to appeal the decision. Graber still faces traffic charges stemming from the incident.

No word on whether he got his four computers, external hard drives, thumb drives and a camera back that police confiscated.

(Cross-posted on News Commonsense)

You CAN Video a Cop Making an Arrest

Date: September 29, 2010

Author: Bob Griendling

Categories: Law enforcement, Privacy

Well, some activist judge dismissed the case.

Judge Emory A. Pitt Jr. had to decide whether police performing their duties have an expectation of privacy in public space. Pitt ruled that police can have no such expectation in their public, on-the-job communications.

Pitt wrote: "Those of us who are public officials and are entrusted with the power of the state are ultimately accountable to the public. When we exercise that power in public fora, we should not expect our actions to be shielded from public observation. ‘Sed quis custodiet ipsos cutodes’ ("Who watches the watchmen?”)."

Graber was also charged with possessing a “device primarily useful for the purpose of the surreptitious interception of oral communications" — referring to the video camera on his helmet. The judge disagreed with the prosecutor that the helmet cam was illegal, and concluded the state’s argument would render illegal “almost every cell phone, Blackberry, and every similar device, not to mention dictation equipment and other types of recording devices."

Pitt’s decision is the first ruling in Maryland to address the legality of citizens taping police in the course of their duties. Because it is a circuit court ruling, it is not binding on other judges. However, unless it is appealed, said Graber’s attorney, David Rocah of the ACLU of Maryland, "it is likely to be the last word" on the matter and to be regarded as precedent by police.

No word yet on whether the state’s attorney will try to appeal the decision. Graber still faces traffic charges stemming from the incident.

No word on whether he got his four computers, external hard drives, thumb drives and a camera back that police confiscated.

(Cross-posted on Commonwealth Commonsense)

A Philadelphia Dynasty

Date: September 28, 2010

Author: Bob Griendling

Categories: Phillies

I started rooting for the Phillies as a kid, when they were perennial cellar dwellers. They won a couple of World Series over the years—1980 and then in 2009. But now with four division titles in a row, it’s the first time I feel like my team is becoming a dynasty. I was there last night to see it, too.

Jayson Werth pours champagne on Roy Halladay, who won his 21st game to clinch the East Division title for the Phillies.

Post Covers ‘One Nation’ Plans

Date: September 28, 2010

Author: Bob Griendling

Categories: Protests, Washington Post

Probably just coincidence, but after my call to The Washington Post yesterday pointing out that the New York Times had written about the progressive rally planned for this weekend, but there was no word about it in the paper of record of the town in which it is being held.

This morning, a story has been posted on The Post’s web site. This ‘graph cracks me up:

Unlike Beck’s rally, in which overt politics took a back seat to religious and patriotic themes [emphasis added], the progressive groups will repeatedly remind attendees at their rally to vote in November’s mid-term elections, said Arlene Holt Baker, executive vice president of AFL-CIO.

Religion and patriotism is politics to those on the right-wing fringe.

This, alas, is true.

It is unclear how many people will make it to Washington for the rally, but organizers’ expectations are high. Last week, the rally’s leaders were still trying to raise money to bring 50,000 students to the event. A plan by Comedy Central television hosts Jon Stewart and Stephen Colbert to hold dueling rallies on Oct. 30 could appeal to some potential One Nation participants, creating a less-than-desirable competition for liberal-leaning would-be activists.

But let’s recall, The Post has an unfortunate history over the last decade of giving prominence to conservative rallies and shorting progressive ones. When I wrote about this earlier this year, I also had an exchange of emails with Post ombudsman Andy Alexander, who argued that the reason tiny protests (2,000 on the Mall and 50 gun-activists at Gravelly Point) received such attention in the paper was because they were local and that those groups’ PR people had predicted a large turnout. Four reporters assisted in the coverage. Let’s see what this weekend’s marches get.

Preserving Access

Date: September 27, 2010

Author: Bob Griendling

Categories: "He said, she said", Access, Ethics

Jeff Zucker’s departure from NBC is not a story I would waste much time reading about. But I’m glad I glanced at this short piece in Crain’s New York Business. What caught my eye was the teaser on Romenesko’s website: “Why media didn’t report what they knew about Zucker.”

It seems most reporters knew that Zucker was a dead man walking. That seems obvious given his much publicized failures. But he signed a contract extension after Comcast bought NBC Universal, and he insisted he was staying. Reporters weren’t buying it, but they weren’t reporting their suspicions either. Greg David’s damning conclusion seems spot on:

Reporters knew all this. Some believed they couldn’t write it unless someone told them it would happen. They also knew that if they did write Mr. Zucker was doomed, he might not be accessible to them and he could even shut the NBC Universal door entirely to reporters who angered him.

The end result, of course, is that readers of the NBC stories wonder why the reporters were so wrong about Mr. Zucker’s future.

I visited an undergraduate journalism class at Baruch last week and was asked how much advertising pressures affected editorial coverage in my years as editor of Crain’s. The answer was hardly at all. Rather, I told the students, reporters self-censor themselves not over concern about advertising but because they want access to companies.

The Zucker story showed that once again that is reporters’ interest in access not advertisers who censor the news.

And writing “he said, she said” stories protects reporters from charges that they are making judgments or calling out obvious false statements. All is a day’s work to preserve access.

False Argument on Taxes

Date: September 27, 2010

Author: Bob Griendling

Categories: Income Equality, Taxes

Let’s have a show of hands: Do you want free-market capitalism or egalitarian socialism?

This is the argument that passes for political discourse. Victor Claar, as reported in The Post Sunday, believes that “ [w]hether because of differing intelligence, skill, ambition or luck, free markets produce different outcomes for different people, so envy is inevitable.”

That seems reasonable but he takes the argument to the illogical conclusion that because of these often random chances and opportunities, envy is behind the “social justice” urge to “spread the wealth around.” He says such ideas are “mean” because liberals are “suggesting those making over (sic) $250,000 should feel guilty for the hard work they have done to contribute something others find valuable enough to voluntarily pay for…. [P]ursuing self-interest in a system that allows you to be rewarded for pursuit of your own self-interest and at the same time in service of others? That’s certainly better than the alternative.”

And here I thought we were just talking about an adjustment to the tax code. Claar sees the end of the world as we know it.

Raising taxes on the wealthy is not socialism. And asking those making more than $250,000 isn’t asking that they feel guilty, just asking they help pave the roads and build our schools. But that request is translated by economic conservatives as a guilt trip. Gee, now that you’ve figured me out, can I get up from the couch, doctor?

Pursuing self-interest and being rewarded for success? Seems reasonable to me. But much of what he and others are so strident in defending is not free market capitalism. What we have is a convoluted system of codes, judicial opinions and regulations that to many seem a rigged game.

Some folks just want a more level playing field, like the one we had 50 years ago while we were building interstate highways and suburban boxes for the prospering middle class.

Tax hikes are not apocalypses. But it seems to behoove those against such hikes to predict dire consequences. It much like the argument that raising taxes will shut down entrepreneurship and business investment. I doubt if a businessman wants to invest $1 million because he thinks there’s a $5 million return on investment he is, in the face of a three-four percent tax hike, going to put the money in his mattress instead of taking home $4.6 million.

Maybe worse, he’ll shoot himself because he now lives in a socialist state.

Illegal Immigrants Are Taking Americans’ Jobs

Date: September 27, 2010

Author: Bob Griendling

Categories: Immigration

Uh, no they aren’t.

Most Americans simply don’t apply for jobs harvesting fruits and vegetables in California, where one of every eight people is out of work, according to government data for a federal seasonal farmworker program analyzed by The Associated Press.

And the few unemployed Americans who apply through official channels usually don’t stay on in the fields, a point comedian Stephen Colbert — dressed as a field hand — has alluded to in recent broadcasts on Comedy Central.

"It’s just not something that most Americans are going to pack up their bags and move here to do," said farmer Steve Fortin, who pays $10.25 an hour to foreign workers to trim strawberry plants for six weeks each summer at his nursery near the Nevada border. He has spent $3,000 this year ensuring domestic workers have first dibs on his jobs in the sparsely populated stretch of the state, advertising in newspapers and on an electronic job registry.

Progressive Rally Ignored by The Post?

Date: September 27, 2010

Author: Bob Griendling

Categories: NY Times, Protests, Right-wing echo chamber, Washington Post

I find it curious that, given all the run-up coverage The Washington Post gave to the Beck rally on August 28, I can find no mention in The Post about the planned rally this coming weekend on the Mall by progressive groups, who have stated their goal is to surpass the number of people who attend the Beck rally.

The New York Times covered the plans this weekend.

When I called the Post’s national desk this morning, the man answering could give me no answer and transferred me to Dan Balz’s email.

UPDATE: After a series of email exchanges, I was referred to a July story about not the planned march but the formation of the “One Nation” coalition. We’ll see if The Post gives this march much coverage and whether it rates this archived altar to Beck’s rally.