The New Republic

The New Republic

Can local journalism still hold politicians accountable? Back in May, while reporting a cover story on the 2012 political landscape in Ohio, I decided to follow up on a article done last year by Toledo Blade reporter Tony Cook, noting the large number of donations from employees of a North Canton direct marketing company called Suarez Industries to Republican Senate candidate Josh Mandel, who is challenging Sherrod Brown, and to Congressman Jim Renacci, who is running against Democratic Rep. Betty Sutton in a redistricted seat in northeast Ohio. It’s against the law for employers to reimburse their workers for political contributions, and I decided to look up some of the employees and ask them if that had happened in this case. It was while doing so—visiting decidedly modest homes whose owners had made $10,000 or even $20,000 worth of donations to the two campaigns—that I discovered that I was not the only one curious about the donations: the FBI had launched an inquiry as well.  Soon after my article appeared, Mandel’s campaign announced that it was returning the contributions (this after Mandel himself had brushed off questions about the contributions in a comical videotaped interview where he replied to the queries by noting that he sends thank you cards to all his donors.) Mandel hardly needed the dough—outside groups have so far spent more than $10 million attacking Brown, far more than against any other Senate Democratic candidate. But Renacci held tight to the money—that is, until today. Alec MacGillis — “Ohio GOP Candidates Return Sketchy Lucre”
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Can local journalism still hold politicians accountable?

Back in May, while reporting a cover story on the 2012 political landscape in Ohio, I decided to follow up on a article done last year by Toledo Blade reporter Tony Cook, noting the large number of donations from employees of a North Canton direct marketing company called Suarez Industries to Republican Senate candidate Josh Mandel, who is challenging Sherrod Brown, and to Congressman Jim Renacci, who is running against Democratic Rep. Betty Sutton in a redistricted seat in northeast Ohio. It’s against the law for employers to reimburse their workers for political contributions, and I decided to look up some of the employees and ask them if that had happened in this case. It was while doing so—visiting decidedly modest homes whose owners had made $10,000 or even $20,000 worth of donations to the two campaigns—that I discovered that I was not the only one curious about the donations: the FBI had launched an inquiry as well. 

Soon after my article appeared, Mandel’s campaign announced that it was returning the contributions (this after Mandel himself had brushed off questions about the contributions in a comical videotaped interview where he replied to the queries by noting that he sends thank you cards to all his donors.) Mandel hardly needed the dough—outside groups have so far spent more than $10 million attacking Brown, far more than against any other Senate Democratic candidate. But Renacci held tight to the money—that is, until today.

Alec MacGillis — “Ohio GOP Candidates Return Sketchy Lucre”

Why are liberals lending credibility to RT, a zany Russian TV station? “My general impression is, whenever they have me on, it’s to criticize the American government,” says Jacob Sullum, a senior editor at Reason. “Of course, that’s no big surprise because that’s pretty much what I do. That’s how I make my living. But I did start to wonder after a while what they were saying about the Russian government.” Sullum says he’s OK with appearing on RT because he, personally, hasn’t seen “anything beyond the pale” when he’s been a guest of the network, but “it would trouble me if they were drawing a moral equivalence between Russia and other countries like the U.S.” - Jesse Zwick, “Pravda Lite” Photo courtesy of Foreign Policy
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Why are liberals lending credibility to RT, a zany Russian TV station?

“My general impression is, whenever they have me on, it’s to criticize the American government,” says Jacob Sullum, a senior editor at Reason. “Of course, that’s no big surprise because that’s pretty much what I do. That’s how I make my living. But I did start to wonder after a while what they were saying about the Russian government.” Sullum says he’s OK with appearing on RT because he, personally, hasn’t seen “anything beyond the pale” when he’s been a guest of the network, but “it would trouble me if they were drawing a moral equivalence between Russia and other countries like the U.S.”

- Jesse Zwick, “Pravda Lite”

Photo courtesy of Foreign Policy

Was Rupert Murdoch’s phone-hacking scandal symptomatic of a larger trend in British journalism? “As the investigations have intensified, Murdoch’s role in it has become ever more peripheral—and it’s increasingly Britain’s liberal media that finds itself on the defensive. Indeed, it now appears likely that the scandal won’t sink Murdoch and his media empire without bringing the rest of the British media industry down with them.” —Tim Stanley, “How Rupert Murdoch is Taking Britain’s Left-Wing Journalists Down with Him” Photo courtesy of Getty Images.
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Was Rupert Murdoch’s phone-hacking scandal symptomatic of a larger trend in British journalism?

“As the investigations have intensified, Murdoch’s role in it has become ever more peripheral—and it’s increasingly Britain’s liberal media that finds itself on the defensive. Indeed, it now appears likely that the scandal won’t sink Murdoch and his media empire without bringing the rest of the British media industry down with them.”

—Tim Stanley, “How Rupert Murdoch is Taking Britain’s Left-Wing Journalists Down with Him”

Photo courtesy of Getty Images.

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Should The Times Be A Truth Vigilante?

futurejournalismproject:

markcoatney:

soupsoup:

I hope this is a joke. The New York Times Public Editor wonders aloud if their journalists should be reporting the truth.

Seriously?

Maybe he thinks the NYT should be more like a truth noodge? 

FJP: Ooph.

Is that the prevailing view? And if so, how can The Times do this in a way that is objective and fair? Is it possible to be objective and fair when the reporter is choosing to correct one fact over another? Are there other problems that The Times would face that I haven’t mentioned here?

With all the excellent commentary about what the criminal tactics of employees of the Murdoch media empire reveal about tabloid journalism and its cozy relationship with politicians and police, there has been a notable silence concerning the more fundamental question of what can rightly be called the tabloidization of our world. Rochelle Gurstein, “The Murdoch Scandal And The Tabloidization Of Our World”
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With all the excellent commentary about what the criminal tactics of employees of the Murdoch media empire reveal about tabloid journalism and its cozy relationship with politicians and police, there has been a notable silence concerning the more fundamental question of what can rightly be called the tabloidization of our world.

Rochelle Gurstein, “The Murdoch Scandal And The Tabloidization Of Our World”

But the fall of News of the World isn’t all good news. In fact, it could do a lot of damage to the tabloid’s more dignified News Corps neighbor at 3 Thomas More Square: England’s thunderer, The Times of London. The closure of Murdoch’s cash cow will make it much harder for him to prop up his legitimate outlet, a paper with fine journalism, but little money.
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But the fall of News of the World isn’t all good news. In fact, it could do a lot of damage to the tabloid’s more dignified News Corps neighbor at 3 Thomas More Square: England’s thunderer, The Times of London. The closure of Murdoch’s cash cow will make it much harder for him to prop up his legitimate outlet, a paper with fine journalism, but little money.