The 1960s was the "anything goes" decade; a time when LSD, hippies, rock 'n' roll and free love were youth's reactions to the assassinations of its leaders and a war in Vietnam. It was a time when a few journalists wanted to be hip and cover the cultural revolution from the inside. They believed that the standard method of reporting -- "get the facts, get both sides, and keep your opinions to...
Most of the time these days, when I scour the "media" looking for a sign of hope about mankind, I inevitably trip over a discouraging spew of waste matter passing as news of importance. Historically, the name we give this offal is propaganda. Its spewers are often reporter-impersonators. The Defense Department, CIA, and White House have been hiring these performers in large numbers lately to...
LONDON, England (CNN) -- As the size, scope and influence of weblogs continue to proliferate, business managers are faced with an increasingly important question: how to make your voice heard above the crowd? According to a research project conducted by Pew, there will be 34 million weblogs -- or blogs, as they known for short -- by the end of 2005. These blogs range from the completely ignorable...
The idea that reporters have a duty to protect their sources has an honored place in journalistic lore. It goes without saying that Woodward and Bernstein would never have burned Deep Throat. In The Insider, 60 Minutes producer Lowell Bergman is tormented by the possibility that the tobacco industry whistle-blower he tried to shield might be harmed. And now, one of the more troublesome issues in...
More than anyone else in the media universe, author and Washington Post editor Bob Woodward, former New York Times reporter Judith Miller, Detroit Free-Press sports columnist Mitch Albom and Newsweek magazine had a year to forget. Woodward and Miller were Pulitzer recipients. Albom is an award-winning sportswriter and a best-selling author to boot. Newsweek won the magazine industry's coveted...
(December 11, 2005) -- Where will it end, and when will reporters pay with their jobs? First we learn that Bob Woodward failed to tell his editor for years about his role in the Plame/CIA leak case. Today, we find out that Time reporter Viveca Novak not only kept her editors in the dark about her own involvement, but even had a two-hour chat with the special prosecutor about it well before telling...
LOS ANGELES -- An explosive article in January's Vanity Fair details the sundry adventures of Judith Miller and the New York Times surrounding the controversial reporter’s decision to be jailed for refusing to identify her source to a grand jury investigating the case of who outed covert CIA agent Valerie Plame. The magazine is out on newsstands in Los Angeles. The story, by Seth Mnookin, splashes...
The Pulitzer Prize Board announced Wednesday that newspapers may submit online material as well as print content in all 14 of its journalism categories, starting with the 2006 competition. PULITZER ONLINE: "The board believes it has taken a significant step in recognition of the widening role of online journalism at newspapers," said Sig Gissler, administrator of the Pulitzer Prizes. "The board...
The International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) has condemned the actions of the Associated Press (AP) over its the dismissal of unionised editorial staff at its Mexico City bureau where workers have been coerced to sign agreements disowning attachment to their trade union. The IFJ Executive Committee, meeting in Sydney, Australia, from December 2-3rd 2005, expressed concern at reports from AP...
It was a moment both remarkable and uncomfortable. There, on the night of November 21, was Bob Woodward looking nervous and dry-mouthed, trying to defend his hard-earned legacy to – of all people – a suddenly aggressive and sharp-elbowed Larry King. "So it’s quid pro quo," said the cable schmooze-meister to his old pal Woodward, snappily summing up the reporter’s symbiotic relationships with his...
