tag:www.cjr.org,2010://4 2010-03-19T17:45:59Z Columbia Journalism Review: Strong Press, Strong Democracy Movable Type 3.2 tag:www.cjr.org,2010://4.23335 2010-03-19T16:48:25Z 2010-03-19T17:45:59Z

Erskine Bowles takes the stage

By Trudy Lieberman Those who consider themselves Social Security mavens know the name Erskine Bowles. Bill Clinton’s former chief of staff, and currently president of the University of North Carolina system, Bowles has teamed up with former Wyoming Sen. Alan Simpson to head the newly created deficit reduction commission. The president tasked the commission with finding ways to reduce the federal deficit and... tag:www.cjr.org,2010://4.23334 2010-03-19T16:34:17Z 2010-03-19T17:45:59Z

By Holly Yeager Amid all the spinning and sparring over the Congressional Budget Office’s assessment of health care legislation, a couple of stories stand out for bringing much-needed context to the proceedings. The Washington Post did a smart analysis, pointing out what should be obvious but too often goes unsaid: despite all the hype around the 25-page "score" of the proposal, no... tag:www.cjr.org,2010://4.23329 2010-03-18T19:09:17Z 2010-03-19T17:45:59Z

By Holly Yeager tag:www.cjr.org,2010://4.23328 2010-03-18T17:43:57Z 2010-03-19T17:45:59Z

Matt Labash’s meetings with remarkable men

By Toby Warner Fly Fishing with Darth Vader: And Other Adventures with Evangelical Wrestlers, Political Hitmen, and Jewish Cowboys | By Matt Labash | Simon & Schuster | 336 pages, $25.99 Matt Labash has a nose for sniffing out the strange and the strangely compelling American characters, particularly those knee-deep in the tragicomic spectacle of our national politics. Fly Fishing with Darth... tag:www.cjr.org,2010://4.23324 2010-03-17T21:07:32Z 2010-03-19T17:45:59Z

By Holly Yeager The Chamber of Commerce, that under-covered business behemoth, gets welcome attention from The Washington Post, which reports on the group’s big plans for the midterm elections. Modeled in part on Barack Obama's 2008 campaign juggernaut, the group has built a grass-roots operation known as Friends of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce. It has a member... tag:www.cjr.org,2010://4.23322 2010-03-17T20:31:19Z 2010-03-19T17:45:59Z

Its attempt at informing falls short

By Trudy Lieberman The Associated Press has been an important voice in the health care debate. So it was disappointing to see its latest story: “HealthCare 101: A consumer primer on Obama’s bill.” There was nothing wrong with the premise of the piece, which tried to show how different stakeholders would fare under reform. In fact, for months we have been... tag:www.cjr.org,2010://4.23320 2010-03-17T17:23:41Z 2010-03-19T16:37:04Z

By Holly Yeager CBS News is getting a lot of diggs, tweets and shares for its story on the latest national debt numbers from the Treasury Department. But, as is too often the case with reports about this big number, the piece doesn’t give readers a clue about what’s really going on. The headline sets the tone: National Debt Up $2 Trillion... tag:www.cjr.org,2010://4.23315 2010-03-16T21:02:13Z 2010-03-18T17:39:35Z

By Holly Yeager The Financial Times takes a look something that all too often gets treated like wallpaper in Washington, the persistent power of lobbyists. As Stephanie Kirchgaessner, my former colleague, explains: But little has changed in the way Washington works or the way the game is played. Despite attempts by the president to institute reform in the executive branch, lobbyists are... tag:www.cjr.org,2010://4.23314 2010-03-16T19:47:37Z 2010-03-18T17:39:35Z

The Times gets stuck on the surface of the Medicare debate

By Greg Marx The dispatch from Strongsville, Ohio in today’s New York Times, about Barack Obama’s efforts to rally public support for his health care plan, is standard stuff: a recounting of what the president said, an explanation of his political strategy, and a dollop of cynicism to demonstrate the press knows how the game is played. (The story of a... tag:www.cjr.org,2010://4.23311 2010-03-16T17:55:26Z 2010-03-17T20:29:26Z

By Holly Yeager tag:www.cjr.org,2010://4.23310 2010-03-16T17:10:25Z 2010-03-17T20:29:26Z

But what do those terms really mean?

By Trudy Lieberman The president has a sales job to do if he wants the American people to get behind whatever reform emerges from the congressional sausage grinder in the next few days. As part of his pitch, he has been flogging three terms guaranteed to resonate with the public—waste, fraud, and abuse. Who isn’t against waste? Nobody. Who isn’t against... tag:www.cjr.org,2010://4.23309 2010-03-16T16:28:19Z 2010-03-17T20:29:26Z

Parsing the Post's piece on Obama's "happiness deficit"

By Greg Marx The editorial page of The Washington Post has a well-established reputation for its hawkish stance on fiscal matters, so it was no surprise that Fred Hiatt, the page’s editor, devoted his column yesterday to the deficit. But, in a twist, Hiatt was actually writing about Barack Obama’s “happiness deficit,” and how it’s affecting his presidency.... tag:www.cjr.org,2010://4.23306 2010-03-15T21:01:29Z 2010-03-17T15:25:23Z

By Holly Yeager tag:www.cjr.org,2010://4.23300 2010-03-15T15:51:17Z 2010-03-16T19:54:23Z

The pedigree of Alan Simpson

By Trudy Lieberman Before too many weeks pass, I want to comment on an illuminating Gray Matters column by Saul Friedman, an old hand at writing about issues of social justice, Medicare, and Social Security. Full disclosure here: Friedman taught me my first lessons in public interest journalism when I was a cub reporter at the Detroit Free Press and he covered... tag:www.cjr.org,2010://4.23295 2010-03-12T19:55:52Z 2010-03-16T17:06:55Z

The Globe knew about that Scott Brown lawsuit—and passed

By Greg Marx On Thursday afternoon, Gawker reported that Scott Brown—the Republican whose victory in a special election in Massachusetts has cost Democrats their Senate super-majority and complicated their legislative agenda—was named as a defendant in a 2000 defamation suit by a female campaign worker, who alleged in court papers that he had harassed her during his 1998 campaign for state...