tag:www.cjr.org,2009://4 2009-07-02T21:46:31Z Movable Type 3.2 tag:www.cjr.org,2009://4.21214 2009-07-02T20:55:13Z 2009-07-02T21:46:31Z

Press focused on who asked questions at Obama town hall

Greg Marx We may, thankfully, be putting Pitneygate behind us. But reading through press coverage of President Obama’s town hall meeting on health care reform yesterday, one could be forgiven for thinking that the episode is still weighing on the minds of the Washington press corps. Nico Pitney, of course, is the national editor of The Huffington Post, who made... tag:www.cjr.org,2009://4.21207 2009-07-02T15:40:00Z 2009-07-02T21:46:31Z

With Money Tight, Classes Are Slashed

Greg Marx The New York Times leads its print edition with a dispatch about the latest victim of the recession: summer school. The federal government has been urging local school districts to use some of the $100 billion in education funding provided by the stimulus bill to maintain summer programs, but most districts have used the money for other purposes. As... tag:www.cjr.org,2009://4.21200 2009-07-01T21:22:21Z 2009-07-02T15:51:05Z

The Senate’s peculiar institution gets taken for granted

Greg Marx Yesterday, the Minnesota Supreme Court finally made official what had for months seemed a foregone conclusion: Al Franken will be the state’s next senator. The reason this matters outside of Minnesota, of course, is that Franken’s win, following on the heels of Arlen Specter’s defection from the Republican Party, gives Democrats sixty votes in the upper house, and thus the... tag:www.cjr.org,2009://4.21195 2009-07-01T17:04:27Z 2009-07-01T23:01:03Z

Economic headlines from California, Utah, North Dakota, and elsewhere

Greg Marx The arrival of July brings the start of the fiscal year and a statutory deadline for new budgets in many states. USA Today rounds up action from around the country and notes New Jersey, Massachusetts and Wisconsin were among the states to meet the deadline, using a mix of spending cuts and tax hikes to make up for... tag:www.cjr.org,2009://4.21181 2009-06-30T15:54:31Z 2009-06-30T18:24:57Z

Notes on the Obama administration’s ambassadors to the Personal Democracy Forum

Clint Hendler This morning, attendees of the Personal Democracy Forum Conference, an annual event for people interested in the intersection of politics, government, and online technology, were treated to discussions with three of the Obama administration’s biggest lights in government information and communication policy. Just before nine o’clock, Macon Phillips, the White House’s chief of new media, took the... tag:www.cjr.org,2009://4.21179 2009-06-30T15:20:47Z 2009-07-01T15:23:01Z

More skepticism about savings from preventive care, please

Trudy Lieberman Sen. Barbara Boxer was defiant. As Campaign Desk reported recently, the gentle lady from California said in no uncertain terms that if the Congressional Budget Office did not give the Senate the numbers it was looking for in estimating savings from preventive care, she, for one, would not follow the CBO’s advice: “We’re going to look at OMB... tag:www.cjr.org,2009://4.21176 2009-06-30T13:13:58Z 2009-06-30T18:24:57Z

Headlines from Texas, Massachusetts, Nevada, Washington state, and elsewhere

Katia Bachko National papers continue to lead with the Madoff sentencing. Yesterday, Judge Danny Chin sentenced the Ponzi schemer to the maximum 150 years in prison. In consumer economic news, USA Today reports that credit-card companies have raised interest and balance-transfer rates as a result of the new credit card reform enacted by the White... tag:www.cjr.org,2009://4.21161 2009-06-29T13:58:06Z 2009-06-29T16:51:58Z

Headlines from Missouri, California, Indiana, Massachusetts, and elsewhere

Katia Bachko The Wall Street Journal reports that consumer confidence is up for the fifth month in a row. This report is coupled with another survey which says that the personal savings rate grew to 6.9 percent this May, up from 5.6 percent in April. The indicators represent divergent prospects for the economy: consumer optimism is good, but if that’s... tag:www.cjr.org,2009://4.21160 2009-06-29T13:00:00Z 2009-06-29T16:20:49Z

Taxing insurance benefits and health care equity

Trudy Lieberman Over the next few months, health reform will succeed or fail based on a few major flashpoints that will shape any new program, including the financing of health insurance and access to medical care itself. This is the third of a series of occasional posts that will explore these flashpoints, and how the media is explaining them to the public.... tag:www.cjr.org,2009://4.21148 2009-06-26T14:42:13Z 2009-06-26T16:04:05Z

News from Maine, Oklahoma, North Carolina, and elsewhere

Jane Kim In national headlines, USA Today notes that federal stimulus spending slowed last week compared to any weeks in May, and compared also to the average amount the government has spent since the stimulus package was signed in February. Federal agencies allocated about $5.2 billion in new stimulus aid for projects last week. This follows complaints about the pace... tag:www.cjr.org,2009://4.21142 2009-06-25T21:21:38Z 2009-06-26T15:18:49Z

What South Carolina columnists and editorials are saying about the governor’s affair

Katia Bachko The Mark Sanford affair story affords plentiful opportunities for practitioners and observers of journalism and politics. It allows for the making of jokes, the calling of names, and the partisan schadenfreude. But we wanted to look at how the Palmetto State’s editorial columnists are handling the affair. After all, while Sanford may be primo... tag:www.cjr.org,2009://4.21131 2009-06-25T15:40:12Z 2009-06-25T15:42:17Z

News from Georgia, Montana, Nebraska, and elsewhere

Jane Kim In national headlines, USA Today reports that “less than one-half of 1%” of the money set aside for highway repair and construction has been distributed, according to the federal transportation department. Predictably, Republicans are saying there’s too much red tape, while Democrats are calling for more patience. The two sides will get to air their thoughts at... tag:www.cjr.org,2009://4.21114 2009-06-24T20:27:43Z 2009-06-25T15:41:52Z

Calling foul on HuffPo’s press-conference deal with Obama

Katia Bachko Yesterday’s presidential presser added another installment to the Annals of Questions That Make News. Last April, it was Jeff Zeleny’s multipart question that made waves. This time around, The Huffington Post’s Nico Pitney did the honors, with a question that was essentially requested by the White House itself. This is how the exchange between President Obama and... tag:www.cjr.org,2009://4.21107 2009-06-24T15:02:29Z 2009-06-24T20:54:01Z

Headlines from Michigan, Illinois, Montana, and elsewhere

Katia Bachko A tough job market is pushing some workers to take on second jobs, USA Today reports. According to various surveys, the number of Americans who are working a second job has risen this year. An AARP survey found that almost one fifth of Americans ages 45 to 54 took on a second job. But moonlight also takes a... tag:www.cjr.org,2009://4.21106 2009-06-24T10:30:54Z 2009-06-24T17:25:42Z

An interview with Wendell Potter

Trudy Lieberman This past year’s health discussion has been remarkable for the narrow range of ideas and opinions that have floated down to the man on the street. Journalists have sought out the same organizations and sources for their stories, offering up what has become the conventional wisdom for reform. To bring more voices into the conversation, our Excluded Voices series will...