Edward B. Colby : Author Archive : Bios

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Politics

Facts, Shmacts. It’s A Good Story!
April 12, 2007 10:50 AM
On Tuesday, the Reno Gazette-Journal reported on its front page that Nevada's embattled first-term Republican governor, Jim Gibbons, had said the day before that he had "heard a rumor that Democrats paid the Wall Street Journal to publish stories... Continue reading
Behind the News

The Flint Journal and SonRise: A Twisted Tale
April 5, 2007 02:00 PM
Pretend, for a moment, that you are a loyal reader of the Flint Journal, a small daily northwest of Detroit. Now consider the following series of items, published in your newspaper since early March: On Sunday, March 4,... Continue reading
Politics

Stop the Winnowing Already!
April 3, 2007 11:58 AM
Hillary Clinton's campaign announced Sunday that she hauled in a record-breaking $26 million for the first quarter of 2007, a massive sum that earned her props among the chattering class in "the first true challenge" of the '08 contest,... Continue reading
Politics

Romney Drops Meaningless VP Names, AP Gives ‘Em Meaning
March 30, 2007 02:30 PM
In the latest sign of a presidential campaign in overdrive, the Associated Press ran a story last night on Mitt Romney's potential VP picks. It seems that after someone in the crowd at a campaign stop in... Continue reading
Behind the News

The Worrying Case of an Ambitious Afghan Journalist
March 27, 2007 04:06 PM
As calls grow for his release, Afghan journalist Ajmal Naqshbandi's whereabouts remain unknown, twenty-two days after he was kidnapped by the Taliban while working as a translator for a La Repubblica reporter in southern Afghanistan. The Taliban... Continue reading
Behind the News

As Gore Looks to Future, Networks Stuck in Everyday Politics
March 22, 2007 04:44 PM
In a high-wattage return to Capitol Hill, Al Gore warned lawmakers from both houses of Congress yesterday that global warming is a grave threat that requires urgent, sweeping action. "This is not a normal time," Gore told the Senate... Continue reading
The Audit

CNN Defends Chiquita on a Very Slippery Slope
March 22, 2007 11:11 AM
On Monday the iconic banana company Chiquita pleaded guilty in Washington to one count of doing business with a terrorist organization after, it says, it was forced to pay millions to paramilitary groups in Colombia to protect its operations and... Continue reading
Politics

CNN Elevates Discourse, Tackles Question of Edwards’ Good Looks
March 20, 2007 12:05 PM
With the presidential campaign under way about six months earlier than usual, it would have been nice if the press could have delayed the inevitable deluge of inanity that the season brings. But no, we've already had to endure wall-to-wall... Continue reading
Behind the News

Globe Manufactures New Summers ‘Controversy’
March 16, 2007 01:05 PM
Is a public figure with a lot of baggage in his past doomed to be haunted by "controversy" wherever he goes? That was certainly the case with the Boston Globe's coverage of a warmly received talk former Harvard president Larry... Continue reading
Politics

NYT Gives Bush a Pass on New Bedford Raid
March 13, 2007 04:40 PM
Today's New York Times story on President Bush's visit to Guatemala was driven by a conflict highlighted in the second paragraph, as Bush's counterpart, President Óscar Berger, used "a ceremonial welcome to criticize the arrest of several hundred illegal... Continue reading
Behind the News

Obama’s Parking Tickets: Who Cares?
March 9, 2007 12:56 PM
At 2:45 p.m. Wednesday afternoon the Somerville News, "Somerville's Most Widely read Newspaper!", published a scoop on its rudimentary Web site: During his first year and a half as a Harvard Law School student, Barack Obama racked up 17... Continue reading
Politics

Bush Has a Record in Latin America. So What Is It?
March 7, 2007 04:30 PM
On Tuesday, papers across the country published accounts of President Bush's new effort to engage Latin America, which as a candidate in 2000 he promised would be a "fundamental commitment of my presidency." But there was a gaping hole in... Continue reading
Behind the News

Gore’s Press Popularity Enters a New Phase
March 2, 2007 03:38 PM
"Run, Al, Run," says Rolling Stone, while The Economist, "Waiting for Al," longs for the same thing. Maureen Dowd writes an "Ozone Man Sequel," while the New Yorker's David Remnick eloquently reflects on what might have... Continue reading
The Audit

How Tone-Deaf Is CNBC?
February 27, 2007 06:06 PM
Yesterday afternoon Maria Bartiromo scored a "CNBC exclusive" with Sanford Weill, the former Citigroup chairman and CEO, the news of whose departure from the banking giant in 2006 Bartiromo once broke. Aside from its length (nearly 13 minutes),... Continue reading
The Audit

On DaimlerChrysler Story, Reuters Dashes Off A Cliff
February 26, 2007 04:52 PM
The frenzied speculation surrounding Chrysler's future has not let up. In an e-mail to employees last Wednesday, Chrysler Group CEO Tom LaSorda said he was "writing to respond to the 'frenzy of rumors' that has enveloped the automaker since... Continue reading
Behind the News

ABC’s Subheds Bludgeon With Redundancy
February 21, 2007 05:14 PM
Who's writing the subheds at ABCNews.com? Trolling the news site today, I came across the lively headline "Speculation Swirls About Chrysler's Fate." A subhed nudged the story further: "Speculation Swirls About Chrysler's Fate, Driving Stock Ever Higher." The AP... Continue reading
Politics

Press’s Awkward Treatment of Diverse Prez Field Begins
February 20, 2007 12:20 PM
With the 2008 campaign under way about six months earlier than usual, the press's awkward attempts to shoehorn America's most diverse presidential field ever into simplistic narrative frameworks have begun, too. Says an ABC News headline, "Romney: 'I'm Not... Continue reading
Politics

Cable Nets Blow Their Own Houses Down
February 16, 2007 03:12 PM
Unless you live and breathe in the sometimes-provincial world of Capitol Hill, you might not have heard of a trivial story that has received far too much attention this week. "Rep. Keith Ellison (D-Minn.) believes it is his... Continue reading
The Audit

DaimlerChrysler Sets Off ‘Frenzy of Speculation’
February 15, 2007 04:40 PM
Chrysler became the latest American automaker to take a big hit yesterday, announcing a "restructuring plan" that will chop 13,000 jobs, shrink its roster of 32 models by 10 to 20 percent, and pare its number of dealerships by... Continue reading
Behind the News

CJR Daily’s Aching Prose Awards
February 14, 2007 10:35 AM
Be prepared for animal sex, "Sexercise", tales of Viagra and copy that aims for your heart. We're talking, of course, about Valentine's Day-related journalism -- this commercial day of impossible expectations that brings with it... Continue reading

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