Author Archive
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Campaign Desk
Medicare Vouchers Explained
January 18, 2012 03:27 PMIn the Republican presidential debate Monday, Mitt Romney came out in favor of a "premium support program, which allows people to buy either current standard Medicare or a private plan." He said he supported the proposal made by Wisconsin congressman... Continue reading
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Campaign Desk
Legal Immigrants Win in Massachusetts
January 16, 2012 12:34 PMToday we begin a series of occasional posts that bring Campaign Desk readers up-to-date on the workings of Massachusetts health reform and how the press is reporting on them. A few years ago, Bay State lawmakers, with the blessing of... Continue reading
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The Kicker
“Firing” your insurance in Romney’s Massachusetts
January 11, 2012 12:59 PMRomney’s remark Monday about firing your insurance company apparently harmed him little yesterday in the New Hampshire primary. But as the quote has rocketed around, it might be misleading some into thinking that the Massachusetts health care reforms... Continue reading
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Campaign Desk
Why Might the Docs Be in a Fix?
January 11, 2012 11:49 AMSacre bleu! Docs are going broke! Or so says CNNMoney in a story that is a great example of a puff piece for doctors that also happens to fit the modus operandi for the docs’ public... Continue reading
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Campaign Desk
Santorum Goes After Social Security
January 9, 2012 12:29 PMNoting the media’s trivial pursuit of rising star Rick Santorum, my colleague Erika Fry has called for more substantive reporting on the candidate’s past and policy visions. I say “amen,” and applaud the fact the AP at least devoted... Continue reading
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Campaign Desk
The Bloodying of PolitiFact
January 6, 2012 01:48 PMNow it’s my turn to weigh in on the “Lie of the Year,” the gimmick PolitiFact uses to highlight the most egregious misstatements of the past year. This time, though, the fact-checking service stumbled into a fusillade of criticism from... Continue reading
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Campaign Desk
A Good Payroll Tax Piece from the Post
January 4, 2012 12:46 PMAt last The Washington Post, which shaped much of the media coverage of the defcit and entitlement discussion last year, has produced a very good story about Social Security. This one offers another take on the Democrats’ drive... Continue reading
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Behind the News
Best of 2011: Trudy Lieberman
January 2, 2012 05:48 PMPeter G. Peterson Goes to School: Organizations funded by Peter G. Peterson, a former Wall Street investment banker and long-time foe of Social Security, have had a powerful influence in shaping this year’s debate over Social Security. The media... Continue reading
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Campaign Desk
The Kind of Medicare Story We’d Rather Not See
December 23, 2011 01:44 PMAnyone reading SmartMoney’s take on Medicare would want to get granny off the program in New York minute. It was one of those “list” stories—five places you must visit, ten foods to eat in the new year that... Continue reading
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Campaign Desk
A Rate-Regulation Case Study in Pennsylvania
December 21, 2011 04:26 PMWhat’s so interesting about insurance rate regulation, and why is it worth reporting on? The topic has everything to do with the ultimate fate of the national health reform law and the media’s unfortunately diminishing role as a watchdog over... Continue reading
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Campaign Desk
The Coverage of Wyden-Ryan, Round One
December 19, 2011 01:59 PMRobert Pear’s New York Times piece “Support Builds for a Plan To Rein In Medicare Costs” seemed like a leak. Writing on the Friday after Thanksgiving, usually a slow news day, Pear signaled the D.C. health care cognoscenti’s... Continue reading
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Campaign Desk
Pinning Down the President
December 15, 2011 05:48 PMIn an interview with President Obama on 60 Minutes Sunday night, it was apparent Steve Kroft was taking his questioning down a broad path. “It seems to be all the compromising is being done by you,” was one... Continue reading
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Campaign Desk
NPR and its Men-on-the-Street
December 14, 2011 02:00 PMIt seemed that Mike H., a frequent visitor to CJR.org, had a point. He commented the other day on one of my posts, which had praised NPR for sending a reporter out on the street to talk to real... Continue reading
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Campaign Desk
Morning Edition Connects With Regular People
December 8, 2011 02:14 PMThe other day NPR did some solid man-on-the-street reporting, and found—as we have found in our ongoing Town Hall series—the public is disconnected from Washington politics. Reporter Andrea Seabrook visited Cincinnati and asked those whom she met about... Continue reading
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Campaign Desk
The Murky Politics of the Payroll Tax
December 6, 2011 04:21 PMEach day the payroll tax saga gets more complicated, and the public no doubt gets more confused. Bloomberg reporter Brian Faler and Remapping Debate’s Mike Alberti deserve loud shout-outs for their crisp and clear pieces... Continue reading
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Campaign Desk
CJR Holds a Town Hall in Nebraska
December 5, 2011 03:38 PMGeorge Packer’s superb New Yorker article about the Wall Street Occupiers is a must-read for anyone who wants to understand why Occupy Wall Street camps sprang up across the country. As a reader, I found the journey of... Continue reading
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Campaign Desk
Switching Sides on Social Security
November 29, 2011 11:55 AMWhat to do about those FICA contributions, aka payroll taxes, now that the supercommittee has blown up? Last Christmas the Obama administration handed workers a special gift—a one-year holiday from paying their payroll taxes, which as most workers know fund... Continue reading
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Campaign Desk
Romney’s Marie Antoinette Moment
November 28, 2011 12:13 PMThe lede of the Boston Globe’s campaign story a few days ago was explicit: Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney yesterday called on Congress to take money from Medicaid, not defense, to compensate for the failure of the congressional... Continue reading
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Campaign Desk
A Shoutout to MarketWatch
November 17, 2011 01:23 PMLast week, MarketWatch did the kind of report we have been urging the media to do on a subject they’d prefer to avoid—paying for long-term care. We’ve called long-term care the stepchild of health reform, and noted what... Continue reading
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Campaign Desk
A Laurel to the AP
November 11, 2011 12:18 PMThe AP’s recent story on proposed changes in the derivation of Social Security’s cost of living (COLA) formula is the kind of explainer we have urged the press to write. The piece, written by Stephen Ohlemacher, lays out... Continue reading
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The Audit Business
- Audit Notes: pyramid people, Disney and ABC, no USA Today paywall Roddy Boyd digs into a diet-shake pyramid scheme
- Hot air Rises Above on CNBC An anchor pins a minor dip in stocks on the TV appearance of a minor politician
The Observatory Science
- Dull news from Doha UN climate summit a ho-hum affair for the press
- Highway to the danger zone Following Sandy, HuffPo and NYT dig into the folly of coastal development
Campaign Desk Politics & Policy
- NBC News sets good example for Medicare reporting People perspective leads to clear explanation of impact of proposed changes
- In Pennsylvania, a niche site with wide reach PoliticsPA drives political conversation in Keystone State
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The Kicker last updated: Fri 3:00 PM
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- The media news cycle is bananas
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- Tom Rosenstiel leaving Pew
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News Startups Guide last updated: Thu 10:24 AM
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