Speaking of lawsuits, what’s happening with all the complaints filed against Facebook, its underwriters and Nasdaq following its poorly received and even more poorly executed IPO last May? As I wrote then and as the brothers Winklevoss know, “Facebook and CEO Mark Zuckerberg have proved in the past to be tough defendants who don’t cave.” That could set this case apart from the typical suits like this, in which the corporate defendants pay off the plaintiffs’ lawyers with a quick settlement. As Facebook’s stock continues to struggle following disappointment with the revenue growth numbers reported in the company’s first post-IPO earnings statement, have the plaintiffs dug in harder? What about the defendants?
Behind the News
11:32 AM - August 14, 2012
Stories I’d like to see
Questions for Ryan, working for welfare, updates on Olbermann and Facebook
‘See you on the other side’ - Meet Jessica Lum, a terminally ill 25-year-old who chose to spend what little time she had practicing journalism
#Realtalk: This is the best moment to be in journalism - The old stuff isn’t coming back, but that’s okay
Streams of consciousness - Millennials expect a steady diet of quick-hit, social-media-mediated bits and bytes. What does that mean for journalism?
Sticking with the truth - How ‘balanced’ coverage helped sustain the bogus claim that childhood vaccines can cause autism
An ink-stained stretch - Can Aaron Kushner save the Orange County Register—and the newspaper industry?
This is the best moment to be in journalism (25)
The WSJ editorial page hits rock bottom (18)
The completist guide to Star Trek
Matt Yglesias watched every Star Trek movie and every episode of every TV show in the franchise
The uncomfortable questions not raised by Benghazi
The press and Congress are asking the wrong questions
Rob Ford in ‘crack cocaine’ video scandal
A video that appears to show Toronto’s mayor smoking crack is being shopped around by a group of Somali men involved in the drug trade
Why the underwear-bomber leak infuriated the Obama administration
The threat of even grander leaks
CJR's Guide to Online News Startups
Uptown Messenger – Hyperlocal news for a neighborhood in New Orleans
Who Owns What
The Business of Digital Journalism
A report from the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism
Questions and exercises for journalism students.
I would like to see a story based on Obama's college records, his passport, his social security card, etc. His travel to Pakistan during a time when US citizens
were forbidden to do so. Why did he have all those, and other records sealed?
#1 Posted by Ron Net, CJR on Wed 15 Aug 2012 at 12:07 AM
Ron Net, here's your story: Obama's college records are private, as are the college records of all individuals, as the result of the Family Education Rights and Privacy Act. I would assume, however, that he has nothing to hide, given that he must have done pretty well in undergrad to get into law school, and done pretty well there to get out with a degree. That doesn't happen to C students. Also, we're talking some pretty impressive schools. Columbia, Harvard Law--that ain't hay. As for his passport, I'm not sure what you'd expect to find there, unless you're really interested in how many countries a single U.S. citizen has visited. Also, his Social Security card is private, as is everyone's; otherwise identity theft would be rampant. You wouldn't want that, would you? In addition, Obama did not travel to Pakistan at a time when US citizens were forbidden to do so; he traveled there in 1981, and as you can see from this New York Times article published in that era at http://www.nytimes.com/1981/06/14/travel/lahore-a-survivor-with-a-bittersweet-history.html?scp=1&sq=lahore%20travel%201981&st=cse , that was entirely possible. There was a travel advisory on Pakistan travel for U.S. citizens at the time, which you can see at http://www.tdbimg.com/files/2009/07/27/-ta-pakistan1981_231558270964.pdf , but an advisory is not a ban.
There was no need for Obama to have his college records sealed; they were sealed by federal law from the moment he began acquring them, as all US college students' records have been sealed since 1974. His passport and Social Security card are also personally identifiable information and thus not available to the public. As for the information regarding the legality of his trip to Pakistan as a US citizen, I have just given you the information on that. There's your story--hope you enjoy it!
#2 Posted by Tru, CJR on Wed 15 Aug 2012 at 04:03 PM