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Thu, 8 May 2008
The Early Life of the Gas-Tax Story
Reporters let bloggers and columnists do the work
By Posted at 01:20 PM
The possible suspension of the federal gas tax has become a big issue in the presidential race, and the latest media frenzy surrounding the candidates. As we noted last week, the press aggressively (if belatedly) attacked the idea, which John McCain and Hillary Clinton support and Barack Obama opposes. But regardless of whether tax holiday amounts to political "pandering"... Read More
Wed, 7 May 2008
From Gas Tax to Safety Valve
The press gets wrapped up in one debate, but misses a parallel
By Posted at 12:49 PM Comments (1)
Since Hillary Clinton announced her support last week for suspending the federal gas tax between Memorial Day and Labor Day, the press has marshaled economists and environmentalists from around the country to wholeheartedly denounce the idea. Of course, it's not really the soundness of the plan that the media are after, or else they would have mounted a similar... Read More
Mon, 5 May 2008
Green Thumb: Sports
Going, going … green?
By Posted at 04:22 PM
Editor's note: The Observatory is on “green” watch. Two weeks ago, on Earth Day, we launched Green Thumb, a new feature that will shout out sightings of the greening of America and welcome your picks and comments. Here’s our rating system:
•THUMBS UP: Eco-friendly
•CARBON NEUTRAL: Can't hurt
•THUMBS DOWN: Greenwashing
Professional and collegiate sports are... Read More
Fri, 2 May 2008
What's New at Science News...
And what is familiar
By Posted at 12:43 PM
Science News, the eighty-seven-year-old weekly staple of dedicated science news enthusiasts is making a few changes this month. Or rather, it's making "Change Without Change," according to an editor's note by Tom Siegfried, the publication's captain of seven months, which appeared in the first redesigned issue. The content, the quality, and the mission are all the... Read More
Thu, 1 May 2008
McCain's Health-Care Muddle
What’s he doing? Don’t ask the media
By Posted at 01:24 PM
John McCain finally came forth this week with what his campaign dubbed a major policy speech, laying out his To Do list for health care reform. We at CJR have been asking a lot about his plans lately, which up to this point had raised more questions than answers. Tuesday’s address wasn’t much more illuminating. In fact,... Read More
The True Color of "Green-Collar" Jobs
Press wrestles with definition and economic reality
By Posted at 12:29 PM
When John Edwards bowed out of the Democratic primary in January, the presidential race lost its most vocal supporter of so called green-collar jobs. His former opponents have carried the mantle forward, however-Senator Hillary Clinton in particular, who introduced an amendment to the 2007 energy bill, calling for green-collar job training.
"Green-collar" is a...
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Tue, 29 Apr 2008
Oops! About that Journal Report….
PEJ’s statistical slip
By Posted at 07:30 AM
Last week, a report from the venerable Project for Excellence in Journalism (PEJ) created something of a stir with a quantitative analysis of how The Wall Street Journal's front-page coverage has changed by topic since Rupert Murdoch took over Dow Jones in mid-December. Jim Romenesko, the Internet's premier media news aggregator, quoted the report's key phrase: "In the... Read More
Fri, 25 Apr 2008
Garbage Island Diary
Viceland’s alternative model for environmental reporting
By Posted at 12:19 PM
Fledgling online video Web site VBS.tv scored an environmental journalism coup this month with "Garbage Island" - a quirky, travelogue-documentary about man-made debris floating in the North Pacific Gyre. Currents in that part of the ocean naturally swirl around like a giant whirlpool, drawing in decades of pollution. Since the flotsam and jetsam first popped up on... Read More
The Big Coal Question
Journalists catch Obama and Clinton walking a carbon tightrope
By Posted at 11:40 AM
Most journalists covering the environmental side of the presidential race between Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama have come to the same conclusion: that either of them (and John McCain, too) will be better than George W. Bush. Yet despite the candidates' green rhetoric, journalists have been unable to "spur" them into a more specific debate on issues like... Read More
Thu, 24 Apr 2008
2008 Green Issues Guide
Vanity Fair once again sets the bar, but has competition
By Posted at 12:54 PM
Instead of switching to fluorescent light bulbs, urging my congressional representative to support climate legislation, or attending one of Manhattan's green consumer extravaganzas, I spent Earth Day reading through the now regular spring tide of magazine Green Issues.
It's hard to keep up. I'd meant to write a roundup in time for Tuesday's environmental celebration, but wound up,...
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