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"I do think that the quality which makes a man want to write and be read is essentially a desire for self-exposure and is masochistic. Like one of those guys who has a compulsion to take his thing out and show it on the street." - James Jones
A reader wonders, "Where did the Washington Times Christmas tree go? It was there but now it's gone"
NPF president Bob Meyers writes, "Last year you supported us with many contributions so we could meet our Challenge Grant obligations. This year the challenge is equally important, but we're doing this on our own, without any challenge grant to spur us on. ... Could you help with a $25 contribution? A $50 contribution? We're a 501-c-3, so you could deduct your gift. I've added a connection to our magical online giving icon (you can find it on our site as well)." For more info, click here.
From a Post insider: "what frustrates so many post reporters about today's nytimes piece on the bacon fiasco is that, yet again, downie does not explain how editors edited the story and does not address the criticisms of the piece. instead, he takes the easy way out and defends the notion that young people can be big reporters too. he's permitting daly to divert the discussion away from the real journalistic issue. he should have come out and explained what was wrong with the story, what was right with the story, and what the post will do to ensure it doesn't happen again."
PEJ reports, "Americans received a grim picture of the war in Iraq in the first 10 months of 2007. Daily violence accounted for 47% of the stories studied. And of the stories that offered an assessment of the direction of the war, most were pessimistic, according to a new study of press coverage from Iraq from January to October."
Also from Pew, "Man-made and natural disasters dominated the list of the public's top news stories in 2007. Nearly half of Americans (45%) tracked news about the shootings at Virginia Tech University very closely, while nearly as many paid very close attention to reports on the Minneapolis bridge collapse and the California wildfires."
Howard Kurtzwrites, "After weeks of bad news, Hillary Clinton and her strategists hoped that winning the endorsement of Iowa's largest newspaper last weekend might produce a modest bump in their media coverage. But on Sunday morning, they awoke to upbeat headlines about their chief Democratic rival: 'Obama Showing New Confidence With Iowa Sprint,' said the New York Times. 'Obama Is Hitting His Stride in Iowa,' said the Los Angeles Times. And on Monday, Clinton aides were so upset about a contentious 'Today' show interview that one complained to the show's producer. Clinton's senior advisers have grown convinced that the media deck is stacked against them, that their candidate is drawing far harsher scrutiny than Barack Obama. And at least some journalists agree."
Washington Post reports, Don Graham,"The chairman of The Washington Post Co., who separated from his wife last month, just closed on a 1896 semi-detached townhouse near Dupont Circle. The four-bedroom, four-bath Tudor underwent extensive work during the past year and is described as impeccable." Ed Note: Wait, Post ombudsman Deb Howell says that Don Graham's divorce isn't appropriate for the Style section (it went in Business) but his house sales are?
CJR reports, "In an otherwise reasonable and spirited defense of a reporter, The Washington Post's Leonard Downie Jr. trips by employing ad hominem attack and innuendo against a critic—the very tactics Downie seeks to criticize."
Washington Post reports, "Capitol Steps founder Bill Strauss was a Harvard-trained lawyer and Senate subcommittee staffer when he broke through the chrysalis of Capitol Hill conventionality to become a musical satirist. Mr. Strauss, who died Dec. 18 of pancreatic cancer at his home in McLean, recalled the breakthrough in a phone interview shortly before his death at age 60."
Politico reports, "New York Times columnist Frank Rich regularly chides political journalists for not thinking outside the Beltway in covering the presidential campaign. But what about venturing beyond the west side of Manhattan? Unlike his Times opinion-writing colleagues — Maureen Dowd, David Brooks and Gail Collins — Rich has yet to rack up an Iowa dateline this year, not to mention New Hampshire or South Carolina."
The New York Times reports, "Inside the pressure-cooker that is live television, the name Barack Obama apparently becomes tricky.
The Democratic presidential candidate's name has been confused with the terrorist leader Osama bin Laden and even Omaha, Neb., in separate occasions on CNN recently."
"2007 Ratings: MSNBC has 'Fastest Growing Primetime Lineup of any Top-50 Cable Channel,'" reports TVNewser.
TVNewser reports, "Bob Schieffer: 2008 Campaign Probably 'My Last In The Role I Have Now'"
TVNewser reports, "You may have noticed World News with Charles Gibson and World News Now have been broadcasting form a different location this week. We are hearing construction is underway for a new set which is expected to debut in the next couple of weeks. We're told the new set will also be HD-ready and that the Gibson broadcast is expected to be in HD sometime in 2008."
The New York Observer reports, "CNN's Jonathan Klein on Campbell Brown, Couch Potatoes and Plans for 2008"
Wonkette reports, "Joe Scarbrough and Friend Ridicule Huckabee's Jesusery"
TVNewser reports, "Gore Vidal Has Beef With Wolf Blitzer, Apparently"
TVNewser reports, "The cable nets continue breaking news coverage of a fire at the Eisenhower Executive Office Building, which is part of the White House complex. Of the three cable news nets, CNN was first with the news at 9:42:30. MSNBC was next at 9:43:10 and FNC reported the story at 9:44:40." Meanwhile, on broadcast, "ABC News' Chris Cuomo anchored a network special at 9:51amET on the fire at the EEOB. The NBC network continued with the third hour of the today show and aired a special report at 10amET (MSNBC was already in breaking news coverage of the fire). CBS reported the fire with an update to the west coast feed of The Early Show at 10amET"
TVNewser reports, "In an opinion column in USA Today, titled 'Does Al-Jazeera belong in the USA?', Souhelia Al-Jadda, an associate producer at Link TV's Mosaic: World News from the Middle East and a member of USA Today's board of contributors, laments the fact that more than one year after the launch of Al-Jazeera English, 'no major U.S. cable or satellite company is willing to carry the station.'"
Inside Cable News reported yesterday, "Bloomberg TV announced this morning that Terry Holt and Stephanie Cutter will be providing analysis for the Iowa Caucus and New Hampshire primary."
A CNN release announced, "The next stops for the CNN Election Express include Iowa for the state's upcoming caucuses, New Hampshire for the nation's first primary elections and visits to Myrtle Beach, S.C., and Los Angeles for CNN's remaining presidential primary debates. To date, the CNN Election Express has served as the studio for interviews with top presidential candidates including Sen. Hillary Clinton (D-N.Y.), former Sen. John Edwards (D-N.C.), former Gov. Mike Huckabee (R-Ark.) and Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.). The studio configuration includes a lighting grid with full power to allow quick set-up for interviews. The video equipment on board can also be used outside for interviews and live shots."
TVNewser reports, "The NewsHour Gets New Set, Goes HDTV"
TVNewser reports, "It was good news all around for CNN yesterday, with a re-up for CNN/U.S. President Jon Klein and a memo from CNN Worldwide president Jim Walton discussing all the "fun" the network is having."
TVNewser reports, "Once again, Obama has been confused with Osama. This time, by HLN's Glenn Beck on Good Morning America."
Check out www.2008ElectionProCon.org, "created to be a comprehensive source of information on the 2008 presidential election." The site has "compiled the pro and con positions of all the presidential candidates on major policy issues, along with other resources related to the election, like a printable one-page summary of all the candidates' positions on the issues and a history of political parties. All of the information is designed to help people determine for themselves which candidate would make the best president."
A reader writes in, "Have you seen www.Whitehouse.com lately? (not .gov, BTW). Yes it is the same URL that was once the famed porn site. Now it has been reborn as some kind of uber-hip political blog. And word on the street is they've been phoning up reporters and inviting them to come and start work...resume, clips and references sight unseen. The site boasts 10 years of tradition (doesn't mention that 9.5 of them are as a porn site)...and check out the 'benefits' page! 25 cent soft drinks and occasional Pizza Fridays!"
Poynter Online's Steve Klein writes, "How can I say this nicely? Oh, what the heck. If Ted Leonsis is going to be candid and bash mainstream media, then why can't I? It's not like I need a job. At this point in my career, I'd only be bought out at best or downsized in a restructuring at worst."
A release announced, "Alive in Baghdad, a web news program reported and filmed by local Iraqis and distributed by independent US news agency Small World News lost correspondent Ali Shafeya Al-Moussawi after he was killed over the weekend in Sadr City. The correspondent was found dead by a family member after being shot 31 times. Details as to motive and circumstances about the killing are undetermined."
A Democracy release announced, "It's not chestnuts roasting on an open fire or ringing sleigh bells, but Christmas came early (or Hannukah came late) to Democracy this December. Just after we had released our winter issue and thought things would be winding down for the year, we were notified that Democracy has been named the Best New Publication of 2007 by the Utne Independent Press Awards." For more on the awards, click here.
Check out a new video feature on newyorker.com, The Naked Campaign, "a series of short videos featuring the illustrator Steve Brodner as he draws the Presidential candidates and discusses the race for the White House. The videos are directed by Gail Levin, with animation by Asterisk."
Wall Street Journal reports, "Carl Kasell -- the National Public radio newscaster and the judge/scorekeeper/second banana on NPR's weekly call-in quiz show 'Wait, Wait ... Don't Tell Me!' -- is running late for an interview. ... Mr. Kasell, who'll be moonlighting next week as the announcer for the 30th annual "Kennedy Center Honors" broadcast, was recording an answering machine message for a 'Wait, Wait' winner. Such is the highly coveted prize for callers who triumph in events like 'Listener Limerick Challenge,' 'Bluff the Listener,' and 'Who's Carl This Time?' -- wherein Mr. Kasell delivers highly flavored imitations of newsmakers from Paris to Britney to George W. and all points and poobahs in between."
Amos Snead is stepping down as Press Secretary to House Republican Whip Roy Blunt and is returning to FD Dittus.
Salon finally admits that Michael Scherer is leaving. Joan Walshwrites, "Some of you may have noticed the change to Michael Scherer's bio at the bottom of his great Meghan McCain profile today, identifying him as our 'former' Washington correspondent. I'm sad to say that Michael has left us to cover the presidential campaign for Time magazine. He's been a crucial part of our news resurgence over the last two years, breaking stories on Abu Ghraib, George Allen's race problems and the 2008 presidential campaign. We miss him already. But we're thrilled to welcome Mike Madden, who has covered politics, Congress and Washington for Gannett News Service since 2000. Mike has also written for Time.com, the New York Observer, USA Today and Wonkette, and he'll join Walter Shapiro on the campaign trail shortly."
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