The original plan when we began this project was to offer the amendments individually, invite discussion, then produce a final document. The course of the process, though, has made a couple things clear. First, there needs to be a period to discuss the entire document in context, and second, while the original “Bill of Rights” approach perhaps had a certain
Read more
Way back in March of 2008, as the campaign was running in high gear, I made clear that while I wasn’t in love with the Democratic frontrunners, the emerging alternative was worse: John McCain represented the third Bush presidency. I was undoubtedly right. But… You knew there was a “but” coming, didn’t you? Obama prepares for possible action against Syria
Read more
Over the past few days, the New Constitution series has generated some interesting discussion. Objections, defenses and counterpoints from myself and other readers, in some cases resulting in planned revisions to the document. One particular issue, which I predicted in the prologue, has centered around the appropriate level of specificity employed in articulating the various rights and responsibilities. One of
Read moreIf you haven’t see this video yet, strap in. Hilarity is a’fixin’ to ensue. SFGate has the gory details here. The key, it seems, is this part: KTVU Channel 2 News owned this breaking news story with a number of firsts! – First on-air. – First on-line. – First with alerts to mobile devices. – First on Twitter & Facebook.
Read more
That crashing sound you just heard from the Upper Midwest was the Chicago Sun-Times throwing its photography staff out the window. All 28 of them. Pulitzers and everything. The paper explained thusly: The Sun-Times business is changing rapidly and our audiences are consistently seeking more video content with their news. We have made great progress in meeting this demand and
Read moreWell, this is fun. FOX31 reported Saturday that Daniele Perazzi, president of the world-famous Perazzi gun brand and grandson of its famous founder, was detained at the Colorado Gun Collectors Association show near 58th and Washington Street. FOX31 said a cab driver alerted police thinking Perazzi was a potential terrorist. The gun company, the Adams County Sheriff’s Office, Taxis on
Read moreWe are what we pretend to be, so we must be careful about what we pretend to be. – Kurt Vonnegut You may have seen the story about the Hollywood action movie-style murder on the Las Vegas strip early yesterday morning. All the stories I’m seeing focus on the shooting victim, one Ken Cherry (aka Kenny Clutch, an aspiring rapper from
Read moreRemember Richard Jewell? He was accused of placing a bomb in Atlanta’s Centennial Park during the 1996 Olympics. He endured a horrific trial (and conviction) by media and had his life destroyed. Turned out he was innocent. The guilty party was anti-abortion terrorist Eric Rudolph. Jewell sued several media outlets (including CNN), reaching settlements in all cases save one (which
Read moreAs we try to unravel the whole Manti Te’o/”Lennay Kekua” mystery – is she dead? Is she alive? Does she exist? Was Te’o in on it or is he the biggest rube in America? – “sports journalists” (one of my favorite oxymorons, btw) are taking a right kicking, and deservedly so. Everybody out there who reported on the heartbreaking dead
Read moreIt’s no secret to Chelsea fans that the sporting press, such as it is, does not love us overmuch. Time and again, whether we’re reading a match report or an editorial “analysis” or listening to in-game commentary, we’re confronted with “journalists” who seem on the verge of bursting into song every time something bad happens to our side. Fine. I
Read more
Back in September Kim Christensen and Jason Felch of the Los Angeles Times broke an absolute blockbuster of a story: the Boy Scouts of America have, for decades, been providing cover for pedophiles in its ranks. Over two decades, the Boy Scouts of America failed to report hundreds of alleged child molesters to police and often hid the allegations from parents and the
Read moreYou know how every so often somebody will publish a list of the greatest rock bands in history? Those usually make for interesting reading. Beatles, check. Rolling Stones, check. Led Zeppelin, Radiohead, Pink Floyd, Jimi Hendrix Experience, U2, The Who, Nirvana, Celine Dion, REM… Wait, what? Back up. Always happens. You have your obvious picks, you have some fresh blood that
Read moreSo, the Susan Komen Foundation has hired a big-hitter PR firm. And not just any PR firm, either. Now, Komen is assessing the damage, and it’s using a consulting firm founded by two former Democratic strategists. Penn Schoen Berland (PSB), the firm Komen hired to help determine how badly the crisis hurt its reputation, is founded by former Democratic strategists
Read moreYesterday I attempted to shed a little light on the PR crisis strategy behind the Komen Foundation’s sudden Planned Parenthood “backtracking.” Contrary to what Komen’s highly-paid PR crisis hacks and gullible headline writers at newsdesks around the nation would ask you to believe, The Susan G. Komen Foundation does NOT promise to fund Planned Parenthood in the future. They promise to let
Read moreNews Corp. CEO Rupert Murdoch has issued a public apology for the News of the World scandal, which appears in several British national newspapers this weekend. The final text is available here. For those unfamiliar with the exciting world of public relations, these kinds of official statements often go through a rigorous process of draft, revision, review, more revision, show
Read more
lullaby pit 