I start with a point from Richard Parker’s discussion of needed improvements in journalism education and apply it more broadly. Parker argues that "fundamental democratic political concerns" should provide the context in which business and economics are taught to journalism … Read more
Once upon a time I thought, along with Richard Parker, that "watchdog" journalism equaled "muckraking," which would lead to "making America better." Indeed, when Richard recruited me to help him with Motherjones magazine in the mid-’70’s, it was because we … Read more
Some years ago The New York Times editorial page expressed the complacent notion that "great publications magnify the voice of any single writer." The statement is misleading. The instruments of the media multiply or amplify a voice, serving much the … Read more
Francis Warm shows copy of records the Nazis kept of their pillaging of art from his great-uncle’s estate in France. Many of the paintings are now in museums. Boston Globe Photo/Alastair Miller. Read more
Richard Parker’s paper is an insightful, scholarly and valuable overview. But his analysis of contemporary watchdog economics journalism and his recommendations trouble this long-time reporter. Consider these quotes: “It seems malign” to insist “that we suffer from too little information … Read more
As I sit down to write this the United States is considering new military strikes against Iraq, Pope John Paul II is calling for freedom in Cuba, and the country is obsessed with the question of whether or not President … Read more
Secretary of Defense Richard Cheney responds to questions front the media while taking part in a press conference held by U.S. and Saudi Arabian officials during Operation Desert Storm. Official U.S. Navy photo. The … Read more
My departure point for any discussion of national security reporting is an evening in the early 1980’s, when I was a Washington correspondent for The New York Times. Several days earlier, I had been handed a heavily classified memorandum to … Read more
My first reaction to the assignment of writing about the lingering effects of Cold War self-censorship is to redefine the subject. If self-censorship means restraint, self-imposed or accepted by an individual journalist, I would consider that this is today only … Read more
It was, yet again,another "defining" moment for on-line media. Most of the early details of the alleged affair between President Clinton and White House intern Monica Lewinsky had emerged on the Web. Between Matt Drudge’s Drudge Report and News-week’s AOL … Read more
