After being involved with Planned Parenthood for eight years, either as a volunteer or as an employee, Abby Johnson suddenly resigned this week and joined the Coalition for Life. So why would someone who had dedicated so much of their life working for reproductive rights suddenly not only change their views on abortion but on the complete scope of reproductive rights? After conducting an investigation and interviewing several sources it has become clear that this was not a spiritual awakening.
The story that Johnson has repeated is that she had a "change of heart" after witnessing an abortion through an ultrasound. According to an interview with ABC News, Johnson held the probe on the patient's abdomen during the procedure, and according to that interview Johnson was unclear as to the reason why she was there during this procedure because it was not a normal part of her duties. According to an interview with World Net Daily, Johnson said that for "whatever reason, the physician had called me back to assist with the procedure."
However, Johnson did not just happen to witness the procedure, and the procedure did not actually even take place at the Planned Parenthood that Johnson was the director of in Bryan, Texas. Johnson was visiting another clinic in the Houston area; she was there visiting a doctor that Bryan clinic was considering utilizing for abortion procedures. Johnson was specifically interested in the doctor because of the very fact that the doctor used the ultrasound, which makes the abortion safer, more efficient, and many believe more humane for the fetus. Confidential sources also confirmed that Johnson was pleased by the visit to the doctor and impressed with the procedure.
The "war" between the White House and Fox News continues. It started a while ago, and has ramped up in recent weeks. Fox News -- ever the victims -- are complaining that the White House is treating them unfairly, basically goign to the corner and saying, "nuh-uh -- YOU started it."
Now the White House reporters -- and other members of the media -- are starting to defend Fox News. The fact that other reporters are coming to Republicans / Fox News' defense has excited the GOP base more than anything since Sarah Palin.
I know reporters always got reporters' backs, and that's awesome and I respect that. But this isn't like the White House just decided to go against a channel that occassionaly gives them negative stories. And -- despite what the Fox News folks say -- the White House (and anyone with a brain) can distinguish between the Fox "commentary" and what is portrayed w/ their news logo.
Just take a look at the facts in this simple, yet direct, video:
If anyone can show me the journalism displayed in that video, then I'll change my mind.
I absolutely agree with the White House's attempts to ignore Fox News as much as possible. I think reporters that blindly defend Fox News for this are devaluing their profession. And I think Republicans that want to make hay about this are only providing further evidence that Fox News is a 24/7 political operation.
Journalism is an important piece of our democracy: the fourth estate. However, over the last several years both the economy and the rise of technology have had a negative effect on the backbone of journalism: newspapers. Around the country more and more newspapers are in danger of shutting down, even in large markets such as San Francisco. It is also possible that a large city could be without a newspaper in the coming years. Newspapers in major cities have been able to switch to an online only format, such as the Seattle Post-Intelligencer. However, in medium and smaller cities, it could prove difficult for a newspaper to move to an online only format.
According to the Burnt Orange Report, newspaper publishers in Texas are considering sharing their content; this is the possible outcome of editors under pressure to produce news with less and less staff. Local media outlets have covered state and local politics less and less over the years; instead newspapers and television stations have focused on crime. In turn there are less and less journalist covering state politics in Austin, which means that politicians, lobbyist, and influential citizens will be questioned less and less.
I dubbed 2007 the year of the bimbo because of the enormous amount of time dedicated on what was supposed to be news channels, and even our plain old nightly news to the saga of Anna Nicole Smith, the trials and tribulations of Paris Hilton, and the various on goings of Brittany Spears and Lindsay Lohan.
Despite the fact that our country was fighting two bloody wars and the death of such greats as Molly Ivins and Claudia Alta "Lady Bird" Johnson, one quarter to one half of the news on many nights and on many shows was wasted on the afore mentioned bimbos. 2009 is shaping up to be nearly as bad.
For the past two nights, the Rachel Maddow Show has been pre-empted to instead dedicate the full hour to Michael Jackson. Those "news" shows that haven't dedicated their entire show to Jackson, spent a quarter to a half of their time on story. Just as with the death of Anna Nicole Smith, we are getting a play by play on everything from the custody of the children to the location and details of the funeral and burial.
The coverage of Anna Nicole's death was over the top and excessive.
The coverage of Michael Jackson's death is turning out to be just as bad or possibly even worse.
After a showing of support from the community, through emails and phone calls, we have shown that the community determines "community standards." The Bryan-College Station Eagle has made the decision to publish the wedding announcement of Robles-Scroggs in the Sunday edition of the Eagle. The announcement will be on the "wedding announcements" page, and will probably be found on the right side and lower half of the page.
Paul Robles and John Scroggs of College Station, Texas, were married on Tuesday, August 26, 2008, in a small ceremony in the city courthouse located in San Francisco, California. The ceremony was officiated by Dr. James Rosenheim of Bryan, Texas, and witnessed by Ms. Ginny Lowe of Loveland, Colorado. Both Mr. Robles and Mr. Scroggs have lived in the Bryan/College Station area for nearly 20 years, both having attended and currently work for Texas A&M University. Mr. Robles is the son of Dolores Robles and the late Frank Robles of Victoria, Texas. Mr. Scroggs is the son of John W. Scroggs and Eulia Rae Scroggs of Corpus Christi, Texas.
I ran across a column last night by one of the columnists at the E-N who has always had a Republican slant. Jonathan Gurwitz slammed Obama's voting record and tried assert that Obama not as bipartisan as McCain. Reviewing the data showed that Gurwitz had only told part of the story. In reality Obama has reached across the aisle more times on key votes than McCain. The record also shows that McCain has the worst voting record in the Senate, even with a shorter campaign schedule than Obama.
However no one in the San Antonio Obama team, namely Alamobama, even responded with some truth. That shocked me and bothered me. For all the action and drive of this group someone has to respond with truth and facts. The opposition has been spewing even more untruths that needed to be countered. I have been trying to but we need more.
If we're going to own this election we have to own it on ALL channels. I challenge netrooters to watch the local papers and push forward the facts. Make sure no column, story, or opinion that does not show the truth go unanswered. We need to get out of the "echo chamber" and get in to the open if we really want to make a difference.
We spend a lot of time in these news updates showing how charges of voter fraud are used to discredit voter participation efforts and prime the pump for voter suppression efforts, such as the passage of voter ID bills, pushing for proof of citizenship, engaging in draconian voter purge efforts, and imposing sever restrictions on voter registration drives. We have also spent a lot of time carefully delineating the politics behind these efforts, starting with our March 2007 report The Politics Of Voter Fraud and continuing on in these diaries to name but two venues.
This is an unofficial part of our "Shattering Blogger Stereotypes" series. The myth shattered -- that bloggers hate the traditional media. The following is a report on an extensive study I completed as part of my coursework at the JFK School of Government at Harvard University. -- Phillip
In the early twentieth century, five Russian-born Jews living in Manhattan passed out some leaflets denouncing President Woodrow Wilson. They were accused of violating the Espionage Act. They were arrested for criticizing the government, and ultimately -- in Abrams vs. the United States -- the U.S. Supreme Court upheld the arrests.
Justice Oliver Wendell Holmes, in his dissent, wrote that the leaflets created no real danger, arguing instead that they embraced one of the central tenants of the constitution: a "marketplace of ideas"
[...] The ultimate good desired is better reached by free trade in ideas...that the best test of truth is the power of the thought to get itself accepted in the competition of the market, and that truth is the only ground upon which their wishes safely can be carried out. That at any rate is the theory of our Constitution.
Today, in the early twenty-first century, information consumers seek a free trade of ideas much broader than what the market has traditionally offered. Print and television journalism competes with online journalism, where electronic leaflets travel much farther than the streets of Manhattan. YouTube videos, blogs, and Facebook messages are all relevant players in today’s marketplace of ideas.
Texas’ newspapers are adapting to the new online medium in noticeably different ways, especially when it comes to political reporting. An examination of the nearly 1,000 blog posts featured on the respective political blogs of the Houston Chronicle, Dallas Morning News, and Austin American-Statesman during the month leading up to the Texas primary shows that formal conventions of journalism often do not make their way from the paper pages to the web pages of Texas’ leading newspapers.
For those of us counting on the successful adaptation of Texas’ political reporting in the rapidly expanding realm of web-based media, the loss of formal convention may be a very, very good thing.
Introduction: About the Study
The purpose of the study wasn’t to determine which paper had the best online coverage – it was to examine what kind of coverage is out there in the first place. Reporters from each of these papers were interviewed for the original study; however, their quotes and input will not be directly attributed here, since the original study was conducted for academic purposes and to ensure their anonymity is respected.
The study examined at length the methods and attitudes of three of Texas’ major newspaper political blogs, focusing on the time period after Super Tuesday (February 6) through just before the Texas primary (March 3):
It should be noted that the Chronicle maintains several political blogs, including Texas on the Potomac, which has a national focus. For the purposes of the study, only the posts on Texas Politics, which has a Texas focus, were tracked, since most of the print reporters that cover Texas politics only blog on the Texas Politics blog. The study was completed for the Harvard Kennedy School of Government course, “Press, Politics, and Public Policy,” as taught by Professor Tom Fiedler, former Editor of the Miami Herald. As the general election approaches, similar studies will be conducted for comparison. Finding an Online Voice: The Choice between Formal and Informal Language
In 1961, Theodore White’s book, “The Making of the President: 1960” set the standard for political and campaign reporting. Ever since that time, political journalists have used White’s model – along with the very traditional “who, what, where, when, why, and how” formula – to create and sustain a formal language in their writing. The use of traditional, non-changing formal language signals a context of objectivity and authority for most readers.
However, many of Texas newspapers’ political blogs have abandoned traditional conventions in favor of a much more informal, opinion-based language. As Chart #1 shows below, the more posts that are written on Texas newspapers’ political blogs, the greater the chance that the language used will be informal.
Chart #1: Type of Language Used from 2/6 thru 3/3
Houston Chronicle
Austin American- Statesman
Dallas Morning News
Total / Average
# of total blog posts
172
304
510
986
Formal
61.6%
46.1%
23.3%
43.7%
Informal
25.0%
50.3%
71.2%
48.8%
Mixed
13.4%
3.6%
5.5%
7.5%
For the purposes of the study, formal language is considered “traditional newspaper” writing, often in 3rd-person. Informal language is considered “conversational-style” writing, which may combine first and second-person language and feature humor and/or editorializing. Mixed language-posts consists primarily of formal language but contain editorializing, humor, or a call for reader response not normally found with the use of formal language.
The Dallas Morning News reporters wrote nearly three times as many posts for their blog than their Houston Chronicle counterparts; not surprisingly, their language was much more informal. Strengthening the observed correlation, the Austin American-Statesman finished in the middle of each category.
