There can be no possible justification for such an overbroad collection of the telephone communications of The Associated Press and its reporters. These records potentially reveal communications with confidential sources across all of the newsgathering activities undertaken by the AP during a two-month period, provide a road map to AP’s newsgathering operations and disclose information about AP’s activities and operations that the government has no conceivable right to know.Associated Press President and Chief Executive Officer Gary Pruitt • In a letter, sent to U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder, denouncing the Justice Department’s decision to acquire the phone records of AP journalists as well as a number of the wire service’s offices over a two-month period. The move came as a result of a 2012 AP story which leaked the news of a foiled attack on the anniversary of Osama bin Laden’s death. The move, which followed the Obama administration’s general policy of trying to shut down leaks, nonetheless was disowned by the White House. “We are not involved in decisions made in connection with criminal investigations, as those matters are handled independently by the Justice Department,” said White House Press Secretary Jay Carney. “Any questions about an ongoing criminal investigation should be directed to the Department of Justice.” The move has been condemned by many journalists.
This is not a ritual for me where you just come on camera and say you’re sorry and hope to move on. I’m truly sorry about what happened. I believe deeply in good journalism and fair journalism and I am determined to learn from this episode and minimize the chances of anything like this happening again.CNN “Reliable Sources” host Howard Kurtz • Apologizing, at extreme length, for his erroneous reporting about the Jason Collins story as well as his sloppy overall reporting in recent years. Kurtz, who left his job at The Daily Beast last week, said that his departure from the publication was amicable and mutual, and already in the works before the Collins situation broke. Kurtz, who also faced conflict-of-interest questions over his ties to a small-scale site called The Daily Download, spent a full fifteen minutes atoning for his journalistic sins this morning, according to Politico.
There’s also a question of journalistic ethics. Luntz requested that the remarks remain off the record; while a journalist who was in the room verbally agreed to this request, Abbi (who isn’t a journalist) and Mother Jones (who wasn’t present) did not. So are they still bound by it? Does a request to remain off the record amount to a decree, or must it be agreed to? Regardless of where you stand, it’s a fuzzy area. Meanwhile, Luntz has withdrawn a scholarship in his father’s name since the remarks leaked.
The Office of Congressional Ethics (OCE) is currently investigating Republican Rep. Michele Bachmann’s 2012 presidential campaign, on suspicion of improper usage of campaign funds, according to a new report from The Daily Beast. While Rep. Bachmann is not believed to have personally committed any criminal actions, investigators are trying to ascertain whether or not Bachmann was aware of under-the-table payments to several advisers and, if so, when she became aware of the cash transfers. While OCE has no real enforcement powers of any kind, the board does make direct recommendations to the House Ethics Committee, though we don’t suspect the threat of censure (a.k.a a stern talking to from Congress) particularly frightens Rep. Bachmann. (Photo via Gage Skidmore) source
The National Review ran a magazine cover in which they Photoshopped signs at an Obama rally to read “ABORTION” instead of “FORWARD” as they originally did.
The top image shows the October 1, 2012 cover of “National Review” magazine.
The image at the bottom shows another photo taken at the same rally.
When Photoshop is used for evil.
“We got a call from Samsung India saying ‘You can either be a part of this and wear the uniform, or you’ll have to get your own tickets back home and handle your hotel stay from the moment this call ends…
A few minutes later, we got a call from the Samsung India guy who said that our flights on the 6th have been cancelled, and that they’re bringing us back on the 1st instead. But this is only if, and only if, we agreed to wear at least the samsung branded shirt at the unpacked event, and not blog about any of this incident.
“None of this should leave Berlin. Or Reach India” – Clinton Jeff
It sounds like Samsung frayed some wires, considering that the bloggers were decked in full Samsung swag and expected to demo products all day — when they were really there to actually cover the conference itself. As TheNextWeb’s Brad McCarty puts it: “So take care, bloggers and those hoping to be. The next time that you’re offered a trip in exchange for coverage, you might find yourself being fitted for a uniform, signing NDAs and demoing products upon which you’re supposed to be reporting.”
(Side note: Accepting tickets/gifts for things like this would be a no-no for many journalists — a noted political columnist recently got publicly reprimanded for this very type of thing — but bloggers who scrape by may work under different rules.)
I have decided that I will not be able to serve a second term as a Successor Fellow of the Yale Corporation. I am reexamining my professional life and I have recognized that, in order to focus on the core of my work, I will have to shed some of my other responsibilities.Time and CNN journalist Fareed Zakaria • Revealing to Yale President Richard C. Levin his plans to resign from the school’s governing board, weeks after he received a major professional scare — getting suspended from his two main gigs after getting caught plagiarizing. (Both CNN and Time eventually accepted him back.) Zakaria likely had too much on his plate: “My service at Yale is the single largest commitment of time, energy, and attention outside of my writing and television work,” he also wrote in his note. Levin graciously accepted the note and thanked the journalist for his work.
Ethical lapses aplenty: Last week saw Kwame R. Brown, the second-ranking political official in the city, step down from his job in the wake of a campaign finance and bank fraud scandal. Before that, Harry Thomas Jr. dropped his city council seat in January and is about to head to jail on bank fraud charges. And two mayor Vincent Gray’s aides pleaded guilty on corruption charges of their own (though Gray denies wrongdoing). It’s another set of scandals in a city that has seen more than its fair share. “Politicians will say there’s a culture of corruption, and often people say it’s rhetoric,” notes Democratic activist Bryan Weaver “But when it comes to D.C., there’s a culture of corruption that really exists. What gets passed off as politics as usual are huge ethical lapses.” Read more here. (photo by Bill O’Leary/The Washington Post)
Hey hey, what’s shakin’ Tony? We heard you had to speak in front of the Levenson Inquiry today regarding your cozy relationship with the media, particularly between yourself and Rupert Murdoch. Murdoch’s already spilled the beans about a few things in his conversation with Lord Justice Leveson, but hearing from a former prime minister certainly makes for a fun time, right guys? Here are a few of our favorite highlights from the four-hour questioning session:
» Blair also called Rebekah Brooks … with condolences: When Brooks, who is facing criminal charges in the phone-hacking scandal that led to the current inquiry, resigned from News Corp., Blair was one of the first to call. ”I’m somebody who doesn’t believe in being a fair-weather friend and certainly I said I was very sorry for what happened to her,” he explained. Because, hey, they were pals, too! (photo via the World Economic Forum)
In her last days, my mother occasionally became confused....
”The reporter...
I can’t add much to what’s already been (and will be) ...
One of the perks of being an early employee...
Over the last 90 days, the Digg...
#FMMDI (at 30 Rockefeller Plaza)
Katharine Zaleski, the Post’s executive director of digital news, told me today that Pexton’s description of an online operation focused on churning out content is inaccurate.
“We have incredibly high standards to the point where this idea [of Pexton’s] that we’re pumping things out is ridiculous when you compare us to some of the other news organizations that have people publish immediately [without editing],” she said.
Zaleski said BlogPost has copy editors that read over posts prior to publication, and work with writers. (She would not speak about Flock, citing Post policy to not comment on personnel matters.)
The blogger in question, Elizabeth Flock, left the paper last week after an article of hers was singled out by in an editor’s note for a “significant ethical lapse.” While some saw Pexton’s column as shining light on the pressure aggregators face (we offered a brief take here), others felt that Pexton was being sympathetic to someone who plagiarized. Zaleski also took issue with Pexton’s presentation of the issue as one of neglected younger employees, whose grievances he cited anonymously: “I have no idea what he’s talking about. I don’t know who he’s talking about. I’m young, so what does that mean?”
(Disclosure: I work for the Washington Post Company, but not at the Post proper. — Ernie @ SFB)
They said that they felt as if they were out there alone in digital land, under high pressure to get Web hits, with no training, little guidance or mentoring and sparse editing. Guidelines for aggregating stories are almost nonexistent, they said. And they believe that, even if they do a good job, there is no path forward. Will they one day graduate to a beat, covering a crime scene, a city council or a school board? They didn’t know. So some left; others are thinking of quitting.The Post fails a young blogger (via frontofbook)
» But what don’t we know? Rupe’s going to testify: Murdoch, who has seen his considerable British political influence fall since the hacking scandal broke, now plans to return to the UK to testify on his political influence over the years. Last time he did this, Wendy Deng kicked some guy’s pie-throwing butt.
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Quantifying Nepotism: Everyone knows (or at least assumes) that politicians use their power to benefit people close to them; that’s old news. However, scientific studies on the matter are hard to come by. The watchdog group Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington (CREW) wanted to change that, and carried out an exhaustive study of the extent to which nepotism manifests itself in US Congress. Their report is 347 pages long; in case you have better things to do with your time (impossible!), here are some takeaways. Note: This study only covered the 2008 and 2010 election cycles.
» Miscellaneous: Out of the aforementioned 248 members who warranted inclusion in the report, 105 were Democrats, and 143 were Republicans. Speaker of the House John Boehner is nowhere to be found in the report—but Nancy Pelosi is. Oh, and which member of Congress paid fees or salaries to more of his family members than anyone else? Why, none other than anti-government crusader Ron Paul.
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