It’s hard to overestimate the outrageousness of this prosecutor’s actions: An Indiana deputy prosecutor and Republican activist resigned Thursday after the Wisconsin Center for Investigative Journalism uncovered an email in which he suggested faking an attack on Gov. Scott Walker to discredit union protesters. Carlos F. Lam submitted his resignation shortly before the Center published…
Press
Laws/Regulations, Press
Wisconsin Center for Investigative Journalism: Despite alternatives, Superior refinery using dangerous chemical
by JOHN ADAMS •
Reporter Lauren Hasler of the Wisconsin Center for Investigative Journalism (WisconsinWatch.org) has a story this morning about Murphy Oil’s continued use of hydrofluoric acid, a dangerous chemical kinow to cause explosions and resulting injury, despite the availablity of alternative substances. Hasler reports that Federal safety inspectors at the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) in…
Freedom of Speech, Liberty, Politics, Press
Lament of the Chicken Littles
by JOHN ADAMS •
There are lot of people who are very sure that protests in Madison are proof of a disordered society. They’re quick to wail and cry that the sky is falling, and that these protests are the end of Polite and Civilized Society as Understood by Polite and Civilized People. They sky’s not falling; society’s doing…
Press
“Hey, You’re a Poop Head. Just Kidding.”
by JOHN ADAMS •
Children sometimes fall into the habit of saying something insulting, thereafter quickly disclaiming the remark by declaring that they were only teasing. It’s not an attractive habit, but it’s easily corrected. It’s a habit less attractive, and even less credible, in adults. One assumes that an adult’s critical assessment, especially a serious and considered one,…
Press
The Beat Sweetener
by JOHN ADAMS •
I first learned the term ‘beat sweetener’ from libertarian press critic Jack Shafer. It’s a reporter’s technique for ingratiating himself with one official or another. Here’s a definition, from the Urban Dictionary: (JOURNALISM) using flattery to gain access to sources. The phrase is usually used in the context of White House or Congressional press corps,…
Nature, Press
Deer, coyotes and turkeys, oh my!
by JOHN ADAMS •
The Wisconsin Center for investigative Journalism‘s Kate Golden and Allie Tempus have a fine story about the number and cost of collisions between wildlife and aircraft in Wisconsin. Just as Doug Drost was landing at the Shell Lake airport, his wife, Karen Drost, saw something hurtling out of the darkness toward their Cessna 210. Something big.…
Liberty, Press, Press Release
U.S. to Host World Press Freedom Day in 2011
by JOHN ADAMS •
As we should, as a free press is a fundamental part of our heritage — Press Statement Philip J. Crowley Assistant Secretary, Bureau of Public Affairs Washington, DC December 7, 2010 The United States is pleased to announce that it will host UNESCO’s World Press Freedom Day event in 2011, from May 1 – May…
Crime, Press
A free pamphlet about illicit drugs that every reporter should download – By Jack Shafer – Slate Magazine
by JOHN ADAMS •
Drug addiction is a serious problem, and one compounded when bad information substitutes for good — Where do most people get their information about drugs? From the press. And where does the press get its information? Primarily from other misinformed journalists, lazy cops, grieving parents, clueless drug counselors, spurious Web sites, and gibbering druggies. By…
Press
Newspapers and Online Comments
by JOHN ADAMS •
There’s been much discussion about the comments policy at the online website, GazetteXtra.com, of a nearby newspaper, the Janesville Gazette. They’ve made a few changes, to limit comments on some types of stories, and to make comments visible only after a reader’s click. It’s a private website, and they can have the comments policy (none,…
City, Innovation Center/Tech Park, Press
Whitewater’s Innovation Center: Good for Producing Innovative, ‘International’ Fairy tales
by JOHN ADAMS •
A small town in middle America receives an award from a group, of whom no normal person has ever heard, declaring a town project internationally prestigious. The project relies on millions in public grants, millions in subsidized public bonds, will use a third of its space for a publicly-funded tenant, has no clear private purpose,…
Press
Whitewater-Area Newspapers, Fall 2010
by JOHN ADAMS •
I follow the several newspapers of our immediate area, and every so often I write a post with thoughts on the lot of them. Many people are interested in newspapers, and I’m no exception. On the left sidebar of this website, I have a link to the AP Managing Editors’ Statement of Ethical Principles. It’s…
Education, Press
Update: Wisconsin Center for Investigative Journalism: For-Profit College Accused of Operating Illegally in Wisconsin
by JOHN ADAMS •
Press
Wisconsin Center for Investigative Journalism: For-Profit College Accused of Operating Illegally in Wisconsin
by JOHN ADAMS •
The http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=argKE6FdtM8. Consider, finally, the tagline of the Wisconsin Center: “Protect the Vulnerable, Expose Wrongdoing, Seek Solutions.” Fine ideals. That’s true at the Wisconsin Center for Investigative Journalism, and there are other good newspapers across the state that have similar ideals, however expressed. What happened that so many have turned away from these ideals, so…
Press
The Public Service of a Private Newspaper
by JOHN ADAMS •
Government taxes to establish a public school system, from the property of private parties, draining them of resources they could use to build alternatives, requiring their children to attend, to be placed in the care of publicly-paid teachers and administrators, but only supplies an answer for why an administrator — with authority over children —…