Given the responses to today's earlier posting -- "Operation Desert Deceit" -- on Media Log, some folks don't see what's so wrong about paying for phony journalism to be placed in the Iraqi media. (By the way, it doesn't matter if the facts presented in these "stories" are fundamentally accurate if they are presented strictly to provide a propagandistic perspective of events and other important facts are omitted. That's not journalism.)

So maybe this response, emailed by John Schulz, the dean of the Boston University College of Communication and former VOA executive and correspondent, will help clarify the situation:

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"In Political Science 101, every student learns that one of the three core elements necessary for a viable democracy is a free and effective press, coupled with freedom of speech and the other core freedoms. The Bush administration, and some elements within the Defense Department do not seem to grasp the irony that, in their efforts to create, impose or inspire democratic society in Iraq, they are subverting the very core of what democracy means and are instead, by example, undercutting the very thing they are attempting to instill in Iraq.


"Given the recently revealed efforts by this administration to corrupt our system domestically by planting government sponsored 'news from Washington' at various local TV stations around our country, and given this latest practice in Iraq, one can only conclude that the current leaders of our democracy don't understand democracy at all, or don't like this "messy process" that is a vital component in our system. This newest development would be sad, if it were not so scary."

11/30/2005 3:33:00 PM by MJ | Comments [1] |  

The numbers on the buyouts at the Globe and the New England Media Group are in. Here's the memo from publisher Richard Gilman:

----------------------------------------------------------------------
November 30, 2005

To the staff:

I would like to share with you the current status of the workforce reduction we announced on September 20th.

As you know, because of the challenging business environment, we planned to reduce the staff at New England Media Group by 160 positions. Our goal was to achieve as many of these reductions as possible through voluntary buyouts from both Guild and Exempt employees. The largest of these programs are now closed at The Boston Globe, Worcester Telegram & Gazette, and Globe Specialty Products. We have approved buyout acceptances from 115 employees.

I understand how difficult these individual decisions were to make. We all appreciate the contributions these employees have made over their careers at the Globe, Telegram, and GSP. And, I know that we will all miss our colleagues who are leaving.

We still need to take an additional step to achieve our targeted workforce reduction goals. We have notified the Newspaper Guild that, beginning in February 2006, we will contract with a vendor to provide our custodial services. This will result in considerable cost savings to our current operation. Employees who provide these services today will be offered buyout packages that include compensation, health plan extensions, and group outplacement services. Employees in this area with job guarantees will be transferred to other functions at the Globe.

These difficult decisions have been triggered by our need to respond to a rapidly changing media landscape, and put us in a stronger financial position to pursue our goals in 2006 and the years ahead.

I'm tremendously proud of this company and our contribution to the life and strength of this region. We have an extremely talented and dedicated staff to maintain our high standards of quality journalism and business performance. I'm confident that we have a bright future ahead of us.

Thank you for your hard work and heartfelt contributions.

Richard


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Of those 115 New England Media Group buyouts, 31 have come from the Globe newsroom. The reduction target was 36 jobs, but because there are five unfilled positions, a company spokesman says there will be no layoffs in the Globe newsroom.

The roster of those leaving the newsroom include Travel editor Wendy Fox, pop culture writer Renee Graham, feature writer Jack Thomas, op-ed page editor Nick King, editorial writer Susan Trausch, classical music critic Richard Dyer, New York bureau chief Tatsha Robertson, obit writer Tom Long, theater critic Ed Siegel, business writer Charlie Stein, music writer Steve Morse, sports media writer Bill Griffith, arts writer Maureen Dezell, and op-ed columnist Tom Oliphant.

There is no way of getting around the fact that this is a serious loss for the Globe, one that entails the departure of some talented journalists and familiar bylines -- and one that will be felt by readers. Now, of course, comes the reshuffling of jobs and the rejiggering of content. More on that as events warrant.

11/30/2005 2:46:00 PM by MJ | Comments [0] |  

It's been 15 years since John Silber ran for governor in a campaign during which the press eagerly chronicled his "Silber shockers" and the candidate happily made the media the enemy. (A healthy number of journalists covering that campaign were graduates of Boston University's College of Communication or its forerunner, the School of Public Communication.) It is conventional wisdom that Silber's improbable dark horse candidacy for governor -- which came stunningly close to success -- was ultimately done in by his snappishness during a televised interview with Channel 5's much beloved news diva Natalie Jacobson .

Now, in a Boston magazine interview , the retired BU president makes it clear that his smoldering anger toward the media and his resolutely adversarial view of journalists have not abated a bit.

Some noteworthy examples:

1) When asked about the negative reaction to the news that BU had to pay $1.8 million in a walk-away buyout to former NASA administrator Daniel Goldin, who had been selected as university president, Silber responded: "The fallout wasn't terrible at all. That has been manufactured by the press."

2) In a rambling anecdote, Silber said that a 1971 editorial board meeting with the Boston Globe, after which he was told that he had offended editor Tom Winship and the owning Taylor family by giving short shrift to Harvard, poisoned his relationship with New England's most powerful media outlet for good.

"Prior to that, the Globe had been very kind to me and very favorable to me," Silber said. "They had published about two-thirds of my inaugural address, and everything changed after that. And this has been a constant drumbeat ever since."

Now mind you, this is an event that occurred 34 years ago. Tom Winship is dead and the Globe is on its fourth post-Winship editor. The Taylor family sold the paper to the New York Times Co. a dozen years ago. But Silber still believes that meeting doomed him on the paper's pages. Wow.

3) When asked about the U.S. News & World Report rankings that have BU ranked well behind schools like Tufts and Boston College, Silber's response, of course, is to blame the media first and then make it about him personally.

"So Boston University has, as far as the press is concerned, been given the shaft over and over again," he says. "It's like the way in which I've been characterized, as some kind of social conservative. That was [ Globe education writer Marcella] Bombardieri's latest pronouncement. This comes from the laziness of reporters who don't bother to check what they've seen in print, or whether it's accurate or not."

4) Later, discussing his reputation as something of a social conservative Silber declares: "When you're dealing with the press, and you have been mischaracterized by the press year after year, sometimes it seems that the press ought to be interested in the facts instead of in the lazy habit of simply repeating any falsehood that they can find in a previous issue of the newspaper."

5) Finally, he had this to say about the fateful Jacobson interview: "Well, that interview certainly didn't do me any good. I thought it was dishonest on her part, because Jacobson went after my children very hard in about the first 20 minutes of that interview, and that made me angry and put me off. I challenged her to show the entire tape on television to let an audience judge it, but she obviously didn't do it. I didn't think it was a fair interview."


I don't think I can recall another figure in public life who has carried such an open and angry grudge against journalists for so long. But it also makes me a little sad when you think about how much fun it would have been to cover a Silber administration on Beacon Hill.

11/30/2005 11:24:00 AM by MJ | Comments [0] |  

You've got to read this L.A. Times piece on how the U.S. military is paying for phony positive stories to be planted in the Iraq media. That'll sure teach the Iraqis about one cornerstone of democracy -- a free press.

11/30/2005 11:04:00 AM by MJ | Comments [0] |  

I'd like to be able to deliver a heartfelt eulogy for the Cambridge Day. But I have to admit that until now, I never laid eyes on the eight-page free Cambridge daily that has expired after less than a month.

The brainchild of former Boston Herald staffer Marc Levy, the Day was launched on Oct. 31 and cranked out 15,000 copies five days a week. The format was tabloid sized, black and white, and it was published largely through the efforts of volunteers.

In an email message, Levy described the paper as having "no real ideology" aside from being in tune with the city's generally left-leaning politics. But a recurring theme was helping the city recover from difficult economic times and fending off the large chain retailers. (By the way, Levy says he's done the research and Cambridge's traditional claim of being America's biggest city without a daily -- sorry we're not counting the Harvard Crimson -- is just not true.)

While I won't wax disingenuous about what the loss of the Day may mean to local journalism, nobody likes to see a publication fold. Hopefully Levy can figure another way to put his ambition and energy to work.

11/29/2005 2:36:00 PM by MJ | Comments [0] |  

Anyone who figured the feds would make trouble for the big, industry-changing
alt-weekly merger between Village Voice and New Times should think again.

The deal apparently is being waved on through with no regulatory roadblocks.

The real fun will start when elements of always fractious Village Voice staff in New York start going public with their concerns about their New Times partners. Make way for the colorful quotes.

11/29/2005 11:23:00 AM by MJ | Comments [0] |  

No suprise here that Jennifer Street has been elevated to the post of news director at Boston's Viacom TV duopoly. Here's a piece of the release:

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November 29, 2005: Jennifer Street has been named News Director for Boston's CBS4 and UPN 38, it was announced today by the stations' President and General Manager, Julio Marenghi. Street, who has been serving as acting News Director for five months, was most recently Assistant News Director. Her promotion is effective immediately.

"We're delighted that Jennifer will take over CBS4 News and lead the department's development," said Marenghi. "Jennifer is one of the most highly-regarded and distinguished journalists in New England with a track record for being the best. She has the respect and trust of the news staff as well as senior management, and we are confident that her leadership will be key to CBS4 News' success."

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What should make Street's tenure infinitely more interesting is the widespread belief that Channel 4 -- lagging badly in third place in Boston's news ratings wars -- is planning on shaking up its on-air lineup sometime soon. In an interview with the Phoenix earlier this year, Marenghi summed up the station's philosophy thusly: "We want to try anything."

11/29/2005 11:01:00 AM by MJ | Comments [0] |  

The Globe's got the latest twist in the ongoing saga of Judge Ernest Murphy's successful libel suit against the Herald. (It's certainly sad that matters have gotten this far.) The other piece of news here is the Herald's intent to appeal February's Suffolk County jury verdict. For some time, the paper had been non-committal on that subject.

11/29/2005 10:55:00 AM by MJ | Comments [0] |  

In this post on Media Log, Boston Herald union official Tom Mashberg explains the change in health care plans that I blogged about yesterday. I wish the Herald official I had spoken to about this yesterday had made this point. But so be it. Thanks Tom.

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Mark: On the health care shift at the Herald, here're the facts:

Blue Cross, our current provider, wanted to up the cost by 8.6 percent on Jan. 1. We negotiated with Harvard Pilgrim and they offered us the identical benefits for a 3.66 percent increase. That's why we're shifting.

----------------------------------------------------------------------

11/23/2005 4:21:00 PM by MJ | Comments [0] |  

Media Log is one of those estimated 37 million Americans who will be driving over 50 miles this holiday weekend, so we're taking a hiatus until Monday. Happy and safe holidays, everyone.

11/23/2005 1:37:00 PM by MJ | Comments [0] |  

In case you missed it, here were Ted Koppel's closing remarks last night as he exited "Nightline" after a quarter century.

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"Trust me, the transition from one anchor to another is not that big a deal," said Koppel. "[Walter] Cronkite begat [Dan] Rather, [John] Chancellor begat [Tom] Brokaw, [Frank] Reynolds begat [Peter] Jennings. And each of them did a pretty fair job in his own right.

"You've always been very nice to me, so give this new anchor team for 'Nightline' a fair break. If you don't, I promise you, the network will just put another comedy show in this time slot," said Koppel.

------------------------------------------------------------------------

Nice light touch, but Koppel made a serious point about the trumping over entertainment values over news values at the network level and the power of the almighty dollar. And he knows of what he speaks. Let's not forget that only a few years ago, ABC did its best to woo David Letterman to take over Koppel's "Nightline" spot.

11/23/2005 1:28:00 PM by MJ | Comments [0] |  

Because Media Log had an item on "More Herald Belt Tightening" yesterday, it's only fair and accurate to point out that the company is restoring -- after a two-year hiatus -- its 401K match program for employees at the Community Newspaper Company, the Boston Herald's sister operation that consists of scores of community weeklies and a few dailies. That could be a sign of the fiscal health of the community publishing operation, which some observers believe is a considerably more attractive proposition to potential buyers than the Herald itself.

11/23/2005 1:11:00 PM by MJ | Comments [0] |  

This New York Times piece reports that new CBS News president Sean McManus has already decided that intrepid and telegenic foreign correspondent Lara Logan is going to be one of the stars of the revamped CBS network newscast.

Media Log would like to modestly point out that Logan was singled out in the Phoenix's "future 10" piece on upcoming young journalists last month. Do we know how to pick 'em?

11/23/2005 10:39:00 AM by MJ | Comments [0] |  

Over at One Herald Square, several new measures slated to go into effect at the end of the year seem aimed at further reducing costs at the tabloid. (Earlier this year, publisher Pat Purcell said he was looking for $7 million in paper-wide cuts and roughly 50 editorial staffers have departed via buyouts and a few layoffs.)

Herald sources say the company will freeze contributions to the pension plans of its exempt (non-union and management) employees. It is also switching health care plans from Blue Cross to Harvard Pilgrim, a move that will generate additional health insurance costs for employees. Also coming fairly soon is a new monitoring system that will track when employees enter and leave the building and send that data to the company's payroll department.

Purcell has told his own paper that the company -- presumably both the Herald and its sister CNC community publications -- may be for sale. These moves will do little to dampen speculation that the company is trimming its overhead in anticipation of a possible deal, possibly soon.

11/22/2005 12:59:00 PM by MJ | Comments [0] |  

With the deadline having passed yesterday for applying for a Globe buyout, a list circulating in the building indicates that 34 editorial side employees have applied for the package, including eight staffers in a Living/Arts (features) department that would be hit particularly hard by the cutbacks.(The Globe has said it was looking to reduce the newsroom staff by about three dozen jobs).

The company still has to respond to the applicants as well as negotiate how long some of the departees will remain in their jobs. But among those confirmed buyout applicants are Travel editor Wendy Fox, pop culture writer Renee Graham, feature writer Jack Thomas, op-ed page editor Nick King, editorial writer Susan Trausch, obit writer Tom Long, theater critic Ed Siegel, business writer Charlie Stein, and music writer Steve Morse.

Media Log is trying to get confirmation of other names on the list. But one notable inclusion is long-time political columnist Tom Oliphant. More to come.

11/22/2005 12:17:00 PM by MJ | Comments [0] |  

Just a reminder to those who might not know but may care. After a quarter century, Ted Koppel signs off on "Nightline" tonight. In recent years, the show certainly lost some of its steam. But whatever you think of Koppel -- and he is one of television's brainiest journalists -- give him credit for getting a major broadcast network to devote that 11:30 time slot to news programming all these years when its rivals were yukking it up with Leno and Letterman.

11/22/2005 9:51:00 AM by MJ | Comments [0] |  

Most days, I can't handle the sugary schmoozing interview style of Larry King, a man who'd butter up Saddam Hussein if he was sitting across the studio from him.


But I'll give credit where credit is due. He asked some surprisingly feisty questions during last night's hour-long interview with his frequent on-air companion Bob Woodward, who is now under fire for waiting so long to say and do anything about his conversation with a government official regarding outed CIA agent Valerie Plame. While Woodward seemed tense, dry-mouthed and keenly aware that his reputation had taken a hit, good old Larry bore in, asking him whether his symbiotic -- I'll scratch your back if you'll scratch my back -- relationships with his sources wasn't simply a case of "quid pro quo." (You go boy!)

Anyway, if you read the transcript, you'll see how often Woodward invoked Watergate as if to remind viewers of his glory days as a journalistic watchdog now that some, including Larry, are raising the idea that he's become a Beltway lapdog. (More on this in next week's Phoenix.)

11/22/2005 9:41:00 AM by MJ | Comments [0] |  

More evidence that surly septugenarian Bob Novak hasn't lost any of the edge off that winning personality of his. I guess it's a good thing he didn't belt James Carville that day he threw a hissy fit on the CNN set.

11/22/2005 9:28:00 AM by MJ | Comments [0] |  

Today is the deadline day for buyout applications at the Boston Globe. And while I've heard a number of new names, the only ones posted here are those confirmed through conversations.

Among those applying (but who have not yet been officially approved to go by the company) are Renee Graham, Wendy Fox and Tom Long.

Graham the paper's pop culture writer, has been a Globe staffer since 1988. "It just felt like the right move at the right time," she says. "I have all sorts of things I'd like to do." She plans to stay in writing, saying "It's just been too big a part of my life."

Fox, the Globe Travel editor, is a 23-year veteran of the paper who says the buyout "was just an offer I couldn't pass up. I don't know what I'll do [next] but I know I'll never figure it out while I'm sitting at another job."

Long, the paper's obituary writer, has been on staff for 36 years. "I'm 55 years old and they're offering me health insurance and it gives me a chance to find out if there's life on the other side," he says. "I'm not retiring. I'm just passing on to another dimension."

11/21/2005 5:50:00 PM by MJ | Comments [0] |  

What happens when a media critic turns out to generate more headlines than the media he's criticizing? Today's New York Times has a long takeout on the Washington Post's Howard Kurtz. It follows pretty closely on the heels of this in-depth Kurtz profile in the Washingtonian magazine.

Today's Times piece starts out with what has become the biggest ethical issue lobbed at Kurtz by his critics. How can the Washington Post's media critic also pull down a paycheck from cable news outlet CNN? Which leads into the larger question -- has the ubiquitous Kurtz spread himself too thin?

I wish we lived in an ideal world in which journalists -- and maybe even media critics in particular -- would work for only one news organization. But in today's media universe, that's about as realistic as wishing that Boston's city streets were clogged with horses and buggies. In some cases, news outlets encourage employees to find outside work as a way of helping to subsidize incomes and salaries they could not themselves afford. In other cases, the day-job employers like the free publicity and attention they reap by having one of their staffers appear on television, radio, etc. In some cases, the journalists themselves are driven by an overarching ambition to make more money, reach more eyeballs and yes -- be recognized in the grocery store and shopping mall. (That doesn't necessarily make us bad people.)

In any case, since I pull down a regular paycheck from Channel 2 for appearing on its Friday "Beat the Press" show, I'm not about to get on a moral high horse here.

What makes Kurtz unique is a work ethic like I've never seen. As someone who's known him -- and at times tried to compete with him -- for more than a decade, he is relentless, tireless, and reasonably fearless. I've seen him on numerous occasions write critically about his own newspaper and unless you've tried it, don't underestimate how difficult that can be. He regularly discloses conflicts of interest when they crop up in his work. And he asks hard questions.

Kurtz has his own style. He tends to be hard news driven, loves to poke at scandal and wrongdoing and is less inclined to sweeping, analytical commentary on the state of the media. I think that sometimes there's a bit too much gotcha'in his work.(He is the antithesis of the late LA Times Pulitzer Prize winning media critic, David Shaw, who loved sprawling epic takeouts.) Readers of his Post work might note also that Kurtz, because of his position and pulpit, lands interviews that his competitors can't.

Kurtz is CNN's media analyst because he is the best known and most active practitioner in the field -- and given the opportunity, he learned how to do television. His critics can carp, but he isn't part of the problem in journalism today. (And in the interests of full disclosure, I may be appearing on his CNN show "Reliable Sources" this week. So for those of you who want to see this as one big suck up, suit yourself.)

11/21/2005 9:44:00 AM by MJ | Comments [0] |  

Sounds like exiled WBUR "Connection" host Dick Gordon is getting a warm reception from the folks in North Carolina.

11/21/2005 9:39:00 AM by MJ | Comments [0] |  

My mother told me always to be skeptical of something I read in a New York Post gossip column, but here's some speculation, hopefully informed, about Judy Miller's Golden Parachute from the New York Times.

11/21/2005 9:34:00 AM by MJ | Comments [0] |  

Two interesting tidbits for those of you following the slow but sure erosion of the American newspaper industry. (And statistics would indicate that those of you who care about this are already members of AARP.)

First, here's an Editor & Publisher piece tracking the loss of nearly 2000 jobs in the past year at major and mid-sized papers.

Then, here's a little AP explainer describing in very basic terms the economic problems afflicting the newspaper industry. Notice the still-high profit margins. And notice the clear implication that one of the biggest problems right now is Wall Street.

Given this climate, it's not surprising that I've heard the some college journalism professors are now openly -- and understandably -- telling their students that this is a bad time to be preparing for a journalism career. How'd you like to be shelling out $40,000 in tuition for your kid to get that news about his or her prospective vocation?

11/18/2005 9:24:00 AM by MJ | Comments [0] |  

For you fans of television weather, and that is the biggest drawing card for local TV news, here's Channel 4's announcement of its new chief meteorologist who succeeds Ed Carroll. Carroll departed this summer after the company let him know he was not in their future plans.


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Ken Barlow has been named Chief Meteorologist for Boston's CBS4 News, it was announced today by Julio Marenghi, President and General Manager of Boston's CBS4, UPN 38, and Providence's UPN 28. As CBS4's Chief Meteorologist, Barlow will anchor weather segments on CBS4 News at 4PM, 6PM, and 11PM, and he will start on CBS4 in the beginning of 2006.

"I'm delighted that when Ken decided to come home to New England, he signed on with us at CBS4," said Marenghi. "He is a consummate professional and superior meteorologist whose experience in local television, both on the air and also out in the community, has made him a leader in the industry."


With more than twenty years of experience, Ken joins CBS4 from KARE 11 (NBC) in Minneapolis/St. Paul where he was Chief Meteorologist on the market's #1-rated 5PM, 6PM and 10PM newscasts. Before joining KARE 11 in 1990, Ken was a Meteorologist in Bangor, ME at WLBZ-TV/channel 2 (NBC). He began his career as a meteorologist at FleetWeather, a weather service in Hopewell Junction, NY.

11/17/2005 4:58:00 PM by MJ | Comments [0] |  

As the Nov. 21 deadline for applying for the buyout begins, another well known Boston Globe byline has applied for the package -- theater critic Ed Siegel. A 30-year Globe staffer, Siegel started as a sports department "office boy"(which meant fetching coffee and figuring out Red Sox batting averages), spent a dozen years as the paper's television writer and the last decade working as its theater critic and occasional critic-at-large.

"I was told by two different sets of financial analysts that I would have no claim to being a rational human being if I didn't take a long, hard look" at the buyout package, Siegel says. "It was money in the bank, it was seed money to reinvent myself."

While the Globe has not yet approved Siegel's application, and it's not clear exactly when he's leaving, he envisions a future of some freelancing and a shot at bookwriting.

11/17/2005 3:44:00 PM by MJ | Comments [0] |  

The fallout from Woodward's belated Plamegate revelations, at least on the left side of the blogosphere, is coming fast and furious. For a sampling, check out Arianna's Post And here's Slate's always sharp Jack Shafer.

Between the outing of Mark Felt, and now this, Woodward is having one rough -- perhaps reputation-shattering -- year.

11/17/2005 9:34:00 AM by MJ | Comments [0] |  

Hey, the second -- and "holiday" --issue of Niche Media's glossy, glitzy, fat and happy Boston Common lifestyle magazine has just landed on our doorstep. So let's compare it to the first issue that was launched in late September with a big bash in the South End.

1) The cover is much better on the eyes with lustrous "Desperate Housewives" beauty and Massachusetts native Marcia Cross as its centerpiece, compared to fossilized AARP rocker cover boy Steven Tyler in the first issue.

2) Pages are down (to be expected, since a launch issue is always disproportionately fat) from 352 in issue one to 256 in issue two. Smart business people will tell you, however, that you don't want to go down 96 pages in each issue of your publication.

3) Although there are still oodles of party pics and pretty people, the "substance" quotient is a little higher in the new issue. Senator John Kerry gets 12 paragraphs to explain the need to retool the U.S. to become the leader of the global economy. Boston City Councilor Michael Ross gets 10 graphs to discuss the problems of disinvestement and poverty in US cities. The Reverend Charles Stith gets to make some brief remarks about Africa. None of this should scare the New Republic, mind you.

4) The Herald "Inside Tracksters" show up to dish about the top gossip stories in 2005. Surprise, surprise -- their favorite tidbits involve Johnny Damon, Tom Brady and the Rolling Stones. This won't be required reading at the next Mensa convention, but in Boston Common, it passes for substantive journalism.

5) On a more serious note, Boston Common is a very pretty magazine about the rich and fabulous that kind of beckons you to thumb through it.(At least while the novelty factor is strong.) Skeptics have wondered if a city like Boston -- basically a smallish, hard-nosed, hard-working place without an authentic celebrity culture -- can sustain that kind of publication. Niche CEO Jason Binn clearly believes there's enough money up here to make it work. The more relevant question may be whether there's enough narcissism and voyeurism up here, and I don't necessarily mean that in a bad way.

11/16/2005 5:46:00 PM by MJ | Comments [0] |  

This New York Times piece has the lowdown on what anybody following the situation already knew. Former Coporation of Public Broadcasting chair Ken Tomlinson had launched his own ideological jihad against PBS.

Here's a release from a coalition of advocacy groups who are calling for a cleanup
of the CPB:

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WASHINGTON: Free Press, the Center for Digital Democracy, and Common Cause called on Corporation for Public Broadcasting President Patricia Harrison to resign following the long-awaited release of an Inspector General's report, which exposes extensive wrongdoing by the leadership of the CPB. The report found that "political tests" were a "major criteria" in hiring Harrison to oversee the CPB.

The 67-page report by Inspector General Kenneth Konz, which was presented in secret to the CPB Board of Directors nearly two weeks ago, was sent to Capitol Hill today. Among its other findings:

Former CPB Chairman Kenneth Y. Tomlinson "violated his fiduciary responsibilities and statutory prohibitions against Board member involvement in programming decisions" in creating the "Journal Editorial Report."

The report criticizes the secretive hiring of Republican operative Frederick Mann to monitor "Now with Bill Moyers" and other programs without authorization from the CPB Board.

While the report concludes the violations were primarily the result of Tomlinson's "personal actions to accomplish his various initiatives," it also identifies "serious weaknesses" in the CPB's governance system.

A copy of the report is available at http://www.cpb.org/oig/.

The groups also demanded that the CPB make public the "separate investigative report, along with specific evidence indicating possible wrongdoing," that Konz made available to the board as well as any additional documents provided to members of Congress.

"It's time to clean house at the Corporation for Public Broadcasting," said Josh Silver, executive director of Free Press. "This report shows that officials at the very top of the CPB were conspiring to conduct an extreme makeover of our public broadcasting system. Congress needs to immediately clear out the zealous partisans remaining at the CPB and institute sensible reforms that will permanently protect public broadcasting from political interference."

Tomlinson stepped down from the CPB Board on Nov. 3 upon learning of the report's findings. The remaining leadership of the CPB have close ties the Bush administration. Chairwoman Cheryl Halpern and Vice Chairwoman Gay Hart Gaines are veteran GOP operatives and mega-fundraisers, who have praised Tomlinson for "his legitimate efforts to achieve balance and objectivity in public broadcasting." Tomlinson's hand-picked choice to run the CPB, Harrison, is a former chairwoman of the Republican Party, who recently oversaw "public diplomacy" efforts at the State Department.

"The Inspector General's report documents the unnecessary and inappropriate politicization of public broadcasting," said Jeff Chester, executive director of the Center for Digital Democracy. "Through a series of covert and overt activities, the CPB board has helped undermine the foundation of public broadcasting. But Mr. Tomlinson shouldn't be singled out as the lone culprit here. All of the board is responsible, as are top CPB executives past and present. The CPB needs new leaders untarnished by this sordid episode."

In response to the Inspector General's report, Free Press, the Center for Digital Democracy and Common Cause endorsed a series of measures that would:

Require the CPB Board to be governed in a bipartisan or independent fashion, mandating that its chairman and vice chairman not represent the same political party. The board should include more members with experience in public broadcasting, including producers of independent programming.

Restore transparency to the CPB Board by requiring open discussion and public votes on all matters. Meetings should be televised and archived online to encourage greater public accountability.

Reformulate the board's position on objectivity and balance, seeking to allow programmers--not political appointees--to determine what the public sees and hears.

Reduce the organization's political involvement by explicitly prohibiting the CPB board and management from hiring outside political lobbyists or consultants.

"The CPB must acknowledge its mistakes and act to restore public confidence, even in the face of this damning report on Mr. Tomlinson's failures," said Common Cause President Chellie Pingree. "We renew our call today for the CPB to be more transparent and accountable by making structural changes to better serve the public interest. The board's initial steps to improve governance don't inspire a lot of confidence given the highly partisan backgrounds of Harrison, Halpern and Gaines."

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My suggestion: It would easier for PBS to figure out a way to wean itself off public money than for those sages in Washington to purge the CPB of partisan politics.

11/16/2005 10:23:00 AM by MJ | Comments [0] |  

Well, I can't say I know exactly what to make of today's news that Bob Woodward has told Plamegate prosecutor Patrick Fitzgerald that an administration official mentioned CIA operative Valerie Plame to him in June 2003 -- other than to note that:

a) Scooter Libby's attorneys are already claiming that the information weakens the case against the former top aide to Dick Cheney.

b) That as was the case with Judy Miller, Woodward certainly knows how to keep a secret from his bosses.

c) Don't invite Walter Pincus and Woodward to the same dinner party.

d) It was inevitable that Woodward, the consummate insider Washington journalist, would ultimately be involved in a case that involves administration leaks to the media.

On Larry King's CNN shmoozefest right before the Libby indictment came down, Woodward pretty much suggested the Fitzgerald investigation was a tempest in a teapot. (See transcript)


That earned him this spanking from Village Voice media critic Sydney Schanberg, who concluded -- not without foundation, I might add -- that Woodward has now made the transformation from Beltway watchdog to Beltway house pet.

Let's face it, Woodward occupies a very unique role in the media firmament as the unofficial chronicler of official Washington these days. He is a cottage industry unto himself. And I think it's probably a gross understatement to say he's lost a bit of that outsider's edge and skepticism.

11/16/2005 9:56:00 AM by MJ | Comments [0] |  

For those hoping, perhaps against hope, that WTKK-FM would choose to replace soon-to-be-syndicated Screamin' Jay Severin with a more thoughtful talker, it looks like tough luck.

Jay Fitzgerald's Boston Herald piece today revealing that the station's next afternoon drive host is recently fired, Muslim-bashing Michael Graham doesn't bode real well for intelligent talk on the airwaves.

Here's the Washington Post story on how and why Graham got cashiered from his previous job at WMAL radio.

Boy, it takes real guts for conservative talkhosts to got after Muslims these days, doesn't it? Now that Bill Clinton is out of office, the Iraq war ain't going so hot, and only about one-third of America thinks George Bush is doing a good job, what else is there to talk about?

11/15/2005 10:44:00 AM by MJ | Comments [0] |  

Boston Globe employees wishing to accept the company buyout offer have until Nov. 21 to submit their application -- and we'll know the names of a lot more of the departing journalists after that. One longtime staffer who has applied for the buyout package is Steve Morse, the veteran rock n' roll writer who's been on the staff for 28 years. When the dust clears on the current round of staff reductions, don't be surprised if a number of familiar bylines on the Living/Arts pages are gone.

11/11/2005 5:16:00 PM by MJ | Comments [0] |  

In another chapter in a long running legal saga, Benjamin LaGuer, convicted more than 20 years ago of a rape he says he didn't commit, had another day in court yesterday.

The LaGuer case is both a fascinating law enforcement and media issue, because LaGuer (known as "Benjy" to many of the journalists in his brimming Rolodex) has been able to attract a tremendous amount of press coverage and interest over the years. His public relations and people skills in dealing with journalists are legendary. His case has been dissected everywhere from ABC's "20/20" to the pages of Esquire. Some journalists, including radio talkhost Chris Lydon and John Taylor, who wrote about LaGuer in Esquire, have asked the authorities to reduce his sentence.

But back in 2002, when the results of long-awaited DNA tests expected to finally exonerate him seemed to point to La Guer's guilt, some of the media's interest in making LaGuer a cause celebre dwindled and some of the reporters who championed his cause were shocked and disillusioned.


One longtime LaGuer ally wrote an anguished column in Worcester Magazine after the results of the DNA test saying: "We may still, in fact, believe in Ben LaGuer, or at least in the remarkable individual that he showed us....We will not again believe in Ben the social abstraction -- the public casue, the traveling medicine show -- nor will we abet him in its creation."

But LaGuer has pressed on in his battle to exonerate himself -- and there are journalists who are still watching.

11/11/2005 10:58:00 AM by MJ | Comments [0] |  

You can draw your own conclusions from this interview that Mary Mapes -- the CBS producer fired for her role in the airing of the Sept. 2004 "60 Minutes II" piece on George Bush's service record -- gave to The Washington Post. (For my money, her willingness to toss around allegations and insults like they were feathers makes me more suspicious of her.) But whatever you think, she has a way with words.

Here's a memorable nugget about CBS chairman Les Moonves:
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She is disdainful of Moonves, the CBS president who ordered the outside investigation. "He doesn't know journalism from dirt farming," Mapes said. In the book, noting that Moonves courted and then married "Early Show" anchor Julie Chen, she writes: "I used to say everything Les knows about journalism had been sexually transmitted. Now I know even that hasn't taught him much."
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11/10/2005 11:06:00 AM by MJ | Comments [0] |  

Last year, several months after Boston Herald editor Andy Costello was pushed out the door as part of the paper's editorial metamorphosis, his right-hand man -- managing editor Andy Gully -- ended his 21-year career at the tabloid. The two Andys had run the Herald newsroom for a decade, Costello as the quieter "Mr. Inside," Gully as the more frenetic "Mr. Outside," who could alternately turn on his considerable charm or flash his impressive temper. More than any other person in the newsroom, Gully may have embodied the heart and soul of the Herald.

Now he has embarked on a new career as the managing partner of KHJ/Gully, the communications arm of the Kelley Habib John marketing firm in Charlestown, handling strategic communications, crisis management and executive coaching. Personally, I think the local journalism industry is a little duller without him.

11/10/2005 10:27:00 AM by MJ | Comments [0] |  

With no editorial comment, Media Log links to Judith Miller's farewell letter posted yesterday on her Web site.

11/10/2005 9:50:00 AM by MJ | Comments [0] |  

Sorry about the little hiatus from Media Log. Deadline and a nasty bug of some sort are responsible. We should have a full head of steam up again by tomorrow. For now though, check out this New York magazine piece about the pending merger of the Village Voice and the New Times Media company.

These two quotes in the piece from New Times honcho Mike Lacey suggest it may get pretty ugly at the venerable Voice when the two companies' cultures actually get hitched.
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"I've got my own focus group in this town: 20-year-olds, 30-year-olds. They say, the Village Voice, no one reads that. I can't walk around town hearing nobody reads my paper. It wrecks my day. That's got to change. We're here to play, and anyone who likes to play like we play can play along."

And

Hearing some of this, Michael Lacey frowns. He'd been ranting about how even though he'd come from a union household, and his brother, who helped build the World Trade Center, was the president of a midwestern boilermakers local, which was no "pussy union," he had no use for organized labor. This didn't mean he expected any trouble from the Voice union. What he hoped would happen, Lacey said with confounding plutocrat noblesse oblige, was that the Voice employees would realize a union wasn't necessary, "because we take good care of our people."
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Uh-oh.

11/8/2005 6:04:00 PM by MJ | Comments [0] |  

Bom Kim (Harvard class of 2000) envisions his new magazine project -- titled 02138 -- as "a Vanity Fair for Harvard...focused on compelling personalities in the community." Said community being some of the 320,000 living Harvard alum. "We often talk about how we want to look at the the world through the prism of Harvard," says Bom.

Right now the magazine is pretty much a glimmer in his eye, with a possible target date of a spring launch. One thing Bom says he has lined up is the financing -- and in that vein, it's worth noting that the project is being backed by David Bradley, the owner of, among other things, The Atlantic monthly, which is slated to move from its Boston home to Washington soon.

11/4/2005 4:59:00 PM by MJ | Comments [0] |  

The Washington Post's Howard Kurtz has the news of another blow to the sanctity of the journalist/confidential source relationship, this time in the Wen Ho Lee case. See "Journalism's Next Big Battle" (Aug. 12 Boston Phoenix)

This ruling -- albeit a close one -- may be even more distressing to First Amendment advocates than the whole Judy Miller Plamegate issue.

11/4/2005 10:27:00 AM by MJ | Comments [0] |  

Ever since Dick Gordon was suddenly fired as host of WBUR's "The Connection" this past summer See "Dis-Connection" (Aug 5. Boston Phoenix) , a number of folks have wondered what he would do next. Now, we have the answer. Here's your red hot press release announcing his hiring by North Carolina public radio station WUNC-FM to do a nationally syndicated show.

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Station leaders announce plans to launch nationally syndicated talk/interview show hosted by Dick Gordon, formerly of The Connection

CHAPEL HILL: Encouraged by unprecedented listener interest and support, North Carolina Public Radio-WUNC (91.5 FM) has hired popular National Public Radio (NPR) personality Dick Gordon, formerly host of the national news/talk show, The Connection. The station will create and produce a new, nationally syndicated talk/interview program hosted by Gordon.

North Carolina Public Radio WUNC general manager Joan Siefert Rose says, "There is a strong bond between this area and Dick Gordon, and our listeners' participation in his previous program will form a solid foundation for this show going forward." Rose says the new show presents an opportunity to serve public radio listeners by creating a high-quality show that's different from what is currently on the air, and will spotlight North Carolina throughout the country.

The new one-hour talk/interview show, which is yet to be named, will air weekdays, most likely in the early afternoon. Hosted by Gordon, the show will not be a rebirth of The Connection, which was produced by WBUR Boston (it aired on North Carolina Public Radio-WUNC weekdays from 10 a.m. to noon) before being cancelled this summer, nor will it be a traditional call-in show. Listeners will hear less from the pundits and more from the real experts: individuals impacted by the news, whose stories add context and deepen our understanding of national and international issues and trends. In addition to focusing on events of the day, this show will also address arts, culture, ethics, and other issues that impact Americans.

"We call this 'public' radio, but we don't often hear from the public in a form outside the call-in show, which doesn't give people the time to really share their points of view," Gordon noted. "For this show, we plan to reach out to the public by building a program on the stories of people whose lives are directly affected by the news."

With a tone set by the qualities that have made Gordon so popular with listeners throughout the U.S. and his native Canada, his strong journalistic principles, thoughtful intelligence, skillful interviewing, awareness of today's major issues, and expertise at framing these issues, this show will provide a provocative new forum for civil discourse that will engage and enlighten listeners. Gordon is an internationally respected foreign correspondent and journalist. He has covered politics in the United States, issues in the Indian subcontinent, and the Persian Gulf War. He looks forward to returning to his reporting roots, spending more time out of the studio, in the field conducting interviews.

Gordon and his wife, Barbara, will relocate to Chapel Hill. He officially joins North Carolina Public Radio-WUNC on December 1st, with a goal of assembling a production staff and airing pilot shows on North Carolina Public Radio by early 2006. The station will work with a national program distributor on a limited national release early next year, and will team with several partner stations around the country to secure feedback to refine the show to ensure its long-term success and strong national carriage upon rollout.

To produce a show on par with other nationally syndicated public radio programs, North Carolina Public Radio WUNC must invest significant resources. The station has launched a special campaign to raise funds to produce and distribute the show over its first critical years.

North Carolina Public Radio WUNC is a service of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, broadcasting at 91.5 FM in the Triangle and Triad, at 90.9 FM in Rocky Mount/Wilson, and at 88.9 FM on the Outer Banks.

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As always in the byzantine world of public radio, there's a back story.

WUNC's program director is George Boosey, a former managing director of news and programming at WBUR who left that station in the summer of 2004, shortly before the roof caved in on the station and its general manager Jane Christo, who resigned in October 2004 amid allegations of mismanagement. Gordon was fired by Peter Fiedler, the interim GM who stepped in to restore order after Christo left. Two months ago, longtime Channel 5 general manager Paul La Camera became the surprise choice named as WBUR's new permanent GM.

11/4/2005 9:44:00 AM by MJ | Comments [0] |  

Wanna know how aggressive the Times Co./Globe is about recruiting new readers? Check out this blog posting by Steve Gosset. (Scroll down to second item.)

11/3/2005 1:19:00 PM by MJ | Comments [0] |  

It may or may not be a coincidence. But shortly after the paper was acquired by the Alabama-based CNHI company, editorial employees at The Eagle-Tribune in Lawrence are taking steps toward unionizing.

According to officials at the Newspaper Guild of Greater Boston, that organization has filed a petition with the National Labor Relations Board seeking to represent the Eagle-Trib journalists after getting "a request from a substantial majority of the employees." The paper's management declined to voluntarily recognize the union and a company representative told Media Log there would be no comment on the unionizing effort.

If a union drive succeeds, it would cover about 80 newsroom employees, according to a Guild spokesman.

11/3/2005 11:37:00 AM by MJ | Comments [0] |  

There's been next to no publicity about this, but a libel suit involving the Boston Herald's Tom Mashberg is heading toward its conclusion in Barnstable Superior Court. The paper has been sued by a veterinarian who was the subject of a 1995 Mashberg story suggesting he was negligent in the death of a pet dog, in part, because he was out playing golf when the dog's owners were seeking treatment.

Media Log was unable to reach the lawyers for either side. But a Herald spokeswoman said the case is expected to go to the jury today. In the meantime, the Herald has not yet decided whether to appeal February's $2-million-plus libel award to Judge Ernest Murphy. The paper has a few more weeks to make up its mind whether to challenge the Suffolk County jury's verdict, which caught a number of media observers by surprise.

11/3/2005 11:02:00 AM by MJ | Comments [0] |  

Can't say I'm gonna miss him. TVWeek.com is reporting that rising star and hurricane hero Anderson Cooper will be replacing Aaron Brown in the 10 o'clock time slot on CNN. I never really got Brown and several years ago, wrote this about him for the Boston Globe:

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On paper, CNN "Newsnight" anchor Aaron Brown has some good qualities. He is bright, even cerebral. He has a smooth set of pipes that are easy on the ears. He often asks smart, layered questions that go beyond the obvious. But as was the case in the days after the attacks on Sept. 11, the war on Iraq is again proving that he is just too studied, too enigmatic, and frankly, too weird, to be anchor material.


Brown's mannerisms - the subtle lip bite, the fingers playing at the corners of his mouth, the Mona Lisa-like smile - can seem contrived, even inopportune. And he is not well served by sitting next to retired General Wesley Clark, a CNN military analyst. Crisp, focused, and direct, Clark is the antidote to Brown's pregnant pauses, quizzical looks, and at times, languorous pacing. On Sunday, after a rather heated exchange with an Al-Jazeera journalist, a flustered Brown could only utter this mysterious passage: "On we go. General Clark, apparently it's going to be a night."

One of CNN's frustrations has been its elusive search for a marquee anchor. Maybe the network thought it landed one when it imported Brown from ABC in 2001. But with the possible exception of Dan Rather, no anchor can be more annoyingly self-conscious.

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11/2/2005 3:16:00 PM by MJ | Comments [0] |