By John Solomon
How the government's punishing of the exposure of official wrongdoing can linger for years
Not since the days of the Nixon administration has this country seen such government malfeasance as under President Obama.
Two of my former students recently found themselves caught in a drive-by shooting in Kensington, a neighborhood in North Philadelphia.
The Boston Police Department wants to deploy drones during next year's running of the city's marathon to have "eyes in the sky." But what about journalists using drones? I will admit I am skeptical about reporters using a drone — technically known as an unmanned aerial vehicle.
Despite persistent criticism, the White House Correspondents' Association dinner on Saturday takes a lickin' and keeps on tickin'. The event underscores what's wrong with much of Washington journalism. The reporters cozy up to politicians, and both groups want to be part of the Hollywood set.
Within minutes of the bombing at the Boston Marathon, CNN put up a simple message on the front page of its website: "Are you there? Share images on CNN iReport."
Philadelphia, a city magazine once considered among the country's best, has become a disgrace.
In between the photos of cute animals and the quotes from dead white guys, Facebook has become a blood sport — an environment in which people attack one another with a lack of civility I haven't seen since the Internet flame wars of the 1990s.
You would think the trial of a physician charged with eight counts of murder, conspiracy and other crimes might get some attention in the national news.
Digital tablets and smartphones provide about the only good news for the media in the Pew Research Center's Project for Excellence in Journalism's "State of the Media: 2013," which was released this week. The growth in the news audience in 2012 came on digital platforms, and the proliferation of digital devices in people's lives seemed to be a significant reason.
If CNN's coverage of the election of Pope Francis I on Wednesday afternoon is any indication, Jeff Zucker and his minions are not ready for prime time — or any time for that matter.
It may not have been her intention, but the public editor of The New York Times transported me back to those heady days of my youth, when I attended anti-war rallies and protested against the Nixon administration. Margaret Sullivan was too young to experience those days, but she apparently wants to live them vicariously.
Much of what you are reading and hearing this week about the conclave in Rome amounts to utter nonsense.
Joe Vornehm of Simpsonville, S.C., pulled out his ruler to count the number of column inches his local newspaper, the Gannett-owned Greenville News, had written about the budget impasse in Washington.
Objectivity. Fairness. Balance. Three words that should be stricken from the journalistic lexicon. Even though many of my colleagues maintain journalists can be objective, fair and balanced, I think it’s time to admit that these standards — which, by the way, are mainly American conventions — cannot be attained.
Tom Aspell covered almost every war fought in the past 40 years. He was the type of journalist we need to see more of. Unfortunately, we are seeing fewer.
