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Christopher Harper

Christopher Harper

charper123@washingtontimes.com

Christopher Harper is a professor of journalism at Temple University. He worked for The Associated Press, Newsweek, ABC News and "20/20" for more than 20 years. He can be contacted at charper@washingtontimes.com.

Articles by Christopher Harper

Capt. Ron Johnson of the Missouri Highway Patrol is surrounded by media after meeting with protesters Monday, Aug. 18, 2014, in Ferguson, Mo. The Aug. 9 shooting of Michael Brown by a police officer has touched off rancorous protests in Ferguson, a St. Louis suburb where police have used riot gear and tear gas. (AP Photo/Jeff Roberson)

HARPER: Media mantra misses the story as Ferguson explodes

Much of the media mantra in Ferguson, Missouri, followed a simple storyline. An 18-year-old black, known to his friends and family as a "gentle giant," planned to attend college the following week. As he walked down the street with his friend around noon Saturday, Aug. 9, he met a police officer who gunned him down as he tried to surrender with his hands held high.

August 20, 2014
In this June 10, 1983 frame grab of video made available by Raiford Communications, Inc., former president Richard Nixon talks about his 1974 resignation in a series of interviews conducted by former White House aide Frank Gannon in New York City. The Richard Nixon Presidential Library and the privately held Nixon Foundation are co-releasing a trove of videotaped interviews with the former president to mark the 40th anniversary of his resignation following the Watergate scandal. The 28 minutes of tape, detailing Nixon's personal turmoil in his final week in office, were culled from more than 30 hours of tape recorded in 1983. (AP Photo/Copyright Raiford Communications) IMAGE MAY ONLY BE USED FOR 3 DAYS FROM TIME OF TRANSMISSION; NO ARCHIVING; NO LICENSING. PUBLIC OUT.

HARPER: Journalists were not the heroes of Watergate

Many reporters still consider Watergate as the zenith of U.S. journalism, a point of which we'll be reminded as the 40th anniversary of the resignation of President Richard M. Nixon arrives this week.

August 6, 2014
** FILE ** In this April 17, 2007, file photo, exhibitors of the Google company work on laptop computers in front of an illuminated sign of the Google logo at the industrial fair Hannover Messe in Hanover, Germany. (AP Photo/Jens Meyer, File)

HARPER: A lack of coverage when media giants misbehave

Google, Facebook and Amazon — a triumvirate the media tend to exalt — have been engaged in some questionable practices that have received relatively little news coverage, even though they were significant events that came to light during the slow summer news period.

July 9, 2014
U.S. Supreme Court Justice Samuel Alito gestures as he speaks, Monday, Feb. 3, 2014 to a joint meeting of the Forum Club of the Palm Beaches and the Palm Beach County Bar Association at the Palm Beach County Convention Center in West Palm Beach, Fla. Alito said the high court should never worry about its popularity when deciding cases. Alito told an audience of more than 1,100 people that the nine justices would undermine the court's standing if they were concerned about public opinion. (AP Photo/Wilfredo Lee)

HARPER: A justice’s argument overridden by a media agenda

The Supreme Court decision in a narrowly drawn case this week on contraception created a firestorm in the media, with the dominant narrative that rulings against women loom ahead in the courts — a viewpoint not borne out by a review of the case.

July 2, 2014
Sulzberger

HARPER: The New York Times won’t fix its problem with one firing

Although he has been rocked by the public relations disaster over his firing of New York Times Executive Editor Jill Abramson, Arthur Sulzberger Jr. has proved himself a survivor when dealing with most of the questions about his tenure as leader of the news organization over the past two decades.

May 21, 2014
Rice

HARPER: Campuses send off graduates with messages of censorship

Despite the media's fascination with racial issues, many news organizations have failed to understand the importance of two cases involving black women whose political views got them bounced from providing words of wisdom to graduating students at two universities.

May 7, 2014
The Supreme Court (Associated Press) ** FILE **

HARPER: No need for truth panels to police campaign speech

The U.S. Supreme Court heard oral arguments this week on an important lawsuit concerning freedom of speech, but many news organizations failed to report on the issue. Maybe that's because a pro-life group brought the lawsuit and may win a significant victory before the court.

April 23, 2014
Clinton

HARPER: Despite lousy reviews, media give Hillary Clinton a pass

The U.S. Department of State — mostly on Hillary Clinton's watch — improperly monitored or completely lost an estimated $6 billion, which is nearly 12 percent of the department's annual budget of $51 billion. That's according to a recently-released report from the Office of the Inspector General.

April 9, 2014