NewsTrust - All Rated Stories

High Time We Set the Record Straight on Newspaper 'Myths'

Thu, 23 Apr 2009 00:00:00 -0700

Editor & Publisher - By Donna Barrett - Apr. 23 (Opinion) - Let's set the record straight: Newspapers still enjoy considerable readership and deliver strong results for advertisers. More Americans read printed newspapers than watch the Super Bowl. More Americans read printed newspapers than own dogs. Newspapers and their Web sites reach a larger audience than ever before.

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Local Newspapers Cover Rising Number of Racist Anti-Obama Actions in Small Towns

Thu, 13 Nov 2008 00:00:00 -0800

Editor & Publisher - By Dexter Hill - Nov. 13 (News Analysis) - many local newspapers around the country have covered recent incidents of racially motivated reactions to last week's election, from flags hung upside-down to the dangling of nooses and cross burnings. As we noted last week, a couple in northern New Jersey who had an Obama sign on their front lawn woke up to find the charred remains of a cross. Local residents today announced a "unity march" to protest the still-unsolved incident.

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The End of 'Objectivity' in New Journalism Era: A Good Thing?

Wed, 12 Nov 2008 00:00:00 -0800

Editor & Publisher - By Joe Strupp - Nov. 12 (Special Report) - Paulson's challenge is one that more and more print journalists are confronting as they are asked to write news stories, blog items, do analysis (often minutes after an event has occurred) and, in many cases, provide commentary for radio, television, and even online outlets. As newspaper Web sites blend in more with blogs that do not hold to the same journalistic rules, there is greater pressure to "write like them" — and sometimes cut corners on the principles of objectivity and balance that have been the oft-stated mainstay, for better or worse, of newspaper news coverage.

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Ongoing Tally Of Newspaper Endorsements--Obama Leads 170-69

Sun, 26 Oct 2008 00:00:00 -0700

Editor & Publisher - By Dexter Hill, Greg Mitchell - Oct. 26 (News Report) - After a busy weekend, the Obama-Biden ticket maintains its strong lead in the race for daily newspaper endorsements, by 170 to 69, an almost 3-1 margin and an even wider spread in the circulation of those papers --see full tally below, as of last Friday.

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Why Media Can't See the Trees for the ACORNs

Thu, 16 Oct 2008 00:00:00 -0700

Editor & Publisher - By Glenn W. Smith - Oct. 16 (Opinion) - The media attention granted the right-wing attacks on ACORN begs the question: why does it seem to be a greater sin to be suspected of voter registration mistakes than to publicly engage in voter suppression efforts?

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Behind McClatchy Layoffs -- A Mountain Of Debt

Tue, 17 Jun 2008 00:00:00 -0700

Editor & Publisher - By Mark Fitzgerald - Jun. 17 (News Report) - For instance, even as Moody's Investors Services was nudging McClatchy's corporate debt rating to the edge of junk bond territory, and warning that it likely would downgrade its credit further, the ratings firm had kind words for the publisher. "Good reader demographics and the depth and quality of reporting in local markets drive demand from advertisers, which along with the company's strong cost management deliver above average industry margins that support the cash flow," wrote senior analyst John E. Puchalla and Corporate Finance Group Managing Director Alexandra S. Parker.

NewsTrust Rating: 3.9 average - 3 Reviews » - Review It Visit NewsTrust | About | Sign Up | Disclaimer

Guild Criticism Targets McClatchy CEO Pruitt in Job Cutbacks

Tue, 17 Jun 2008 00:00:00 -0700

Editor & Publisher - By Joe Strupp - Jun. 17 (News Report) - "The Guild does not believe it is sensible that Mr. Pruitt is allowed to keep his $800,000 performance bonus from last year, even though McClatchy stock has lost 71% of its value. "The Guild does not believe downsizing is the best approach to our future and believes McClatchy and the Herald-Leader would be more successful by strengthening core departments and improving Web sites, while seeking additional venues for its quality products."

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Tom Brokaw's Disturbing Defense of the Media and Iraq

Sat, 31 May 2008 00:00:00 -0700

Editor & Publisher - By Greg Mitchell - May. 31 (Opinion) - What is most appalling, however, is that it took McClellan's book to produce a debate about this tremendously vital subject at all....[in the] coverage of the fifth anniversary of the start of the Iraq war back in March, the media reviewed every aspect of the war and pointed fingers everywhere, except at the media. There was almost no self-assessment, after five years of war.

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New Study Calls 'Embed' Program for U.S. Media in Iraq a 'Victory' -- for the Pentagon

Wed, 14 May 2008 00:00:00 -0700

Editor & Publisher - By Greg Mitchell - May. 14 (News Report) - Debate over the "embedded journalist" program run by the Pentagon since the weeks before the Iraq invasion in 2003 has long raged, with some claiming that it gave reporters valuable close access to action while others saying that the journalists were severely compromised within it. Now sociologist Andrew M. Lindner, writing in the spring issue of the American Sociological Association's "Context" magazine describes what is billed as the only sociological study to date of the substantive content of media coverage during the first six weeks of the Iraq war. Lindner found that journalists embedded with American troops emphasized military successes more often than they covered consequences for Iraqi citizens. "The embedded program proved to be a Pentagon victory because it kept reporters focused on the horrors facing the troops, not the horrors of the civilian war experience," wrote Lindner, who is completing his doctoral dissertation at Penn State University. "The end result: a communications victory for an administration that hoped to build support for the war by depicting it as a successful mission with limited cost."

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AP Launches Mobile News Network

Tue, 06 May 2008 00:00:00 -0700

Editor & Publisher - May. 06 (News Report) - The Associated Press today debuts its Mobile News Network, a multimedia news portal targeted at wireless users for accessing international, national and local news content anytime and anywhere from the cooperative and its members. The web application is optimized for use on iPhones and accessed directly at www.apnews.com or via iPhone web application pages at www.iphone.com/webapps. The new service offers a full multimedia experience, from photo galleries of sports events to spot video coverage of the presidential campaign. Users can select news from their hometown, business destination or favorite cities, share stories, photos and video with friends and rate the information they receive.

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'Wash Post' Cartoonist Mocks Own Paper Over Obama Story

Sat, 01 Dec 2007 09:12:51 -0800

Editor & Publisher - By Greg Mitchell, Dave Astor - Dec. 01 (News Analysis) - NEW YORK Tom Toles, the Pulitzer-winning editorial cartoonist for The Washington Post, has never been afraid to take on his own paper's coverage in the past (as E&P has documented) and he does it again today, joining a blogosphere chorus of critics of a story about Barack Obama. Toles told E&P today he had received no negative reaction from Post editors so far. He said this is the latest example of the creative freedom given him by the Post, which often publishes editorial content (on topics such as the Iraq War) more conservative than the cartoonist's views. It all started yesterday with a front-page story by Perry Bacon that, to many readers, seemed to needlessly -- not to say, unfairly -- play up completely unfounded rightwing rumors about Sen. Obama. The piece opened: "In his speeches and often on the Internet, the part of Sen. Barack Obama's biography that gets the most attention is not his race but his connections to the Muslim world. "Since declaring his candidacy for president in February, Obama, a member of a congregation of the United Church of Christ in Chicago, has had to address assertions that he is a Muslim or that he had received training in Islam in Indonesia, where he lived from ages 6 to 10. While his father was an atheist and his mother did not practice religion, Obama's stepfather did occasionally attend services at a mosque there. "Despite his denials, rumors and e-mails circulating on the Internet continue to allege that Obama (D-Ill.) is a Muslim, a 'Muslim plant' in a conspiracy against America...." The Toles cartoon shows a reader looking at an article in an unnamed paper with the headline: "Obama's eating of vegetables fuels rumors about him."

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First FAS-FAX Numbers: Many Top Papers Take Big Hits

Mon, 05 Nov 2007 16:59:38 -0800

Editor & Publisher - By Jennifer Saba - Nov. 05 (News Report) - NEW YORK The Audit Bureau of Circulations released circulation numbers for more than 700 daily newspapers this morning for the six-month period ending September 2007. Of the top 25 papers in daily circulation (see chart, separate story), only four showed gains.

NewsTrust Rating: 4.0 average - 3 Reviews » - Review It Visit NewsTrust | About | Sign Up | Disclaimer

A Top U.S. General in Iraq Blames Public's Antiwar Views on the Media

Fri, 21 Sep 2007 21:20:14 -0700

Editor & Publisher - Sep. 21 (News Report) - Maj. Gen. Rick Lynch, commander of the Army's 3rd Infantry Division, said Thursday, back in the U.S. on leave at Fort Stewart, that the war in Iraq is "a winnable mission" if the the media would only cooperate. "If the American people are informed properly," Lynch told reporters after he arrived home on leave, "I believe they will be supportive of the mission. But they're not getting the right story. As a result, they're anti the war." The media use a "filter" that downplays information about American successes: "All I'm seeing when I watch TV ... is the bad news and not the good news." After listing severall alleged signs of progress, Lynch said, "But you never see that by watching Fox, CNN and NBC....

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Two of Seven Soldiers Who Wrote 'NYT' Op-Ed Die in Iraq

Wed, 12 Sep 2007 05:25:02 -0700

Editor & Publisher - By Greg Mitchell - Sep. 12 (News Report) - The Op-Ed by seven active duty U.S. soldiers in Iraq questioning the war drew international attention just three weeks ago. Now two of the seven are dead. Sgt. Omar Mora and Sgt. Yance T. Gray died Monday in a vehicle accident in western Baghdad, two of seven U.S. troops killed in the incident which was reported just as Gen. David Petraeus was about to report to Congress on progress in the "surge." The names have just been released.

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Video Surfaces of Cheney, in 1994, Warning That An Invasion of Iraq Would Lead to 'Quagmire'

Mon, 13 Aug 2007 03:55:03 -0700

Editor & Publisher - Aug. 13 (News Report) - NEW YORK It's not the first time that citizen "investigative journalists" have uncovered some embarrassing, or telling, nugget from the past that apparently remained buried for years. But it has happened again with the posting of a now wildly popular video on YouTube that shows Dick Cheney explaining in 1994 that trying to take over Iraq would be a "bad idea" and lead to a "quagmire." The people who put it up come from a site called Grand Theft Country, the on-screen source appears to be the conservative American Enterprise Institute, and the date on the screen is April 15, 1994. That looks right, by the age of Cheney.

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Coulter May Not Be Off the Hook for Alleged Voting Fraud

Fri, 03 Aug 2007 13:43:39 -0700

Editor & Publisher - Aug. 03 (News Report) - ambiet wrote that the sheriff's office "punted a voting fraud probe in April" but "the Florida Elections Commission now is investigating" the February 2006 incident in which Coulter -- who's also an author and lawyer -- allegedly cast her ballot in the wrong precinct in a Palm Beach election after registering with an address that wasn't hers. "The Coulter voting saga is now known as FEC Case No. 07-211," Lambiet continued. "The investigator assigned, Tallahassee's Margie Wade, wouldn't confirm she caught the case; FEC complaints are supposed to be confidential. Still, [I'm] told Coulter already has been notified she's under investigation.

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It Ain't Easy Knowing Who You Can You Trust

Mon, 30 Jul 2007 12:58:36 -0700

Editor & Publisher - By Steve Outing - Jul. 30 (Special Report) - The promise that the Newstrust model presents is that wherever our news search and browsing takes us, we'll see aids that will help us determine the quality of an online news source and ratings of individual stories. After all, what we as consumers most care about in our news is accuracy, quality and balance. If we can be informed about those, then perhaps it doesn't really matter whether you're reading a piece by a New York Times reporter or a blogger you've never heard of who writes just for fun but is really good. [Disclosure: This article is largely about NewsTrust, based on an interview with its executive director.]

NewsTrust Rating: 3.9 average - 11 Reviews » - Review It Visit NewsTrust | About | Sign Up | Disclaimer

Campaign Web Sites Focus More on Issues, Less on Balance

Thu, 12 Jul 2007 13:42:44 -0700

Editor & Publisher - By Joe Strupp - Jul. 12 (Special Report) - A review of leading presidential candidates' campaign Web sites finds that most of them use "horse race" terminology less than the mainstream media does, and mostly stick to the issues. But the same study warns that they are clear tools of the candidates, with little regard for balanced coverage. The survey, released Thursday by the Project for Excellence in Journalism, looked at the Web sites of 19 major candidates, eight Democrats and 11 Republicans. The report sought to find out how these sites, which are battling the press more and more as information sources and shapers of campaigns, accomplish their goals.

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McClatchy's D.C. Bureau Claims It's Barred From Defense Secretary Plane

Wed, 23 May 2007 07:45:11 -0700

Editor & Publisher - By Joe Strupp - May. 23 (News Report) - Staffers at McClatchy's Washington, D.C., Bureau -- one of the few major news outlets skeptical of intelligence reports during the run-up to the war in Iraq -- claims it is now being punished for that coverage. Bureau Chief John Walcott and current and former McClatchy Pentagon correspondents say they have not been allowed on the Defense Secretary's plane for at least three years, claiming the news company is being retaliated against for its reporting.

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Back in the Days of 'Mission Accomplished': How One Paper Covered Bush Declaration Four Years Ago

Tue, 01 May 2007 14:04:01 -0700

Editor & Publisher - By Greg Mitchell - May. 01 (News Analysis) - Today marks the fourth anniversary of President Bush's jet landing on the aircraft carrier Abraham Lincoln and his speech declaring major fighting in Iraq over, all in front of a giant "Mission Accomplished" banner. ... here are excerpts revealing how one newspaper, The New York Times, covered the event and aftermath four years ago. They include this nugget: "The Bush administration is planning to withdraw most United States combat forces from Iraq over the next several months

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Top 'Wash Post' Blog Mixes Religion View

Fri, 16 Mar 2007 09:40:05 -0700

Editor & Publisher - By Joe Strupp - Mar. 16 (News Report) - olitics, local nightlife, or even Redskins football. Its list of regular contributors ranges from Bishop Desmond Tutu to Watergate conspirator Charles Colson, while its moderator is non other than former Post first lady Sally Quinn. So what issue could draw such a large crowd and span such a range of personalities? Why, religion, of course. Or more specifically, faith.

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Two More Newspapers Drop Ann Coulter's Column

Wed, 07 Mar 2007 17:16:28 -0800

Editor & Publisher - By Dave Astor - Mar. 07 (News Report) - At least two more daily newspapers -- The Oakland Press of Michigan and The Mountain Press of Sevierville, Tenn. -- have dropped Ann Coulter's column. A daily in Pennsylvania had dropped the column two days ago.

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Ann Coulter Suggests John Edwards Is a 'Faggot'

Sat, 03 Mar 2007 13:45:45 -0800

Editor & Publisher - Mar. 03 (News Report) - NEW YORK In recent years she has suggested that Bill Clinton, Hillary Clinton and Al Gore have or may have homosexual tendencies. Now columnist/author Ann Coulter has targeted former senator (and current candidate for president) John Edwards.

NewsTrust Rating: 3.7 average - 16 Reviews » - Review It Visit NewsTrust | About | Sign Up | Disclaimer

'NYT' Reporter Who Got Iraqi WMDs Wrong Now Highlights Iran Claims

Sat, 10 Feb 2007 09:25:00 -0800

Editor & Publisher - By Greg Mitchell - Feb. 10 (News Report) - NEW YORK Saturday's New York Times features an article, posted at the top of its Web site late Friday, that suggests very strongly that Iran is supplying the "deadliest weapon aimed at American troops" in Iraq.

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Foley Scandal Spreads, After GOP Leader Calls 'Wash Post' to Change Story

Sat, 30 Sep 2006 03:22:51 -0700

Editor & Publisher - Sep. 30 (News Report) - Did the Republican leadership in Congress attempting to cover up its lack of oversight and action when tipped off about possible ethical problems related to Rep. Mark Foley, who resigned yesterday? The prominent House Republican quit after the revelation that he exchanged raunchy electronic messages with a teenage boy, a former congressional page.

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