From the CNN Political Ticker's report that former Hillary Clinton backer Lynn Forester de Rothschild now supports John McCain:
In an interview with CNN this summer, Forester did not hide her distaste for eventual Democratic presidential nominee Barack Obama.
“This is a hard decision for me personally because frankly I don't like [...]
Today's presidential must-read: a sharp piece by the AP's Glen Johnson that examines John McCain's deeply ambivalent relationship with Washington, D.C. The whole story is good, but the lede is pure genius:
John McCain embraces and expels Washington like an accordion player belting out a song.
Squeeze in and he touts [...]
Now that John McCain's post-RNC bounce has almost entirely dissipated, it's worth considering how his supporters might explain away a loss this November. Take it away, Bill Kristol!
[W]hy the foot-stamping snit by liberal journalists? Not because "the press is being manipulated." Rather, because the American people are resisting manipulation by [...]
Read the beginning of Gallup's new poll on coverage of the presidential race, and you might think that John McCain's decision to declare war on the press hasn't worked out that well. Only 33 percent of adults polled, and only 54 percent (!) of Republicans, think that coverage [...]
--As Dan Kennedy notes, the National Enquirer's reporting on Sarah Palin and her family poses a challenge for the mainstream media. Should they follow the Enquirer's lead, since the tabloid got John Edwards' affair right? Or should they leave these stories alone, becuse, well, it's the Enquirer?
I'd suggest that [...]
That's the obvious, racially charged subtext of this new, factually incorrect John McCain ad:
One more reason to think the GOP knew exactly how the Sarah Palin pick would pan out.
Some of the people who responded to my story in this week's Phoenix--which argues that John McCain's decision to run against the press is going to lead to tougher coverage of his campaign--lamented my suggestion that journalists do their jobs differently depending on how they're treated.
Maybe we shouldn't, but [...]
Remember that FactCheck.org report which concluded (dubiously, I've argued) that Sarah Palin had been the victim of "sliming"?
FactCheck now reports that the McCain campaign is misusing the report in question by suggesting, in a new ad, that the alleged "sliming" came from the Obama campaign. Here's [...]
Lipstick-gate is currently the top item on Google News. But if you look for the full quote that triggered it, you won't get it from Fox's latest write-up, or the Times's, or the Wall Street Journal's, or numerous others.
This is a shame, because the quote in [...]
At a moment when liberals and conservatives seem to have irreconcilable versions of reality--and the media deluge is so overwhelming that it's hard to separate spin from truth--FactCheck.org provides an absolutely vital service.
But I wonder: did FactCheck go too far in saying that Sarah [...]
Apparently Sarah Palin is officially off limits to the press. ABC's Jake Tapper writes:
Rick Davis, campaign manager for Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., just told Fox News Channel's Chris Wallace that McCain running mate Gov. Sarah Palin won't subject herself to any tough questions from reporters "until [...]
Because I thought John McCain stank it up last Thursday, I didn't find it too worrisome that more people watched his convention-closing speech than watched Barack Obama's the week before.
Whoops. Gallup is reporting that McCain now leads Obama among registered voters, 48 percent to 45 percent. [...]
Yesterday, in a nice recap of the debate between John Kerry and Ed O'Reilly, the Globe's Matt Viser wrote:
In his reelection campaign in 2004 [sic]*, Mayor Thomas M. Menino assiduously avoided debating his opponent, Maura A. Hennigan, although he agreed to face her in an hourlong lunch hosted by the [...]
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ST. PAUL--Suppose Sarah Palin had somehow ended up as the Republican presidential nominee this year. Suppose she’d picked John McCain as her running mate. And suppose he’d given the speech he did tonight. You know what people would be saying? “Crap. She should have gone with [...]
MINNEAPOLIS--Earlier today I had lunch with an old friend who’s Jewish, pro-Israel, and pro-Obama. When I mentioned reservations about Obama in the Jewish community, he looked worried, but suggested that those reservations were based on a lack of familiarity and starting to dissipate. “My view is that there’s concern because [...]
ST. PAUL--After Monday's big RNC protest march, I had kind words for the comportment of the police. "Despite their scary-ass outfits," I said, "they ultimately proved to be a pretty restrained bunch."
That description still applies to the police I saw in action that day. It's clear, though, that there's been some [...]
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ST. PAUL--In an email, a DQM reader takes vigorous issue with my assessment of Mitt Romney's speech to the RNC:
A B-plus my ass! You won't see or hear a worse speech all year than Mitt's. I was sitting on my couch practically covering my eyes. I don't [...]
Photo credit: Joeff Davis
DOWNLOAD: Sarah Palin, RNC 2008 Convention Speech [mp3]
ST. PAUL--Here's what really stood out about Sarah Palin's RNC speech tonight:
1. The woman has ice in her veins. This was the biggest moment of her political career to date, probably the biggest moment she'll have during [...]
ST. PAUL--Unless my ears deceived me, our former governor didn’t mention gay marriage once! That’s a big change from his last RNC speech, when he described gay marriage was a threat comparable to Islamic radicalism. He did, however, give a little nod to family values, [...]
ST. PAUL--Spent some time this afternoon in "The Fox Experience," which is basically just a great big Fox newsroom located across the street from the Xcel Energy Center. After going through security, delegates and other visitors can pick up some free Fox memoribilia and watch Fox's journalists do their thing. [...]
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ST. PAUL--Like conspiracy theories? Try this one: John McCain’s selection of Sarah Palin wasn’t the result of poor vetting or poor judgment. Instead, it was a crafty, forward-thinking move aimed at turning Palin into a martyr and then using her martyrdom for political benefit.
If that sounds [...]
MINNEAPOLIS--Sometimes Ron Paul seems like a bona fide political prophet. Here, for example, is what the Republican congressman from Texas and former GOP presidential candidate had to say about militarism and American culture during the closing speech of his three-day "Rally for the Republic" this evening: "We get taught [...]
ST. PAUL--Last night I dropped by “Political Chicks a Go-Go,” a women-in-politics shindig sponsored by the Lifetime network and RightNow!, an organization for women who share a belief in “common belief in free-markets, limited government and personal responsibility.” I’ve been fascinated for a while by [...]
BLOOMINGTON, MN--It can’t be easy being Mitt Romney nowadays. Imagine: you find your place in the Republican firmament, make a serious run at the GOP’s presidential nomination, earn frequent mention as a possible running mate for John McCain — and then watch as McCain picks an [...]
BLOOMINGTON, MN--It can’t be easy being Mitt Romney nowadays. Imagine: you find your place in the Republican firmament, make a serious run at the GOP’s presidential nomination, earn frequent mention as a possible running mate for John McCain — and then watch as McCain picks an [...]
Before yesterday's march on the RNC, I chatted with Cameron White, an ex-Marine who's now active with Iraq Veterans Against the War, about how he changed his mind and what it was like fighting a war he no longer believed in. Here's the video:
This was to have been where we'd have heard Dubya talk about what a great job the Republicans have done with the country these last eight years, and how we should all rejoice for the opportunity to give them four more. Instead, the President showed an ounce of shame and [...]
ST. PAUL--Before today's big RNC protest march started, a few smaller groups--most of which seemed to be from the hard left--made forays from the MN State Capitol into downtown St. Paul and the vicinity of the convention. One of these resulted in the only convention-related injury I've seen with my [...]
After the RNC winnowed itself back yesterday afternoon due to Hurricane Gustav, I considered the political ramifications and suggested that McCain could benefit--but only if his campaign displayed caution and sublety.
So much for that. From Politico's Jonathan Martin:
John McCain's campaign manager today accused Barack Obama of practicing politics as [...]
While the Republican national committee treads on thin ice in an attempt to balance politics and hurricanes, the extensive protests scheduled for tomorrow are going ahead as planned. The RNC delegates weren't the only ones with hotel reservations and plane tickets they didn't want to [...]
ST. PAUL--Just got back from the press conference where John McCain announced, via video, that the RNC will be radically altered due to Hurricane Gustav. After McCain spoke, both Republican Party Chairman Mike Duncan and McCain campaign manager Rick Davis offered a bit more detail on what [...]
There's an official announcement at 4 pm EST; I'll liveblog it if possible.
Also, the Democrats just cancelled this afternoon's reception for the media, citing the situation on the Gulf Coast.
More as it develops.
MINNEAPOLIS--There’s a weird lack of anticipatory buzz at the Minneapolis Convention Center, where RNC delegates (and the press) are currently picking up their convention credentials. Chalk it up to a few factors: it's a Sunday morning; it's Labor Day weekend; the convention’s actually in another city, [...]
It would look bad, period, if Gustav hammered New Orleans and environs while the Republicans waxed ecstatic over John McCain's impending nomination. And it would look especially bad since the current Republican president didn't exactly dazzle the last time a hurricane ravaged the Gulf Coast.
But [...]
Now that my colleague David Bernstein is done rocking Denver, I'm heading to my native city of St. Paul to monitor the GOP's proceedings.
Hence, a query for readers: are there any RNC subplots you'd especially like covered? If so, please post a comment [...]
Earlier this week, Blue Mass. Group's Bob Neer concluded--on the basis of interviews with three female, pro-Hillary Clinton Massachusetts DNC delegates--that the prospect of disgruntled Hillary Clinton supporters not backing Barack Obama is a bogus invention of the GOP and a complicit media.
As a [...]
I don't expect Rush Limbaugh to acknowledge that George Bush had his own "temple" back in 2004 when he's chortling over the "temple" Barack Obama used last night. But if actual journalists are going to report this particular GOP talking point--which, of course, is just a variation on the [...]
In his column in today's Globe, Kevin Cullen makes the very reasonable point that not all Boston firefighters are bad eggs. But he also says this: "Blaming most firefighters for the state of the department is like blaming American soldiers for the mess in Iraq."
Really? Because from what [...]
In today's Boston Herald cover story, reporter Hillary Chabot writes:
Barack Obama’s divided and poorly timed convention has given him no boost in tracking polls, leaving him in danger of trailing Republican John McCain by the time the GOP conclave ends next week....
Polls showing McCain holding down Obama in [...]
In today’s Boston Herald, columnist Margery Eagan touches on an interesting point:
This mess just won’t end.And if it doesn’t end soon--like today--the Democrats will lose in November. Again.
The mess I refer to? [...]
I know, I know--you don't read Gawker for the facts. You read it for the baditude. Still, Gawker's riff on the possible racism of Harvard's cops cries out for two corrections.
Here they are:
1. Harvard's in Cambridge, not Boston. (Which is one reason [...]
Time really does heal all wounds. Twenty years ago, after Ted Kennedy helped pass legislation that forced Rupert Murdoch to sell the Boston Herald, the paper smacked the senator in a front-page editorial that read, in part: "Kennedy's attitude seems to be: 'To hell with the political process, to hell [...]
24.5 percent. That's how much advertising revenue at the New York Times Company's New England Media Group--which includes the Boston Globe--dropped from July '07 to July '08.
Yeah, it's a tough time for the industry in general. (The NY Times's own ad revenue dropped more than 15 percent for [...]
After Barack Obama picked Joe Biden as his running mate, the GOP launched the Biden Gaffe Clock. It's still in its infancy, but if you click here, you can catch some wince-inducing footage of Biden calling Obama--wait for it--"Barack America." (The look on Obama's face is just priceless.)
A [...]
Obviously it's not going to stop me from reading--or, I'm sure, everybody else who relies on Jim Romenesko's Poynter Insitute Web site for their steady diet of media news. But couldn't the people at Poynter (which has revamped its entire site, not just the Romenesko portion) have found a [...]
Yo, Kevin--As a Globe metro columnist, you've got one of the best jobs in Boston journalism. But you're supposed to write about Boston, not yourself. The next time someone points out that you made a factual error, just acknowledge it in a straightforward way. Don't waste 670 words explaining [...]
*UPDATE: Don't just blame Minnesota/the Republicans; it happened in Denver too.
Does urging both presidential candidates to reduce the threat from nuclear weapons constitute a "petty political attack"?
Apparently Northwest Airlines, the official carrier of the Republican National Convention, thinks so, since NWA recently asked Clear Channel to [...]
That would be Deadspin founder and New York magazine contributing editor Will Leitch, who's also known as the guy Buzz Bissinger yelled at.
According to a press release from WEEI.com, Leitch "will be joining WEEI.com to provide an outsider’s look at Boston sports and its fans." Boston Sports Media [...]
I'm talking about the print edition, FYI. Right now, I'm paying a special discounted rate of $15.52 per month--which came with a $10 Dunkin' Donuts gift card! But once that expires, the Globe's new price increase will put my monthly rate at a [...]
Ask yourself: If Barack Obama had criticized President Bush's handling of an international crisis and sent his own emissaries to the country in question--while John McCain, in contrast, offered muted commentary during a vacation in his home state--how would the political commentariat [...]
Amalie Benjamin is taking over for Gordon Edes as the paper's Red Sox beat writer. Also, Tony Massarotti is jumping from the Herald for a new online-focused job. Plus, Boston.com gets a new sports reporter!
Here's the memo* sports editor Joe Sullivan sent this afternoon:
We have some very exciting changes to [...]
I didn't read this Globe op-ed on "linguistic paranoia" until yesterday evening. But when I did, my sympathy for the author's goal was pretty much negated by her deeply questionable reasoning.
Nataly Kelly--"a senior analyst with Common Sense Advisory, a market research firm specializing in business globalization"--thinks Americans should learn [...]
...Tonight at 8 pm on New England Cable News. We'll be discussing coverage of 1. John Edwards' affair and 2. "Clark Rockefeller."
Right now, I plan to say that the press as a whole was too slow to cover Edwards' dalliance. This isn't [...]
In which I argue that Kevin Cullen shouldn't second-guess his decision to write about Rakan Hassan.
I've just now seen this clip of David Gergen referring to the racial subtext of the GOP's Obama-as-narcissist shtick, and all I can say is: kudos to Gergen for bluntly pointing out the racial subtext of these attacks.
If any conservatives read my piece in this week's Phoenix, in [...]
My contention: the Barack Obama-as-narcissist theme, which has been all over the press of late, is stale, logically shaky--and comes with a strong racial subtext.
Something to consider, especially since John McCain is now accusing Obama of playing the race card.
A strong case can be made for today's effort. First, there's the "Crockefeller" headline, which is just perfect. Then there's the main image. At first, it seems attention-grabbing but somewhat random. Then, though, you read the caption and understand: here's an actual photo of "Clark Rockefeller" acting--which he's been doing [...]
It looks that way. Last year, when Barack Obama proposed attacking Al Qaeda targets in Pakistan without Pakistani permission, the president cited that suggestion as proof of Obama's poor judgement. So did John McCain.
Fast forward one year. On Monday, a U.S. missile [...]
Granted, my look at coverage of Jim Marzilli and mental illness in general is no longer "hot off the presses." But it was fairly recently! So please: take a look if you haven't already.
No, this doesn't mean that John Tomase is leaving the Herald. But according to Herald sports editor Hank Hryniewicz, Tomase probably is leaving the Patriots beat.
"That posting is for Rob Bradford's spot," Hryniewicz tells the Phoenix. "I reserve the right to change my [...]
First off--and by way of a disclaimer--let me say that I'm usually a big Boston.com fan. I think the site's well-presented, and getting more so; I'm a frequent reader; and the Big Picture blog, about which I'll be writing later this week, is just outstanding.
All that said, this Boston.com [...]
And the winner is...Republican congressional candidate Nathan Bech, for comedically misrepresenting the comments of his opponent, Democrat John Olver, in a press release titled "Olver to Citizens Facing Cold Winter: Stop Whining."
Check out the first two paragraphs, and you'll see what I mean:
Congressional candidate [...]
Just ask Alex Beam's son.
(ADDENDUM: one DQM reader apparently thought that the above motorist is actually Christopher Beam. It is not. As the title of this post and the link provided herein suggest, the photo is a metaphor.)
Remember AP reporter Glen Johnson's showdown with Mitt Romney?
At the time, I assumed that Johnson went off on Romney because he was 1) tired and/or in a bad mood and 2) fed up with Romney's shtick. But after reading this fascinating Politico piece on the AP's ongoing re-invention, [...]
A couple staffing changes worth noting over at Morrissey Boulevard: First, the paper has hired Jenifer McKim to take over the residential real-estate beat previously covered by Binyamin Appelbaum. McKim is currently a Nieman Fellow at Harvard; she previously worked at the Orange County Register, where she led [...]
As you may have noticed, today's Herald cover story whacks MBTA general manager Dan Grabauskas for commuting to work in an SUV--one that's T-owned!--even as the T urges people to ditch their cars for public transit:
Now, I understand that there's an enticing hypocrisy angle here--especially for [...]
In which I argue that Globe management's proposed ten-percent wage cut for union employees just might happen. Plus, I take a look at HBO's new Iraq-war miniseries, Generation Kill.
One correction to the Globe piece: I wrote, incorrectly, that Dan Totten--president of the Boston Newspaper Guild, the Globe's [...]
Yesterday at Media Nation, my friend and former colleague Dan Kennedy argued that the Beverly Citizen erred in posting video footage of the Beverly Horribles parade, which contained some pretty off-color references to the ongoing Gloucester teen-pregnancy story. (By "pretty off-color references," I mean, among other things, a giant [...]
Yesterday in this space, I praised the Washington Post's story on misinformation circulating about Barack Obama in Findlay, Ohio. But the Findlay Courier didn't like the story one bit. Here, via Romenesko, is the heart of the paper's editorial on the subject:
[Reporter Eli] Saslow crafted a picture of credulous, rumor-swallowing [...]
Yesterday in this space, I praised the Washington Post's story on misinformation circulating about Barack Obama in Findlay, Ohio. But the Findlay Courier didn't like the story one bit. Here, via Romenesko, is the heart of the paper's editorial on the subject:
[Reporter Eli] Saslow crafted [...]
I once got the following advice from a Globie: Every now and then, when it's warranted, point out something the paper's done well--and leave it at that. No asterisks, disclaimers, snide asides, etc.
Binyamin Appelbaum's* troubling examination of the housing projects in Barack Obama's former Illinois state senate district, and of Obama's relationships with [...]
I once got the following advice from a Globie: Every now and then, when it's warranted, point out something the paper's done well--and leave it at that. No asterisks, disclaimers, snide asides, etc.
Binyamin Appelbaum's* troubling examination of the housing projects in Barack Obama's former Illinois state senate district, and [...]
Read this excellent but depressing offering from the Washington Post's Eli Saslow, and then try answering that question.
Three years ago, Post columnist E.J. Dionne noted, quite astutely, that the same conservatives who love to attack postmodernism are co-opting it for their political ends. [...]
Seriously, have you read McClatchy's big expose on post-9/11 detainees? Because you really should.
Seriously, have you read McClatchy's big expose on post-9/11 detainees? Because you really should.
Maybe you thought Barack Obama's fake presidential seal was just a stupid gaffe, kind of like Mitt Romney's podium screw-up back in 2006. But no! It's much, much more than that. Mickey Kaus, take it away:
[T]he faux seal was a disaster not just for the reason I gave (that it [...]
Maybe you thought Barack Obama's fake presidential seal was just a stupid gaffe, kind of like Mitt Romney's podium screw-up back in 2006. But no! It's much, much more than that. Mickey Kaus, take it away:
[T]he faux seal was a disaster not just for the reason I gave [...]
In a post yesterday, I implied that
the Boston Globe was the first to report the Herald's big upcoming wave of layoffs.
In fact, the Boston Business Journal got
there first--last Friday, to be precise. My apologies.
In a post yesterday, I implied that the Boston Globe was the first to report the Herald's big upcoming wave of layoffs. In fact, the Boston Business Journal got there first--last Friday, to be precise. My apologies.
That, according to two Globe employees, was one big question raised at the Monday "town meeting" at the paper's Morrissey Boulevard headquarters.
When a possible sale of the Globe by the NYT Co. came up, one employee says, Arthur Sulzberger replied: "As you can imagine, we can't get into that whole [...]
That, according to two Globe employees, was one big question raised at the Monday "town meeting" at the paper's Morrissey Boulevard headquarters.
When a possible sale of the Globe by the NYT Co. came up, one employee says, Arthur Sulzberger replied: "As you can imagine, we can't get [...]
That's the goal described in the June 18 letter from Globe senior VP Gregory L. Thornton, president of the Boston Newspaper Guild, that officially proposed a 10 percent wage cut for most Globe employees.
"As we shared with you and other union leaders [at a June 3 presentation], despite constant and relentless [...]
That's the goal described in the June 18 letter from Globe senior VP Gregory L. Thornton, president of the Boston Newspaper Guild, that officially proposed a 10 percent wage cut for most Globe employees.
"As we shared with you and other union leaders [at a June 3 presentation], despite [...]
According to a story in today's Boston Herald, Boston Newspaper Guild president Dan Totten is determined to fight Globe management's request for a 10 percent reduction in employee wages."The Boston Newspaper Guild has given enough in the name of company equity," Totten told the Herald. "Globe and New York Times management must now [...]
According to a story in today's Boston Herald, Boston Newspaper Guild president Dan Totten is determined to fight Globe management's request for a 10 percent reduction in employee wages."The Boston Newspaper Guild has given enough in the name of company equity," Totten told the Herald. "Globe and New York [...]
Earlier today, the Boston Globe reported that the Boston Herald will be laying off up to 160 people and outsourcing its printing. But it wasn't clear--at least to me--whether those layoffs would be hit the editorial side or not.
According to Herald editor Kevin Convey, it's the latter. "The answer is, no editorial layoffs--none [...]
Earlier today, the Boston Globe reported that the Boston Herald will be laying off up to 160 people and outsourcing its printing. But it wasn't clear--at least to me--whether those layoffs would be hit the editorial side or not.
According to Herald editor Kevin Convey, it's the latter. "The answer [...]
As I narcissistically keep tabs on who's saying what about my story this week--i.e., the one on the old media-new media sportswriting feud--I'm noticing a theme: there's a lot of disagreement out there about what, exactly, "blogs" and "bloggers" are. By way of example, here's a comment posted to a [...]
As I narcissistically keep tabs on who's saying what about my story this week--i.e., the one on the old media-new media sportswriting feud--I'm noticing a theme: there's a lot of disagreement out there about what, exactly, "blogs" and "bloggers" are. By way of [...]
Godspeed to Boston magazine senior writer John Gonzalez, who's leaving that post to write a sports column for the Philadelphia Inquirer.
It's a great move for Gonzalez, who'll be joining his hometown paper in an extremely high-profile position. But it's a real loss for the Boston media market. When he [...]
Godspeed to Boston magazine senior writer John Gonzalez, who's leaving that post to write a sports column for the Philadelphia Inquirer.
It's a great move for Gonzalez, who'll be joining his hometown paper in an extremely high-profile position. But it's a real loss for the [...]
In which I analyze the animosity between old-media sportswriters and their new-media counterparts--and argue that a truce might just be in the offing.
[...]
In which I analyze the animosity between old-media sportswriters and their new-media counterparts--and argue that a truce might just be in the offing.
[...]
This may be obvious to some users, but it wasn't to me: to comment with this new blog engine of ours, you need to scroll down to the lower-right-hand corner of the post and click on "with no comments" (or "with one comment," etc.). You'll then be taken to a [...]
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