Who gets the last word? Editors can always claim it, but should they? Consider this: Fred B. Walters of Harrisburg, PA., wrote to complain in the September/October Columbia Journalism Review about a couple of recent pieces by contributing editor Michael Massing critical of press coverage of the annual auto show in Detroit and of the [...]

When will the American press grow up and realize that America may at last be adult enough to catch up with the 21st Century and elect a woman as president. One doesn’t have to support the candidacy of Sen. Hillary Clinton, or her positions to take a little pride in that possibility and to consider [...]

As I predicted here in July, George W. Bush, the president of all the people, is once again vetoing the State Children’s Health Insurance Program (SCHIP), despite its overwhelming (75 percent) support among Americans, health care professionals and members of Congress. The basic reason was and is ideological; he’s against government sponsored health care. White [...]

Fox News and the Republican Party of Florida were the sponsors of a 90-minute Republican presidential candidate debate in Orlando last Sunday. The Fox interviewers, Brit Hume, Chris Wallace, Wendell Goler and Carl Cameron, asked more than 40 questions. I missed the debate on TV but looked over the transcript. I was hoping to see [...]

After the Bush administration denied that it manhandles prisoners, it was revealed that it does. Since turnabout is fair play, it would be appropriate for the White House press corps to try its hand at enhanced interrogation techniques to pry information out of its high-value source, George W. Bush. No rough stuff, of course, no [...]

If you’re concerned about the state of journalism these days – and thereby also concerned about the state of the nation – you have to visit, or revisit, two recent delightful commentaries on press performance. “Commentaries on press performance” may reflect more my perceptions than what the authors intended, but judge for yourself. The material [...]

Alan Greenspan surprised a lot of people when he wrote in his recently-published book that “the Iraq war is largely about oil.” A surprise because candor in high places on that subject usually is in short supply. Weapons of mass destruction? Of course. Regime change? Sure. Spread democracy? Ditto. Oil? Never or almost never by [...]

Reporters and editors who are about to cover the 2008 presidential and congressional campaigns will almost certainly have to deal with the issue of Social Security, which won’t go away. But they’ll do it badly, unless they get a few facts straight. Here is an example of what I mean. On Bloomberg.com, which is supposed [...]

Two of my Nieman classmates (1962-3), the late curmudgeon Pat Owens, and Dan Berger, who retired from the Baltimore Evening Sun, were editorial writers and they despaired at the use of the cop-out cliches of their business: “On the other hand…,” “It Remains to be seen…” and Dan’s favorite, “It bears watching.” The words may [...]

If you’re into warning or product labels, what cautionary note should a newspaper or news broadcast provide to the reader or audience? Perhaps something like Caveat Lector or Caveat Celebratio, advising the reader or the audience to beware of what’s being reported. When I first considered this question several years ago, the result was a [...]