Wednesday, Nov 05th
Last update10:41:16 AM GMT
Journalism Glance
Conservative maverick Ann Coulter has poured scorn on growing fears over the fallout from Japan’s nuclear crisis by claiming that ‘radiation is good for you.’
The right wing commentator was attempting to quell concern that a radiation plume was due to hit America’s West Coast today after travelling 5,000 miles across the Pacific Ocean from the damaged reactor at Fukishima.
Helen Thomas, former dean of the White House Press Corps, reportedly told Playboy in an interview for their April issue that Jews have power over the White House and Congress, who are in the pockets of the Israeli lobbies.
Thomas left her post at the White House after she publicly made anti-Israel comments last May, telling the Jews they should "get the hell out of Palestine." The former reporter told Playboy that the Israeli lobbies "are funded by wealthy supporters, including those from Hollywood. Same thing with the financial markets. There’s total control."
The New York Times has said it will start charging North American users for some of its online content. The newspaper will initially charge readers in Canada, with its US audience facing charges from 28 March.
Different charges will apply depending on whether readers use a smartphone, a computer or an iPad. The newspaper hopes to make up for lost revenue as newspaper sales have fallen and as advertising earnings have slipped.
A TV and radio host shocked viewers when he said the human toll caused by the widespread death and destruction of the Japanese earthquake and tsunami was worse than the toll on the economy 'and we can be grateful for that'.
In the wake of devastation which has seen thousands lose their lives following the 9.0 magnitude quake, CNBC's Larry Kudlow said: 'The human toll here looks to be much worse than the economic toll, and we can be grateful for that.'
Last week, a Project Veritas "sting" operation directed at National Public Radio cost some NPR executives their jobs. Beginning with Senior Vice President for Fundraising Ron Schiller, who was depicted on tape disparaging the Tea Party movement and suggesting that NPR should move away from federal funding (a position with arguable merit, but probably very unpopular at NPR), the fallout eventually cost NPR CEO Vivian Schiller her job as well.
That's sort of the NPR way: when one of the humans under their employ gets in trouble for expressing their opinions, everyone starts panicking and people start getting fired. Further analysis of the original video, however, demonstrates the wisdom of the old maxim, "act in haste, repent in leisure."
A federal judge has ruled that the US government may demand that three associates of Julian Assange hand over Twitter account information in the criminal investigation into Wikileaks.
The three users of the social network had appealed against an earlier ruling. Their legal team had argued the request was a violation of their constitutional rights of free speech and association.
NPR, PBS and local public broadcast stations around the country are hiring more journalists and pumping millions of dollars into investigative news to make up for what they see as a lack of deep-digging coverage by their for-profit counterparts.
Public radio and TV stations have seen the need for reporting that holds government and business accountable increase as newspapers and TV networks cut their staffs and cable television stations have filled their schedules with more opinion journalism.
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