We seem to be hitting new political lows by the day. The latest lowly low: Supreme Court Justice Samuel Alito’s secretly recorded us-versus-them/no-compromise remarks. They’re indeed disturbing. But so are the gotcha antics of liberal activist Lauren Windsor, who masqueraded as a Catholic conservative when she secretly recorded her brief talk with Alito (and Chief Justice John Roberts) at a recent Supreme Court reception. They’re the same hidden-camera/reality-show tactics of conservative activist James O’Keefe. And the MSM reports on their findings without many qualms – or at least without many qualms about Windsor’s tactics.
Question: Would the New York Times ever tolerate a full-time or freelance reporter regularly misrepresenting himself/herself in order to get a story? In its own ethics guidelines (scroll down to “masquerading”), the NYT says no. But … I know it’s more complicated than this. Still, isn’t Windsor effectively serving as a reportorial proxy when she operates biased stings and the media dutifully reports on her findings?
Month: June 2024
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Hidden-camera politics — and journalism
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Safe for now: ADU ‘poison pills’ kept out of housing bill
As Scott Van Voorhis reported last week, some House lawmakers tried to insert “poison pills” into Gov. Healey’s Accessory Dwelling Units (ADUs) provision within her massive housing bill. Luckily, those amendment ideas, which would have effectively neutered the ADU proposal, were beaten back by housing advocates, as SHNS reported last week in Banker & Tradesman (sub req.) … In a previous B&T piece, I wrote about how Massachusetts has learned much from New Hampshire’s own anti-ADU follies.
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Free speech consistency, Part II
Here’s another person who was largely right about free speech before Oct. 7. And he’s been largely right about free speech since Oct. 7.
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In ESPN heaven
I’m in ESPN heaven this morning, unable to get enough highlights about last night’s Celts win. … There was indeed Jrue. But the entire team was all over the Mavs, up and down the court. The relentless pressure was awesome to watch.
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Romney’s solution to housing shortage: ‘Operation Breakthrough’
No, not that Romney. The other Romney, as in George Romney, Mitt’s father and former HUD Secretary (and former Michigan governor) who once pushed for the industrialization of housing construction, i.e. prefabricated homes. … Pre-fab homes have come a long way since their early days. They’re part of the housing crisis solution, along with Accessory Dwelling Units (ADUs), new multifamily construction, local zoning reforms, etc.
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Immigration: Too much of a good thing
It’s not just Maura Healey expressing support for President Biden’s new border rules. Nicolas Kristoff is also embracing the president’s immigration moves, albeit reluctantly, citing economic factors. …
Immigration is clearly a net economic plus for the nation. But it does come at a cost, in terms of pressures on our resources (Healey’s main concern) and wage competition for working-poor Americans ( Kristof’s main concern). In other words: there’s a too-much-of-a-good-thing component here.
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Reagan’s iconic Normandy speech seen through today’s political lens
I belong to an email group that was started soon after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, sharing stories, opinions and various tidbits about the war. The small group’s focus inevitably expanded to include other subjects. Yesterday, one member sent off a video of Ronald Reagan’s famous Normandy speech 40 years ago, as well as an accompanying NYT article about that iconic speech, and it was impossible not to think of a certain man’s disparaging remarks about service members and veterans. Though much has changed since Reagan’s speech, his words below are in stark contrast to that certain other person’s jaw-dropping comments about letting Russians “do whatever the hell they want” with NATO allies. From Reagan four decades ago:
“We in America have learned bitter lessons from two World Wars: It is better to be here ready to protect the peace, than to take blind shelter across the sea, rushing to respond only after freedom is lost. We’ve learned that isolationism never was and never will be an acceptable response to tyrannical governments with an expansionist intent.”
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Free speech consistency
She was largely right about free speech before Oct. 7. And she’s been largely right about free speech since Oct. 7.
Fyi: This year marks the 60th anniversary of Berkeley’s Free Speech Movement.
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‘Where do the 2023-24 Celtics stand among the greatest teams in NBA history?’
Huh? Aren’t you supposed to run such stories after a team wins a championship, not before? … Hope Jason Kidd doesn’t see this piece and use it as motivational fodder.
Update – I’m with Dan Shaughnessy.
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What’s next for the Washington Post? Part II
Will Lewis, the CEO of the Washington Post, is determined to remake the struggling newspaper, creating a “third newsroom” (the “second newsroom” being the opinion section) appealing to “untapped audiences” on social media and elsewhere etc., according to Vanity Fair. … If he’s talking about something like the NYT’s semi-separate “The Athletic,” “Cooking” or “Games” sections – or like the Globe’s own “STAT” spinoff and Boston.com – it could get interesting. But I’m not sure this is what he’s talking about. The social-media component sounds gimmicky and light.
Question: Has anyone at the Post carefully studied how and why the NYT and Globe managed to keep (and grow) readership since 2020 while the Post’s readership plummeted? See yesterday’s post for my partial explanation.
Update – Why is WaPo, with an online subscriber base of 2.5 million readers, losing money while the Globe, with about 260,000 online subscribers, is making money (or at least holding even)?
Update II — Dan Kennedy has launched the Will Lewis Resignation Watch following a devastating disclosure about Lewis trying to kill off an unflattering NPR story about him.
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