Category Archives: Government

Are journalists corporate spies?

Published: April 21, 2010
A thought experiment: When journalists investigate private businesses for wrongdoing, or upcoming products, or rumors, etc., do they commit corporate espionage? By “corporate espionage” (or “industrial espionage”), I mean simply when one business attempts to obtain information about another business for competitive gain. Journalists usually work for privately-held media. Learning about other companies helps journalists [...]
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Robert McChesney on press subsidies

Published: March 16, 2010
I have lots of respect for Robert McChesney (see his “Labor and the Marketplace of Ideas: WCFL and the Battle for Labor Radio Broadcasting, 1927-1934”) but his recent interview on PBS’s NOW is almost embarrassing. He’s on the show to argue in support of increased subsidies for the press — which isn’t a terrible argument [...]
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On argumentation in reporting

Published: January 15, 2010
Perhaps I’m being unfair to journalists, or to writers in general, but I can’t understand how an article like “Labor Campaigns Against Tax on Health Plans,” in The New York Times, could make sense as a piece of writing trying to inform me of something. Consider (what I think is) the article’s conclusion: Having failed [...]
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Differences between reporting and journalism

Published: December 14, 2009
George F. Snell recently argued that “reporting” is distinguishable from “journalism” in the following way: Reporting: A 747 aircraft crashed in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean yesterday. Journalism: A review of maintenance reports of the 747 aircraft that crashed last month revealed that the airplane had a faulty engine parts. Reports indicate that airline [...]
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A question of transparency

Published: October 24, 2009
Lawrence Lessig’s recent article Against Transparency and several subsequent responses [1] have stimulated my thinking quite a bit recently. I don’t feel qualified to say anything too significant or original about transparency because I’m new to the debates within the field. However, I have one immediate question. First, let me briefly recap what attracts me [...]
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