Year End Success… Our Government Can Actually Work. Is Nirvana Here?

It is amazing what a deadline can do to focus the hearts and minds of our government. In the final days of the lame-duck session, Congress passed and sent to the president a major piece of tax and economic stimulus legislation, including the extension of unemployment benefits; the repeal of 'Don't Ask, Don't Tell', the nearly 20-year old Pentagon policy; historic food safety legislation; and the landmark START Treaty on nuclear weapons reduction. Most importantly, all were passed with bipartisan support. Maybe one of the lessons of all of this is to shorten the congressional session to one month per……

What is Government’s Role in Supporting the News Business?

A new report on the role of government in supporting newspapers and other news organizations will be released by the University of Southern California’s Center on Communication Leadership & Policy on Thursday, January 28, 2010. That same day, a press briefing will be held at the National Press Club in Washington, D.C. at 9:30 a.m. The report, Public Policy and Funding the News, is co-authored by Geoffrey Cowan (pictured, left), USC Annenberg School dean emeritus and director of the Center on Communication Leadership & Policy (CCLP), and David Westphal, former Washington Editor for McClatchy Newspapers and current CCLP senior fellow……