Cowan testifies at FPPC meeting on paid political ads on the Internet

A subcommittee of the Fair Political Practices Commission (FPPC), the state's independent watchdog for politics and campaigns, conducted a hearing at USC's Gould School of Law on March 24 to discuss the current trends of paid political activity on the Internet, email and social networking sites. CCLP director Geoffrey Cowan testified at the session, discussing the 2003 report of the Bipartisan California Commission on Internet Political Practices–which he chaired–and the developments in the area since the report was issued. Read Cowan's testimony at the proceedings. Or read the 2003 Bipartisan California Commission on Internet Political Practices report …….

Dan Glickman leaves the MPAA

NPR aired an interview with CCLP senior fellow Dan Glickman as he stepped down as president of the Motion Picture Association of America…….

‘Top Secret’ play and discussion series in New York City wrap with a bright future

Produced by LA Theatre Works in partnership with New York Theatre Workshop and Affinity Collaborative Theatre, Leroy Aarons and Geoffrey Cowan's Top Secret: The Battle for the Pentagon Papers closed with rave reviews and an impressive model for using theater to explore and discuss the role of media in a democracy. The USC Annenberg Center on Communication Leadership & Policy organized conversations focused on the tension between issues of national security and a free press that included journalists, scholars, jurists, and public policy leaders from partner organizations such as Human Rights Watch, Columbia Journalism Review, New York University, and more…….

Pentagon Papers: The Glory Days of Journalism

The Atlantic reviewed the play Top Secret: The Battle for the Pentagon Papers, by CCLP Director Geoffrey Cowan. "Ultimately, the contents of the Pentagon Papers mattered less to events than the great confrontation over whether the press could override government's objections to their release," the article stated. "So if you get a chance to see Top Secret or watch the panel on C-SPAN, here's what to remember: important decisions being made today by proprietors and journalists will be judged by history. Let's hope they meet the test."……

Applications due for inaugural Kennerly Institute on Photojournalism & Communication Leadership

Pulitzer Prize-winning photojournalist, David Hume Kennerly has teamed with the Center on Communication Leadership & Policy for a unique one-week summer Institute, June 20-25, 2010. Blending an extraordinary hands-on assignment-photography experience with intensive academic inquiry, the Kennerly Institute is tailored for individuals seeking to hone their photojournalistic skills and to become leading-edge visual communicators. Applications are due April 20, 2010. To learn more go to the Kennerly Institute website…….

Why Washington Doesn’t Work Anymore

What killed bipartisanship in the governing of America? Basically, I think, it was the jet plane and Blackberries. In fact, those two mechanical marvels may break up the whole nation into, say, 350 million countries. A country for every man, woman and child. Why can't the representatives of we, the people, agree on even the things they agree on? The answer is that they don't know each other. In the old days there was a community called Washington — or maybe just Georgetown — where Republicans and Democrats lived together. They carpooled. They had dinner with each other and exchanged……

A Historic Moment for Health Care? Building a Birthright

The New York Times ran an op-ed by Senior Fellow Richard Reeves about the recently passed health care bill. "President Obama's success in moving toward universal health care (the core of the reform package is expanding the number of Americans covered) will become part of the American social fabric, a birthright, like Social Security and Medicare," Reeves wrote. "And the Republicans were right too, in understanding that this bill is a significant expansion of the American welfare state."……

‘Top Secret: The Battle for the Pentagon Papers’

TheatreMania writes: "Geoffrey Cowan and Leroy Aarons crackling drama about that pivotal moment in history, Top Secret: The Battle for the Pentagon Papers, is now being presented at the New York Theatre Workshop in a brilliantly acted production under John Rubenstein's tight direction. Not only is it a great story, it's also great theater."……