NJ Public Television Signs Off; Other PBS, NPR Stations Threatened by Cuts

WASHINGTON — While the nation celebrated the holiday weekend of independence, New Jersey's public television network signed off for the last time and many other PBS stations around the US may soon follow suit. The reason: cuts in funding from state governments across the country. As I had written about on the blog last December, NJN has finally come to the end of its broadcasting days. The final New Jersey newscast on NJN was Thursday night. At its end, viewers saw a simple sign, "New Jersey Network. April 5, 1971 – June 30, 2011." As of that night, 130 employees……Continue Reading NJ Public Television Signs Off; Other PBS, NPR Stations Threatened by Cuts

Get out of Afghanistan

LOS ANGELES — For years, since I moved there to cover Watergate, I have wanted to write a column about how Washington really works — a checklist of sorts. But I never got around to it. The closest I ever got was quoting the late San Francisco humor writer Arthur Hoppe. Writing from 3,000 miles away, he said, if I remember correctly: Washington is 67 square miles, about as high as the Washington Monument, and surrounded on all sides by reality. Last week, Joe Scarborough, former Florida congressman, talking head on MSNBC, and now guest columnist for Politico.com, did a……Continue Reading Get out of Afghanistan

Newspapers Dying: The demise of geographic exclusivity

There are so many reasons why print newspapers are failing. Mostly, people complain that newspaper content is available on the Internet for free, so subscribers need not subscribe any longer, even though in reality circulation revenues were usually not more than 20% of total revenues. Or, more importantly, that classified advertising, the largest profit contributor of any newspaper, has been outdone by the efficiency of transactional web sites for homes, autos and jobs. Then there was the retail consolidation of big box stores, who hardly advertise, and chain department stores (only one advertiser rather than three or four). And the……Continue Reading Newspapers Dying: The demise of geographic exclusivity

CCLP to offer courses in partnership with The New York Times

The New York Times Knowledge Network and USC have joined forces to establish and offer a new online continuing education program. As part of this new program, the USC Annenberg Center on Communication Leadership & Policy will be offering courses in journalism and public relations beginning in October 2011. Led by Mark Latonero, CCLP's director of research and instruction, courses will be taught by CCLP instructors with journalists from The New York Times. A series of six courses in journalism for high school students will be offered beginning in October 2011. Students may enroll in any of the two week……Continue Reading CCLP to offer courses in partnership with The New York Times

Winograd in NYT – Suburban Hip

In an article in the New York Times, research by senior fellow Morley Winograd is cited for the urban and suburban sprawl of the millennial generation as they age. According to his and co-author, Michael Hais' research, 43 percent of Millennials describe suburbs as their "ideal place to live," compared with just 31 percent of older generations. (An additional article citing the work of Winograd and Hais can be found on KCET.)……Continue Reading Winograd in NYT – Suburban Hip

New controls on teen, child Web access backed, despite First Amendment concerns

WASHINGTON — The 7-2 Supreme Court ruling striking down California's video game law did not dissuade advocates of new and perhaps broader laws to prohibit teenagers and children from access to objectionable Internet sites and perhaps even text messages. The court ruling was the latest in a years-long series of judgments finding Internet restrictions and censorship are trumped by the First Amendment of the U.S. Constitution. But for proponents of the Do Not Track Online Act of 2011, First Amendment concerns are not a problem. At the very moment the Supreme Court was handing down its decision, a panel was……Continue Reading New controls on teen, child Web access backed, despite First Amendment concerns