Amid the steady decline in local news, some states are considering stepping in to support the Fourth Estate. But critics worry that doing so might undermine the press’s role as a government watchdog.
media
I Am An Enemy Combatant
The media has been the enemy since the earliest days of the Republic. But to be an enemy in America is what all of us at one point or another have been or will be. It is an American responsibility. It’s proof of our beloved American citizenship.
President Fake
We’ve been worried about fake news from all the wrong places. The most promiscuous peddler of fake news is the president himself, Donald J. Trump. That’s dangerous for media, for America and for democracy.
72 Hours Into the Job, Sheriff Staly Calls His 1st News Conference to Highlight Burglary Busts
Sheriff Rick Staly said he took the first burglary on his watch “personally” as he described how deputies and detectives recovered and seized items from recent thefts.
How Journalists Should Go Beyond Fact-Checking Trump’s Routine Lies and Conspiracy Theories
The story is that the president-elect is more factually irresponsible than any political leader in the United States in memory. Chasing it will be just one challenge of the next four years.
Trump-Bashing’s Indictment as Americans’ Trust in Mainstream Media Sinks to a New Low
Covering Trump’s contradictory and rash statements is one thing. That’s the media’s job. But there isn’t a commentator or an anchor on CNN who doesn’t wear a Clinton heart on his or her sleeve. With 53 days to go before the election, they’ve even stopped trying to hide it.
Appeals Court Sides With Florida Prisons in Public Records Dispute With Miami Herald
The Florida prisons department was required to provide item-by-item legal explanations for its decisions to black out information on public records requested by the Herald — a process known as redacting the information.
Donald Trump’s War on Media: The Case For Fighting Back
It’s not a stretch to say that last week in Daytona and Thursday night in Kissimmee, Trump and his surrogates were literally inciting mobs against the media. Not casually or with humor, but with calculated and malicious anger.
Goodbye News-Journal
Rick de Yampert, the former arts writer for the Daytona Beach News-Journal, explains why he cancelled his newspaper subscription for the first time in 43 years.
Latest Florida Newspaper Layoffs Claim Lloyd Dunkelberger of Tallahassee and Recount Fame
Following the latest round of reporter layoffs, they will be replaced, if at all, by younger, cheaper bodies who have not necessarily been taught the difference between putting bylines on news releases and honest reporting, writes Florence Snyder.
Alone Among 50 States, Florida’s Ban on Prison Newspaper Is Upheld
Florida Corrections officials have censored the publications for six years, objecting to certain ads and calling them a security risk. No other state prison system agrees.
In Defense of Megyn Kelly
Megyn Kelly deserves conservatives’ admiration, not their disdain, for leveling the sort of tough questions at Donald Trump and other candidates that should be asked of any presidential hopefuls, argues Nancy Smith.
Why Journalism Should Be Addicted to David Carr
Unlike many aging baby boomers, the New York Times’s David Carr, who died last week, had no fear of new technology and no contempt for young people who did not equate the survival of newspapers with the survival of journalism.
Brian Williams and Baghdad Bob
When Brian Williams lied about being shot in a helicopter, it was part of a broader pattern of bogus stories the American media were too happy to broadcast about the war in Iraq as it sped to George W. Bush’s Mission Accomplished moment on the USS Abraham Lincoln.
The FBI’s Palm Coast Visit and Jim Landon’s Accuracy Problem
Palm Coast City Manager Jim Landon Tuesday accused local media of mis-characterizing the FBI’s recent interview of two city officials, but it was Landon who distorted the record and derided the local press in a way he never would dare—or that council members should never tolerate—if he were referring to any other local business.
Today’s The Day to Support the Florida Center for Investigative Reporting
The Miami-based Florida Center for Investigative Reporting is one of the state’s leading non-profit news source, whose work frequently appears in FlaglerLive.
When Government Manipulates Press and Public, and the Press Plays Along
From Flagler County to Washington, government’s attempts to control stories come down to the same manipulative ploys for the same specious reasons, but the press too often plays along.
500,000!
FlaglerLive Crosses Half-Million
Reader Mark in October
FlaglerLive ended October with close to 550,000 readers for the month, a new record and further indication that as print struggles to maintain its mass-market appeal, the media landscape is changing too rapidly to accommodate old models.
Bloodbath at Deteriorating Tallahassee Democrat Is Newspapers’ Latest For-Profit Suicide
The story of the Tallahassee Democrat’s decomposition is a deeper cautionary tale on how monopoly media can turn a vibrant, growing community into a cloistered cultural backwater.
George Will’s Sex Assault Chauvinism
The oft-reported number of sex assault in college is likely too inflated, but when columnist George Will insisted that women who say they have been raped assume a “coveted status” on campus, it was as nasty a remark as Steve Robinson imagines has ever made it past Will’s editors. A counterpoint.
Trouble at the Tampa Bay Times, D.C. Decriminalizes Pot, Mozart’s “Kiss My Ass” Canon: The Live Wire
The Tampa Bay Times is losing readers and money, Orlando gets its first natural gas station, Washington D.C. sees the light on pot, Hollywood, Fla. police has a problem, Sherwin Nuland dies, and Mozart’s potty mouth takes expression in a musical piece.
Blogger Peter Schorsch Resigns from Florida Press Association After Objections Are Raised
Dean Ridings, press association president and CEO, said Peter Schorsch, creator and editor of the influential SaintPetersBlog, which is followed by many journalists, politicians and lobbyists across the state, was advised of the objections and that he “offered” his resignation.
Obama’s Free Press Problem: Why Reporters in the U.S. Now Need Protection
The Obama administration has made the most concerted effort since the Nixon years to intimidate officials from talking to a reporter. Paul Steiger, Paul Steiger recipient of this year’s the Burton Benjamin Memorial award from the Committee to Protect Journalists, argues for a response.
Sheriff Manfre Drafts the Press to Fight The Bogus Epidemic of Fake Pot
The bogus drug-bust news conference was a specialty of former Sheriff Don Fleming, as it has been for innumerable police agencies since the dawn of Nixon;s war on drugs since 1971. Last week, Sheriff Jim Manfre unfortunately joined the parade, this time amplifying fears of a fake epidemic of fake pot.
Hillary’s Movie: Spoiler Alert
The Republican temper tantrum over the nascent NBC Hillary Clinton movie tells us only one thing: The GOP is scared to death of a Hillary presidential run. How else can you explain the weeping and whining over a film that hasn’t even been scripted, and may yet be produced by Fox Television Studios?
Cool to Sudden Roma Court Proposal, Flagler Sheriff Restates Preferences for Proximity
Flagler County Sheriff Jim Manfre was surprised by an unexpected proposal from the owner of Roma Court, the chronically vacant strip mall on Palm Coast Parkway, to lease the building to the county for sheriff’s operations, and cited several factors that fall outside his preferred options.
Testily and Disparaging Local “Papers,” County Administrator and Commission Defend Hospital Buy
Facing a small but persistent barrage of critics over the $1.23 million acquisition of the old hospital in Bunnell, County Administrator Craig Coffey and County Commission Chairman Nate McLaughlin Monday rebuffed the critics by attacking their sources or their information, though their own claims were at times gravely shaky, or outright wrong.
Demonstrating and Reporting Outrage Over Zimmerman’s Acquittal Isn’t Overkill. Shooting Trayvon Was.
Marches and other responses to the George Zimmerman trail are focusing needed attention on a culture at times too comfortable with the the paradox of imagining itself past the sort of racially motivated mindsets that made the killing of Trayvon Martin possible, argues Steve Robinson.
Jim Saunders Is News Service of Florida’s New Executive Editor, Replacing David Royse
The News Service of Florida announced the promotion of Jim Saunders to executive editor on Monday (May 13), putting him in charge of the daily news report. He is taking over that role from founding executive editor David Royse, who will become associate editor of special projects for the News Service.
“Illegal Immigrants” No More:
The Associated Press Ends the Slur
Calling them “illegal immigrants” offends immigrants and American values. “Illegal” is a loaded term that has polluted the immigration debate for too long. It isn’t a question of mere political correctness. It’s about accuracy, fairness, and respect, argues Raul Reyes.
Fox News and the Politics of Hurricane Obama
On Fox News, Hurricane Sandy’s aftermath was replaced with endless and largely manufactured claims of an Obama cover-up of the attack on the American consulate in benghazi. Fox’s latest Swiftboat attack on the president foundered.
The News-Journal’s Predatory Sensationalism On Sex Offenders Near Local Schools
A News-Journal article on 445 registered sex offenders living near Flagler and Volusia elementary schools was dangerously alarming and misleading, argues George Griffin, and perpetuates numerous myths about sex offenders, encouraging bad laws.
Drug War Collusion: Top Cops, Lapdog Press, And the Art of Tax-Funded Campaigning
With State Attorney R.J. Larizza, Flagler Sheriff Don Fleming and Putnam Sheriff Jeff Hardy in starring roles (all three are running for re-election next month), Wednesday was the latest shameless example of local and state police using a minor drug sweep for maximum political effect, at taxpayers’ expense.
What Fox and CNN Flubbed in Health Care Verdict Scoop: Getting It Right
Fox and CNN reporters who got the health care verdict wrong last week were driven by the intense competition of live TV and online reporting and social media. Those reporters let their competitive instincts overcome the rule we all learned on the college newspaper, writes Bill Cotterell.
Breastfeeding Frenzy
Time magazine’s cover featuring 26-year-old Jamie Lynne Grumet breastfeeding her nearly 4-year-old son is the latest revival of the old fervors and prejudices surrounding breastfeeding including, unfortunately, the sexualization of an asexual act.
GOP Candidates and Media to Kids: Drop Dead
While presidential candidates almost always include their offspring in their campaign publicity, candidates and media discussed children’s issues less than two percent of the time over 20 debates – just 17 debate questions of more than 1,000.
Good News and Bad News for News
The online audience for news is enormous and growing, but the Pew Center’s State of the News Media 2012 report points to declining revenue for news-gathering and a consolidating trend among online giants, with serious implications for civic engagement.
Palm Coast Observer Bucks Bleaker Newspaper Trends As Weekly Nears 2-Year Mark
The Palm Coast Observer’s latest audit shows a weekly print run of 25,000 and a household reach in Palm Coast exceeding 60 percent, compared with the News-Journal’s daily reach of 20 percent.
News-Journal Circulation Drops Another 4.5%, Now Below 9,000 in Flagler Households
The News-Journal’s losses–the paper now reaches just a fifth of Flagler households–are at odds with gains at the St. Augustine Record and an end to declines, for now, at the Orlando Sentinel and the Jacksonville Times-Union.
Against Civility
More handshakes, fewer guns and Fox news sounding more like NPR won’t make us a better country. Fewer assassinations of reason, of facts, of character, and of course of people might.
How Palm Coast Got Tagged in the Jessi Slaughter Cyberbullying Affair
A Florida girls tries out for fame and becomes a poster-child of cyberbullying instead. If her story were a flag on Iwo Jima, it’d be all red.
Obama-Leno: No Correspondence
How even Barack Obama is funnier than Jay Leno. Then again, it’s no contest. Tales from the Correspondents dinner.
Is This Harry Reid Cartoon Offensive?
The Omaha World Herald’s sanctimony over a skin-tone cartoon is more offensive than Harry Reid’s misjudgment.
Black Crow Sued Over $38.9 Million Debt
GE Capital wants its own receiver to take over Black Crow Media and recover GE’s $38.9 million loan.