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Fox News settlement is great for Dominion – not so great for the rest of us
“Damn!” That’s the instant reaction I had when I saw the breaking news alert that Dominion Voting Systems had settled its lawsuit with Fox “News.” Like many of you, I was hoping to see the network’s managers and top anchors have to answer in person, under oath, and on the record, about the many lies […]
Why we need cameras in federal courts
It is high time the federal judiciary got over itself and joined the 20th century, much less the 21st. Here we are some 70 years after the invention of television, and our federal court system still operates behind a black curtain that keeps all of us from better understanding the critical decisions being made that affect […]
Lawsuit claims Fox News knew — and now its viewers do, too
Loyal viewers of Fox News should be asking themselves a critical question. Are they getting facts, or are they getting lies told to them because Fox thinks that’s what they want? The answer should be obvious following the bombshell revelations in a court filing Thursday. Dominion Voting Systems is suing Fox News for $1.6 billion, […]
Iowa GOP blacklists TV station from election night event
In what’s become a trend of Republicans stiff-arming mainstream media outlets, the Iowa Republican Party last week denied a Cedar Rapids TV station entrance into the GOP’s election night party in downtown Des Moines. KCRG-TV is the ABC affiliate in Cedar Rapids. It’s a fine news operation that provides quality coverage in eastern Iowa. On […]
Behind the scenes at a local TV station on election night
Most journalists love election night. It’s fast-paced, exciting, late-breaking, unpredictable. You know in your heart that viewers and readers really want to know what happened, so it takes all your skills to deliver a ton of information in an understandable way. In TV news, the key to a successful election night is preparation weeks in advance. […]
Do TV stations make a killing on political ads?
Cindy Axne went to France! Zach Nunn still has his hand in the air! IRS agents are hiding in Iowa cornfields (wearing dark business suits for some reason) ready to pounce on us! Somebody’s giving “the bird” to who, exactly? On many election days at KCCI, before the polls closed, anchor Kevin Cooney would announce […]
Where’s the line separating journalists from politics?
A TV news director in North Platte, Nebraska, was fired recently for getting too involved in politics. It raises good questions about journalism and politics. What can a journalist do in his or her personal life? What rights do they give up? And, what is over the line? Press reports say Melanie Standiford was fired […]
The debate dance: Change the format to better serve voters
Iowans are losing one more traditional handhold on the world of politics as incumbent candidates are either refusing to participate in debates or limiting themselves to just one. And maybe that’s a good thing – but only IF debates evolve into something more useful for voters. Sadly, I don’t think that’s happening, but I have […]
Keep your hands off journalists
Reporters need a thick skin. Hard-hitting stories can generate a lot of complaints, including abusive language and the occasional threat. It got out of hand this month in Las Vegas where a reporter was stabbed to death in his home. Police have arrested an elected official who had been the subject of several investigative stories […]
The scourge of the written statement
One of the negative impacts of the reduction in newsroom staffing is what I call “the scourge of the written statement.” A day doesn’t go by that I don’t read several instances of a newsmaker, often a public official, responding to a reporter’s question by releasing a written statement. There are limited times when it’s […]
Forty years ago, I stumbled into one of Iowa’s great mysteries
Through sheer happenstance, I was the first journalist to stumble upon the scene of a tragic set of circumstances, that 40 years later is still a deep wound on our state that time has not healed. On the Sunday morning before Labor Day, my wife and I were driving to church in West Des Moines. […]