Questions the Press Should Ask http://www.NiemanWatchdog.org An opinion poll double take: On first blush, a McClatchy/Ipsos poll shows only a minority in favor of health care reform – but that's because many in the survey want stronger measures than Obama is seeking. http://www.niemanwatchdog.org/index.cfm?fuseaction=background.view/backgroundid=435 Fri, 05 Mar 2010 00:00 EST David Cay Johnston examines how a 1986 tax favor for IBM led a Texas man to crash his plane into an IRS office building 24 years later. He sees an early warning sign of deep trouble in America, rooted in Congress's abuse of its power to tax. http://www.niemanwatchdog.org/index.cfm?fuseaction=background.view/backgroundid=434 Wed, 03 Mar 2010 00:00 EST Nick Turse answers questions about his recent finding that there are nearly 400 U.S. and coalition military bases in Afghanistan, what that says about our occupation and our military strategy, and the indirect and direct costs to the American taxpayers. It's a big story most Americans know nothing about. http://www.niemanwatchdog.org/index.cfm?fuseaction=showcase.view/showcaseid=123 Mon, 01 Mar 2010 00:00 EST On the one hand, in wartime the news media serve the government by passing along its message; on the other hand, the media need to tell people what's really going on and what wars are about. Author Susan Brewer focuses on that dual role, and offers a line of questioning to help cut through the packaging. http://www.niemanwatchdog.org/index.cfm?fuseaction=ask_this.view/askthisid=446 Fri, 26 Feb 2010 00:00 EST During the Vietnam war an American army lieutenant colonel told George Wilson, ““Maybe if we can't explain this war, we shouldn't be here.” Wilson says that President Obama should substitute Afghanistan for Vietnam and take that message very seriously. http://www.niemanwatchdog.org/index.cfm?fuseaction=background.view/backgroundid=433 Fri, 26 Feb 2010 00:00 EST Congress needs to turn to public financing to restore its integrity and it's not likely to do that, writes Lawrence Lessig in the Nation. But something needs to be done, he writes, and the answer may lie in the long, difficult workings of a constitutional convention. http://www.niemanwatchdog.org/index.cfm?fuseaction=ask_this.view/askthisid=445 Sun, 21 Feb 2010 00:00 EST Andrew Kreig, who is forming a group to promote oversight of prosecutorial and judicial misconduct, says the former New York police commissioner was a victim of overly aggressive, improper tactics. http://www.niemanwatchdog.org/index.cfm?fuseaction=background.view/backgroundid=432 Fri, 19 Feb 2010 00:00 EST With the Senate in gridlock will the Democrats turn to a process that requires only a simple majority for passage, not a supermajority? If not, why not? And if they do, is there a June 15 deadline? http://www.niemanwatchdog.org/index.cfm?fuseaction=ask_this.view/askthisid=444 Mon, 15 Feb 2010 00:00 EST Efficient market theory dominated economic thinking from the days of Ronald Reagan to the collapse of 2008. It was the rationale for deregulation, the cause of a massive transfer of wealth and income from the middle class to a tiny number of the very rich. Now it is dead and gone but Republican politicians won't let go, and many in the media show no understanding of the issue. http://www.niemanwatchdog.org/index.cfm?fuseaction=background.view/backgroundid=431 Thu, 11 Feb 2010 00:00 EST Bruce Kushnick questions whether AT T and Verizon are trying to kill off the “plain old telephone service” that millions of Americans rely on. In a recent FCC filing cited by Kushnick, AT T stated that landline utilities are from a bygone era, and asked to be relieved of its obligations to service them. http://www.niemanwatchdog.org/index.cfm?fuseaction=ask_this.view/askthisid=443 Wed, 03 Feb 2010 00:00 EST The GAO showed that contractors' estimates have nothing to do with reality, and economic hard times may eventually force the President and Congress to rein in outrageously costly warships, planes and missile systems that don't work. But that time isn't here yet. http://www.niemanwatchdog.org/index.cfm?fuseaction=background.view/backgroundid=430 Tue, 02 Feb 2010 00:00 EST It's easy to find activism, impossible to find original intent behind the Roberts/Scalia group's ruling on corporate political spending. Martin Lobel suggests six sharp, practical steps to deal with it. http://www.niemanwatchdog.org/index.cfm?fuseaction=background.view/backgroundid=429 Tue, 26 Jan 2010 00:00 EST Ask Defense Secretary Gates: What is the threat that justifies spending $298.8 billion on 2,456 F-35s, or $122 million each, counting research and development costs? http://www.niemanwatchdog.org/index.cfm?fuseaction=ask_this.view/askthisid=442 Sat, 23 Jan 2010 00:00 EST Dan Froomkin explores the likelihood of an anemic recovery, a double dip recession, another stock market crash, more financial-sector follies, deficit hawks stifling growth, the death of the middle class as we know it, and/or other dire possibilities reporters should be writing about furiously. http://www.niemanwatchdog.org/index.cfm?fuseaction=background.view/backgroundid=427 Fri, 22 Jan 2010 00:00 EST Human life matters more than property, survivors of a catastrophe deserve our compassion and our understanding, and journalists live and die by words and ideas, writes disaster expert Rebecca Solnit. So why is so much media coverage out of Haiti focused on demonizing 'looters' who are taking necessary supplies to sustain their lives? http://www.niemanwatchdog.org/index.cfm?fuseaction=background.view/backgroundid=428 Fri, 22 Jan 2010 00:00 EST