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NeverSeconds blogger Martha Payne school dinner photo ban lifted

Martha’s NeverSeconds blog started as a writing project with her dad

The council’s decision to impose the ban came after the Daily Record newspaper published a photograph of Martha alongside chef Nick Nairn under the headline “Time to fire the dinner ladies.”

Speaking on BBC Radio’s Good Morning Scotland programme Mr Payne said his [...]

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9-Year-Old Who Changed School Lunches Silenced By Politicians

This young blogger has learned a very important lesson about power and privilege. I’m sure the story does not end here.

We anguish about getting kids to be enthusiastic about healthy, sustainable food — to not prefer the bad stuff, not waste the good stuff, and not be entitled little monsters who whine about when [...]

Ethics | History | Humanities | Journalism | Politics | Rhetoric

AP apologizes for firing reporter over WWII scoop

Great little story that I’m saving for a future “history of journalism” module.

The German surrender happened at 2:41 a.m. on May 7, 1945.

Kennedy was one of 17 reporters taken to witness the ceremony. He and the others were hastily assembled by military commanders, then pledged to secrecy by a U.S. general while the [...]

Culture | Current_Events | Ethics | Journalism | Politics

Report: Only 14.5 Percent of People Have Access to Free Press

I already knew that a free press is precious, but I had no idea it was so rare..

A Washington-based human rights organization says that, overall, press freedom around the world stopped declining in 2011. But while there are positive changes in some countries, the overall picture is not too bright. Last year, less than [...]

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Dan Rather Outspoken: Still Battling CBS News

I knew Rather was still fighting, but I didn’t know what he’s saying now about the Killian memos that ended his career:

A CBS-commissioned investigation of the disaster—headed by Richard Thornburgh, U.S. attorney general when Bush’s father was president, and Associated Press chief executive Louis D. Boccardi—faulted Rather and his top producer, Mary Mapes, among [...]

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A Very Pricey Pineapple – NYTimes.com

An American child could go to a public school run by Pearson, studying from books produced by Pearson, while his or her progress is evaluated by Pearson standardized tests. The only public participant in the show would be the taxpayer.

If all else fails, the kid could always drop out and try to get a [...]

Academia | Culture | Ethics | History | Journalism | Politics | Social_Software | Technology | Writing

Woodward and Bernstein: Could the Web generation uncover a Watergate-type scandal? – The Washington Post

Yale journalism students say they could have easily broken the Watergate scandal themselves, simply by Googling for keywords.

“This is Yale,” Bernstein said gravely.

“That somehow the Internet was a magic lantern that lit up all events,” Woodward said. “And they went on to say the political environment would be so different that Nixon wouldn’t [...]

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Shepard Fairey Pleads Guilty Over Obama ‘Hope’ Image

The street artist Shepard Fairey, whose “Hope” campaign poster of Barack Obama became an enduring symbol of his last presidential campaign, pleaded guilty Friday to a charge stemming from his misconduct in trying to bolster claims in [...]

Current_Events | Government | Journalism | Politics | Rhetoric

Sale of Philadelphia newspapers raises bias concerns

If political powerbrokers want to buy newspapers, what are the obligations of the journalists involved? What if the journalists, as a group, tend to agree with the politics of the purchasers?

“Nobody wants to stifle news,” said Mr. Rendell, a two-term mayor of Philadelphia in the 1990s.

Journalists at both papers are so concerned that [...]

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At Dogs Against Romney rally, lots of humans against Romney

When reporters report on what reporters are doing, you know it’s a non-story. The group was set to make its biggest news splash yet on Tuesday—holding a rally outside the Westminster Kennel Dog Club Show at Madison Square Garden in Midtown Manhattan—this time with real dogs. The event attracted at least 15 reporters, 10 photographers [...]