SPJ national update: Do as I say, not as I do; "I hope it saves a life"; and there are more allegations where this came from. On Christmas Day, President Bush called for compassion toward the sick and suffering, urging Americans to volunteer to help the neediest among their fellow citizens. "The Christmas season fills our hearts with gratitude for the many blessings in our lives, and with those blessings comes a responsibility to reach out to others," he said in his weekly radio address. But in the two months leading up to Christmas Day, the Bush administration reduced by $600 million its contributions to global food aid programs aimed at helping millions of people climb out of poverty. Lisa Kuennen, a food aid expert at Catholic Relief Services, said 5 million-7 million people in Indonesia, Malawi and Madagascar, among other countries, will be affected. "We hired staff, signed agreements with governments and with local partners," she said. "We had approval for all of these programs, often a year in advance." More here. ... Spc. Thomas Wilson of Tennessee's 278th Regiment in the National Guard says he came up with the now-famous "armor" question for Pentagon chief Donald Rumsfeld himself, without the help of embed reporter Lee Pitts of the Chattanooga Times Free Press. And he adds, "If this is my 15 minutes of fame, I hope it saves a life." More here. ... Electoral problems prevented many thousands of Ohioans from voting Nov. 2. In Columbus, bipartisan estimates say that 5,000-15,000 frustrated voters turned away without casting ballots. The foul-ups appeared particularly acute in Democratic-leaning districts. More here and here.
SPJ national update II: More FCC values; political correctness trumps values at networks; and war trumps "values" in poll. The FCC recently punished Fox for its "sexually suggestive" flop "Married by America," saying it received 159 complaints. Except an FOI request revealed that there were only 90 complaints filed by 23 individuals, and 20 were copies of another complaint. So three people filed original complaints about a show, and the network got fined $1.2 million. More here. ... The United Church of Christ, a Protestant denomination with 1.3 million members, asked the federal government Dec. 9 to deny license renewals for Florida TV stations WFOR, a CBS affiliate, and NBC's WTVJ, whose parent companies refused to air a 30-second ad that highlights the church's acceptance of people regardless of race and sexual orientation. The networks said the ad is too controversial; the church says the stations are failing to provide viewers "suitable access" to an array of "social, political, esthetic, moral and other ideas and experiences." Last spring, when the spot was tested on a number of stations, including CBS and NBC affiliates, it produced no raging angst. See the ad at stillspeaking.com. More here and here. ... Exit polls Nov. 2 suggested that voters were most concerned with "moral values" as they re-elected George W. Bush president. However, in a nationwide Gallup Poll released Dec. 14, only one in 10 respondents answered values when asked what they consider "the most important problem facing this country today." Far ahead, with 23 percent, was the war in Iraq, followed by terrorism and the economy, both at 12 percent, followed by unemployment and values. More here.
SPJ national update III: Misinformation at the Pentagon; libel protection in California; and embarrassed silence at DOA. A two-part Washington Post probe Dec. 5 and 6 depicts the Pentagon as conducting a deliberate misinformation campaign surrounding the friendly-fire death of former football star Pat Tillman in Afghanistan. David Zucchino in the Dec. 6 Los Angeles Times also notes the changing Pentagon story and adds that even the "amended Pentagon conclusion is contradicted by Afghans who were there the night of April 22." Zucchino quotes Tillman's father: "The investigation is a lie. It's insulting to Pat." More here. ... Media outlets cannot be sued for defamation and libel for reporting stories based on public court records, even if the documents are old, the California Supreme Court ruled in a case concerning a man who sued a TV channel for dredging up his past. Thirteen years after pleading guilty to being an accessory to murder, the Discovery Channel aired a program in 2001 that retold the story behind the shooting of Steve Gates' employer. Gates sued for invasion of privacy and libel, saying he is no longer a public figure. More here. ... Secretary of Agriculture Ann Veneman had no immediate explanation of how Bush administration policies have taken American agriculture from a $13.6 billion trade surplus in 2001 to a flat line in four years. According to U.S. Department of Agriculture estimates released Nov. 22, 2005 will be the first year in nearly 50 that America will not turn an agricultural trade surplus. More here.
