There is now ample evidence supporting early claims by Toyota that, essentially, its vehicles were not at fault for a number of crashes last year. Unfortunately, the toll taken on the auto company has been significant both in terms of cost and reputation. A few have commented about the situation with marvelous insight: James Donnelly’s [...]
December 31, 2009
Solutions “Jimmy is 8 years old and a third-generation heroin addict, a precocious little boy with sandy hair, velvety brown eyes and needle marks freckling the baby-smooth skin of his thin brown arms.” – Janet Cooke, Washington Post, September 29, 1980 Promoted by her Washington Post Editor, Bob Woodward, reporter Janet Cooke was nominated for [...]
December 25, 2009
To public officials, the role of the news business is obvious. We see the process of information shaping first hand, warts and all. But ask a journalist their perspective of their role, and the reaction will likely be different. A public official being openly critical of the news media is quickly spun by journalists to mean that reporters must being doing the right thing. Conversely, journalists keeping public officials on their toes is considered a noble, expected calling of the news business, one that media outlets use to promote upcoming news. The logic is fascinating.
December 4, 2009
The structure of the anointed “If one morning I walked on top of the water across the Potomac River, the headline that afternoon would read: ’President Can’t Swim.’” –Lyndon B. Johnson Part of the problem with the press is the constructed dichotomy wherein the self-appointed “watchdogs” believe themselves to be the most capable to fulfill [...]
May 21, 2009
Why the News Media Attack Corporate Executives Read Part I here. The reason for such outcry about CEO behavior is not because what CEOs do is arrogant – it just appears that way. It is not because their salaries are out of line – if that were the case, celebrities’ salaries, which are higher on [...]
February 16, 2011