I was asked to give a speech this morning at a journalism conference in Washington sponsored by the Federal Trade Commission. The topic, as it so often seems to be these days, is what can be done to save journalism? Since Rupert Murdoch was scheduled to address the conference a little before me, I thought this would be a good time to take a look at Murdoch's increasingly bellicose war against new media sites that aggregate the news, the increasingly desperate revenue models being discussed for online news, and what, in fact, needs to be done to ensure that journalism will not only survive, but thrive. The new paths to media success are still being charted, and much remains uncertain. But this much is clear: we can't use an analog map and expect to find our way in a digital world.
After the Bush years of outright lies and systematic deception, we now have Obama plumbing new depths as he tortures the very language itself. 1984 here we are.
Biden deserves significant credit for key parts of the president's plan. According to a senior White House source, the vice president believes that the president's review has produced a sound strategy.
President Obama has finally laid out his strategy for Afghanistan. Unfortunately, he did so without using the word "veteran" and without articulating any back-end support for our returning troops.
Obama's new plan is that we're stuck in Afghanistan forever. The good news is that Folgers Coffee is bringing its boys home. They've made a new version of their classic Christmas ad.
Who was the last soldier to die for the Vietnam mistake? And what can we learn from that example?
High-profile clemency cases like Maurice Clemmons, while tragic, are ridiculously atypical of the cases that usually come to the attention of parole boards and chief executives.
Where's the antiwar movement and the marches and the organizing and the protesting? Where are all those well-funded groups that protested George W. Bush's war policy?
The fever of denialism is natural. Climate change is so far outside our experience that is seems intuitively untrue, wrong, or even mad. I desperately wish the deniers were right.
Those who argue that AT&T, Verizon and, yes, Comcast, should have control over the Internet will have an even larger barrier to surmount as the economic might of the new media giant becomes apparent.
Young, idealistic, and dedicated cadets need no convincing by their commander-in-chief. It's the rightly skeptical American people who truly need convincing.
The ad industry is being redefined, but it's not a time for novices. We're going to have to capitalize on the best of the past and apply it to the best future.
By his silence, Tiger Woods is breaking every rule in PR, crisis communications and reputation management. Woods has to finish this story, making this hero's tale whole and satisfying, both for him and for us.
The traditional "high priests of journalism" -- newspaper and magazine editors -- controlled what was covered. No more, or at least not in online news.
I first became an advocate for people with AIDS on Thanksgiving, 1984 in New York City. I wrote this story in remembrance of the many brilliant young people whose lives slipped away in those early days.
The Jobs Summit will involve lots of talking and picture-taking to try to make it look as if the administration is actually taking steps to solve the massive unemployment problem. It won't result in a single job.
Obama has promised to finally begin enforcing antitrust laws to prevent unreasonable consolidation of market power. If ever a media deal posed such a threat, this is it.
Tiger Woods, who has been tight-lipped about the odd occurrence at his home last week, has now publicly displayed disappointment about his wife's club selection.
Jacqueline Marie Leo wasn't expected to run magazines or write books. She was expected to learn how to type and be a secretary. She did learn how to type but failed at making a career of it.
President Obama now has a difficult sales job to perform. In essence, his message will be: we need to get in deeper to get out of Afghanistan sooner. He's right.
Huckabee is disgusted by some in the pundit business -- many on the right -- who are attacking his clemency decision. One wonders if he should also be disgusted by his own pundit remarks following Ted Kennedy's death.
In places like Phoenix, 54% of homeowners with mortgages have negative equity. That's about half a million underwater mortgages, more than the combined totals in Texas and New York state, where 10 times as many people live.
