Media: Chris Hayes Has Arrived with 'Up'

For an entertaining, informing discussion of the current issues with a liberal slant ...

Word of "Up w/Chris Hayes" has spread beyond a few hundred punk fans. In less than a year on television (and with a chirpy voice, a weakness for gesticulation and a tendency to drop honors-thesis words like "signifier" into casual conversation), Mr. Hayes has established himself as Generation Y's wonk prince of the morning political talk-show circuit.

"Up" comes off as a rebuke to traditional cable shout-fests like CNN's late "Crossfire." Thanks to its early weekend time slot, the program has the freedom to unwind over two hours each Saturday and Sunday. Guests are encouraged to go deep into the issues of the week, and not try to score cheap-shot points to win the debate.

It is a point that Mr. Hayes hammered home at 7:15 a.m. on a recent Saturday, when he strode into the green room off Studio 3A at 30 Rockefeller Center to fill in two guests, both college professors, on the ground rules.

"The first and foremost important rule of the show: we're not on television —- no talking points, no sound bites," he said, his hair still a bed-head tangle and his suit collar askew. "We have a lot of time for actual conversation. So actually listen, actually respond."

An hour later, as the cameras rolled, Mr. Hayes and his guests waded thigh-deep into an analysis of private equity and whether it is bad for the economy. At a table of wonks, Mr. Hayes, who studied the philosophy of mathematics at Brown, came off as the wonkiest as he deconstructed the budgetary implications of tax arbitrage. Opinions were varied and passionate, but there was no sniping, no partisan grandstanding.

For more, see Chris Hayes Has Arrived with 'Up' by Alex Williams, June 22, 2012 at NYTimes.com.

Healthcare: Distaste for Health Care Law Reflects Spending on Ads

National polls have consistently found the health care law has far more enemies than friends, ....

In all, about $235 million has been spent on ads attacking the law since its passage in March 2010, according to a recent survey by Kantar Media's Campaign Media Analysis Group. Only $69 million has been spent on advertising supporting it.

For more, see Distaste for Health Care Law Reflects Spending on Ads by Abby Goodnough, June 20, 2012 at NYTimes.com.

Politics: Meetings Indicate British Officials' Links to Murdochs

Cozy ...

As the phone hacking scandal struck the heart of British politics in recent weeks, one figure has been notably silent: the chancellor of the Exchequer, George Osborne, who, by several accounts, played a decisive role in bringing the former News of the World editor Andy Coulson into 10 Downing Street as a senior adviser. That move has deeply embarrassed the British government.

Pressure on Mr. Osborne mounted Tuesday as details of his extensive meetings with the Murdochs and leaders of the News Corporation's British subsidiary, News International, were released.

A diary posted on the official Web site of the Exchequer showed that his encounters continued even after a new police inquiry into hacking had begun, and as the government neared a crucial decision on the Murdochs' $12 billion bid, subsequently abandoned, to take complete control of British Sky Broadcasting, the country's dominant satellite broadcaster.

The posting of Mr. Osborne's meetings with News Corporation executives followed Mr. Cameron's disclosure that he had 26 meetings and social engagements with Rupert Murdoch, his son James and their lieutenants since taking office in May 2010. The Labour leader, Ed Miliband, has released his own list, showing 15 meetings or social contacts with News International executives over the same period.

According to the Exchequer's listing, which did not include interviews with journalists, Mr. Osborne met 10 times with the two Murdochs and their former lieutenant, Rebekah Brooks. These were among 16 meetings or social occasions Mr. Osborne attended at which News International executives were present — representing a third of all meetings he had with senior figures from all of Britain's media organizations. Mr. Coulson and Ms. Brooks, who resigned this month as chief executive of News International, are among a group of people who worked for News International and The News of the World who have been arrested in connection with the phone hacking case.

For more, see Meetings Indicate British Officials' Links to Murdochs by John F. Burns and Ravi Somaiya, July 26, 2011 at NYTimes.com.

Fox News: Stewart Says Politifact Says Fox Lies

It includes 2009's "lie of the year" (death panels) and 2010's "lie of the year" (government takeover of healthcare).

From Jon Stewart Trumpets False Fox News Statements Fact-Checked by Politifact (Video) by Katla Mcglynn, June 22, 2011 at The Huffington Post.

Media: FCC Report on Media Warns of Decline in Quality Local News

A new report from the Federal Communications Commission warned that the "independent watchdog function that the founding fathers envisioned for journalism" is at risk in local communities across the country.

... a 475-page report ... said there is a "shortage of local, professional, accountability reporting" that could lead to "more government waste, more local corruption," "less effective schools" and other problems.

Local TV is singled out in the report for not covering important issues enough. Although the number of hours of local news has increased over the last few years, too few stations "are investing in more reporting on critical local issues," the report said. Furthermore, the report said that although stations may be adding newscasts, they are doing it with fewer reporters.

Even with the additional newscasts, the stories often focus on crime and the reason for that has more to do with how cheap it is to cover crime stories than it does viewer demand.

For more, see FCC Report on Media Warns of Decline in Quality Local News by Joe Flint, June 9, 2011 at Company Town.

Media: Prognosticators to Listen to and Those to Ignore

Op-ed columnists and TV's talking heads build followings by making bold, confident predictions about politics and the economy. But rarely are their predictions analyzed for accuracy.

Now, a class at Hamilton College led by public policy professor P. Gary Wyckoff has analyzed the predictions of 26 prognosticators between September 2007 and December 2008. Their findings? Anyone can make as accurate a prediction as most of them if just by flipping a coin.

The students found that only nine of the prognosticators they studied could predict more accurately than a coin flip. Two were significantly less accurate, and the remaining 14 were not statistically any better or worse than a coin flip.

After [Paul] Krugman, the most accurate pundits were Maureen Dowd of The New York Times, former Pennsylvania Governor Ed Rendell, U.S. Senator Chuck Schumer (D-NY), and former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi — all Democrats and/or liberals. Also landing in the “Good” category, however, were conservative columnists Kathleen Parker and David Brooks, along with Bush Administration Treasury Secretary Hank Paulson. Left-leaning columnist Eugene Robinson of The Washington Post rounded out the “good” list.

Those scoring lowest — “The Ugly” — with negative tallies were conservative columnist Cal Thomas; U.S. Senator Lindsey Graham (R-SC); U.S. Senator Carl Levin (D-MI); U.S. Senator Joe Lieberman, a McCain supporter and Democrat-turned-Independent from Connecticut; Sam Donaldson of ABC; and conservative columnist George Will.

Landing between the two extremes — “The Bad” — were Howard Wolfson, communications director for Hillary Clinton's 2008 campaign; former Arkansas Governor Mike Huckabee, a hopeful in the 2008 Republican primary; former House Speaker Newt Gingrich, a Republican; Sen. John Kerry of Massachusetts, the Democratic nominee for president in 2004; liberal columnist Bob Herbert of The New York Times; Andrea Mitchell of NBC; New York Times columnist Tom Friedman; the late David Broder, former columnist for The Washington Post; Chicago Tribune columnist Clarence Page; New York Times columnist Nicholas Kristof; and Hillary Clinton.

[Emphasis added].

For more, see Claim: Krugman Is Top Prognosticator; Cal Thomas Is the Worst by Jim Romenesko, May 2, 2011 at Poynter.

Media: Crowd-Sourcing Coverage of Home Loan Modifications

Here's an interesting way to cover a news story: crowd-sourcing news coverage of home owners trying to use the Federal loan modification program.

[Propublica is] offering to set up our readers with local journalists (with the homeowner’s permission, of course). Often, the media can be the most effective recourse for homeowners who have nowhere else to turn.

See Reporting Matchmaker: Setting up Home Loan Modification Applicants with Local Journalists by Paul Kiel and Amanda Michel, Propublica, March 31, 2010.