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Ron Burgundy Works at CNN

Wednesday, December 18, 2013

  Credibility in the news business is hard to get and easy to lose. But at CNN they’re giving it away.   Several of CNN’s major anchors did an advertisement for the new Will Ferrell movie “Anchorman 2,” about the …

Toys in the Attic

Friday, December 6, 2013

One of the stories in the news this Christmas is that there might be a shortage of toys. Hand-wringing business reporters say that because the stores were worried about a soft season, they ordered 2% fewer toys this year, which …

The Blackest Friday

Wednesday, November 27, 2013

   One of the darkest moments in American history came when the day after Thanksgiving was named “Black Friday”.   What used to be a day with little to do but eat leftovers and hang out with family has become …

Liar, Liar

Wednesday, November 13, 2013

The old joke in journalism is “if your mother says she loves you, check it out.” Reporters pride themselves on being skeptical of everything they’re told. People lie to us all the time. It’s a reporter’s job to smoke out …

ObamaCare Flashing 12:00

Wednesday, October 16, 2013

  If you have ever owned a computer, cellphone, or push-button telephone, you should feel sympathy for the people who rolled out the ObamaCare website. They’re taking a lot of heat for doing what everyone else in technology has done. …

The Message is the Medium

Friday, October 4, 2013

The federal shutdown is a study in what is known in Washington as “messaging”, the political practice in which words are used to influence the outcome of arguments without conveying information or truth. In messaging there is no right or …

The Worst Work of Journalism

Tuesday, September 17, 2013

Today at least a hundred reporters are doing the worst work of journalism. They are making phone calls and knocking on the doors of spouses, family, and friends of the 12 people killed yesterday in that shooting spree at the …

How to Cover a Western Wildfire

Tuesday, August 27, 2013

While Western forests burn through late summer, it occurred to me as a former Senior National Wildfire Correspondent, that it might be helpful to offer fellow television reporters advice and instruction on how to cover wildland fire.   One of …

How Was Your Flight?

Saturday, August 3, 2013

Never ask anyone “How was your flight?” The answer is that it was bad. I flew with United Airlines recently and they sent me an Email survey that was the corporate version of “How was your flight?” The letter from …

Where’s Waldo Snowden?

Sunday, June 23, 2013

Computer wizard Edward Snowden is leading American intelligence and law enforcement on a reality game of “Where’s Waldo?” Snowden flew out of Hong Kong to Moscow, and from there he’s headed to parts unknown. Our spooks know everything about what …