J Summer 2007 Press/Politics News from the Joan Shorenstein Center on the Press, Politics and Public Policy John F. Kennedy School of Government, Harvard University From the Director Center Hosts Panel on Global Warming In recent and Media months, a cam- paign has been Times; Ira Flatow, host of NPR’s waged by Wall “Science Friday”; and John Hol- Street against dren, Teresa and John Heinz Pro- the New York fessor of Environmental Policy Times Com- and director of the Kennedy pany’s two- School’s program on Science, Alex S. Jones tiered stock Technology, and Public Policy. ownership. Shorenstein Center Director Some in the financial world, Alex Jones served as moderator. led by a Morgan Stanley money Panelists devoted a significant manager, have been asserting amount of the discussion to Ira Flatow and John Holdren that two-tiered ownership was debating the merits of journalis- unfair to many shareholders and The Shorenstein Center con- tic objectivity in the media’s inherently undemocratic. tributed to the Kennedy School’s coverage of climate change, In addition to the Times, this annual spring conference on May including what Blakemore called form of ownership is in place at 5 by hosting a panel discussion “the balance fallacy.” He empha- the Washington Post Company titled “The Role of the Media in sized that giving equal weight to and at Dow Jones, owner of The the Discussion of Global Warm- opposing views is important in Wall Street Journal, and it has ing.” The panel fit into the larger reporting on opinion-based allowed three families—the theme of the conference, titled issues, but not on event-based Sulzbergers, Grahams and Ban- “The Looming Crises: Can We stories such as global warming. crofts—to have ultimate control Act in Time?” The two-day con- Blakemore attributed the media’s of the companies, even though ference was designed to explore even-handedness toward the they don’t own most of the stock areas where change is critical to subject to the fact that “We were outright. avert large-scale public crises. too afraid as individual journal- In the case of the Times, the Panelists included Bill Blake- ists to decide for ourselves what Sulzberger family owns most of more, correspondent for ABC the scientists were saying.” the B stock, which elects a News; Robert Blendon, Professor Holdren expanded on that majority of the board, while of Health Policy and Political point, adding that there is no Morgan Stanley and others who Analysis; Cornelia Dean, senior credible evidence to support the have invested in the Times own science writer for The New York Continued on page 3 A stock, which is represented on the board by a minority of board members. Task Force Issues Reports on Use of Morgan Stanley and some other financial institutions that News in the Classroom own blocks of Times stock want The Shorenstein Center “troubling” questions about the that to change and the family recently released two reports on quality of civics education in has thus far rebuffed their the use of news in the nation’s America. demands. classrooms. The first, Manda- The second report, The Inter- So, what’s right here? One tory Testing and News in the net and the Threat It Poses to person, one vote? Should the Schools, suggests that an empha- Local Media: Lessons from family give up its control in sis on preparing students for News in the Schools, found that the interest of democratic standardized tests leaves little while about half the teachers ownership? time for the use of news in the Continued on page 13 classroom, a situation that raises Continued on page 12 www.shorensteincenter.org Press/Politics 2 The Joan Shorenstein Center on the Press, Politics and Public Policy Southern California’s Institute studied the Times’ credibility for Justice and Journalism. Her and accomplishments. Mr. Siegal Fellows work has also appeared in The was a member of the 1971 edit- Washington Monthly, The New ing team that produced the Republic, Salon and National Times’ Pulitzer Prize winning Fall 2006 Journal, among other publica- coverage of the Pentagon Papers. tions. Born in the south of In 1999 he co-authored The New France, Franke-Ruta was raised York Times Manual of Style and Cabot Fellow Jill in Mexico, New Mexico and Usage with William G. Con- Carroll is a staff New York City. She graduated nolly. Press treatment of writer for The magna cum laude from Harvard national security information Christian Sci- College in 1997. Her Shorenstein was the focus of his research at ence Monitor. Center research examined the the Shorenstein Center. Siegal’s From October representation of women in opin- paper can be found at 2003 through ion journalism. www.shorensteincenter.org. May 2004 Ms. Carroll lived in Iraq, freelancing William Powers Spring 2007 for various publications and cov- is the media ering daily news for Ansa, an Ital- critic for ian newswire. She returned to National Journal Linda Douglass, Baghdad in January 2005 and magazine, a longtime ABC began working for The Christian weekly in Wash- and CBS politi- Science Monitor. Before obtaining ington, D.C. He cal correspon- her current position, Ms. Carroll was previously a dent, was the worked for the States News Ser- staff writer for The Washington first Kalb Fellow vice, Wall Street Journal, and Jor- Post, a columnist for The New at the Shoren- dan Times covering a range of Republic and a U.S. Senate aide. stein Center. topics including the FCC, higher His writing has also appeared in Douglass retired from ABC News education, health, sports and The Atlantic Monthly, The Los in December 2005, where she business. Ms. Carroll graduated Angeles Times and many other worked for nine years as a corre- from the University of Massachu- publications. He is a two-time spondent in the Washington, setts with a B.A. in journalism in winner of the National Press D.C., bureau. She became the 1999. Her research project ana- Club’s Arthur Rowse Award for network’s congressional corre- lyzed the decline of foreign Press Criticism. His research at spondent in 1998 and was named bureaus in the wake of changes in the Shorenstein Center centered chief Capitol Hill correspondent the newspaper industry. Carroll’s on “the death of paper” and its in December 2000. Before joining research paper can be found in the implications for media content. ABC News, she covered politics publications section of our web- and general assignment stories site, www.shorensteincenter.org. Allan M. Siegal, for CBS News beginning in 1993. Edelman Family Douglass reported for the CBS Garance Franke- Fellow, com- News political unit, where she Ruta is a senior pleted his career established a feature focusing on editor at The with The New campaign finance entitled “Fol- American York Times in low the Dollar.” Douglass is the Prospect, where 2006 after more recipient of numerous awards, she covers elec- than four including the 2000 National toral politics and decades of service. Upon his Press Foundation’s Everett Dirk- writes for the retirement he was the Times’ sen Award, for her coverage of magazine’s group blog, “Tapped.” assistant managing editor and Congress. She examined network She was previously a senior standards editor. In response to and cable news coverage of the writer and news editor at City the Times’ 2003 Jayson Blair immigration debate. Paper, Washington, D.C.’s, alter- scandal, Mr. Siegal headed an native weekly newspaper. From investigative committee which 2004–2005 Ms. Franke-Ruta was recommended measures to pre- a Security and Liberty Post-9/11 vent a recurrence. He also Fellow with the University of directed a task force which www.shorensteincenter.org Press/Politics The Joan Shorenstein Center on the Press, Politics and Public Policy 3 Michael Maier, Visiting Fellows New Shorenstein founder and CEO of the German Center Scholarship company Blog- Ellen Goodman, form Publishing, the Pulitzer Director Alex Jones has cre- was the Shoren- Prize winning ated the Shorenstein Center stein Center’s journalist, was a Scholarship in Press and Politics. Sagan Fellow. visiting Fellow The scholarship is to be awarded The Austrian born journalist at the Shoren- annually to an individual who worked as editor for Die Presse, a stein Center. has a proven interest in issues Vienna daily, for Berliner Goodman began concerning the press and politics. Zeitung, Stern magazine and Net- her career as a researcher for It will support a student who has zeitung, Germany’s first newspa- Newsweek magazine before already been admitted to the per exclusively published on the becoming a reporter for the Kennedy School and who wishes Internet. Maier also worked as a Detroit Free Press in 1965. She to pursue graduate study in the columnist for the Austrian daily joined The Boston Globe as a field of press, politics and public Der Standard and is a regular lec- reporter in 1967 and became a policy. As a demonstration of turer at the journalism schools in full-time columnist in 1974. A their commitment, successful Graz and Vienna. He graduated 1963 graduate of Radcliffe Col- applicants are expected to be pro- from Graz University with a lege, Goodman returned to Har- fessionally employed in the field degree in law and music. Maier’s vard in 1973 as a Nieman Fellow. for three years after graduation. research at the Shorenstein Cen- Goodman has published many The Center received over ter examined the changes in the books, including six collections ninety applications and selected media industry and in politics of her columns. A syndicated Aram Hur, a graduate of Stanford due to blogs, user-generated con- columnist with the Washington University.