Reporters at major newspapers and magazines are hard to reach by telephone. Today it is increasingly hard to converse with them about timely scoops, leads, gaps in coverage, and corrections to published articles. We just started a website: Reporter’s Alert. From time to time, we will use Reporter’s Alert to present suggestions for important reporting on topics that are either not covered or not covered thoroughly. Reporting that just nibbles on the periphery won’t attract much public attention or be noticed by decision-makers.
With all the attention on Senator Joe Manchin’s veto of President Biden’s infrastructure and social safety net proposals, reporters should dig deep into the total unanimity of 50 Republican Senators, especially among the five GOP Senators not running for re-election. Why no dissenters? What are the pressures? Who is wavering? And what are the Democrats…
-Much reporting is needed on the contracting out of government functions on a massive scale of federal, state and local governments. The federal government provides summaries of these contracts but, despite bipartisan support in Congress, still does not provide the full text of this trillion dollar outsourcing. That effort has stalled in Congress due to…
Apparently there is a big story down in Beaumont about a three month Exxon Mobile lockout of 600+ workers at its biggest U.S. refinery. The dispute is not about economics, it’s about workplace safety. Top Exxon executives running the lockout. Bigger strategy anticipated around Exxon facilities. Does this story interest you? For more information call…
The unexamined world of mass advertising undergirds corporate power (e.g., Facebook, Google), corrupts media, irritates people no end with its saturation propensity, has anti-competitive maneuvers, makes a mockery of the public’s airwaves and public broadcasting and continues its ages-old deceptions, lying and betraying consumers’ trust, with little FTC et al enforcement. Very inviting for reporters…
The U.S. exits Afghanistan and closes major bases. Americans need to know why their trillions of dollars, tens of thousands of soldiers, the most modern military equipment, and 400,000 Afghan government soldiers are losing to 35,000 Taliban, with no air force, navy, or heavy weapons. Vietnam all over again. Only this time, Congress doesn’t even…
1. Jamie Dimon, the CEO of JP Morgan Chase, has just reported staggering quarterly earnings. This achievement, no doubt assisted by policies of the Federal Reserve, makes the following statement by him on January 21, 2021, a wonderful opportunity for reportorial follow up: “I’ve been to a lot of meetings with presidents and prime ministers…
1. Among the many reports on the defeat of workers trying to form a union in Bessemer, Alabama’s Amazon warehouse, there was little inquiry into why labor – after a strenuous effort by the Retail, Wholesale and Department Store Union (RWDSU) – lost by about a two to one margin with about half the workers…
1. Over the past decade the subordination, on a grand scale, of revenue-based spending to debt-incurring spending, has steadily evolved. In recent months, the pace has quickened. This kind of spending has become an increasingly bipartisan practice. Since the Covid-19 pandemic started the federal government has approved spending nearly five trillion dollars relating to pandemic…
1. In recent years we have read about massive hacking of major databases at major retail chains (Target etc.), the federal civil service, national security agencies, credit card companies, and the list goes on. Tens of millions of people have had their personal files invaded by these mostly unknown remote hackers. These reports are accompanied…
There are some fine reporters, like David Fahrenthold of the Washington Post, Charlie Savage of the New York Times, and David Brancaccio of NPR, who do pick up their phones or promptly return calls. When I asked Fahrenthold why he responds to calls he replied that that was how he gets stories. Years ago, that…
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