Here's an idea worth supporting: The Freedom Journalism School is a bold new program that will train 50 citizen journalists and bloggers from the South, giving them the tools and skills needed to carry out in-depth investigative journalism. As our corporate news media continues to deteriorate because ratings and profit have become more important than informing the public, there is a void that needs to be filled. Democracy cannot work unless the public is properly informed. According to their website, this is one of the reasons why The Freedom Journalism School was started:"The media's fading commitment to public interest and investigative journalism to put a spotlight on injustice and hold the powerful accountable."
The project is modeled after the Freedom Schools of the civil rights movement. These schools taught children the value of asking the important questions, not just learning facts and figures, so students could become agents for change. In our local media and blogosphere we could really benefit from more citizens asking excellent questions that deserve to be answered, and holding our elected officials accountable. Don't let big corporate interests stifle debate or block reform on important issues. Speaking truth to power will light the way to a better future for all of us. If you would like to support this program and find out more information, here's a link: Facing South
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40 comments:
"to put a spotlight on injustice and hold the powerful accountable."
Hey they stole your mission :)
That's okay by us, we wish more outfits would steal it, and apply it.
Hey, good to see the Liberals from the South taking action. How about that Rep. Alan Grayson from Florida speaking out boldly on the importance of the public option!
A Star is Born
bold new program that will train 50 citizen journalists and bloggers from the South, giving them the tools and skills needed to carry out in-depth investigative journalism.
i propose that this blog provide training for our local bloggers and reporters
My hope is this effort trains bloggers from all sections of the political spectrum. The harsh reality is crooked politicians come from both conservative and liberal camps. Root out all the bastards.
Merci.
We're very proud of our investigative journalism here at LVS. Possibly you've seen this stunning (and exclusive) LVS exposé? It's always worth repeating and re-reading.
THE UGLY TRUTH ABOUT BERNIE O'HARE
Part 1: Overview
Part 2: George Usry
Part 3: Lucille White
Part 4: Still Duped By O'Hare?
ATTENTION LOCAL ELECTED OFFICIALS & NOMINEES:
Why is Bernie O'Hare Defiling Sheena Villa?
Find out, and start avoiding O'Hare like the plague he is, or you may lose your next election ...
i couldn't care less about o'hare i was rfeferring to your columns on jim martin
http://bloggingdottie.blogspot.com/2009/
10/gentleman-wink-wink-jim-martin.html
Merci, they're all exclusives too ;D
Here's That Link
12:49 (you snuck in there), agreed, the R's don't have a monopoly on crookedness, hard as they try.
My favorite LVS exposay (for now).
For sheer penetrating insight (from the acclaimed LVS archives) tough to beat this one ...
Oui and Merci.
The school is a great idea, but I'd think that a lot of journalists already share those ideals (hopefully). Many of the conglomerates they work for, though, emphasize making a profit and writing stories that will sell. When these students graduate, where are they going to work? There need to be more outlets committed to investigative journalism (in addition to schools like the Freedom Journalism School). Otherwise, these graduates will have to compromise on their ideals just like other reporters before them.
Excellent point, and all the more reason(s) for our mainstream media to reload as not-for-profit entities.
How To Save The News
We wrote a post "Newspapers as NonProfits" in May of 2009.
Here's a link
Not surprised, you're always ahead of the curve. I rely on LVS to be part of the solution and not part of the problem.
Well-said and we'll never betray your trust.
Merci :)
WORTH HIGHLIGHTING DEPARTMENT
From: How To Save The News
The costs of letting our journalistic institutions decay aren't visible like collapsed bridges or tent cities, but they're just as dire. A thriving news media, which America is in real danger of losing, is the unspoken assumption behind not only the First Amendment but the whole idea of self-government. It shouldn't seem radical to expect the same government that recognizes the freedom of the press to also ensure the survival of the press.
----------------------------
Total federal support for American public broadcast media in 2007 was about $480 million. That might seem sufficient or even impressive until you compare it with the BBC, which serves a nation with one-fifth the US population but which received the equivalent of $5.6 billion in government money in 2007. When it comes to public media, the United States is decisively outspent by the governments of most other major democracies. Japan, whose population is less than half the size of the United States', spent the equivalent of $6.8 billion for public broadcasting in 2007; Germany, with one-third the size, spent about $11 billion; and Canada, a tenth the size, spent $898 million. Even Denmark and Ireland, with populations smaller than New York City, far outspent the United States per capita, with respective budgets equivalent to $673 million and $296 million.
The amount the government now sets aside for public broadcast media is about what it costs the military to occupy Iraq for two and a half days. Taking into account the hundreds of billions lavished on the interim survival of our elite financial institutions, funding our news infrastructure won't be a hardship. Just a small fraction of the $45 billion--that's billion with a "b"--Citigroup alone has received since October 2008 would give NPR and PBS all the money they need.
Think of all the good stuff we could buy with OUR MONEY, i.e., with our tax dollars, if we stopped pissing it away on war, waste, and corruption. We could fund universal (free) healthcare for everybody and pay the salaries of tens ofd thousands of growling watchdog reporters out of "petty cash." Not to mention building brand new infrastructure stuff like new roads and bridges and electrical grids that keep working when it snows, etc.
I'm thinking ...
> Universal (free) Education (pre-K to PhD)
> The Arts
> Genocide Interventions (Darfur)
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This is a really terrific post.
Thanks for reading and commenting!
Anon 8:22 I agree, think about all the good stuff we could be funding. But unfortunately there are too many Americans who immediately cry "government takeover" and I don't want the government in my life, blah, blah, blah. If the big corporate media had more competition from PBS and NPR type journalists, then maybe that would keep them more honest. It's similar to how a public option in healthcare would keep big private insurance companies honest, lower costs. There is no big, bad government takeover, but some misinformed people, even our Senators and Representatives (even Democrats) don't understand how it works. Too much wingnut crap out there in the news media.
"I don't want the government in my life, blah, blah, blah."
Let's do away with the military then. And Medicare. And Social Security.
Proud to whore your dead daughter?
You people are not journalists, you are idiots
Woo Hoo.
Thanks, Foo.
Readers, according to our *District Court-Approved SiteMeter(R), the nasty coward commenting anonymously at 6:48am and defiling our daughter is talentless flip-flopper and whopper turd CHRIS CASEY obviously reacting w/ rage to this week's BNN rankings.
Chris, FYI, you will face grave consequences for this. When you least expect it. Not a threat.
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Time of Visit > Oct 18 2009 6:47:11 am
*District Court-Approved in Wind Gap PA, only
I wonder if ("God will judge you") Casey posted that hateful anon comment before or after church this morning? Also since when are PoliBlog, Ramblings, and Inclusion "liberal" blogs? All 3 goofs (plus Molovinsky) pander to the fringe right just like the Morning Call.
We're quite certain that Faux Christian Chris "anonymous" Casey in his 6:48am comment was voicing the foaming at the mouth frustration of our entire local Morning Call-affiliated NeoCon blogosphere upon seeing the new BNN Ratings this morning ...
LVS #1 in PA in Liberal Influence
LVS #1 in PA in Per Post Influence
LVS #2 in PA, ALL CATEGORIES = #1 in Lehigh Valley
Read it and weep again :)
Oopsie.
Hi Villas,
I can't believe all you've had to put up with. First Sheena's death, and now all those awful comments people leave on your blog and elsewhere. I don't know if I could put up with half of what you've put up with. Well, I suspect I couldn't. You're an inspiration.
Congrats on the BNN rankings.
When I read articles online, it sometimes looks like many journalists are nothing more than note-takers these days. They just repeat what they hear, because they're under constant deadline pressure to submit their articles for the next day's edition.
Journalists need to add value. They need to provide context and research facts, make people aware of the underlying issues. This has become even more important now that most of the media is so polarized between Republicans and Democrats and everyone spins what everyone else is saying. I hope the new program you describe will help achieve that.
Thanks, anon 2:00.
With the perfectly legitimate complaints we have about DA Jim Martin, and The Morning Call "newspaper," we continue to be mildly surprised at how much we continue to be punished for speaking out against the crooked and incompetent powers that be around here.
Inspiration-wise, we hope that people don't see our battles and think, whoa, better to keep quiet ... but rather that they think, hey if The Villas can do it we can too, and in fact (like how the Villas think) we have a civic duty to speak truth to power. And better yet, YELL it. Over & Over & Over. Fuck them.
Merci about BNN. We're very proud of being #1 week after week after week.
"Journalists need to add value. They need to provide context and research facts, make people aware of the underlying issues." -Anon 3:09
Yep, agreed. And for example, if I may use our O'Hare exposé as an example ... we exposed here at LVS that Bernie O'Hare has a shameful history of purposefully sabotaging other people's civil litigation w/ evil intent-- that is, for the sheer sadistic pleasure of hurting an already suffering, grief-stricken family. O'Hare did this to his own client, an African-American man first screwed by Bethlehem Steel and then double-screwed by O'Hare, George Usry, and O'Hare did the same thing to the widow (and 3 fatherless children) of Gerald White, Lucille White.
Revealing O'Hare's sadistic "past" really put O'Hare's two recent public threats to sabotage our daughter Sheena's civil litigation in a brightly lit-up CONTEXT-- and that is, for Bernie O'Hare, lusting after sabotaging Sheena's civil litigation was just evil sadist business as usual for him. This is what O'Hare does. He goes after those who are already hurting real bad and tries to push them over the edge of psychic pain.
Why is Bernie O'Hare Defiling Sheena Villa?
Pretty excellent investigative journalism, if we must say so ourselves.
And keep watching to see who ends up going over the cliff (not a threat).
At his "Troll Blog, civil litigation saboteur O'Hare goes to great lengths to try and convince people that we got $0 in our civil litigation.
Q. Who else would be so mean-spirited to do this, other than someone who was highly invested, emotionally, in wanting to see us "lose?"
On a related subject, a confidential agreement prohibits Sheena's family from discussing the disbursement details of the jury's $3.1 million damages award to us so please connect the fairly obvious dots yourself, thanks
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