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This is a NEWS Headline, Ledger?!?
Look at the kind of crap that is helping beef up the "news headlines" over on Gannett's local "information center," now that the Ledger is, uh, moving beyond the idea of doing newspapers. Folks, this is a press release posted verbatim in the breaking news area—and note that it is not tagged as a press release or a "statement" or as quoted "verbatim," as we do when we put press releases (about important stuff, but I quibble) in the Noise section.
The Granddaddy Scandal of Them All?
Get ready. This one's coming, and it's coming hard:
Former Bush Flack: Iraq War ‘Not Necessary'
The bombshell of the day is former Bush press secretary Scott McClelland's new book, which is very frank about Bush selling the war in Iraq with "lies." AP reports:
Rudy Giuliani, Family (Values) Man
The "family values" mantra of the national Republican Party must really be in trouble when this is one of their front-runners:
No Mention of Peters in Ledger Editorial?
OK, this is weird. The Clarion-Ledger's Jerry Mitchell reports that Ed Peters may have taken a million-dollar bribe from the Scruggs clan to get Judge Bobby DeLaughter to rule in their favor. Then, today, the Ledger writes a predictable deer-in-the-headlights editorial about how all this mess means that "the state's system begs reform." (Not mentioning had badly our "watchdog" press needs to reform.) The editorial re-states the basic facts so far, starting with an incoherent lead section:
Gannett Papers Facing Staff, er, ‘Mojo' Loyalty Issues
A journalism professor published interesting column in Seven Days, the alternative paper in Burlington, Vt., about their Gannett daily, ironically (to us) called the Burlington Free Press. The column explores why so many employees are leaving that daily. The paper here has similar problems with turnover; Laura Hipp, who had been covering the Legislature, announced she is moving to Texas this fall. And here in Jackson, Gannett recently stopped giving employees free coffee. Some of this sounds awfully familiar with our own former-newspaper-turned-"information center," eh? (Remember, all Free Press references are to the Burlington daily!)
Harriett Miers Supported Ban on Most Abortions
AP is reporting:
Supreme Court nominee Harriet Miers pledged support in 1989 for a constitutional amendment banning abortions except when necessary to save the life of the mother, according to material given to the Senate on Tuesday.
Barbour Touts Tort Reform; Insurance Reformers Answer
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Today, Gov. Haley Barbour held a press conference to declare a victory for his controversial tort-reform legislation. Barbour's statement is verbatim below; a PDF of a 10-page response by the Americans for Insurance Reform is linked here.
Wired Bloggers Picking Apart Jackson Spycopter
After the JFP's Adam Lynch wrote the only article that actually raised questions about Jackson's new helicopter, apparently purchased by Jim Barksdale and flown by his business partner's son, Coyt Bailey, a Wired magazine blogger picked up our story. Now, the citizen journalists over there are picking it apart, raising some very intriguing questions. Be sure to note the FAA regulations that they're discussing. Please post any comments under Adam's original story so the Wired bloggers can see them, too.
False Accusations Against JFP on SuperTalk
Todd Stauffer was on SuperTalk Mississippi (we're ashamed to say we don't know the frequency -- 97.3 FM, maybe?) at 8:05am on Tuesday to talk to Paul Gallo about the Clarion-Ledger's scheme to control free publications in the Metro. But instead of sticking to the non-partisan topic of free enterprise, Gallo kept trying to bait Todd into an argument about "liberals." Then Mike Lott, the legislator from Petal, called into falsely accuse the JFP of running a page 1 story about him, calling him a racist. When Todd said we didn't do that, Gallo said that, yes, indeed it was the Jackson Free Press. Then Donna Ladd called in to set the record straight, reportedly causing Gallo & Co. to launch into personal attacks against the JFP and its staff the next morning. The following thread contains more information on this little far-right temper tantrum.
Yes, We're Still Taking Donations for the July 9 JFP Chick Ball—Donate Until July 8!
We hope you'll be a part of the biggest JFP Chick Ball ever on July 9, 2011, at Hal & Mal's (see http://www.jfpchickball.com). The silent auction is already huge; click here to see the list of donations to date. Many folks are asking if they can still donate; absolutely! You can still donate art, gifts and money (sponsorships start at $50 and get you into the VIP Chick-A-BOOM reception from 6 to 8 p.m.). Just drop your donation off at the JFP offices from 9 to 6 p.m. Tuesday, July 5, through Friday, July 8, or bring directly to Hal & Mal's after 2 p.m. on that Friday where we'll be setting up the silent auction. Make all checks out to Center for Violence Prevention, please.
Flashback: JFP Cover Story, March 19, 2003
As the Jackson Free Press prepared to go to press five years ago this week, we knew that the U.S. invasion of Iraq was immiment. Even as most of the media supported Bush's war, and dissent was unpopular, our consciences told us to speak out against the war, even though we were only a few months old. So we pulled our cover story (about Chief Robert Moore and Jackson crime hysteria; ran the next week), and published this piece instead, "13 Myths About War in Iraq." The cover was an overlay of the word "WAR" over photographs Jaro Vacek had taken of small, local anti-war vigils.
Awards, Awards, Awards: Cheers to JFP Staff, Freelancers
Yesterday was a very good day for the JFP staff, and especially our writers and designers. First we found out that we are finalists for three Association of Alternative Newsmedia awards. Being a finalist for AAN awards (and the others we found out about yesterday) means that we will find out in a few weeks what our placement is, and we are grateful whether we win first place or honorable mention! And cheers to all the other AAN (and Green Eyeshade) finalists; we are humbled to be in the honor of such talented people.
Ignorant Fools Pushing Obama Citizenship Rumors
With the country facing problems of epic proportions, dumbass conspiracy theorists who have nothing better to do are pushing the debunked theory that Barack Obama is lying about his U.S. citizenship. Per Politico:
Haley Barbour v. Oliver Diaz?
Scott Horton has a compelling piece in Harper's magazine right now about the Oliver Diaz case, and whether it was "politically motivated and directed"—and driven by none other than Gov. Haley Barbour.
Worshiping ‘The Gods of Business'
I just finished listening to The Gods of Business on "Speaking of Faith." This was a *great* program, and very thought-provoking about how far the business world, over all, has gotten from basic morality and ethics. Here's the basic description:
Blue Angels (and Atheists) By the Bay
Whoa. I'm on a short break from this Web conference we're attending in San Francisco. (BTW, all, the iTodd did an excellent presentation and wowed them this a.m. Be proud. Very proud.) Anyway, I'm back up in our room (which turned out to be a suite on the 26th/top floor; Todd must present more often!) looking out on half of the city and the Bay through a 40-foot-wide or so window. It's gorgeous.
Honor the 2010 Chicks We Love at Chick-A-BOOM!
Every year, the Jackson Free Press chooses a delightful slate of Chicks We Love to spotlight, and each year we host the JFP Chick Ball to raise money to fight domestic abuse in our community. This year, we decided to put them together in a new and fun way to help seed the new legal fund at the Center for Violence Prevention. We chose 15 fabulous and strong women to name as "honorary chicks" for the July 24 Chick Ball; 11 of those women are featured in this issue as the Chicks We Love. (The other four " Julie Skipper, Nicole and Susan Marquez and Beth Poff•"were recently featured in the JFP and are already lifetime "Chicks We Love.") We will honor all 15 of these women at a special Chick-a-Boom reception in Hal & Mal(tm)s brew pub at 7 p.m. Saturday during the Chick Ball. Tickets to the reception are $50, and include food and cocktails, as well as Chick Ball admission. Call 601-932-4198 for info.
Councilman Ben Allen's JFP Blog Goes Live
Click here to visit the Councilman's new blog.
GOP PR Firm, Others Under Scrutiny
Sid Salter has an intriguing bit today on his blog about PR firms under scrutiny by the legislative PEER Committee.