— Tucker Carlson in an April 17 Marketplace commentary.
— Judge Carlos T. Bea in a ruling of the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals as it upheld the ban on advertisements for for-profit goods and services on public broadcasting, but struck the ban on issues or political advertisements.
With the day mostly quiet on the campaign trail and 30,000 kids and family members at the White House rolling Easter eggs on the South Lawn, it could be one of the last somewhat friendly days of this election season.
(Photo by @PBSKids)
Anna Weggel and Jeff Jones talking with MPR’s Tom Weber about the Minnesota Marriage Videos project.
More at MPRNews.org.
Two journalists from the Public Insight Network at American Public Media have been taking a slow and steady approach to gathering the stories, opinions and experiences of people on all sides of the proposed Minnesota Marriage Amendment, a proposed constitutional amendment destined for the MN ballot in November.
In November 2012, voters will be asked to decide if the Minnesota Constitution should be amended to say that “only a union of one man and one woman shall be valid or recognized as a marriage” in Minnesota. Watch these sources from the Public Insight Network share the stories behind their votes. Share the story behind your vote at http://bit.ly/mnmarriage. -Anna Weggel and Jeff Jones
So far the project has more than a dozen videos, all using a common approach: they let people tell their own stories. The lead-in to each video is a shot of the person describing something about their perspective, without revealing how they will vote. Then a cut to the person holding up a sign with a YES, NO, or ?.
And then we dive in. It’s a fascinating project that you can only do if you start early, and believe deeply that empathy for everyone’s story is a key value for you as a journalist and something you care about imparting to the audience.
What I love about the project (disclaimer: I work with these guys), as someone who thinks a lot about how we see and how we are seen, is that it forces the viewer to challenge his or her assumptions. When watching the subject of each video begin to talk, how do you think they’ll vote? Do you like them? Do you want to like them? Do you think they share your values? When their vote is revealed, how does that make you feel? Does it make you reexamine how you may have judged the person? Does it make you reexamine your own values and assumptions?
So far the project has lived on Youtube. As the election gets closer, I expect the videos will be available on MPR News. This collection together with MPR News coverage of the amendment could make for one of — if not the — most comprehensive packages of coverage on the marriage amendment.
How effective are your state’s campaign finance laws?
In an unprecedented, data-driven analysis of transparency and accountability in all 50 state governments, reporters from iWatch News, Global Integrity and Public Radio International gave each state a grade based on their risk of corruption for 300 government integrity indicators — including political financing.
This map gives a quick overview of how each state ranked overall. Visit StateIntegrity.org for your state’s full report card and get more details on the strength of its campaign finance regulations.
What’s the most surprising thing you learned from our investigation? Share your thoughts below or send a tweet using the #CorruptionRisk hashtag.
(Source: opensecretsdc)
Apparently, Romney has better things to do. Like campaign in Illinois.
I hope this turn of events doesn’t spike the GOP debate to be hosted at OPB on March 19. If it goes on, it’ll be (I think I’ve got this right) the first time a GOP debated has been hosted by a public broadcaster. About time. And a bad signal if non-attendance makes it unsuccessful.
