Center for Online Investigative Research

I spent the day watching a C-Span broadcast of an investigation by Senate Democrats into war profiteering and contract abuse. Millions, if not billions, of dollars have disappeared. Not a single Republican participated. Moreover,the NY Times failed to report the story in its paper today . . .a story the AP and Reuters found newsworthy. Custer Battles and its ties to the administration as reported in this hearing should be relentlessly investigated -- fertile groud for bloggers, I'd say. KB

U.S. Said to Pay Iraq Contractors in Cash
By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

As we report on the news we consume, one thing I'd like to see our site do is assist news consumers in the analysis of the people quoted in stories as sources. If one is to analyze reporting for fairness, one needs to track undisclosed bias. For instance if a source or interviewee is from a think tank, I'd like to know more about the politics of that think tank, and where its money comes from. If an expert is quoted, I think it important to know the person's political party and background. That kind of information puts the person's statements in context. And if a news organization quotes primarily those on either side of the political spectrum, then we'll have a better understanding about the quality of its so-called objectivity.

Kudos go out to Westport Now, a thoughtful, creative online newspaper serving Westport, CT. The layout is easy to read. It goes beyond the average small town paper coverage. One example is that it features an interactive map of all the scheduled "tear downs" -- the homes slated for demolition in town.

http://www.westportnow.com/realestate/map.php

Its editor and publisher is Gordon F. Joseloff, an award-winning veteran journalist who reported from London, Moscow, Tokyo and other world capitals for United Press International and CBS News for more than two decades.

Proof there is life

Fox News is devoting a Stock Smarts broadcast 11:26 EDT today by pushing the idea that the elections in Iraq will result in lower oil prices. Thankfully, most financial experts they have on suggests that this is not the case. In fact, one expert said he felt indications were that oil prices would be on the rise. But the print on the screen varies between "Iraq and Cheap Oil!" and "If elections work in Iraq, will oil prices fall?"
There seems to be a discconnect between reality (the price of oil and stabilitly in the region) and the theme or frame they suggest.
One has to wonder why Fox would devote an entire show to explore an idea that shows no resemblance to reality.

My thoughts this morning focus on new insights provided by an important book by one of the world's best known linguists, George Lakoff. The book is "don't think of an elephant!" I am thinking about its profound implications on journalism.

Lakeoff teaches us about the importance of linguistic "frames", which he defines as "mental structures that shape the way we see the world." Essentially, the revelation is that when facts that don't fit one's personal frame or way of viewing the world, they bounce off. The person doesn't hear the facts or they don't compute.

Now let's think about journalism and its ethics requirement (by the Society of Professional Journalists) to "Seek Truth and Report It".

Welcome. The members of our community care deeply about journalism. And we are worried. News organizations, especially television news, are increasingly constrained by economic, political, legal, and technological pressures. As a result, though we have more news from which to choose, a good many of us are ill-informed. And then there's the spin, the manipulation of the facts, that often leads news consumers away from the truth powers that be don't wish us to see.

We are a non-partisan organization. We invite volunteers to monitor and to report on the news they consume, applying the Society of Professional Journalists' Ethics Guidelines. Report violations here to hold the news media accountable. Ultimately, once our community has grown, we hope to raise funds to support quality journalism. If they claim to be fair and balanced, then let us together determine whether that is true.

This project is designed to track bias by Fox News personality Bill O'Reilly. On September 27, he interviewed President George Bush. In that interview he asked:

"The first one is, according to a poll taken by the Coalition Provisional Authority (search) last spring, only five percent of the Iraqi people see the United States as liberators. Are you surprised they don't appreciate the American sacrifice more?"

The above question linquistic frame is biased. It describes US involvement in Iraq as "the American sacrifice" as "liberators". If one disagrees with that bias, one sudden becomes anti-American and anti-liberation, when neither may be true. One may disagree with US involvement in Iraq for a number of reasons. The question, as framed, is not objective.