Founded as St. Louis Journalism Review in 1970
While reading news from my home state of Kansas Tuesday morning (Aug. 28), a headline caught my eye on the Topeka Capital-Journal Web site: Drought raises concern at Wolf Creek nuclear plant: Cooling waters at John Redmond reservoir are dwindling. The article, which had been posted just an hour prior, was a five-paragraph AP story about concerns over the low water levels and the impact on the nuclear power plant.
The so-called “pink slime” can be found in hamburgers, tacos, hot dogs, and this week it was a primary ingredient in news stories. Similar to the larger discussion on the safety of this ground meat additive, it is debatable as to whether or not these news articles will have a positive or negative affect; or if they are just filler.
The media frenzy was triggered by a March 6 story on ABC News about an announcement from the U.S. Department of Agriculture regarding the purchase of 7 million pounds of ground meat containing pink slime. This meat is destined for school lunch rooms across the country.
Regional and local media in core Midwest agriculture states have been remiss when it comes to coverage of the $260 billion five-year 2012 farm bill and the rush in November to try to push the bill through the Congressional super committee without debate.
The failure of the so-called Congressional super committee to reach agreement on national debt and budget issues has been disappointing to many. However, this inaction may end up being a blessing for those wanting to thoroughly vet the upcoming 2012 farm bill.
There had been very little discussion of the 2012 farm bill at any level of media until mid-October of this year. This is when the small, joint committee with directions from the House and Senate Agriculture committees began pressing forward with their plan, trying to get it to the super committee for approval in late November.