BY WILLIAM H. FREIVOGEL / Thirty years ago, this reporter was covering the 20th anniversary of the March on Washington. To prepare, a check was made of the bound volumes of the stories written on the day of the march by the Post-Dispatch Washington Bureau. It turned out that the Rev. Dr. Martin
BY WILLIAM H. FREIVOGEL / The national dust storm kicked up by the "Obama" clown in a bull ring at the Missouri State Fair is the latest illustration of the way a small local controversy about race can quickly turn into a national one with the help of video, social media, traditional
The press doesn’t cover nuance very well, especially when it is covering itself – or when a reporter is more of an advocate than an impartial observer. The recent NSA stories and those about leaks of top-secret information are good examples. Both are important stories raising serious questions about the right balance between liberty and
Journalism groups, such as the Society of Professional Journalists, are calling upon reporters and editors to contact members of Congress and to write editorials in favor of a national shield law to allow reporters to protect confidential sources. But legal experts on both sides of the issue agree that a national shield law probably would
The press has been breathless in its coverage of the three “scandals” that plague the first months of President Obama’s second term. It has been especially hyperbolic in covering the issue on which it has a direct interest: subpoenas of reporters. Americans are told that the scandals are another Watergate, that Obama is Nixonian, that