Press // Current

Worst news stories of Campaign 2008

MSNBC counts down the top 10 worst news stories from Campaign 2008 -- highlighting how overly commercial "junk news" can... more

Future_America
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Albert Camus on free press and art

Classic Quotes by Albert Camus (1913-1960) French writer, born in Algiers "A free press can, of course, be good or bad,... more

cyman01
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It's Official: Palin is a moron! Says press criticism of her threatens free speech!

This person, who is running for the second highest office in the United States of America, shows a complete lack of understanding... more

tallygirl
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David Ford does NOT KNOW Robert DeNiro

David Ford is actually super modest... Here's an excerpt from his label's bio on him and why we asked him this... more

chapinyoung
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Palin speaking up for herself

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colorado: These days, Governor Sarah Palin seems like a candidate trying to wriggle free of her handlers. On... more

bedeboop
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Media Bias and the Free Press

Dan Rather and others talk about media bias. This is a preview of the Free Press at the Politics '08 Conference.

Future_America
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China's press freedoms extended

"China has extended some of the rules that gave foreign reporters greater freedom during the Beijing Olympics. State news... more

DeliaTheArtist
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Junk News Is Making Democracy Sick

Dan Rather talks about how Americans are starving for real news.

Future_America
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Blind Belgian drives at 192 miles per hour

ISTRES, France (AFP) - Blind Belgian daredevil Luc Costermans won a world record Saturday when he hit 308.78 kilometres (192... more

GETTINGOUTOURDREAMS
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Sarah Palin vs the Press

Palin continues to botch the very limited interviews she participates in. Some argue the campaign has limited access to Palin to... more

uroborus8
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Palin to Press: Pictures Only

Why do we need to ask her questions when she's so photogenic?

caseygane
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Europe plans asteroid sample grab

European scientists and engineers are working on a potential new mission to bring back material from an asteroid. The venture,... more

Manatee_man
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Obesity 'raises miscarriage risk'

Women who have had a miscarriage could be at greater risk of miscarrying again if they are obese, research suggests. A team... more

Manatee_man
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The 65-mpg car Ford won't sell in US

If ever there was a car made for the times, this would seem to be it: a sporty subcompact that seats five, offers a navigation system and gets a whopping 65 miles to the gallon. Oh, yes, and the car is made by Ford Motor (F, news, msgs), known widely for lumbering gas hogs.

Ford's 2009 Fiesta ECOnetic goes on sale in November. But here's the catch: Despite the car's potential to transform Ford's image and help it compete with Toyota Motor (TM, news, msgs) and Honda Motor (HMC, news, msgs) in its home market, the company will sell the little fuel sipper only in Europe.

"We know it's an awesome vehicle," says Ford America President Mark Fields. "But there are business reasons why we can't sell it in the U.S." The main one: The Fiesta ECOnetic runs on diesel.
Automakers such as Volkswagen and Mercedes-Benz have predicted for years that a technology called "clean diesel" would overcome many Americans' antipathy toward a fuel still often thought of as the smelly stuff that powers tractor-trailers.

Diesel vehicles now hitting the market with pollution-fighting technology are as clean as, or even cleaner than, gasoline-powered cars, and they are at least 30% more fuel-efficient.

Yet while half of all cars sold in Europe last year ran on diesel, the U.S. market remains relatively unfriendly to the fuel.

Taxes aimed at commercial trucks mean diesel costs anywhere from 40 cents to $1 more per gallon than gasoline. Add to this the success of the Toyota Prius, and you can see why only 3% of cars in the U.S. use diesel.

"Americans see hybrids as the darling," says Global Insight auto analyst Philip Gott, "and diesel as old tech."None of this is stopping European and Japanese automakers, which are betting they can jump-start the U.S. market with new diesel models. Mercedes-Benz by next year will have three cars it markets as BlueTec. Even Nissan Motor (NSANY, news, msgs) and Honda, which long opposed building diesel cars in Europe, plan to introduce them in the United States in 2010.

But Ford, whose Fiesta ECOnetic compares favorably with European diesels, can't make a business case for bringing the car to the United States.

First of all, the engines are built in Britain, so labor costs are high. Plus the pound remains stronger than the greenback. At prevailing exchange rates, the Fiesta ECOnetic would sell for about $25,700 in the United States.

By contrast, the Prius typically goes for about $24,000.

A $1,300 tax deduction available to buyers of new diesel cars could bring the price of the Fiesta to around $24,400. But Ford doesn't believe it could charge enough to make money on an imported ECOnetic.

If ever there was a car made for the times, this would seem to be it: a sporty subcompact that seats five, offers a navigation... more

Manatee_man
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17 responses

1 month ago

We Don't Want Another Agnew -

Folks in the McCain camp are engaged in one giant pity party over the way in which the media are trying to scrutinize their hero,... more

starr111
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3 responses

1 month ago

Charges dropped against journalists arrested at RNC

St. Paul Mayor Chris Coleman’s office issued a statement announcing that the city attorney won’t prosecute journalists... more

Future_America
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4 responses

1 month ago

Media obstruction in Galveston

And fear of Internet gossip should not prohibit responsible journalism. The ABC News affiliate in Houston carried a video of investigative reporter Wayne Dolcefino confronting Texas governor Rick Perry about temporary “no-fly” zones for TV helicopters over parts of the Bolivar peninsula and west Galveston, the hardest hit areas. Later in the video, Dolcefino tells the ABC anchors:

After Katrina, we were able to go to Waveland, Mississippi, and Gulfport, and Biloxi, and places that were devastated, where there were, sadly, bodies on the road. Now that’s a horrible thing to see and a horrible thing to show, but people who live there, who have friends there, who have relatives there, have a fundamental right to know that stuff. They have a fundamental right to know, not just from the words of a politician or public official, but from the news media, which are independent of government and have also the responsibility of trying to help the public evaluate response…

We couldn’t get crews back on Galveston last night and this morning until we complained on the air for about twenty hours. And it’s not because we want to sightsee, guys, it’s because we have the responsibility of telling people… I made it as clear to [Gov. Perry] off camera as I did on camera that this is not going to be tolerated. You know, we hear about disasters in other countries—what was it, Burma, Myanmar—where they won’t let people in to see and you know, this is the state of Texas; this America. And we’re not trying to interfere with rescue and search operations, nor did anyone suggest we would be.
When asked why he thought the government was obstructing access, Dolcefino did not mince words:

I don’t think they want us to see images that may remind people… of the images that we saw in New Orleans. I don’t think they want us to see the images that were seen in Waveland, Mississippi or Gulfport… I think that’s the reality; they do not want us to see yet, until they can control what we see and how we see it. And that is simply, at least in my career, unacceptable. Maybe a lot of reporters won’t say it, but I will. I think they do not want us to see images of potential fatalities that may be on land or on water.
Other reporters didn’t think access was much of a problem. The Houston Chronicle’s Matthew Tresaugue said he wasn’t sure why TV choppers were prohibited from flying last Sunday, but that there were, in fact, reporters in the air. On SEJ’s list-serv he noted that:

The Chronicle had a photographer over Bolivar on Sunday about the same time as the televised confrontation. I flew with a photographer from High Island to Galveston’s west end to Surfside Beach in a Cessna yesterday, and one of our columnists and a photographer got a closer view of the same area from a helicopter. … I think the difference is the television guys wanted to take their helicopters, and we hitched rides. On my flight, I was able to see what I needed and even double back to take second looks. I can’t complain.

There's more..........
And fear of Internet gossip should not prohibit responsible journalism. The ABC News affiliate in Houston carried a video of... more