The Times, They Are A Changin'

Each day brings news from Washington, much of it promising. I, of course, cheered wildly as President Obama reversed course on the federal Freedom of Information Act in a strongly worded memo that said that from here on out, the presumption in Washington should be toward openness.

Now comes word that lobbyists in Washington can find no way into the White House...awwwwwwww....

From Roll Call:

President Barack Obama’s new rules restricting the employment of lobbyists are viewed by many on K Street as effectively a ban, with both the spirit and the letter of the order making it nearly impossible for lobbyists who would take senior positions in government to enter public service.

"I haven't seen anybody in the administration with any interest in hiring a lobbyist," one Democratic lobbyist said. "No one I know who is a lobbyist is figuring out a way to get in."

If this is true, it's a signal change, and a new way of doing business in Washington.

Views of the News, Jan. 21, 2009

Reviewing coverage of the Obama inauguration. Panelists: Mike McKean, Lee Wilkins, Charles Davis.

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Links to this week's show topics: the inauguration

Charles offers some excellent links below. Here are a few more with no attempt to be comprehensive or fair. Just my sip from the firehose.

Video of the inaugural address from CBS News (you'll see a commercial before the speech begins).



"News Sites Struggle to Stream Obama Video" from the New York Times

Download the audio from PBS.org.

Photo Galleries from the Washington Post.

"Newspapers to Cash in" from Bloomberg.com

Front pages from Europe (The Guardian)

Front pages from Asia
(Thomas Crampton blog)

Front pages from the Middle East (Crampton)

400+ pre-inauguration front pages from January 20, 2009 (courtesty going.com)

"Obama's Inauguration Speech Relies on the Rhetoric of Responsibility," by Roy Peter Clark from his Poynter blog.

Here's a nice "outside the Beltway" look at print media coverage from the Cleveland Plain Dealer's Impact Editor.

"It's Party Time for for Media Stars, Too" (Howard Kurtz in the Washington Post). He suggests "... it is hard to envision this level of intensity if John McCain were taking the oath of office."

A Long, Meaningful Day...

Looking forward to discussing the Inauguration tomorrow...in the meantime, here a few good links I have happened across.

ProPublica had a nice analysis piece on the speech here.

A nice review of reviews here.

And look at what the web looked like during the event here.

It's Not Every Day Prostitution Pops Up in the Morning Paper...

or does it?

A fascinating column in Editor & Publisher by our very own Sandy Davidson raises a question worth discussing...

so long as prostitution is a crime and patronizing a prostitute is also a crime, should newspapers run ads that clearly hawk prostitution services? What is the difference between running ads for prostitution and running ads for illegal gambling or illegal drugs?

The full article is here.

Views of the News, Jan. 14, 2009

Is Hillary Clinton getting a free pass from the media in her confirmation hearings? ... Obama weighs in on the digital TV transition. ... And, should Columbia's school superintendent process be more transparent? Panelists: Mike McKean, Lee Wilkins, Charles Davis.

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Links to this week's show topics

Howard Kurtz, Washington Post: "Hillary's Dull Day."

Sharon Theimer, Associated Press: "Clinton acted on concerns of husband's donors."

AP Video from YouTube: "Will Obama's Inaugural Address Become Memorable?



John Eggerton, Broadcasting & Cable: "Obama Asks Congress to Delay DTV Transition."

Hank Waters, Columbia Daily Tribune: "Police chief selection: Lessons for the school board."

Minneapolis Star Tribune: "Student newspaper in Faribault goes to Web to avoid censorship."