“Journalists should accept moral responsibility for the foreseeable consequences of actions and inactions, including the example set for others and when in error, they should make full, fair, prominent and prompt corrections.”   – Michael Josephson, Ethical Principles of Journalism The New York Times, Wall Street Journal and other news organizations offer readers the opportunity to “correct the record” regarding errors...

The day after the election – after Donald Trump was confirmed the winner – I sent a quick e-mail to a colleague: “Fear and prejudice just won last night.” His reaction was immediate and I’m paraphrasing, “Don’t say that! You’re using standard liberal stereotypes.” Was I? Since March 2008, this site has been devoted to writing about the good, the...

While the election is behind us and Donald Trump is scheduled to be the 45th President of the United States, I’m trying to be hopeful that he will be a positive force for the country and do the right thing. But it’s getting difficult. On Monday, (Dec. 12), Trump announced he would delay a press conference scheduled for December 15...

The passing of actor and political activist Robert Vaughn reminded me that we should never forget the lessons of history. It also reminded me of a time in college. In 1972 I had one more required class to take, American Jurisprudence. From the moment I sat down, I was lost, completely over my head. The students in the class were...

It didn’t take long for President-elect Trump to show us the difference between what he said during his campaign and what he says now. During the campaign, Trump called President Obama “incompetent.” In last week’s Oval Office meeting, Trump now calls Obama, “a very good man.” During the campaign, Trump said that Obama is “very stupid,” and “the founder of...

“Be careful what you wish for, lest it come true.” – old idiom Like more than 60,981,000, I voted for former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton not because she would have been the first woman President of the United States, but given two likely choices, she was, far and away, the most qualified grown-up in the room. While many have...

These are, without a doubt, the Holy Grail of cultural and political questions of the moment: How does Trump appeal to his supporters? Why do supporters continue to stand by him when he lies – even when confronted with the facts – more than any candidate in modern history? What is it about this man that continues to attract both...

I never intended to write about the first debate. However, several readers, in private emails or conversation, have made that request, so, here goes. Monday night’s event, (Yes, I went to the movie and recorded the debate), the first of three presidential debates, was, as expected, packed with drama: e-mails, taxes, climate change, race, defense, cyber terrorism, stamina, and the...

Well, boys and girls, here we are – the first of three presidential debates which may decide who goes to the White House: the Reality Star, or the Politically Calculated Czar; the extremely reckless, or “extremely careless.” I was previously invited to attend a screening of The Man with the Golden Arm, part of an Elmer Bernstein film series honoring...

The publication of Colin Powell’s private opinions of both Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump – obtained from hacked e-mails from the former secretary of state’s private e-mail account – is only the latest example of the thorny ethical issues that journalists and media organizations must navigate. In this new universe, everything that’s been hacked appears to be fair game after...