Monthly Archives: May 2017

RTDNA and RTDNF Mark Death of Roger Ailes
WASHINGTON – The Radio Television Digital News Association (RTDNA) and Foundation (RTDNF) mourn the passing of former Fox News chief Roger Ailes, who died today at age 77.

Ailes was the 2007 recipient of the RTDNF First Amendment Leadership Award at the Foundation’s annual First Amendment Dinner in Washington, D.C. In his acceptance speech, Ailes was a stalwart advocate for a diversity of thought and ideology in U.S. newsrooms.

“While the Constitution guarantees freedom of the press, freedom depends on fairness in the press,” he said.

Ailes, at a time when America was entering the 2008 presidential election cycle, also admonished candidates for political office to be accessible to reporters, the public’s watchdogs.

“If you’re afraid of journalists,” Ailes asked politicians rhetorically, “how will you face the real dangers in the world?”

Click here to watch Ailes’ full acceptance speech

Click here for a full list of past RTDNF First Amendment Award recipients

“There’s no question Roger Ailes was a polarizing figure in the media and in American politics,” said Mike Cavender, Executive Director of RTDNA and RTDNF. “However, it is indisputable that he was responsible for seismic changes in the way people receive news and participate in political discourse.”

RTDNA and RTDNF recently launched its Voice of the First Amendment Task Force, to combat attacks on the First Amendment and help the public understand why responsible broadcast and digital journalism is essential to their daily lives.

“Our Voice of the First Amendment Task Force is committed to defending all of the First Amendment, not just the types of speech and the press with which people agree,” said Dan Shelley, Incoming Executive Director, who is spearheading the Task Force’s efforts. “Regardless of Roger Ailes’ perceived ideology, there is no doubt about his Constitutional right to have advocated for it.”

Ailes’ 20-year career at Fox News ended last year after he resigned following accusations of sexual harassment, which he denied. Those allegations notwithstanding, Ailes death marks the end of a consequential era of news coverage in America.

You’ve heard one, without a doubt. And it’s pretty likely that you’ve actually written one. What’s a moron tease?

“…and I’ll have more on that, tonight at 6.”

Here are some really simple and useful tips from an RTDNA contributor to help you write better teases.

Posted by Tim Morrissey

Here’s what Public News Service reporter/producer Dan Heyman has to say about his arrest last week – an arrest which has made national news since it happened.

Read Dan’s account here.

Posted by Tim Morrissey (full disclosure: I am also a contracted writer/producer for Public News Service)

Sinclair now owns the Tribune properties; some journalists remain concerned about Sinclair’s right-leaning “must-run” segments. Read about it here.

Posted by Tim Morrissey

Raising the stakes by half a million dollars, according to this article from Poynter.

Posted by Tim Morrissey

Here’s a truly fascinating article from CJR about the future of local TV news. Read it. Really.

Posted by Tim Morrissey

RTDNA Condemns Price Remarks About Journalist’s Arrest

WASHINGTON – The Radio Television Digital News Association (RTDNA) today condemns the recent remarks of Health and Human Services Secretary Tom Price, in which he praised West Virginia Capitol Police for Tuesday’s arrest of a journalist who was merely attempting to do his job by asking Sec. Price questions about recently passed House legislation on health care.

According to the health news website statnews.com and other media reports, Price told reporters in Concord, N.H., Wednesday that West Virginia police should be commended for “doing what they thought was appropriate” when arresting Dan Heyman, a 30-year veteran reporter who works for the Public News Service.

Price was walking in a public hallway in the West Virginia State Capitol when Heyman repeatedly asked him whether domestic violence would be considered a pre-existing condition under the House health care overhaul bill. Price refused to answer Heyman’s questions.

“That gentleman was not in a press conference,” Price said Wednesday.

Heyman was charged with “willful disruption of government processes,” a misdemeanor punishable by up to six months in jail. He is now free on $5,000 bail. The criminal complaintalleges “the defendant was causing a disturbance by yelling questions.”

“That a reporter in the United States can be arrested merely for asking questions of a public official about public policy in a public place is unconscionable,” said Dan Shelley, incoming Executive Director of RTDNA, who spearheads the association’s Voice of the First Amendment Task Force.

“This is one of the latest in a growing number of incidents across the country that show a pattern of systematic efforts to restrict press freedoms in the nation’s current political and ideological environment,” Shelley said. “RTDNA is committed to defending the First Amendment and journalists’ constitutional right to fulfill their responsibility to inform the public.”

RTDNA, which immediately on Tuesday reached out to the Public News Service to offer Heyman legal and other assistance, also today calls on West Virginia prosecutors to dismiss the charges against Heyman.

There’s a big difference of opinion on this. Most Democrats say “yes”, most Republicans say “no”.

Read the article here..

Posted by Tim Morrissey

Read the report here.

Posted by Tim Morrissey

Dan Heyman, a reporter for Public News Service in West Virginia, was arrested for what WV Capitol Police called “aggressive questioning” and creating a disturbance. You may draw your own conclusions from reading the coverage regarding the arrest.

The Washington Post story is here.

The Hill’s coverage is here.

Posted by Tim Morrissey (full disclosure: I am contracted by Public News Service as a writer)