Emerging figure in U.S. media

In a sharp contrast to media mogul Rupert Murdoch, a little-know but wealthy Mexican billionaire named Carlos Slim has become a significant stakeholder in the New York Times Company. Unlike Murdoch, who likes a “hands on” approach to his media holdings (New York Post, Dow Jones Company, Wall Street Journal, etc.), Slim indicates that he has no plans to become involved in day-to-day dealings at the struggling newspaper.

The 68-year-old Slim made his fortune by buying inexpensive properties and then turning them into valuable investments. He’s best-known as owner of TelMex, the largest phone company in Mexico. He has begun turning over operation of TelMex to his sons, apparently in a move to begin easing out of decision-making roles. This is consistent with his approach to his 6.4 percent stake in the Times. He has reportedly become quite a philanthropist, too. With holdings near $60 billion, that's not surprising -- but good to hear.

Interestingly, Slim lists Warren Buffett, “the sage of Omaha,” as someone he admires. With New York Times ad revenue down by 14 percent during the first half of this year, perhaps Slim -- like Murdoch at the Wall Street Journal -- will be tempted to offer advice, although it would have to resonate strongly in the ears of the Ochs-Sulzberger families, which apparently still control 70% of the Times.

Newspapers across the country continue their struggles to survive. Gannett Company said last month that they’re cutting some 1,000 newspaper jobs, and closer to home, Lee Enterprises is paring jobs in Montana, Wyoming and South Dakota.

We really do need "change"

We shouldn’t be surprised by the financial meltdown at Lehman Brothers, AIG, and Merrill Lynch. Banks involved in the “sub-prime” mortgage crisis took a big hit. They were loaning money to folks who couldn’t really afford the huge mortgage payments they were assuming. There wasn’t enough collateral or ability to re-pay the loans, and the sheer volume of this risk began a snowballing of no confidence in those mortgage papers.

Others involved in this chicanery, from investment banks to insurance companies, are now feeling the impact.

For decades, “financial institutions” have been sending out credit cards to anyone with body temperature, not to mention canines, felines, and other varied critters. Dealing with high volume, they worried very little about individuals who found themselves upside-down in indebtedness they could ill afford. South Dakota was a witting enabler for the charlatans purveying this crap.

Mortgage lenders, fueled by a government and social environment that suggested everyone should own a nice home – whether or not they could really afford it – were warmly greeted by the masses and gained good traction.

Alas, that good traction eventually lost ground quickly on the slippery slope of sub-prime loans. By that time, the greedy lenders determined that their customers wouldn’t be able to re-pay the burgeoning collective debt encompassed in the sub-prime loans. The jig was up.

We all recognize that our federal fiscal health is on the critical list. Why would we expect otherwise, when federal policies promote “spend, spend, spend,” within both government and the private sector? Didn’t we all just love those “stimulus” checks this year?

The notion of “saving” rather than “spending” went out of vogue more than 30 years ago. It’s time we embrace the common-sense approach that you shouldn’t spend more than you have.

~

More than that, we should hold our government accountable to adopt fiscal policies that reflect common sense. Perhaps that’s too much to expect of the U.S. Congress, but we shouldn’t give up the struggle.

A step in the right direction

Black Hills Monitor has taken Governor Mike Rounds and his administration to task for giving little leadership in the area of open government. Their active participation in killing a good open records measure (SB-189) offered by Senator Nancy Turbak Berry of Watertown last year was disappointing. Their tactics were unconscionable.

On a separate but related issue, the Rounds administration opposed and defeated HB1233, which would have created a state web site containing public financial information and other state records. Ignoring the fact that such information is not as readily available to folks in Oelrichs, Wanblee, Kidder, Bruce -- or anywhere else outside of Pierre -- Rounds said it wasn't a matter of open government, it was a matter of accessibility. Excuse me? Then the Gov proceeded to say that it would cost too much to create such a web site and too much to maintain.

In a posting last March, we criticized the Governor on this issue and suggested that he might take a lesson from his fellow Republican Governor of Alaska, Sarah Palin, whose administration had established a site called Checkbook Online, listing all major state expenditures. Yes, this was long before Sarah Palin's star began to rise in national politics.

I'd like to know what prompted Governor Rounds to change his mind about such a web site. Perhaps he found some money tucked away somewhere? In any event, last Friday (September 12) the Governor announced creation of OpenSD, a web site that he says "...will be the one place on the internet to go for government records and information...that will help our citizens be more informed, involved, and efficient...it will become the central portal to government information in South Dakota."

~

I doubt that the emergence of this new South Dakota web site had anything to do with Sarah Palin's selection as McCain's running mate. And I'm certain it had nothing to do with Black Hills Monitor advocacy. I'd like to believe that Mike Rounds did it because it's the right thing to do.

~

Now that the information is starting to flow, maybe it can be organized in a more user-friendly way. State bureaucrats, lobbyists, and policy wonks in Pierre will no doubt find it reasonably understandable, if they explore it closely. The rest of us will have to work harder navigating through the information -- not because we're incapable of understanding it, but because it's presented in a typically bureaucratic way. Even Alaska's Checkbook Online, which is far more robust that OpenSD, appears created by folks who would find Reader's Digest confusing, because it's clearly written and organized for common folk.

~

But OpenSD is a good first step! Congratulations to Governor Mike Rounds and others who've made this happen.

~

Now, about that open records legislation...

What happened in St. Paul?

Watching helmeted police officers wield batons outside the Republican National Convention in St. Paul was a little disconcerting. Nonetheless, knowing that there would likely be thousands of demonstrators ranging from curious idealists to seasoned agitators, it’s not surprising that local authorities wanted to make sure that the demonstrations didn’t get out of hand.

In retrospect, it appears they did a pretty good job, despite the severe criticisms leveled by advocacy journalist Amy Goodman and a handful of others, including Free Press Executive Director Josh Silver. Goodman and two of her colleagues at Democracy Now! were among the reporters covering demonstrations in the streets of St. Paul when they were hauled off with demonstrators during an altercation. They were given citations and then released. They've not yet been charged with anything.

Journalists should be free to practice their craft. They shouldn’t be harassed. But despite their press credentials, they shouldn’t be treated any differently than the rest of us. If they choose to imbed themselves in a crowd of demonstrators, they must know they run the risk of being caught in a mess, if a disturbance occurs. If police tell demonstrators – or journalists – not to cross a line, it’s prudent to heed their directive. Apparently, Democracy Now! anchor Amy Goodman felt she should be given celebrity treatment.

Almost immediately, Free Press mobilized an e-mail campaign, asking tens of thousands of people to sign a petition demanding that all charges against all journalists be dropped. They delivered that blanket petition to St. Paul City Attorney John Choi. It was during a classic television ambush of Choi that the overblown egos of a few attending journalists were revealed.

Dennis Moynihan of Free Speech TV unabashedly asked Choi, “couldn't you, with your power, waive or dismiss those charges right here on the spot with all these cameras here? Don’t you have the power…in recognition of the 50,000 people who’ve seen the arrest video?”

Choi didn’t miss a heartbeat in responding.

“Sure, I have the power, but let me tell you why that would be the wrong decision. When you make decisions about prosecution and justice, you shouldn’t do it because a lot of people have cameras in your face and want you to make a decision on a whim. In my opinion, justice requires that we review the cases carefully and seriously, and then make the right decision.”

Amen. And good for John Choi for standing up to the intimidating media folks who invaded his office. We trust, however, that there will be a serious investigation into exactly what did happen in the streets of St. Paul, and to what degree -- if any -- police might have overstepped their authority. That would be an even finer moment for Mr. Choi.

I admire some of Amy Goodman's work. And freepress does a good job in battling media consolidation. We applaud them for those efforts. But better they continue that fight than whimsically interceding on behalf of advocacy journalists who care less about objectivity than creating headlines.

Jack McBride (1926-2008)

A pioneer in public broadcasting has passed away. Jack McBride, the gentle man from Lincoln, died on Monday, July 28th. He was largely responsible for envisioning and building the statewide public radio and television network in Nebraska, but he was also a recognized pioneer and leader in public broadcasting across the country and around the world.

It was my great pleasure to have known and worked with Jack a bit, largely through our dealings in an organization known as the Organization of State Broadcast Executives.

Jack’s commitment to the educational value of television was solid. From the early days of what is now known as Nebraska Educational Telecommunications, until long after his “retirement” in 1996. Jack McBride remained a visionary about what television and other emerging technologies could do to enhance learning. Steve Behrens wrote this obituary in Current, a public broadcasting newspaper.

And he had a sense of humor. I still remember receiving my commission as an “Admiral” in the Great Navy of the State of Nebraska during a public broadcasting meeting in Lincoln many years ago. The “recruiter” for our hitch in the land-locked Navy was Jack McBride.

Viewers and listeners of the public radio and television networks in Nebraska saw and heard little of this energetic fellow, but his legacy to all Nebraskans – and to public broadcasting across the country – was huge.

May there be "fair winds and following seas” for our friend Jack McBride.