Donald Trump’s revisionist history of mocking a disabled reporter; Washington Post, 8/2/16

Glenn Kessler, Washington Post; Donald Trump’s revisionist history of mocking a disabled reporter:

"The Pinocchio Test

It remains a mystery why Trump feels the need to revisit past controversies, particularly ones that reflect poorly on his tenor and judgment. But, as the evidence shows, Trump clearly mocked Kovaleski — who in any case never “groveled” or in any way took back his reporting.

In an unremarkable statement, Kovaleski merely said that his reporting did not back up Trump’s statement that “thousands” of Muslims celebrated the fall of the Twin Towers — and then Trump attacked him.

Four Pinocchios"

What does Fox do?; Idaho State Journal, 7/31/16

Michael H. O'Donnell, Idaho State Journal; What does Fox do? :

"If all you did was watch Fox cover the DNC, you missed a few major moments.

The Fox cameras weren’t rolling when retired Marine Gen. John Allen, former commander of American forces in Afghanistan, stepped on stage to deliver a strong argument against Donald Trump as a possible Commander and Chief.

The “fair and balanced” network also failed to air the speech by Khizr Khan, the father of a fallen Muslim American soldier who told the audience America is strong because of its acceptance of all people regardless of race, religion or creed. Khan held up his copy of the U.S. Constitution as he made his points about Americans of all walks of life giving up that life in service to their country.

Other folks who delivered primetime speeches without coverage by Fox were former Secretary of State Madeleine Albright and actresses Elizabeth Banks and Meryl Streep. I guess Fox editors decided Meryl Streep, winner of three Academy awards and 19 nominations, just didn’t have the star power of a “Duck Dynasty” character or Chachi from “Happy Days.”

Fox defended its decision to ignore many of the main speeches at the Dems convention by simply saying “We reported on the speeches.”

That’s nonsense even the most fanatical conservative shouldn’t swallow."

PNC pulls plug on coin-counting machines; Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, 4/22/16

Patricia Sabatini, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette; PNC pulls plug on coin-counting machines:

"The move follows a report by NBC’s “Today” show early this month that found Penny Arcade brand coin-counting machines it tested at various TD Bank branches were cheating customers by up to 15 percent. After counting the coins, the machines spit out a receipt redeemable at the teller window.

Toronto-based TD Bank, with U.S. headquarters in Cherry Hill, N.J., quickly removed the machines from service...

On Tuesday, TD Bank was sued on behalf of hundreds of thousands of customers allegedly shortchanged by the machines.

The suit, filed in state court in Manhattan by Jeffrey Feinman, claims Mr. Feinman put in $26 worth of coins but got a receipt for $25.44. A second time he deposited $31 and received $30.05, the suit claimed.

TD Bank declined comment on pending litigation, which charges the bank with fraud, negligence, breach of contract and false advertising."

Hardly Anyone Trusts The Media Anymore; Huffington Post, 4/18/16

Nick Visser, Huffington Post; Hardly Anyone Trusts The Media Anymore:

"Only 6 percent of people say they have a great deal of confidence in the press, about the same level of trust Americans have in Congress, according to a new survey released on Sunday.

The study mirrors past reports that found the public’s trust in mass media has reached historic lows, according to data gathered by the Media Insight Project, a partnership between The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research and the American Press Institute. The report found faith in the press was just slightly higher than the 4 percent of people who said they trusted Congress.

Alongside the dire findings, the report found respondents valued accuracy above all else, with 85 percent of people saying it was extremely important to avoid errors in coverage. Timeliness and clarity followed closely, with 76 percent and 72 percent respectively saying those attributes were imperative among media sources."

When ‘60 Minutes’ Checks Its Journalistic Skepticism at the Door; New York Times, 12/22/13

David Carr, New York Times; When ‘60 Minutes’ Checks Its Journalistic Skepticism at the Door: "Coming as it does on the heels of the now-discredited Benghazi report — in which “60 Minutes” said it was fooled by an eyewitness who was apparently nothing of the kind — the N.S.A. segment raises the question of whether the program has not just temporarily lost its mojo, but its skepticism as well. It didn’t help that the day after the piece aired, a federal judge ruled that the agency’s program of collecting phone records was most likely unconstitutional... Let’s stipulate that “60 Minutes” has been and continues to be a journalistic treasure, which just this year has done hard-hitting pieces on the damaging practices of credit report agencies, the high rate of suicide among returning veterans, and how tainted pain medication that caused fungal meningitis killed dozens and sickened hundreds... Historically, the news that “60 Minutes” was in the lobby or on the phone has struck fear in the hearts of both the stalwart and the venal. The show made its targets quake and audiences thrill as it did the hard, often amazing work of creating consequence and accountability. But in the last few months, there have been significant lapses into credulousness, when reporters have been more “gee whiz” than “what gives?” The news that “60 Minutes” is calling could be viewed as less ominous and more of an opportunity. More than once this year, the show has traded skepticism for access."

Nixon Library Opens a Door Some Would Prefer Left Closed; New York Times, 3/31/11

Adam Nagourney, New York Times; Nixon Library Opens a Door Some Would Prefer Left Closed:

"The unveiling ended a nearly yearlong struggle between national archivists and the Richard Nixon Foundation, a group of Nixon loyalists who controlled the former president’s papers until ceding them to the National Archives four years ago. The fight was over how to portray the scandal that led to Nixon’s resignation."