1. Monthly archive
  2. January 2017

January 2017

I was a White House fact-checker. Don’t accept Trump’s attitude toward the truth.

[Commentary] As a research associate in the Office of Communications, I quickly learned some things about the nature of facts in politics. My best advice for the public is for everyone to do a little fact-checking of their own. Listen to exactly what is being said, see if it sounds right to you, and then do a Google search to see if a major piece of context has been omitted. See if you can find a primary source, like the original data source of the numbers they quote, or a transcript or video of a moment they claim happened. Compare the things President Trump says today with the things he said months ago and see where they contradict each other. See where his advisers contradict each other. Read as widely as possible, make your own conclusions, and trust your judgment. Then make sure you start telling people about it, and make sure your voice is heard.

[Meredith Bohen is a former research associate in the White House Office of Communications]

How to Save CNN From Itself

[Commentary] A healthy democracy needs trusted news sources to which all citizens can turn. Given the new administration’s hostility to dissenting voices and willingness to strong-arm corporations, we need independent and responsible media outlets more than ever before. I believe that CNN could once again be the place Ted Turner envisioned and built years ago. A strong independent CNN that answers to no one but the public would be a powerful force to safeguard our democracy.
[Jessica Yellin is a former chief White House correspondent for CNN.]

ACA, Independents to FCC: Tackle Bundling First

Small and mid-sized cable operators have banded together with independent programmers to tell the Federal Communications Commission that reining in most favored nation (MFN) clauses and alternative distribution method (ADM) clauses is all well and good, but that it should tackle program bundling first in its effort to promote access to independent and diverse content.

That came in a filing on the FCC's Notice of Proposed Rulemaking stemming from its program diversity inquiry. A politically divided FCC back in September voted to propose prohibiting unconditional MFNs clauses and "unreasonable" ADMs. Joining with ACA in the filing were independent programmers MAVTV Motorsports Network, One America News Network and AWE, and RIDE TV. They said that while they were generally supportive of the MFN and ADM restrictions, focusing on those rather than channel bundling was like trying to put out a four-alarm fire with a cup of water.

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