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Displaying results 201 - 210 of 2005
Schwarzenegger says he wants to ‘terminate’ gerrymandering
Former California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, a Republican, wants to “terminate gerrymandering” and he is happy to have former Attorney General Eric Holder, a Democrat, as an ally in the effort. Gerrymandering is the practice of trying to gain political advantage for a particular party by manipulating district boundaries often in ways that make no geographical sense. “The very fact that both of us are sitting here today is because it is not a partisan issue. It is not a Democratic issue. It is not a Republican issue. Both parties have gerrymandered. It is the politicians that are the problem…
Type: News
Institute event reveals why and how to use campaign finance data
A panel of experts on campaign finance data called it the key to politics and provided practical guidance to journalists for accessing and using it at a National Press Club Journalism Institute event Monday. Ellen Weintraub, chair of the Federal Election Commission, said campaign finance "affects who gets elected, what gets enacted.” She encouraged reporters to contact the commission because its reporting data is set up to help them follow the money. For data go here, to contact the agency, go here. Weintraub named current “hot issues” as the sources of money, particularly dark money, which…
Type: News
Legionnaires hear tales of World War I German subs off U.S.
During the early days of World War I, "Americans didn't think German U-boats could reach the U.S.," NOAA marine archeologist Tane Casserly told National Press Club American Legion Post 20 members and guests on Thursday. "They were wrong." By war's end in 1918, some 200 U.S. vessels were attacked by U-boats with losses from the Carolinas to New England. Casserly, a research coordinator at Monitor National Marine Sanctuary in Newport News, Va., noted that two U-boats made U.S. port calls prior to American's entry into the conflict in late 1917. A civilian German cargo submarine, the "…
Type: News
Climate analysts share data, sourcing tips for Sunshine Week
A firm grasp of the latest data and insight into the independence of sources are both valuable tools for journalists tasked with climate reporting, a panel of climate analysts said during a discussion at the National Press Club on Monday. Emily Therese Cloyd, director for public engagement with science and technology at the American Association for the Advancement of Science, advised reporters to turn to data sets maintained by the federal government, calling them "a really good place to start.” Cloyd also suggested Climate Central’s Surging Seas Project and the National Center for…
Type: News
Iraq War veteran Duckworth says it's harder to find qualified military recruits
U.S. Sen. Tammy Duckworth, a veteran of the Iraq War, said it is becoming harder to find qualified recruits for the U.S. armed forces. "Only 29 percent of today’s recruits are considered fit to serve,” she told a National Press Club Headliners Newsmaker on Wednesday. “We can’t dominate if three fourths of our citizens don’t qualify.” Duckworth, D-Ill., ticked off several reasons, including obesity, cuts in nutrition programs, the opioid crisis and education spending reductions. She advocated an agenda that included investing in schools, better health and health care, and taking steps to…
Type: News
After losing his daughter to violence, father becomes advocate for gun safety
Andy Parker became an advocate the day his daughter Alison Parker, a news reporter for a Roanoke, Virginia, television station, was killed on air. At a National Press Club Headliners Book and Author event on Wednesday, Parker discussed his new book, “For Alison: The Murder of a Young Journalist and a Father's Fight for Gun Safety,” and how the tragedy spurred him to action. Alison Parker, 24, and her colleague, photojournalist Adam Ward, 27, were fatally shot on August 26, 2015, during a live interview for WDBJ-TV's morning news show. Hours after Alison Parker was killed, Andy Parker was on…
Type: News
Don't expect a calmer hurricane season this year, NOAA expert says
This year's hurricane season is not expected to be any milder than the previous year’s, according to the lead seasonal hurricane forecaster for the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). “We’re still in a high activity era,” Dr. Gerry Bell said at a National Press Club Headliners Newsmakers Tuesday. He said hurricane activity can generally be determined by looking at dominant climate patterns that can last for decades. “We’ve been averaging three to four major hurricanes a year since 1995 and as of last year, there’s no indication that that high activity period has ended,” he…
Type: News
Motivational speaker writes book on how to ‘Be Fearless’
Jean Case, chairman of the board for the National Geographic Society, wants everyone to “be fearless” and she has written a book to illustrate how it can be done. “I’ve often wondered why so few people branch out and take their ideas forward and others don’t,” Case mused at a National Press Club Headliners Book Rap on Feb. 27 as she promoted Be Fearless: 5 Principles for a Life of Breakthroughs and Purpose. What she discovered was how many people psych themselves out of believing they could be a leader, start a company, or build a movement, so six years ago, she commissioned some research to…
Type: News
Former NYT editor Abramson defends new book, explores media digital disruption
Even before she had a chance to talk about the substance of her new book at a Feb. 14 National Press Club event, former New York Times executive editor Jill Abramson addressed the controversy over alleged plagiarism and inaccuracies in the text. At the beginning of the session, Abramson told the moderator, Club President Alison Fitzgerald Kodjak, that she would not have fired a reporter who committed similar transgressions but would have brought him or her in for a bracing conversation. "There would have been a correction and an editor’s note and a very stiff talking to," Abramson said. She…
Type: News
Psychosocial counselor offers field guide for families, children coping with serious illness
Using her decades of experiences with very sick children and their families, author and psychosocial counselor Joanna Breyer brought her comprehensive field guide for helping families cope to a National Press Club Headliners Book Event on Tuesday. Club Vice President Alison Fitzgerald Kodjak, an NPR News health policy and economics correspondent, introduced Breyer and noted how much guidance exists “when you’re expecting a child but where does a parent turn for self-help when their biggest nightmare turns true?” Kodjak struck a personal note in her introduction, saying that Breyer’s daughter…
Type: News