tracie powell

Obfuscate me: media face-plant on shutdown coverage

October 8, 2013 Carmen Russell Podcast, Politics 0 Comments

Media analyst and critic Tracie Powell is the creator of AllDigitocracy.org, and she’s looking intensely at the way the media is covering the shutdown of the US government.

Unfortunately, the media is not properly informing the US population of the factors at work in the shutdown. As happens so often, too many reporters are claiming a false equivalency between the GOP and Democrats, and frankly, they’re not serving democracy with such weak analysis.

 

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Free Flow of Information Act: how problematic?

September 20, 2013 Carmen Russell Podcast, Politics 0 Comments

Last week the U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee passed the Free Flow of Information Act, which prohibits a federal entity from compelling certain ‘covered parties’ to testify or reveal confidential information and sources.

It grants privilege for ‘covered parties’, with a very controversial exception for cases deemed to be critical to national security. It amounts to a federal media shield law similar to laws already adopted by 49 states. I’m joined by media analyst, Tracie Powell, to discuss what good and what bad this law might do for reporting in the U.S.

 

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Texas to have special session after successful filibuster of abortion bill

June 28, 2013 Carmen Russell Health, Podcast 00:15:17 0 Comments

Texas Gov. Rick Perry is calling for a second special session of the legislature to try to pass restrictive abortion regulations after the successful filibuster of Democratic state Sen. Wendy Davis.

Davis filibustered for more than 10 hours on Tuesday night to delay the senate vote on the SB 5 Pro-Life Omnibus Bill, which would have banned abortions after 20 weeks of pregnancy and shuttered most of the state’s abortion clinics due to more stringent requirements.

While the events in Texas were watched around the world, other states watched in hopes of learning how to successfully pass similar laws.

Host Jamila Bey spoke with Jodi Jacobson, editor-in-chief of RH Reality Check, and Austin-based journalist Jessica Luther to talk about Texas and the potential encroachments that would restrict care to all American women.

Part 1 :

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Part 2 :

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Stories from the press focused on many aspects of her filibuster, including what was to some a distressing focus on her “pink tennis shoes.”

Bey also spoke with freelance journalist Tracie Powell and Rachel Larris of the Women’s Media Center to talk about the coverage of the story and how mainstream media was flat-footed in running down the details of the evening.

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