Blogs

  • Battling a Mean Receptionist and Ice Cream Madness to Inspect Political Files

    September 21, 2012
    My Political Ad Sleuth road trip was often a solitary adventure. So when I arrived in Albuquerque, the last stop on my whirlwind four-city tour — which also included stops at TV stations in Denver, Detroit and Toledo — I was excited to see some familiar faces. With 20 station visits under my belt, I was feeling confident. What could go wrong?
  • On the Road in Toledo

    August 20, 2012

    Toledo, Ohio was one of the “10 hottest campaign markets” when I visited last week, and it showed in the political files of the TV stations there. Weighing in at market number 75, Toledo is small enough that its TV stations are not required to put their political files online until 2014. But these stations are selling more ads than almost any other market in the country.

  • Chicago Tribune Writers Want Answers About Journatic

    July 26, 2012

    How much has Tribune Co. invested in Journatic — the company that is replacing local journalists with outsourced news produced in the Philippines? What percentage of Journatic does it own? Who decided against immediately severing ties with Journatic when ethic code violations — including plagiarism — were uncovered? How can the Chicago Tribune maintain its credibility as a watchdog if its parent company doesn’t demand the same high standards from its business partners?

Recent Press Statements

  • Free Press Delivers 20,000 Petitions Against Journatic to Tribune Headquarters

    July 17, 2012

    CHICAGO – On Tuesday, Journatic whistleblower Ryan Smith and volunteers from Free Press delivered more than 20,000 petitions to Tribune Co. headquarters in Chicago, calling on the company to stop doing business with Journatic.

    In the attached image, Free Press volunteer Tanya Ruderman is pictured outside of the Tribune offices with the petition.