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Friday, August 19, 2005

Dana Milbank likes to write stories about journalists and how hard and boring it is for them to do their jobs. Today, he looks at the tedious time they're having going through the document dump of John Roberts' memoranda from his time working in Reagan's Counsel's office.
In the end, the Roberts researchers needed more than luck. They found plenty of amusing things in the papers, including Roberts's views of the Marine Mammal Coalition and the propriety of President Ronald Reagan's use of the word "keister." ("It may depend on where one was reared," Roberts had joked.) But there wasn't the definitive document that revealed Roberts's views on such charged topics as Roe v. Wade or affirmative action.

Most news outlets brought three readers, but the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette's Mike McGough came alone. "I'm a self-taught speed reader," he explained. The overwhelmed readers agreed to share some of their findings with each other -- but the pressure was still intense.

Archivists drew names from a large, yellow suggestion box, as if performing the NFL draft. USA Today, with the first pick in the first round, went with Box 49, "set-aside cases." Reuters, picking second, chose Box 1, "advisory committees." ABC News got Box 6, "briefing materials," and Fox News selected Box 11, "Contra Aid."

The boxes distributed, the room took on the tense, quiet mood of a place where the SAT is being administered. Readers pored over pages and folders, scribbling. Cameras circled. One cameraman, for lack of something better to do, was filming an empty box; to his right, a sign on the wall proclaimed: "This is your heritage."

The mood soon turned again to disappointment. USA Today's Joan Biskupic returns her first-round draft pick, Box 49, after just a few minutes. Anything good? "I'm bringing it back, aren't I?" she replied. The New York Sun's Josh Gerstein returned Box 7 with equal speed. "The body was decent, but the finish left something to be desired," he judged. And the others found the same thing. NBC? "Nothing." Fox? "Nah." Boston Globe? "Nothing."

An hour into the search, the readers had found only a quarter-inch stack worthy of photocopying combined. "Pimples of history," said the Times's Todd Purdum.

Gerstein gathered his belongings and left. "Not a valuable activity," he decided.
Of course, none of the stories that were written after this document dump indicated what a load of nothing they were turning up. Instead we got tendentious stories like the Washington Post piece trying to argue that John Roberts was fighting against women's rights by opposing the silly, and discredited idea of comparable worth. I bet that Roberts is just praying that someone on the Judiciary Committee will challenge him on this idea. He must be saying, "please throw me in that briar patch."

posted by Betsy Newmark permalink 8:16 PM 0 comments

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Dana Milbank likes to write stories about journalists and how hard and boring it is for them to do their jobs. Today, he looks at the tedious time they're having going through the document dump of John Roberts' memoranda from his time working in Reagan's Counsel's office.

In the end, the Roberts researchers needed more than luck. They found plenty of amusing things in the papers, including Roberts's views of the Marine Mammal Coalition and the propriety of President Ronald Reagan's use of the word "keister." ("It may depend on where one was reared," Roberts had joked.) But there wasn't the definitive document that revealed Roberts's views on such charged topics as Roe v. Wade or affirmative action.

Most news outlets brought three readers, but the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette's Mike McGough came alone. "I'm a self-taught speed reader," he explained. The overwhelmed readers agreed to share some of their findings with each other -- but the pressure was still intense.

Archivists drew names from a large, yellow suggestion box, as if performing the NFL draft. USA Today, with the first pick in the first round, went with Box 49, "set-aside cases." Reuters, picking second, chose Box 1, "advisory committees." ABC News got Box 6, "briefing materials," and Fox News selected Box 11, "Contra Aid."

The boxes distributed, the room took on the tense, quiet mood of a place where the SAT is being administered. Readers pored over pages and folders, scribbling. Cameras circled. One cameraman, for lack of something better to do, was filming an empty box; to his right, a sign on the wall proclaimed: "This is your heritage."

The mood soon turned again to disappointment. USA Today's Joan Biskupic returns her first-round draft pick, Box 49, after just a few minutes. Anything good? "I'm bringing it back, aren't I?" she replied. The New York Sun's Josh Gerstein returned Box 7 with equal speed. "The body was decent, but the finish left something to be desired," he judged. And the others found the same thing. NBC? "Nothing." Fox? "Nah." Boston Globe? "Nothing."

An hour into the search, the readers had found only a quarter-inch stack worthy of photocopying combined. "Pimples of history," said the Times's Todd Purdum.

Gerstein gathered his belongings and left. "Not a valuable activity," he decided.

Of course, none of the stories that were written after this document dump indicated what a load of nothing they were turning up. Instead we got tendentious stories like the Washington Post piece trying to argue that John Roberts was fighting against women's rights by opposing the silly, and discredited idea of comparable worth. I bet that Roberts is just praying that someone on the Judiciary Committee will challenge him on this idea. He must be saying, "please throw me in that briar patch."

posted by Betsy Newmark permalink 8:16 PM 0 comments

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Friday, August 19, 2005

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HOME Betsy neither necessarily uses, nor endorses, the products advertised on this site. The truth about Avesil Cheap Hosting Atlanta Bankruptcy Attorney Dallas Bankruptcy Attorney Wikio Get exclusive travel deals and book discount cheap flights Online Bachelors Degree Comments from an AP history and government teacher in Raleigh, NC. e-mail betsynewmark AT gmail.com Commissions earned from selling items through Amazon will go towards buying materials for my classes. Thank you. Site Feed		Friday, August 19, 2005 Dana Milbank likes to write stories about journalists and how hard and boring it is for them to do their jobs. Today, he looks at the tedious time they're having going through the document dump of John Roberts' memoranda from his time working in Reagan's Counsel's office. In the end, the Roberts researchers needed more than luck. They found plenty of amusing things in the papers, including Roberts's views of the Marine Mammal Coalition and the propriety of President Ronald Reagan's use of the word "keister." ("It may depend on where one was reared," Roberts had joked.) But there wasn't the definitive document that revealed Roberts's views on such charged topics as Roe v. Wade or affirmative action. Most news outlets brought three readers, but the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette's Mike McGough came alone. "I'm a self-taught speed reader," he explained. The overwhelmed readers agreed to share some of their findings with each other -- but the pressure was still intense. Archivists drew names from a large, yellow suggestion box, as if performing the NFL draft. USA Today, with the first pick in the first round, went with Box 49, "set-aside cases." Reuters, picking second, chose Box 1, "advisory committees." ABC News got Box 6, "briefing materials," and Fox News selected Box 11, "Contra Aid." The boxes distributed, the room took on the tense, quiet mood of a place where the SAT is being administered. Readers pored over pages and folders, scribbling. Cameras circled. One cameraman, for lack of something better to do, was filming an empty box; to his right, a sign on the wall proclaimed: "This is your heritage." The mood soon turned again to disappointment. USA Today's Joan Biskupic returns her first-round draft pick, Box 49, after just a few minutes. Anything good? "I'm bringing it back, aren't I?" she replied. The New York Sun's Josh Gerstein returned Box 7 with equal speed. "The body was decent, but the finish left something to be desired," he judged. And the others found the same thing. NBC? "Nothing." Fox? "Nah." Boston Globe? "Nothing." An hour into the search, the readers had found only a quarter-inch stack worthy of photocopying combined. "Pimples of history," said the Times's Todd Purdum. Gerstein gathered his belongings and left. "Not a valuable activity," he decided. Of course, none of the stories that were written after this document dump indicated what a load of nothing they were turning up. Instead we got tendentious stories like the Washington Post piece trying to argue that John Roberts was fighting against women's rights by opposing the silly, and discredited idea of comparable worth. I bet that Roberts is just praying that someone on the Judiciary Committee will challenge him on this idea. He must be saying, "please throw me in that briar patch." posted by Betsy Newmark permalink 8:16 PM 0 comments Comments: Dana Milbank likes to write stories about journalists and how hard and boring it is for them to do their jobs. Today, he looks at the tedious time they're having going through the document dump of John Roberts' memoranda from his time working in Reagan's Counsel's office. In the end, the Roberts researchers needed more than luck. They found plenty of amusing things in the papers, including Roberts's views of the Marine Mammal Coalition and the propriety of President Ronald Reagan's use of the word "keister." ("It may depend on where one was reared," Roberts had joked.) But there wasn't the definitive document that revealed Roberts's views on such charged topics as Roe v. Wade or affirmative action. Most news outlets brought three readers, but the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette's Mike McGough came alone. "I'm a self-taught speed reader," he explained. The overwhelmed readers agreed to share some of their findings with each other -- but the pressure was still intense. Archivists drew names from a large, yellow suggestion box, as if performing the NFL draft. USA Today, with the first pick in the first round, went with Box 49, "set-aside cases." Reuters, picking second, chose Box 1, "advisory committees." ABC News got Box 6, "briefing materials," and Fox News selected Box 11, "Contra Aid." The boxes distributed, the room took on the tense, quiet mood of a place where the SAT is being administered. Readers pored over pages and folders, scribbling. Cameras circled. One cameraman, for lack of something better to do, was filming an empty box; to his right, a sign on the wall proclaimed: "This is your heritage." The mood soon turned again to disappointment. USA Today's Joan Biskupic returns her first-round draft pick, Box 49, after just a few minutes. Anything good? "I'm bringing it back, aren't I?" she replied. The New York Sun's Josh Gerstein returned Box 7 with equal speed. "The body was decent, but the finish left something to be desired," he judged. And the others found the same thing. NBC? "Nothing." Fox? "Nah." Boston Globe? "Nothing." An hour into the search, the readers had found only a quarter-inch stack worthy of photocopying combined. "Pimples of history," said the Times's Todd Purdum. Gerstein gathered his belongings and left. "Not a valuable activity," he decided. Of course, none of the stories that were written after this document dump indicated what a load of nothing they were turning up. Instead we got tendentious stories like the Washington Post piece trying to argue that John Roberts was fighting against women's rights by opposing the silly, and discredited idea of comparable worth. I bet that Roberts is just praying that someone on the Judiciary Committee will challenge him on this idea. He must be saying, "please throw me in that briar patch." posted by Betsy Newmark permalink 8:16 PM 0 comments Comments: Post a Comment