The Government Accountability Office issued what the New York Times called a “blistering report” on the purchase of favorable news coverage by Bush’s Department of Education, calling it the dissemination of “covert propaganda” in violation of the law. See the New York Times report here. [Registration required.]
9 Comments:
1 redhog
· Oct 2, 2005 at 12:21 am
This is reminiscent of the New York DOE’s de facto purchase of favorable outcomes from its so-called tests. The DOE has a public relations team but no independent research source. The “truth” is how they contrive it.
2 NYC Educator
· Oct 2, 2005 at 8:23 am
The article also mentioned, if I recall correctly, that there are no consequences for this particular infraction. Hannity will call it justifiable for some inane reason or other, next week George Stephanopolous will repeat it on ABC, and the entire country will be brainwashed.
What the heck is going on in this country?
3 institutional memory
· Oct 2, 2005 at 1:00 pm
What’s going on is that too many Americans live comfortably in their little bubble, and just don’t want to hear anything even vaguely dissonant.
How many people care about the test score scam? Click on the link below, read the story, and think about the implications. Frightening, no?
http://tinyurl.com/cdgt8
4 Edwize Admin
· Oct 2, 2005 at 1:39 pm
Institutional Memory,
I edited the url, so that it wouldn’t run off the screen. It still points to the same place.
5 NYC Educator
· Oct 2, 2005 at 5:34 pm
Indtitutional Memory,
I agree with you, but I also think the media is not doing its job, as does the writer of the article to which you pointed.
6 institutional memory
· Oct 2, 2005 at 5:40 pm
You’re absolutely correct about the media sharing culpability. Most of the time, anything that might tax their audience is to be avoided. We’re in the era of infotainment!
Maybe a reality show about standardized testing would draw an audience.
7 jesse
· Oct 2, 2005 at 8:46 pm
The problem for me is how screwed up the media has gotten talking about any issue. You read about education. The most balatant is the back and forth about “intelligent desing.” With the media being as toothless as it is, it’s a wonder the Bush Administration even attempts to buy the media.
8 NYC Educator
· Oct 2, 2005 at 8:53 pm
Well, they already own Fox, and much of the garbage spewed over there makes its way to the so-called “objective” media.
9 mets6986
· Oct 3, 2005 at 9:53 am
Both the US DOE and the NYC DOE use the press release as a political document. There no longer is any impartial data. Universities and foundations are equally culpable. Unfortunately reporters simply report the press release – it is the rare reporter who actually investigates or analyzes data or press releases. The recent much heralded 4th grade scores are a prime example: in reality increases at the top dragged up average scores, and with a few exceptions students at the bottom did not show improvement. An irony is that the one region that uses UFT Teacher Centers, not the rigid Tweed programs showed the largest gains for the second straight year. Bloomberg is a media mogul and he has been quite successful in “creating” news that he likes and “burying” news that he doesn’t like … the lesson: elect your guy/gal in every election!!!