Tidbits - October 14, 2010

* NPR staff told to stay away from Colbert, Stewart rallies
if not covering them
* Re: Perennial Relevance of Abraham Lincoln (request for
more information) - Burt Cohen
* Chinese veteran politicians call for reform (BBC)

==========

* NPR staff told to stay away from Colbert, Stewart rallies
if not covering them

Just in case any of those super-sincere journalists get the
notion of taking a break to enjoy the fake news...

Nan Rubin

* * * * *

NPR staff told to stay away from Colbert, Stewart rallies if
not covering them

Memos to NPR staffers

From: [NPR chief executive] Vivian Schiller
Sent: Wednesday, October 13, 2010 8:58 AM
To: AllStaff
Subject: FW: NPR Journalists and political activity
To ALL NPR staff,

Please see Ellen Weiss' note to her staff below (and in
particular, the reference to the upcoming Jon Stewart
rally). In addition to News, the other divisions that are
required to abide by the NPR News Ethics policy are digital,
programming/AIR, legal and communications.
However, no matter where you work at NPR you should be very
mindful that you represent the organization and its news
coverage in the eyes of your friends, neighbors and others.
So please think twice about the message you may be sending
about our objectivity before you attend a rally or post a
bumper sticker or yard sign. We are all NPR.

If you have any questions or concerns, please speak to your
supervisor.

Vivian

-------------------

From: [Senior vice president for news] Ellen Weiss
Sent: Wednesday, October 13, 2010 8:46 AM
To: News-All Staff
Subject: NPR Journalists and political activity

As we head into the final weeks of this political season, I
thought it would be valuable to send out a reminder of what
NPR News Ethics Policies and Social Media Guidelines are
regarding political activity. These are the relevant
excerpts from the full documents that can be found online.

Please review carefully and if you have any questions please
talk to your direct supervisor.

Many thanks,

Ellen

Political activity:
* NPR journalists may not run for office, endorse candidates
or otherwise engage in politics. Since contributions to
candidates are part of the public record, NPR journalists
may not contribute to political campaigns, as doing so would
call into question a journalist's impartiality.

* NPR journalists may not participate in marches and rallies
involving causes or issues that NPR covers, nor should they
sign petitions or otherwise lend their name to such causes,
or contribute money to them. This restriction applies to the
upcoming John Stewart and Stephen Colbert rallies.

* You must not advocate for political or other polarizing
issues online. This extends to joining online groups or
using social media in any form (including your Facebook page
or a personal blog) to express personal views on a political
or other controversial issue that you could not write for
the air or post on NPR.org.

* NPR journalists may not serve on government boards or
commissions.

Posted at 11:20 AM on Oct. 13, 2010

==========

* Re: Perennial Relevance of Abraham Lincoln 

Peter J of Minneapolis had some info on Lincoln and Russia
in the war against secession which I've never heard about.
I'd love to get steered to writings regarding what he's
talking about. Fascinating, sounds essential to the North's
victory.

Thanks,

Burt Cohen New Castle NH 

==========

* Chinese veteran politicians call for reform

British Broadcasting Corporation
October 13, 2010

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-pacific-11529920

A group of 23 Communist Party elders in China has written a
letter calling for an end to the country's restrictions on
freedom of speech.

The letter says freedom of expression is promised in the
Chinese constitution but not allowed in practice.

They want people to be able to freely express themselves on
the internet and want more respect for journalists.

The call comes just days after the Chinese dissident Liu
Xiaobo was awarded this year's Nobel Peace Prize.

The letter says: "They violate our constitution, often
ordering by telephone that the works of such and such a
person cannot be published, or that such and such an event
cannot be reported in the media.

"The officials who make the call do not leave their names,
and the secrecy of the agents is protected, but you must
heed their phone instructions."

Many who signed the letter were once influential officials.

They include a former personal secretary to the
revolutionary leader Mao Zedong, and a former editor of the
People's Daily, the official Communist Party newspaper.

The letter, addressed to China's parliament, makes a number
of proposals for change.

Censorship should be ended; restrictions on book publishing
abolished, they say.

Journalists should be given protection and support when they
investigate official corruption and a new media law should
be drawn up to ensure they do their job responsibly, it
says.

The signatories complain that people who lived in Hong Kong
while it was still a British colony enjoyed more freedom
than is currently allowed in mainland China.

The BBC's Chris Hogg in Beijing says open letters like this
rarely produce enough pressure to change policy.

Often they get the signatories into trouble, although most
of those who signed are retired or quite elderly and
probably believe the authorities can't do much to harm them,
our correspondent says.

Twitter users in China report that references to the letter
on different internet message boards are already being
deleted.

The censors appear to be doing what they always do, seeking
to wipe away any traces of criticism of the party that would
soil its reputation amongst ordinary people, our
correspondent says.

==========

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