Governor Brown says it’s time “to act like adults” to pass budget. Gorilla filmmaker launches controversial video saying Janice Hahn hearts gangsters. Education Department to college fraternities: “Party’s over, bro.” Engine28 launches pop-up newsroom. The inside scoop on the New York Times.
Governor Brown says it’s time “to act like adults” to pass budget
The clock is ticking for California lawmakers to reach a budget deal before tonight’s constitutional deadline. Budget deadlines are rarely met, but this time the stakes are higher than usual. If legislators fail to pass a budget by midnight, they will forfeit their paychecks. The major sticking point appears to be whether to extend several tax increases until a fall special election or have them expire at the end of this month. Republicans firmly oppose the tax revenue Brown has been seeking. After months of failed negotiations, Brown seems to be considering using accounting gimmicks to close California's remaining $9.6-billion budget deficit. This, however, is something Brown previously promised not to do. Now, Dem lawmakers are beginning to prepare two budgets, one with an extension of expiring increases and one without. The Governor says there will be a budget vote today – one way or another. But with no clear compromise in sight, what options do lawmakers have? Can the budget be balanced without tax hikes or deeper cuts?
Guests:
Julie Small, KPCC Sacramento Reporter
Bob Stern, President of the Center for Governmental Studies
Guerilla filmmaker launches controversial video saying Janice Hahn hearts gangsters
Yesterday, a guerilla filmmaker launched what is a deliberately offensive political attack ad. It's a mock rap-video aimed at Democrat Janice Hahn, who is running for Congress in California's 36th District. The YouTube video, called “Give us your cash B—ch!,” accuses candidate Hahn of enabling gang members to get out of jail “so that they can rape and kill again.” Hahn’s camp says the premise of the video is entirely baseless. Hahn and the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee (DCCC) have asked that the video be removed immediately. But the filmmaker, Ladd Ehrlinger, isn’t budging. Text at the end of the video says it was paid for by Turn Right USA and was “Definitely NOT authorized by any candidate. So suck it McCain-Feingold.” Do videos like this have a place in politics? Does this one go too far? Is Ehlinger just vying for attention, making a legitimate political statement – or both? Will this video help or hurt Hahn or her Republican rival, Craig Huey?
Disclaimer: The following link leads to content that could be inappropriate or offensive for some viewers.
Janice Hahn Attack Ad: "Give us your cash, B--ch!"
Guests:
Frank Stoltze, KPCC Reporter
Ladd Ehlinger, Independent Filmmaker and Blogger; creator of the video attack ad “Give us your cash, B—ch!”
Janice Hahn, Los Angeles City Councilwoman, 15th District; Democratic candidate in the special election to fill the seat in California’s 36th congressional district
Tom Hollihan, Professor of Communications, USC’s Annenberg School of Communications
Education Department to college fraternities: “Party’s over, bro”
Last October, the Delta Kappa Epsilon fraternity at Yale University hazed its pledges by having them chant “No means yes, and yes means anal!” while marching past female dorms on campus. Yale responded to the unsavory speech by slapping DKE with a five-year ban from all campus activities. In 2008, another frat at Yale, Zeta Psi, ordered its pledges to surround the Women’s Center with posters reading “We Love Yale Sluts.” These and other incidents spurred a group of Yale alums, who are predominantly female, to file a complaint against the university with the Education Department’s Office of Civil Rights. Since April, the Education Department has been investigating the incidents to determine if they violate Title IX of the Civil Rights Act by creating a “hostile sexual environment.” If this is determined to be the case, Yale would have to seriously crack down on frat behavior, if not disavow it entirely, at risk of losing federal funding. Activists, feminists and campus administrators welcome the shunning of what they see as a male-dominated, irrelevant tradition. But not everyone agrees. Should college fraternities be banned altogether? Or should the focus be on offensive language and activities? Or is this an example of, admittedly boorish, but free speech that must be protected under the 1st Amendment? Where is the line between collegiate prank and offensive, hateful dialogue?
Engine28 launches pop-up newsroom
What’s a pop-up newsroom you ask? No, it’s nothing to do with Rep. Anthony Weiner. It is, according to USC, a place for journalists to experiment and engage in shoulder-to-shoulder editing, try out new media, and explore novel approaches to arts journalism. Over the next couple of weeks, Southern California will be home to one of the largest concentrations of live theater ever to hit the area. For the first five days, a team of about 40 arts journalists, working with USC’s Annenberg School for Communication & Journalism, will attempt to cover this theatrical burst by blending old-school reporting with new, digital multimedia strategies. It’s hoped that the collaboration will lead to fresh perspectives and new models for arts reporting. We’ll get the inside scoop on the performances heading to L.A. and Engine28, as the pop-up project is called.
Guests:
Sasha Anawalt, Director of Arts Journalism Programs at USC Annenberg School for Communication & Journalism
Nancy Fowler, Arts reporter for the St. Louis Beacon. Fowler reviews and covers local theater as well as visual art and music in St. Louis
Jesse North, Founder and Editor of Stage Rush
The inside scoop on the New York Times
The way that people get information is changing, perhaps faster than news organizations can adapt. Blogs, Internet-only entities like the Huffington Post and social media sites like Facebook and Twitter are co-opting territory previously dominated by traditional print and broadcast media outlets. But it’s not just how the news is being disseminated that’s evolving. A battle for the soul of journalism is taking place, waged between the old, traditional guard and the rising prevalence of blogs and opinion-based content. Director Andrew Rossi’s new documentary, Page One: Inside the New York Times, peels back the cover on one of the most stalwart and respected rags in the business to show how the Times is dealing with all this new media stuff. What is the future of news? Is there a difference between independent blogs and New York Times blogs? Can traditional journalism survive the attack of the aggregators?
Guests:
Andrew Rossi, director of Page One: Inside the New York Times
David Carr, actor, Page One: Inside the New York Times; writes a column for the Monday Business section of the New York Times that focuses on media issues including print, digital, film, radio and television