Excessive workers’ compensation claims from Los Angeles city police and firefighters are costing taxpayers tens of millions of dollars a year, according to a City Controller audit. Also, how can new live-streaming apps Periscope and Meerkat revolutionize the media world? Then, Frank Barney was the first member of Congress to come out as gay in 1987 and joins AirTalk to discuss his new memoir.
LA budget watcher exposes 'excessive' workers’ comp claims by cops, firefighters
Excessive workers’ compensation claims from Los Angeles city police and firefighters are costing taxpayers tens of millions of dollars a year, according to an audit done by City Controller Ron Galperin.
The audit showed costs of work injuries have gone up 35 percent in the last five years and account for over 60 percent of the city’s workers’ comp claims, and Galperin says that the city could save $28 million a year by cutting back workers’ comp claims for things like back injuries or everyday injuries that occur from sports. In total, 29,000 claims were made and over $800 million was paid out between the 2010-2011 fiscal year and the 2013-2014 fiscal year.
Read the full story HERE
Guests:
Ron Galperin, Los Angeles City Controller
The revolution will be live streamed
Two new video-streaming apps could change your definition “live” news.
Periscope and Meerkat are designed to give anybody with a smartphone the ability to broadcast live to the world within seconds. The new technology could make verbal eyewitness accounts a thing of the past.
The two new apps have attracted a lot of attention … and money. Twitter recently shelled out $100 million dollars to buy Periscope, while Meerkat picked up $14 million during its most recent round of funding yesterday.
Both apps are designed to interface smoothly with Twitter. Once a connection is established, the app will notify a person’s followers that they are streaming live. Smartphone users only need to open the app and tap “Stream.”
The live-streaming race is just getting started, but Meerkat has already received a huge boost; Jimmy Fallon recently used the app to
|LIVE NOW| Desk piece rehearsal -- take 2 #meerkat http://t.co/rpkNFZSDTC
— Fallon.eth (@jimmyfallon) March 23, 2015
for the ‘Tonight Show.’
As live mobile video apps enter into the mainstream, the possibilities for journalism seem endless. As an explosion and fire destroyed a building in New York yesterday, one Periscope user tapped the app and started streaming.
The capacity to share images from the scene of breaking new may enhance our viewing experience at home, but making every smartphone owner a live cameraman can be risky; ordinary civilians may get in the way of emergency responders, or even put themselves in harm’s way to get the best footage. The tools of a reporter don’t come with the judgment of one.
Have you used Meerkat or Periscope? How can live-streaming apps revolutionize the media world? What are the potential risks?
Guests:
Ashley Esqueda, senior editor at CNET TV and host of the show “Tomorrow Daily”
Robert Hernandez, professor of digital journalism at the USC Annenberg School for Communication and Journalism
Getting 'Frank' with former Massachusetts Congressman Barney Frank
When Barney Frank left Congress in 2013, the Democratic Party lost a powerful elder statesman that fought tirelessly for social justice and American politics lost a no-nonsense straight shooter who spoke his mind on a range of matters.
Frank was the first member of Congress to come out as gay in 1987 and was one of the architects of Dodd-Frank, financial reform legislation enacted after the 2008 recession.
He retired after 16 terms in the House of Representatives in 2013.
Barney Frank joins guest host Jessica Yellin for a conversation on his new memoir, “Frank.”
Barney Frank will be speaking at the South Pasadena Library’s community room at 12 p.m. TODAY. The event is sponsored by Vroman’s. Click here for more information.
Guest:
Barney Frank, author of “Frank: A Life in Politics From the Great Society to Same-Sex Marriage” and member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Massachusetts from 1981 to 201
Filmweek: 'Get Hard,' Dreamworks' 'Home' and more
Jessica Yellin and KPCC film critics Andy Klein, Henry Sheehan and Charles Solomon review this week’s releases, including “Get Hard,” Dreamworks' “Home”and more. TGI-Filmweek!
Guests:
Henry Sheehan, film critic for KPCC and CriticsAGoGo.com
Andy Klein, film critic for KPCC and L.A. Times Community Paper Chain
Charles Solomon, film critic for KPCC, Animation Scoop and Animation Magazine
Former Scientologist featured in new documentary 'Going Clear'
Is it a religion or a cult? New Yorker journalist Lawrence Wright takes on the Church of Scientology alongside renowned documentarian Alex Gibney in the upcoming HBO documentary film "Going Clear: Scientology and the Prison of Belief," based on Wright's book of the same name.
"Going Clear" — which open in theaters in Los Angeles this weekend and on HBO later on March 29 — details the interstellar dogma of Scientology, weaves through its history, the dramatic life story of founder L.Ron Hubbard and condemns the organization for abusing and exploiting its followers.
On-camera interviews with former members include Hollywood screenwriter Paul Haggis and former church liaison to John Travolta, Sylvia "Spanky" Taylor, who claims she was imprisoned in horrible conditions after trying to leave the church.
In response to the documentary, the church of Scientology has taken out full-page newspaper ads arguing that "Gibney, co-producer Lawrence Wright and HBO have intentionally covered up relevant facts discrediting their sources speaks volumes about their bigoted agendas and the bias they hold toward people of any faith that doesn’t carry their stamp of approval."
Why did Gibney and Wright want to take on the notoriously litigious church? Why does Scientology continue to be cloaked in mystery?
Guests:
Sylvia "Spanky" Taylor, former member of the Church of Scientology featured in the documentary; former church liaison to actor John Travolta
Lawrence Wright, Producer of the documentary "Going Clear: Scientology and the Prison of Belief," based on Wright's book by the same name