New Deal Mass Surveillance: The “Black Inquisition Committee,” 1935–1936

2018 ◽  
Vol 30 (2) ◽  
pp. 169-201 ◽  
Author(s):  
David T. Beito

Abstract:At the behest of the Roosevelt administration in 1935, the U.S. Senate established a special committee to investigate lobbying activities by opponents of the “death sentence” of the Public Utility Holding Company Bill. Chaired by Hugo L. Black (D-Ala.), the “Black Committee” expanded its mission into a more general probe of anti–New Deal organizations and individuals. The committee used highly intrusive methods, notably catch-all dragnet subpoenas, to secure evidence. It worked closely with the IRS for access to tax returns and with the FCC to obtain copies of millions of telegrams. When the telegram search became public information, there was a major backlash from the press, Congress, and the courts. Court rulings in 1936, resulting from suits by William Randolph Hearst and others, not only limited the committee’s powers but provided important checks for future investigators, including Senator Joseph McCarthy.

Author(s):  
Satino Satino ◽  
Yuliana Yuli W ◽  
Iswahyuni Adil

Law Number 40 of 1999 concerning the Press is one of the legal regulations that have a role in efforts to realize a good life together. The struggle of the Indonesian press to achieve freedom was finally achieved after the enactment of Law Number 40 of 1999 concerning the Press. The purpose of this study is to find out how the freedom and role of the press in law enforcement are reviewed from the perspective of Law Number 40 of 1999, concerning the press. This study uses a sociological juridical method, the results of research conducted on real facts in society with the intent and purpose of finding facts, then proceeding with finding problems, ultimately leading to problem identification and leading to problem solving. The results of the research include the press trying to carry out its functions, rights, obligations, and roles, so the press must respect the human rights of everyone. The press has an important role in realizing Human Rights (HAM), as guaranteed in the Decree of the People's Consultative Assembly of the Republic of Indonesia Number: XVII/MPR/1998. Based on the results of the research above, it is necessary to uphold the freedom of the press in conveying public information in an honest and balanced manner and that freedom of the press is not absolute for the press alone, but to guarantee the rights of the public to obtain information. what happened in the context of realizing press freedom as contained in Law/040/1999 concerning the Press.


2021 ◽  
Vol 37 (S1) ◽  
pp. 36-36
Author(s):  
Miranda Pierre ◽  
Jackie McCormack ◽  
Jennifer Dickson ◽  
Lindsay Lockhart ◽  
Noreen Downes

IntroductionThe Scottish Medicines Consortium (SMC) provides advice on which new medicines should be accepted for routine use by the NHS in Scotland. To help increase the accessibility of the advice, SMC produces public information summaries, which have been published on the SMC website since 2018. We conducted an evaluation to investigate if the public summaries are achieving their purpose and subsequently help inform improvements from a user perspective. The objectives were to determine how the public summaries are being used; what users like and what could be improved; and if they have achieved a greater understanding of decisions.MethodsThe first stage of the evaluation involved surveying patient groups (organizations that represent the interests of patients, families and carers) to investigate how they use the public summaries. We then conducted workshops with patient groups and Public Partners (members of the public that volunteer with Healthcare Improvement Scotland) to gather perspectives on the content, language and layout of a selection of public summaries.ResultsThe survey responses (n = 14) illustrate that the public summaries are being used in a variety of ways. The majority (n = 10) of patient groups reported using the public summaries to help explain SMC decisions to the people they support.The workshops highlighted that participants found the public summaries clear and helpful. In general, patient groups felt the level of detail and language used in the public summaries improved their understanding of SMC decisions compared to other sources of information, such as the press release or Detailed Advice Document.There were a number of suggested improvements, including changing the layout (so the SMC decision appears first) and providing definitions for some technical terms. Where actionable, these recommendations have been implemented.ConclusionsWorking in partnership with patient groups and Public Partners has enabled SMC to further strengthen public summaries, and patient engagement more broadly. Improvements have ensured that SMC's decisions are communicated clearly, helping to increase accessibility.


2018 ◽  
Vol 3 (2) ◽  
pp. 193
Author(s):  
Icol Dianto

<p align="center"><strong>Abstract</strong></p><p>Local press problems in facing the contestation of the election of Regional Heads in West Sumatra Province can be grouped into two broad lines: first, the local press is dragged into a conflict of interest in the election of the Regional Head including 1) The Press supports one candidate pair, 2). Incitement of the success team, 3). The interests of media owners and stakeholders in media companies. Second, the intervention of the Regional Head towards local media includes 1). Change the Regional Head changes journalists, 2). Contract termination threats and 3). Media blockade. As for the solution to the problem, an alternative solution can be proposed that: 1). Re-guided Law Number 40 of 1999 concerning Press. 2). Balancing the press as a business industry with the press as a professional institution (social control). 3). The media owner should not use and manipulate his press company into the realm of practical politics. 5). In establishing cooperation with local governments, strive to stick to the principles and ethics of the journalistic profession. 6). Journalists must increase the capacity and quality of journalistic products, adhere to journalists' code of ethics, and not bring the profession into the realm of practical politics. 7). Report regional heads or parties who attempt to intimidate the media and journalists in carrying out their profession, to the Public Information Commission (KIP), police and Ombudsman at certain levels of government.</p><p><strong>Keywords:</strong> Local Press, Problems, Pemilukada Contestation.</p><p> </p><p align="center"><strong>Abstrak</strong></p><p>Problematika pers lokal dalam menghadapi kontestasi pemilihan Kepala Daerah di Provinsi Sumatera Barat dapat dikelompokkan pada dua garis besar: yaitu <em>pertama</em>, pers lokal terseret dalam konflik kepentingan pemilihan Kepala Daerah meliputi 1) Pers mendukung salah satu pasangan calon, 2). hasutan tim sukses, 3). kepentingan pemilik media dan pemangku kewenangan pada perusahaan media. <em>Kedua</em>, intervensi Kepala daerah terhadap media lokal meliputi 1). berganti Kepala Daerah berganti wartawan, 2). ancaman putus kontrak dan 3). blokade media. Adapun solusi untuk permasalahan tersebut, dapat diajukan alternative penyelesaiannya bahwa: 1). Mempedomani kembali Undang-Undang Nomor 40 tahun 1999 tentang Pers. 2). Menyeimbangkan antara pers sebagai industry bisnis dengan pers sebagai lembaga professional (<em>control social</em>). 3). Pemilik media jangan memanfaatkan dan memperalat perusahaan pers miliknya ke ranah politik praktis. 5). Dalam menjalin kerja sama dengan pemerintah daerah, upayakan tetap berpegang pada prinsip dan etika profesi jurnalistik. 6). Wartawan mesti meningkatkan kapasitas dan kualitas produk jurnalistiknya, menaati kode etik wartawan, dan tidak membawa profesi ke ranah politik praktis. 7). Melaporkan kepala daerah atau pihak-pihak yang berupaya mengintimidasi media dan wartawan dalam menjalankan profesinya, ke Komisi Informasi Publik (KIP), polisi dan ombusman pada level pemerintahan tertentu.</p><p><strong>Kata Kunci</strong><strong>:</strong> Pers Lokal, Problematika, Kontestasi Pemilukada.</p>


2010 ◽  
Vol 84 (3) ◽  
pp. 435-458 ◽  
Author(s):  
Steven A. Bank ◽  
Brian R. Cheffins

Although corporate pyramids are currently commonplace world-wide and although there have been “noteworthy pyramiders” in American business history, this controversial form of corporate organization is now a rarity in the United States. The conventional wisdom is that corporate pyramids disappeared in the U.S. when New Deal policymakers began taxing dividends paid to corporate shareholders. This version of events is more fable than truth. The introduction of the intercorporate dividend tax did not foster a rapid dismantling of corporate pyramids. Instead, pyramidal arrangements were already rare in the U.S., other than in the utilities sector, and the demise of utility pyramids was prompted by the Public Util- ities Holding Company Act of 1935 rather than by tax reform.


Author(s):  
Kevin G. Barnhurst

This chapter analyzes changes in news event coverage. In early 1950, when Sen. Joseph R. McCarthy mounted his virulent attacks accusing the Truman administration of harboring Communists in the State Department, the press simply reported who said what. The Republican Party won the 1952 election and took control of the Senate, and McCarthy became committee chair and expanded his attacks, going after defense industries, universities, and the broadcasters themselves. ABC Television came into national prominence by airing the hearings about supposed Communist infiltration of the U.S. Army, riveting national attention with the live proceedings. But the events could not really speak for themselves, a discovery that seemed to expose a weakness in realism. Every name named exacted a human cost, as McCarthy dragged innocent individuals into the public eye, and his baseless accusations harmed their relationships and destroyed their livelihoods. The consequences, although not lost on the press, were not in themselves news events as then defined.


Author(s):  
Jonathan Y. Okamura

This chapter covers the period after Fukunaga was given the death sentence to more than a year later, including his execution in November 1929. It reviews the legal appeals to save him from being hanged, which went all the way to the U.S. Supreme Court. The chapter also discusses the public assertions of colorblindness in the case by the Honolulu daily newspapers, the Nippu Jiji, and the presiding judge at his trial, which all sought to deny the decisive role that race played in his conviction. It outlines the advocacy efforts by the Japanese American community organized by the Hawaii Hochi to obtain a new trial for Fukunaga and the opposition to that campaign led by the Honolulu press, including the Nippu Jiji.


2018 ◽  
Vol 62 (4) ◽  
pp. 478-492 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jennifer Hoewe

Given the intense debate surrounding the United States’ policies regarding admission of refugees and immigrants into the country, this study set out to determine how the news media cover refugees and how that coverage influences news consumers. This research examines how news stories informed the public about the individuals affected by the wars in Syria, Afghanistan, and Iraq. In particular, it explores usage of the word “refugee” as opposed to “immigrant” to determine how individuals fleeing their home countries were described by the press. A content analysis revealed that U.S. newspapers were more likely than international newspapers to conflate the term “immigrant” with “refugee.” Also, when refugees were incorrectly described as “immigrants,” references to terrorism were more likely. The experimental portion of this research tested how news consumers respond to this framing of “refugee” versus “immigrant” in the same war-torn situation. Democrats, Independents, and Republicans who read about individuals labeled as “refugees” did not distinguish them from “immigrants” in the same situation, indicating they may have adopted the U.S. news media’s conflation of these terms. Republicans, however, had more negative perceptions of both refugees and immigrants than did Democrats or Independents, reporting greater perceptions of threat and favoring more stringent policy. These results suggest that American news consumers do not distinguish between refugees and immigrants in terms of policy, which at least partially implicates U.S. news media for not providing a solid benchmark for understanding these groups of people.


2019 ◽  
pp. 77-92
Author(s):  
John M. Thompson

Chapter 4 examines TR’s attempt to implement the Roosevelt Corollary in the Dominican Republic. Roosevelt avoided acting in 1904 in order to avoid any controversy that might harm his prospects in the upcoming election, and his actions after the election continued to be affected by resistance in Congress and the press. Many Republicans and Democrats were critical of an accord that arranged for the United States to take control of Dominican custom houses, the Dillingham-Morales agreement, and opposed efforts by the Roosevelt administration to secure ratification by the Senate. This confrontation occurred amid tension between TR and conservative, Republicans as well as growing concerns about TR’s expansion of the powers of the presidency. The chapter argues that this episode reinforced the president’s belief that the public could be a vital counterweight to elite opinion and Congress and that skilled political leadership was essential for an effective foreign policy.


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