{"id":153,"date":"2014-09-21T07:50:06","date_gmt":"2014-09-21T07:50:06","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/courses.candelalearning.com\/gobehindthenews\/?post_type=chapter&#038;p=153"},"modified":"2014-10-22T16:33:18","modified_gmt":"2014-10-22T16:33:18","slug":"153","status":"publish","type":"chapter","link":"https:\/\/courses.lumenlearning.com\/snhu-gobehindthenews\/chapter\/153\/","title":{"raw":"Exploring News and Opinion  ","rendered":"Exploring News and Opinion"},"content":{"raw":"<h1>Exploring News and Opinion with \u201cGuest\u201d op-ed Authors<\/h1>\r\nFebruary 27, 2014 <a href=\"https:\/\/s3-us-west-2.amazonaws.com\/courses-images-archive-read-only\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/128\/2014\/09\/21075006\/Screenshot-2014-09-21-00.42.19.png\"><img class=\"alignright size-medium wp-image-155\" alt=\"Screenshot 2014-09-21 00.42.19\" src=\"https:\/\/s3-us-west-2.amazonaws.com\/courses-images-archive-read-only\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/128\/2014\/09\/21075006\/Screenshot-2014-09-21-00.42.19-300x206.png\" width=\"300\" height=\"206\" \/><\/a>\r\n\r\n<a href=\"http:\/\/online.wsj.com\/news\/articles\/SB10001424052702303426304579402850803113112?mg=reno64-wsj&amp;url=http%3A%2F%2Fonline.wsj.com%2Farticle%2FSB10001424052702303426304579402850803113112.html\" target=\"_blank\">When The Wall Street Journal published an op-ed by Phil Gramm and Mike Solon (for subscribers) <\/a> pushing \u201cpro-growth tax reform\u201d and criticizing \u201cregulatory burden\u201d and \u201cantibusiness bias, the paper failed to disclose that the authors are partners of an anti-regulation lobbying firm, and that Solon is frequent business lobbyist. <span style=\"font-size: small;\">(<a href=\"http:\/\/www.centerfornewsliteracy.org\/resources\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/02\/WSJ-ArticleOpinon.pdf\">Article Full Text<\/a>)<\/span>\r\n\r\nGramm and Solon\u2019s op-ed complains that Democrats won\u2019t lower tax rates and have a \u201cmisplaced perception of the importance of the inequality debate.\u201d They add: \u201cA pro-growth tax reform will not undo this administration\u2019s doubling of the federal debt held by the public, its tax increases, increased regulatory burden or antibusiness bias. But it would be a major movement in the right direction.\u201d\r\n\r\nGramm is a former Republican Senator, and Solon worked as his staffer for over a decade. Together they now run a D.C. lobbying firm. The Gramm Partners website states that they work \u201con the issues that matter most to financial companies\u201d and have \u201ca track record of delivering major accomplishments \u2014 and stopping bad deals in their tracks.\u201d Gramm and Solon also run an economic and public policy research firm, US Policy Metrics, \u201cserving asset managers, hedge funds and the investor community.\u201d In addition, Solon has lobbied for a variety of clients including the \u201clobby giant\u201d Akin Gump, Fidelity, American Express, Mortgage Insurance Companies of America, Exxon Mobil, and US Chamber of Commerce, and Gramm was a \u201clobbyist for a Swiss bank at the center of the housing credit crisis.\u201d\r\n\r\nYet the Journal\u2019s author identification of Gramm and Solon simply states: \u201cMr. Gramm, a former chairman of the Senate Banking Committee, is senior partner of US Policy Metrics and a visiting scholar at the American Enterprise Institute. Mr. Solon was a policy adviser to Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell and is a partner at US Policy Metrics.\u201d\r\n\r\nThis <a href=\"http:\/\/mediamatters.org\/blog\/2014\/02\/26\/wsj-doesnt-bother-telling-readers-op-ed-authors\/198234\" target=\"_blank\">post from Media Matters for America <\/a>documents how the Journal did not disclose the relevant business ties of both Gramm and Solon \u2013something the media watchdog says the newspaper repeatedly fails to do for writers on its editorial page.\r\n\r\n<strong>Lesson Guiding Questions<\/strong>\r\n<ul>\r\n\t<li>How important is it for the news consumer to focus on information about the authors of an opinion article? Is it more or less important than the information in the article itself?<\/li>\r\n\t<li>Do you see any problem with the practice of a \u201cGuest\u201d submitting a piece to a well-known and well-read publication like the Wall Street Journal if the guest writers and editors seem to have an intimate connection with the subject? Why or why not?<\/li>\r\n\t<li>Identify the interests that other \u201cguest\u201d op-ed authors might have to the subjects that they are writing about. While this may make them experts in the field, what consequences could come from their words being published in a well-established publication?<\/li>\r\n\t<li>Can you recall other examples of self-interested guest op-ed authors that you have read before?<\/li>\r\n<\/ul>\r\n<strong>Additional Resources:<\/strong>\r\n<ul>\r\n<ul>\r\n\t<li>Here is a video with New York Times OpEd chief Andrew Rosenthal on the art of writing editorials: <a href=\"http:\/\/learning.blogs.nytimes.com\/2014\/02\/06\/student-contest-write-an-editorial-on-an-issue-that-matters-to-you\/\" target=\"_blank\">http:\/\/learning.blogs.nytimes.com\/2014\/02\/06\/student-contest-write-an-editorial-on-an-issue-that-matters-to-you\/<\/a><\/li>\r\n\t<li>This <a href=\"http:\/\/learning.blogs.nytimes.com\/2014\/02\/07\/for-the-sake-of-argument-writing-persuasively-to-craft-short-evidence-based-editorials\/\" target=\"_blank\"> supplemental lesson plan :\u201cFor the Sake of Argument: Writing Persuasively to Craft Short, Evidence-Based Editorials,\u201d<\/a> offers additional ideas for teaching the steps in the process.<\/li>\r\n\t<li>Prompts to help jump-start your brainstorming for ideas that might lead to argumentative writing: <a href=\"http:\/\/learning.blogs.nytimes.com\/2014\/02\/04\/200-prompts-for-argumentative-writing\/\" target=\"_blank\">http:\/\/learning.blogs.nytimes.com\/2014\/02\/04\/200-prompts-for-argumentative-writing\/<\/a><\/li>\r\n\t<li>A link to an ongoing editorial writing contest for 13-19 year old students, co-sponsored by the Center for News Literacy and the New York Times:\r\n<a href=\"http:\/\/learning.blogs.nytimes.com\/2014\/02\/06\/student-contest-write-an-editorial-on-an-issue-that-matters-to-you\/\" target=\"_blank\">http:\/\/learning.blogs.nytimes.com\/2014\/02\/06\/student-contest-write-an-editorial-on-an-issue-that-matters-to-you\/<\/a><\/li>\r\n<\/ul>\r\n<\/ul>","rendered":"<h1>Exploring News and Opinion with \u201cGuest\u201d op-ed Authors<\/h1>\n<p>February 27, 2014 <a href=\"https:\/\/s3-us-west-2.amazonaws.com\/courses-images-archive-read-only\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/128\/2014\/09\/21075006\/Screenshot-2014-09-21-00.42.19.png\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignright size-medium wp-image-155\" alt=\"Screenshot 2014-09-21 00.42.19\" src=\"https:\/\/s3-us-west-2.amazonaws.com\/courses-images-archive-read-only\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/128\/2014\/09\/21075006\/Screenshot-2014-09-21-00.42.19-300x206.png\" width=\"300\" height=\"206\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/online.wsj.com\/news\/articles\/SB10001424052702303426304579402850803113112?mg=reno64-wsj&amp;url=http%3A%2F%2Fonline.wsj.com%2Farticle%2FSB10001424052702303426304579402850803113112.html\" target=\"_blank\">When The Wall Street Journal published an op-ed by Phil Gramm and Mike Solon (for subscribers) <\/a> pushing \u201cpro-growth tax reform\u201d and criticizing \u201cregulatory burden\u201d and \u201cantibusiness bias, the paper failed to disclose that the authors are partners of an anti-regulation lobbying firm, and that Solon is frequent business lobbyist. <span style=\"font-size: small;\">(<a href=\"http:\/\/www.centerfornewsliteracy.org\/resources\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/02\/WSJ-ArticleOpinon.pdf\">Article Full Text<\/a>)<\/span><\/p>\n<p>Gramm and Solon\u2019s op-ed complains that Democrats won\u2019t lower tax rates and have a \u201cmisplaced perception of the importance of the inequality debate.\u201d They add: \u201cA pro-growth tax reform will not undo this administration\u2019s doubling of the federal debt held by the public, its tax increases, increased regulatory burden or antibusiness bias. But it would be a major movement in the right direction.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Gramm is a former Republican Senator, and Solon worked as his staffer for over a decade. Together they now run a D.C. lobbying firm. The Gramm Partners website states that they work \u201con the issues that matter most to financial companies\u201d and have \u201ca track record of delivering major accomplishments \u2014 and stopping bad deals in their tracks.\u201d Gramm and Solon also run an economic and public policy research firm, US Policy Metrics, \u201cserving asset managers, hedge funds and the investor community.\u201d In addition, Solon has lobbied for a variety of clients including the \u201clobby giant\u201d Akin Gump, Fidelity, American Express, Mortgage Insurance Companies of America, Exxon Mobil, and US Chamber of Commerce, and Gramm was a \u201clobbyist for a Swiss bank at the center of the housing credit crisis.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Yet the Journal\u2019s author identification of Gramm and Solon simply states: \u201cMr. Gramm, a former chairman of the Senate Banking Committee, is senior partner of US Policy Metrics and a visiting scholar at the American Enterprise Institute. Mr. Solon was a policy adviser to Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell and is a partner at US Policy Metrics.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>This <a href=\"http:\/\/mediamatters.org\/blog\/2014\/02\/26\/wsj-doesnt-bother-telling-readers-op-ed-authors\/198234\" target=\"_blank\">post from Media Matters for America <\/a>documents how the Journal did not disclose the relevant business ties of both Gramm and Solon \u2013something the media watchdog says the newspaper repeatedly fails to do for writers on its editorial page.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Lesson Guiding Questions<\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>How important is it for the news consumer to focus on information about the authors of an opinion article? Is it more or less important than the information in the article itself?<\/li>\n<li>Do you see any problem with the practice of a \u201cGuest\u201d submitting a piece to a well-known and well-read publication like the Wall Street Journal if the guest writers and editors seem to have an intimate connection with the subject? Why or why not?<\/li>\n<li>Identify the interests that other \u201cguest\u201d op-ed authors might have to the subjects that they are writing about. While this may make them experts in the field, what consequences could come from their words being published in a well-established publication?<\/li>\n<li>Can you recall other examples of self-interested guest op-ed authors that you have read before?<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><strong>Additional Resources:<\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Here is a video with New York Times OpEd chief Andrew Rosenthal on the art of writing editorials: <a href=\"http:\/\/learning.blogs.nytimes.com\/2014\/02\/06\/student-contest-write-an-editorial-on-an-issue-that-matters-to-you\/\" target=\"_blank\">http:\/\/learning.blogs.nytimes.com\/2014\/02\/06\/student-contest-write-an-editorial-on-an-issue-that-matters-to-you\/<\/a><\/li>\n<li>This <a href=\"http:\/\/learning.blogs.nytimes.com\/2014\/02\/07\/for-the-sake-of-argument-writing-persuasively-to-craft-short-evidence-based-editorials\/\" target=\"_blank\"> supplemental lesson plan :\u201cFor the Sake of Argument: Writing Persuasively to Craft Short, Evidence-Based Editorials,\u201d<\/a> offers additional ideas for teaching the steps in the process.<\/li>\n<li>Prompts to help jump-start your brainstorming for ideas that might lead to argumentative writing: <a href=\"http:\/\/learning.blogs.nytimes.com\/2014\/02\/04\/200-prompts-for-argumentative-writing\/\" target=\"_blank\">http:\/\/learning.blogs.nytimes.com\/2014\/02\/04\/200-prompts-for-argumentative-writing\/<\/a><\/li>\n<li>A link to an ongoing editorial writing contest for 13-19 year old students, co-sponsored by the Center for News Literacy and the New York Times:<br \/>\n<a href=\"http:\/\/learning.blogs.nytimes.com\/2014\/02\/06\/student-contest-write-an-editorial-on-an-issue-that-matters-to-you\/\" target=\"_blank\">http:\/\/learning.blogs.nytimes.com\/2014\/02\/06\/student-contest-write-an-editorial-on-an-issue-that-matters-to-you\/<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\t\t\t <section class=\"citations-section\" role=\"contentinfo\">\n\t\t\t <h3>Candela Citations<\/h3>\n\t\t\t\t\t <div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t <div id=\"citation-list-153\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t <div class=\"licensing\"><div class=\"license-attribution-dropdown-subheading\">CC licensed content, Shared previously<\/div><ul class=\"citation-list\"><li>Exploring News and Opinon with u201cGuestu201d op-ed Authors. <strong>Provided by<\/strong>: Stony Brook University. <strong>Located at<\/strong>: <a target=\"_blank\" href=\"http:\/\/www.centerfornewsliteracy.org\/resources\/exploring-news-and-opinon-with-guest-op-ed-authors\/\">http:\/\/www.centerfornewsliteracy.org\/resources\/exploring-news-and-opinon-with-guest-op-ed-authors\/<\/a>. <strong>Project<\/strong>: Center for News Literacy. <strong>License<\/strong>: <em><a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"license\" href=\"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/\">CC BY: Attribution<\/a><\/em><\/li><\/ul><\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t <\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t <\/div>\n\t\t\t <\/section>","protected":false},"author":9,"menu_order":2,"template":"","meta":{"_candela_citation":"[{\"type\":\"cc\",\"description\":\"Exploring News and Opinon with u201cGuestu201d op-ed Authors\",\"author\":\"\",\"organization\":\"Stony Brook University\",\"url\":\"http:\/\/www.centerfornewsliteracy.org\/resources\/exploring-news-and-opinon-with-guest-op-ed-authors\/\",\"project\":\"Center for News Literacy\",\"license\":\"cc-by\",\"license_terms\":\"\"}]","CANDELA_OUTCOMES_GUID":"","pb_show_title":"on","pb_short_title":"","pb_subtitle":"","pb_authors":[],"pb_section_license":""},"chapter-type":[],"contributor":[],"license":[],"class_list":["post-153","chapter","type-chapter","status-publish","hentry"],"part":22,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/courses.lumenlearning.com\/snhu-gobehindthenews\/wp-json\/pressbooks\/v2\/chapters\/153","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/courses.lumenlearning.com\/snhu-gobehindthenews\/wp-json\/pressbooks\/v2\/chapters"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/courses.lumenlearning.com\/snhu-gobehindthenews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/chapter"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/courses.lumenlearning.com\/snhu-gobehindthenews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/9"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/courses.lumenlearning.com\/snhu-gobehindthenews\/wp-json\/pressbooks\/v2\/chapters\/153\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":158,"href":"https:\/\/courses.lumenlearning.com\/snhu-gobehindthenews\/wp-json\/pressbooks\/v2\/chapters\/153\/revisions\/158"}],"part":[{"href":"https:\/\/courses.lumenlearning.com\/snhu-gobehindthenews\/wp-json\/pressbooks\/v2\/parts\/22"}],"metadata":[{"href":"https:\/\/courses.lumenlearning.com\/snhu-gobehindthenews\/wp-json\/pressbooks\/v2\/chapters\/153\/metadata\/"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/courses.lumenlearning.com\/snhu-gobehindthenews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=153"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"chapter-type","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/courses.lumenlearning.com\/snhu-gobehindthenews\/wp-json\/pressbooks\/v2\/chapter-type?post=153"},{"taxonomy":"contributor","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/courses.lumenlearning.com\/snhu-gobehindthenews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/contributor?post=153"},{"taxonomy":"license","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/courses.lumenlearning.com\/snhu-gobehindthenews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/license?post=153"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}