MediaWatch: February 1994
Table of Contents:
- MediaWatch: February 1994
- ABC Friday Segment Often Used As Vehicle for Unbalanced Praise
- NewsBites: What A Great Book
- Revolving Door: Bode Moves to PBS
- Schieffer Asks 26 Questions About Lying, But No Such Questions for Dems
- Media Suffer Memory Lapse
- Not My Fault
- ABC First to Hire Religion Reporter
- Janet Cooke Award: PBS Program on Campaign Finance Laws Boasts Nine Opponents, No Supporters
Revolving Door: Bode Moves to PBS
Bode Moves to PBS
In early March Paul Duke, moderator of Washington Week in Review on PBS for 20 years, will retire. Taking his place on the Friday night show: Ken Bode, an aide in Democrat Morris Udall's 1976 presidential campaign. Bode was NBC's Chief Political Correspondent from 1979 to 1989, contributing to CNN's special assignment unit since 1990. He'll leave CNN, but remain Director of the Center for Contemporary Media at DePauw University.
Abortion Advocate
The National Abortion and Reproductive Rights Action League (NARAL) has tapped Karen Schneider, a Detroit Free Press Washington correspondent, as its Communications Director. In addition to reporting for the Knight-Ridder newspaper chain, since 1991 Schneider's Knight-Ridder/Tribune News Service stories have appeared in major newspapers, including the Chicago Tribune, Houston Chronicle and Dallas Morning News.
Liberal Legal Beagles
The National Public Radio (NPR) legal team is filling Clinton Administration slots. Lois Schiffer, NPR general counsel from 1984 to 1990, who has been serving as Acting Assistant Attorney General in charge of the Environment and Natural Resources Division since last Spring, has now been nominated to fill the slot. For six years ending in 1984, she served as special litigation counsel in the same division, a position she took after leaving the Center for Law and Social Policy. She has served on the boards of the liberal Women's Legal Defense Fund and the ACLU's Washington chapter.
Named general counsel at the National Endowment for the Arts: Karen Kay Christensen, assistant general counsel at NPR.
Another ABC Pentagon Pick
After 20 years of working for liberal politicians on Capitol Hill, William Blacklow has joined the Clinton Administration as Deputy Assistant to the Secretary of Defense for public affairs. Roll Call's Peter Spiegel reported that in 1969, Blacklow was a production assistant for ABC's old Issues and Answers Sunday interview show, "moving up to assistant to the producer in 1970. In 1971, Blacklow became a writer for ABC's Howard K. Smith, but he left in 1972 to become New Jersey and Pennsylvania Press Secretary for" George McGovern's 1972 campaign.
For the past five years Blacklow's been Press Secretary for Senator Carl Levin (D-Mich.), a position he assumed in 1988 after four years in the same role for Rep. George Miller (D-Calif.). Prior to Miller, he spent seven years as Administrative Assistant and Press Secretary to then-Rep. Toby Moffett (D-Conn.). At Defense he'll work with another ABC News veteran: Kathleen deLaski, chief public affairs officer.
Ginny Moves Up
Six months after becoming Director of Public Affairs at the National Endowment for the Arts, Ginny Terzano moved to the White House in late 1993 as Deputy Press Secretary. Following stints with the Gary Hart and Al Gore presidential campaigns, in 1988 she joined the CBS News election unit as a researcher. At the White House, she takes over for Lorraine Voles, who replaced Marla Romash, departed Press Secretary to the VP. In the mid-'80s Romash was a Good Morning America Associate Producer.
