March/April 1997 | 1997 Index

FEATURES

Punishing the Press (Cover Stories)
The public passes some tough judgments against the media on libel, fairness, and "fraud."
by James Boylan

The Legacy of Richard Jewell
Now the Atlanta security guard's lawyers plan to sue on grounds of invasion of privacy.
by Ellen Alderman and Caroline Kennedy

In Greensboro: Damning Undercover Tactics as 'Fraud'
Can journalists lie about who they are?
A North Carolina jury says no.
by Russ Baker

In Miami: Paying Dearly for Technique
Here's an ominous $10 million lesson for journalists: the process can count as much as the content.
by Beatrice Garcia

In Minneapolis: Ruling a Prizewinner Unfair
A news council censures an "untruthful" broadcast.
by John J. Oslund

News Councils: the Case for...and Against
Mike Wallace of 60 Minutes thinks their time has come (again). Joseph Lelyveld of The New York Times disagrees.
interviews by Evan Jenkins

The New New Republic
Meet Michael Kelly, some kind of liberal. The recently named editor is steering the venerable magazine head-on into the political fray.
by Mike Hoyt

The Real Dangers of Conglomerate Control
A CJR forum looks at the bad news about corporate synergy as the dust settles after a record number of media mergers and acquisitions. With press critics Ken Auletta, Alex Jones, Howard Kurtz, Dorothy Rabinowitz, and Frank Rich.

Trimming the Fringe
How newspapers shun low-income readers.
by Gilbert Cranberg

UPFRONT

• CNN moves toward opening a bureau in Havana.
• The press tries to take the circus out of the big trial in Denver.
• (Just about) everybody loves e-mail.
• France: how the far right runs circles around the mainstream media.
• Patricia Smith brings the touch of a poet to her Boston Globe column.

BOOKS

• Right in the Old Gazoo: A Lifetime of Scrapping With the Press
  by Alan K. Simpson
  Reviewed by Christopher Hanson
• Citizen K: The Deeply Weird American Journey of Brett Kimberlin
  by Mark Singer
  Reviewed by Anthony Marro
• Airframe: A Novel
  by Michael Crichton
  Reviewed by Adam Bryant

EXCERPTS

• Behind the Oval Office
  by Dick Morris
• Typhoid Mary: Captive to the Public's Health
  by Judith Walzer Leavitt
• Preventive Diplomacy: Stopping Wars Before They Start
  edited by Kevin M. Cahill, M.D.
  with an essay by Michael J. O'Neill
• Defending Rights: A Life in Law and Politics
  by Frank Askin
• Christine Todd Whitman: The Making of a National Political Player
  by Art Weissman

DEPARTMENTS

Index
People and organizations mentioned in this issue

Publisher's Note
The Virtues of Not Telling a Story
by Joan Konner

Letters

Critic at Large
To Err is Human, to Admit it Divine
by Lawrence K. Grossman

Grapevine
Who's Where and What's What

Darts and Laurels

Dear CJR
It's your turn to sound off

Lower Case