Journalist/Producer Bill Lichtenstein Wins Casey Medal for Meritorious Journalism

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Exposed School Use of Restraints and Seclusion Rooms in Lexington, MA and Nationally

Our friend Bill Lichtenstein has won a Casey Medal for Meritorious Journalism for “A Terrifying Way to Discipline Chlldren,” an Op Ed piece he wrote for the September 8, 2012 New York Times. Lichtenstein, an investigative journalist and filmmaker, exposed the largely unknown use of seclusion rooms and physical restraints in schools across the country. Lichtenstein became aware of such rooms and restraints when his young daughter encountered them in a Lexington, MA public school.

According to the award announcement: “After learning that his 5-year-old daughter had been repeatedly locked in a converted closet in her elementary school, the author exposed the largely unknown use of seclusion rooms and physical restraints as forms of punishment in schools around the U.S. The piece attracted a flood of media attention to the issue, sparked tremendous response from readers, and helped coalesce a national effort to end these practices and promote positive behavior interventions in schools.”

Lichtenstein, along with five other parents, has launched Action to Keep Students Safe, a non-profit initiative to curtail the use of restraints and seclusion rooms in schools and to support parents in advocating for their children. See: KeepStudentsSafe.com .

The Casey Medals celebrate the past year’s best reporting on children, youth and families in the U.S. Lichtenstein’s article received an Honorable Mention.

According to the Casey Medals press release: “Judges sought journalism that packed a punch, stirred the conscience and made an impact; meticulously reported, powerfully delivered stories that shined a spotlight on issues, institutions and communities that rarely receive media attention.

The Casey Medals are administered by the Journalism Center on Children and Families at the Philip Merrill College of Journalism, University of Maryland and are funded by the Annie E. Casey Foundation. The Journalism Center on Children and Families received entries representing the work of hundreds of reporters, editors, photographers and producers at more than 100 news organizations. Among the winners: The Washington Post, The Philadelphia Inquirer, PBS Frontline, New York Magazine, The Center for Public Integrity, The Center for Investigative Reporting, and The Des Moines Register.

—Anita M. Harris

New Cambridge Observer is a publication of the Harris Communications Group, an award-winning public relations and digital marketing firm located in Cambridge, MA.

Health Reform: The Right Thing To do

The Wall Street Journal editorializes rabidly that the about-to-be adopted health reform will cost multitrillions of dollars, that health insurers will become regulated public utilities, that Big Pharma, the American Medical Association, the American Hospital Association, the Federation of American Hospitals, the Business Roundtable and even Wal-Mart “have made themselves more vulnerable to the gilded clutches of the political class…all leading to higher taxes, slower economic growth and worse medical care.”

The New York Times calls the reform a triumph for countless Americans who have been victimized or neglected by their dysfunctional health care system…providing coverage to tens of millions of uninsured Americans, prevent the worst insurance company abuses, and begin to wrestle with relentlessly rising costs — while slightly reducing future deficits.

The Boston Globe says that the reform has split Massachusetts along party lines.

According to the Globe:

Republican gubernatorial candidate Charles D. Baker Jr., a former health insurance CEO, believes the package will “increase the deficit and result in higher taxes or cuts in federal aid for teaching hospitals, medical device companies, and other health care firms that make up one-third of the Massachusetts economy.”

Independent candidate State Treasurer Tim Cahill says the legislation will “wipe out the American economy within four years.’’

Gov. Deval Patrick calls the legislation “good for America and good for Massachusetts.’’

Jim Klocke, executive vice president of the Greater Boston Chamber of Commerce, said the change will have little effect on businesses here and, like hospital leaders, called it “a step forward’’ for the country.

Union leaders and progressives are frustrated that a government-run health insurance option fell through.

I do believe that taxes will go up; that government involvement will create confusion and extra layers of bungling bureaucracy; and that, because I’ll be on Medicare by the time it’s fully enacted, it won’t benefit me personally, at all.

But every developed nation but one believes its citizens deserve to stay alive and well.

Healthier people are more energetic and productive; nipping disease before it reaches costly later stages will save money in the long run; perhaps some oversight will focus more attention on streamlining hospital practices or unnecessary care.

While the legislation needs tweaking and will be subject to change, I firmly support it. It’s the right thing to do.

Ebooks and authors: The math of publishing doesn’t add up

In Math of Publishing Meets the E-Book ( New York Times , Feb. 28, 2010) reporter Motoko Rich considers mainly publishers’ profits in her article about the current debate about the pricing of e-books versus printed ones. She does point out, however, that authors, earning 15% on a book that sells for $26, would come away with almost $3.90 after paying back any advances on royalties.

On my book, Broken Patterns, published 15 years ago by Wayne State University Press, I made 7.5%…on each hardcover–which sold for $44.95 ( you can imagine how many I sold at that price!) and 5% on the paperback, which went for $24.95. The book, on which I spent 12 years, went on sale a few years later…Used copies are now advertised at 11 cents…Well, you can do the math. (I can’t bear to).

With a new book, Ithaca Diaries, in the works, I’ve been thinking of self-publishing, this time around. But I read somewhere that self-published authors, using publishing on demand plaforms, sell on average maybe 25 copies—and you have to factor in the costs of marketing, editing and design.

In her Times article, Rich quotes Anne Rice, the best-selling author of vampire books, as saying that authors have no idea what books cost or what profits publishers make. “For all I know, a million books at $9.99 might be great for an author,” Ms. Rice says.

Could be. (Hey, I was an English major–again, no math). But even I have figured out that if I had a day job, I shouldn’t quit it, just yet!

–Anita Harris

New Cambridge Observer is a publication of the Harris Communications Group of Cambridge, MA. HarrisCom also publishes Harriscomblog and Ithaca Diaries blog.

Boston/NY Newspaper War: Pulitzer Winners Face off

Was surprised last night when two Pulitzer-prize-winning journalists locked horns on WGBH-TV’s Greater Boston.

In a heated discussion of the New York Times’ threat to shutter the Boston Globe if employment concessions aren’t made, former Globe Columnist Eileen McNamara, who now teaches at Brandeis, charged that the Times is only out to save itself and doesn’t care about Boston or the Globe. She and host Emily Rooney criticized the Times for a lack of “transparency,” in threatening to shut down the paper just a week after some 50 reporters were required to take buyouts or risk being laid off. McNamara called for an investigation into how Times Publisher Arthur Sulzberger, Jr. could have so mishandled the papers’ strategies and finances.

Alex Jones, the former New York Times reporter who now directs Harvard’s Shorenstein Center on the Press, Politics and Public Policy, said that Sulzberger has long been seeking ways to keep his papers on sound financial footing and pointed out that the Times and Globe are just two of many papers threatened by huge operating losses. With countless subscribers migrating to “free” news on the Internet and advertisers cutting back in the current financial crisis, several papers have already declared bankruptcy.

I agree with Jones that there’s no point in focusing on the New York Times as the bad guy in all of this; the Globe is crucial to the Boston and New England communities, which must find ways to keep the paper alive.

The Boston Foundation has put together a blue ribbon panel to seek with solutions–which might include a takeover of the Globe by a consortium of nonprofits until the Globe’s economic situation improves.

The Globe reported this morning that both employees and management will be taking cuts in pay and security, and that 20 bloggers, organized by Paul Levy, president of Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, simultaneously published a post asking readers to submit suggestions on how the Globe can improve its financial position.

(Levy’s blog is at runningahospital.blogspot.com).

I’ve joined the rally in a separate post.

I hope a solution is imminent because good journalism provides crucial lifeblood to any community. As the so-called “fourth estate,” it serves as a watchdog on government, allows citizens to communicate with one another, and helps organize the thoughts, lives and livehoods of individuals and institution in a democracy. Broadcast and Internet media certainly contribute to this–but, by and large, it’s print reporters to do the heavy lifting.

AMH

Anita M. Harris is an award-winning former journalist who has founded a weekly alternative newspaper, written for Newsday, produced documentaries for WRFM Radio and co-produced more than 100 live panel programs for the MacNeil/Lehrer Report (now the Newshour) of National Public television. She has taught journalism at Harvard andYale Universities and at Simmons College.

New Cambridge Observer is a publication of the Harris Communications Group of Cambridge, MA.

Joining Blog Rally to help the Boston Globe

The New Cambridge Observer is pleased to join Beth Israel Hospital’s Paul Levy et all in the rally to help the Boston Globe. Here’s the post, followed by a partial list of participating bloggers. I believe the idea is to leave comments on Paul Levy’s blog at runningahospital.blogspot.com, but if you leave them here, I’ll link or forward. AMH
Here’s the post:

We have all read recently about the threat of possible closure faced by the Boston Globe. A number of Boston-based bloggers who care about the continued existence of the Globe have banded together in conducting a blog rally. We are simultaneously posting this paragraph to solicit your ideas of steps the Globe could take to improve its financial picture:

We view the Globe as an important community resource, and we think that lots of people in the region agree and might have creative ideas that might help in this situation. So, here’s your chance. Please don’t write with nasty comments and sarcasm: Use this forum for thoughtful and interesting steps you would recommend to the management that would improve readership, enhance the Globe’s community presence, and make money. Who knows, someone here might come up with an idea that will work, or at least help. Thank you.

(P.S. If you have a blog, please feel free to reprint this item and post it. Likewise, if you have a Twitter or Facebook account, please add this url as an update or to your status bar to help us reach more people.)

Posted by Paul Levy at 4/06/2009 10:00:00 PM.

New Cambridge Observer is a publication of the Harris Communications Group of Cambridge, MA.

Partial list of participating bloggers:

http://runningahospital.blogspot.com/
http://www.bluemassgroup.com/
http://www.letstalkhealthcare.org/
http://healthblawg.typepad.com/
http://geekdoctor.blogspot.com/
http://patientdave.blogspot.com/
http://endlessknots.netage.com
http://billives.typepad.com/
http://cseries.typepad.com/celebrityseries/
http://amatterofdegree.typepad.com/a_matter_of_degree/
http://venturecyclist.blogspot.com/
http://www.insideoutchina.com
http://www.negotiationguru.blogspot.com/
http://baystateliberal.blogspot.com
http://hilforum.com/
http://www.byeday.net/weblog/networkblog.html
http://www.healthbusinessblog.com/?p=2137
http://mikegil.typepad.com/

April 07, 2009 5:26 AM

Paul Levy said…

And two more:

http://achronicdose.blogspot.com/2009/04/blog-rally-to-help-boston-globe.html

http://www.healthcontentadvisors.com/2009/04/06/blog-rally-to-save-the-boston-globe/

The Economy: Where are we headed?

Over a brown-bag lunch at Harvard’s Joan Shorenstein Center on the Press, Politics and Public Policy, New York Times Business Columnist Joe Nocera opened his talk on the daunting question, “The Economy: Where Are We Headed?” with a resounding: “I don’t know.”

He offered background on the current (and future, he predicts) financial crisis, focusing first on the housing foreclosure crisis, and then on the banking industry.

Regarding housing, he suggested that– unfair as it may seem to people who didn’t buy into risky mortgages they couldn’t afford–we as an nation should bite the bullet and find ways to help those who did hold onto their homes. One suggestion: rather than kick people out of foreclosed homes, banks could rent them to the forfeiters with an option to buy them back in five years with a 10 per cent down payment.

Regarding banking, Nocera said he sees no reason why “shareholder value” should remain the cornerstone of banking industry strategy. He feels little sympathy for those who bet that they’d win big profits–up to 25 per cent–but lost, he said.

In Nocera’s view, Washington currently seems paralyzed by indecision over how to proceed.

One option is the “bad bank,” in which the government buys all of the bad assets but that option has stalled because no one knows what the assets are worth.

Another is an “RTC” strategy like that used during the Savings and Loan Crisis of the 1980s, in which the government formed the Resolution Trust Corporation to take over banks. The RTC allowed some to fold, and sold others, without the assets to new owners. The RTC then gradually sold aoff the assets, with riders assuring that if the new owners made money, the government would receive a portion of the profits. The process took ten years, Nocera said, but it worked.

While President Obama is confident about his ability to make decisions on many topics, the economy isn’t one of them, Nocera said. Obama chose Bush holdover Tim Geitner as Treasury Secretary over former Harvard President Larry Summers mainly for personality reasons, but, Nocera predicted, Geitner is not likely to be able to move away from the thinking of the previous administration in order to come up with much needed new options.

Nocera commented wryly that his blog, the Executive Suite, has served as a clearning house for ideas on how to solve both the economic crisis–none of which appear to have been taken up by either administration.

Nocera’s latest post as of this writing is entitled” Bankers Gone Bonkers.” It appeared on January 30, 2009 at http://executivesuite.blogs.nytimes.com/.

AMH

New Cambridge Observer is a publication of the Harris Communications Group of Cambridge, MA.