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History of Fact Checking in Journalism
A focus on fact-checking in American journalism was spurred on by yellow journalism and muckraking practices of the late 19th century and early years of the 20th century. The Bureau of Accuracy and Fair Play that was founded in 1913 had the assignment to “correct carelessness and to stamp out fakes and fakers”. It served to find and apologize for already in print errors rather than preventing such errors from entering into print in the first place. Time magazine was one of the earliest to use the actual term “fact checking” back in 1935 in an issue of Colliers that referred to the addition of “its researchers and fact-checkers from…
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One of the Largest Financial Frauds in United States History
Bernie Madoff was at once family man, trusted friend, business success story, and one of the most notorious Ponzi Scheme Kingpins in history. His scheme devastated the lives of thousands including his own family. By all appearances the Madoffs were to be envied. They flew in private jets living the high life of luxury, but the stability of their American Dream was fragile built upon the shifty foundation of fraud. The decades long gig was finally up, when Madoff was arrested on December 11, 2008. He was surprised by the FBI in the early morning hours, while still dressed in his pajamas. Upon hearing the big confession his sons did not wait,…
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Hitler’s Rise to Reign of Terror
On January 30, 1933 Adolph Hitler was appointed chancellor of Germany. Twelve years from his appointment Hitler committed suicide on April 30, 1945 in Berlin, Germany, but not before using his power to enact the “Final Solution”. The Final Solution is a benign sounding name for an unspeakably evil contemplation. This “solution” as Hitler and the Nazis called it, based on Nazi ideology, resulted in the horrific elimination of millions upon millions of innocent, human lives who were helpless to defend themselves. We must remember this atrocity, the Holocaust, lest we ever forget. “The genocide of the Jews was the culmination of a decade of German policy under Nazi rule and…
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Royal Wedding of the 20th Century
It was on 29 July 1981, a Wednesday, at St Paul’s Cathedral, London, United Kingdom, when Charles, Prince of Wales , and Lady Diana Spencer were married in a celebration on a grand, fairytale level of scale; what was called the “wedding of the century.” The Royal Wedding Program
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Coldest Winter in New York City
It was 83 years ago today on February 9th when the temperature in New York City was at 15 degrees below zero and stayed below zero for the entire day. https://www.nytimes.com/2017/02/09/nyregion/winter-storm-nyc-niko-weather.html?_r=0
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Black History Month
It was Dec. 1, 1955 on a city bus in Montgomery, Alabama when Rosa Parks, a NAACP member, bravely refused to allow a white man to have her seat. She refused to be sent to the back of the bus. We find it hard to imagine that one individual in a moment of choice and action can make a difference. We have grown cynical. We have given up before even trying, believing that without wealth, power, and a Super PAC on our team, it is an impossibility that an ordinary person can help facilitate change. And it is true that we are up against an advantaged few that often win…
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Elizabeth I Becomes Queen
On November 17, 1558 at the age of 25, Elizabeth I became Queen taking over the throne from her half-sister Mary I, who died after a brief reign of only five years; they share a common father in King Henry VIII of England. Elizabeth’s sister was given the unflattering moniker of “Bloody Mary” because of the protestants executed, or at the very least persecuted and imprisoned, under her Catholic rule. Elizabeth I, in contrast to her sister’s short rule, was Queen for over 44 years. Her start in life was tragic. Her mother Anne Boleyn (the second wife of Henry VIII and as such the Queen of England) was found guilty of high treason on May…
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Give Me Your John Hancock
The name John Hancock is synonymous with one’s signature. He was the first person to sign the Declaration of Independence and legend has it that he purposely made his signature large and legible, so that King George III would be sure to read it clearly. Born on January 23, 1737 in Braintree (now Quincy), Province of Massachusetts Bay he was one of the wealthiest men in the Thirteen Colonies; thanks to an inheritance from his successful mercantile uncle. Before his death on October 8, 1793, he was the 1st and 3rd Governor of Massachusetts.
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Founding Father Samuel Adams
One of the signers of The Declaration of Independence and an organizer of the Boston Tea Party, it is clear that Samuel Adams was a staunch opponent of Great Britain. He was born in Boston, Massachusetts on September 27, 1722 and President John Adams was his second cousin. He was a graduate of Harvard and went on to become a U.S. Governor, Statesman before his death on October 2, 1803.
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Paul Revere Rides
On April 18, 1775, it was Dr. Joseph Warren who instructed Paul Revere to alert Adams and Hancock that the British Army was on the way to arrest them. On a borrowed horse Revere set out as messenger on his famous ride from Charlestown to Lexington.
