Two interesting and fairly unusual related things happened over the last two weeks. First, CNN reporter Elizabeth Landau contacted both NDY and the National Council on Disability (NCD) for interviews in connection to a story on assisted suicide. This was surprising considering that when CNN ran a mini-media tour with Jack Kevorkian during the promotion […]
You learn something new every day. Before today, I was totally unaware of the multimedia website Takepart.com, which describes itself this way: TakePart is a digital media company with a singular mission: To make participating in positive change easy, rewarding, and part of everyday life. The articles, videos and actions we create build awareness of […]
From The Oregonian: “How to Die in Oregon,” an intimate and poignant film about the impact of Oregon’s 1994 Death With Dignity Act, won the Grand Jury Prize in the U. S. Documentary Competition at the 2011 Sundance Film Festival tonight, one of the most prestigious awards that can be won by a non-fiction film […]
ABC’s Good Morning America appears to have pulled out all the stops in helping attorney John West promote his recently-published book, “The Last Goodnights.” The book is a memoir detailing how he “assisted” the suicides of both his parents about ten years ago. Before I get into the specifics of the coverage, I’d like to […]
Hot off the press, first from an article from today’s US News & World Report, carefully titled “Oregon’s Assisted Suicide Law May Overlook Depressed Patients“: WEDNESDAY, Oct. 8 (HealthDay News) — Oregon’s physician-assisted suicide law may not adequately protect the one in four terminally ill patients with clinical depression, a new study says. The Death […]
Over the weekend, an anonymous reader of this blog tipped me off to an important investigative piece published in the Los Angeles Times, in collaboration with ProPublica, ” an independent, non-profit newsroom that produces investigative journalism in the public interest.” To many readers, the following article might have been shocking: Dozens of registered nurses convicted […]
Over the weekend, the editorial board at the Oregonian published an editorial claiming that the fears of critics of Oregon’s assisted suicide law appear to be unfounded. Nevertheless, the editors of the Oregonian don’t endorse the Washington attempt to legalize assisted suicide. Confused? So, apparently, is the editorial board at the Oregonian: Ten years’ experience […]
(Note: None of the following should be interpreted as an endorsement or rejection of any candidate. NDY does not endorse candidates for public office.) Hillary Clinton was in Oregon over the weekend. Predictably, she was asked about assisted suicide: Q: What’s your attitude toward Oregon’s assisted suicide law? A: I believe it’s within the province […]
On November 5, the San Jose Mercury News published an editorial enthusiastically supporting the adoption of an assisted suicide law similar to Oregon’s – and bemoaning the lack of one. Predictably, it’s crap. Here’s one example: Doctors, of all people, should know that for a small percentage – roughly 5 percent – of terminally ill […]
The Associated Press presents a challenge to those of us concerned with media coverage. With the growth of electronic media and the downsizing of newsroom staffs, the Associated Press and other wire services play an increasingly dominant role in reporting stories and framing the relevant issues contained in those stories. When they get things wrong, […]
