On Tuesday February 12, 2008 the Senate approved telco amnesty, legalized and then expanded President Bush’s Secret Spy Program. When the bill is enacted, your email, website, phone calls and any other digital communication will be unprotected.

Senators Russ Feingold of Wisconsin and Christopher J. Dodd of Connecticut have argued that the plan effectively rewarded phone companies by providing them with legal insulation for actions that violated longstanding law and their own privacy obligations to their customers. “This is a dramatic restructuring” of surveillance law, said Michael Sussmann, a former Justice Department intelligence lawyer who represents several telecommunication companies. “And the thing that’s so dramatic about this is that you’ve removed the court review. There may be some checks after the fact, but the administration is picking the targets.” LICHBLAU, Eric (2008), Bush Presses House to Approve Bill on Surveillance, The New York Times, [13 Feb 2008]

Considering the severity of this news and its impact on our civil liberties, I took the time to review how this story of critical importance has been reported on by some of the major news organizations. What I found was surprising. Only two news sources had mention of this article on their homepage using a headline that accurately reflects the event. Five sources had misleading headlines, Reuters even titled their article “Bush opposes temporary extension of spy program” and then proceeded report how the bill passed the Senate. Eight news sources had no mention whatsoever of the story. List below.

New York Times – “Senate Vows to Expand Spy Powers”
Wired – “Senate Approves Telecom Amnesty, Widens Spying”

Reuters – “Bush opposes temporary extension of spy program”
BBC News – “Bush warns Congress on wiretaps”
USA Today – “Bush prods House on surveillance”
AOL News – “Bush Presses House on Surveillance Bill”
Yahoo News – “Bush presses House on surveillance Bill”

Washington Post – No Mention
Fox News – No Mention
CBS News – No Mention
Chicago Tribune – No Mention
CNN – No Mention
MSNBC – No Mention
New York Post – No Mention
Bloomberg – No Mention

Meanwhile, on nearly every news source mentioned above the lead story was…

Clemens and McNamee battle over steroid use.

New York, USA (February 8, 2008) FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:

Scherr Technology today announces the launch of JeffStyles.com the website for Jeff Styles. Scherr Technology built the original Jeff Styles website back in 2004 and since then, Jeff’s business has grown. The new website features five integrated applications: gallery, blog, random quotes, calendar and CGI form engine. The website showcases his extensive clientele, creativity and work experience. RSS feeds are available for both the blog and gallery plus a blended feed. The gallery launched with 312 portfolio images. Moving forward, Jeff has the ability to add, remove and modify everything on his own . The blog provides an environment to establish himself as an authority.

About Jeff Styles

Jeff Styles is a New York-based freelance stylist, designer and art director whose talent is accented with a flair for balancing the delicate nuances of culture and style. The best aspect of his job, he says, is “working with great creative minds in a conceptual, collaborative way to get the best results, and having a blast doing it.” Jeff’s clients include Hallmark, Toys ‘R’ Us, Bed Bath & Beyond, Kenneth Cole, Lexus and Wedgwood to name a few.

About Scherr Technology

Founded in 1994 by Brian C. Scherr and located in New York, Scherr Technology is a full service media company specializing in video enabled website design and development, existing site redesigns, corporate identity, ecommerce and marketing. Scherr Technology provides unique solutions to a diverse range of clientele across the United States and throughout the world with an emphasis on emerging technologies.

© 2008 Scherr Technology. All rights reserved. Scherr Technology is a registered trademark in the U.S. and other countries JeffStyles is a registered trademark in the U.S. All other brands and product names are trademarks or registered trademarks of their respective companies.

Testimonial quote from Jorge Fiffe of merce.org. When Scherr Technology was asked to “Please confirm that this is possible to be up by the end of the month because this has to go to print in the next day or two”, we responded by making the required edits on the same day. “Brian, you rock!” was the response of Jorge, Dir. of Individual Giving & Special Events.

View the site here merce.org