M O N D A Y MARCH 18, 2002
THE BROWN DAILY HERALD Volume CXXXVII, No. 37
An independent newspaper serving the Brown community since 1891
www.browndailyherald.com
Spin doctors shape today’s news,Crossfire pundit says BY CARLA BLUMENKRANZ
Megan Lynch / Herald
Fusion Dance Company sold out five shows in Ashamu studio this weekend. See review, page 3.
METRO REPORT
Cianci aide Pannone pleads guilty to Plunder Dome charges As the mayor maintains his innocence, another codefendant pleads guilty to federal charges Another defendant has stepped forward to admit his guilt in the Operation Plunder Dome case. Joseph Pannone, former chairman of the city tax board, pleaded guilty to two counts of racketeering and four counts of conspiracy in U.S. District Court on Friday. Pannone’s co-defendants are Mayor Vincent Cianci, former aide Frank Corrente, city Chief-of-Staff Artin Coloian, auto-body shop owner Richard Autiello and Edward Voccola, the owner of property leased to the school department. When questioned by Judge Ernest Torres, Pannone said “(the charges) are all true.” U.S. Attorney Richard Rose told the
court that Pannone was videotaped explaining the criminal operations, their organizers and his role in them. Pannone, 80, is now serving a five-year prison sentence for his conviction on charges unrelated to the case. He will be sentenced for the six new charges on July 17. Two of the charges stem from an incident in which Cianci, Corrente and Pannone allegedly accepted a bribe of $15,000 from Fernando Ronci to reduce back taxes that Ronci owed the city. Other charges relate to bribes allegedly accepted by the same three defendants from Anthony Freitas in order to secure two city-owned real estate properties for Freitas. Pannone signed the plea agreement last month. He faces a maximum sentence of 85 years in prison and a $1.25 million fine, but Rose said the prosecution will recommend a more lenient sentence. — Chris Byrnes, with reports from the Providence Journal
Liberal media bias may be a figment of the conservative imagination, Bill Press of CNN’s “Crossfire” told an audience Friday at the A. Alfred Taubman Center for Public Policy. Press disputed the claim that the media tends to be biased toward the left. “The honest conservatives will admit that there is no liberal media,” he said. “It’s kind of a big joke for them, which I hope to expose.” Speaking candidly on the issues he deals with on “Crossfire,” Press discussed how media outlets and political figures spin the news. “I have a lot of fun every day just picking up the news,” Press told his audience. He defined “spin” as “twisting the truth” to make circumstances appear better. He divided this practice into two categories. Press called the first the “happy-face spin” and gave as an example a comment made by Judy Anderson, mayor of Terre Haute, Ind. Terre Haute is home to the U.S. penitentiary where Timothy McVeigh was executed. Anderson once called the execution chamber “one unfortunate part of the prison that is rarely used,” Press said. The comments of unsuccessful political candidates often fit into a second category, called the “all in the family” spin, Press said. He cited remarks made by Democrat Max Kennedy after he dropped out of a Massachusetts congressional race in 2001. Kennedy told the media he did not want to be away from his children “over the next 10, 20, 30 years,” Press said. “Those kids would be middle aged by then,” Press said, throwing up his hands. Press cited the announcement that some top government officials are living in bunkers in case of a nuclear attack as a recent example of political spin. “We did not have people in bunkers during the Cuban missile crisis,” Press said. This is “just another way of keeping the war alive and enabling George Bush to keep playing commander-in-chief,” Press said.
Press also had his own take on the president’s relationship with Enron CEO Kenneth Lay. “If you believe the president, he wouldn’t have been able to pick Ken Lay out of a police lineup,” he said. “Ken Lay was one of his best buddies,” Press said. Press also discussed ABC’s interest in replacing “Nightline” with David Letterman’s show, calling this development “emblematic of the ‘dumbing-down’ of network news.” He predicted that once the major anchors retire, networks will cancel evening news altogether. “You’re seeing the same thing happen on cable news,” Press said. He added that he respects Fox News’ success, although he disagrees with its politics. “There’s a huge market of people who want to be comforted day in and day out by the soothing sound of voices they agree with,” he said of Fox’s conservative audience. No matter what their political leanings, all networks want programs that have “the least controversy possible, so they can have the most viewers possible,” Press said. Most networks would run hard news if they thought there was a market for it, he said. “I myself find it so satisfying to listen to 10 minutes about what’s happening in the Congo without commercial interruption,” Press said. Kim Turner ’02 said she enjoyed seeing Press in person. “It’s nice to be able to connect with some of the talking heads we can be so cynical about,” she said. Turner said she also appreciated Press’ frankness about the financial pressure on media outlets. “What’s most striking is how the commentators like Bill Press are facing an internal struggle of news with integrity versus their own salaries,” she said. “We as consumers need to be much more demanding about a higher level of information.” Herald staff writer Carla Blumenkranz ’05 can be reached at cblumenkranz@browndailyherald.com.
NEWS ANALYSIS
All sides agree: full health care coverage for grads a first step forward BY KRISTEN GENTILE
Graduate students at Brown next year will receive full health insurance under President Ruth Simmons’ Proposal for Academic Enrichment, which the Corporation endorsed in February. Health insurance has been a long-term complaint of the University’s graduate students. In a 1999 graduate student survey conducted by the Office of Institutional Research, graduate students said they were not satisfied with their health insurance coverage. On a scale from one to four, with four being the least satisfied, graduate students gave a mean response of 2.9 in assessing Brown’s health insurance program. A lack of funding impeded efforts to improve support for graduate students in
previous years, said Peder Estrup, dean of the Graduate School and research. “I have recommended through (the Advisory Committee on University Planning) for a number of years that the University support graduate students in this manner,” Estrup said. In several forums, including ACUP meetings, Estrup has proposed multi-year plans to provide more support for graduate students. But those multi-year plans were set aside in favor of the present plan, he said. Estrup credited the recent improvements in graduate student support to the additional funding from Simmons’ academic enrichment plan. Nancy Burns GS, a member of the Brown Graduate Employee Organization /
United Auto Workers, said she recognizes a connection between the increases in graduate student support and the unionization initiative. Fully paid health insurance is a “really good start for the University to acknowledge the needs of graduate students,” Burns said. She also said more needs to be done for graduate students, such as dental benefits and guarantees of coverage in the future. Lennart Erickson GS, a member of At What Cost, the union opposition group, said he is pleased with the additional support provided in the plan. The plan is a “positive improvement” in addressing the needs of graduate students, he said. “I’m cautiously optimistic,” said CoPresident of the Graduate Student Council
I N S I D E M O N D AY, M A RC H 1 8 , 2 0 0 2 Fusion performs annual spring dance show to sell-out crowds in Ashamu page 3
Weekend conference looks at the place of Jewish values in troubled world page 5
Peter Asen ’04 says United States must take role in ending MidEast violence column,page 7
Aaron Katz GS. He said the plan is a great step, but there are still issues concerning health care that need to be addressed, including the needs of graduate students with families and the problem of having to use the same health care facilities as Brown’s undergraduates. The plan for increased support of graduate students, as described by Estrup in a March 6 memorandum to the Brown graduate students, states that in 2002-03 the University will pay the entire health insurance premium of $1,320 for each student. In 2001-02, the premium was $1,169, with the University paying $670 and the graduate students responsible for the remaining $498. Simmons’ plan also increases graduate stipends during the academic year and summer.
TO D AY ’ S F O R E C A S T Travis Rowley ’02 says racial profiling is a justified practice, and belongs at Brown guest column,page 7
Women’s hockey slashes the competetion at ECAC semifinals in Hanover page 8
snow high 50 low 35