DIY Journalists - Wash Times Needs You

[angelatc]

http://www.washingtontimes.com/weblogs/watercooler/2009/sep/20/partial-list-august-10-national-endowment-arts-tel/


We're asking for your help.

The Washington Times has obtained a partial list of "artists and influencers" who were participants on the controversial August 10 National Endowment for the Arts hosted conference call. The following links show images of an excel file of some of those on the teleconference call.:

Page 1 -Download Page 2-Download Page 3- Download Page 4 - Download

The file was provided by a participant on the call ...


Consider this an opportunity to crowd-source the next stage of our reporting. We invite bloggers and other interested readers to check out the names on the list for themselves. Some individuals are more well known than others. We're looking for solid, well-sourced information we can use to expand our coverage and generate new stories. This is an example. Here are some ideas on what to start with:

Is the information about them accurate/up to date?

Have these individuals been involved in Democratic politics?

Are they campaign donors? To whom?

Since the Aug. 10 confernece call, have any of these individuals been involved in political activism related to health care, environment or education, the subjects suggested by the NEA in the call?

Are they members of any of the 21 arts organizations that endorsed health care reform two days after the call?

Are any of them involved in other arts groups funded through the NEA or through state-level arts agencies funded by the NEA?

Do they have a history of being involved with dubious causes such as 9/11 "Truther" statements?

How many of them have written for The Huffington Post (we've noticed a couple)?

[Cowlesy]

I don't know. I get a thuggish feeling about stuff like this --- whether done by the left or right.

I guess the delineation point is that NEA receives federal funding, and the NEA/Whitehouse are working together to push the Whitehouse's healthcare agenda.

I'm trying to justify how giving out these people's names is a good idea at all.

[amy31416]

Is it me, or are they asking people to investigate these people to out them as dirty, government-money-loving, stinking Democrats?

Yeah, I don't think so.


A couple quick things to keep in mind. We've already attempted to contact the people on the list, so there is no need to follow in our footsteps. As they respond, we'll add an updated tally in another post on the Water Cooler. Second, the people on the list are private citizens who were asked to be on a call where a National Endowment for the Arts official went way too far in pushing for artists and arts groups to get behind the administration agenda. The people on the call didn't neccessarily do anything controversial or wrong. The NEA and the White House are the ones who have gone too far.

Soooo, why do they want us to research the individuals and "smear" them as truthers, writers for HP, etc? Why isn't their staff doing it?

That's frickin' creepy.