March 12, 2009 at 10:53 am
College of Communication Associate Dean Tobe Berkovitz, an authority on political advertising and messaging, says the Democrats’ campaign to use Rush Limbaugh to attack the Republican Party is backfiring.
“Rush is a handy punching bag for the White House and the Democratic attack machine, but the ‘Rush is the devil’ message and coordinated effort is starting to backfire in the MSN and the opinion-leader online press. The media is pulling back the curtain of the hit men and focusing on the hypocrisy of the Obama crew.”
Contact Tobe Berkovitz, 617-353-3447, tobetv@bu.edu
March 12, 2009 at 10:28 am
Nutritionist and healthy eating expert Joan Salge Blake was just awarded the 2009 Annie Galbraith Outstanding Dietitian Award from the Massachusetts Dietetic Association. Joan will be presented with this honor at the association's annual meeting in Sturbridge on Thursday, March 19. The award is given annually to one individual in recognition of outstanding contribution and selfless work on behalf of the organization and the profession.
March 11, 2009 at 9:50 am
Law Professor Tamar Frankel, an authority on securities law and legal ethics who is writing a book on Ponzi schemes, says Bernard Madoff is smart to plead guilty.
"It seems that Madoff's strategy is to confess, shorten all proceedings as much as possible, avoid jury trial almost at all costs, perhaps serve some time in prison - if impossible to avoid - and then life will start again. He did not take the route that Enron's management has taken, to deny and protest the innocence that was not there. Wiser for him."
Contact Tamar Frankel, 617-353-3773, tfrankel@bu.edu
March 11, 2009 at 8:00 am
Dean Hardin Coleman of BU's School of Education's response to President Obama's recent press conference on education:
"President Obama has framed the debate about education in terms about what works to produce achievement which is a welcome advancement in this important national conversation. He has clearly learned from the research on education that early childhood education, effective assessment, teacher quality, keeping kids in school, and financial support for post high school education are the critical factors in education and in need of significant improvement if education is going to continue to serve our economy and society. He used the typical red herrings of race rather than class to explain the achievement gap, a focus of pay of performance rather than quality professional development as a way to develop teacher quality, and charter schools as effective school reform."
To hear more about what Hardin thinks of Obama's education policies, please contact Lauren Domingos.
March 10, 2009 at 12:13 pm
Fed chairman Bernanke's call for a broad reworking of how the government regulates the financial system was met with skepticism by finance Professor Mark T. Williams, a former Fed bank examiner, and law Professor Tamar Frankel, a securities law authority.
Williams says Bernanke missed the point.
"The Fed took its eye off the ball. The regulatory framework that oversees our banks cannot be repaired until the most important regulator, the Fed, completes a thorough internal assessment of how they missed the real estate bubble which was the primary driver of our current recession."
Frankel says consolidating regulatory authority would be a mistake.
"In the 1930s we avoided 'too-big-to-fail government" by splitting the regulation of banking, insurance, and markets. Now there is a proposal to combine them into one huge regulatory system. I hope that both financial intermediaries and their regulators never again acquire as much power as they do now, and I hope we do not strictly regulate the entire system under one roof."
March 9, 2009 at 9:48 am
Journalism Professor Robert Zelnick, an attorney and former long-time ABC News correspondent, in a Boston Globe commentary cautions about Congressional efforts to revive FCC's Fairness Doctrine.
"The effort by Democrats in both Houses to resurrect broadcasting's 'Fairness Doctrine' after a 22-year hiatus suggests the fragility of constitutional values once the lure of partisan advantage comes into play. And the relative silence of the mainstream media on the issue implies that many are willing to tolerate some slippage in First Amendment guarantees as the price for taking right-wing talk-radio gladiators down a peg."
Contact Robert Zelnick, 617-353-5007, bzelnick@bu.edu
March 6, 2009 at 3:13 pm
Law Professor Tamar Frankel, an authority on securities law and legal ethics, says the SEC's plan to revamp its whistle-blower policies in light of the Madoff affair also should incorporate other market "signals" of wrongdoing.
"Regulators should pay close attention not only the whistle blowers but also other signals of foul play. When the promises of a money manager are 'innovative' and 'unique' and 'magical,' and when market prices such managers produce rise and never fluctuate, this is the time to examine the managers closely. These are reliable, non-human signals that 'wink' and 'whistle' too."
Contact Tamar Frankel, 617-353-3773, tfrankel@bu.edu
March 6, 2009 at 3:03 pm
International Relations Professor Charles Stith, director of the African Presidential Archives and Research Center (APARC) and former U.S. ambassador to Tanzania, says he hopes Zimbabweans will rally around the new president after the death of First Lady Susan Tsvangirai today in a car crash.
"One hates to discuss politics after such a tragedy, but hopefully the people of Zimbabwe will rally around President Tsvangirai at this terrible time."
March 6, 2009 at 11:08 am
Law Professor Cornelius Hurley, director of the Morin Center for Banking and Financial Law, proposes a 3-step plan to deal with "To-Big-To-Fail" firms seeking bailout bucks. (1) Identify them publicly; (2) regulate them intensely; and (3) levy a charge on them equal to the cost-of-funds advantage they derive from being designated TBTF.
"TBTF firms will always be with us and, for this reason, the symbiotic relationship between them and the financial system needs to be recognized. Among other things, taking these steps will retard the pursuit of gigantism that has characterized the last three decades of free-market exuberance."
Contact Cornelius Hurley, 617-353-5427, ckhurley@bu.edu
March 6, 2009 at 10:55 am
Mass Communications Professor Hyun-Yeul Lee, an authority on online media, says the revamped Facebook with its new 3-column design and highlights section should be an improvement both for users and advertisers.
"Facebook's redesign is for the better because it addresses usability and clarity for the users. It also might be a plus for marketers in that it forces the user to take one more glimpse of an ad literally or in your peripheral vision."
Contact Hyun-Yeul Lee, 617-353-5974, hyun@bu.edu
