Roger Stone on his Way to NJ

PolitickerNJ is reporting that veteran GOP strategist Roger Stone will be the guest speaker at an April 16 fundraiser for Essex County Republican Chairman Kevin O’Toole. Stone is a fascinating and colorful figure who has played a role in GOP politics for decades. But I believe he has gone over the line by creating an anti-Hillary Clinton committee named Citizens United Not Timid. Why choose a name with such a crude acronym? “Truth is, we sat around for hours trying to come up with words for BITCH and just couldn't do it,” Stone told The Weekly Standard.

O’Toole has a reputation as a bright and articulate legislator, who earns respect on both sides of the aisle. He can earn some more by putting some distance between himself and Mr. Stone.

A Busy March

I haven’t been posting as frequently as usual this month. Instead, I’ve been taking part in some special events.

I participated in Rutgers University’s Celebration of Recently Published Faculty Authors on March 25. This was because I teach part-time at the university and also authored one of the chapters in the Hall Institute’s book Reaction and Reform in New Jersey.

I presented two papers at academic conferences.

THE IMPACT OF NEW JERSEY NEWSPAPERS ON THE DEVELOPMENT OF THE STATE’S TRANSPORTATION INFRASTRUCTURE at the Joint Meeting of the American Journalism Historians Association and the History Division of the Association for Education in Journalism and Mass Communication (on March 15 at the Roosevelt Hotel in New York City).

HAS ELECTION COVERAGE ENTERED A BRAVE NEW WORLD? at the 12th Annual Meeting of the New Jersey Communication Association (on March 22 at Marymount Manhattan College).

Earlier in the month, I spoke on a panel entitled "Media Viewpoints” at the Leadership New Jersey Seminar on Government and Politics in Trenton on March 13.

I also was a guest speaker at two Rutgers University classes -- Mass Media, Government and on March 5 and the New Jersey Leaders of Tomorrow Presidential Internship class on March 4.

Media Discussion

Bernard Goldberg’s book Arrogance: Rescuing America from the Media Elite will be the focus of a special program at the Princeton Public Library on Wednesday, April 9. Joan Goldstein, a sociologist, author and professor at Mercer County Community College, will lead the discussion. The session starts at 7:30 p.m. in the Quite Room on the first floor of the library (65 Witherspoon Street). Joan will be presenting a similar program on Payl Krugman’s The Conscience of a Liberal on Wednesday, May 14. Time and location are the same.

Conference Presentations

I will be speaking at two academic conferences in New York City this month.

On Saturday, March 15, I will present my paper, The Impact of New Jersey Newspapers on the Development of the State’s Transportation Infrastructure, at the AJHA-AEJMC History Division Joint Journalism Historians meeting. The conference, which runs from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., takes place at the Roosevelt Hotel, 45 East 45th Street.

The paper aims to illustrate the impact that the state’s newspapers have had on its transportation system and to underscore the significance of the media’s role in the current debate over Governor Corzine’s proposal to raise tolls to fund transportation improvements and pay down state debt. It includes a series of case studies and examples, ranging from the pre-Revolutionary War era to the Governor’s present proposal.

The following Saturday, March 22, I will present my paper, Has Election Coverage Entered A Brave New World?, at the 12th Annual Meeting of the New Jersey Communication Association. The conference will be held at Marymount Manhattan College, from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.

In this paper, I review the role of the internet in election campaigns and examine how print newspapers are using their online versions to provide election results in a manner that is just as timely as -- and sometimes more than -- the electronic media.