FREE SPEECH
The largest U.S. conference on investigative journalism took place last week, and since it was virtual, some 2,800 people, a record number, were able to attend. At the Investigative Reporters and Editors conference, participants gathered for sessions on topics like obtaining public records, as well as for talks by leading figures in journalism. Ronan Farrow, for example, gave a galvanizing speech on the dire need to defend the free press. On the last day, legendary reporter Bob Woodward appeared for a Q&A and was grilled on his decision to withhold recordings from February that would have revealed how President Donald Trump was lying about the threat of Covid-19. In response, he said, “You people are getting all steamed up about something that is not an issue.” Woodward was pressed by two woman reporters, but he avoided their questions, offered free copies of his book and said that they owed him an apology. His condescension was met with digital boos.
QUOTE OF THE WEEK
“It’s hard to have a robust national response to threats against the election when we have a conspiracy theorist in the White House.” -Sam Mahood, spokesperson for the California Secretary of State, on countering threats to election integrity
GOOD WEEK / GREAT WEEK
GOOD:
For the past 62 Septembers, the Monterey Jazz Festival has presented the best of jazz, both legends and rising stars, at the Monterey Fairgrounds. It’s world-famous, and one of the most diverse events of the year for our community and a celebration of Black music and culture. The good news is that for the 63rd year, from Sept. 25-27, MJF aired its first-ever virtual festival, featuring a combination of archival footage, interviews with artists and pre-recorded performances. The Next Generation Jazz Orchestra played a riveting set via Zoom, playing from their bedrooms or parents’ basements. Juxtaposed with performances like Herbie Hancock on keytar, this virtual festival felt complete. The sound was great, the music and discussions were compelling, and it was free. Donations – exceeding $55,000 – were split between musicians, the Thurgood Marshall College Fund and the NAACP.
GREAT:
Six weeks after the Dolan Fire started in Big Sur on Aug. 18, caused by suspected arson, it has burned across the Ventana Wilderness, destroying 14 homes and five outbuildings. But as of Sept. 29, there’s finally some great news in the battle to contain this blaze. At 124,924 acres burned – a number that decreased by 3,493 acres when officials discovered they had been counting an old burn scar, thanks to infrared imaging – the U.S. Forest Service reports the fire is now 85-percent contained, and all evacuation orders have been lifted. (The only region that remains under an evacuation advisory, as of the Weekly’s deadline, is in Los Padres National Forest and Fort Hunter Liggett, at the foot of Junipero Serra Peak.) Highway 1 has been reopened to thru-traffic, though the national forest remains closed. Fire officials are predicting reaching complete containment by Oct. 13.
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