“Publicity is the very soul of justice. It is the keenest spur to exertion, and the surest of all guards against improbity. It keeps the judge himself, while trying, under trial.
“In the darkness of secrecy, sinister interest and evil in every shape, have full swing. Only in proportion as publicity has place can any of the checks, applicable to judicial injustice, operate. Where there is no publicity there is no justice.” Jeremy Bentham (1748 – 1832)
The following was originally developed by Dr. Vincent Covello from his book “Keeping Your Head In a Crisis: Responding to Communication Challenges Posed by Bioterrorism and Emerging Infectious Diseases.”
His research found that journalists are likely to ask six questions in a crisis (who, what, where, when, why, how) that relate to three broad topics: 1) What happened?; 2) What caused it to happen?; and 3) What does it mean?
Specific questions include:
ASPR was honored to help former U.S. Senator Elizabeth Dole and Candace Lightner share their thoughts in Newsweek to mark the 40th anniversary of President Reagan signing legislation that led to states raising the drinking age to 21. Lightner, the founder of Mothers Against Drunk Driving, has gone on to found and lead We Save Lives. Indeed, countless lives have been saved because of her grassroots efforts, along with the backing of Dole (then serving as U.S. Transportation Secretary) and other lawmakers; all of them built essential support for the legislation.
The photo below is from the bill signing ceremony in 1984. Left to right: Vice President George H.W. Bush, President Ronald Reagan, Secretary Dole and Candace Lightner.
ASPR produces the weekly syndicated interview program “Conversations on Health Care,” which recently featured acclaimed opera star Renée Fleming.
She’s received worldwide praise for singing at the Super Bowl, during a presidential inauguration and regularly for The Metropolitan Opera, but we helped her find a way to share her voice in a new way. Fleming is the editor of “Music and Mind,” a curated collection of essays from leading scientists, artists, creative arts therapists, educators and health care providers about the powerful impacts of music and the arts on health and the human experience.
Fleming appeared on “Conversations on Health Care” to explain how she discovered her own music and mind connection early in her career when she had back pain and how a dinner with three Supreme Court justices led her to become an unexpected advocate for neuroscience.
Fleming, a five-time Grammy award winner, also told hosts Mark Masselli and Margaret Flinter what happened when she saw the results of a functional MRI experiment she took and what it means for all of us.
This special edition of “Conversations on Health Care” continued with guest Dr. Francis Collins, the former National Institutes of Health director, who wrote the foreword to the book. https://chcradio.com/episode/Ren%C3%A9e-Fleming/721
We’re grateful for the life and dedication of Charlie Peters, who recently passed away. Charlie founded Washington Monthly, a magazine and now a robust website we’re proud to help support.
The Monthly‘s amazing team of journalists remembered Charlie for his contributions to critical public policy discussions: https://washingtonmonthly.com/charlie-peters/
“PBS Newshour” and The New York Times were just two of the major national news outlets that paid tribute to his accomplishments.
As author James Fallows wrote, “The ideas and example of the Washington Monthly’s founder and editor-in-chief for 30 years, who died on Thanksgiving Day at 96, can play an ongoing and indispensable role in responding to our country’s deepest problems.”