Press Releases

Thirty-nine states elect their judges in some fashion. What once were “sleepy little affairs,” judicial campaigns have become high-stakes races, drawing in big money and increasingly negative advertising campaigns. In 2006, an estimated $16 million was spent on advertising in supreme court races in 10 states, a record. If predictions hold true, contests in 2008

Nearly two-thirds, 65 percent, of Americans prefer electing their judges rather than having governors nominate them from a list prepared by a nonpartisan committee. Yet when judges run for office they usually have to raise money for their election campaigns. Seven in 10 Americans believe that the necessity to raise campaign funds will affect a

Brooks Jackson and Kathleen Hall Jamieson, co-authors of UnSpun: Finding Facts in a World of Disinformation, described their findings in a May 15th interview on WHYY-FM’s Radio Times with Marty Moss-Coane. The book, published last month by Random House, has been described as “the secret decoder ring for the 21st-century world of disinformation.” Jackson, who directs

The Webby Awards today named FactCheck.org the best political website as well as the best on government in the 2007 People’s Voice vote. Billed as the “Oscars of the Internet,” the Webby Awards are sponsored by the International Academy of Digital Arts and Sciences.  This year’s contest drew more than 8,000 entries. Last year, Justice Learning

FactCheckED, a new website designed to help high school students learn to think analytically, has been launched. An offshoot of the prize-winning FactCheck.org website (www.factcheck.org), FactCheckED (www.FactCheckED.org) will offer tools that enable students to search out accurate and unbiased information and in the process become better informed consumers and citizens. In addition, FactCheckED offers lesson plans for

The increasing polarization of political debate was the subject of a Penn Conference on Civility and American Politics Monday on Capitol Hill. The event was sponsored by the University of Pennsylvania, the Brookings Institution and the American Enterprise Institute. Among those participating in the event were Penn President Amy Gutmann, Kathleen Hall Jamieson, director of the

Federal funding of abstinence-only education is fiscally, politically and scientifically irresponsible, writes Amy Bleakley in a column published in today’s Philadelphia Inquirer. Bleakley, a research scientist in the Health Communication Group of the Annenberg Public Policy Center, notes that studies confirm the programs are ineffective in preventing or delaying sexual activity among teens. They are losing political support among

The Annenberg Public Policy Center and FactCheck.org are sponsoring the first-ever conference on advertising in judicial elections on May 23 in Washington, D.C. Mudslinging in Judicial Campaigns: Beginning to Look a Lot Like Congress will bring together judges, campaign media consultants and close observers of the escalation in money spent on ads in state Supreme Court races. In 2006, spending

The increasing polarization of political debate was the subject of a Penn Conference on Civility and American Politics Monday on Capitol Hill. The event was sponsored by the University of Pennsylvania, the Brookings Institution and the American Enterprise Institute. Among those participating in the event were Penn President Amy Gutmann, Kathleen Hall Jamieson, director of

U.S.-style labels have little influence on tobacco sales Washington – Large, graphic warning labels on cigarette packages similar to those used in Canada would serve as an important deterrent for new smokers and would encourage current smokers to quit, according to a research study released here today. “There is no more efficient method of reaching