fate of alleged ‘craigslist killer’ still unlisted

Philip Markoff at his arraignment, courtesy of the Boston Globe.

BOSTON–Before Philip Markoff lost his given name, he was a student a Boston University School of Medicine. On April 20, 2009, he was rechristened. After all, isn’t “Craigslist Killer” more memorable a name than “Phil”?

Markoff was arrested on suspicion of the murder of one woman and the kidnapping and robbery of another. Both women had advertised erotic and massage services on Craigslist and allegedly arranged to meet Markoff at hotels in Boston’s Copley Square.

At the time of Markoff’s arrest, I was the managing editor of the Daily Free Press, the independent student newspaper at Boston University. Working through the night to edit and print the paper four nights a week, I didn’t have much time on my hands for daytime reporting. It became clear, however, that the FreeP’s reporting–which should have shined and had ultra-local perspective and contacts unique to a college campus–was not standing up in any way to the excellent reportage of the Boston Globe or any other news outlets.

So I tried my hand at covering the story.

I initially set out to write an update story for April 23 publication, days after the arrest and national fervor over the so-called Craigslist Killer. Instead, I triple-bylined above the fold on the front page of the April 23 Free Press: an update brief, an examination of Markoff’s rights under University policy (re-written with the help of then-editor-in-chief Sydney Lupkin around 1 a.m. over instant message) and the lede story, about B.U.’s (lack of) response to the whole situation.

The next week, I was finally ready to publish a follow-up to B.U.’s tight-lipped take on Markoff. What began as a sensationalized national story became a student story–B.U. administration was purposely hiding newspapers and instructing staff to play it cool and wait for the whole thing to blow over.

It didn’t blow over. Though some students were less than pleased to see relevant Facebook status updates and comments–publicly posted information–used in a story when those involved refused to comment, the case piqued the curiousity of others. The story of B.U.’s borderline censorship of the press was reposted on the Quincy Patriot Ledger’s website, Romenesko, Beat the Press and other sites, and the Student Press Law Center published a piece examining the situation.

As a student journalist, it’s likely some of the best reporting I will do at B.U., so I’m not feeling too worried about the long post. Read the articles at the links above, or click below to read them within the blog.

facing life without teddy: massachusetts students reflect

BOSTON –The last time a Republican was elected to fill a Massachusetts seat in the U.S. Senate, Barack Obama was still Barry. It was 1972 when Ed Brooke was elected, and the future 44th president of the United States was just 11 years old.

Ted Kennedy, of course, had already been a senator for a decade when Brooke was elected. Kennedy’s nearly five-decade reign makes it easy to believe that there has never been life without the so-called Lion of the Senate representing Massachusetts.

The months since Kennedy’s August death excepted, for a staggering 59.8 percent of Massachusettans—the amount of state residents 44 years of age or younger, according to 2008 American Community Survey data—there hasn’t ever been life without Teddy.

Until today, that is.

proponents of gay marriage see victory as inevitable, but lack strategy

WASHINGTON—History repeats itself. That old maxim is a favorite of those who advocate same-sex marriage in Maine.

One month after the passage of a ballot question vetoing the state’s five-month-old same-sex marriage law,  activists are beginning to look at what went wrong in a battle that seemed won before any votes were cast and are searching for new tactics for the next round of the fight.

To read the rest of the article, see behind the cut. To see the full interactive graphics depicting gay marriage laws and allowances across the country, click here. (Note for all graphics: Green indicates ‘yes’, purple ‘no’. Data accurate as of Jan. 1, 2010.)

still warring on christmas

Seriously.

It seems I just can’t get enough of the war on Christmas. In addition to my Politics Daily editorial and Hearst article on the topic, Hearst Washington bureau chief Rick Dunham and I sat down for one last conversation about the National Christmas Tree. One last time: it’s a Christmas tree, nothing more, nothing less.

Listen to the podcast at Texas on the Potomac.

collins: heavy hitter for heavy trucks

Because of Sen. Collins' provision, heavier trucks will be allowed to stay on the interstate, instead of contributing to the wear and tear on Maine towns' back roads.

WASHINGTON — Republican Sen. Susan Collins proved herself to be a congressional heavy hitter late Tuesday night when she got a measure that would allow heavier trucks on stretches of interstate through Maine included in the 2010 Transportation Appropriations bill.

The one-year pilot program will increase the maximum allowed weight of trucks driving on the interstate in Maine from 80,000 pounds to 100,000 pounds. The trial year is the first step in correcting what Rep. Mike Michaud, D-Maine, called in a statement a “truck weight mismatch.”

Read the full article at the Bangor Daily News, or behind the cut.

listen up, mr. president

As President Barack Obama nears the end of the first year of his presidency, legendary White House correspondent and Hearst columnist Helen Thomas has a few words of advice for our Commander in Chief.

Listen to this edition of The Washington Chronicles, a podcast I produce for the Houston Chronicle’s Washington bureau, at Texas on the Potomac.

barack obama and the war on christmas

WASHINGTON–All of you out there still worrying that President Barack Obama is a secret Muslim, rest easy: despite online rumors that the National Christmas Tree displayed on the ellipse in front of the White House would be called (gasp!) the National Holiday Tree this year, it just isn’t true. The National Christmas Tree will be lit in a dazzling display Thursday night, while the first family, singers Sheryl Crow and Ray LaMontagne, rapper Common and, of course, a national television audience, look on in awe.

Read the full post at Politics Daily, or click the jump.

how barack stole christmas

President Barack Obama stands with musician Randy Jackson, as Santa Claus and Mrs. Claus, played by Brad and Victoria Oscar, at the National Christmas Tree Lighting Ceremony in Washington, Thursday, Dec. 3, 2009. (AP Photo/Charles Dharapak)

WASHINGTON–Months before President Barack Obama was scheduled to flip the switch on the National Christmas Tree in front of the White House tonight, the 30-foot living Colorado blue spruce was a hot topic on Internet forums.

The big question that bloggers were pondering: Will Obama refer to it as a “Christmas” tree or a “holiday” tree?

And while there are other, more consequential, topics for public debate, the so-called “War on Christmas” has become a hot annual subject at this time of year. The election of Obama, the first American president with a non-Christian father, has prompted conspiracy theorists to set the Internet ablaze with fallacious predictions about Obama’s Christmas-related plans.

Read the full article at Texas on the Potomac, or below, behind the cut.

maine military mom doesn’t see an end to war

WASHINGTON — Carole Whelan decided early not to watch President Barack Obama’s Tuesday night prime-time announcement of his plan for the war in Afghanistan.

“I’m tired,” the 63-year-old Whelan said. “I’ve been around a long time, and I think that I’m really tired of the propaganda that is given to the American population in lieu of the truth about what’s really going on.”

Read the full article in the Bangor Daily News, or go behind the cut to read the article and see a larger word tree.

maine delegation not sold on obama’s afghaniplan

WASHINGTON–When President Barack Obama stood in front of cadets at West Point Military Academy in New York Tuesday night and announced that 30,000 more troops would be deployed to Afghanistan, he acknowledged that the move would not be universally popular. He said in his speech that the debate over the Iraq war — and by extension, the war in Afghanistan — has drawn the “dominant share of our troops, our resources, our diplomacy and our national attention.”

The “wrenching debate” will continue in the aftermath of the president’s address, even among members of Maine’s congressional delegation.

Read the full article at the Bangor Daily News, or click to read the full article (and see a bigger word cloud) under the cut.