Once again, it’s time to run some of the tips readers have sent in, thus making my column-writing task easier.
- Amy Newport, Kansas City: The Public Interest Litigation Clinic of Kansas City has a
wonderful website with extensive links … dealing with death penalty, legal, and mental health issues. The clinic is a non-profit organization that defends death row inmates. It has links to cases it has worked on and links to keep you current on individual clients. I did a story back in July on the clinic’s founder Sean O’Brien, an attorney noted for his success defending those facing almost certain death. - Deane Beebe, director of communications, Medicare Rights Center (following up on my column about the Kaiser Family Foundation’s Medicare site): Reporters given the daunting task of covering Medicare should visit the Medicare Rights Center’s website at MedicareRights.org. From policy briefs on the Medicare overhaul legislation to information on Medicare basics, there is something on our website for every reporter who is covering Medicare, either regularly or for the first time.
Jeff Gralnick, TV news consultant (responding to my anti-spam columns — Fighting Junk E-mail and Spam That Got Me): You might want to point out that “out of office” (or vacation) messages are two-edged. They tell those you want, but also serve as a “response” to a spammer who then is encouraged to keep on sending because a real address was found. Tidy little circle, isn’t it?
Geoff Fox: I use Popfile (to filter spam), which is free and automatically integrates itself with many mail programs, like Outlook Express, which is the default for most Windows users. Since the last time I reset the counter in June, it has been 99.54 percent accurate! Yes, I still have to double check — because I can’t afford to have a good e-mail dispatched with the bad — but checking is so much faster now because the spam has been pre-screened. Popfile, as with many of the newer better filters, uses Bayes logic. The astounding thing is that Rev. Edward Bayes lived in the 18th century, yet his mathematical insight is still quite useful.
Your turn: send me sites you like: poynter@sree.net.
Sree’s Links:
