Alex Johnson – Journalist at Large

An analog journalist in a digital world

Posts Tagged ‘original-reporting

Reporting: In adult films, condom question twists plot

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California’s efforts to mandate the use of condoms in adult videos shot in the state has divided the pornography industry and made allies of seemingly strange bedfellows — a leading AIDS organization that says it doesn’t care about the morality of porn and a former adult actress who has made it her mission to shut down the industry.

Full story (Alex Johnson/msnbc.com)

Written by Alex

April 30, 2010 at 6:39 am

Reporting: New ways of counting leave U.S. Census behind

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India’s massive census, the biggest under way in the world, could mark a turning point away from door-to-door surveys toward real-time database-driven counting. That could leave the United States far behind.

Full story (Alex Johnson/msnbc.com and Shereen Bhan/CNBC-India)

Written by Alex

April 9, 2010 at 9:20 am

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Reporting: Schools in ‘category 5’ budget crisis

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While the recession has put a squeeze on all types of government programs, none has felt its impact more than education — the largest item in most states’ budgets.

Full story (Alex Johnson/msnbc.com)

Written by Alex

March 18, 2010 at 6:45 am

“CSI”? Get Real: Already Under Fire, Crime Labs Cut to the Bone

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There are serious questions about the credibility of nearly every kind of crime lab analysis, the conclusions of which often rest on unproven science filtered through the subjective judgment of technicians whose training and certification vary wildly from jurisdiction to jurisdiction.

And with crime labs struggling under backlogs that already reach back years in many cities and states, budget cuts driven by the recession are threatening to make credible crime scene analysis a lost art, law enforcement officials and forensic specialists say.

Full story (Alex Johnson/msnbc.com)

Written by Alex

February 23, 2010 at 7:15 am

If you have beachfront property in Florida …

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… keep an eye out for an envelope from State Farm:

State Farm cancels thousands in Fla.
The largest homeowners insurer in Florida is canceling the policies of 125,000 of its most vulnerable customers beginning Aug. 1, halfway through the 2010 hurricane season.

By Alex Johnson of msnbc.com with NBC stations WESH of Orlando, Fla., and WTLV of Jacksonville, Fla., and reports from Telemundo Orlando and Telemundo Tampa Bay.

Written by Alex

February 3, 2010 at 4:04 pm

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Schools rethinking bans on cell phones

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As ever more powerful cell phones come closer to mimicking the laptop computers many pupils carry each day, teachers and administrators are wrestling with whether their utility as a teaching tool outweighs the disruptions they can pose in the classroom.

Full story (Alex Johnson/msnbc.com)

Written by Alex

February 3, 2010 at 6:52 am