Gates, Other “Philanthropy,” and the Purchase of a Success Narrative | deutsch29

Gates, Other “Philanthropy,” and the Purchase of a Success Narrative | deutsch29:

Gates, Other “Philanthropy,” and the Purchase of a Success Narrative

September 6, 2014

Billionaire Bill Gates funds the media.

This is no surprise to me.

What did surprise me is the discovery that he meets with the media he funds (and others) regularly behind closed doors.

Yep.

Gates Briefs a Media He Pays For (And Then Some)

In February 2013, journalist Tom Paulson wrote a piece on Gates’ private meetings with the media he funds. Paulson was not invited.

Notice some of the names:

I (Paulson) wasn’t actually allowed behind the scenes at the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation’s recent meeting in Seattle entitled “Strategic Media Partnerships.”

The Gates Foundation funds a lot of media – more than $25 million in media grants for 2012 (but still less than 1% of the budget).  

I’m media but I wasn’t invited. I asked if I could come and report on it, but was told the meeting was off the record. Those attending included representatives from the New York Times, NPR, the Guardian, NBC, Seattle Times and a number of other news organizations, non-profit groups and foundations. Not all were grant recipients, or partners. Some just came to consult. [Emphasis added this paragraph.]

In August 2014, I wrote about the Gates-funded, Seattle Times blog, Education Lab.

Education Lab is trying to offer predominately light, benign stories arguably designed to divert public attention from the increasingly-evident documentation regarding the failure of education privatization.

In Seattle, Gates is paying for the reporting of “positive outcomes.”Gates, Other “Philanthropy,” and the Purchase of a Success Narrative | deutsch29:

9-7-14 @ THE CHALK FACE

@ THE CHALK FACE:

About the radio show

Join Drs. Shaun Johnson and Tim Slekar 

LIVE Sundays at 6PM EST and Wednesdays at 7PM EST 

on Blog Talk Radio for progressive, pro-public education talk radio. 

Call in to speak live with Tim and Shaun during the show, (805) 727-7111. 

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Visit the @ the Chalk Face radio main page for more information on the show and syndication.

Laura Chapman on Education Weekly’s “Philanthropic” Funding

The post below is from the comments section of my September 6, 2014, post, Gates, Other “Philanthropy,” and the Purchase of a Success Narrative. It was written by Laura Chapman, veteran arts educator whose well-researched observations on the entangled funding of privatizing reform are often featured on education historian Diane Ravitch’s blog. Below, Chapman briefly examines the numerous philanthr

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Gates, Other “Philanthropy,” and the Purchase of a Success Narrative

Billionaire Bill Gates funds the media. This is no surprise to me. What did surprise me is the discovery that he meets with the media he funds (and others) regularly behind closed doors. Yep. Gates Briefs a Media He Pays For (And Then Some) In February 2013, journalist Tom Paulson wrote a piece on Gates’ […]

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NYC Educator: Opting for the Joys of Childhood

NYC Educator: Opting for the Joys of Childhood:

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Think for a moment of your best elementary-school memories.  Do they involve tests or prepping for tests?  Or, were they the kind of moments that are being pushed aside to make room for the Core?

Think for another moment:   How many academic failures did you experience in elementary school?  Surely, we all must have failed at some things.  But was your academic existence framed by failure?  Did 2/3 of your class ever fail the year?  If it had, what do you think parents might have said about the teacher?  And, how many calls do you think the principal might have received to keep kids out of that class?

Common Core now teaches all our children.  You can call the principal, but there's no way out of the class unless you can afford tuition at an elite institution like those to which many "reformers" choose to send their own children.  Instead of easing students into higher standards, the Common Core academically slaughters.  Students are the carnage.  The good news is you can OPT OUT of NYC Educator: Opting for the Joys of Childhood: