structural meeting about how to edit long for peace is better. we really want to do it. i come from that tradition of music. the top editors come from "the new york times. we have people submitting five, six, 7000-word stories. holders to account because you really want to do it. -- hold us to account because we really want to do it. you very much and good luck to you. i hope to see you soon. >> i want to thank everybody that participated. take a stand if you have to work

on this as a volunteer. i also want to thank the newseum. to our sponsors, let me start with youtube and google. it is a special honor that they sponsor does. aol continues to be a great sponsor in this effort. microsoft released kept up to the plate. all the others, -- microsoft really stepped up to the plate. all the others, facebook,

"governing," settled for digital government, thank you for helping us make this possible. [applause] some of you may notice level one and level two. if all billable to is can just stand up. can just stand up. these guys were here for the first year and they are here now. next year, we will begin to celebrate level 3. thank you for participating and coming year. we appreciated. okay, without any further ado, we are on to the next great event. it is a fabulous a venue in georgetown.

drinks, there are bosses downstairs, i believe right now. -- buses downstairs, i believe right now. do not forget your touchback. there is a million. information. thank you very much. [applause] [captioning performed by national captioning institute] [captions copyright national cable satellite corp. 2011]

>> we are going to show you a another panel in just a minute. you can tattooed on line in the video library. -- you can catch it on line in the video library. we have more politics coming up tonight. newt gingrich is at 8:00. ap reports that john huntsman is moving his campaign headquarters to new hampshire from florida. we will be in new hampshire tomorrow night for rick perry's

town hall meeting. that it's underway live at 6:00. on october 3, the supreme court will start hearing arguments on whether states can be sued for failing to pay the required rate set by the medicaid act. this saturday, hear a similar case from 1990. arguing for the united states, former governor wilder. the amount it may be helpful at this point to turn to the land to which -- to the language of the statute. that says it must provide for the payment of rates which the state finds and makes assurances satisfactory to the secretary. >> c-span radio 90.1 fm. which part of the constitution

is important to you? that is the subject of this year's student cam competition. be sure to include more than one point of view and video of c- span programming. entries are due by january, 2012. the grand prize is $5,000. for all details, go to studentcam.org. >> now more for the activism media policy summit. industry leaders agree that with the -- that twitter and facebook are changing the way that media is gathering information. this is an hour.

>> good afternoon. we are about to begin. i will be your moderator for what i hope is an exciting conversation, on a topic that is near and dear to everyone of us on this panel, and that is why you are in front of me. i want to welcome you. this is the second annual amp summit. we will be focusing on today in this track and in this particular session on from a perspective, how has the news industry change. i am the general manager of aol's political division in town. i was formerly with the

huffington post. prior to that i was with "roll call." i will let everyone on the panel introduced themselves. >> i am jim barnett. at the ripe old age of 43 i went back to management school, and i studied about non-profit models for a journalism. before that i was a washington correspondent. >> i am an editorial director for the journal of higher education. i was most recently that editor for four years, and now i am in charge of strategy on the digital side and all the old print side for our publications. >> i have been active in

teaching journalist how to use twitter and other social mid ia. steve buttry. >> i'm a blogger for npr. i am also part of their social media team, which started off about three years ago, and it was an evangelizing thing, and now we manage the facebook page and npr social media presence as well as cloud experiments. >> the structure of our organization for this conversation, i want to throw out a framework for the program, and that is when i look at media companies and we talk about each individually at various times, when you look at the landscape and you try to evaluate what

news organizations are doing, three stocks are at the back -- three stocks are at the back of the envelope. how content is generated, distributed, and been monetize. each of those three areas today, we will have each of the panelists talked about how their organizations see as the trends that have changed in both those categories. the content generation side, when we look at the last five years, how the newsroom hierarchy's have change, where was the hierarchy before, what does it mean in terms of how we get a content, when we consider the role of the byline o? >> the thing i will throw out is the rise of non-profit modeling.

what we are seeing is as legacy models are crumbling, nonprofits are jumping into the business and they are doing news or something that looked a lot like these. one of the things we have to figure out is how we can have news within an advocacy organization. >> it is interesting in the last five years "the chronicle" has gone from a centralized model where it was generated only from people on our staff to a model where it is decentralized. we still have a staff of 70 reporters in washington, but we have more freelance correspondent around the country. we use a lot more contributors to blogs and other opinion and

advocacy areas. that is something that is definitely different in the last five years. the other difference is we are partnering with other organizations like we have not done before. we partner with the coveted post and provide content to their college vertical. weak partner with "the new york our reporters run stories in "the chronicle" and "the new york times." given how higher a education has expanded, we need to find new ways to generate content. >> we saw a great example of how the community is generating content at the lunch presentation, the picture of the easy chair and the sinkhole was a good example of the fact that

the tools of publishing are in everybody's hands, the theirself fun now. so the community is generating content. that content as different degrees of reliability. that was an actual picture that made me think of another involving shares. some of you may have seen it which was tweeted a lot, making the rounds after the recent earthquake, a picture of a couple of plastic lawn chairs that had tipped over. picture, it circulates every time there is a mild earthquake. some of the california had fun with it. so a lot of the work of -- journalists still need is content that the community is not treating, but a new function

of the journalist is the creator -- the curator, where you are gathering the content from the public and finding the best way to present eds and also to -- to present it and also to vet it. this one was somebody having fun, and they had that fun several earthquakes ago. the setting and verifying of the content that the community is creating is a big function of the journalists now, and a function that the npr colleague andy has really pioneered in a way that i think we are still trying to figure out what is the future of that testing and verifying in real time.

which is a set up for you. >> i think for us, that shift was probably a little easier for most -- than most, because in some way the public radio system has always had crowd sourcing, has always had the public creating content. you see it just very simply in college shows. it is a sin dyadic relationship with the public. -- is a semi attic relationship with the public. going from that into going and gathering information on the arab spring through twitter, it takes a bit of a mental leap for some, it is a natural transition. what has been happening in our organization is people have become believers that the people, the masses, provide

high-quality information, that we do not have access to,. . when things started happening in libya, we realize, there is no one there. we had no one there. very few north news organizations had people there. what we were getting was wrong stuff coming out on twitter, and we are still learning how to vet and present that. my colleague andy has been doing it,n twitter -- let's do let's go for, and on our blog we have been trying to take some of that and craft in more familiar ways for the broader audience. the point is we are still learning on that part of it. >> i think it is important for

all of us to appreciate the distinctions of each of the panelists in terms of the platforms of the audience that they are talking to. it is a great thing that we're hearing right now, the theme that there is a broadening of the definition as what is considering input, and those inputs have broaden themselves not just from byline, original contact, but take what non- profit journalism is doing now, the social space, but is important still, the newsroom providing content. the broadening of what we might consider a and input into that equation is still interesting. what is interesting and a good point of what i want to talk about, jimmy brought up how organization can act as a

news organization. if you look at npr, it may have an agenda. but in terms of the world that you have been trying to help them think through, how you -- as an advocacy corps position, how you become a news organization? >> one of the things that an organization has to decide right away is the one to support journalists, and all that entails. one of my favorite examples is from a hundred years ago. mary baker eddy, the founder of the christian science church, which the attack by the liberalism of the day, and she decided that free independent journalism would support her church, so we have the christian science monitor. that model is pretty well established as a way and advocacy organization, the church, can support real journalism, and it continues to this day. the question is, how to your

it?anizate how'd you find that this is the case for flat to be attached to the case for journalism? that is something you have to think about and figure how you are going to do that. you have to then roll with the punches. if the or journalism does not take you where the organization does not like, then you what to think about having a journalistic enterprise. >> transparency is interesting. he's a couple words out how technology has allowed or the soil they did or accelerated the ability for an ad is he -- and advocacy organization -- >> the american red cross often functions like one. they have some the first people on the ground when there are earthquakes.

the technology is accelerating the need to be transparent, and when people take a source of information, they are willing to take it from aarp or the red cross, and it is a quick shorthand way of how it is structured. over time you can have a model that works where you have more than one a voice coming from the same organization. >> when you think about non- profit journalism, there is one type that acts as a type of journalistic enterprise to support its cause, another one that is a huge trend that you appreciate at take it as different input into your own newsroom is an organization trying to support foundation support some of the traditional aspects of journalism. if you want to talk about a little bit, let's think about what the role of foundation

support is -- journalism and how to traditional outlets taken that had accounted. >> i think with the decline and possibly the collapse of traditional business models that we are in a time when we are going to see a lot of different models, and it is not going to be like here is the model of the future. it is here are the models of the future. to be candid, the past was multiple models, too, including the public broadcasting -- which was a combination of government and the nation's, member support, so on. clearly, it is popular in the newspapers, the traditional media that i come from, even though my work now is pretty much all digital, is to sing the

praises of the newspapers and all the watchdog journalism's that we did. the fact of the matter is that a lot of the journalism we did was pretty much routine commodity coverage of stuff that was happening in the community that could be done somewhere else. i think that propublica and texas tribune nonprofit model, california watch is another one. there are several out there that are encouraging. it is trying to say we are not going to try to do everything like a daily newspaper dead. we are going to focus on this one hugely important public service kind of journalism, and hope that we can find philanthropy that will support that. so far they are doing a good job. >> the idea that the public service and support in public service journalism, and a phrase that i think is crucial,

thinking about the changes that have happened in the news industry, commoditization. the bureaus in washington that are no longer here, they were not vocalizing, not telling a story differently. it all starts by sounding like the ap. you think that foundation support of journalism, nonprofit journalism, is continuing that type of content, or does it bring something to bear in the way we approach a news story? >> the fact that all of these public service type foundation- funded things are starting from scratch, they are starting small and without the baggage of saying we got to cover sports, entertainment, city hall, we got the cover everything. they can say we are going to cover this slice and covered it very well, and i think they are

choosing slices that are not commodities. i am not aware -- there were some good day that journalists doing things in texas, but i am not aware of a texas news organization that made the that analysis, data presentation as a central part of its mission as texas tribune. where that data can be available and certainly our lunch speaker saw how government can make the data more accessible, if you are in a place where the government is not doing that, you are really in the territory that at this point is not, the ties to. -- not commoditized. you have to adapt and adjust. the market is gone to change. >> some of the examples we have been talking about are still

fairly general. what you are seeing in some areas, especially education, is that since many newspapers have been essentially given up on covering k-12 education and higher education, you are seeing foundation-supported efforts in that area as well. that worries me a little bit. you're starting to see the hechinger institute out of new york, out of columbia teachers college, producing content. you see them in "the washington post" and other organizations. without knowing who is supporting this efforts. with hechinger, it is the gates foundation, it is the broad foundation, all of whom have an agenda, and you start to wonder about what types of stories are not being covered by these non- profit organizations because of the agendas of their foundations that are supporting them. you might say newspapers used to get advertising, but for the most part they got general advertising. national retailers.

they supported the whole enterprise. they supported our coverage from athletics the government. in this case, the gates foundation has a specific agenda on college completion k-12 education. you have to wonder about the story traces that those or or is is are making or not making. >> talking about the agenda- driven concern, and then npr and the trials that npr has had in the pasture, where funding is being an issue as well as whether or not there was an agenda-driven news from. how does that affect the few? >> obviously that was all over the news, but the idea in traditional newsrooms is that there is a fire wall.

i think maybe that is where we are getting too, in the traditional newsroom, journalists, as soon as you get hired, you sign that could of the ethics and you are supposed to abide by that. obviously that does not happen all the time. i think a lot of people brought up some issues about the project we just launched, which is the state impact, where we are trying to put two reporters in each state, to report on state politics. people were wondering where that money came from, if it came from george soros. we got attacks on that part. there is a well-defined fire wall in the newsroom. you tell your public you have to drop us on this, and that is what news organizations have

dollars all along. i can tell you that fire wall is certainly there. >> it is important note also that may be the most successful for-profit new journalism organization of the past 15, 20 years is fox news, which, despite its fair and balanced slogan, has a pretty transparent agenda. and a transparent agenda that was launched in response to an alleged agenda with varying levels of tree behind allegation of the liberal media. it is interesting that going back to the firewall issue, most of the organizations in the so- called liberal media are organizations of journalists who might tend to be liberal, working for companies that are very big corporations and quite conservative.

those fire walls -- if the liberal media really is liberal, then that is some evidence of a fire wall is working, even if journalists sometimes have their own agendas or their own biases. >> i think some people forget is non profit models are devolving quickly. four years ago we saw propublica starting with foundation funding. now uc nonprofits and grass- roots efforts. texas to begin. also they are trying very hard to develop commercial revenue streams. you are also seeing you structures in place. i think about investigative news network which is the umbrella news organization for 60 news or

diseases around the country, and they are trying to develop revenue sources. it is a mater of a number of things. the people who give you money have to sign off on that, and if they don't, you do not want to take the money. >> the market makes a big difference. if aarp is successful in producing a credible news about topics of interest to the retired and aging population, they are going to find a sweet spot that is going to keep them sustained. if they are pretty much a pr arm of aarp, they will be not very successful and will not last. >> transparency is import. the idea that put it out there. they are giving us money, and we underestimate the intelligence

of the public, which is what you are getting too, which is that the public will know that this is good, that this is trustworthy, this is something that you are not getting from someplace else. i think that news organizations should allow the public away -- to make that decision by giving them all the information they need to make that decision. >> we will move to the next topic of -- have looked at the first 10 minutes, content generation. now we will talk about distribution and i will start with jeff here. again, to make sure that the audience -- jeff is coming from the chronicle of higher urbanization, which is an extremely successful or his agent, not on everybody's read our, so it is helping with readership do their job, people who are running the higher

education institutions, people who work at those institutions, navigating the nuances that are in the industry. and herbs of thinking about content distribution, i know as a veteran, a challenge when i was running at "roll call" i got behind the wall and you only wanted me to write university presidents. you thought that the content was important for the entire world to see. talks in terms of distribution it from the perspective as a former editor and now as a strategist, they need to focus on your core audience as well as being mission driven to a higher idea of serving the second ballots of higher -- second balance. >> we have had a paywall.

at the beginning you could not get through it at all. that has evolved over time. now about 40% of our content is free. unlike "the new york times," we did not use a meter system. we have put a lot our opinion stuff there because we want to reach that the broader audience of opinion makers. we but that's about it. we put in breaking news where it is a commodity. for example, a couple of years ago after she attacked when the shooting happened, we had reporters on the ground, and so did every other organization in the country. we wanted our stuff to be out there. we talk about news being a

commodity. we put that in front of the payable. -- paywal. if you want to know how much a college president makes, how much harvard's endowment is, all that is behind the paywall, we will write stories in front of the pit wall to give the basic information, but if you wanted get deep into it, we put it behind the paywall. you see many new or organizations moving to the paywall model because news organizations need that revenue stream. unlike "the new york times," where they have made this mistake by treating all their content hosting, saying there is a meter and at some point you run out during the month, whether you have read our big investigation of obama, i think news organizations that treat

their content that is a specialized, put that behind the paywall, those are the models that are growing to succeed in the future. >> thinking about the paywall, we are thinking about one platform. we're thinking about webb distribution of content. ahmacommoditization -- you are talking about differentiation. you start thinking about the role that i have had in terms of your solution in terms of various platforms. >> that is where our futures are going. we launched our ipad app in march, and with in march we had 50,000 users download it free to readers.

we are in slightly different situations because we have readers who are willing to pay for information that they need to do their jobs. >> you want them to pay for access to other platforms as well? >> yes, for right now, we have to because once we start giving away content for free, readers will expect that. "the new york times" seems to have succeeded in it. once you let that genie out of the bottle, it is difficult to bring that back. right now we cannot find -- we have had found some advertisers interested, but we cannot find a ton, so we need to find revenue stream to support that. somebody has to pay for all these reporters in the newsroom, and whether that is a foundation, advertising,

readers, somebody has to pay for it. when you take readers out of that equation of paying for information, that put so much pressure on you to get revenue from other sources. >> what is your sweet spot, looking at the role of media planning in terms of lengthening the life cycle of a news story about giving new legs to a news story. talk about that and in terms of how npr as unbelievably the vault into something much more than just real content and using these different platforms to extend the life cycle of the story. >> we are in a completely different situation, and that is where npr evolves from a radio company to a media company, which is -- that is not necessarily where people are

getting all their information, radio. we have to be on facebook, we have got to be on the ike pad, the iphone. we have to be everywhere, and our contact a few years ago, it was about two years ago or three years ago, we put out an api is a fire hose that you can hook on to and take our concept -- content. our philosophy has been take it, it is there, this is our public service which is informing you, and we have also obviously people pay for npr content, listeners pay it through their member stations. we make those pitches, but we are online and we are everywhere because that is where people are. i like to tell the story of how the facebook page was born at

npr. that has about 2 million fans, which is pretty hefty for a news organization. it first started, people at npr were having questions, what is that thing, is that a marketing thing? what do we do with this thing? in a few days later, legal says there is somebody who has npr on facebook. what we do? they are freaking out. mailing, like, eamilin it. and then we hear from a college kid, who says, i love npr. had all the language is needed to have, everything. he said he can have it, you can

have it, here are the keys. we sent him a mug and a tote bag. he is still an admin on the page. what that does for our content is incredible. in some ways we have a home page, for reporters and producers and everyone else. it is like get my story on the facebook page because of the amount of traffic it drives is incredible, and it extends that life period for radio into the web, and that is really nice. to give you an idea of how big the facebook distribution is, it is second only to google as far as referring traffic.

that is from our page, not from people sharing it. >> could also talk about the referrals and the sharing and how you evaluate sharing in terms of facebook. >> we have seen that increase a huge amounts, and at some point we do expect people -- or the social part of it to take over google as far as referrals. you could see it on an everyday basis on how well stories -- we post only about eight stories a day on facebook, which we also made a decision from the very beginning that it was going to be an editorial product, which means that it would have an editor and each story would be handpicked, and some of it would be getting the feel of what this

is and how it works and what people want on it. and so we treated the same as we with our home page and the same as we would a show, which is each one has a very different feel. "warning addition -- "morning edition" is very different from "all things considered." >> i do not know of a new site that does that well. a little plug. steve, i wanted to put a spotlight on your background of it that i think is a big role in the distribution discussion, which is the growing importance of local content and what you

have seen of the light -- last year's in particular of this market where you try to build an audience that is local in a unique way, you had challenges, and what you see that as a feature of local cut debt? >> i think that hyper local, which is a buzzword withich peoe interpret differently, local at areerent levels c, is we olution.ly in the evil l in the evolution of local journalism into the daschle marketplace. jeff talked about -- into the digital marketplace. jeff talk about a narrow market

segments that is delivering highly-without you specialize content that the consumers generally cannot pay for. they are expensing it or writing it off on their taxes. it is hard to picture a local organization relying as heavily on donor support as public radio in with the statewide organizations. we need to look for what the successful model for that is going to be, in terms of distribution and in terms of connecting it with revenue streams. the newspapers never made our money, never supported our content by charging for it to. if you pay for a newspaper, you

are paying for paper, ink, gasoline, and maybe some of the wages associated with production and distribution. you are not starting to pay for the content. the content is all supported by advertising. advertising does not work the same way on line in terms of volume and in terms of rates, we need to figure out what local model is going to be. generally speaking, when established businesses are faced with a new business opportunity, a new technology, they tend to cram their existing model into that, and our existing model was display advertising. it was display advertising and classified advertising. we have lost that a lot to craigslist, and display

advertising are annoying pop-up ads. when he defines of a given. the only people who are saying you cannot make money online our traditional journalism organizations. you did not hear amazon saying, who will not make money on mine? what we need to do is find out what are things be on advertising that have value in the local marketplace and can local media organization, whether it is a metro wide organization like tbd or whether it is a local blogger, what are the ways that they can connect with local businesses and help local businesses connect with customers? we're still working on that. i think we are going to see a lot of development of that over the coming few years. >> the only thing i would want to contribute is something that we are doing at aol and

covington post that has been and big investment on the entire company, and that is called patch. it is a -- from a mission perspective, we seek a huge white space an opportunity of local newspapers going away. we have had the same business challenges, but from a mission perspective, communities still need to connect to one another. journalism still fills that need. we hope that our model of investing in over 850 patches across the country in neighborhoods, investing in a real life will talent is a lot cost, but we hope that network of local content will have demonetize asian strategy that ties advertising in terms of

that particular audience, political advertising, from a brand advertiser, try to find a particular niche. >> it will be interesting to see how that plays in with the metro play of huffpo washington, which is filling some of the space that tbd was going after. with the local patches all around, can you build a metro platform that synchs well with the reston patch, the silver spring patch, to serve both of the audience and the businesses in a way that is going to build a healthy business? people frequently ask me, what do you think of patch? as you well know, it is kind of

under a microscope now and taking a lot of hits, and my thatnse is no start uup succeeds i don't exactly -- no startup that succeeds is exactly what it does when it started. they make an adjustment, depending on how long it takes and how committed they are to it. i think somebody is going to -- in local space. and if pat makes the right adjustments, they will see it through. >> before we open questions, i want to let each of you chime in, for the third leg of this sort of model for the composition, monett physician.

the challenges that distribution local.per how do you put that together from a monetize asian perspective. -- monetization perspective. >> we do efficacy. we find a lot of people join aarp for the services and the discounts, but the number one reason they come back is for our magazine, which is fantastic. they love our content. the lesson is we like -- we do not have a paywall because we thought the extent we get it out there helps bring people in and helps them open their minds to being -- that is an arm on the thighs asian model. we want to give you some great

journalism. it is a blended model. the way you get in is from the discounts, but look at the great thing you get. once people get in people find that is the way they want to stay. remember ship -- your members of underwrites the magazine. >> too many old line newspaper publishers are looking for that silver bullet. local newspapers relies instead to print money for years, and they made a ton of money in classified. they made a lot of money in classified advertising. i cannot imagine that we used to pay for advertising.

even in circulation. to many newspapers are looking for that one big play that will make them a ton of money. the future i am looking at at the chronicle is a lot of smaller plays at add up to things. repackaging content. a graduate student who wants to get a job might not subscribed for $85 a year, but they will pay for five bucks for a pack of articles on how to get that first job. it is the itunes model. you sell a lot of things for five box -- that is what we are looking at, micro payments, where we are repackaging content, delivering it on mobil platforms and in multiple ways. that is where it can help on a local level. people are willing to pay for content of the local level.

i am desperate living in d.c. for information on my local community. what is happening to the restaurant down the street or what the schools. that is the big play, where parents would be interested in paying for more information on what is happening with their public schools. that is where i think the monetization for these hyper local sites can work. >> my old boss talks about a silver bullet, saying there will not be a silver bullet. it will be shrapnel. there will be multiple revenue streams. i will give you an example -- they are not all tied to technology, although certainly there is an issue with technology that, ok, the iphone , ipad, droid, these are great.

fireve the ckindle coming out. these are great opportunities. keep in mind as a vivid amount of that month -- keep in mind that a significant amount of the money is going to apple. part of it is working out the partnerships and delivery systems trade those are formats where people are more willing to pay where -- than they have been on their laptop or desktop computer. some of it is going to be thinking differently about basic model, not just all in the technology. an example i see is obituaries. newspapers -- we used to write them as news stories and they were formulaic and dull and did not give the full flavor of that person's life. we saw that as a revenue stream and we started charging for

obituaries, and now all obituaries are written by people at the funeral home. these are not very satisfying. pay, you willing to can put more about person, but it tends to be sentimental. i'm thinking, ok, is there a possibility that with all these out of work journalists that we can develop a model of the commisioned stories? journalists have been those writing biographies of sports figures and intimate crist entertainers for all of my career, so we can work out all the ethical issues, and is there a whole different revenue stream in there? that goes beyond obituaries. you can commission life stories at retirement. it is a matter of thinking differently about lots of

different revenue opportunities rather than where is that silver t.llet behal >> i will point out to npr music, which as become a fully digital -- obviously it crosses into radio, but it is a website. house staff has grown and it has flourished into its own thing. they are doing well. >> take away on this, commission of obituaries? anyway, i'm opening up to questions, and i want to thank viewers from c-span across the country watching us now, and i want to welcome them. questions from the audience?

is there a mike? >> [unintelligible] traditionally in social meeting, you cannot separate it anymore. that is where traditional media really becomes all truck relevant to the population. do you ever see a way in which social beatty and traditional media can truly work together in times of disaster in a way that is going to be beneficial and get better information to people need it faster? >> i think that a mapping program based on putting together the messages from the public, which is one of the first preseason of it, was in the haiti earthquake in

identifying clusters of where messages, mostly by text, were coming from. it shows that certainly there is great potential for that. the news media jump on the disaster story like nothing else except maybe a celebrity sex scandal. and the social content is just astounding in its volume, and i think tools like storify that help us curate and highlight the best and the themes from social media are an example of where that is coming together. in the media that are not using social media covered disasters are not covering them well. >> in terms of something that has largely seamen the huffington post has been a part

of the -- effect of disasters or anything that has a significant barrier to access, so disasters been one of the as. from the iranian elections was a seminal moment for coughing put them posed in terms of using social media usingcurate content on the ground. and we have seen this in japan. the challenge, as we are rethinking the storytelling, is using the component of the input of a twitter feed or a facebook update to complement the long form story that a traditional journalists might do. something we talked -- we have not talked about is the role that blogging has helped facilitate a lot more people to create content.

it is content even from a ceo to never the citizen to extend the conversation ended the conversation a little more depth. the challenge for us as we take these different inputs is to present rich textured views of what that news cycle is about using social meeting, using blogging, using traditional journalism as a way to drive that texture. >> if there is a story on cnn about dogs that are banded in disasters, there are people who will then send people to that location and clog up the supply chain said that the bible stuff cannot get through. -- if they had a crisis plan on how they work together in crisis and they actually did it rather than worry about the competitiveness of the story at

that time, you would be speeding the velocity of the response>> s is not to say that what you are suggesting cannot be done, but you say the social media, as if that were just a matter of the traditional media, the "new york times" and cnn get together with facebook and twitter. it's not twitter, it's the millions of users of twitter. what i am saying is the social media is not a platform, it is the users. to think you are going to coordinate that, to me that is way beyond herding cats. not that there is not some ideas you could probably use traditional media and social media to get out the word about

what you need, and it's not dog duties -- dog booties. but that chaos of the social media is here to stay and we to figure out how do we deal with the chaos. >> i work in tv news and oftentimes there's no question we look at social media. there's a place for it but my question is do you think the social media audience we have on line and the tv viewership, they are two separate groups of people, and if so, what's the key to getting that population online tuning into television and watching the content we have on television? the third part of the question is, is there one news agency

doing right right now? >> npr. >> i don't know the answer to your question. i would think there is some overlap, but i will tell you some numbers i road down which are interesting and by opening. we did a survey of our facebook users and 51% of them said facebook was a major way in which they get their news. the idea of if it is important, they will come to me. 74% says it's a major way in which they get their npr news. i think that tells you a lot. >> so they get their news and are motivated to tune in -- >> i think they are going to tune in if you give a video they can post on their face but page or those sorts of things.

-- on their facebook page. whether it's a television news the viewer or newspaper reader is significantly older than the average age of people on social media, even though people my age are starting to use social media. i don't think we are going to change those habits. what we need to do is find out the best way to reach that party it is an dealing with it where they want to be. >> i don't understand why a matters. people reading you, whether it's on facebook or twitter, it's a new audience for you and why do you need them -- it reminds me of newspapers trying to drive people from their web site to the paper. i just got back from atlanta and someone was telling me down there that the "atlanta journal constitution" is only putting

some stories in print to try to get people to buy some print. what's happening is people are just not seeing those stories. all lot of news organizations try to drive everyone to the print paper or television when these people just don't want to consume media that way, so why try to heard those cats when what you're doing through social media is expanding your audience. >> one of the things you hear about is the ratings, the people who create ratings are trying to figure out how to track all of this stuff. if you have a news click on at youtube, is -- does that count? how do you do that? over time, that demarcation of this is when the newscast happens is not going to matter anymore. it's when people want to see it. once that metric is in place. >> [inaudible]

>> any thing i consume happens on twitter first. anything from npr, cnn, i see it first on twitter. with a significant lead before someone else picks up. it may not be the full content, but it happens there first. i don't have a television, but when something happens, that's the first place i go. when the earthquake happened, that's where i went. >> if he doesn't have a television, you cannot bribe him to go watch it. but you can put your video content where he is going to see it on twitter and watch it. >> the last thing i want to say and it sort of summarizes the last point, the biggest challenge we are facing is an appreciation of the news industry where the idea is if it's important it will find its way to you. the idea that we have to

fundamentally rethink media, brands and destinations and understand how people find information is the game changer for our entire industry. thank you, everyone. [applause] [captioning performed by national captioning institute] [captions copyright national cable satellite corp. 2011]

phone is adam smith, political editor for "the st. petersburg times closed would in florida. it looksike frida is going to decide to move up its primary. what is going on? >> they want to make sure florida is the biggest battleground state. host: if they move up to january 31, that would make them the fifth primary? guest: that is the goal. they don't want to get in front of the four earliest states --

iowa, new hampsre, nevada, and south carolina but they want to be alone. host: why does florida feel they should and they can have a decisive impact on the primary? guest: the feeling is, especially for the republicans, you can't really win the nomination without florida. it is the biggest battleground state and they don't want to be waiting until the nomination is already locked up to 2 vote. the idea is to move early, even if it means penalties from the party. host: what are the penalties? guest: they will lose half of their delegates. they have about 116 delegates so the rules say it that will be cut in half. i think the view in florida is, a couple of things, who cares, licate stone mattered -- it is just people making -- wearing funny hats at the convention. two, florida is too important to actually get that penalty.

the convention will be in florida and ultimately they will not be penalized. host: what is of the financial benefit for florida to move up its primary? guest:t certainly will be good for tv stations. we will get a lot of advertising. we will have some campaigns year. but i don't think it is a big financial benefit. it is more about influencing the nomination. host: we see from census data that florida's hispanic voters jumped up 250,000 since 2008. what is the impact of that in the primary ce? what are these gop candidates going to have to say to appeal to the voters? guest: when you talk about immigration, florida has a different population than so other states. we have a lot of cubans and people who've been here for a long time. they are not especially sympathetic with illegal immigration. it is not that hispanic voters

are going to be opposed to tougher sanctions on illegal immigration, but what you have to be careful is, is on the rhetoric. if you are to anti-immigrant you have a problem. host: which candidates are focusing their resources, their money, have a campaign organization on the ground in florida right now? caller: florida is such a big state. it is not a retail politician state like iowa and new hampshire. pierre greece has a decent organization and romney is -- romney has been of florida for a long time so he has a lot of support. has a campaign structure and a fund-raising structure. host: which part of florida does a gop candidate need to win to get the dominant -- nomination?

caller: it is over the map. it is different from the general election. but my area, two and orlan, about 45% of the primary vote -- tampa bay and orlando, about 45% of the primary vote. but you have to do well pretty much everywhere or target your campaign to specific areas to over, where somebody else might >> more presidential politics tonight on c-span with newt gingrich. he unveiled his campaign platform today. the associated press said the plan he mapped out in his speech would form the core of his campaign for the republican presidential nomination. key elements include rappelling president obama's health-care plan and giving taxpayer the options planning 8 -- up paying a flat tax. you can read his 21st century

contract for america on c- span.org and watch the speech. then, rick perry holds his first town hall meeting in new hampshire. we will have that live on friday at 6:00 p.m. eastern. >> he founded several labor unions and represented the socialist party running for president, running five times, last time from prison. eugene debs loss, but he changed political history. he is one of the 14 men featured in "the contenders." that friday at 8:00 eastern. get a preview and watch some of our other videos about him at our special website for the series. >> at the head of the american association of university professors says that tenure and academic freedom are in jeopardy and need to be protected. >> tenure creates an atmosphere

on campus where people can speak freely, not just in their teaching but also in terms of university governance. if you don't like a proposal the board of trustees or president makes, you have to be able to speak freely about it. administrators should be able to as well. that is part of what academic freedom protect. without that, you don't have the expertise of the follicle -- of the faculty available to you. >> that's sunday night on c- span. >> president obama's press secretary, jay carney, told them he expects president obama to boost jobs in the economy by the end of the year. other topics at the briefing today include energy department loans to businesses and

immigration policy. this is one hour. this is one hour. >> i stayed up late last night watching baseball and i was reminded of the -- as the travesty occurred sometime after midnight for red sox fans, there is a reason you play the game. when statistical probability says you cannot lose, -- [laughter] red sox, braves, you have to go to the playoffs. [unintelligible] my congratulations to the tampa bay raise. an amazing comeback. there's always next year.

i don't have any announcements but i will take your questions. >> to questions -- one ball on the jobs bill. you said yes today you are confident about that. do you have any clarity from the democratic leadership about when that will happen? are you confident it will vote in october? >> i certainly understand, it's my understanding the senate will take up. in october, which begins in a few short days. then, how it proceeds, we will have to see in terms of when the vote might happen. vote might happen. but we do expect and the majority leader has said they will take it up. we look forward to that because we feel very strongly that all the mall -- all the elements of the american jobs act are

designed to generate the maximum benefit of the economy and give the kind of boost to hiring the economy desperately needs. economy desperately needs. as i said yesterday, if some members of congress oppose portions of the jobs act, they ought to say what they are and why. whether it's hiring back teachers or putting construction workers back to work, rebuilding our infrastructure, renovating our schools, they should say why. maybe its giving a tax cut to small businesses or incentives to small businesses to hire new workers or increase wages or extend the payroll tax cut, extend and expand it, and then when it comes to paying for, we believe it has to be paid for. the president put forward proposals to pay for it entirely

and pay for it in a way that is balanced and fair and insures the burden is not borne by the middle-class, that it is a shared burden and it represents the kind of choices we have to make in an environment where our resources are limited and we have to make choices about what our priorities are. >> do you know whether the president has spoken to john boehner about this or whether he will? >> i do not think he has spoken to the speaker in recent days about it. no doubt they will discuss it. as i mentioned yesterday, the president has put forward a plan in detailed legislative language and expects and hopes congress to take it up, debate it and pass it. we will obviously be part of that process as it moves through

congress. there is not a lot of complexity to what he has put forward. is pretty straightforward. outside economists have judged would be beneficial to the economy, substantially beneficial to hiring. this would be a top priority of the american people and it's absolutely a top priority of the president. he wants congress to take it up and act on it so washington can do what americans out there expect them to do, which is to take measures to help the economy grow, help the economy create jobs, rather than as we saw in the summer, through brinksmanship and intransigence, do things that actually hurt the economy dramatically. we are hopeful that is what will happen. >> there was an attempted attack on the u.s. ambassador in syria. is there any plan to remove him from damascus? >> know, there are not.

let me give you our reaction to this. these kinds of assault against diplomatic personnel are unwarranted and unjustifiable. this is clearly a part of an ongoing campaign to intimidate and threaten diplomats attending to bear witness to the brutality of the regime. day after day, the ambassador puts himself at great personal risk to support the legitimate aspirations of the syrian people. i would like to make this point -- that we urge the senate to show the ambassador its support by confirming him and allowing him -- allowing rather his courageous work to continue. we absolutely want the ambassador to continue the important work he is doing and we hope the senate will act to confirm him to make that possible. >> and good afternoon.

the pressure seems to be growing in congress for more military action in pakistan be on just drone strikes. the intelligence chief was saying that not acceptable, although he did seem to try to cool down the temperature a little bit by saying he did not want to -- he did not want things to get to the point of no return. how close are we to the point of no return in pakistan and what is the president doing to bring down the temperature? >> the relationship we have with pakistan is complicated but very important. pakistan has been an important ally in our fight against al qaeda and that fight continues. we expect to have continued cooperation with pakistan on this. there is no question we have disagreements and complications in our relationships. we speak openly and candidly with our pakistan counterparts

about this. we believe the relationship is important enough and the kind of cooperation we get is essential to our national security and we need to continue it precisely so we can most effectively take the fight to al qaeda and succeed in that region. >> what discussions are going on with pakistan about military action that might go beyond drone -- >> i not sure i understand what you mean -- >> this is what senator gramm was talking about. he said we have lots of assets beyond drones. >> i'm not sure what he is referring to. we take action against the enemies of the united states, members of al qaeda where we find them, and in the case of osama bin laden, that happen to be in pakistan. the fact of the matter is we are

fighting a war in afghanistan and one of the problems we have had which is where this issue arises from is the safe havens in pakistan, and that's a rate -- a -- an issue we raised with our counterparts in pakistan on a regular basis. those discussions and the discussions about the broad range of areas where we have shared interests and cooperation. >> is the president promoting the jobs plan, and has no chance of passing the senate, how is that not a sign of resignation. >> it's a sunny day outside. i don't share -- >> said democrats i have spoken to -- i wonder if it's a sign the you white house is resigned

to a politically win -- a political win as opposed to a policy when. >> i reject your premise. i will by everyone in your age drink if there is not action on the jobs that by the end of the year. congress has to take -- congress will have a lot of explaining to do when they go home for the end of the year recess if they have done nothing to address the urgent need to help our economy and create jobs and not because the president is saying so or not because i am saying so, but because their constituents are demanding it. as we discussed yesterday, we believe the entirety of the american jobs that should be voted on and passed in full and a president would sign it of course. the discussions we have had from the very beginning, if congress were to pass portions of it, we support all the elements and

pieces of it. the president would sign portions of it and if it doesn't make clear what is blocking the passage of those measures the american people support. the premise of your question is wrong. the senate will act and we expect the full congress to act. i think -- i would be very surprised if congress takes no action to help boost economic growth or accelerate hiring before the end of the recess. it's almost inconceivable to me. i have shown a chart that demonstrates the inconceivable to happen in sports and politics, but i would be surprised. >> my premise isn't that nothing

will happen. obviously there are some areas of agreement on the two sides. but the white house is obviously prepared to hit the republicans if all the provisions are not passed. >> what you are saying -- is your question to we expect all of it to be passed? we hope, and that's what we are arguing for another president is making a case for, but i think i have addressed the question if the take -- if the payroll tax cut and expansion came to him, would he sign it -- as long as it is paid for an irresponsible way. the infrastructure investments or money to hire teachers each element he supports, he would sign because he thinks it is important to the economy. but he would then ask where is

the rest? >> knowing the reality that all the provisions will not be the provisions will not be passed, still pushing for -- there is a shiny lowball people want you guys to focus on here that somehow there has to be negotiations when in fact, and the summer, it is where's the president's plan, that shows you are not serious because we don't have a written plan. have a written plan. now you guys have reams of paper and a written plan. now the question is where is the meeting. i'm sure the will be discussions as this process moves for, but there is a written piece of detailed legislation called the american jobs fact that congress can act upon and will take up. where it goes from there remains to be seen. i just do not share your pessimism about its prospects. >> on a lighter note?

-- the washington monument, there's a lot of interest. the engineers rappelling down and people are concerned it will never open. -- [laughter] i have not spoken to him since that report came out. i do remember asking him whether he could tell phyllis leaning from his balcony. the answer is no. when the earthquake happened, was in their report that leaned -- i don't know. i think the department of interior would have more information. i have not spoken with him about it. it is obviously very important, a symbol for this country and democracy, so we certainly hope as do all americans that it is properly repaired and reopened

for the american public. >> forgive me if you have addressed this, but can you explain what the president meant when he told a congressional black caucus that was time to stop complaining and stop crying, you got work to do, and what is your response to the criticism we has used similar language addressing other groups? >> i think this second part is utterly false because i have used him -- i have heard a news exactly identical language with folks he has talked to. his point is simply that this administration has accomplished significant things over the past two and half years. in the face of incredibly challenging obstacles, beginning with the kind of economic collapse this country hasn't seen it since the 1930's, among those accomplishments are obviously a health-care bill that was

passed and will provide insurance for 30 million uninsured americans. an accomplishment that was 100 years in the making. 100 years of effort here in the united states that failed until this president working with congress was able to pass it. that is an accomplishment. there are people who certainly support health-care reform very passionately that feel it was not perfect. i think the point he is making is we cannot lead perfection, the failure to reach and did absolutely everything we want schatzker -- overshadow the fact that great things have been accomplished and so much more work needs to be done. that is the essential message you is bringing to that group and many others.

>> can i get you to comment on the unemployment claims numbers that shows the number of people seeking unemployment benefits fell sharply last week, an encouraging sign that layoffs may be easing. >> i would say there is always a lot of volatility in the weekly numbers, so we do not react much to one week's results. when we have positive signs, those are obviously good and we welcome them, but i have to acknowledge up front a certain amount of volatility in that particular number, and it doesn't change the fact that we need to take dramatic action, significant action to address the unacceptably high unemployment rate in this country. that is why the president is out pushing congress to pass the american jobs act. reputable outside economists have said if it were to pass in

full, it would significantly boost employment in 2012 and economic growth. while that may be a good sign, and good signs are good things, we do not put a great deal of stock in one figure from one week. >> the vice-president in an interview this morning said it is not relevant to blame the bush administration for the current economic problems. what is relevant is that we are in charge. does the president agreed the administration owns the economy? >> that is not the vice president said. he does not say the blame for it is unknown. what he did say is most americans want their elected officials in washington, all of them to act to improve the situation. that is what this president and vice president have been doing since the day they were sworn in and what they will continue

to do. as a matter of basic fact copper they are in power and they are responsible for taking action to improve the economy. that is indisputable and something president and vice president believe very strongly. it is also true that americans understand as data shows, the germanic economic crisis we have experienced the gave very deep hole and it will take a long time to climb out of. i think americans understand that. >> the vice president said is totally legitimate and that the election will be a referendum on the president and the state of the economy. >> it is -- what he says it is legitimate and every elected official running for office in 2012 will run on his or her

record. this president and vice president will run on their record of saving the american economy from a great depression, reversing the kind of dramatic contraction in the economy and dramatic job loss we saw. and beginning to build a foundation for the kind of competitive economy we must have in the 21st century for us to succeed and for america to be the kind of america we wanted to be. >> the president is o.k. that's the referendum is a comment on his handling of the economy? >> the president is confident they will be making their assessment based on his record of what he has done and what he has accomplished and obviously comparing that and what his vision is for the future, which is critical as well, for where he wants to take the country going forward and comparing that to whoever is the candidate

for the republican party. the answer is, yes, it is more than that, but yes. >> the chamber of commerce and a bunch of other groups have called for the super committee to go big in the deficit reduction plan. >> including the president. >> they're talking about reforming the tax code. the take that seriously? >> yes. many people in washington and dollars on the country recognize the that a grand bargain, if you will, at least in size, is not in name is what we should be hoping to achieve. that is why the president put forward a plan that substantially overshoots the mark in terms of that target the super committee has legislated to have to achieve because he believes you need to have a

significant, all told plus the savings from his fiscal plan that he put forward, when you get into the 4 trillion dollar range, you are achieving the kind of reduction in deficit and balance between debt and gdp that should be the goal that addresses the problem for a decade. short of that, you don't ship away at that ratio in a way that has that kind of maximum benefit for the economy. >> tax reform seems to preclude the idea of taxes going up for anybody. is that serious? >> let me just say i have not examined their call or proposal in any specificity. what i think most people believe to look at this on the issue of tax reform is that you need to

close a lot of loopholes and eliminate a lot of special privileges that have benefited greatly those organizations or sectors of the economy that our society who are able to pay lobbyists to get special benefits written into the law. in terms of -- if you are saying it should not produce revenue, the president obviously believes, as you know, from the proposal we put forward, to close loopholes and generate revenue. >> your idea of tax reform without the tax bill increases for some people or businesses -- >> i'm not going to get into individual things -- and not having had the benefit of having read the chamber's ontement or proposal, i'm

thin ice here, so i went to comment. >> the energy department is making the last of its loan guarantees under the recovery act this week. the program ends tomorrow. did the president, and light of request itbankruptcy be especially tight and rigorous this week? >> the process which has been evaluated and improved over the course of the whole time we have been in office is merit-based and is done -- it reflects extensive due diligence on the projects you are referring to. the new large-scale solar generation facilities that received a one approvals. -- that received loan approvals. that's part of a broad portfolio putting people to work and making a contribution achieving

key objectives like doubling electricity from renewable from wind and solar during the president's first term. >> no more vigorous due diligence like solyndra? >> i think the process would be best described by those of the department of energy as rigorous, merit-based and it has been adjusted over time, not because of anything in the last several weeks, but over time to improve it as is true of all kinds of programs this administration administers. >> and one more -- can you respond to the abc report that people who are involved in fund- raising with the president's campaign were also involved in decision making on some of these loans inside the energy department? >> i did not see an abc report. i think -- hold on a second.

>> three prominent fund-raisers. >> hold on one second. i know i have that here. i did not see -- i did not see that abc report, but it is my understanding with regard to the gentleman you just mentioned that he had no connection to overseeing the loan guarantee program. >> going back to the criticism the president has gotten from some within the african-american community, why do you think he is failing to resonate with some leaders of the african-american community? >> i would just take issue with the assertion. people from every community have

expressed their opinions. a lot of people are frustrated in this country for understandable reasons. we have unacceptably high unemployment and growth is not strong enough to drive the kind of growth and employment we need. there is a lot of economic anxiety and frustration. i think that is reflected across the board. it is understandable and it's why this president is so focused on getting the american jobs act passed because he knows that's the number-one concern of the american people. >> the recent criticism has necessarily been about the economy. said why does he get to speak to black folks like that? >> i just addressed this question. i have heard him make similar i have heard him make similar comments to all sorts of

different groups that have heard him speak. his point is we have made tremendous progress toward some very hard to achieve goals and we are continuing to make progress. an example is on the environmental front. if you'll efficiency standards this president enacted administratively with the cooperation of major automakers both domestic and foreign, represents an historic achievement, the kind of achievement that had been passed through congress might be the single most important piece of environmental helpful legislation you could see in a generation. it is a huge accomplishment. it doesn't mean our work on energy is done or our work on the environment is done. but it is an enormous accomplishment. >> the question is, it doesn't seem like he is that concerned about this criticism. will we see him try to do a

better job of reaching out to some of these leaders like cornell westar maxine waters? -- cornell west or maxine waters? >> there are some out there might be unhappy with the political leaders. the president of the united states of america and he's president of all the american people and he is working on their behalf to improve the economy and take measures to help the economy to create jobs and protect the american people and defend the guided state's natural -- national interests here and abroad. -- that united states national interest here and abroad. there is criticism from all corners when you are president and that's a fact of life. >> as far as the super committee. they have met a few times but have not briefed reporters. has the president and in contact with the super committee? >> i have not had that

discussion with him. it is certainly possible he has spoken to individual members. i do not know specifically about super committee matters, but he may have had discussions with individual members. i say may have because i don't know of any specific ones. i don't want to rule out and then when i walk out of your somebody remind me spoke to senator so and so yesterday. >> is the administration at all concerned there has not been enough transparency in the process? >> i have not heard that concern expressed internally. i think our primary concern or interest is in the super committee focusing on its responsibilities on the task it is mandated to achieve and hopefully to overachieving and coming up with the kind of proposal the present -- the president put forward which is balanced and substantial in size and represents the sort of bipartisan, balanced approach we have seen in -- from other committees and in groups that

have looked at this problem and tried to address it in a way that reduces the debt, deals with our long-term debt problems, and does it in a balanced way so that the middle- class or seniors do not have to bear all the burden. >> on the health care law, as the president disappointed that his signature achievement is now going to the supreme court and [inaudible] >> potentially becoming a divisive issue? was an think there expectation other than this would require legal review. that's been the case with social security and medicare. the fact of the matter is we are absolutely confident the

constitutionality of the affordable care act will be upheld as it has been by numerous courts and we look forward to that taking place. what we also know is that although full implementation of health-care reform does not take place until 2014 with the exchanges, there have been tangible benefits accrued to the american people already, as the kaiser report mentioned the other day. more than 2 million young people are now on their parents' insurance because of the provisions that take effect from the affordable care act. that's a very important fact to remember and in addition to the protection of those with pre- existing conditions that are in place and implemented. we look forward to legal review that upholds the constitutionality of the affordable care act. we note that not only have lower

court upheld its constitutionality, but the fact of the individual mandate being both constitutional and wise policy is an opinion shared across the ideological spectrum. the former governor of massachusetts just said the other day the idea for a health- care plan was not my own. the heritage foundation help on that. newt gingrich, he was one of the first to, but the idea of an individual mandate years and years ago. it was seen as a conservative idea for people to say we have -- if you can care for yourself, you have to take care of yourself and pay your own bills. that is the former governor of massachusetts, describing the individual mandate and why it is our policy and we certainly agree. >> i am asking what that -- what

is the president's reaction? >> correct me if i'm wrong, but this is the kind of thing we expected would be taken to the court this and we have proceeded through these cases. >> i am asking for a sense of what his mood is about that right now. >> i don't know that his mood has changed appreciably since it was fully expected to happen. but he is confident the affordable care act will be upheld as constitutional, the individual mandate, and implementation will continue apace as it has. we are pleased to see tangible -- tangible benefits are already being felt by the american people. >> [inaudible]

>> you would have to ask the department justice. they handle the court cases. >> the new fiscal year begins saturday. president obama will have to sign a four-day extension and a six-week extension. have you heard him talk about whether this is anyway to run a government or funded at least? >> i have not heard him address this particular instance of this kind of process. i know that he shares a lot of people's frustration about how difficult it is to get seemingly simple things done in washington. that was the case this past week with regard to the funding of government at a level that have already been agreed to through the budget control act. but i have not heard him address

the particular is you just the particular is you just discussed and the repeated steps that need to be taken in this case. >> has he said anything about how long the big dig out there has been taking? >> i have not had that discussion with him at all. his office is far enough away that he does not hear the banging and drilling. >> we sure do. >> it's not nearly as loud as they used to be. when robert was year, it was worse. i lucked out. >> i have two questions. i'm curious whether the president has been following the actions in the german parliament today with regard to the eurozone crisis and the lower house of parliament passed some measures to increase germany's contribution. is the president following this

and speaking with merkel and is this the decisive action he wanted to see european countries take. >> when i saw him this morning, he did not mention whether or not he had been briefed on our new about the vote in germany. he is following the issue generally very closely because it is very important and he has had regular consultations with european leaders about the overall issue of the eurozone and need for europeans to take forceful and decisive action to deal with it. as we have said in the past and i have said and others, the europeans have the capacity to deal with it and we have urged them to take the kind of action necessary to deal with it. we obviously support be actions that have been taken to address it and urge them to continue that. but on this specific vote today, i have not had a discussion about it.

i'm sure he has been aware of it because he has had different advisers discussed it. >> [inaudible] >> not that i am aware of. it is already pretty late there, so i don't think he had the call to the german chancellor today. >> the president is expected to speak at the human-rights campaign dinner over the weekend. last time we checked on his views on gay marriage, they were evolving. i'm wondering if we'll get an update on that evolution [inaudible] >> i have not seen a draft on the remarks yet, so i don't want to anticipate what he might say. i certainly think the successful repeal of and elimination of dadt is a topic worth discussing. it is a major accomplishment and a much-needed one.

beyond that, i don't know what he will say. >> [inaudible] >> what is today? wednesday? thursday? probably tomorrow. he will, definitely. there are very few speeches he gives that he has not marked up left-handed. so he will. >> i would like to ask about immigration. we have a story saying the administration and justice department lawyers are reviewing the statutes for other states that potentially get involved in a tough new immigration laws that have been considered or passed in those states. utah, georgia, indiana, south dakota, the reporter talked to experts saying federal an invention is highly unusual. can you -- federal intervention is highly unusual. can you talk about this and do

you consider this an extraordinary step? are you tacitly considering taking court action? >> i will have to refer you to the department of justice. not as a dodge, but i think they have a better answer to this. >> the president said yesterday at the end of a roundtable forum, -- let me quote him accurately -- you do not want 50 states with 50 different laws. >> that has certainly been his position and he has said that on numerous occasions. federal law is federal law for a reason when it comes to immigration. i have not heard him say anything more than that in regard to your first question. you might get better direction from the department of justice in terms of what actions and involvement we might have legally. >> [inaudible] >> not that i have heard him give. but if he has, a justice would know about it. >> picking up on the europe

question, how big of an economic threat does the president believe the debt crisis in europe post to the u.s. and the u.s. economy? >> i'm not sure how to measure it. it is obviously cause -- it has obviously caused problems for the american economy this year as well as problems for a economies around the globe. economies around the globe. it's one of the economic headwinds that has contributed to the slowdown in growth here and the related slowdown in hiring. how big, i'm not sure i would hazard a guess. either in his voice or mine. but it is a concern. the eurozone is a major factor in the global economy. we are very close allies with our european friends and work

with them very closely in discussing these matters and, as i said before, have urged them in our consultation at all levels to take direct, forceful action to deal with it. i hope that answers your question. >> you have said before the europeans have the capacity to cause problems, but even most analysts, even without -- most analysts, even with with the german parliament did today, they will need consultation with the european central bank. when the president speaks to european leaders, is the message you guys have to do more? >> i think when i say we are urging europeans to take forceful, decisive action, that continues to be the message even as we take note of the actions that have been taken already.

they are certainly addressing it, but we continue to deliver the message that we believe forceful and decisive action needs to be taken. when we say they have the capacity, we're talking about the financial capacity. they have the resources and capacity to handle the problem. then -- it is understandably difficult given the nature of the system, but it becomes a matter of political will and collective action that needs to be taken. tim geithner and others have these consultations regularly. we closely watch what is happening and keep up those conversations. conversations. >> can i briefly follow up --

[inaudible] >> i think two things -- one, [inaudible] the tasks of congress that are basic and fundamental to their responsibilities should be achievable without emergency action by the president of the united states. that was our position last week and it's certainly our position as regards to november. the deadline for the super committee is for the super committee to act, not congress to act. this is a congressional mandate for a congressional committee. the president has well in advance put his detailed

proposal on the table which he hopes the committee will seriously consider. but the committee is the acting body here. we hope as we enter october and work picks up on the committee that they will began to take up the proposals the president put forward and we can have conversations with them about that and urge them to go and certain directions and provide direction and why we think they are the right ones, but ultimately, the committee has to act. >> [inaudible] >> 's just remember the fundamentally different nature of what we're talking about if you are referring to the debt ceiling crisis. the failure to act in terms of the debt ceiling crisis would have been catastrophic for the

economy both here and around world. it could have precipitated a global financial crisis that would have made what happened in 2008 seem minor. there was absolute imperative in the and to ensure that we did not defaulteven the threat of dn there was the mere possibility that congress would not take action, that it would be held hostage by a minority membership of the house of representatives and would not take action to lift the debt ceiling, even that prospect did serious harm to the economy. this certainly cause great turmoil in the market. that is a difference from what you are discussing now. >> twice to answer that you heard the president tell other groups to stop complaining. can you tell us whether any other groups have been told to

take off their bedroom slippers? anyone that might take offense to taking off their bedroom slippers and start marching? >> the message that he delivered he has delivered to audiences in different -- i would have to go back and look. he certainly used vivid language, similarly vivid language before a variety of audiences. his fundamental message is what i have described before. witches, those who support him -- which is, those who have supported him and his agenda, they should have a lot to be proud of in terms of the accomplishments that have been achieved in the last two and a half years. there is still much work to be done. his point is that we need to,

all of us, the challenges we face are enormous and we have had setbacks, but we have got to keep fighting, keep struggling, keep moving forward to move the country forward. the economy, unemployment, and all of the other things that he is pressing for. again, that is the same messages taken elsewhere. i cannot answer your question about the exact phrases. i do not have all of the speeches in front of me. i just do not know if he said it before or has said it since. i have not talked to him about that phrase. >> now that the president has made a decision about the no child left behind waiver, is it still work being done to reauthorize or work out an agreement?

>> that is a question i might have to take. as the president made clear, we of been working with congress on this for a long time. a long time that congress had to take action. because congress cannot act, the president did to move this program forward to allow waivers in the were provided to states in exchange for meeting very high standards. i will get back to you in terms of what we are doing now with congress continuing in the possible reauthorization field. the decision by the president was to act because congress had not. >> could we talk about the issue of jobs? >> and weren't you over there earlier? >> yes, i was. the jobs issue. what is the acceptable unemployment rate?

>> the crisis -- i would hesitate to use that term to describe our country's position. does the crisis and at 4.9% but it is still there at 5% tax i know that the president believes he will not be satisfied until every american who is looking for a job finds one. economists have modeled about what has -- will levels of unemployment represents some sort of economic nirvana. we are focused on taking the policies and pushing the policies in congress that will help grow the economy and create jobs. since we are not in any danger of reaching the point where every american who is looking for a job can find one any time soon, we are not spending a lot of time thinking about what that would be. we are focused on the task at hand.

>> going back to saturday night, i was there and talked to some congressional leaders off the record. some were saying it is about what have you done for me lately? they are saying if you want this, you have got to give us something. what does the white house think about that? >> i do not know specifically about what people were asking you about before in terms of actions the administration or congress might take. the president and his proposals are very clear and it would benefit hard hit communities. that would benefit teachers who have been pushed out of a job because of cutbacks in the state. construction workers who are idle because of the lack of work in states. that would put extra money in the pockets of every working

american to get the pay checks and the payroll cuts for the holiday. and expansion. i think our position on a narrowly targeted here marks -- earmarks is well known. we want to improve the economy for those who want the economy to improve. >> we understand within the american jobs act that when we go back to our communities, they want earmarks -- >> i have not had those conversations with myself or have not discussed with my office whether those discussions have taken place. >> what do you think about al march on the weekend that the martin luther king jr. memorial was unveiled on jobs? >> i do not know much about it

but i think you have seen the president focused quite a bit of his energy and time on jobs and the economy. he shares the opinion of others that we need to take significant action to grow the economy and create jobs. that is why he is in different parts of the country every week calling on congress to take action on jobs. that is the number one priority. >> has the president had a chance to talk with bill richardson since he returned? has there been any talks about a revision to the administration's policy? >> both i will have to take. i do not believe he has spoken to embassador richardson, but i will have to check.

thank you everybody. >> to have a statement on al- aqqani? >> do you mommy to read it? i believe we made a state -- do you want me to read it? i believe we made a statement. is this the statement itself? the one on the box? i assume it is the same. regarding his question about the pasteur, the united states condemns the conviction. he has done nothing more than maintain his devout state, which is a universal right for all people. should the iranian record is

forced into renounces faith violates religious values declined to defend. it breaches iran's international obligations. a death penalty would disregard the right to freedom. and it would disregard i ran -- iran's rights. we call for them to implement freedom of religion. thank you. [captioning performed by national captioning institute] [captions copyright national cable satellite corp. 2011]

>> a look at what is happening tonight on the c-span network. on c-span, former house speaker newt gingrich announces what he is calling his 21st century contract with america. on c-span2, a discussion of trade issues with afghanistan and central asia. on c-span3, members of the british house of commons to gather for a -- members of the commonwealth youth debate. later, presidential candidate rick perry holding his first town hall meeting in new hampshire. that is live tomorrow night at 6:00. >> he represented the socialist party of america as canada for president, running five times. the last time from prison triet eugene debs lost, but he changed

history. he is one of the 14 men featured in "the contenders." some a preview and watch other videos about him at our website. in the head of the american association of university professors says that 10 your and academic freedom are in jeopardy. tenure creates an atmosphere on campus where people can speak freely. not just in teaching, but in university governance. if you do not like a proposal that the board of trustees or president makes, you have got to be able to speak freely about it. administrator should be able to do that as well. that shared governance speech is part of what academic freedom protect. without that, you do not have the expertise of the faculty available to you.

>> cary nelson, aauthor of "no university is an island." >> huge always begin with the assumption that if a politician or ceo is telling you something, they are not telling you the truth. they may be telling you these truths, but in the burn up -- but the burden of proof should be on them to prove it. >> he is a best-selling author and documentarian. sunday, your chance to call and e-mail michael moore live on the booktv. >> small business administration chief karen mills called on congress to pass president obama's american jobs back. she was joined by the head of the minority business development agency. to prevent looking at the

provisions in the bill, this is 25 minutes. >> welcome everybody to the 29th annual minority development week conference. i am going to take an executive privilege here. everybody in the back, please move up. we are a family here, so if you could please move up from the back, i would appreciate that. on behalf of president barack obama, we are delighted that you are able to join us at this very important event. this year, here in addition to our guests from around the nation, we have guessed from turkey, from england, from china, and from other parts of the world. we all come together, not just to celebrate the entrepreneurial spirit of this nation, but we come together to learn about business opportunities in the global marketplace. to network. and to build stronger

relationships across industry sectors. we come here because it is crucial to our nation that we work together to rebuild the economies within our communities. and it is business owners, those of you who have taken it upon themselves to accept the risks and challenges to build a business who are leading the way. that is why the theme of this year's conference is emerging industries and markets, a blueprint for success curry over the next three days, you will have the opportunity to discover how to use trade fairs and trade missions to expand your business. to learn about the international financing alternatives made available to you through the federal government. to learn how to expand your business through acquisitions. we have a wonderful seminar that will teach you how to buy a business. and to learn how to leverage the vast resources of the small business administration.

you willear's medweel hear from cabinet secretaries and senior members of the obama administration. you will hear from ceos of fortune 500 companies and some of the most successful entrepreneurs and our nation, who have built their companies from small organizations to global enterprises. i cannot promise you a lot of sleep over the next three days. if you take full advantage of this conference, if you bear down and focus on the opportunities that are available to you at this time, i can promise you that when you leave washington d.c., you will leave with a new contract and. a new strategic partner. greater access to capital. a greater appreciation for the opportunities in the global markets. but all of this would not be possible without our extraordinary group of sponsors. and what makes an extraordinary is that during these difficult

times, when companies both small and large are struggling to maintain, they stepped up big. they recognize the power of diversity and understand the future of our nation exists with the minority business community very by 2042, america will be a nation that has a majority minority population. thus, it is imperative that the minority business community grow and prosper. unlike many other corporations, our sponsors understand the business case for rebuilding the wealth base in the minority community. i ask that you join me in giving all of our sponsors a warm round of applause. [applause] today, we are in a difficult economic period. when the president first took office, our economy was losing

750,000 jobs per month. and while we have created 2.2 million jobs, there is still far too many of our fellow citizens who are unemployed. over 40 million americans are unemployed and another 6 million have given up looking for a job. we know that, in this administration, the best way to create jobs is through private business ownership and stimulating the entrepreneurial spirit that makes america great. and the most productive companies that create jobs in america are your company's. those companies that are a minority owned, and women-owned, and those that are small businesses. minority-owned companies create 6 million jobs for american citizens and create an additional 10 million jobs simply through the economic activity. if we are able to eliminate the impediment of growth to minority

businesses, this sector of the economy as a potential to create 18 million jobs. the role as a minority business element agency is to surge as a -- to create new markets corrine we have been successful. we have all minority-owned firms gain access to nearly $7 billion of capital, creating 11,000 jobs and saving tens of thousands of existing jobs. going forward, we will continue to set greater goals. we will work to better integrate our activities with those of our corporate partners, other governmental agencies, and stakeholders. we will wrote -- we will work to reestablish our economy by helping minority-owned businesses raise 21st century growth strategies. in growth through mergers,

acquisitions, joint ventures, and economic partnership. we will strive to a minority- owned firms leverage their unique position in the global markets. why is this important? the bigger your firm as, the better able you are to create jobs for your fellow citizens in any. we are here to help you. in the coming months, up one of the areas where mbda is providing dramatically higher support is in the area of federal government contract. i am pleased to announce the establishment of our new mbda federal procurement center. this will be located in washington d.c. and it is the first center of its type in the nation. it will provide minority-owned businesses who are interested in obtaining federal contracts with the tools, information, and relationships necessary to compete for federal contracts and to win. the center will join our

national network of business centers and the opening of the center is a direct result of the obama administration's commitment to ensuring that all businesses share in the growth of jobs and economic opportunity created by the federal government. i would like to add that we just opened two new centers, one in denver and one in cleveland. [applause] in the coming months, we will open new centers in new york, boston, conn., minneapolis, calif., and alaska. when all the members of the business network please stand? please stand up. thank you so much for your effort and for your commitment. i want you to take note of these people. before you leave, we implore you to please get to know in the senior business consultant from

our business centers and become clients of the minority business development agency. even with the support of mbda, sba, and others in the executive branch, our nation's businesses still need help so that they can prosper and create jobs. that is why, earlier this month, president obama unveiled to the nation the american jobs act. this plan, which congress should pass without delay, would provide significant tax cuts to small businesses. specifically, it will cut payroll taxes in half on the first $5 million of wages paid to companies and it gives incentive to hire veterans returning from war. the american jobs act has 100% expensing for capital expenditures into 2012. if you are thinking about buying new of equipment, new computers, factory equipment, or

if you have a biotechnology company, buying equipment for that, you can expends 100% of that equipment today. the american jobs act will also empower states with new flexibility to allow out-of-work americans to continue to receive unemployment benefits while they look for an internship or apprenticeships. that will create a stronger work force for you and provide you with a better candidates to higher as our economy moves out of this downturn. the american jobs act payroll tax cut puts more money in the pockets of consumers today. under the american jobs act, the average american family will have $1,500 to send -- to spend than they otherwise would pay into taxes. we believe that will create greater certainty in our

economy corrine these measures and others in the american jobs act, which is modernizing our schools and rebuilding our infrastructure, will boost private-sector activity and put more people back to work. most important thing -- in you. we need to hear your voice of support for this act. i want to conclude by saying we are indeed in challenging times in this nation. it is in constant challenge and we have the greatest opportunity to show our value. the president once said that we are what we have been waiting for. we are the ones who can truly change the world. but we must be willing to embrace this view. the alternative is to cede ground to other countries. to let somebody else lead. i would submit to you that allowing someone else to lead is not what made you great. it is not what makes america

great. i am quite sure that there is not one person in this room that would be comfortable with america being a follower nation. certainly, our administration does not accept following as a standard approach. as a country, we do not compete to place, we compete to win. during this conference, let us work together and win. and thank you very much triet -- thank you very much. [applause] i am very excited to introduce our first speaker this morning. our first speaker has been involved with small businesses for her entire career. as an owner, manager, mentor, investor. now, as the administrator of the united states small business administration. she leads a team of 3000 public servants, helping entrepreneurs

and small-business owners grow and create jobs by providing access to capital, contracting opportunities, and assistance. each year, three leadership -- through her leadership, the agency leverage is nearly $100 billion in the small business contracts and provides counseling to more than 1 million entrepreneurs. before joining sba, she serves as president of mmp group, which served as investors. she understands the problems businesses are having in the markets. she understands the small businesses are truly the heart of our economy and critical to american competitiveness. we are fortunate to have a strong voice on strong -- on small businesses supporting a entrepreneurs. it is my distinct pleasure to

introduce to you sba administrator karen mills. [applause] ♪ >> and good morning everybody. thank you very much, david triet is terrific to be here. welcome, welcome, welcome. we are delighted to see everybody and have you here with us. i want to thank all of you who support medweek, particularly our great sponsors. let's give them a round of applause. [applause] how many of you out there are small business owners? everybody knows that minority small-business owners are one of the fastest-growing segments of american business. we also know that this community

was especially hard hit by this recession. our job in is to make sure that you have the tools that you need so that you can grow your business and you can start creating jobs again. let me just look back for a minute. when i stood before you last year, we were just about to pass the small business jobs act. this was the most significant piece of legislation for small business in over 10 years. i really want to thank you for the support you gave that. it passed almost one year ago this week. [applause] and it was well worth passing for a whole lot of reasons. it resulted, for example, in the biggest quarter of lending in history of sba.

at the end of this week, we are going to close on a record week of sba lending. so thank you. you may know that, at the sba, we are 3-4 times more likely to make a loan to a minority-owned business than a conventional lender. but there is still a gap out there in lending to minority- owned businesses and underserved businesses. last year, we did a number of additional things to help the situation. for the first time, we are allowing admission dallas-based -- mission-based lenders able to apply for loans. we gave them a streamlined paperwork. who does not like that? to make it more easy.

many of you participate in this program. we strengthen the program and make sure that benefits are flowing directly to the small businesses like yours and we went after the bad apples who did not qualify. we also rolled out the women's contrasting program. that was 10 years in the making. we are very pleased about that and we are helping women in over 300 industries where women and small businesses are underrepresented. finally, the sba convenes our first-ever council on underserved communities. it is chaired by kathy hughes. we have members like ron busby. they are advising us on where to go next with regards to capital, counseling, and contracting.

what are we going to do for you this year? well, how about the american jobs act. as david just said, this is an absolutely critical priority. and the number one thing in this bill, i hope you noticed, is to help small businesses. to help you do what you do best which is to create jobs. it is smart, bipartisan, paid for, and it puts more money in your pockets. congress should pass it now. [applause] david talked about what is in it for you. i am going to reprieve that a little bit from the small business lands. -- small business lens. what will it do for small businesses? it cuts and half the payroll

taxes and eliminates completely the tax that you will pay if you add new jobs and get new employees. -- and give raises to employees. that will affect about 350,000 african american and spanish owned small businesses across the country. it is also -- the bill is also going to extend 110% expansion through 2012. that means more money in your pocket to buy the next piece of equipment and to hire the workers to run it. the bill also means tens of thousands of dollars of tax credits for hiring the long-term unemployed and giving even more tools to help them either get hired or start their own business. we need this right now,

especially in our underserved communities, more than ever. [applause] there are hiring credits. if you hire an veterans. these are people who went out and fought for their country in. they should not have to fight for a job when they come home. [applause] one last point, but not least. $50 billion in infrastructure -- i know some of your contractors out there. small contractors are really good and benefit from the infrastructure investments that are in this bill. i am also particularly happy with something else that we are doing for small businesses. these are the small businesses that do business with the federal government, like many of you here. a couple of weeks ago, the

president announced and told all federal agencies in to start paying their small-business government contractors in 15 days instead of 30. it is an idea called quick pay. [applause] i want to thank a lot of you supported this. i am always delighted to talk to an audience of small business owners because -- people might say, why is that such a big deal? you're going to get paid in 30 days, now you get paid in 15. you all know what i know. when you consistently pay a business 15 days sooner, that is a permanent infusion of cash flow into the business. you can put money towards working capital, you can expand your business, you can market your product, and you can create more jobs. [applause]

one more thing. last week, i was next to vice- president joe biden at a minority-owned business in cleveland. we made a big announcement. i am pleased to say that the fda has locked down $20 billion in commitments from our 13 largest banks to increase small-business lending over the next three years. increased small-business lending by $20 billion in regular conventional lending to. i talked to the ceos in this process and after our meeting and i am very pleased to hear that they are going to continue to focus on driving more and more of this capital into the hands of minority-owned businesses and women-owned businesses, particularly in our

underserved communities. i am very happy with that. [applause] so welcome to medweek. we have a lot in store for you. i want to thank all of the teams here for their hard work in pulling this together. it is going to be fabulous. i regret to say i am not going to be with you after this morning because it is the jewish holidays. but you are in good hands. you're going to hear from a number of my terrific colleagues, including our fabulous deford -- are fabulous deputy administrator in secretary from health and human services. you cannot ask for a more committed set of advocates for small business. as you know, you have a president who really gets it about small businesses.

i am pleased about that. [applause] let me close by saying i get it too. i grew up in an end -- in an immigrant family and a family of small business owners. my grandfather jack came from russia about the turn of the century. he came to america. he was given access and opportunity to. that allowed our family to build a business and live the american dream. my pledge to you and our pledge across this administration is that we are going to provide access and opportunity to all small businesses and to minority-owned small businesses. we are going to close those gaps because then you can do

what you do best which is grow your business, create jobs, create a prosperous future for your communities and for this great country triet thank you very much. congratulations to all the winners in advance. have a great time. [applause] >> ladies and gentlemen, karen mills. [applause] >> sellepan what is happening tonight on the c-span network. on c-span, former house speaker and republican presidential candidate newt gingrich announces his platform. on c-span2, a discussion on trade issues with china and asia. on c-span3, commonwealth youth

debate in parliament. tomorrow afternoon, republican presidential candidate rick perry told his first town hall meeting. that is 6:00 on friday. >> he founded several labor unions and represented the socialist party as candidate for president, running five times. the last time, from prison. eugene debs lost, but the changed political history. he is one of the 14 men featured in "the contenders." get a preview and watch some of our other big videos -- some of our other videos at our website. the head of the american association of university professors says that tenure and academic freedom are in jeopardy and need to be protected. >> tenure creates an atmosphere

on campus where people can speak freely, not just in their teaching, but also in terms of university governance. if you do not like a proposal the board of trustees or university president makes, you have to be able to speak freely about it. the administrator should do that as well. that share government speech is part of what academic freedom protect. without that, you do not have the expertise of the faculty available to you. >> sunday night on c-span q &a. >> american citizens forced from their homes. no trials, no charges. hardbound -- heart mountain was home. hear his story. explore 19th century america

from its art, inventions, and discovery in the smithsonian exhibit. in 1973, new york democrat elizabeth holson became the youngest woman ever elected to congress. look for the complete schedule at c-span.org/history. >> state department spokesman today said the u.s. ambassador to robert ford is saved by that -- after an attack by pro-syrian government protesters. it happened when he visited -- he visited a syrian politician who call to an end to the crackdown on political protest. the state department blames the government for delivered intimidation tactics. this briefing is about 15 minutes. >> can you give us a little bit more information, if you have

it, about what happened to ambassador ford? i have some more specific questions. go ahead and tell me your answer. >> i am sure we will get for all of your questions. first of all, let me begin by strongly condemning what was clearly part of an ongoing campaign to intimidate our diplomats as they were undertaking their normal activities and duties. intimidation by pro-government mobs is not civilized behavior. it is an inexcusable assault and the same kind of intolerance that we see that stirred the regime to torture and killings against those whose crimes were only exercising their universal rights to gather peacefully and reflect their opinions. just to walk you through and

give you some of the details, neither the ambassador or other u.s. embassy personnel were hurt in the attacks. we are thankful for that. the ambassador and his counterparts returned safely to the embassy. they did encounter a violent mob that tried to attack embassy personnel inside their vehicles as they were visiting an opposition figure. it eventually tracked them inside a building. the personnel were not harmed but the vehicles were damaged. eventually, syrian security arbs' ears did arrive and help to secure a path to allow the ambassador to return safely to the embassy. >> when did this us all begin? as they were arriving? >> my understanding is that they arrived for a meeting with a prominent opposition figure. as they entered the building,

they encountered a group of pro- regime and demonstrators that began shouting slogans and pelting them with tomatoes. the ambassador and his party entered the opposition leader's office, they secured the door, and demonstrators beat on the door. while they were there, i believe that is when they called the syrian security forces to come. >> while they were inside, that is when the damage was done to the vehicles? >> i believe so. yes. actually, i take that back. it was several vehicles from the embassy that came to respond to the scene who worked attacked -- who were attacked and damaged by the mob. >> the vehicle of or damage were not the vehicles that the ambassador was a and? >> that is correct.

my understanding is that when they arrived at the meeting, they were trying to be discreet. this is part of the embassadors regular duties, to go out and meet with opposition figures. he arrived, parked merely one block away, and walked to the meetings. >> was there some kind of indication -- apparently, these people knew who he was? is this correct? >> is sound like there were pro- regime forces. i do not know if it were directed specifically at the ambassador. >> is it your impression that would have gone after any group that would have walked into the building? >> it appears it was directed at the ambassador. there were slogans there were shouting. i cannot confirm -- >> so you -- >> i cannot explain.

we are looking for an explanation at what is happening. it seems to be an orchestrated attempt to intimidate our diplomats. >> was the able to get out of the embassy safely? >> our embassy was attacked by a similar mobbed not too long ago. i know that the secretary has spoken with ambassador ford. he is,, resolute, and determined to carry on his duties. >> the french has had similar events. >> they have, i do not know the details. >> tomatoes, rocks, those kind of things. is there a concerted effort to test, probe, go out there even though the syrians are serious. >> i do not know if i would put

it that way. there is a concerted effort to continue our reach to the opposition, to continue to serve as a witness to some of these events happening in places like home and other areas of the country. that is what diplomats are supposed to do. especially monitoring presence and international media presence. >> if you took it from the syrian point of view, it would look like you are playing with fire. you are deliberately, not in siding, but creating a cent -- a scenario in which the ambassador could be harmed. >> not at all. it is what we do as diplomats overseas. we have tried to continue to meet with the members of the syrian government to express our

concerns to them. i cannot tell you how successful we have been lately. i would have to check on that. this is what we do. this is our role as diplomats. we are going to continue to carry that out. there is no incitement at all. he came in a very discreet manner, parked a block or so away from the actual meeting place. this was not an attempt to draw attention to what he was doing. >> these broader syrian obligations that the united states is inciting violence to the government, and even you have been cited as -- >> is another attempt by the syrian government to make this about us versus them. it is really about the syrian government against its own people. it is really about the courage and determination of the syrian people, who continue to stand up day after day to express their

universal rights in face of the ongoing violence. >> there were using air force to -- >> i have not seen those reports. we have seen credible reports that they had used in the past armored and other weapons. i have not seen confirmation -- >> many in the opposition are calling for syria. are you going to reject that? >> we have, to date, in our continuing contact with members of the opposition as well as leaders and folks involved in these ongoing protests, they want them to remain non-violent. they do not want international military intervention. in terms of whether they are now

using air force, i will have to look into that. >> a little more logistic question. when did security forces finally arrived and clear this path? the ambassador went back to the embassy in the vehicles that had arrived? the damaged vehicles? >> i believe that when into the rso vehicles, but i am not certain on that. there was a syrian escort, a syrian police escort that brought them back. >> what happened to the cars that they came in? >> i have no idea. >> so they could still be there? were those identified as u.s. embassy vehicles? you said that there was serious damage to some of these vehicles. >> they were dry edible -- driveable.

these are armored vehicles so they're pretty well protected. >> what is the consequence of this? do you expect that the ambassador will continue to go about his job and go out and meet people when it is appropriate? what about broader implications for the u.s.? are there any or -- you do not regarded as isolated, obviously. what does this mean in terms of your policy? will you submit a bill for these damages to the syrian government? >> is a good question. i will look into the second part and take that. i will look into that question. >> while you are looking into that, could you find out if it will pay up or for how much? >> is not an isolated incident.

it is part of a pattern that we have seen. they are trying to intimidate diplomats from coming out and doing their duties such as what ambassador ford has tried to do, visit different parts of syria to see what is going on firsthand as well as to meet with opposition figures. it is not isolated to us. the french and others have also been harassed. they obviously have their obligations on consular affairs. we expect them to live up to those obligations. we are moving forward. this is a sideshow from what is really happening in syria, which is a government that continues to carry out a brutal campaign against civilians who are trying to stand up for their basic human rights.

the stakes have not changed here. we are going to continue to carry out our duties as best as we can. we are going to expect the syrian security forces protect our embassy and protect our people. >> year-old syrian government responsible for this assault? >> we do believe it was part of an ongoing campaign to intimidate our diplomats. >> by the government. not just by random pro-assad people? >> we believe so. >> do you any idea? >> he is not try to call attention to his actions, he is trying to carry out his beliefs and duties as an ambassador and continue to me with the opposition. >> and you said that you had continual meetings with the

syrian opposition. you do not see a sign of united entire -- in terms of a no-fly zone? >> what we have heard is a desire for this to be a non- violent movement and for it to be a syrian of life and movement. it is a syrian-led movement. what we have seen so far is tremendous courage in the face of violence. >> at the end of last month when there was something like this, you immediately impose tough sanctions on the government and the ambassador of syria and lebanon. are you close to doing that now? >> we continue to look at ways to increase pressure.

ways to tighten the noose on the syrian regime. to that end, obviously, there is ongoing negotiations in the u.n. security council with regards to a resolution in syria. >> suppose the border camps provide refuge to syrian opposition figures. hot to his point, would you impose some sanctions? in terms of sanctions on syrian government. >> we have been coordinating not just with turkey but a variety of countries in the region. we are trying to build momentum. we said before, it has been tough. frankly, the assault -- the

assad regime has been doing a good job in terms of building consternation against their actions and isolating themselves to a great extent. we will certainly corneille with turkey. we understand they are bearing a sacrifice with the refugee sacrifice and commend them for what they have done so far. >> can you tell us how long it was between when they made the call for syrian security backed up? >> i do not have the time line. what i have is that they entered into the building, and were met by a group of pro-regime demonstrators, so they entered into the opposition leader's office, a security door, and began -- at that point, they called for assistance. >> i think that the opposition leader there were meeting with spoke about this. it was at least 1 hour between

the call and the arrival of security. it is concerning. >> i think it is concerning that it took that long. >> is anybody going to complain formally to the syrian government here in washington? >> we have raised and will likely raise for another decision at the highest levels of the syrian government and are demanding that steps be taken by them to protect our diplomats. >> that has or will happen? >> it is kind of strange. we have met in damascus. i will find out. i will expect our ambassador -- i will find out who he spoke with. >> there are a bunch of reports about accusing the ambassadors convoy of having run over a young boy. >> it is ludicrous.

he actually left part of -- as part of -- as i said, it was syrian security forces escorting their vehicles out. he said there was no incident involving hitting any civilian. >> and they talked about the security team having drawn guns on the crowd. that kind of thing. could you speak to that? >> i cannot verify that either way. my understanding is that there was a response by the embassy regional security officers who arrived in their vehicles. their vehicles were damaged by demonstrators. these are armored vehicles. there were dented, windows broken. it was pretty severely. -- pretty severe. at that point, the security

forces arrived and secure the area. >> there is nothing saying that anyone was hit? >> no one was hit. we believe that is erroneous. >> the demonstrators were not armed with guns, were they? >> there were not armed with guns that i was aware of. or any kind of weapons. they did have tomatoes and were banging on the vehicles. i am sure that that probably had sticks or stones or something like that. >> the ambassador has moved on to other parts of syria without permission because they never give permission anyway. is that the intent of the ambassador that he can travel wherever he wants? >> i think you will continue to seek work -- i think you will continue to alert the syrian

government as a diplomatic protocol. he is not going to let that stand in his way from carrying out his duties. >> the reports that he was meeting with hassad abdul assim. >> can i get back to you on that? if you do not mind, there could be some sensitivity. >> friday on washington journal. a discussion on the kaiser family foundation report on the cost of health care. abelson is our guest. then we hear from the end pastor to the united states on the effort to end of the financial crisis on a greece, spain and italy. then we talk about the gross domestic product and the cost of living. landefeld examines