Live Blogging: David Cay Johnston

Minute by minute coverage with David Cay Johnston during his visit to Ithaca College's Independent Media class.

2:40 p.m. "The only degree I have is night high school... but I never stayed at any college for more than 30 units."

• Has enough credits for a masters, went to 8 colleges, but never got a degree from any of them

2:45 p.m. "Before I came along, the LAPD was treated like a god like institution from the LA Times."

2:48 p.m. "I took the LA Times places where they never intended to go."

• referring to LAPD political spying and abuses
• the intelligence unit was not being controlled

2:57 p.m. "A few days after this blind date, I went to this police social function...No matter how mad Gates was he would always talk to me... because he wanted to know what I was doing and that what Henry Kissinger's way."

• Johnston's bind date was spyed on, tried to use intimidation factors on him
• that first date, blind date is now Johnston's wife

3:03 p.m. "I have to manage my editors and figure out how to get things into the paper"

• Editors jobs would be on the line so the LA Times did not want this story covered 

3:12 p.m. "You will have the same work, but not the same benefits and that's not all due to the economics facing all news organizations."

• IRE has gone down 16%, but journalists 30% decrease

3:14 p.m. Take law, public communications courses, learn numbers because you will be able to turn them into useful things

3:17 p.m. "My head is kind of a spreadsheet."

• this is a way Johnston makes numbers easy to understand for his readers

3:18 p.m. "The CIA Factbook is a trove of information."

3:20 p.m. "You'll have bad editors, you'll have good ones. You'll have bad producers and you'll have good ones. But you'll also have people who make you look better than you deserve."

3:22 p.m. "Editors: they have real power."

• They have the power to put a huge investigative piece on page 87 

3:24 p.m. "There are no rules in journalism they there are only judgement but because you sign your name to everything you write you have to live with those judgements." 

3:25 p.m.  "George W. Bush was sold to the American people as a product."

3:30 p.m. "Once you tell me what the bar is and I hit the bar you got to put it in the paper."

3:36 p.m. "Disclosure is the best disinfectant," Professor Jeff Cohen said.

3:35 p.m. "If you are just Joe-Schmo and I am interviewing you, I will give you a tremendous amount of leeway...If you are Bill Clinton I am not going to cut you any slack under and circumstances."