The moral voice of America. A collection of musings about where this country’s going wrong  . . . and where it’s going right.

Dear Reader . . .

Whether you've ended up here because you're a subscriber or a fan or simply because you happened to be browsing the Web and stumbled across The Report, welcome.

Whatever your positions on political and social issues, I hope you'll find something in my reflections here that, at the very least, makes you question, makes you doubt, makes you want to know more.

For that is what journalism is all about.

                                                                                    --James Chilton

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 Our Mission Statement

 We can't make judgments in a vacuum. Will business, will government, will corrupt politicians and criminal and debauched individuals be honest about what they're up to? Of course not. It's our job in The Report to shine the light of truth into the shadows of deceit and greed—to give you the facts you need to make informed decisions about the pressing issues of the day.

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About Your Humble Reporter

James David Chilton was born in Cleveland, Ohio. He attended Holy Xavier High School, where he was active on the school newspaper, in the Photo and Environment Clubs and on the varsity track team. He attended the University of Wisconsin as a journalism major, putting himself through college while working as a graphic designer and art director for a printing company outside Madison. He has a graduate degree in advertising and marketing from the University of Illinois-Chicago Circle. After school, he worked for Chicago Suburban Newspapers, first in their circulation department, then as a reporter, covering business and politics in the northern suburbs.

After six years of those tough Midwest winters, Jim moved to California, joining Online Information Systems in Menlo Park as director of content. Convinced that Internet news was the wave of the future, he joined KARW-TV as head of their News-Now website. He then moved to Monterey and founded Web Distributions, a company that specialized in distilling and organizing content for smaller news organizations.

 Jim founded The Chilton Report five years ago and, for the past three years, has devoted all his time to it. The Report was the recipient of Online News Monthly's Blog of the Year award and the Internet News Association's Burton Shearer Award for Excellence. It's been rated by New Media Outlook e-zine as the Number 6 blog in the country. Theworldaroundus.com has named Jim the Most Influential Regional Blogger of the year.

 He's spoken at the Washington, D.C., Press Club, the Association of OnLine Journalists, the American Journalists Society and has been a guest lecturer at the University of Missouri at Columbia, Northwestern University, the University of Wisconsin and several campuses of the University of California and California State University.

Jim has been married to Patrizia Brisbane for nearly twenty years. He and Pat are the proud parents of two boys. The family makes its home in Carmel and Hollister, California.

 When not pounding out his daily blog, Jim enjoys collecting California wines, photography, and sports—both watching and participating—and movies. He's addicted to the Sunday morning news shows, the TV series "24," and ice cream in all shapes, sizes and flavors.

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On the Home Front

 Go, Team!

I'm happy to say that after this weekend's game the Older Boy's team is 4-0! Go, Jayhawks! Now, parents: listen to me. Your youngsters should give up baseball and football for soccer, which is the safest and healthiest team sport there is. (See The Chilton Report of April 12 for my comments about sports injuries among children.) And by the way, make sure you call it "soccer," not "football," the way the foreigners do. When in America, do as Americans!

 A Patriot

Yesterday the Younger Boy knocked the socks off the audience in his day camp recital by singing "America the Beautiful." All by himself! Makes a dad swell up with pride.

 Suggestions, Anyone?

We're coming up on our nineteenth anniversary, Pat and I. And I need ideas for presents! (Out of self-interest I've decided against getting her a high-speed fiber optic upgrade for the computer!) You ladies out there, send me your ideas. And, no, Tiffany's is not out of the question.

 We're Going Global!

Am pleased to report that The Report has been getting raves from around the world. It's been selected as one of the lead blogs in a new RSS feed (we’ll call it "Really Simple Syndication") that will link thousands of other blogs, websites and bulletin boards throughout the world. Kudos to you, my readers, for making The Report as popular as it is.

 Welcome Home

Heard some news that made me smile. Those of you who've followed The Report may remember glowing comments over the years about this humble reporter's dear friend Donald Hawken—we were pioneers in this crazy computer world so many years ago I don't like to think about it. Donald escaped the Peninsula for greener pastures in San Diego. But I'm delighted to say that he's come to his senses and is returning, along with his bride, Lily, and his two wonderful children. Welcome home, Donald! 

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