Search Results for: Jeff Cohen

Jan
01
2013

Hating the Oppressed in Gaza

Victims become villains in U.S. coverage

BBC journalist Jihad Masharawi's 11-month-old son Omar died after shrapnel hit the family home in Gaza; the BBC did not devote a story to Masharawi's loss until 10 days later (Photo source: AP)

Malcolm X once said, “If you aren’t careful, the newspapers will have you hating the people who are oppressed and loving the people who are doing the oppressing.” Nowhere is this warning more relevant than in the corporate media’s one-sided coverage of Israel’s latest assault on Gaza, which left 160 Palestinians dead, including 105 civilians and 34 children (Palestine Centre for Human Rights). In stark contrast, rockets fired into Israel claimed the lives of four Israeli civilians and two soldiers. One civilian death is one too many, no matter which side suffers, but a kill rate of nearly 27 Palestinians [...]

Jul
01
2011

Letters to the Editor

The Bigger Picture on West Bank Death Alex Kane’s analysis of American media coverage of Jawaher Abu Rahmah’s killing by Israeli forces (Extra!, 4/11) was excellent, and I thank him for it. However, Mr. Kane did not point out a major logical flaw in the coverage: Even assuming IDF claims about a pre-existing illness were true, the IDF is still responsible for killing Ms. Abu Rahmah. The point is obvious enough, but just to illustrate: Suppose I assault a man on the street so that I can steal his wallet, and in the course of that crime hit him over [...]

Mar
02
2011

ABC's 'Made in America' Hypocrisy

Focusing on consumers, not corporations like Disney

ABC World News With Diane Sawyer kicked off its "Made in America" series on February 28, encouraging consumers to buy U.S.-made products in order to spur job growth. But why focus on consumers and not major corporations like ABC parent Disney, who are the ones who actually choose to manufacture products overseas? The February 28 report consisted of reporter David Muir touring one family's home, discovering that the vast majority of the family's possessions are not made in the United States. Muir even checks the children's toys, only to discover that they are mostly made in China. Consumers, of course, [...]

Nov
01
2010

Does NewsHour 'Help Us See America Whole'?

A FAIR study of PBS’s flagship news show

A new FAIR study of the PBS NewsHour finds that public television’s flagship news program continues to feature sources drawn largely from a narrow range of elite white male experts. The study, the third FAIR has conducted of the NewsHour since 1990, documents a pattern of failure by the PBS news show to fulfill the mission of public television to provide a broader, more inclusive alternative to commercial news programs. The 1967 Carnegie Commission Report on public television, which spawned 1967’s Public Broadcasting Act and gave birth to PBS, suggested that public television “should be a forum for debate and [...]

Sep
01
2010

Letters to the Editor

Concern for Kindle I love Extra!, but I have a concern with the August 2010 cover. Having the titles of the three main articles appear inside the Amazon Kindle leads the reader to assume, as I did, that the articles are critical of Amazon’s book reviewing, Amazon stealing literature from the public and Amazon’s profits and propaganda. I love Amazon and was disappointed when I saw this cover. I went on to read the articles and was pleased that they were not an attack on Amazon. But I was then confused as to why you would have set the titles [...]

Jul
30
2010

Daniel Ellsberg on WikiLeaks, A.C. Thompson on New Orlean police shootings

Download MP3 This week on CounterSpin: The release of tens of thousands of Afghan War documents by the organization WikiLeaks has met with some confusion in the media, who seem to want to downplay its importance but who also insist that WikiLeaks and its founder are dangerous and irresponsible. Daniel Ellsberg, who leaked The Pentagon Papers to the press 40 years ago, will join us with his thoughts on the WikiLeaks revelations. Also on the show: If tens of thousands of displaced people have been unable to convince journalists that hurricane Katrina is not a finished story, the recent indictments [...]

Feb
19
2010

Sebastian Jones on Media-Lobbying Complex, Ibrahim Hooper on Islamville TV report

By

Download MP3 This week on CounterSpin: Paid-for pundits. If you've ever wondered who the so-called experts pontificating on cable news channels really are, a new investigation published in the Nation magazine gives you some answers. Reporter Sebastian Jones will join us to talk about the secret corporate PR spinners and lobbyists who pose as pundits—without viewers knowing who they're actually working for. Also on CounterSpin today: Did a local Nashville TV newscast, featuring anti-Muslim propaganda and warnings about the terrorists among us, spark a vandalism attack on an area mosque? Many Nashvillians, including many in the city's Muslim community think [...]

Dec
22
2009

The 2009 P.U.-Litzer Awards

For 17 years our colleagues Jeff Cohen and Norman Solomon have worked with FAIR to present the P.U.-Litzers, a year-end review of some of the stinkiest examples of corporate media malfeasance, spin and just plain outrageousness. Starting this year, FAIR has the somewhat dubious honor of reviewing the nominees and selecting the winners. It's a dirty job, but someone has to do it. So, without further ado, we present the 2009 P.U.-Litzers. --The Remembering Reagan Award WINNER: Joe Klein, Time Time columnist Joe Klein (12/3/09), not altogether impressed by Obama's announcement of a troop escalation in Afghanistan, wrote that a [...]

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