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 [...]
Search Results for: Jeff Cohen and Norman Solomon
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 [...]
Dec
22
2007
Announcing the P.U.-litzer Prizes for 2007
Many journalists qualified for the sixteenth annual P.U.-litzer Prizes, but only a few were able to win recognition for turning in one of the truly stinkiest media performances of the year. As the judges for this un-coveted award, we have done our best to confer this honor on the most deserving. And now, the winners of the P.U.-litzers for 2007: SPINNING FOR ANOTHER WAR AWARD -- Michael Gordon of The New York Times Continuing where he left off before the Iraq invasion, when he used unnamed official sources to produce wildly inaccurate page-one articles on Iraq’s alleged weapons threat, Gordon [...]
Feb
02
2007
Remembering Molly Ivins
Progressive voice a rarity on the op-ed page
Incisive, forceful and funny progressive columnist and author Molly Ivins died January 31 from breast cancer at the age of 62. Ivins' career included stints as a police reporter at the Minneapolis Star Tribune and a reporter at the New York Times, but most came to know her work through reading her syndicated column, which appeared in over 300 newspapers, making her the most widely syndicated progressive columnist in the country. Throughout the years, FAIR has been proud to be associated with Molly Ivins. In a syndicated column in 2003, Ivins suggested readers could send donations to a number of [...]
Apr
01
2006
Fear & Favor 2005 -- The Sixth Annual Report
Outside (and inside) influence on the news
In 1896, New York Times publisher Adolph Ochs laid out standards by which journalism is still judged today, declaring that his paper would “give the news, all the news . . . impartially, without fear or favor, regardless of party, sect or interest involved.” Unfortunately, mainstream media often fail to live up to that goal; demands from advertisers, government, media owners and other powerful people frequently manage to blur or breach the wall between the editorial and business ends of the newsroom. In survey after survey, journalists report that they feel outside—or inside—pressures to avoid, slant or promote certain stories [...]
Feb
06
2001
Support Grows for Dissenting Pacifica Board Members
Amid a crisis that threatens the future of the Pacifica Radio Network, more than 80 prominent progressives have rallied in support of the six dissidents on the Pacifica Foundation's board. These board members want Pacifica's national leadership to reverse course on its takeover of WBAI, and to "build democratic decision-making structures throughout Pacifica." A statement supporting the dissenting board members (below) was signed by the Local Advisory Board chairs of four of Pacifica's five stations and by former Pacifica staffers and board members, as well as by political figures, community leaders, journalists, artists and academics. These include Dennis Brutus, Noam [...]
Aug
01
1998
CNN's 'Tailwind' and Selective Media Retractions
CNN's recent retraction of its "Valley of Death" story might suggest that American journalism maintains high standards for military or intelligence-related reporting--and sets the record straight when those standards aren't met. In July, CNN (and corporate sibling Time) retracted reports that U.S. special forces operating illegally in Laos in 1970 had used nerve gas as part of "Operation Tailwind," which targeted American defectors. Based on months of research and interviews conducted primarily by CNN producer April Oliver, along with senior producer Jack Smith (with correspondent Peter Arnett used mainly for star power and "marketing purposes"), the reports contained on-air, on-the-record [...]
Oct
01
1997
Diana Mania
As of this writing, it’s still unclear which factors were most responsible for the deaths of Diana Spencer--Intoxication? Excessive speed? Poor highway design? But in the days after the Paris crash, the spotlight was focused most intently on the paparazzi and the tabloids. There's no doubt that celebrity-stalking photographers engage in obnoxious, invasive and sometimes illegal behavior, and their alleged reckless pursuit may have contributed to the August 29 car wreck. Or that tabloid newspapers distill the worst impulses in journalism into a portable package. But there was more than a little hypocrisy in the mainstream media’s attacks on the [...]
