On March 12, a front-page article in the New York Times warned that the value of the federal government’s debt, if Medicare, Medicaid and Social Security obligations are included, totals $79 trillion—yes, with a T. Less than three weeks later, another front-page Times article (3/30/10) alerted readers that states’ pension obligations to public employees tops $5 trillion. Truly shocking figures, especially when the size of the entire U.S. economy is a measly $14 trillion. These articles exemplify a trend in mainstream media discussions of budget deficits and state debt that make sensational and deeply conservative assertions about the costs of [...]
Search Results for: Kevin, C. Brown
May
01
2010
Journalists ♥ Tea Party
At last a citizen movement corporate media can love
In the first year of the Obama administration, the corporate media suddenly overcame their general aversion to citizen movements that criticize government policies, granting the staunchly conservative Tea Party activists enormous coverage—a decision that seems likely to impact politics for the foreseeable future. Citizen movements are hardly ever front-page news, even when they have clearly identifiable political agendas and broad public support. But the Tea Party movement—an amorphous, politically incoherent umbrella designation for various strands of opposition to Obama, much of it beset with racism and backed by less-than-grassroots deep-pocket Beltway lobbying groups—has managed to buck that trend, getting the [...]
Jun
01
2008
Media Miss Bigger Picture in Healthcare Debate
Ignoring ‘mandate’ plans’ record of failure
By Roger Bybee
In the 2008 Democratic primary campaign between Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton, each is offering a slightly different variant of individual mandate-based healthcare plans relying on the private insurance industry. Media coverage has magnified the slight variations while almost entirely ignoring the big picture: Both health plans are based on a model that has consistently failed to get off the ground in numerous states. Most media analysis has focused on the political advantage provided by each proposal, rather than on the evidence that either plan would actually deliver quality, affordable care to all Americans. Obama proposes that parents be mandated [...]
May
01
2005
Soundbites
Expert Opinion “Jim, you think he's with Jesus now? We only have 30 seconds.” --Larry King, interviewing Jim Caviezel, the actor who played Jesus in Mel Gibson’s The Passion of the Christ, on Pope John Paul II's death (Larry King Live, 4/3/05) “The pope is above public opinion. His relationship is with God.” --Phil Griffin, MSNBC vice president of primetime programming (New York Times, 4/7/05) Good and Bad Catholics CNN host Wolf Blitzer introduced a discussion of John Paul II's death with Crossfire's co-hosts: “the conservative Robert Novak, the liberal Paul Begala, both good Catholics--I don't know if good Catholics--but [...]
Mar
01
2003
Fear & Favor 2002 -- The Third Annual Report
How power shapes the news
It would be hard to overstate the impact of news media in shaping public opinion, on issues from healthcare to plans for war. With media such an influence on us, it’s crucial that we understand who’s influencing media. FAIR’s annual Fear & Favor report is an attempt to chart some of the pressures that push and pull mainstream journalists away from their fundamental work of telling the truth and letting the chips fall where they may. These include pressures from advertisers, well aware of their key role in fueling the media business; from media owners, who frequently use their journalistic [...]
