Search Results for: Michael Morel

Feb

2011

Tangling the Net

Leading papers muddle ‘net neutrality’ debate

At a time dominated by headlines about the economy and ultra-partisan politics, a critical debate has been kept out of the spotlight—though its consequences could alter American social, political, economic and cultural life for decades. On December 21, the Federal Communications Commission voted to enact controversial “net neutrality” rules establishing new federal oversight of Internet service providers (ISPs). Net neutrality, the founding anti-discrimination principle of the Internet, asserts all online information should be treated equally by ISPs. As with most telecommunication policy debates, the one surrounding this vote is complicated, with many activists skeptical of the new regulations’ ability to [...]

Nov

2010

What PBS Thinks You Need to Know

Replacement for Now & Moyers fails to fill their shoes

By Julie Hollar

When Bill Moyers announced last November that he would be stepping down from Bill Moyers Journal, and PBS decided to cancel its other Friday night news show, Now, the network lost two hard-hitting independent programs from its lineup. To fill the hole, New York PBS station WNET announced the launch of a new one-hour program, Need to Know, hosted by Newsweek editor Jon Meacham (who has since left the magazine) and former NPR, MSNBC and MTV host Alison Stewart. The show rolled out on more than 90 percent of PBS stations in May (Broadcasting & Cable, 3/22/10). FAIR (3/9/10) issued [...]

Nov

2010

Does NewsHour 'Help Us See America Whole'?

A FAIR study of PBS’s flagship news show

By Steve Rendall and Michael Morel

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

2003

"Wesley & Me": A Real-Life Docudrama

By Norman Solomon

Here’s the real-life plot: A famous documentary filmmaker puts out a letter to a retired four-star general urging him to run for president. The essay quickly zooms through cyberspace and causes a big stir. For Michael Moore, the reaction is gratifying. Three days later, he thanks readers “for the astounding response to the Wesley Clark letter” and “for your kind comments to me.” But some of the reactions are more apoplectic than kind. Quite a few progressive activists are stunned, even infuriated, perhaps most of all by four words in Moore’s open letter to Gen. Clark: “And you oppose war.” [...]

Feb

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 [...]

Oct

1999

Prominent Progressives Suggest New Board Members for Pacifica Radio

A group of 11 well-respected figures from the public interest community—most with many years of connection to Pacifica Radio—have declared their readiness to join the Pacifica board as a group in an effort to establish a new beginning for the nonprofit radio network. The 11 individuals, a sort of "board-in-waiting," are from the fields of journalism, education, law and public interest activism. This approach to establishing fresh leadership and a fresh start for Pacifica is endorsed by over a dozen nationally known progressive figures in media, the arts and progressive advocacy, including talk radio host Jim Hightower, TV/film producer Michael [...]

Jan

1996

Powell Media Mania

By Robert Parry and Norman Solomon

After months of intense media hype about Colin Powell, pundit Joe Klein carried the prevalent spin to its dizzying conclusion. "The key to the race" for the presidency in 1996, Klein wrote (Newsweek, 11/13/95), is that "ideas are not important. Stature is everything." He added: "But if ideas don't matter, what does? Civility does." Mesmerized by Colin Powell's "stature" and "civility," and showing a remarkable disdain for "ideas," the news media pumped up Powellmania. As early as 1994, Newsweek (10/10/94) was asking the question "Can Colin Powell Save America?" and declaring him "the most respected figure in American public life." [...]

Jan

1989

Are You on the Nightline Guestlist?

By William Hoynes and David Croteau

ABC News Nightline is widely considered to be the preeminent public affairs program in the United States. It undoubtedly has the biggest audience of such shows; five to seven million households are tuned to Nightline on an average week night. With its combination of near-universal acclaim from critics and a large number of loyal viewers, Nightline plays an important role in defining the national political terrain. Yet, surprisingly, there has been little analysis of Nightline. Last year FAIR commissioned William Hoynes and David Croteau, two sociology graduate students at Boston College, to conduct a study of Nightline's guestlist. They examined [...]