FAIR: Fairness & Accuracy In Reporting
The national media watch group
Withholding important news over supposed national security concerns is nothing new. And in many cases, no official request is even needed—the decision-makers seem to have internalized the notion that keeping the government’s secrets is part of their job.
Editor's Note: This is an excerpt from investigative reporter Robert Parry's new book, America's Stolen Narrative. One of the book's storylines examines corporate media's role in squelching investigation into whether Ronald Reagan's presidential campaign in 1980 went behind President Jimmy Carter's back to contact Iranian officials then holding 52 Americans hostage, a controversy dubbed the October Surprise. When the possibility of a serious October Surprise investigation emerged in the latter half of 1991, an intimidating phalanx of powerful players was arrayed against it, from Ronald Reagan’s many defenders, to the sitting President George H.W. Bush, to David Rockefeller’s business and [...]
Download MP3 This week on CounterSpin: the Tea Party takes power in Washington. The new Republican majority in the House of Representatives brought a certain type of political theater—giant gavels, the reading of the Constitution, and John Boehner's tears. But there is another kind of theater to come, as Republicans vow to launch a variety of investigations of the Obama White House. Robert Parry of Consortium News will join us to talk about how these efforts are likely to play in the press. Also on CounterSpin today, Mississippi Gov. Haley Barbour commuted the sentences of Jamie and Gladys Scott. The [...]
Download MP3 This week on CounterSpin: A new study from Think Progress shows that cable news stories about the stimulus debate were dominated by Republicans, with GOP guests outnumbering Democrats by 2 to 1. This isn’t an aberration says our guest, but a return to the status quo after a brief decrease in conservative media bias caused by Bush era failures. Robert Parry, the publisher of ConsortiumNews.com, and the veteran journalist who broke many Iran-Contra stories, will join us to talk about current political coverage. Also on CounterSpin today: Congress decided to delay the mandatory switch to digital TV signals [...]
In a December 1 interview with ABC anchor Charles Gibson, George W. Bush gave a grossly erroneous history of the run-up to the Iraq War--a false version of events that Gibson failed to challenge and the Washington Post glossed over the following day. When Gibson asked if Bush wished he had any "do-overs," Bush responded: BUSH: I don't know--the biggest regret of all the presidency has to have been the intelligence failure in Iraq. A lot of people put their reputations on the line and said the weapons of mass destruction is [sic] a reason to remove Saddam Hussein. It [...]
Download MP3 This week on CounterSpin: In the essay "Why We Write" journalist Robert Parry describes the need for an independent press to take on the mainstream media's penchant for promoting false narratives and marginalizing dissent. Bob Parry broke some of the most important stories in the last thirty years, he's the founder of the site Consortiumnews.com, he'll join us to talk about why he writes. Also on the show: When corporate media talk about poor communities their story is pretty simple, these neighborhoods are a problem and gentrification is the solution. The story changes though if you actually value [...]
George W. Bush's success in manipulating information would not have been possible without the collaboration and/or incompetence of the major U.S. news media. However, that cozy relationship began to shift in spring 2006 as the bloody war in Iraq dragged on and the U.S. public grew restless over the steady rise in the death toll. Even some of the Iraq War's early cheerleaders, like Washington Post columnist Richard Cohen, admitted to second thoughts. "Those of us who once advocated this war are humbled," Cohen wrote (4/4/06). "It's not just that we grossly underestimated the enemy. We vastly overestimated the Bush [...]
Download MP3 This week on CounterSpin: former White House aide Scooter Libby was found guilty of 4 counts of perjury and obstruction of justice in the Valerie Plame leak investigation. The case might be over, but the chatter about what it means for reporters, the White House and the debate over the Iraq War will continue. Veteran reporter Bob Parry of Consortium News will join us to talk about the verdict, and the limits of what trials like this reveal to the public. Also this week: settlements over the latest payola scandals will force four large radio companies to pay [...]
