The PBS Nova broadcast "Rise of the Drones" was sponsored by drone manufacturer Lockheed Martin--a clear violation of PBS's underwriting guidelines.
Search Results for: Tom Tomorrow
Jan
28
2013
PBS Drone Coverage Brought to You by Drone Makers
Lockheed's Nova sponsorship violates underwriting rules
Nov
01
2012
'Inspiration' or Invisible
Media offer limited roles for people with disabilities
U.S. media had a soft spot for the 2012 Paralympic Games, featuring some 4,000 athletes with disabilities from around the world. Not that they thought people wanted to see much of them―NBC only aired a few hours’ worth, and no live coverage (AP, 8/23/12)―but the events “proved once again that whatever your obstacles, you really can accomplish almost anything with hard work and dedication” (Sacramento Bee, 9/14/12). Seeing people with, as NPR’s Melissa Block (8/28/12) put it, “all sorts of impairments” competing in events from archery to swimming was “inspiring a lot of people” (NBC, 9/4/12); these were “performances that [...]
Jul
01
2010
It's All Greek To Them
Austerity for all is seen as bailout’s message
In recent months, the Greek financial system has collapsed, necessitating a nearly $150 billion bailout backed by other European nations. Corporate media in the U.S., led by Fox News and the Washington Post, have taken this as an opportunity to proclaim the demise of the European social model and to castigate working-class protests against austerity measures. CNN (5/6/10) host Jack Cafferty chastised Greek workers: “The panic was triggered in part by Greece. Greece is a world-class welfare state. People retire in their 50s. They’re accustomed to government handouts at every turn. Now the Greek government says we’re going to have [...]
Feb
25
2010
Fox News--Wing of the GOP?
More like a Republican slugging arm
White House interim communications director Anita Dunn’s characterization of Fox News Channel as “a wing of the Republican Party,” and her announcement that the administration would henceforth treat Fox News as part of the “opposition,” created a media stir. Washington Post columnist (and Fox contributor) Charles Krauthammer announced, “The White House has declared war on Fox News.” Krauthammer’s more centrist colleague, Ruth Marcus (WashingtonPost .com, 10/19/09), wrote that “picking a fight” with Fox News “makes the White House look childish and petty at best, and it has a distinct Nixonian—Agnewesque?—aroma at worst.” As Joe Conason pointed out (Salon, 10/22/09), comparisons [...]
Feb
01
2010
'Climategate' Overshadows Copenhagen
Media regress to the bad old days of false balance
By Julie Hollar
With the Kyoto Protocol expiring in 2012, the United Nations Climate Change Conference in Copenhagen (COP15) was intended to make new international commitments to reduce emissions and fight the effects of global warming. But instead of discussing measures, deadlines and the urgency of international action, the overriding media story going into Copenhagen was whether scientists have been making up the whole “global warming” thing all along. Just a few weeks before the conference’s December 7 opening, hackers made public a trove of private emails and documents stolen from the Climate Research Unit at Britain’s University of East Anglia; they had [...]
Oct
01
2009
Alternative Cartoonists Nearing the Punch Line?
As alt weeklies go, so go alt comics
By Megan Tady
It took years for cartoonist Dan Perkins, aka Tom Tomorrow, to syndicate his comic strip This Modern World in alternative weekly newspapers. But in just one afternoon, his career was knee-capped. Last January, the company Village Voice Media, publisher of 14 alternative weeklies, suspended all syndicated cartoons. This Modern World, a sardonic strip that hammers the political establishment and critiques the media, debuted in the SF Weekly in 1990 (and has frequently graced the pages of Extra!). The comic may be best known for its recurring character Sparky, a sarcastic, sunglasses-wearing penguin. Perkins’ comic was in 12 of the Village [...]
Jul
01
2009
Building a Better Journalism
Media activists and scholars share their ideas
Extra! asked progressive media activists and scholars to share their ideas on how to make journalism's future better than its present; the following are some of the highlights. The one thing that we should do in the face of the erosion of commercial journalism is invest heavily in libraries. That means we should publicly support the human capital, technological tools, and collections of public, school and university libraries.The problem is not journalism per se. It's the health of the public sphere, of which quality journalism is a major part. So if we accept that the landscape we have grown accustomed [...]
