On Friday NPR decided it would no longer distribute an opera program because of the political activism of the program's host--who does not work for NPR. Together we can send a message to NPR about this appalling decision. A controversy erupted over freelance radio host Lisa Simeone's participation with an activist group occupying a park in Washington, D.C. Simeone was promptly fired as host of the documentary program Soundprint (AP, 10/20/11), which cited NPR ethics guidelines. NPR claims it had nothing to do with that firing (Poynter.org, 10/20/11). On Thursday, North Carolina station WDAV, which produces World of Opera, announced [...]
Oct
04
2011
CNN's Factcheck Failure on Occupy Wall Street
Former CNBC reporter Erin Burnett's CNN show OutFront debuted Monday night (10/3/11) with a failed attempt to factcheck the Occupy Wall Street protests. The show kicked off with Burnett explaining that she went to Wall Street today to see those protests for myself. I saw dancing, bongo drums, even a clown.... I asked several protesters what it was that they wanted. Now, they did not know.... They did know what they don't want. Burnett added that "it seems like people want a messiah leader, just like they did when they anointed Barack Obama." That segued into an interview with center-right [...]
Sep
23
2011
What if the Tea Party Occupied Wall Street?
Corporate media skip anti-corporate protests
In an action called Occupy Wall Street, thousands of activists took to the streets of Lower Manhattan on September 17. The protests are continuing, with demonstrators camped out on the Financial District's Liberty Street in support of U.S. democratization and against corporate domination of politics (Adbusters, 9/19/11). But you wouldn't know much about any of this from the corporate media--outlets that seem much more interested in protests of the Tea Party variety. The anti-corporate protests have been lightly covered in the hometown New York Times: One piece (9/18/11) largely about how the police blocked access to Wall Street, and one [...]
Sep
12
2011
CNN Throws a Tea Party
Network aligns with controversial far-right activists
Tonight's Republican debate might look familiar, with a well-known journalist posing questions to a stage full of candidates. But CNN's event is actually a co-production of sorts with the far-right Tea Party Express, raising serious questions about a journalistic outlet's decision to formally partner with a controversial political group. As CNN explained the relationship (9/8/11): CNN and the Tea Party Express, along with more than 100 local Tea Party groups from every state across the country, will team up Monday, September 12, to present a first-of-its-kind debate from the site of the 2012 Republican National Convention. The CNN statement adds: [...]
Jun
28
2011
CBS Skips Bachmann Factcheck
Website notes inaccuracy, but viewers left in dark
CBS Face the Nation host Bob Schieffer seemed well-prepared for his June 26 interview with Republican presidential candidate Michele Bachmann. But he didn't go nearly far enough in challenging Bachmann's misinformation. On the program Schieffer told the Minnesota representative: "A lot of your critics say you have been very fast and loose with the truth. You know, PolitiFact, which is a website that won a Pulitzer, did an analysis of 23 statements that you made recently. Of these 23, only one they said was completely true." Unfortunately, Bachmann had already re-told one of those falsehoods--and Schieffer did little to correct [...]
Jun
02
2011
Petition: Open the Budget Debate to the People
Media boost Ryan plan, ignore People's Budget
Thanks to the corporate media, you probably know all about Republican Rep. Paul Ryan's budget plan. After he unveiled his proposal to slash Medicare funding and cut taxes for the wealthy--all in the name of fiscal discipline--he was interviewed on all the network Sunday morning shows: NBC's Meet the Press (4/10/11), Face the Nation on CBS (4/17/11) and ABC's This Week (5/1/11). Ryan also was given one-on-one interviews on the PBS NewsHour (4/5/11) and ABC's Good Morning America (4/13/11), and was profiled by ABC World News (4/5/11). Ryan's plan was discussed in a number of segments on the nightly newscasts [...]
Mar
29
2011
Public TV's Libya Limits
Narrow war debate on PBS NewsHour
If public television's mission is to bring diverse viewpoints to the airwaves, the discussions about the war in Libya on the PBS NewsHour haven't lived up to that standard. Over the past two weeks, the NewsHour has featured an array of current and former military and government officials in its discussion segments--leaving little room for antiwar voices, U.S. foreign policy critics and legal experts. -On March 18, the NewsHour interviewed the Obama administration's UN Ambassador Susan Rice. -On March 21, anchor Jim Lehrer decided to get "perspective on the Mideast turmoil from two former U.S. national security advisers"--Carter's Zbigniew Brzezinski [...]
