FAIR's March 29 Action Alert documented the PBS NewsHour's remarkably narrow range of debate on the Libya War, which featured an array of current and former military and government officials. On March 30, the NewsHour's debate on arming the Libyan rebels included Emira Woods from the progressive Institute for Policy Studies. Roughly a million Americans got to hear a perspective they might not otherwise have encountered. This is why media activism is important. You can check out the segment on the NewsHour's website. FAIR thanks all of the activists who wrote to the NewsHour to suggest they expand the discussion [...]
Dec
03
2010
NYT's Iran Missiles Walkback
Paper discovers reasons for skepticism
Certain editions of the New York Times (12/3/10) published today an update to its reporting on Iranian weapons with a much more skeptical tone than its original article. The first article (11/29/10), headlined "Iran Fortifies Its Missilies With the Aid of North Korea," presented the case in definitive terms: Iran now possesses powerful missiles with "the capacity to strike at capitals in Western Europe." As a FAIR Action Alert noted (12/1/10), the evidence to back this up was thin. And the paper decided, "at the request of the Obama administration," not to publish the WikiLeaks cable that was the basis [...]
Nov
19
2010
Charlie Rose Opens Up the Deficit Debate
Tonight's broadcast of the Charlie Rose Show will feature a discussion of the budget deficit with progressive economist Dean Baker of the Center for Economic and Policy Research and Rep. Jan Schakowsky (D-Ill.). As FAIR's recent action alert noted (11/16/10), the Rose show's discussion of the White House deficit commission has been dominated by right-leaning guests who were supportive of the plan put forward by commission co-chairs Erskine Bowles and Alan Simpson. FAIR pointed out that experts including Baker have argued that the co-chairs' report is fundamentally flawed. And Schakowsky, who is a member of the deficit commission, has put [...]
Jul
20
2010
PBS Ombud Agrees With FAIR on Shultz Tribute
Says funding gives series a 'credibility problem'
In response to hundreds of letters from FAIR activists, PBS ombud Michael Getler (7/16/10) agreed with FAIR's criticism (Action Alert, 7/12/10) of the 3-hour PBS documentary Turmoil and Triumph, a tribute to former Reagan-era Secretary of State George Shultz funded in part by institutions and individuals with close ties to Shultz. Getler found Turmoil to be "over-the-top, in my view, with praise, but with relatively little critical appraisal of some of the more controversial actions of Shultz's tenure." He wrote: This series, for me, as a viewer and an ombudsman, created at least the appearance of a conflict of interest; [...]
Jun
04
2010
Where Is O'Reilly's Anti-Immigration Retraction?
Fox News host Bill O'Reilly has repeatedly cited one reason to support Arizona's harsh new anti-immigrant law: the state's exploding crime rate. As FAIR documented in a May 17 Action Alert, there is no such crime wave in the state. What's more, most research shows that immigrants tend to commit less crime than the population at large. The day after the FAIR alert, O'Reilly (5/18/10) was still at it, declaring that "crime in Arizona is up." When his guest, Cathy Areu of Catalina magazine, pointed out that the El Paso "is one of the safest cities in the United States"-- [...]
Mar
23
2010
PBS Ombud Responds on New Public Affairs Show
Moyers 'not exactly replaceable'--so here's Meacham instead
PBS ombud Michael Getler (3/18/10) responded to a FAIR Action Alert (3/10/10) that criticized PBS's choice of Jon Meacham as co-host of the PBS public affairs show that will fill the slot left vacant by Now and Bill Moyers Journal. Wrote Getler: During the past week, my office has received about 3,000 e-mails from people, most of whom seemed to be subscribers to FAIR--the media watchdog group that describes itself as "progressive" and stands for "Fairness & Accuracy In Reporting"--and were spurred on by an online "action alert" on March 10. Getler reiterated his concern that Now and Bill Moyers [...]
Mar
22
2010
NYT Public Editor Admits ACORN Errors
In a response to a FAIR action alert (3/11/10), New York Times public editor Clark Hoyt (3/21/10) acknowledged that the paper got key facts wrong in reporting on the undercover videos attacking the community organizing group ACORN. The main issue was the fact that James O'Keefe, the activist who produced the videos, did not actually dress up like a "pimp" when he visited the offices. This was a major theme in stories that appeared in the Times and elsewhere: As FAIR pointed out, O'Keefe's supposed get-up was one of "the key contentions of the ACORN smear--that the group is so [...]
Feb
12
2010
NYT Responds on Family Tie to Israeli Military
Hoyt urges Bronner's reassignment; Keller denounces 'savage partisans'
New York Times public editor Clark Hoyt (2/6/10) responded to messages from FAIR activists (Action Alert, 1/27/10; FAIR Blog, 1/27/10) by affirming that a reporter covering a conflict in which his child is an armed participant ought to be reassigned. But Times executive editor Bill Keller (2/6/10) rejected Hoyt's reasoning, saying that Jerusalem bureau chief Ethan Bronner would remain at his post despite revelations that his son had joined the Israeli Defense Forces. Calling Bronner a "superb reporter" with "an excellent track record," Hoyt said the news about his son's enlistment (Electronic Intifada, 1/25/10) raised "tough questions": The Times sent [...]
