FAIR is the national progressive media watchdog group, challenging corporate media bias, spin and misinformation.
As corporate concentration of media ownership has increased, the labor beat has all but disappeared in the U.S. press. Very few media outlets have a reporter dedicated to regularly covering workers’ issues, unions and the labor movement. When working people do find their way into mainstream news, it’s often in the form of “workplace” coverage […]
How did mass media give people the false impression that crime was climbing drastically? How did they justify portraying steady crime rates as a “scary orgy” that demands immediate action? An examination of U.S. News’ special report on crime is revealing, illustrating the major themes, distortions and self-contradictions of much of mainstream crime coverage in 1993 and 1994.
Rev. Jesse Jackson’s recent comments about how blacks can take action against crime in their communities received an unusually favorable response from mainstream media outlets that are usually cool, if not hostile, toward the civil rights leader. But the selective emphasis of many press accounts distorted the content and context of Jackson’s remarks, revealing more […]
A luxury car tools along a mountain road. A Citicorp bankcard gleams behind the slogan, “Anyhow. Anywhere. Anytime. Right Now.” Chase Manhattan advises viewers: “We believe that helping our customers realize their dreams is the best investment we can make.” Typical commercials? No — because they’re on “noncommercial” TV. According to PBS, these are not […]
The year 1988, the press reported, would be a breakthrough year for women in politics. But in the end, only two additional women were elected to the House of Representatives, none to the Senate. In 1990, we were again told we were seeing the “Year of the Woman.” But although 70 women won major party […]
Reports and opinion pieces in the mainstream press heralded speeches on the urban crisis given in March 1992 by Senators Bill Bradley and John F. Kerry as “courageous and important,” “straight talk” that expressed “bravery and candor.” (New Republic, 4/27/92; U.S. News & World Report, 4/20/92; New York Times, 3/29/92) New York Times columnist A.M. […]
To see how papers were following through on their promise of more substantive reporting, FAIR surveyed all news articles on the presidential election in three national papers.
