FAIR is the national progressive media watchdog group, challenging corporate media bias, spin and misinformation.
A censor’s work is never done. For several decades, the Pacifica Foundation — which owns five radio stations and operates a small national network — nurtured precious experiments in the arid terrain of radioland. Pacifica has provided listeners with wide-ranging discussion, progressive analysis and independent news coverage, in acute contrast to America’s usual corporate-backed media […]
Earthlings have continued a tradition of bizarre rituals during their planet’s current season. A columnist from the Galactic Syndicate provides this analysis: From afar, we may be inclined to smirk at the activities of humanoid creatures who inhabit the only life-covered orb in what they call "the solar system." But all of us should do […]
The formula for American media coverage of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict is simple: Report on the latest developments in the fragile "peace process." Depict U.S. officials as honest brokers in the negotiations. Emphasize the need for restraint and compromise instead of instability and bloodshed. In the world according to news media, the U.S. government is situated […]
Everywhere we turn, new technologies for communication have us surrounded. The online sensations of just a few years ago are now ancient cyber-history, and the process continues to accelerate. The computer on most desks seemed to be cutting-edge when it arrived — but now is already on the verge of obsolescence. When we decide that […]
Eager to oust Slobodan Milosevic from power, the U.S. government has funneled millions of dollars to media projects in Yugoslavia. A lot of hypocrisy is involved. And we might wish for some kind of reciprocity. "Charges of Chinese influence-buying in the 1996 U.S. presidential campaign caused a political storm in Washington that has yet to […]
Does America have a military-industrial-media complex? Whether you consider the question in terms of psychology or economics, some grim answers are available from the National Association of Broadcasters, a powerful industry group that’s about to hold its radio convention in San Francisco. When a recent Federal Trade Commission report faulted media companies for marketing violence […]
After many months of controversy over her anti-gay statements to millions of radio listeners, Dr. Laura is now ascending the airwaves to an even higher and mightier pulpit. Her crusade has reached televisionland. During the summer, Schlessinger held onto the misconceptions that led her to describe homosexuality as “a biological error” manifested by “deviants.” Meanwhile, […]
I’ve just read a stunning new report titled "Off the Record: What Media Corporations Don’t Tell You About Their Legislative Agendas." Unfortunately, the information in it will not be coming to a television set near you. In the hours after release of the report, the big cable TV networks were devoting lots of live coverage […]
Isn’t the two-party system wonderful? It really works! Every day, we hear plenty of opinions. Top Democrats and Republicans stay “on message,” and usually the nation’s major news outlets are in sync. The media landscape remains largely uncluttered, so most people won’t get distracted by other perspectives and choices. The symmetry is dependable and perhaps […]
LOS ANGELES — On the televised surface, the Democratic National Convention exuded plenty of sweetness and generosity. One speaker after another explained that America’s working people have a wondrous friend in a party that is committed to fighting for their interests. It was great theater — of the absurd. Behind the carefully crafted media facade, […]
It’s always dangerous when politicians claim to be doing God’s will. So, as the novelty fades from Al Gore’s selection of Joseph Lieberman, journalists should ask some probing questions about the ticket’s conspicuous piety. Over the years, Republican policymakers have been fond of saying that they rely on divine guidance. Cementing his alliance with fundamentalist […]
PHILADELPHIA — Every day at noon, a couple of blocks from the convention complex where GOP delegates held their caucuses, destitute men lined up for lunch on the sidewalk in front of the Ministry to the Homeless. It was not a photo op. More than a few journalists were visiting Philadelphia — in fact, about […]
Once again, it’s the season of the Republican and Democratic national conventions, this time choreographed in Philadelphia and Los Angeles. Both events have been underwritten by business patrons; both cities are notorious for police misconduct. Hospitality and brutality — the contrasts could hardly be more extreme. In the City of Brotherly Love, the welcome mat […]
One night last month, on the influential "NewsHour With Jim Lehrer," a leading pundit sat in front of TV cameras and made the kind of broad pronouncement often favored by media commentators. "American politics is about optimism," Mark Shields declared. "Americans are the most optimistic people on the planet." Uttered with great assurance, such statements […]
Welcome back to “Media Jeopardy!” Rest assured that there’s never a shortage of fascinating material. The rules are unchanged: Consider the answer, and then try to come up with the correct question. Let’s get started! Today’s first category is “TV Follies.” The Alliance for Better Campaigns found that television stations in the country’s biggest 75 […]
Bad Ralph! Bad Ralph! From coast to coast, some big newspapers have been scolding Ralph Nader lately. Why? Because he’s running for president, and a lot of people — according to a recent national poll, 7 percent of the electorate — intend to vote for him. Yikes! The outspoken foe of corporate power is really […]
George Orwell’s birthday passed without notice recently. Born on June 25, 1903, the great English writer has been dead for half a century, but Orwellian language lives on. These days we have plenty of good reasons to echo poet W.H. Auden: "Oh, how I wish that Orwell were still alive, so that I could read […]
It’s media spin in overdrive: Major security breaches have jeopardized the vital work going on at the Los Alamos National Laboratory, where scientists toil to protect America. But after many years of monitoring key weapons policies, Jacqueline Cabasso dismisses the uproar as "a sideshow." Cabasso, executive director of the Western States Legal Foundation, is a […]
A public-interest group is urging sportswriters to resist a free-enterprise wave of the future. "Corporations are seizing the names of our beloved parks and stadiums, and replacing these with their own," Commercial Alert complains in a letter that has just arrived at newspaper offices across North America. The organization adds: "There is no law that […]
There’s a slick new term surfing its way into the mass media. "E-government." Al Gore has given it a big shove forward with a major campaign speech. "The power of government," he proclaimed, "should not be locked away in Washington, but put at your service — no further than your keyboard." Gore promised online access […]
