FAIR is the national progressive media watchdog group, challenging corporate media bias, spin and misinformation.
Whatever the truth turns out to be about the explosive new scandal rocking the White House — whether or not it proves to be the undoing of President Clinton — the news media are sure to moralize about the arrogance of power. But some introspection would be fitting. The adrenaline rush of the national media […]
The truth about America today depends on where you sit. And you probably don’t sit in TV studios. You may feel like you’re working harder for less. Maybe you worry about medical coverage or job security or retirement. Maybe you’re troubled by continuing signs of deterioration in many cities and towns. If so, you’re ignorant. […]
Last fall, when News Corporation owner Rupert Murdoch joined the board of directors at the Cato Institute, the announcement went unreported in major media. Perhaps it seemed routine for one of the world’s most powerful media moguls to take a leadership post at one of the most influential think tanks in Washington. At future meetings, […]
The P.U.-litzer Prizes recognize some of America’s smelliest media achievements. Although journalists do not covet these annual awards, the competition remains fierce. Each year, I sift through hundreds of entries with my colleague Jeff Cohen, who heads the media watch group FAIR. In 1997, many news professionals were deserving, but only an elite few walked […]
After the San Jose Mercury News linked CIA-backed Nicaraguan Contras with the importation of cocaine into poor black areas of Los Angeles, establishment papers relied for their debunking of the Mercury News on the CIA’s own obligatory denials
Based in a spacious brick building a few blocks from the Capitol, the Heritage Foundation is running the most effective media operation in American politics. Heritage has succeeded with a savvy strategy: Raise a lot of money from rich people with a right-wing agenda. Hire writers, commentators and out-of-office politicians who share that agenda, and […]
/ Four years ago, Bob Dole was a roaring tiger on the subject of public television. As the Senate’s most powerful critic of PBS, he accused the network of “unrelenting liberal cheerleading” and charged that “apologists are hiding behind Big Bird, Mr. Rogers and `Masterpiece Theatre.’” This year, however, Dole’s fierce rhetoric against PBS is […]
Americans of all ages will gather at the Lincoln Memorial on June 1 for an event called “Stand For Children.” Organizers are promising “the largest and most uplifting demonstration of family, community and spiritual commitment to children in American history.” One likely result: a media focus on kids next month. We sure need a change. […]
/ Opinion polls are big news — especially during an election year. More than ever, this summer and fall, the polling industry will be in overdrive, constantly gauging what Americans think and how they intend to vote. But even the most accurate polls can be very deceiving. Much has changed since a young man named […]
When the United States and Mexico went to war 150 years ago, the conflict stirred fierce arguments north of the Rio Grande. Controversy raged as Congress approved a declaration of war on May 13, 1846. Most newspapers endorsed the war with Mexico. The New York Herald claimed, “It is a part of our destiny to […]
After months of intense media hype about Colin Powell, pundit Joe Klein carried the prevalent spin to its dizzying conclusion. “The key to the race” for the presidency in 1996, Klein wrote (Newsweek, 11/13/95), is that “ideas are not important. Stature is everything.” He added: “But if ideas don’t matter, what does? Civility does.” Mesmerized […]
It’s become a TV ritual: Every year in mid-January, around the time of Martin Luther King’s birthday, we get perfunctory network news reports about “the slain civil rights leader.” The remarkable thing about this annual review of King’s life is that several years — his last years — are totally missing, as if flushed down a memory hole.
Jimmy Carter’s reputation has soared lately. Typical of the media spin was a Sept. 20 report on CBS Evening News, lauding Carter’s “remarkable resurgence” as a freelance diplomat. The network reported that “nobody doubts his credibility, or his contacts.” For Jimmy Carter, the pact he negotiated in Haiti is the latest achievement of his long […]
Paul Hill is no O.J. Simpson. His path to media stardom was not athletic greatness and a pleasing public persona. Hill became a media celebrity his own way: by advocating murder. America was shocked when Simpson became a murder suspect, but it wasn’t too surprising when Hill went to jail for killing a doctor and […]
Thirty years ago, it all seemed very clear. “American Planes Hit North Vietnam After Second Attack on Our Destroyers; Move Taken to Halt New Aggression”, announced a Washington Post headline on Aug. 5, 1964. That same day, the front page of the New York Times reported: “President Johnson has ordered retaliatory action against gunboats and […]
