It’s Sunday and It’s Snowden
It’s Sunday, and that means time for the network chat shows to present one-sided discussions about the NSA, Edward Snowden and mass surveillance.
Peter Hart
FAIR TV: Christie’s Temper, CBS on France, Time’s Clinton Cover
This week on the show: Does Chris Christie have a temper problem? Fox‘s Brit Hume has some thoughts. CBS covers French politics–well, mostly a French politician’s sex life. And Time puts Hillary Clinton’s nonexistent presidential campaign on its latest cover. Watch:
NYT: The Center Is Right in France
Are “economic experts” really gratified by French President Francois Hollande’s economic policy ideas? The New York Times cites one, but it’s not hard to find other economists who offer a very different take.
USA Today: Fracking Makes You Rich! (And Also Maybe Sick, Too)
USA Today touts Texans striking it rich in the oil/gas business–“OIL!” is the front-page headline, and that captures the tone of the piece.
Can We Persuade CBS to Abandon Its Inaccurate Rhetoric on Iran?
CBS’s Major Garrett says “the next big step” is “persuading Iran to abandon its nuclear weapons program entirely”–but it’s never been established that Iran has a nuclear weapons program to abandon.
An American Reporter in Paris
It’s odd that CBS went to an American living in France for a sense of how the French feel about their president’s personal life. But perhaps that was because the French mostly don’t think it’s an issue.
Chris Christie’s Real Problem? Our ‘Feminized’ Culture
On the question of whether or not Christie is a bully, veteran Fox pundit Brit Hume blamed that perception on our “feminized atmosphere.”
FAIR TV: Misremembering Fallujah, CNN Climate ‘Balance,’ Discussing the Left Without the Left
Media are remembering Fallujah–but what are they forgetting? The CNN debate show Crossfire gives viewers false balance on climate change, and ABC’s This Week talks about the “resurgent left”–without much input from the left.
Wait—Chris Christie Might Be a Vindictive Bully?!
Some of the recent coverage of Republican New Jersey governor seems genuinely surprised that the bullying, partisan politician might be… well, bullying and partisan.
Why Did the US Invade Iraq? The Answer in 2014
Reports of Al-Qaeda linked fighters taking over the Iraqi city of Fallujah have prompted a lot of media coverage about the US sacrifice there. In the process, the history of the war is being dramatically rewritten.
It’s Cold Outside, So CNN Debates Climate Change
Right from the beginning, the January 6 episode of CNN‘s Crossfire sounded like a bad idea. Here’s the announcement that aired at the top of the show: How far below zero does it have to get to cool off the global warming debate? To make things clearer, the top of the show announcement continued: This […]
Forgetting Fallujah
More than a decade later, US media still see Fallujah primarily as a place where US forces suffered–and died–perhaps “in vain.” Then and now, the hundreds of Iraqis who died in Fallujah hardly register at all.
New York Turns to the Left? Let’s Ask Our Center-Right Panel
If the question of whether or not there is a resurgent left, shouldn’t there be some left? ABC gave viewers the far-right Bill Kristol and the conservative Ana Navarro, a few middle-of-the-road journalists and a moderate former Democratic governor.
Always Turning the Corner in the Afghan War
Brookings think tank hawk Michael O’Hanlon is on the Washington Post op-ed page today trying to convince readers that there are reasons to be hopeful about the Afghan War. It’s a story he’s been telling for a while now.
How Racist Do You Have to Be Before the New York Times Calls You a Racist?
The New York Times offers readers a lengthy obituary for racist New York talk radio icon Bob Grant. But can they call a racist a racist?
Time Journalists: Report to the Business Department
Time, Inc newsrooms will soon be reporting to the business side of the company– a concept which, as the New York Times notes, was “once verboten at journalistic institutions.”
What Malala Told Obama About US Drones (11 Weeks Later)
At the end of December ABC told viewers what Pakistani activist Malala Yousafzai said to Barack Obama about US drones back in October.
Nelson Mandela, 1918–2013
Watching the corporate media tributes to former South African leader Nelson Mandela, you had to assume that certain aspects of Mandela’s life would be forgotten or downplayed.
NYT Benghazi Bombshell: They Reported It Last Year Too
What Meet the Press’s David Gregory described as “a bombshell report in the New York Times [that] could change the debate over the deadly attack” in Benghazi, Libya, was actually old news to careful readers.
The 2013 P.U.-Litzers
Some of the year’s stinkiest moments in corporate media– it’s the 2013 P.U.-Litzers!
