FAIR is the national progressive media watchdog group, challenging corporate media bias, spin and misinformation.
The NSA’s mass surveillance programs are the subject of continued legal and political challenge–but there remain serious problems with how some in the media are covering the issue. Take the December 22 episode of NBC‘s Meet the Press. Viewers heard Republican politician and ardent NSA defender Peter King claim that if the NSA had phone […]
This week on FAIR TV: The NSA has been having a rough time, but 60 Minutes did them a favor with a long piece that was more like public relations than journalism. Also on the show: a look at how the New York Times covered a suspected US drone strike in Yemen, and what it […]
When establishment journalists were asked about whether media leaned left, so little in their responses addressed what would seem to be the fundamental question: Does what is actually in the media suggest a liberal bias?
Dramatic weather-related disasters are ready made for TV news. But what’s not on the screen? The human-made climate change that is affecting, and in some cases exacerbating, that extreme weather.
What seemed to be a US drone strike hit a wedding convoy in Yemen, killing over a dozen people. What kind of coverage does an event like that get on US television?
The National Security Agency has been the source of major controversy, thanks to the journalists writing critical stories based on files shared by whistleblower Edward Snowden. But the agency got a very different media reception from CBS correspondent John Miller, whose lengthy December 15 60 Minutes report looked more like PR than journalism. Miller explained […]
U.S. media coverage of Nelson Mandela’s legacy celebrates the late icon’s forgiveness. But one area that gets relatively little attention is US support for the racist government Mandela fought against.
The New York Times’ report on yesterday’s drone strike in Yemen leads with the claim that “most of the dead appeared to be people suspected of being militants linked to Al Qaeda.” The paper has a pattern of this kind of reporting, often because they take the US or Yemeni government’s word.
The budget agreement was debated on PBS– two voices from the right and a Wall Street Democrat.
Think the comparisons between the Obamacare website and the Iraq War are done? Think again. Some people still see the connection–like Iraq War booster Bill Kristol.
With coverage of Nelson Mandela’s death dominating the media now, can the story of the CIA’s role in Mandela’s capture be told? Mostly not.
USA Today hyping a poll that contradicts others finding public support for the Iran deal. Has public opinion shifted? Not really–you simply have to look at what the polls are asking.
A new piece by veteran investigative reporter Seymour Hersh argues that the Obama administration’s case against Syria over a sarin gas attack last August relied on cherry-picked intelligence.
The Washington Post warns Democrats not to veer too far to the left, CBS helps Amazon.com with some drone PR, and we take a look at the media hype about the so-called “knockout game.”
When a paper runs a puff piece actually headlined “When It Comes to Testimony, He’s a Go-To Guy,” that’s way better than a full-page ad. That’s the favor that USA Today extended to right-wing economist Douglas Holtz-Eakin.
Fareed Zakaria said of Nelson Mandela, “He was greatly inspired by Gandhi, by the nonviolent struggle.” If you’re familiar with Mandela’s life story, you know this is misleading.
It’s not unheard of for journalists to express strong opinions about how the United States should conduct its wars. But sometimes reporters express their opinions by attributing them to others.
Pundits’ discussions of the Affordable Care Act rollout assumes that the law represents some kind of “activist government” intervention to disrupt the normally smooth workings of the private sector. But that is neither the intent nor the effect of the law.
The Washington Post sees “political risks” for the Democratic Party in a revived left agenda–which is hard to figure, since all of the “left” issues it identifies are all broadly popular.
Media like to dismiss the partisan “blame game,” but accurately placing blame can be a crucial journalistic function. After all, nothing promotes political irresponsibility more than the knowledge that whatever you do, media will blame both sides equally.
