FAIR is the national progressive media watchdog group, challenging corporate media bias, spin and misinformation.
Read today’s Gaza stories in the New York Times carefully, and you might actually learn something about the propaganda tactics Israel is using. In one piece about the lessons learned from the 2006 Lebanon war, we learn that the aim is to fool Hamas, according to an Israeli military official who cites as a key […]
There was a whole lot of chatter a couple of days ago (thanks to the Drudge Report) about NBC‘s Today show canceling an appearance by far-right bomb thrower Ann Coulter. Should the network be applauded for deciding that they had better things to do than grant Coulter’s falsehoods and hate-mongering network airtime? Turns out not: Coulter’s […]
William Hartung writes: By and large, it is a good thing that John Bolton is no longer in government, where he worked overtime to undermine any number of worthwhile agreements, such as the effort to cap and roll back North Korea’s nuclear program. But his fall from power has come at a price. He is […]
One might not expect much from a USA Today editorial headlined “How to Turn Obama’s Success Into Gains for Black Boys,” but it’s hard to get past the first two graphs without feelingill: You can see the message on brick wall murals in inner cities: Yes we can. You can hear it in the music […]
One of the facets of the Gaza crisis not getting enough media attention is the fact that Israel has barred reporters from entering the Gaza Strip to report on the war–despite an Israeli Supreme Court ruling that stated that foreign journalists should be allowed into the territory. It was good, then, to see the issue […]
Continuing the media trend of cheering Obama’s center-right cabinet nominees, the Los Angeles Times‘ editorial page weighs in today (12/28/08): The best measure by which to evaluate any president’s administration is the quality of the appointees. In recent times, however, a president’s inner circle also has been viewed through the prism of identity politics. Obama […]
Useless caveat of the day, courtesy of the New York Times (12/19/08): Mr. Bush, one of the least popular presidents in recent history, if public opinion polls are accurateâ┚¬Ã‚¦ Yes, perhaps it’s all a mirage.
The corporate media template for explaining Mideast violence can be summed up like this: Palestinians attack, Israel retaliates. It wasn’t surprising, then, to read this lead in today’s New York Times (12/19/08): JERUSALEM – Rockets are flying from Gaza into southern Israeli communities again. Israeli warplanes are firing missiles back, and Israel is closing the […]
Washington Post columnist David Broder took up the issue of healthcare policy in his column yesterday (“Health Reform’s Moment,” 12/14/08). One of FAIR’s chief criticisms of media over the past two decades has been the narrow range of sources the media rely on to shape the debate over a given issue. Healthcare is no different, […]
By now most people have seen the video footage of the Iraqi journalist Muntader al-Zaidi throwing his shoes at George W. Bush. The New York Times helps you put it in perspective: The shoe-throwing incident in Baghdad punctuated Mr. Bush’s visit here–his fourth–in a deeply symbolic way, reflecting the conflicted views in Iraq of a […]
Cal Thomas and Bob Beckel are, by mainstream media standards, ideological opposites. Thomas is a far-right pundit, and Beckel is what you might call a Fox News Democrat. They spar in the pages of USA Today from time to time, though the point generally seems to be finding “common ground.” The headline of today’s installment […]
Today New York Times business columnist David Leonhardt (12/10/08) weighs in on the $73-an-hour autoworker. His verdict is somewhat mixed–the Big Three do have to pay the so-called legacy costs that are part of this calculation, but it’s misleading to conflate that with current earnings of autoworkers: So what is the reality behind the number? […]
There are two problems with William Glabersonâ┚¬Ã¢”ž¢s New York Times News Analysis piece (12/10/08), ‘Relatives of 9/11 Victims Add a Passionate Layer to Guantanamo Debate.” Let’s start with the lead: After the detainees charged with the plotting of the September 11 attacks discussed confessing this week, something unusual was heard here: a vigorous public defense […]
Actual headline today (12/10/08) in the New York Times Dining section: Great Meals for Two, Under $100 (It’s Possible) Times food writer Frank Bruni stressed that it “was an experiment for lean times, but not an exercise in cheap eats.” In case there was any doubt. Looking back in the FAIR archives, one recalls that […]
Today’s Washington Post (12/9/08) features an article on the possibilities for Employee Free Choice Act– a measure that would recognize card-check unionization drives. EFCA has been pushed by labor groups and their allies, and the Post envisions the real battle is to come–hence the headline, “Battle Deepens Over Union Organizing: Labor May Be Key Issue […]
The corporate media has more or less been on the same page in applauding Obama’s cabinet picks so far–“He’s been pragmatic in choosing pragmatists,” as the Washington Post editorial page cheered on November 28. There’s been occasional criticism of Obama’s choices as being too progressive, as when the L.A. Times (12/5/08) attacked the idea of […]
Washington Post and CNN media critic Howard Kurtz has been sounding the alarm over pro-Obama bias in the media. On his Reliable Sources program on Sunday, he put this question about coverage of Obama’s transition to one guest: Isn’t there a bit of a free ride to Obama right now, since he gets to seize […]
Time magazine tells us about Obama’s chief economic adviser: His controversial comments about women’s aptitude for math and science were a reminder that he operates best when he is working behind the scenes. Oh, so that was the lesson. I had been under the misapprehension that the lesson had something to do with Larry Summers’ […]
The headline (and subhead) in today’s print edition: National Security Team Would Be Diverse Mix Obama Picks Span Eras; Some Espouse More Centrist Views And what, exactly, makes for a “diverse mix?” Holding “moderate” views against a troop withdrawal from Iraq, apparently: Obama’s latest picks would give him a foreign policy team with a moderate […]
Is the total frenzy over post-Thanksgiving shopping a recent creation? That’s what David Carr writes in the New York Times today: Media and retail outfits are economic peas in a pod. Part of the reason that the Thanksgiving newspaper and local morning television show are stuffed with soft features about shopping frenzies is that they […]
