FAIR is the national progressive media watchdog group, challenging corporate media bias, spin and misinformation.
Last night’s broadcast of the O’Reilly Factor (5/19/11) provided ample evidence–if more were needed–of Bill O’Reilly’s bigotry. He started by trying to explain why Barack Obamais unpopular in Muslim countries: The answer is complicated but does reflect my opinion that there is a Muslim problem in the world. The United States and the West are […]
Keith Olbermann popped up on the David Letterman show and gave one reason—perhaps one big reason—why he left MSNBC. As transcribed by MediaBistro’s TVNewser (where you can also watch the video): At some point in the last few years that I have been doing the news in the way that I do, it has occurred […]
What’s the Israeli government’s new “plan” for peace? Reading the New York Times doesn’t help your understand where they stand. Earlier this week, the Times‘ Ethan Bronner (5/17/11) praised a speech by Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu for exhibiting “greater flexibility on territory.” Bronner wrote that he showed “more willingness to yield territory than he […]
Labor journalist Mike Elk (In These Times, 5/16/11) made an excellent point after watching NBC host David Gregory interview Newt Gingrich on Sunday’s Meet the Press (5/15/11). Elk wrote: Speaking yesterday on Meet the Press, Republican presidential candidate and former Speaker of the House Newt Gingrich (R-Ga.) said that “the Obama system of the National […]
Corporate media coverage of tax/budget issues often seems to be an argument between right-leaning Democrats and conservative Republicans. In the midst of a national discussion of budget deficits, raising taxes on the wealthy is considered a non-starter–even though most Americans would support it. The front page of the Washington Post on Saturday (5/14/11) offered a […]
Last week, Washington Post reporter Dan Balz explained that Newt Gingrich was “an idea-spewing machine” and a “one-man think tank”–even warning that “a keen intellect can also translate into the appearance of intellectual superiority.” Well OK. A few days in Balz’s paper, readers learned that in a recent speech Gingrich called Barack Obama a “food […]
The Washington Post‘s Outlook section has a feature (5/15/11) about getting rid of certain concepts or products. Former ABC anchor Ted Koppel suggests dumping democracy: “The concept remains worthy, but the word is rapidly being exhausted of all residual value.” Koppel’s point is that the Arab Spring uprisings might not produce wholly democratic outcomes: “The […]
New York Times business reporter Andrew Ross Sorkin wrote a piece on Sunday (5/15/11) that tried to advance the argument that $250,000 actually isn’t that much money to make in a year. The complaint is that politicians who advocate raising tax rates on income above $250,000 have chosen an arbitrary dividing line–above it you’re rich, […]
Washington Post reporter Dan Balz has a front-page piece about Newt Gingrich’s announcement that he’s running for president. Balz calls Gingrich’s Twitter declaration a “milestone in presidential politics,” adding that Gingrich “is an idea-spewing machine,” a “one-man think tank” and “someone who has remained in the forefront of the public policy debate over a span […]
I saw a press release yesterday announcing that Rep. Jim McDermott (D.-Wash) and Sen. Bernie Sanders (I.-Vt.) were introducing a single-payer healthcare bill in both houses of Congress. Unless there was a drastic change in the corporate media, this news wasn’t going to be, well, news. And it hasn’t been so far. There were mentions […]
USA Today weighs in today (5/10/11) on the argument that U.S. torture of detainees like Khalid Sheikh Mohammed was instrumental to tracking down Osama bin Laden. Like other outlets, the newspaper does a pretty lousy job of summarizing the evidence. Under the headline “Raid Renews Debate on Interrogations,” reporter Oren Dorell suggests this starting point: […]
The Washington Post today (5/10/11) has a perplexing article by Aaron Davis about U.S. troops leaving Iraq. Here’s the lead: BAGHDAD — The United States’ pleas for Iraq’s government to decide “within weeks” whether American troops should stay beyond a year-end deadline to leave will not be met, Iraqi politicians say, complicating plans for the […]
I was intrigued to see this headline at the Guardian‘s website yesterday: Renewable Energy Can Power the World, Says Landmark IPCC Study UN’s climate change science body says renewables supply, particularly solar power, can meet global demand This was one of the points Miranda Spencer raised in an excellent piece in the last issue of […]
“John Paul II’s Beatification Cheered” was USA Today‘s headline (5/2/11)—followed by 19 paragraphs of cheerleading for the accelerated process of declaring the late Pope John Paul II an official saint: Various sources in Eric Lyman’s article called the event “an important day and a wonderful opportunity to recognize a great man,” “a man of God […]
Some mystical power forces the corporate media to cover Donald Trump. In the New York Times today: But White House officials concluded about a month ago that the falsehoods had moved from “the nether regions of the Internet” into the mainstream political arena, thanks in large part to the efforts of Mr. Trump, the real […]
Today the New York Times describes the state of the war in Libya: WASHINGTON — NATO plans to step up attacks on the palaces, headquarters and communications centers that Col. Muammar el-Qaddafi uses to maintain his grip on power in Libya, according to Obama administration and allied officials. This “more energetic bombing campaign” included “a […]
The first role of the corporate press in an election cycle is to weed out candidates who they deem nonviable. This usually means choosing not to cover candidates whose ideas that fall outside the Beltway conventional wisdom (e.g., Dennis Kucinich), or those who reporters decide have no real chance of winning the nomination. The speculation […]
Wisconsin Rep. Paul Ryan (R.-Wisc.) is used to being celebrated by pundits for his “courageous,” “bold,” “serious” budget proposals (even though his numbers don’t add up). Indeed, Ryan has become a genuine media darling. So it must have been a little surprising to find himself being booed earlier this week, at a town hall meeting […]
“Gadhafi Troops Fire Cluster Bombs Into Civilian Areas,” declares a New York Times headline (4/15/11). The lead of the story makes clear that these weapons are considered in many countries to be illegal: Military forces loyal to Col. Moammar el-Gadhafi have been firing into residential neighborhoods in this embattled city with heavy weapons, including […]
Washington Post columnist Dana Milbank seems to like to mock progressives almost as much as he likes to go after Glenn Beck. So it’s no surprise that he turned out to “cover” the unveiling of a budget plan by the Congressional Progressive Caucus (4/13/11). Milbank seems to think that little explanation is needed—these crazy ideas […]
