Trump Order Aimed at Palestine Solidarity, Not Antisemitism
There is ample reason to doubt the administration’s claims that the executive order is a good-faith effort at combating antisemitism.
Australia Wildfire Coverage Is Long on Koalas, Short on Causes
Media have mostly remained resistant to addressing which human policies helped lead us to Australia’s fire disaster, and what will be needed to prevent matters from getting much, much worse.
WaPo’s Afghan Papers Propagate Colonial Narrative of Noble Intentions Gone Awry
Even as the Post’s scoop exposes US officials as liars—and highlights the danger of credulously accept their ideological framework—because they rely so heavily on those officials’ narratives, the Afghanistan Papers still manage to propagate the old colonial narrative of the empire’s good intentions thwarted by backwards foreigners.
There’s No Place Like the ‘Center’ for the Holidays
As the holidays approach, corporate media issue a spirited message to readers: Pipe down about politics.
Corporate Media Find All the Wrong Lessons for US Left in Corbyn’s Defeat
Election Focus 2020: Across the spectrum, corporate media all came to the same conclusion regarding the election: Corbyn’s loss spells the end for the US left and a “crushing defeat” of the discredited policies of socialism.
PBS Decides What Debate Watchers Need Is More Talk From Pundits
Election Focus 2020: Debates are one of the few opportunities most voters outside of the early voting states have to hear directly from the candidates without being filtered by journalist spin. At least–they used to be.
PBS Taps Journalist With Anti-Sanders Bias to Help Moderate Debate
Election Focus 2020: Yamiche Alcindor has repeatedly used her articles, tweets and media appearances to portray Sanders in an unflattering light.
To Corporate Media, an Exercise Bike Ad Is More Newsworthy Than 3/4 of a Trillion for the Pentagon
Only the Washington Post covered the NDAA more than Peloton (10 articles versus 5), while every other outlet gave an ad for an exercise bike more coverage than a multi-billion-dollar grant to the military industrial complex.
Afghan Papers Inadvertently Document WaPo’s Role in Spreading Official Lies
While more explicit admissions of deception on the part of US officials involved in wars are always appreciated, one question rarely discussed among the reports and opinion pieces praising the Afghanistan Papers is what this scoop says about the Washington Post.
Reuters Shields OAS Over False Claims That Sparked Bolivia Coup
None of the 114 Reuters articles about Bolivia since the October 20 election mention the extensive technical criticism the OAS complaints have received.
For WaPo’s Centrist Sources, Progressive Politics Are ‘Purity Tests’
Election Focus 2020: The Washington Post rounds up a posse of centrist sources to accuse progressive candidates of imposing “purity tests,” and argue that a leftist turn by Democrats will hurt the party.
Getting Away With Murder: ‘Clash’ as Media Euphemism for ‘Massacre’
“Clash” is an oft-used and highly convenient word for corporate media when they have to report on violence, but, for whatever reason, do not want to assign responsibility to any party for initiating it.
For Corporate Media, Voters Are Obstacle to Buttigieg’s Centrist Rise
Election Focus 2020: Corporate media have a practice of outsizing the attractiveness and viability of centrist candidates, including shielding them from critical examination.
ABC’s Epstein Story Didn’t Kill Itself
Amy Robach’s comments about being pressured into killing a Jeffrey Epstein story by powerful people ABC relied upon are a perfect example of the perils of access journalism.
Papers Owned by Oligarchs Unsurprisingly Oppose a Wealth Tax
Election Focus 2020: FAIR took a look at news coverage and editorials about the wealth tax from Bezos’ Washington Post, and Rupert Murdoch’s Wall Street Journal, to see if these oligarch-owned newspapers would defend their billionaire owners’ material class interests.
How the Global North’s Left Media Helped Pave the Way for Bolivia’s Right-Wing Coup
Progressive and alternative media in the Global North have long portrayed Bolivia’s deposed Movement Towards Socialism (MAS) government as repressive, pro-capitalist, and anti-environment—all in the name of “left” critique.
How Media Turn Support for Public Schools Into Opposition to Children of Color
Election Focus 2020: Bernie Sanders, Elizabeth Warren and other Democratic presidential candidates are rejecting the Obama administration’s embrace of charter schools, and media observers aren’t taking kindly to it.
With People in the Streets Worldwide, Media Focus Uniquely on Hong Kong
From the Yellow Vests in France to demonstrations in Lebanon, Gaza, Chile, Ecuador and Haiti, sustained movements all over the planet have taken to the street demanding change. Yet media have been disproportionately interested in only one: the Hong Kong protests.
Moving Jobs to Mexico Was a Feature, Not a Bug, of NAFTA
No one should have been surprised by the loss of high-paying, union manufacturing jobs to Mexico; that is exactly the result that NAFTA was designed for.
We’re Still Waiting for ‘Early and Often’ Climate Debate Questions
Election Focus 2020: Across all the Democratic presidential debates thus far, questions on the climate crisis have accounted for only 7% of all questions, or 1 in every 14.
