‘Moderation’ and the Midterms
“Move to the right” is always corporate media’s advice for Democrats—win or lose. But did the 2018 midterms really demonstrate the virtues of moderation?
The Needle and the Damage Done
It doesn’t take much to turn supposedly “objective” data journalism into flawed, rank speculation, as anyone closely following the whipsawing Election Night media narrative on Tuesday can attest.
Pittsburgh in the Jewish Press: Solidarity or Bothsidesism
Tablet engages in the dubious art of “bothsidesism,” the notion that in order to condemn right-wing anti-Jewish violence, one most come up with a reason to bash the left as well.
Assange Case Shows Support for Free Speech Depends on Who’s Talking
Rather than blasting Ecuador for trampling Assange’s right to free expression and other basic rights, the international press and prominent “human rights” organizations have responded with silence, distortions and even smirks.
Restricting Election Reporting to Issues That Don’t Matter
The campaign the voters see depends very much on which aspects news media choose to cover.
Financial Press Cheers Election of Fascist in Brazil
Faced with the choice of center-left reformers who may tax business slightly more, and outright fascist candidates, the financial press once again made its decision clear.
Blaming ‘Both Sides’ for Hate Plays Into Hands of Right-Wing Media
The political violence whipped up by the president, the GOP and their media apparatuses last week was treated by many in corporate media as just one shot in an ongoing duel between equally violent left and right extremist fringes.
Synagogue Shooter Shares His HIAS Obsession With Far-Right Media
The killer may have acted alone on his fear that HIAS was helping an “invasion” of non-white newcomers to the United States, but the rhetoric about the group that motivated his butchery comes straight from the pages of Breitbart.
New York Times’ Trauma Tourism
The New York Times Magazine took readers on a sensational 6,000-word tour of trauma, complete with cringe-worthy language and compassionless photographs.
Imposing ‘Balance’ Requires Distortion of Palestine/Israel Struggle
Instead of pretending that the conduct of Palestinians and Israelis is qualitatively and quantitatively the same, what’s needed is an honest accounting.
Blaming Saudis for Corrupting Otherwise Human Rights–Loving US
The United States’ grotesque alliance with the Saudi theocratic monarchy is not a product of a foreign boogeyman, but core to the US imperial project.
Why Is Russiagate Rumbling Into the 2018 Midterms?
For corporate media, the story of Russian fake news influencing the country promotes a climate where they can re-tighten their grip on the means of communication by accusing alternative media on both left and right of being Russian-sponsored fake news.
Why Coverage of Indigenous Issues Is So Lousy
Most journalists continue to rely on old stereotypes and stubborn prejudices, and on superficial and erroneous stories, as they helicopter into and out of “Indian Country” to report on complicated issues.
It’s OK to Criticize the Fed—Even for Presidents
Political figures have every right in the world to complain if the Fed is being overly concerned about inflation at the cost of slower growth and higher unemployment.
WaPo Picks a Side in Maryland Race—the Side That’s Offering Billions to Amazon
Looming over the Washington Post’s coverage of the Maryland governor’s race is Republican Gov. Larry Hogan’s ingratiating support for Amazon, the e-commerce giant owned by the world’s richest person, Jeff Bezos, who also happens to own the Washington Post.
Publishing Police Press Releases as Local ‘Crime’ Reporting
Block Club Chicago suffers, particularly on the issue of “crime” reporting, from the same stunted ethical scope all other local corporate media does. Again and again, Block Club’s “crime” reporting consists of simply copy-and-pasting Chicago police blotters about alleged crimes, with no effort to report any side other than the police’s.
Maintaining Media Omerta
The New York Times apologized for allowing one of its reporters to work on a story that no one has claimed contains a single inaccuracy.
Washington Post Shows How Not to Talk About Free Speech
The Washington Post’s pieces suffer from dubious, superficial understandings of free speech, and function as attacks on the left that whitewash the far right.
Facebook’s New Propaganda Partners
That these two US government creations, along with a NATO offshoot like the Atlantic Council, are used by Facebook to distinguish real from fake news is effectively state censorship.
They Think It Would Be Fun to Run a Newspaper
Whatever the motivation, billionaires buying up media is another step toward oligarchy, as a handful of super-wealthy individuals assume power over crucial news outlets, both locally and nationally.
