NYT’s Excuses for Lack of Reporters in Iran Don’t Add Up
The New York Times claimed that FAIR’s article was a “false portrayal” of the Times’ work, but it failed to directly challenge any of the article’s claims.
ACTIVISM UPDATE: Responses Show WaPo Is Hearing From Its Critics
Washington Post editors may not be backing down, but they are hearing you.
ACTIVISM UPDATE: WaPo Editor Responds on Polio, Pakistan and the CIA
Washington Post editor Martin Baron responded to FAIR’s recent action alert calling on the Washington Post to acknowledge the role of CIA deception in fueling distrust of vaccination in Pakistan.
NYT Corrects Its Ed Herman Obit
FAIR thanks the activists who contacted the New York Times, and the Times for correcting the record.
NPR Retracts False Claim About Terror and Politics, But Doesn’t Tell Listeners the Truth
If it was worth NPR’s airtime to give a false impression of the connection between terrorism and electoral politics, isn’t it worth airtime to tell people what the actual historical record says?
FAIR Activists Get Two Responses From NPR on Fossil-Fuel Funding Controversy
FAIR.org readers got a response from NPR ombud Elizabeth Jensen and a do-over from NPR factchecker Peter Overby —but NPR’s coverage still leaves a lot to be desired in terms of forthrightly addressing the issue of fossil-fuel funding in the Democratic presidential race.
NPR Ombud Responds on FAIR Commentary Study
National Public Radio ombud Elizabeth Jensen responds to FAIR’s study of NPR commentary, saying, “I find the specific numbers in the study somewhat arbitrary, even though the broad sweep of its conclusions pretty much echo what NPR already knows.”
NPR Ombud Responds on ‘All-Corporate Lobbyist’ Alert
Elizabeth Jensen talked to Neal Carruth, a senior editor on NPR’s business desk, who said that had the piece by Yuki Noguchi been longer, it “could have devoted more space to the opposition’s views regarding the business community’s win.” But, he said, “the piece did not ignore the opposition.”
Chuck Todd Responds: Looking at Whether Meet the Press Mentioned Sanders or Not Is ‘Arbitrary’
Meet the Press host Chuck Todd responded to a complaint about his failure to mention Sen. Bernie Sanders’ announcement that he was running for the Democratic presidential nomination.
CNN Doubles Down on Pro-Nuclear Bias
Over 27,000 activists demanded CNN present a more balanced discussion of nuclear power. CNN responded with a post-show roundtable that featured a panel just as slanted.
AAM Responds on Funding of Fracking Show
America Abroad Media has responded to FAIR‘s recent Action Alert (5/31/13) about the public radio service’s pro-fracking public documentary (4/13) that was backed by funders with a financial interest in promoting natural gas. AAM acknowledged the need for a clearer explanation of fracking’s environmental risks, but unfortunately almost completely ignored the funding conflict in its […]
PBS Ombud, Nova Disagree on Drone Disclosure
PBS ombud Michael Getler agrees with FAIR that the recent Nova special on drones that was underwritten by Lockheed Martin–a major military contractor and drone manufacturer–violates PBS funding guidelines.
Post Ombud Agrees with FAIR on Big Oil Sponsorship
The Washington Post has responded to FAIR’s September 14 Action Alert, which criticized the paper for presenting a two-page energy “debate” that didn’t include critics of the industry–and didn’t disclose to readers that the discussion was sponsored by Big Oil. In his most recent column, Post ombud Patrick Pexton (9/21/12) largely agreed with FAIR’s take, acknowledging that the panel discussions […]
PBS Responds on Dow-Funded Series
PBS ombud Michael Getler (4/27/12) agrees that the Dow Chemical Corporation’s sponsorship of a PBS series violates PBS underwriting guidelines. PBS, unfortunately, stands by its show. A FAIR Action Alert (4/23/12) pointed out that the decision to allow Dow to sponsor the series America Revealed, which deals with issues that closely track Dow’s business interests, […]
NYT Responds on Iran Alarmism
New York Times public editor Arthur Brisbane has responded to concerns raised in a FAIR action alert last week (1/6/12), agreeing that the paper wrongly suggested that the International Atomic Energy Agency has concluded that Iran is developing a nuclear weapon. In a post at his Times blog (1/10/12), Brisbane agrees that the paper was […]
CBS Revises Iraq Death Toll
After a FAIR Action Alert (12/2/11), the CBS Evening News has changed its count of civilian deaths–citing a new figure that is roughly twice their original count. On December 1 the CBS Evening News reported: It is estimated that more than 50,000 Iraqi civilians were killed in the war. As FAIR pointed out, this was […]
NewsHour Responds on Inequality
After FAIR’s recent action alert (10/27/11) concerning the PBS NewsHour‘s reports minimizing–and even celebrating–economic inequality, NewsHour correspondent Paul Solman posted a long response on the PBS website (10/31/11) that attempted to answer the criticism. Solman began by expressing his appreciation for the “avalanche” of feedback, “hostile though most of it has been.” He admits that […]
Some Breaks in the Blackout of Wall Street Protests
After a FAIR Action Alert (9/23/11) criticized the virtual media blackout of the Occupy Wall Street protests, corporate news coverage has increased–sparked largely by the escalating police brutality at the ongoing demonstration. (See FAIR Blog, 9/23/11, for a sample of the messages sent by FAIR activists to the network nightly news shows.) On ABC World […]
CNN Responds to Activists on Tea Party Alliance
CNN has responded to criticism from FAIR activists of its debate partnership with the Tea Party Express, rejecting the idea that there was anything questionable about its cooperation with the far-right racist organization. Asked by media columnist Richard Prince (Journal-isms, 9/12/11) to respond to FAIR’s September 12 Action Alert, a CNN spokesperson replied: During the […]
Opening Up NewsHour’s Libya Discussion
FAIR’s March 29 Action Alert documented the PBS NewsHour‘s remarkably narrow range of debate on the Libya War, which featured an array of current and former military and government officials. On March 30, the NewsHour‘s debate on arming the Libyan rebels included Emira Woods from the progressive Institute for Policy Studies. Roughly a million Americans […]
