FAIR is the national progressive media watchdog group, challenging corporate media bias, spin and misinformation.
FAIR’s Action Alert network is a powerful activism tool that encourages the public to become critically engaged with media. FAIR distributes timely, focused reports via email, critiquing a particular instance of media inaccuracy or bias, and encourages members to communicate directly to journalists to demand more responsible reporting. This activism get results! With the help of our readers and podcast listeners, FAIR has forced rewrites of stories, propelled important but under-reported stories from the sidelines to the mainstream and succeeded in getting different perspectives into the news. Get involved in the FAIR fight for better media coverage – sign up today.
Much of the corporate media coverage of a new UN report on Iran strongly asserts that Iran is close to building nuclear weapons. But the International Atomic Energy Agency report does not actually arrive at that conclusion, and many critics contend that the speculations that are in the report are misguided. A USA Today piece […]
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 […]
With protesters around the country speaking out against income inequality, public television’s flagship newscast made time on October 26 for the pro-inequality side to be heard, featuring a guest who invoked a phony Abraham Lincoln quote to make his case.
On Friday NPR decided it would no longer distribute an opera program because of the political activism of the program’s host—who does not work for NPR. A controversy erupted over freelance radio host Lisa Simeone’s participation with an activist group occupying a park in Washington, D.C. Simeone was promptly fired as host of the documentary […]
Media coverage of the Occupy Wall Street (OWS) protests started out exactly as one might expect. There was little coverage at first (FAIR Action Alert, 9/23/11), and as it expanded, much of it consisted of snide dismissals of demonstrators” ignorance, hygiene and so on. But then something happened. Following incidents of police abuse, including the […]
Former CNBC reporter Erin Burnett’s CNN show OutFront debuted Monday night (10/3/11) with a failed attempt to factcheck the Occupy Wall Street protests. The show kicked off with Burnett explaining that she went to Wall Street today to see those protests for myself. I saw dancing, bongo drums, even a clown…. I asked several protesters […]
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 […]
In an action called Occupy Wall Street, thousands of activists took to the streets of Lower Manhattan on September 17. The protests are continuing, with demonstrators camped out on the Financial District’s Liberty Street in support of U.S. democratization and against corporate domination of politics (Adbusters, 9/19/11). But you wouldn’t know much about any of […]
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 […]
Tonight’s Republican debate might look familiar, with a well-known journalist posing questions to a stage full of candidates. But CNN‘s event is actually a co-production of sorts with the far-right Tea Party Express, raising serious questions about a journalistic outlet’s decision to formally partner with a controversial political group. As CNN explained the relationship (9/8/11): […]
According to a report in the New York Times (8/22/11), public television icon Bill Moyers will be back on the public airwaves next year–but not on PBS. The new show, Moyers & Company, will be distributed to stations for free by American Public Television. The Times reports that “PBS told Moyers it couldn’t find an […]
Allegations of Libyan civilian deaths as a result of NATO bombing have often been covered in the corporate media as an opportunity to scoff at the Gadhafi regime’s unconvincing propaganda (FAIR Blog, 6/9/11). But dramatic new allegations that dozens of civilians were killed in Majer after NATO airstrikes on August 8 have been met with […]
Corporate media coverage of budget deficits and debt often turns to blaming Social Security and Medicare for being the real problem. NBC‘s Meet the Press host David Gregory is especially fond of passing off such misleading claims as facts. In a question to Republican Sen. John Thune, Gregory put it this way (7/31/11): Senator, what’s […]
There are specific patterns in corporate media coverage of political debates: Progressive ideas are generally marginalized. “Compromise” between the major parties is encouraged. Democrats should “move to the center,” which in practical terms actually means moving to the right. All of these tendencies have driven the discussion over the federal debt and the debt ceiling. […]
Right-wing terror suspect Anders Behring Breivik reportedly killed 76 people in Norway on Friday, by all accounts driven by far-right anti-immigrant politics and fervent Islamophobia. But many early media accounts assumed that the perpetrator of the attacks was Muslim. On news of the first round of attacks—the bombs in Oslo—CNN‘s Tom Lister (7/22/11) didn’t know […]
CBS Face the Nation host Bob Schieffer seemed well-prepared for his June 26 interview with Republican presidential candidate Michele Bachmann. But he didn’t go nearly far enough in challenging Bachmann’s misinformation. On the program Schieffer told the Minnesota representative: “A lot of your critics say you have been very fast and loose with the truth. […]
Barack Obama’s June 22 announcement of a phased troop withdrawal from Afghanistan was often portrayed as a major step towards ending the war, with many outlets neglecting to accurately explain the pace of escalation that has happened under his watch. When Obama took office in 2009, the U.S. had about 34,000 troops in Afghanistan. Obama […]
Thanks to the corporate media, you probably know all about Republican Rep. Paul Ryan’s budget plan. After he unveiled his proposal to slash Medicare funding and cut taxes for the wealthy–all in the name of fiscal discipline–he was interviewed on all the network Sunday morning shows: NBC‘s Meet the Press (4/10/11), Face the Nation on […]
Media debates over the U.S./NATO war in Libya have often amounted to proponents arguing for “humanitarian” intervention while conservative critics worry about Barack Obama’s management of the war. But the question of the war’s legality should be a front and center concern. Obama’s decided to wage war on Libya without seeking congressional approval. Under some […]
PBS NewsHour anchor Jim Lehrer announced on Thursday that he would step down as anchor of the nightly newscast early next month. Will the change lead to improvements at the program? As FAIR has documented in several major studies, the NewsHour falls well short of fulfilling the mission that should guide public broadcasting: the promotion […]
