Why Comparing Chinese Africa Investment to Western Colonialism Is No Joke
Trevor Noah did his best to spin Chinese investment in Africa into neo-colonialism—regardless of the underlying reality.
If Bachmann Is Gasping for Media Oxygen, What Do You Say About Ron Paul?
One of the strangest comments post- Iowa straw poll came from reporter Kelly O’Donnell on NBC Nightly News (8/14/11): Both Pawlenty’s exit and Perry’s launch consumed political oxygen that typically would have gone to the straw poll’s actual winner, Congresswoman Bachmann, who appeared on all five Sunday morning talk shows, including Meet the Press. I’m […]
Fox News Finds ‘Ground Zero Mosque’ Financier…Close to Home
Starting about a minute in,this clip from last night’s Daily Show is must-see media criticism. On the Fox News morning show Fox & Friends, it is revealed thatthe Kingdom Foundation is a dangerous Saudi organization that, according to guest Dan Senor, funds radical madrassas and has also funded Feisal Abdul Rauf, the imam at the […]
Will Officials Take the Fifth Unless the Daily Show Is Muzzled?
Do they still teach the First Amendment in law school? That’s what you have to wonder when you see a lawyer for the Obama administration’s Justice Department arguing that statements made by former Vice President Dick Cheney in the Scooter Libby probe ought to be kept secret because a future vice president might refuse to […]
Glenn Beck Offers New Fox Slogan
Jon Stewart (3/17/09) has found Glenn Beck expressing his philosophy in what may be its purest form: Believe in something! Even if it’s wrong! Believe in it!
Richard Cohen on Jon Stewart’s ‘Cheap Shot’
Many observers praised the Daily Show‘s Jon Stewart for his hard-hitting interview with CNBC‘s Jim Cramer. Columnist Richard Cohen (Washington Post, 3/17/09) begs to differ. Actually, Stewart was “wrong” to go after Cramer, Cohen wrote—it was a “cheap shot at business media.” His main argument is that Stewart charged that Cramer “knew all the time […]
‘Wall Street Hubris’ as Orwellian Comedy
Writing on CounterPunch, former Wall Street insider Pam Martens notes (3/16/09) that the academics and economists (none of whom ever worked a day on Wall Street) have been telling us in op-eds and speeches and testimony before Congress that the crumbling Wall Street structure results from bundled subprime mortgages, collateralized debt obligations, credit default swaps […]
Jim Cramer—Calm, Sober Wild Man
During his well-publicized appearance with Jon Stewart (Daily Show, 3/12/09), CNBC’s Jim Cramer tried to present himself as a rational financial journalist, dismissing his on-air wild man persona as entertainment. But if you listened to his calm, sober pronouncements, they really weren’t all that rational. For instance, he said by way of apology, referring to […]
There’s Nothing Funny About CNBC
Economics writer David Lieberman (USA Today, 3/11/09) previews a Today show interview with CNBC‘s Mad Money host Jim Cramer by pointing out that Cramer will “have to answer for misguided stock predictions–including some last year urging investors to buy and hold Bear Stearns just before the investment bank collapsed.” But the ironic bit comes after […]
Media Keep Faith in Dow Jones as Oracle
Prefacing a Daily Show segment (3/4/09) with his version of current big-media reporting: “Recent opinion polls indicate that six weeks into Barack Obama’s administration, the American public thinks they approve of his performance–but it turns out they’re wrong,” Jon Stewart runs clips of celebrity news figures like Fox‘s Sean Hannity asking, “How did the market […]
