Bruni’s ‘Middle’ = Corporate Tax Cuts and No Minimum Wage Hike?
Andrew Cuomo is a ‘centrist’ politician–meaning one who promotes unpopular policies on behalf of the very rich.
FAIR TV: Obama’s Forgotten ‘Surge,’ Rebranding Jeb Bush, Climate Expert Coulter
This week: Obama’s Afghan War drawdown was big news–but what do media leave out of the story of the White House’s war strategy? Plus the New York Times assists in a Jeb Bush rebranding effort and CNN goes to climate change expert…Ann Coulter? Watch:
Jeb Bush Is a Wonk—Just Ask Him
The New York Times tries–a little too hard–to convince readers that Jeb Bush is brainier than his brother.
When NBC Says ‘Meeting America,’ It Means White, Republican America
An NBC series tries to introduce viewers to the America that isn’t much covered in the news. But it’s a remarkably narrow vision of the country.
The Wrong Response to Rubio’s Climate Nonsense
Rising GOP star Marco Rubio doesn’t believe in climate change. But watch how the reporter who asked him about it reacts.
The Point of Limiting Donations Isn’t to Make Elections Cheaper or Less Irritating
The point of contribution limits isn’t to make elections cheaper; it’s to limit the ability of the very wealthy to dominate politics.
‘Straight Shooter’ Chris Christie and the Occupied Territories
What happened when Republican ‘straight shooter” Chris Christie accurately called the West Bank occupied territory? He apologized.
Will Condi Rice Run for President?! (Spoiler Alert: No)
If the question is “Will Condi Rice run for president?” and you know that her on-the-record answer to this is no…. Well, what’s the point of this piece again?
FAIR TV: Media Miss March, 2016 Election Coverage (!?) and PBS Pension Problems
On the show this week: The national media missed then tens of thousands who marched for social justice in North Carolina last weekend. Plus USA Today shows us that bad campaign reporting starts really early, and journalist David Sirota is exposing a peculiar funding arrangement at PBS. Watch:
What Will 2016 Political Landscape Look Like? USA Today Has No Clue
Because it is a mere 1,000 days until the election, USA Today’s Susan Page tries to predict the 2016 presidential campaign.
FAIR TV: Christie’s Temper, CBS on France, Time’s Clinton Cover
This week on the show: Does Chris Christie have a temper problem? Fox‘s Brit Hume has some thoughts. CBS covers French politics–well, mostly a French politician’s sex life. And Time puts Hillary Clinton’s nonexistent presidential campaign on its latest cover. Watch:
New York Times to New Yorkers: You’re Supporting the Wrong Mayoral Candidate!
A New York Times story headlined “Poll Finds Support for de Blasio, if Not All His Ideas” could have more accurately been called “Poll Finds Support for de Blasio, Along With Most of His Ideas”
Dems and GOP Agree: Independent Journalism Is Bad News
Filmmaker Charles Ferguson announced that he was no longer going to make a nonfiction film for CNN about Hillary Clinton. The reasons why he’s pulling out of the project are interesting–and disturbing.
USA Today Covers NYC Elections—Unfortunately
USA Today tries to explain what the Democratic primary elections in New York City, using some of corporate media’s favorite electoral tropes: mandating a move to the right, misleading on stop-and-frisk, and finding “ambivalence” when voters line up on the wrong side.
NYT’s Bruni: Don’t Blame Bloomberg for Inequality—He Didn’t Mean It
As an op-ed columnist, Frank Bruni was a heck of a restaurant critic. That was demonstrated once again by his farewell (New York Times, 9/10/13) to outgoing New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg, who Bruni thinks is getting a bum rap from the Democrats who are vying in the primaries today for a chance to […]
What’s the Message of Clinton’s Noncampaign for the Office She Might Run for in Three Years?
Hillary Clinton hasn’t announced that she’s running for president in 2016, and launched a campaign yet. But the Washington Post is already complaining that her nonexistent campaign for an office she may or may not seek lacks a clear message. “Clinton’s gender likely would be a significant asset,” writes chief correspondent Dan Balz (8/12/13), adding: […]
Covering Weiner
“We shouldn’t even be wasting our time talking about Anthony Weiner,” the pundits say– and then they continue to talk about him anyway.
Nate Silver Didn’t Fit In at the New York Times Because He Believed in the Real World
Nate Silver’s failure to fit in with the culture of the New York Times illustrates the difference between objectivity and “objectivity”–the latter being the belief that it’s impossible to know what’s real, so all you can do is report the claims made by various (powerful) people.
Does Jon Meacham Remember the 2000 Election?
Time has a column this week (7/1/13) from Jon Meacham looking at (gulp) possible 2016 election scenarios. The column entertains the possibility that former Florida governor Jeb Bush might run–which Meacham seems pretty excited about. As he explains, the Bush family is something to behold: Jeb long ago internalized and then lived out his family’s […]
Democrats Can’t Blame Guns for ’94 Losses
There are perhaps plenty of lessons in the (most recent) Senate failure to pass even modest new restrictions/regulations on gun ownership. But one lesson needs to be resisted: The idea that passing a more expansive gun control law in 1994 came back to bite Democrats in the midterm elections.
