FAIR is the national progressive media watchdog group, challenging corporate media bias, spin and misinformation.
It’s no great wonder that much of the Italian media did not report critically on the electoral campaign of multi-billionaire Silvio Berlusconi. After all, he owns Italy’s three main private TV networks and other major media outlets. But what excuse does the U.S. press have for its flaccid coverage of Berlusconi, Italy’s richest man, who […]
The electoral breakthrough of the extreme-right Austrian Freedom Party—which came in a close second with more than a quarter of the vote in that country’s national elections last October—generated front-page coverage in most European newspapers. Editorial commentary emphasized the importance of keeping the Freedom Party, led by Jörg Haider, from joining a new governing coalition. […]
For the Times of London and the Times of New York, it is still quite proper to say the natives stink—provided they are French. When French soap merchants followed the lead of ours to persuade their public that it had B.O., the Timeses were happy to confirm it. The one in London (11/21/98) whinnied: “It’s […]
An executive order bans from the BBC‘s airwaves direct statements by members and apparent sympathizers of groups the British government considers “terrorists.” The broadcast ban was applied to three legal organizations, including one whose president was elected member of the British Parliament. When soliciting pledges, U.S. public TV and radio hosts often boast about the […]
In October 1988, British Home Secretary Douglas Hurd announced a ban on broadcasting statements by members or apparent sympathizers of eleven political and paramilitary organizations (three of them legal). “This is not censorship,” Hurd announced. Affected journalists tried to adapt to the new conditions. Some news reports in Britain and Ireland now declare that stories […]
No sooner was it established that Pan Am Flight 103 had been destroyed by a bomb than the U.S. media went into its predictable ritual. Journalists prepared President Reagan and President-elect Bush with all the usual questions: How can we bring terrorists to justice? Will we retaliate against any country harboring those responsible for bombing […]
