FAIR is the national progressive media watchdog group, challenging corporate media bias, spin and misinformation.
January saw a major dispute between the Bush administration’s Iraq occupation authority and that country’s leading Shiite cleric, Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani. The administration was promoting a plan to hand over power to an Iraqi government selected through a system of what it called “caucuses.” Sistani, a spiritual leader for the country’s majority religious group, […]
It’s the day after U.S. Agriculture Secretary Ann Veneman announced the first case of mad cow disease in the United States, the telephones at the Center for Media 8c Democracy in Madison, Wisconsin are ringing constantly with press inquiries. “I’ve never seen anything like this in my 30 years of activism!” John Stauber, executive director […]
Did the Bush administration portray Iraq as an imminent threat in order to justify an invasion? According to the White House, that’s a media hoax. “I think some in the media have chosen to use the word ‘imminent,’” White House press secretary Scott McClellan told reporters (1/27/04). “Those were not words we used.” With this […]
It’s an all-too-familiar story: ordinary citizens paralyzed by the fear of frivolous lawsuits. A charity softball tournament canceled because a player sued after breaking his leg sliding. A minister who can’t hug parishioners for fear of being slapped with sexual harassment claims. And doctors who perform unnecessary surgery just to avoid potential malpractice suits. All […]
In his interview with Tim Russert (Meet the Press, 2/8/04), George W. Bush said, “See, free societies are societies that don’t develop weapons of mass terror.” Putting aside the U.S. government’s enormous stocks of nuclear, chemical and biological weapons—which Bush would presumably insist are not intended for terror—the statement also overlooks the fact that the […]
If you accept the “horserace” metaphor beloved by campaign pundits, it seems like media looked to disqualify former Vermont Gov. Howard Dean even before he left the starting gate. Once thought to be a long-shot contender for the Democratic nomination, Dean found himself anointed as the media front-runner weeks before any voters had their say. […]
Reporting on the ratings rivalry between the Fox News Channel (FNC) and CNN is often misleading—and almost always over-hyped. “Fox Tops CNN as Choice for Cable News,” declared one typical headline (Chicago Tribune , 3/24/03). “Fox News Channel Continues to Crush CNN ,” reported Knight Ridder (Dallas Morning News , 2/3/04) in a column comparing […]
