Like Melania Doc, WaPo Layoffs Are Another Way for Bezos to Suck Up to Trump
The Washington Post’s losses, reportedly as much as $100 million a year, are mere pocket change for Jeff Bezos.
‘They Were Able to Pass These Bills Because of Anti-Trans Media Bias’:
Documentary filmmaker Sam Feder on the backlash to trans visibility
“Heightened Scrutiny examines the relationship between the media’s coverage of trans rights and the anti-trans legislation we have seen balloon.”
Media Obscure Message of Oscar-Winning Documentary No Other Land
In reporting on its historic Oscar win, many publications avoided describing No Other Land in detail, or relied on the passive voice to obscure its specifics.
New Doc Traces Alex Jones’ Footprints on Our Post-Truth Landscape
The Truth vs. Alex Jones depicts Jones’ transformation from an Austin, Texas–based public access weirdo into a powerful right-wing influencer.
‘This Decline in Local Journalism Was Noticed First by Journalists Themselves’:
CounterSpin interview with Rick Goldsmith on Stripped for Parts
“They could buy the newspaper for a song, sell the building, maybe sell the printing press…and they’ve already made their money back.”
Critics Picked Up on Oppenheimer’s All-Too-Timely Warning on Nuclear War
Oppenheimer can provide the opening of a window that can help new generations of people learn about nuclear weapons.
‘Studios Are Really Trying to Turn Writing Into Gig Work’
“Essentially, every time technology evolves, the studios will use it as a way to attempt to cut workers out.”
Eric Thurm on the Hollywood Writers’ Strike
Many corporate news reporters seem unable to present a labor action as other than an unwonted interruption of a natural order.
‘We Could Be Living in the Future We All Dream About’
Janine Jackson interviewed Ivey Camille Manybeads Tso about her film Powerlands for the September 2, 2022, episode of CounterSpin. This is a lightly edited transcript. Janine Jackson: Powerlands is an award-winning documentary film about resource extraction and its impacts on Indigenous communities around the world. But if that’s all we, as watchers, take […]
Ivey Camille Manybeads Tso on Indigenous Resistance, Alex Vitale on the End of Policing
The film Powerlands covers Indigenous people around the world, and the resource extraction stealing their water, minerals and homelands.
Did Public TV Doc Promote Peaceful Coexistence—or the UAE?
A film that offers an entirely uncritical and glowing portrait of the UAE ought to make PBS take a closer look at the film’s funding.
Documenting the Struggle Against a Hedge Fund Stripping Journalism for Parts
What is lost when billionaires who are only concerned with profiteering take over our most influential news organizations?
Beijing’s Movie War Propaganda—and Washington’s
Each aspect of Chinese propaganda complained about in Battle at Lake Changjin is routinely employed by US media, and have been for years.
Atlantic Calls on Hollywood to Produce More Government Propaganda
An Atlantic essay’s main complaint about Chinese propaganda seems to be that Beijing is better at it than Washington.
Film Official Secrets Is Tip of Mammoth Iceberg
Katharine Gun’s revelations showed before the invasion that people on the inside, whose livelihood depends on following the party line, were willing to risk jail time to expose the lies and threats.
Shock and Awe Celebrates Reporters Who Got It Right
Shock and Awe delivers an effective valorization of aggressive, adversarial journalism that should inspire young reporters, and a powerful condemnation of one of the darkest moments in the history of journalism.
The Real Reason Social Media Makes Hollywood So Nervous
Hollywood’s focus on the petty inconveniences and corporate greed of social media misses the big picture. The truth about how social media is changing the world is a lot more interesting.
Republicans Want to Look at Gun Violence in Movies? OK, Let’s Look
This is Hollywood’s relationship with the gun industry: When you put a gun on screen, people are going to want to buy it, regardless of whether it’s used by good guys or bad guys,
Media Who Went to Bat for Shut-Out Critics Should Also Stand Up for Targeted Copwatchers
Maybe now they’ve got this solidarity thing going, corporate media could stretch the idea enough to see where solidarity is needed on issues perhaps even more pressing than whether you got your Thor: Ragnorok review before opening night or a day after.
American Made: A Largely True Story With Some Not-So-Fun Lies
American Made depicts Central America as a Cold War battleground, with no mention of the fact that hundreds of thousands of civilians were being murdered by US-backed governments. But bringing up that part of the history would definitely put a feel-bad spin on what was meant to be an entertaining romp with a lovable rogue.
