Primetime Racism on Fox
Hannity also acts as a sort of one-man fire brigade, rushing to extinguish accusations of anti-black racism, and defending, exonerating or rehabilitating the racists behind the words and deeds.
The Rolling Stone Cover and the ‘New Ideological Threat’
The cover of Rolling Stone (8/13), featuring a self-portrait of Dzhokhar Tsaernav taken weeks before the Boston bombing, has fueled a strong backlash. Discussing the cover, Fox News‘ Lisa Daftari (7/18/13) said: In the aftermath of 9/11, if you look back over a decade ago, this country had an awakening, an understanding, that we have […]
Press Latched On to Snowden’s ‘Dropout’ Status
Edward Snowden has been characterized as many things in recent weeks, but journalists’ discounting him as a “high-school dropout” speaks volumes about media portrayals of education.
O’Reilly Discovers the Dangers of the Surveillance State
Republicans who were less concerned about government overreach in 2006 have changed their minds in 2013, and some Democrats have gone the other direction. This switch can be seen in the views of some pundits–including Fox News’ Bill O’Reilly.
O’Reilly Spins a Correction on ‘White House Visits’
On last night’s O’Reilly Factor (6/5/13), the Fox News host asserted that there’s still a lot the White House isn’t telling us about the IRS/Tea Party scandal. But in the process he also, in his own special way, issued a correction–of sorts: The president will also not explain the IRS situation. His defenders denying that […]
Yes, You Can Be for Press Freedom and Still Think Journalists Ought to Do Their Jobs Well
The reality is that it is possible to both protest government intrusions on press freedom and to condemn bad journalism of the sort practiced by Jonathan Karl. It’s important for protect journalism from official control for the same reason that it’s important for media outlets to do a good job.
Killing Civilians Is More Popular Than You’d Think—Especially Among Pundits
Where do Americans get the idea that it’s OK to kill civilians? Could it be that they’re listening to media pundits?
Bill O’Reilly’s Dangerous Islamophobia
Fox’s Bill O’Reilly, who hosts the most-watched cable news show, has spent much of the week making inflammatory claims about Islam. Sounds like somebody is looking for a religion to scapegoat–or, given his track record, some countries to attack.
Bill O’Reilly Gets Angry Because He Proved David Sirota’s Point
O’Reilly was outraged by Sirota’s point that the government’s response would be very different–more costly, potentially more violent–if the perpetrators fit a certain profile. This is ironic, because O’Reilly had, the night of the attacks, basically made Sirota’s point.
Al-Qaeda Pressure Cookers?
Are the pressure cooker bombs used in Boston really a link to Al Qaeda? No. But some reporters are trying to make that connection.
Steve Emerson Gets It Wrong—Again
Why was the “Saudi national,” a young man who was injured at the Boston Marathon bombing, considered a suspect? Enter “terrorism expert” Steve Emerson, who continues to make the media rounds despite a checkered history.
On Thatcher, What’s the Difference Between PBS & Fox News?
it was striking to see the parallels between the way Margaret Thatcher’s death was covered on the PBS NewsHour and Fox News Channel’s most popular show, the O’Reilly Factor. Though some people like to think that PBS and Fox couldn’t be further apart, they were basically singing the same tune.
How ‘Unlikely’ Is Mark Sanford’s Comeback Really?
The journalists amazed by Mark Sanford’s comeback make the mistake of assuming that since the GOP spends so much time preaching “family values” and “social conservatism,” Republican pols who violate these preachments must pay a greater price than less moralistic Democrats.
O’Reilly Demands Respect for the Pagan Goddess Eostre
Fox News’ Bill O’Reilly, claiming victory in the “War on Christmas,” declares that the new battle is the “War on Easter.” In Bill O’Reilly’s conspiracy theory, Barack Obama’s election has emboldened “Secular Progressives” to ban the Easter Bunny because he stands in the way of jailing people who “criticize minorities.”
Fox News’ Civil Rights ‘Expert’
During the Barack Obama presidency, questions of race and racism have become highly visible and hotly debated on corporate media. While the president himself has had little to say on these issues, Fox News has its own stable of guests and panelists ready to raise the topic—some of them wearing a “liberal” label, though Extra! […]
Bill O’Reilly, Big Government and Racism
It’s not as if Bill O’Reilly has never uttered things reasonable people might consider racist. But the fact that he seems to believe that the White House is destroying the economy in order to provide free stuff to people of color is taking things to an entirely different level.
FAIR TV: Climate March and TV, Fox ‘Liberal’ on Campus Rape, NYT Doesn’t Like Correa
Was the big climate march in Washington not hot enough for corporate TV? What does the New York Times have against leftist Ecuadorean President Rafael Correa? And Bob Beckel said something dumb on a Fox News show yet again–a convenient “left-wing” role for a right-wing outlet.
Fox News ‘Liberal’ Isn’t So Sure About College Rape
In most places, a record like Bob Beckel would probably lead your employer to tell you to take your act elsewhere. But if you’re running a right-wing propaganda network, he’s a pretty valuable “leftist” to keep around.
Friendly Oil—Not the Venezuelan Kind
With the Keystone climate protests in Washington bringing climate change back into the media, we’re hearing a lot about how the Keystone pipeline will, at the very least, mean that we’ll be getting our oil from a nice country.
Milbank Looks Forward to ‘Bleak Times’ Ahead
Why do we need “serious spending cuts”? Milbank assumes the answer is so obvious that it need not be explained–everyone knows the more cuts, the better. All the serious people, anyway.
