FAIR is the national progressive media watchdog group, challenging corporate media bias, spin and misinformation.
Mark Weisbrot of the Center for Economic and Policy Research on George W. Bush and his proposed trade deal with Colombia. Also this week: How are John McCain and the Republican Party getting along these days? A conversation with journalist and author Rick Perlstein, who covered this story for the Nation magazine.
The New York Times (1/28/08) claimed in a front-page story that George W. Bush’s economic growth record “would be the envy of most presidents.” This claim has no basis in fact and should be corrected by the newspaper. The assertion was part of a “White House Memo” by Sheryl Gay Stolberg. Opening with the […]
This week on CounterSpin: How is the media reporting on George Bush’s recent decision to veto the expansion of the SCHIP children’s health insurance program? Also on the show: Disparate coverage of breast cancer and domestic violence with Lucinda Marshall, whose recent Alternet.org report is entitled “Breast Cancer Sells.”
Ocean Beach in San Francisco was abuzz with 1,500 people who showed up to spell out a giant “Impeach Now” with their bodies on April 28, all in the home district of U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi. Pelosi made a splash prior to the November 2006 election by saying that a Bush impeachment was “off […]
This week on CounterSpin: Georgetown law professor and author David Cole about Bush’s supposed torture ban and the press reaction to it. Also on the program: Corporate media’s stock market party, with Dean Baker of the Center for Economic and Policy Research.
This week on CounterSpin: Elizabeth de la Vega, author and former federal prosecutor, helps to put the Scooter Libby trial in context. Also on the show: Why does the media seem out to get John Edwards, with FAIR founder Jeff Cohen.
The revelations coming from a Senate Judiciary Committee hearing last week were startling. On May 15, former Deputy Attorney General James Comey testified about the Bush administration’s extraordinary efforts in March 2004 to gain legal approval for the National Security Agency’s domestic surveillance program by visiting Attorney General John Ashcroft’s hospital room as he recovered […]
This week on CounterSpin: Joyce Battle of the National Security Archive joins to discuss a new report that sheds light on U.S. propaganda efforts in Iraq. Also on the show: Journalist Caryl Rivers shares about her new book Selling Anxiety: How the News Media Scare Women.
On October 17, 2006, when George W. Bush signed the John Warner National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) of 2007—a $538 billion military spending bill—he enacted into law a section called “Use of the Armed Forces in Major Public Emergencies.” In the view of many, this Act substantially changed fundamental laws of the United States, giving […]
This week on CounterSpin: Erik Leaver talks about mainstream media’s reaction to the war spending bill that’s just made its way through the Senate. Also on the show: Mike Farrell joins to discuss his new book Just Call Me Mike: A Journey to Actor and Activist.
On March 26, CNN‘s Situation Room program presented a “reality check” of discussions of impeaching George W. Bush. Reporter Carol Costello concluded, “To sum it up, the only way President Bush can be impeached is if he violates the law.” But that summary is misleading. The CNN report took up the issue primarily in response […]
Critical journalists and analysts raised serious questions at the time about what the White House was saying. Often, however, their warnings were ignored by the bulk of the corporate press.
Reporter Bob Parry of Consortium News discusses the Scooter Libby verdict, and the limits of what trials like this reveal to the public. Also on the program: Paul Porter of Industry Ears joins to talk about payola and the radio business.
The most important lesson about the Iraq War for reporters was perhaps the simplest one: Don’t assume the White House is telling the truth. It’s a lesson that many reporters seem to be forgetting now that U.S. officials are escalating their claims about Iran’s role in Iraq. On January 29, CBS Evening News aired a […]
As reports from Iraq become increasingly dire, US policy makers and their media enablers look to point fingers and deflect blame. This week journalist Gary Younge joins CounterSpin to discuss Iraq and the political endgame. Also on the show: Author Ali Abunimah shares about his new book One Country: A Bold Proposal to End the Israeli-Palestinian Impasse.
This week on CounterSpin: Robert Parry of ConsortiumNews.com discusses the recent Robert Gates nomination. Also on the show: Barbara Kopple shares about her new film Shut Up and Sing, which explores the astonishing campaign against the Dixie Chicks following the infamous 2003 comment about Bush.
[Note: this piece is a sidebar to “The Repeatedly Re-Elected Autocrat.”] New York Times Latin American reporter Larry Rohter (5/20/05) called Hugo Chávez “stridently anti-American,” one of hundreds of instances of U.S. news reporters branding the Venezuelan president with that epithet. Chávez says it’s not true; he says such reporters are confusing his distaste for […]
Arianna Huffington of Huffingtonpost.com joins the show to discuss Bob Woodward’s new book and poses the question: Is this just a weak attempt by Woodward to salvage his reputation? Also this week: Sarah Anderson of the Institute of Policy Studies analyzes corporate media’s embrace of retailing giant Wal-Mart.
During his August 21 press conference, George W. Bush responded to a question about the Iraq War by saying that “sometimes I’m happy” about the conflict. But many readers and TV viewers never heard the remark, since journalists edited the statement to save Bush any possible embarrassment. Bush’s unedited comment was as follows: Q: But […]
There is a growing grassroots campaign demanding the impeachment of George W. Bush. Across the nation, towns and cities have been passing pro-impeachment resolutions. Websites promoting impeachment keep springing up. In several states, bills have been introduced in state legislatures that, if passed, would become formal bills of impeachment in the U.S. House of Representatives, […]
