Worry About the Old, Not the Rich, HuffPost Tells Readers
There continues to be a large market for pieces saying the big conflict in the US is generational rather than class. The HuffPost made its latest contribution this week.
Has Everyone Without an Honorary Degree From Brandeis Been Censored?
In a USA Today op-ed, Fox News liberal Kirsten Powers weighs in on Brandeis University’s decision to rescind its offer to honor the anti-Muslim activist Ayaan Hirsi Ali during commencement activities.
Shutdown: Media SHOULD Play the Blame Game
Media like to dismiss the partisan “blame game,” but in cases like this placing blame is something that journalism ought to do.
Dead Journalists and the Newseum Scandal
A memorial for journalists who died while reporting the news wouldn’t seem to be the kind of thing that would attract controversy, but that’s exactly what’s happened with an exhibit at the Newseum.
Jeff Cohen on Media Missing the Costs of Militarism
“Today there’s an elephant in the room: a huge, yet ignored, issue that largely explains why Social Security is now on the chopping block…. That problem is U.S. militarism and perpetual war.”
Bill Maher Urges Vilification of Bill Maher
On his last HBO show, Bill Maher complained about how much he and his wealthy cohort pay in taxes. But he’s unlikely to get much sympathy from the 2010 version of Bill Maher.
Howard Fineman Looks Back on Iraq
Howard Fineman–formerly at Newsweek, now at Huffington Post–tries to come to terms with his Iraq War failures, seemingly with good intentions. But he falls short of addressing a record that shows a remarkable level of enthusiasm for the job of advocating for Bush’s “eyes-on-the-prize decisiveness.”
Journalism by—and for—the Sponsors
The headline of a recent article posted at the website of the Atlantic–“David Miscavige Leads Scientology to Milestone Year”–probably tipped readers that something was more than a little off. It wasn’t an article, really; above the headline, in a yellow box, was the phrase “Sponsor Content.” But is what the Atlantic did–and quickly apologized for–really unusual?
The Case of the Disappearing NYT Piece
At Huffington Post (9/13/12), Ryan Grim and Michael Calderone are raising questions about the somewhat mysterious disappearance of a New York Times news article: On Wednesday, the New York Times published a provocative story bylined by David E. Sanger and Ashley Parker, leading with the news that Mitt Romney had personally approved the blistering Tuesday […]
Politicians in Tampa, Charlotte Massaged by Media—Literally
When it comes to journalists socializing and otherwise cozying up to the powerful, there’s not a lot new under the sun. More than 20 years ago, then-FAIR associates Martin Lee and Norman Solomon wrote about it in their book Unreliable Sources: TV’s top journalists are part of the wealthy and influential elite, often socializing with people […]
Gingrich Refuses to Face the Fact That Voters Don’t Matter
From Amanda Terkel in the Huffington Post (2/1/12): Newt Gingrich Florida Primary Results 2012: The Candidate Who Refuses to Operate Within Reality …From the beginning to the end of Gingrich’s election night party, the campaign and its supporters seemed to be operating outside of realities, denying the importance of this large state’s primary contest and […]
Mother’s Health News, Brought to You by Carcinogenic Baby Shampoo
Arianna Huffington had an announcement (1/19/12) about a new section in her Huffington Post: I’m delighted to announce the launch of Global Motherhood, a new section within HuffPost Impact dedicated to the health and well being of mothers and babies around the world, and sponsored by Johnson & Johnson. It goes without saying that it’s […]
Does the Lie in Mitt Romney’s TV Ad Matter?
Huffington Post reporter Jon Ward did what reporters should do when covering political campaign ads. He told readers, at the top of his story, that the new Mitt Romney ad was based on a lie: The 60-second Romney ad quoted Obama as saying, “If we keep talking about the economy, we’re going to lose.” It […]
Jay Carney, Revolving Doors and the Beltway Bubble
Jay Carney was a Time magazine reporter, bureau chief and frequent TV talking head. He is married to ABC reporter Claire Shipman. He left journalism to be Joe Biden’s communications director, andwas just namedBarack Obama’s next press secretary. It used to bemore common to see people criticize thismedia/politics revolving door. Journalists who jump over the […]
Newsweek Continues Wrestling With Aggregators
Under the charming headline “Eliminate the Parasites,” Newsweek‘s Daniel Lyons (9/12/09) advances another brilliant scheme to save corporate media from the menace of Google. Lyons likes the idea put forward by billionaire Ayn Rand fan Mark Cuban: Cuban’s advice: declare war on the “aggregator” Web sites that get a free ride on content. These aggregators–sites […]
The Fabulously Unsurprising Lies of Glenn Beck
Eva Paterson (Huffington Post, 8/28/09), president and founder of the Equal Justice Society, has a response to Glenn Beck’s assertion that “I want to point out the silence; no one has challenged these facts” after having been “smearing White House special advisor Van Jones for days on his show.” Being “the person who first hired […]
On Google, HuffPo and the Business of Conveying Information
I give Peter Osnos credit for not being as nutty as Richard Posner or as self-pitying as Dana Milbank; his piece from CJR on “Whatâ┚¬Ã¢”ž¢s a Fair Share In the Age of Google?” (7-8/09) is the most reasonable version I’ve seen of the news industry’s case against the search engine company. Still, I can’t help […]
When Reporters Are Present, Yet ‘Fail to Bear Witness’
Arianna Huffington’s latest column (Huffington Post, 7/13/09) presents a compelling portrayal of the power of new democratic media–versus the self-preserving corporate model of news gathering–in the Chinese government response to major riots last week: “It choked off the Internet and mobile phone service, blocked Twitter and Fanfou (its Chinese equivalent), deleted updates and videos from […]
Big Media Push Escalation in Afghanistan and at Home
Noting how “the president has set a limit on the number of U.S. troops in Afghanistan. For now,” FAIR associate Norman Solomon is letting Huffington Post readers know (7/9/09) “that’s how escalation works. Ceilings become floors. Gradually”: A few times since last fall, the Obama team has floated rising numbers for how many additional U.S. […]
Who Actually Clicks on Those Pesky Links Anyway?
Considering how, “in recent months, news aggregators like the Huffington Post have received heated criticism from some who believe theyâ┚¬Ã¢”ž¢re stealing valuable traffic and ad revenue from newspapers,” with even “appeals court Judge Richard Posner recently wr[iting] a widely-linked post arguing that copyright law should be changed in order to bar linking to websites and […]
