FAIR is the national progressive media watchdog group, challenging corporate media bias, spin and misinformation.
[Note: this piece is a sidebar to Move Over—Over and Over: Media’s rightward push for Democrats] So who do political reporters now expect to close the “cultural gap” that supposedly prevents Democrats from winning at the polls? Many look to Virginia Gov. Tim Kaine, who represents many of the centrist qualities media insiders prescribe for […]
At a time of dramatic increases in gasoline prices and jaw-dropping oil profits, NBC’s Sunday morning talkshow Meet the Press has convened two panel discussions dominated by guests close to those interests—with no input from environmental or citizen groups critical of the energy industry. On April 30, Meet the Press devoted its entire hour to […]
Barbara Olshansky joins to discuss Guantánamo Bay. Also on the show: Journalist and author Trudy Lieberman on what media should be telling us about that new Medicare program.
Recent moves by Democrats to suggest a timetable for withdrawing U.S. forces from Iraq are being portrayed by the New York Times as a real problem—for Democrats. The underlying assumption in the reporting is that this position is a risky one, playing right into the hands of Karl Rove and the GOP. A June 14 […]
FAIR’s annual survey of think tank citations in the mainstream media focuses attention on the groups that media turn to for “expert” sources. Rarely described politically when they are quoted (Extra!, 5-6/98), think tank sources often appear as neutral observers of the news, in contrast to partisan politicians and representatives of advocacy groups. If the […]
[Note: this piece is a sidebar to Study Finds First Drop in Think Tank Cites] Our primary criteria for labeling the political orientation of a think tank are 1) its self-identification, 2) its stated policy positions and 3) how it is used in the media. The third criteria was applied, for example, to the Cato […]
In 1896, New York Times publisher Adolph Ochs laid out standards by which journalism is still judged today, declaring that his paper would “give the news, all the news . . . impartially, without fear or favor, regardless of party, sect or interest involved.” Unfortunately, mainstream media often fail to live up to that goal; […]
COUNTERSPIN INTERVIEW Jonathan Kozol is the author of many books about education, among them Amazing Grace and Savage Inequalities. In his new book, The Shame of the Nation: The Restoration of Apartheid Schooling in America, Kozol draws a grim picture of U.S. public schools, particularly those in poor urban neighborhoods. He graphically reports on the […]
George Bush received glowing reviews from corporate media for his March 21st news conference performance. Phyllis Bennis of the Institute for Policy Studies joins to offer some much needed scrutiny of the president’s remarks. Also on the show: Garance Franke-Ruta with The American Prospect discusses the New York Times’s op-ed page and its consensus on abortion.
In the December issue of Extra!, FAIR published a study of the guest list on C-SPAN‘s Washington Journal. Though C-SPAN‘s “flagship viewer call-in program” prides itself on its reputation for fairness, FAIR’s study found that reputation does not reflect reality. But C-SPAN‘s response thus far has been silence. Extra! studied Washington Journal‘s guestlist, tabulating all […]
Since 1979, C-SPAN has provided an invaluable service to viewers with its no-frills coverage of congressional hearings, press briefings, demonstrations, book readings and other political events. By presenting public affairs with a minimal intrusion by hosts or reporters, C-SPAN has gained a reputation as a frictionless conveyer of raw political information to the public. In […]
Advocacy organizations typically receive little time or space to express their opinions in mainstream media discussions, so it’s not surprising that they turn to political advertisements as an alternative means of getting their message out to the public. A paid publicity campaign may legitimize the activists’ efforts as a coverage-worthy “controversy” in the eyes of […]
Los Angeles Times columnist Robert Scheer was fired on November 11 after nearly 30 years at the paper, the last 13 as one of its most progressive political columnists. In a published statement announcing op-ed page changes (11/10/05), the Times insisted that it is dedicated to “provid[ing] readers with a wide range of voices and […]
Appearing at a recent media conference, NBC president Bob Wright offered a novel rationale for the exclusion of liberal voices on cable news: Liberals don’t watch TV. During an interview with conservative MSNBC host Tucker Carlson, Wright responded to Carlson’s question about offering a left-leaning channel by saying that progressives “don’t listen to a lot […]
[Note: This piece is a sidebar to “Failing At Its No. 1 Goal.”] Although occasionally Washington Journal will have on two or more guests at one time, debates between guests are a rarity. In the first years of its decade-long run, however, the show hosted more such debates—and FAIR routinely criticized C-SPAN for the show’s […]
MSNBC host Keith Olbermann recently revealed that network bosses were upset when he had two liberal guests too close together on his show in September 2003. Speaking on October 25 to comedian and talk show host Al Franken, Olbermann said the following: You were good enough to come on this newscast with me late in […]
CBS‘s new Public Eye editor Vaughn Ververs has posted two responses to activists who questioned CBS‘s imbalanced October 2 Face the Nation segment on Republican Majority Leader Tom DeLay’s indictment. As a FAIR Action Alert pointed out (10/4/05), the segment featured a panel of three Republicans and no Democrats. Portions of Ververs’ responses are below. […]
(NOTE: Please see the Activism Update regarding this alert.) It was no surprise that the Sunday morning talkshows would focus on the indictment of Republican Majority Leader Tom DeLay on conspiracy charges. But CBS‘ Face the Nation covered the DeLay scandal in an unusual manner: by convening a panel of three Republicans. Congressmembers David Dreier […]
As Republican activist Cheryl Halpern takes the helm of the Corporation for Public Broadcasting and Republicans in Congress call for CPB funding cuts in the wake of Hurricane Katrina, public broadcasting’s defenders look ahead once again to a fight to “save PBS.” But the broader issues remain overlooked: Is public broadcasting delivering on its promise […]
Veterans of the battles over public broadcasting know the script by now: Right-wing Republicans denounce NPR and PBS for being too “liberal,” threatening to cut their federal funding. Public broadcasting’s defenders rally to “save” Big Bird and the like. The difference this time around, though, is significant. The right-wing Republican is not a politician per […]
