David Brooks’ ‘$120,000 Vacation’ Is No Joke
Is New York Times columnist David Brooks seriously regaling readers with talk of his “spectacularly expensive hopscotch” on a “self-contained luxury caravan”?
Death-Squad Organizer Is NYT’s Source on Ben Carson’s Lack of Foreign Policy Smarts
In its effort to vet one of the leading GOP presidential candidates, Dr. Ben Carson, the New York Times didn’t properly vet its primary source in this vetting, former CIA officer Duane Clarridge—an indicted liar and overseer of Contra death squads in Central America.
It’s True, Media Did Cover Beirut Bombings—About 1/40th as Much as They Covered Paris Attacks
The much-retweeted Twitter complaint that “no media has covered” the Beirut bombing is wrong. But Max Fisher’s argument—that it’s wrong to blame media for the fact that “the world truly does care more about France”—is equally absurd.
Context-Free Coverage of Terror Helps Perpetuate Its Causes
Just as the question of Al-Qaeda’s motives in 2001 provoked more self-congratulation than serious inquiry, coverage of Paris in 2015 tended to skirt over political realities.
When Thomas Friedman Ridicules Campaign Economics, the Joke’s on Him
While there is much to ridicule in promises being put forward by the presidential candidates, the items to which Thomas Friedman devoted his column don’t fit the bill.
60 Minutes Stands With Secret Keepers Against Those Who Expose Them
Elite journalists all too often have a tendency to identify not with those who expose official secrets but with those who persecute those who expose them
‘Google This’ Is Good Advice From Netanyahu, Since NYT Won’t Check His Claims for You
The New York Times’ Julie Hirschfeld Davis relayed Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s claims without question–even when Netanyahu himself urged listeners to check up on his assertions:
Black Lives Matter? Not in an NYT Graphic
That deaths among middle-aged whites are rising and falling among other groups is a remarkable story. But the story is complicated, surely, by the fact that the shocking news is that middle-age whites in the US now die 71 percent as often as blacks
Soundbites November 2015
Lesson From Greece: ‘Don’t Fear the Media’; WaPo’s Word Problem Hides Palestinian Victims; Afghan Hospital Bombed by the Country That Must Not Be Named; PolitiFact Fumbles Facts on Iran Deal; Does NYT Mislead About Voting and Class? Depend On It; ‘Let’s Talk About the Real Issues.’
Too Soon to Criticize Secret TPP Deal, Says NYT—But Never Too Early to Praise It
The New York Times, reporting that a final agreement had been reached on the Trans-Pacific Partnership, a still-secret commercial agreement involving 12 nations in Asia and the Americas, subtly sneered at critics for opposing a document that they had not been allowed to see yet.
Rubio’s Welfare Idea Seems Newer If You’re Unaware It Was Implemented 20 Years Ago
it wasn’t surprising to see David Brooks praise Marco Rubio, his favored candidate for the Republican presidential nomination, for a welfare reform proposal that was put in place almost 20 years ago.
ACTION ALERT: NYT Claims Clinton ‘Emerging as Unrivaled Leader’ in Democratic Race
Hillary Clinton, the “unrivaled leader,” leads her closest rival, Bernie Sanders, by 7 percentage points in an average of recent polls in the first caucus state, Iowa. In the first primary state, New Hampshire, she trails Sanders by 2 points;
Democrats Depend on Affluent Voters? That’s Rich
While New York Times’ columnist Thomas Byrne Edsall’s claim that the Democratic base no longer tilts to the working class is false, the idea that the Democratic Party has shifted its policies to attract more money from the wealthy is all too true.
NYT on TPP: Too Secret for Critics to Have a Right to Complain About
The New York Times subtly sneered at TPP critics for opposing a document that they haven’t been allowed to see yet.
NYT Continues to Obscure Responsibility in US’s Bombing of Hospital
Will any high-ranking official in the United States face repercussions over the hospital slaughter? It seems unlikely, given how the New York Times and other US outlets have diffused responsibility for the atrocity.
Soundbites October 2015
Democrats: Pro-Bombing Softies Under the headline “The Ultimate Argument in Favor of the Iran Deal: The Agreement Would Make It Easier to Bomb Iran,” Politico (8/24/15) reported that “the pact would make it easier to bomb Iran, administration officials have told lawmakers.” Two days later, in a story on Senate campaigns, Politico (8/26/15) was reporting […]
Marginalizing the Momentum of the BDS Movement
When the New York Times pays attention to BDS, coverage doesn’t focus on the role of the movement in the struggle for Palestinian rights, but instead amplifies critics of BDS and focuses on charges that the movement is a form of antisemitism.
No ISIS Where Russia Is Bombing—Except Last Week, When ISIS Was Killing Gay Men There?
After Russia bombs what it says are Islamic State sites near Homs in Syria, the New York Times declares, “Homs is not under the control of the Islamic State”–contradicting atrocity stories published just last week.
To NYT, ‘Diplomatic’ and ‘Unilateral’ Don’t Mean What You Think They Mean
A New York Times story by Michael Gordon contains a line that sums up corporate media’s spin on the US role in the Syrian conflict.
Digital Apocalypse Not: NYT Celebrates Publishers Deciding They Don’t Want to Sell E-Books
What’s the explanation for the “surprising resilience of print”? Consumer preference, is the main story the New York Times tells.
But three-quarters of the way through the piece, the real economics of the publishing industry appear.
