Media Allow Republicans to Use ‘Unity’ as Tool of Division
Media lay out the narrative the GOP will work for the next two years to build: that Democrats are the ones sowing division by refusing to work together to get things done.
Corporate Media’s Leaked Chinese Documents Confirm China Didn’t Hide Covid-19
When Western media reports omit necessary context, they imply that the appropriate benchmark to compare China’s response to is perfection, which it inevitably falls short of, allowing the creation of a narrative in which China’s pandemic response was especially (and suspiciously) incompetent and sluggish.
Even After January 6, Some in Media Can’t Kick Their Addiction to False Balance
If editors learn anything from the events of the last four years, it should be that “balance” is a dangerous substitute for fairness and accuracy.
ACTION ALERT: What Can ‘Now Be Told’ by NYT About Pentagon Papers Isn’t Actually True
Please tell the New York Times to set the historical record straight by correcting its story to note that Daniel Ellsberg did in fact give the Pentagon Papers to the Times.
Leading Papers Talked Up Establishment’s Senate Candidates
Democrats celebrated dual Georgia Senate race victories this week, which gives them, with Vice President Kamala Harris’ tiebreaker vote, a bare majority in the Senate. But not all Democrats are created equal, and the one-vote margin makes the politics of each individual in that majority more consequential. In 2020, several states witnessed competitive Democratic […]
Extra! January/February 2021 Soundbites
Missed Story: Latino Voting Surge Boosted Biden A common theme in post-election coverage was how well Donald Trump did with people of color, particularly Latinos. “How Democrats Missed Trump’s Appeal to Latino Voters” was one New York Times story (11/9/20); another (11/16/20) read, “Liberals Envisioned a Multiracial Coalition. Voters of Color Had Other Ideas.” While […]
ACTION ALERT: NYT Erases US Economic War Against Venezuela
Please remind the New York Times that as a US paper, it has an obligation to cover the effects of US government policy on countries like Venezuela.
NYT Cheerleads School Reopening as Covid Spikes
New York’s mayor’s dubious plan to reopen schools has found the New York Times to be its best form of public relations.
ACTION ALERT: At NYT, Now You See Corporate Influence, Now You Don’t
By assigning particular reporters to the “corporate influence” beat, the New York Times seems to let others reporters off the hook in terms of providing relevant information about officials’ corporate influences.
Crying Wolf on Election Fraud Is OK at NYT—if Targets Are Official Enemies
For the New York Times, crying election fraud then staging a coup is bad, and just like what dictators do—unless it is the US making dubious claims of electoral fraud against official enemies, in which case it is an honorable practice.
Extra! October 2020 Soundbites
‘Dizzyingly Different Versions of Reality’ “Dueling Versions of Reality Define First Week of Fall Campaign” was the Associated Press’s headline over a piece by its chief political reporter Steve Peoples (9/4/20). “Embracing Both Sides journalism and injecting it with steroids,” as critic Eric Boehlert (PressRun, 9/8/20) put it, the story reported that Donald Trump says […]
Press Normalizes Trump’s Lawlessness as Use of ‘Tools of Presidency’ to ‘Broaden Appeal’
Besides framing it as “Many Democrats were outraged,” elite media normalized Trump’s behavior with passivity.
Defining Steve Bannon Downward
The effort to legitimize power, in this case by pretending a leading white supremacist was less central to the regime than he was, is pretty much the New York Times’ North Star.
NYT Urges Biden to Shun His Party’s ‘Left-Leaning Brand’
As the Democratic National Convention kicks off, election season is finally heating up again—which means it’s time for corporate media to get back to flogging their “move to the center” horse when covering Democrats.
Worries About Foreign ‘Hacking’ of Vaccine Research Place Corporate Profits Ahead of Public Health
Does it make sense to describe the alleged actions of Russian and Chinese hackers as a form of “theft”? If so, what kind of “theft” is it?
NYT Acknowledges Need for Economic Change—Without Crediting Those Who Would Bring It
A New York Times editorial delivers a blunt critique of neoliberal economics–not what Times readers have been used to seeing on its editorial pages.
NYT Acknowledges Coup in Bolivia—While Shirking Blame for Its Supporting Role
The New York Times has been patting itself on the back for recognizing authoritarianism in neofascist regimes that it helped normalize in Latin America for at least 50 years.
In ‘Russian Bounty’ Story, Evidence-Free Claims From Nameless Spies Became Fact Overnight
Despite the fact that the anonymous accusations were far from proven, and that both the Washington Post and Wall Street Journal included categorical denials from all those involved, including the White House, the Taliban and Moscow, much of corporate media treated the story as an established fact from the outset.
NYT Erases US Occupation’s Role in Prolonging Taliban Insurgency
The New York Times purported to explain how the Taliban managed to “outlast a superpower through nearly 19 years of grinding war,” without examining at all how the US contributed to reviving and sustaining the Taliban insurgency.
NYT’s Obit Doesn’t Understand Why Larry Kramer Is the Icon We Need Now
The New York Times has it exactly backwards: Kramer’s confrontational approach didn’t “overshadow his achievements,” they are what made his achievements possible.
