Who Rules Public TV?
The corporate and financial sectors have an overwhelming presence on the governing boards of major public television stations.
PBS Uses Advertising to Retaliate Against Critical Coverage
PBS was set up in part because of an understanding that advertising exerts pressure on media outlets. And now it’s using its own advertising to signal its disapproval of critical coverage.
Reluctant Warrior Bombs Yet Another Country
Can a president who has launched military strikes on seven countries really be called a ‘reluctant warrior?’
The PBS Left: ‘Airstrikes Are Wonderful’
The voice from the left on PBS wants a serious debate over Obama’s war plan–but also makes it clear that airstrikes are great.
Fracking Away the Climate Crisis
The New York Times and PBS NewsHour present very different looks at fracking. What’s missing from both? Climate change.
PBS ‘Expert’ Speaks for Both Sides, but Advocates ‘Excessive Force’ Against One Side
The NewsHour invited Anthony Cordesman to consider possible policy options for “both sides” in the Israel/Gaza conflict. The problem is that Cordesman is on the record as advocating the option of brutality against Palestinian civilians.
‘Drawn Back Into War’ in Iraq
It’s revealing to see how reporters talk about the prospect of the United States military going back to war in Iraq. Indeed, many reporters made it sound like something that was being done *to* the United States:
The CIA Aided Polio’s Comeback—but Media Have Forgotten the Story
There’s a crucial piece of information missing in the New York Times and CBS’s reports on the return of polio from near-extinction—one that these outlets know full well.
‘Straight Shooter’ Chris Christie and the Occupied Territories
What happened when Republican ‘straight shooter” Chris Christie accurately called the West Bank occupied territory? He apologized.
FAIR TV: Media Miss March, 2016 Election Coverage (!?) and PBS Pension Problems
On the show this week: The national media missed then tens of thousands who marched for social justice in North Carolina last weekend. Plus USA Today shows us that bad campaign reporting starts really early, and journalist David Sirota is exposing a peculiar funding arrangement at PBS. Watch:
What DC Won’t See Tonight on Public TV
A timely documentary about government surveillance of the civil rights movement is airing on PBS stations tonight–but not in Washington DC.
Do You Trust Fox News to Tell You How Trusted Fox News Is?
Fox News is certainly the place for Republicans to go to be told what they want to hear–including that their favorite news outlet is the one that Americans in general find most trustworthy.
Obamacare as a ‘Big Government’ Failure
Pundits’ discussions of the Affordable Care Act rollout assumes that the law represents some kind of “activist government” intervention to disrupt the normally smooth workings of the private sector. But that is neither the intent nor the effect of the law.
iPads, Flying Pets and Other Things More Newsworthy Than Deadly Drone Strikes
Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch both released reports on civilian deaths from US drone strikes in Pakistan and Yemen. Despite being front-page news in the New York Times, the reports were absent from the network evening newscasts.
When Reporters Talk About Iran and ‘the World,’ They Mean Something Else
When US journalists talk about what “the world” thinks of Iran’s nuclear program, it’s important to remember that they’re not usually talking about “the world”– just one very powerful part of it.
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.
Where Is the Discussion of Syria and International Law?
If international law is so important in evaluating Syria’s actions, then shouldn’t it be equally important in evaluating the proposed US response?
John Kerry’s Very Precise Death Toll: Where Does It Come From?
Media reports emphasize the number John Kerry gives for the number of Syrians killed in the apparent chemical attack. But where does that number come from–and why is substantially higher than other estimates?
The Snowden Psychiatric Smear
Attacking Edward Snowden’s character with an amateur understanding of mental health medicine not only distracts from the the secret mass surveillance of U.S. citizens, it also further marginalizes an already highly stigmatized portion of our society.
The Whistles That Didn’t Blow on the PBS NewsHour
It would be good to hear why the interview the NewsHour announced with two NSA whistleblowers never made it to the air.
