American Deceptionalism
“Both sides” journalism set the conditions for the inevitable arrival of someone like Trump to the highest elected office in the land.
Western Media Rehabilitate Brazil’s Criminal Ex-Justice Minister for Presidential Run
In rehabilitating Sergio Moro as a “whistleblower,” corporate journalists hide their own role in shamelessly promoting the Washington-backed lawfare operation that ousted Brazil’s first female president, and installed a neo-fascist.
Gov. Hogan’s Purchase of Korean Covid Tests Looks Like a PR stunt—and Media Fell for It
The Maryland governor offers an irresistible profile for the media: a Republican—yes, a Republican!—who criticizes Trump. Having checked that box, little else mattered.
‘This Was a Test Case to See How a Couple of Photos Could Silence Women’
“We all have stuff that lives on our phones and social media that could potentially have the same effect, if it’s released in the way that Katie Hill’s information was released.”
Actually, Giuliani Has Always Been Like This
For New York City reporters who covered Giuliani’s operatic mayoralty, the Giuliani who famously claimed in defense of Trump that “truth isn’t truth” hasn’t changed so much.
WaPo Complicit in Corruption of DC Council’s Corporate ‘Concierge’
Evidence of DC Councilmember Jack Evans’ corruption has abounded for many years–just not in the pages of the influential Washington Post, which has long protected the powerful local politician.
Chuck Schumer’s Actions on the National Stage Get Little Scrutiny From His Local Press
For such a powerful figure, Schumer gets relatively scant scrutiny from New York City’s press corps, long considered the toughest in the United States.
Giving NY’s Governor a $783,000 Bribe Is Business as Usual for Rupert Murdoch
Murdoch has long made a practice of funneling large payments to influential politicians via HarperCollins book contracts, in what amounts to a system of legalized bribery.
‘You Can Legally Bribe a Government Official’
“If a politician helps a bank or an oil company, that oil company can’t directly buy them a boat or give them a million-dollar check. But if they wait until that official retires from office…then they can accept a multi-million-dollar payday.”
David Dayen on Citibank and Cromnibus, Ladd Everitt on Gun Control
Progressive Democrats launched an unexpected attack on a Congressional spending bill, leaving some pundits complaining once more about nasty Beltway polarization. But legislators were trying to do something substantive: Stop an attempt to roll back an important part of the Dodd-Frank Wall Street reform law. Journalist David Dayen will join us to explain what was at stake.
Also this week: It was two years ago that 10 first graders and 6 adults were killed by a troubled young man with an assault rifle. Media were transfixed by the disaster at Sandy Hook Elementary School, but did it affect the way they report on gun control? We’ll talk about guns and the press with Ladd Everitt, communications director at the Coalition to Stop Gun Violence.
Michael Dorsey on COP Climate Talks, Rick Perlstein on Tea Party
This week on CounterSpin: The COP 19 climate talks in Warsaw were filled with intrigue, secret memos and walkouts by green groups and delegations from developing nations. What was accomplished at the summit? We’ll talk with Michael K. Dorsey, the director of the Joint Center’s Energy & Environment Program.
Also on CounterSpin: Is big business breaking up with the Tea Party? Some political observers and pundits seem to think so, seeing a growing divide between the Republican Party and its corporate backers. But historian and journalist Rick Perlstein suggests this storyline isn’t all that it’s cracked up to be.
Time Sends Simpson and Norquist to the Zoo
Policy debates are only as broad as the establishment media allow them to be. And on this particular issue–fiscal policy, or what decisions the government should make about spending and revenues–the media tend to prefer staying within what you might call a center-right spectrum of opinion,
Jonathan Chait on Paul Ryan, Brentin Mock on vote fraud
[mp3-jplayer tracks=”CounterSpin050412 Jonathan Chait and Brentin Mock @https://eadn-wc04-3257648.nxedge.io/audio/counterspin/CounterSpin050412.mp3″] Download MP3 This week on CounterSpin: Republican Congressman Paul Ryan, we’re told over and over again, is a serious budget wonk on a mission to reduce the deficit. Not quite, says New York magazine reporter Jonathan Chait. He argues that Paul Ryan’s political history doesn’t really resemble […]
Right and Early
While you might expect to see a lot of Republican candidates and their surrogates in the thick of a Republican primary contest, the four Sunday morning talk shows—ABC’s This Week, NBC’s Meet the Press, CBS’s Face the Nation and Fox News Sunday—have been extraordinarily friendly terrain for the right, as a new FAIR study documents.
SoundBites
Why the Supercommitee Failed So the Supercommittee brought together legislators who disagree completely both about how the world works and about the proper role of government. Why did anyone think this would work? Well, maybe the idea was that the parties would compromise out of fear that there would be a political price for seeming […]
Mary Bottari on ALEC Exposed, Marjorie Cohn on prison hunger strike
[mp3-jplayer tracks=”CounterSpin072211 Mary Bottari and Marjorie Cohn @https://eadn-wc04-3257648.nxedge.io/audio/counterspin/CounterSpin072211.mp3″] Download MP3 This week on CounterSpin: You’ve probably never heard of the American Legislative Exchange Council, or ALEC. So why do they have so much sway over the laws affecting your life? We may get some sunlight on the actions of this influential “public/private membership organization” with […]
CBS Skips Bachmann Factcheck
CBS Face the Nation host Bob Schieffer seemed well-prepared for his June 26 interview with Republican presidential candidate Michele Bachmann. But he didn’t go nearly far enough in challenging Bachmann’s misinformation. On the program Schieffer told the Minnesota representative: “A lot of your critics say you have been very fast and loose with the truth. […]
Chris Christie, the ‘Churchill’ of New Jersey
New Jersey’s most important TV star isn’t on MTV’s Jersey Shore. Republican Gov. Chris Christie’s YouTube showdowns with his critics—especially the state’s public school teachers—have made him a fast-rising Republican star, lionized by the likes of the Weekly Standard (4/26/10), National Review (4/16/10), Glenn Beck (5/14/10) and George Will (4/22/10). Mere months after his election, […]
Chris Christie, the ‘Churchill’ of New Jersey
New Jersey’s most important TV star isn’t on MTV’s Jersey Shore. Republican Gov. Chris Christie’s YouTube showdowns with his critics—especially the state’s public school teachers—have made him a fast-rising Republican star, lionized by the likes of the Weekly Standard (4/26/10), National Review (8/16/10), Glenn Beck (5/14/10) and George Will (4/22/10). Mere months after his election, […]
Bob Parry on GOP ‘info war,’ Nancy Lockhart on Scott sisters
[mp3-jplayer tracks=”CounterSpin010711 Bob Parry and Nancy Lockhart @https://eadn-wc04-3257648.nxedge.io/audio/counterspin/CounterSpin010711.mp3″] Download MP3 This week on CounterSpin: the Tea Party takes power in Washington. The new Republican majority in the House of Representatives brought a certain type of political theater—giant gavels, the reading of the Constitution, and John Boehner’s tears. But there is another kind of theater to […]
