‘This Media Is Meant to Change People, and It Does’
“People…think that this media just attracts those who already have these beliefs…. But I know for a fact that’s not necessarily true.”
Limbaugh Leaves Behind a Nation Transformed by His Resentment and Deception
Rush Limbaugh left behind a legacy of lies, bigotry, science denial and conspiracy mongering—as well as a media and political system significantly transformed by his influence.
Limbaugh Helped Create the Conservative Movement—and Paved the Road for Trump
Rush Limbaugh left behind a legacy of lies, bigotry, science denial and conspiracy mongering—as well as a media and political system significantly transformed by his influence.
Extra! August/September 2020 Soundbites
Lack of a BLM Covid Spike Should Make Us Listen to Epidemiologists Though joined by many other outlets, the Atlantic was particularly urgent in its warnings that protests against police violence would create a new spike of Covid-19 cases. “The wave of mass protests across the United States will almost certainly set off new chains […]
Extra! April 2018 Soundbites
NPR Brings You the Unheard Voice of Rush Limbaugh…Boosting Trump’s Tax Bill With ‘Bonus’ Hype…NYT: Don’t Be Misled by Claims That CEOs Are Rich…Israel’s ‘Retaliatory’ Bombing of Syria for Shooting Down an Israeli Bomber…From ‘Sidelines,’ US Controls 1/4th of Syria…‘Anti-Propaganda Warrior,’ You Have a Mission Closer to Home…Pro-Capitalist Times
Extra! November 2017 Soundbites
Ignoring the Fantasies That Kill Real People… Here’s What Forgetting History Looks Like… Disclosure: I Get Paid to Fool WaPo Readers About Climate… Freebooter Turns Freelancer… And by ‘Dethroning,’ We Mean One-10th as Popular… Trump’s Problem Is That New York Doesn’t Understand Media… Questions That Don’t Require Asking
And Now, to Discuss Police Killings: Rush Limbaugh?
“Rush Limbaugh talks race relations.” You know, that Rush Limbaugh–the guy who once quipped, “Have you ever noticed how all newspaper composite pictures of wanted criminals resemble Jesse Jackson?”
Ted Koppel’s Terrible Media Criticism
TV news veteran Ted Koppel has done two pieces on NBC‘s Rock Center that attempt to critique the partisanship of today’s media system. But what the reports really illustrate is that some people aren’t very good at playing media critic—especially when they feel obligated to suggest that “both sides” are equally at fault. Koppel’s first […]
Is Limbaugh Sure He Wants Lying to Be a Crime?
The Supreme Court decided on Thursday that lying about medals and military service, while “contemptible,” is protected under the First Amendment’s free speech clause. The court said the federal “Stolen Valor” law was overly broad and imposed a chilling effect on free speech. This news enraged Rush Limbaugh, who responded on is radio show with disdain, […]
The New Campaign to ‘Silence’ Rush Limbaugh
Conservative talker Rush Limbaugh used to tell his listeners that the government was trying to silence him, based on a completely bogus tale about what the Fairness Doctrine would do. This time around, it’s an ad campaign by the liberal group Media Matters for America directed at some of the stations that air Limbaugh’s show. […]
Rush Limbaugh and Bill Maher Are Alike—and Also Very Different
As he loses advertisers by the handful over his comments about Sandra Fluke, Rush Limbaugh’s supporters (there are a few!) and a few other commentators have found what I guess they believe is a good counter-argument: If you’re so offended by Limbaugh’s sexist, demeaning rants, they why are you silent about Bill Maher? Some see […]
Sandra Fluke Controversy: Distraction or Revelation?
There seems to be a popular line emerging in the Rush Limbaugh/Sandra Fluke controversy that says his comments are especially harmful because they distract attention from the real issues. Kathleen Parker (Washington Post, 3/4/12): Inadvertently, Limbaugh also helped advance the argument from the left that Republicans are waging a war against women…. He has given […]
Rush and the Right: The ‘Clown’ GOP Leaders Fear
Rush Limbaugh’s attack on Georgetown student Sandra Fluke–calling her, among other things, a “slut” for advocating for contraceptives coverage–has caused some stirrings on the right that are worth looking at. One outcome is the idea that Limbaugh’s an outlier who sensible people repudiated. Kathleen Parker‘s Washington Post column on Saturday (3/2/12) cheered Limbaugh for uniting […]
A Fox News Blacklist?
Conservative David Frum writes in the new issue of New York: Back in 2009, I wrote a piece for Newsweek arguing that Republicans would regret conceding so much power to Rush Limbaugh. Until that point, I’d been a frequent guest on Fox News, but thenceforward some kind of fatwa was laid down upon me. Over […]
Is Glenn Beck Working for Reuters? UPDATED
That might explain the piece the wire service ran today, under the headline, “Who’s Behind the Wall Street Protests?” Reporters Mark Egan and Michelle Nichols suggest that Glenn Beck’s demented chalkboard scribbles might have actually been on the right track; the protests “may have benefited indirectly from the largesse of one of the world’s richest […]
New CNN Host a Rush Limbaugh Favorite
A full-page ad in USA Today reminded me that today is the debut of Erin Burnett’s CNN show OutFront. Burnett gained a following at CNBC, and came to the attention of many conservatives with a report on the Today show (7/17/07) that managed to touch on almost every conservative myth about the economy, earning praise […]
To WaPo, Planet’s Fate Is a ‘Second-Tier Issue’
The Washington Post had a piece yesterday (6/9/11) on Mitt Romney’s views on global warming. It serves as a reminder that Republican political candidates are under enormous pressure from the right-wing base of the party on this issue–any politician who’s ever suggested that climate change is a problem, or backed efforts to address it, is […]
When Limbaugh Demonizes Obama, Some Listeners Take Him Literally
Rush Limbaugh (10/18/10), holding a photo montage from Drudge up to the “Dittocam,” went off on a bizarre rant that suggested that Obama was possessed by supernatural evil (Mediaite, 10/19/10): Folks, these pictures, they look demonic. And I don’t say this lightly. There are a couple pictures, and the eyes, I’m not saying anything here, […]
In Discussion of Mine Disaster Coverage, Only Imaginary Unions Allowed
Andrew Tyndall makes a good point about how the network newcasts covered the Upper Big Branch mining disaster (flagged by Liz Cox Barrettat CJR): Not once, in all five days of coverage, did a single reporter mention the organization that has worked hardest over the decades to make sure that mining management does not cut […]
The Right’s Library of Fake Quotes
Abraham Lincoln despised class warfare, Thomas Jefferson detested bailouts and the founders of the nation were all Bible-believing Christians. These are among the historical “facts” you’ll learn as a regular consumer of talk radio, Fox News and other conservative sources. While non-conservatives have been known to misquote historical figures to add credibility to their own […]
