FAIR is the national progressive media watchdog group, challenging corporate media bias, spin and misinformation.
Amnesty International has declared the entire female population of Afghanistan to be prisoners of conscience. When the Taliban, a fanatical militia based in North West Pakistan, seized control of the capitol Kabul in 1996, they expelled girls from schools, fired women from their jobs and forced women to wear a head-to-toe burqa, which leaves only […]
The speakers lists for two high-profile lecture series at the National PressClub in Washington, D.C. raise serious questions about who the organizationconsiders “newsworthy.” The Press Club’s regular “Luncheon Speakers” and “Newsmakers” events forWashington-area journalists give various luminaries a platform to influencethe weekly news cycle. Yet of more than 100 individuals invited to addressthese NPC audiences […]
National Desk continues to feature undisclosed relationships between funders and sources, one-sided advocacy packaged as balanced journalism, and serious factual errors.
Below is the letter FAIR sent to PBS in reply to its findings on the National Desk “gender wars” series. Sandra Heberer Director, News and Information Programming Tom Epstein Vice President, Communications Public Broadcasting Service 1320 Braddock Place Alexandria, VA 22314-1698 June 23, 2000 Dear Ms. Heberer and Mr. Epstein: Thank you for […]
When dozens of women were sexually assaulted in and around Central Park on June 11, the story became front page news locally and nationally. While many outlets focused on allegations that police officers did little to prevent the attacks or help the victims, a disturbing trend emerged in coverage of the story. In a media […]
Below is the letter PBS sent to FAIR detailing the findings of its internal investigation into the National Desk “gender wars” series, undertaken in response to the Feminist Coalition on Public Broadcasting. May 5, 2000 Ms. Jennifer L. Pozner Women’s Desk Director FAIR 130 West 25th Street New York, NY 10001 Dear Ms. Pozner: We […]
When Taliban leaders claim women incite sexual assault by wearing clothing more revealing than a burkah or leaving their homes unchaperoned by male relatives, it’s not hard for U.S. reporters to recognize these statements as products of misogyny. But when two evolutionary psychologists recently put forth the same basic notion under the guise of objective […]
A recent front-page story of the Wall Street Journal cheerily announced, “In Today’s Workplace, Women Feel Freer To Be, Well, Women” (2/7/00). The first of two subheadings explained what the Journal thinks being, well, women is all about: “Floppy Bow Ties Give Way To More-Alluring Attire; Sex Banter Has Its Place.” (When the story jumped […]
During the last week in January, NBC news viewers had two chances to learn that rape is not a crime of violence but a “natural, biological and evolved” male behavior–and that the clothing a woman wears can put her at risk of being attacked. On the Today show (1/24/00), evolutionary psychologist Randy Thornhill insisted that […]
TV Guide‘s cover story on “How Women Took Over the News” (10/9/99) painted a pretty then-vs.-now picture of gender equity in the newsroom, in which “women are on every beat, in every aspect of news, as fixtures in jobs traditionally held by men.” Way back when, TV Guide reminisces, women were “second-class citizens in TV […]
A national coalition of over 30 feminist, progressive groups and individuals– including Barbara Ehrenreich, Gloria Steinem, the National Organization for Women, the Feminist Majority Foundation, the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force, and women and men from the labor, black, Latina and South Asian grassroots communities– has met with PBS to discuss why a recent […]
“In their zeal to placate the Republican Congress and supplement their budget with money from right wing foundations like Olin, Scaife and Bradley, public television decision-makers haven’t just changed directions– they’ve lost the compass. “The ‘gender wars’ series (funded by these same three foundations, and featuring their grantees) was a procession of opinions masquerading as […]
On November 9, 1999, representatives from a national coalition of over 30 feminist, progressive groups and individuals–including Barbara Ehrenreich, Gloria Steinem, the National Organization for Women, the Feminist Majority Foundation, the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force, and a variety of women and men from the labor, black, Latina and South Asian grassroots communities–met with […]
TV Guide’s Oct. 9 – 15, 1999 cover story, titled “How Women Took Over The News,” paints a pretty then-vs. -now picture of gender equity in the newsroom, in which “Women are on every beat, in every aspect of news, as fixtures in jobs traditionally held by men.” Way back when, TV Guide reminisces, women […]
Two recent stories about nationally syndicated radio talk show hosts have once again raised the issue of sexism and racism on the radio. On August 24, Walt Disney Company issued an apology for a radio promotion that aired repeatedly during the nationally syndicated Mark & Brian show, which originates from KLOS-FM in Los Angeles, a […]
Throughout April, the PBS public affairs program National Desk presented a three-part series on “the gender wars” that sought to address “whether the advancement of women in virtually all areas of society can be achieved without a retreat, in some way, on the part of men.” Asking the question that way is akin to answering […]
PBS says the series “National Desk” is meant to generate controversy and debate. Isn’t this a good thing? It would be, if public television’s overall lineup were balanced with controversial shows from both the left and the right. PBS has a history of playing the controversy card when criticized for running a right-wing program, while […]
Journalists Trivialize Howard Stern’s Advocacy of Rape as ‘Insensitivity’
The June 1st broadcast of CNN‘s “Larry King Live” show featured celebrity reporters and fashion journalists discussing a famous American woman’s most salient features. “She has a bad figure. She’s bottom heavy and her legs are short,” reported CNN‘s style editor, Elsa Klensch. But, “she’s making the most of it,” by “seeking high-end fashion advice […]
Introduction Public television has survived. The high profile assault from conservative critics, which was front-page news in the early 1990s, now seems like ancient history. As we enter the digital television age, we no longer hear Congressional threats to “zero out” public television, plans to “privatize” public broadcasting have receded from the opinion pages, and […]
