FAIR is the national progressive media watchdog group, challenging corporate media bias, spin and misinformation.
The Washington Post‘s publication of a “news” article written by an organization created to advance an ideological agenda is a troubling reminder of the declining ethical standards at one of the nation’s most influential newspapers. The article, headlined “Support Grows for Tackling Nation’s Debt” (12/31/09), was a product of the Fiscal Times, described in an […]
Claiming that “something needs to be done–and fast” to save Social Security, Parade magazine’s Gary Weiss (11/22/09) suggests a downside to the idea of raising the ceiling on taxed income, so that income above the current $106,800 would be subject to the Social Security tax: “Raising the cap is popular among Social Security reformers but […]
The Washington Post editorial (5/14/09) on the Social Security and Medicare trustees’ report didn’t break much new ground, other than perhaps a uptick in the sarcasm quotient. (“Oh, please,” is their retort to critics who point out the paper’s demonstrable hostility to the Social Security program.) But this line jumped out at me as noteworthy: […]
Yesterday the Social Security and Medicare trustees’ reports were released. This annual ritual often gives reporters a chance to exaggerate the long-term problems of the Social Security system. This year, the news was more or less what folks were expecting: By the trustees’ forecasting, Social Security’s trust fund will be depleted in 2037, while Medicare’s […]
Long a critic of the Washington Post‘s habit of pushing of “its editorial position in the news section” when operating as “a strong proponent of reducing Social Security benefits,” Dean Baker (Beat the Press, 3/31/09) has a new example of what he dubs the Post‘s “Jihad Against Social Security”: In keeping with this practice, it […]
Media Matters (2/24/09) catches AP reporter Liz Sidoti garbling Barack Obama’s position on entitlements: He called the long-term solvency of Social Security “the single most pressing fiscal challenge we face by far” and said reforming healthcare, including burgeoning entitlement programs, was a huge priority. What Obama actually said was: In the coming years, we’ll be […]
Jackie Calmes reports in the New York Times (2/23/09): The president signaled in his campaign that he would support addressing the retirement system’s looming financing shortfall, in part by applying payroll taxes to incomes above $250,000. But that would ignite intense opposition from Republicans, especially with the economy deep in recession. Liberal Democrats are already […]
A Tiny Revolution blogger Jonathan Schwarz (2/8/09) quotes from yet another “Time magazine article about Larry Summers and how incredibly brilliant he is”: Perhaps as early as March, they’ll launch their biggest lift with the beginnings of a plan to reform Social Security and Medicare, the two entitlement programs that, even before the economy collapsed, […]
Yesterday the New York Times reported on the status of a new PBS news program Worldfocus. Amidst budget cuts at the New York station where it originates, the program has received some unusual financial support–a $1 million grant from thePeter G. Peterson Foundation. What does the funder expectto get out of it? The Times reported […]
[mp3-jplayer tracks=”CounterSpin091908 James Galbraith and Forrest Hylton @https://eadn-wc04-3257648.nxedge.io/audio/counterspin/CounterSpin091908.mp3″] Download MP3 This week on CounterSpin: Unlike tendentious media debates about government aid to the poor, journalists greeted bail outs of major financial corporations with almost universal approval. We’ll talk to economist James Galbraith of the University of Texas about what the news means for regulatory policy […]
After FAIR’s October 19 action alert criticized coverage of Social Security in the Washington Post and on ABC News, Washington Post columnist Dana Milbank responded to one FAIR activist with this message: Don’t you think it a bit unfair of “FAIR,” in complaining about my “context,” to ignore the fact that I was writing about […]
When the first baby boomer filed for Social Security, ABC News and the Washington Post‘s Dana Milbank led the pack in media scaremongering–pushing the widely disputed myth of a pending crisis while dismissing the less alarmist views espoused by many economists. At the top of ABC‘s October 15 World News with Charles Gibson, the anchor […]
This week on CounterSpin: Professor Cynthia Boaz, a professor at SUNY Brockport and academic advisor to the International Center on Non-Violent Conflict, joins to discuss Burma and the press. Also on the show: The corporate media conversation surrounding Social Security, with Dean Baker from the Center for Economic and Policy Research.
On this special Best of CounterSpin, program we look back over some of what was news for the mainstream media in 2006—and some of what wasn’t news, but should’ve been.
What’s the deal with Bush’s proposal to partially privatize Social Security? Also: how will the politics of PBS be impacted by the new Republican head of the CPB?
CBS Evening News has presented two segments in recent weeks (2/9/05, 3/4/05) that purport to show how typical American workers would fare under George W. Bush’s plan to privatize Social Security. But the segments rely on stock market projections that, if true, would make any “crisis” in Social Security almost impossible. CBS reporter Jim Axelrod […]
On January 27, FAIR issued an action alert on the New York Times‘ and AP‘s use of the White House-friendly phrase “personal accounts” to describe Bush’s privatization plan. On March 6, Times public editor Daniel Okrent devoted part of his column to responding to FAIR activists and others on this issue. FAIR replied in its […]
CBS Evening News has presented two segments in recent weeks (2/9/05, 3/4/05) that purport to show how typical American workers would fare under George W. Bush’s plan to privatize Social Security. But the segments rely on stock market projections that, if true, would make any “crisis” in Social Security almost impossible. CBS reporter Jim Axelrod […]
On February 7, FAIR issued an action alert criticizing USA Today‘s re-writing of George W. Bush‘s Social Security rhetoric. Bush has said a number of times that the system will be “flat bust,” “exhausted” and “bankrupt” in the year 2042. In describing Bush’s position, USA Today changed those misleading claims, reporting that Bush has said […]
NOTE: Please see the update to this alert. In its February 3 edition, USA Today not only failed to challenge a George W. Bush distortion about Social Security— it actually changed Bush’s remarks to make them more accurate. Summarizing Bush’s case for privatizing the program, reporter Judy Keen explained: “Two days after winning re-election, Bush […]
