Sports Press Covers WNBA Negotiations From Owners’ Point of View
Too many news reports have catered to owners’ interests when reporting on the negotiations between the players’ union and the league.
‘DC’s Not Making Money Here, DC Is Paying Billions’:
CounterSpin interview with Pete Tucker on DC stadium deal
“All of these dollars are going to a stadium, as opposed to after-school programs, as opposed to shoring up an already hurt safety net.”
Raeghn Draper on Tipped Workers, Pete Tucker on DC Stadium
Elite news media transmit the weird worldview that it’s appropriate to force tipped workers to please and appease patrons in order to survive.
Once Again, NYT Coverage of Anti-Trans Attacks Leaves Out Trans Voices
The New York Times covered the latest right-wing attack on trans youth in a fashion all too common for the paper: devoid of any perspectives from trans individuals.
On Sports Gambling, ‘Are We Just Going to Let Companies Write the Rule Book?’
CounterSpin interview with Amos Barshad on legalized sports betting
“The industry makes these promises that they can’t keep. They’re telling you that this will solve your issues, but it’s not true.”
Amos Barshad on Legalized Sports Betting
Legal sports gambling is the apple of the eye of many corporate and private state actors—but how does it affect states, communities, people?
Media Coverage of Amsterdam Soccer Riot Erases Zionist Hatred and Violence
Rather than acknowledging that there was ethnic animosity on both sides, some articles about the melee elevated the violence to the level of a “pogrom.”
‘The Athletic Is the Negation of Local Sports Coverage’
“When you get rid of local coverage, what you also get rid of is the watchdog that is so important…. It’s not all fun and games.”
Melissa Crow on Asylum Restrictions, Dave Zirin on NYT’s Vanishing Sports Section
Advocates have long declared that Biden’s asylum restrictions are not just harmful but unlawful. And a federal judge has just agreed.
‘They Painted a Narrative of This Coach Looking for a Quiet Corner to Pray’
“There is a political movement in this country that’s playing for keeps. They don’t care how nice you’re going to be about it.”
Dave Zirin on Football Prayer Ruling, Howard Bryant on Black Athletes & Social Change
This week on CounterSpin: Supreme Court Justice Neil Gorsuch wrote in the majority opinion on Kennedy v. Bremerton that “the Constitution and the best of our traditions counsel mutual respect and tolerance, not censorship and suppression, for religious and nonreligious views alike.” The case was about whether there was a problem with a Washington […]
Western Media Took Gold in Evidence-Free Allegations of Chinese Olympic Spying
Western journalists evidently saw no need to factcheck claims of Chinese cyberespionage at the Beijing Olympics.
Calling Both Sides ‘Spoiled’ in Baseball Lockout Ignores How Owners Forced Labor War
As baseball’s opening day looms nearer without a new labor agreement, the nation’s sports media are pointing fingers squarely at both sides,
ACTION ALERT: Where Is MSNBC on GOP Anti-Trans Campaign?
First it was bathrooms, now it’s sports. When the GOP’s war against trans people using the restroom appropriate for their gender identity largely failed, it turned to a new focus to rile up its base: trans girls in sports “destroying” girls’ athletics. At least 50 bills have been introduced in 29 states that target […]
‘These Players Have Had a Very Special Place in American History’
“The Black athlete is the most important and most influential and most visible Black employee in the 20th century, because they’re the ones who were allowed to integrate the society.”
Heidi Beirich on White Supremacist Violence, Howard Bryant on Black Athlete Activism, Sharon Lerner on Plastic Recycling and PR
This week on CounterSpin, we feature three archived but relevant conversations.
Backlash After Kobe Bryant’s Death Illustrates Continued Resistance to Discussing Sexual Assault
Some writers were able to accurately depict the entire truth of Kobe Bryant’s legacy while still honoring the tragedy of his and his daughter’s death and the positive impact Bryant had on sports.
Can Deadspin Live Again as a Worker-Owned Website?
The question about the former Deadspin workers isn’t just what’s next for them; it’s also about what’s next for us, the media consumers who need their voices so badly.
‘The Idea Is to Have a Conversation About What Happened to Us’
“Understanding the limits of the dialogue possible in the elite but influential press is crucial to understanding our political lives.”
Best of CounterSpin 2018
Understanding the limits of the dialogue possible in the elite but influential press is crucial to understanding our political lives…and the importance of maintaining spaces where we can openly debate and challenge a status quo that is harming millions of people and the planet.
