FAIR is the national progressive media watchdog group, challenging corporate media bias, spin and misinformation.
(Posted here with the NWLC’s kind permission) The National Desk program “Title IX and Women in Sports: What’s Wrong with This Picture?” was filled with misinformation, myth, and fabrications. In short, it was an irresponsible broadcast masquerading as serious journalism. Virtually every aspect of the program, from the title, host Larry Elder’s repeated untruths about […]
The day after voters in King County, Washington, had apparently approved a plan to hike the local sales tax by a tenth of a percent to fund a new ballpark for the Seattle Mariners baseball team (9/20/95), the Seattle Times got right to the point with its banner headline: “Stadium Leads by 4,000 Votes.” A […]
Journalists are not psychics, and they should not be gamblers, betting that the outcome of a story will vindicate them; they should publish stories they can stand behind whether a suspect turns out to be guilty or not.
“When I was growing up,” says Tara VanDerveer, “the only female athlete I remember reading about was Billie Jean King, but I kind of always felt that there would be something more, eventually, for women.” VanDerveer, 41, has been a basketball coach at Stanford for 10 years (winning two national championships), and before that she […]
The Super Bowl is one of the most widely viewed television events every year. Unfortunately, many women’s shelters report that Super Bowl Sunday is also one of the worst days of the year for violence against women in the home. At the request of FAIR’s Women’s Desk and other advocates for women, NBC Sports aired […]
When CBS and ESPN covered the 1989 college basketball championships, commentators and graphics referred to the men’s events as “The Final Four” and “The NCAA National Championship Game,” while viewers were constantly reminded that they were watching the “Women’s Final Four” and the “NCAA Women’s National Championship Game.” This presentation of women’s games as derivative […]
CBS sportscaster professed shock and dismay last January when Jimmy “the Greek” Snyder made offensive remarks about black athletes. Shortly thereafter Snyder was fired by CBS, leaving his erstwhile colleagues to cover the National Football conference playoffs without the benefit of the Greek’s pre-game betting wisdom. Snyder’s racist comments were repudiated by CBS announcer Brent […]
A USA Today survey (6/26/87) of minorities in sports media reveals that of the 254 writers who cover the 26 Major League Baseball teams, there are only four blacks, one Hispanic and one Asian. (Only six are women.) Of baseball’s 141 TV broadcasters, only five are black, all ex-players. No minority announcers are on English-language […]
