What Have Whistleblowers Done for Elite Journalists Lately?
One of the most important things that corporate media do to shore up power is to define “news” as things that people in power want you to know but haven’t told you yet.
Some European Bloodbaths Are More Interesting Than Others
Why is that Islamist violence is drop-everything fascinating to US corporate media, while a massacre by a right-wing anti-Muslim zealot doesn’t seem to be worth talking about?
What Will 2016 Political Landscape Look Like? USA Today Has No Clue
Because it is a mere 1,000 days until the election, USA Today’s Susan Page tries to predict the 2016 presidential campaign.
Obamacare Website = Iraq War, Now with Bill Kristol
Think the comparisons between the Obamacare website and the Iraq War are done? Think again. Some people still see the connection–like Iraq War booster Bill Kristol.
USA Today Finds Public Doesn’t Like Iran Deal if They Don’t Know What’s in It
USA Today hyping a poll that contradicts others finding public support for the Iran deal. Has public opinion shifted? Not really–you simply have to look at what the polls are asking.
Shutdown: Media SHOULD Play the Blame Game
Media like to dismiss the partisan “blame game,” but in cases like this placing blame is something that journalism ought to do.
Pointless Partisanship on Surveillance
“Democrats on one side, Republicans on the other” is the way conventional Beltway reporters seem to see the world–and it’s reflected in their reporting on political events. On the front page of USA Today (6/7/13), Susan Page has a piece wondering if the unfolding scandals surrounding the White House and surveillance will threaten the president’s […]
Benghazi Bias on One Page
The controversy over the attacks at a diplomatic compound in Benghazi, Libya, is a great test of the right’s tired claim that the corporate media have a liberal bias. If that were true, then this “scandal” would exist almost entirely on Fox News Channel and conservative talk radio.
Journalists Say Obama Still Too Mean to Republicans
Since the consensus seems to be that Obama’s inaugural address was actually a statement of a bold, progressive vision for his second term, it’s not a surprise that some in the corporate media are upset. Obama’s words were seen as particularly injurious to Republicans, who presumably already feel bad enough as it is.
Iowans Frustrate Reporters With Their Multiple Opinions
The usual criticisms of the Iowa caucuses–that the votes of a small, demographically unrepresentative slice of America gobble up too much airtime–are basically correct. As David Sirota noted in Salon (1/3/12): The same journalism industry that pleads poverty to justify cutting big city newspapers’ editorial staffs, gutting coverage of state legislatures and city councils, and […]
Rick Perry, Job-Creating Rodeo Cowboy!
The front page of USA Today (9/19/11) tells us that Republican presidential candidate Rick Perry is taking “the heat,” but not to worry–he says he can handle it. That’s especially true with reporters like Susan Page on his side: He’s not worried, he said, because only one issue really matters to Americans in this election. […]
USA Today: Americans Continue to Support Afghan War–in 2001
A USA Today story by Susan Page (7/27/10), on the impact of the WikiLeaks revelations, reports that despite some erosion, “Most Americans continue to support the war in Afghanistan.” To back up this assertion, Page cites Gallup poll findings (7/8–11/10) that 58 percent of Americans think it was “not a mistake” for the US to […]
Where Does Social Security Misinformation Come From?
USA Today‘s Susan Page has a front-page piece (7/20/10) headlined “Faith in Social Security Tanking: Most Expect Cuts or Lose Hope for Funds.” The piece notes: A USA Today/Gallup Poll finds that a majority of retirees say they expect their current benefits to be cut, a dramatic increase in the number who hold that view. […]
