Atlantic Calls on Hollywood to Produce More Government Propaganda
An Atlantic essay’s main complaint about Chinese propaganda seems to be that Beijing is better at it than Washington.
The Atlantic Illustrates Everything That’s Wrong With Media Coverage of Venezuela Sanctions
An Atlantic report on Trump’s Venezuela policy passed up a rich opportunity to expose the humanitarian pretexts for economic intervention, and instead exhibited the worst tendencies of corporate media coverage of US policy in Latin America.
Media Support US Violence Against Syria, but Long for More
Corporate media outlets were glad that the US, France and Britain bombed Syria in violation of international law, but lamented what they see as a dearth of US violence in the country.
Atlantic Bravely Confronts Twitter Insults, Ignores Threat of Decades in Prison
The issue isn’t “free speech” or the problems with “PC” online culture; it’s simply the pundit class protecting its own.
US Media Turn to ‘Superhero’ Pence to Combat Korean Olympic Peace Threat
It’s hard to think of a better illustration of the concept of cognitive dissonance than the Washington Post unironically referring to Mike Pence as a “superhero” in an article about the dangers of propaganda.
Conspiracies Pushed by Atlantic’s Editor Excluded From Atlantic’s Denunciation of Conspiracy Theories
Which “conspiracy theories” the media decide to care about and which they don’t is largely a function of who is advancing those conspiracy theories, and whose interests they serve.
To Build an Autocracy, First Build an Oligarchy
In “How to Build an Autocracy,” David Frum leaves out the first step, which is to create an oligarchy that chooses to serve an economic elite rather than improving the lives of the majority–leaving the public ready to listen to a demagogue who promises to look out for them.
Eager to Normalize Trump on MSNBC
Guests on MSNBC assured audiences that Trump wouldn’t be as vile and dangerous as he promised to be.
Funny How Russian Propaganda, US Free Press Produce Exact Same Mood Swings
The anti-American sentiment in Russia is pretty much a mirror image of anti-Russian sentiment in the United States, which has likewise risen to record heights since polling began roughly 25 years ago.
A Wedding Was Bombed—Don’t Worry, It Was by the US, Not in the US
What seemed to be a US drone strike hit a wedding convoy in Yemen, killing over a dozen people. What kind of coverage does an event like that get on US television?
O’Reilly Spins a Correction on ‘White House Visits’
On last night’s O’Reilly Factor (6/5/13), the Fox News host asserted that there’s still a lot the White House isn’t telling us about the IRS/Tea Party scandal. But in the process he also, in his own special way, issued a correction–of sorts: The president will also not explain the IRS situation. His defenders denying that […]
An Invitation to a Live-Action Infomercial
I was invited to an event yesterday that was held specifically so that media companies can take money from companies who will pay for the chance to be mistaken for an expert.
Journalism by—and for—the Sponsors
The headline of a recent article posted at the website of the Atlantic–“David Miscavige Leads Scientology to Milestone Year”–probably tipped readers that something was more than a little off. It wasn’t an article, really; above the headline, in a yellow box, was the phrase “Sponsor Content.” But is what the Atlantic did–and quickly apologized for–really unusual?
Jeffrey Goldberg Pushes for War With Iraq—er, Make That Iran
Former Israeli soldier and current writer for the Atlantic Jeffrey Goldberg has a long cover story (9/10) on the “better than 50 percent chance” that Israel will launch air strikes against Iran by next July, with the aim of taking out the alleged nuclear threat from the Islamic Republic. Based on roughly 40 interviews with […]
