Breaking News Alerts Keep Public Posted on Trivia and Trump
Media outlets promise comprehensive news alerts about important breaking stories occurring everywhere—but that’s not what subscribers are getting.
Action Alert: Tell USA Today to Tell Whole Story on Afghan Withdrawal
Please tell USA Today to tell the whole story on the state of Afghanistan in the wake of the US withdrawal.
ACTION ALERT: USA Today Stokes Parents’ Fears of Child Vaccination
USA Today’s reporting should lead with the fact that “there are no known serious risks from vaccination and its effectiveness is clear.”
How Not to Cover Critical Race Theory
Mainstream corporate media have given far too much space and legitimacy to the right’s focus on white victimhood.
Coverage of Texas’ Declaration of Covid Victory Left Out Rapidly Rising Toll
Coverage failed to mention is that Covid-19 cases and deaths were rising significantly in Texas and Mississippi in the days leading up to their governors’ announcements of an end to public health measures.
Voters Should be Wary of USA Today’s False Balance on Election 2020
Outlets like USA Today overstate Trump’s support and create the impression of a balance that doesn’t exist.
GateHouse’s Takeover of Gannett: Bad News for Journalism and the Planet
This sort of consolidation means fewer resources for reporting, usually fewer reporters, and less informed attention to local affairs.
WaPo, USA Today, NBC Go Full Breitbart on ‘Prisoners Eating Steak’ Non-Story
Several corporate media outlets thought it newsworthy to point out that prisoners at Coleman federal prison in Wildwood, Florida, received a routine holiday meal that was slightly above their normal, bottom-of-the-barrel provisions.
USA Today Warns Dems: Don’t Try to Stop Climate Change
The real point of the 925-word story, by Gannett Washington reporter Ledyard King, was conveyed in the print edition’s subhead: “Policies Could Carry Risk for Leaders of New House.”
Don’t Do Anything About Climate Disaster, USA Today Warns Dems
USA Today insists, without offering evidence, that Democrats’ efforts to forge climate policy had an important role in the rise of the Tea Party and Republicans’ victory in the 2010 midterm elections.
ACTION ALERT: While Rangers Fight Wildfires, USA Today Fans Flames of Gun Paranoia
Please ask USA Today not to inflame the gun control debate with clickbait headlines.
Action Alert: USA Today Says Climate Apocalypse Promises a Balmy Winter
Please tell USA Today to mention climate change prominently when it reports on signs of record-breaking winter warming.
Newsweek and USA Today Need Standards for Opinion Writers
Please ask Newsweek and USA Today to strengthen their conflict-of-interest standards for opinion writers.
USA Today Ignores Climate Change as Factor in Alaskan Drilling
Please tell USA Today to mention climate change prominently when writing about energy issues.
Soundbites September 2017
Making the Case for an ‘Affluent Left’ by Ignoring Evidence…
Democrats Are Back! And by ‘Back,’ We Mean ‘Screwed’…
Four Years Later, a Baseless Iran Smear Is (Sort of) Retracted…
USA Today’s Korea Sources Have Something to Sell You…
You Don’t Have to Work for Bezos to Boost Amazon
Missile Defense Will Protect You From North Korea, Say USA Today’s Missile Defense–Funded Sources
USA Today’s sources on how “US missile defense plans” will protect you from the “N. Korean Nuke Threat” mostly have a direct financial connection to the US missile defense program.
Soundbites July/August 2017
President Trump’s Plans for Planet Not of Interest to Major Media…Covering Trump’s Nominees Through GOP Eyes…To Simplify Factchecking, NYT Inserts Its Own Errors…USA Today Sees Bright Side of Massive Loss of Health Insurance
For USA Today, Healthcare Glass Is 1/24th Full
USA Today had a very different emphasis than most outlets when it broke the news of AHCA scoring on Twitter. The paper emphasized to its 3.3 million followers that the report was an improvement over the past CBO projection of an earlier different version of the law.
The Antarctic Ice Shelf Is Breaking Up–and USA Today Tells Us to ‘Chill Out’
USA Today’s headline writer picks up on notes of reassurance in an article on a global warming disaster.
Front-Page Election News: More Horserace, More Trump, More Presidency
A FAIR analysis of front-page election coverage in three major dailies revealed a strong emphasis on horserace politics at the expense of issue coverage. The study found a lopsided focus on Donald Trump over Hillary Clinton, and an overwhelming focus on the presidential race at the expense of all other electoral contests.
