Jonah Goldberg Swings at Obama on Nukes—and Hits Reagan
Right-wing columnist Jonah Goldberg slams Obama for expressing support for a ‘nuclear free world’– which was what Reagan said too.
FAIR TV: Media Miss March, 2016 Election Coverage (!?) and PBS Pension Problems
On the show this week: The national media missed then tens of thousands who marched for social justice in North Carolina last weekend. Plus USA Today shows us that bad campaign reporting starts really early, and journalist David Sirota is exposing a peculiar funding arrangement at PBS. Watch:
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.
USA Today and SodaStream: Illegal Settlements Are a Matter of Opinion
USA Today calls the West Bank “a region…on Israel’s eastern border” and fails to explain that the Israeli settlements there violate international law.
Is Cannabis More Dangerous Than Alcohol? Let’s Ask Bigfoot
Unscientific claims about Bigfoot can get published in the Weekly World News. Unscientific claims about cannabis get a column in USA Today.
AP Distorts Poll to Support Obama’s Inequality Dodge
It’s hard to remember a better time for politicians to talk about the issue of income inequality. But according to the Associated Press (1/24/14), Barack Obama’s State of the Union address will attempt to shift away that issue–too divisive, apparently–and opt instead for some discussion of economic opportunity. As Jim Kuhnhenn writes: The adjustment reflects […]
FAIR TV: Snowden on Sunday TV, New Pundits, USA Today on Fracking’s Riches
Everyone seems to agree that Edward Snowden started an important debate over NSA surveillance. But on the Sunday chat shows, debate isn’t what you’re likely to see. And CNN and CBS add new contributors–but are they opening up or closing the discussion? Plus: USA Today cheers on the fracking boom in Texas.
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.
USA Today a Go-To Paper for Right-Wing Press Releases
When a paper runs a puff piece actually headlined “When It Comes to Testimony, He’s a Go-To Guy,” that’s way better than a full-page ad. That’s the favor that USA Today extended to right-wing economist Douglas Holtz-Eakin.
USA Today Forgets That Climate Is a Part of Wildfire Context
The word “wildfire” has come up 1,457 times in USA Today’s reporting–and it’s been accompanied by the phrase “climate change” 73 times.
Apologizing for Inequality Is a Growth Industry
USA Today’s op-ed from a Manhattan Institute fellow makes is a dubious claim. But it doesn’t back up at all the sweeping assertion made in the headline.
When Can You Trust the NSA’s Claims About the NSA?
Media seem more eager to carry messages to the effect of “NSA spying works” rather than admissions from the NSA that the record isn’t quite so impressive.
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.
USA Today’s Pattern of Inaccuracy on Iran
A look at USA Today’s Iran coverage over time suggests a pattern of putting Iran in a bad light, sometimes at the expense of the truth.
Iran Nuclear Weapons Claims Still Need Correcting
Yesterday in USA Today (9/22/13), Aamer Madhani wrote this about the challenges facing Barack Obama: The president is also trying to take advantage of a diplomatic opening—created by the installation of a new, more moderate president in Iran—to persuade Tehran to abandon its nuclear weapons program. As you might know by now, this is misleading; […]
Should Poor People Eat? Let’s Hear From Both Sides!
OK, so maybe this headline is slightly unfair, but it seemed like a good way to capture the essence of a USA Today story (9/18/13) about the fight over food stamps. As you may already know, House Republicans are looking to cut some $40 billion from the SNAP program, otherwise known as food stamps, over […]
Who’s Getting the Tax Breaks? You Are, Says USA Today
The front page of USA Today touts an article intended to send what it supposed to be a counter-intuitive message: The big corporations aren’t the ones gaming the system–it’s YOU.
USA Today Covers NYC Elections—Unfortunately
USA Today tries to explain what the Democratic primary elections in New York City, using some of corporate media’s favorite electoral tropes: mandating a move to the right, misleading on stop-and-frisk, and finding “ambivalence” when voters line up on the wrong side.
Heading to War With Syria
Providing convincing evidence that chemical attacks actually were the work of the Syrian government should be the first order of business. But it’s hard not reach the conclusion that some in the media have already made up their minds.
