FAIR is the national progressive media watchdog group, challenging corporate media bias, spin and misinformation.
Talk of the economy has dominated this election season. However the Bush administration’s changes in overtime rules, which has amounted to a massive pay cut for millions of U.S. workers, has received virtually no attention in the press. Also on the show: freelance journalist Jason Leopold on Dick Cheney’s corporate scandal.
Workingforchange columnist Bill Berkowitz on White House hopes to drive the Iraqi occupation “underground.” Also: more on the UN oil-for-food “scandal” with FAIR contributor Seth Ackerman.
Download MP3 This week on CounterSpin: the transfer of power ceremonies in Iraq happened ahead of schedule, filling the media with stories about sovereignty and a historic transfer of power in Iraq. But what– if anything– has changed? We’ll ask Patrick Cockburn, the foreign correspondent for the Independent newspaper who has been reporting recently from […]
Attempts by the Bush administration to deflect criticism over its leniency toward the harsh treatment of Iraqi and Afghan prisoners have failed to gain traction in the mainstream media.
Just how inaccurate are Bush’s claims on Iraq? Also on the show: the politics of NPR.
Despite growing calls from within the foreign policy establishment for a reconsideration of the U.S. military presence in Iraq, most mainstream pundits and commentators continue to argue that the U.S. has no choice but to tough it out. According to a survey of editorial opinion by Editor & Publisher (5/7/04), the trade publication of the […]
The New York Times offers a lukewarm response to criticism of its flawed reporting on Iraq’s weapons of mass destruction. Also: GOP dominance and how this is impacting the media landscape.
The White House is pushing a sanitized version of what happened to Iraqi prisoners while in US custody, and journalists are following suit. Also: discussion on John Kerry and the charges against him.
When presidents appear at the annual Radio and Television Correspondents Dinner, it’s traditional for them to tell a few jokes. But when George W. Bush appeared at this year’s dinner (3/24/04), he made a series of “jokes” about the failure to find the banned weapons that had been the central justification of his invasion of […]
As more Iraqi civilians continue to be killed in Fallujah, CounterSpin explores how US journalism is covering this crucial moment. Also: the Bush administration makes another attempt to sell the public on the Patriot Act, with little interference from media despite deception and inaccuracies.
Why is US reporting on Fallujah so different from that coming from independent and international reporters covering the besieged city? Also: Laura Flanders talks her new book, which takes a critical look at women of the Bush administration.
As the casualties mount in the besieged Iraqi city of Fallujah, Qatar-based Al Jazeera has been one of the only news networks broadcasting from the inside, relaying images of destruction and civilian victims– including women and children. But when CNN anchor Daryn Kagan interviewed the network’s editor-in-chief, Ahmed Al-Sheik, on Monday (4/12/04)– a rare opportunity […]
When presidents appear at the annual Radio and Television Correspondents Dinner, it’s traditional for them to tell a few jokes. But when George W. Bush appeared last week (3/24/04), he made a series of “jokes” about the failure to find the weapons of mass destruction that had been the central justification of his invasion of […]
A year after the invasion of Iraq began, the Sunday morning interview shows all focused on the anniversary. But viewers would have had a hard time finding a debate on the controversial decision. ABC’s This Week with George Stephanopoulos featured an interview with Secretary of State Colin Powell, who was also the sole guest on […]
NPR ombudsman Jeffrey Dvorkin responded (1/28/04) to complaints about a Morning Edition interview with Vice President Richard Cheney (1/22/04), including many emails that were sent in response to a FAIR Action Alert (1/23/04). In his response, Dvorkin wrote that “FAIR’s suggestion that Morning Edition devote some time to further investigation of Cheney’s statements from that […]
(NOTE: Please see the Activism Update regarding this alert.) Vice President Dick Cheney rarely submits to one-on-one interviews, so the chance to question him directly presents a valuable opportunity for journalists. Unfortunately, National Public Radio‘s Juan Williams failed to challenge Cheney’s questionable claims about Iraq on the January 22 broadcast of NPR‘s Morning Edition. In […]
If Friedman had actually listened to what speakers at the rally had to say, he would have heard plenty of discussion of the day’s violence.
“I was in Paris with a delightful, interesting man who works for the Times, John Hess. John was in the Paris bureau, and hewas one of the people who sort of straightened me out about Vietnam. He bugged me about it and told me I had to learn more–and I did. —New York Times columnist […]
Are the media ignoring the good news in Iraq? From pundits to White House officials, that’s what many critics are saying. According to George W. Bush (10/6/03), “We’re making good progress in Iraq. Sometimes it’s hard to tell it when you listen to the filter.” While these complaints have sparked extensive discussion and debate in […]
(NOTE: Please see the update to the alert). On a weekend when the Bush administration’s pre-war intelligence on Iraq was a major topic on the Sunday talkshows, Secretary of State Colin Powell re-circulated a false story about United Nations weapons inspectors being kicked out of Iraq in 1998. Some major media outlets let Powell’s comments […]
