FAIR is the national progressive media watchdog group, challenging corporate media bias, spin and misinformation.
Afraid of NATO killing civilians in Libya? The New York Times editorial page (4/8/11) sees the way forwardby ramping up the war: There is a much better option: the American A-10 and AC-130 aircraft used earlier in the Libya fighting and still on standby status…. But no other country has aircraft comparable to Americaâ┚¬Ã¢”ž¢s A-10, […]
Dean Baker’s Beat the Press is the best Early Warning Media Mythbuster. It’s simple: You read it every morning before you read the papers (he is up before you are, trust me) and you’re well prepared to deal with the economic nonsense you’ll be subjected to. Today (4/6/11) he proposes this headline for stories about […]
A Drudge Report headline today (4/6/11) representsthe tip of the rotten iceberg: RACE BASE: Obama looks to Rev. Al Sharpton for help in re-election…
NPR Morning Edition (4/5/11) keeps its audience informed about important business news (that just so happens to be about an image-burnishing campaign by the company whose heiress gave them a 9-figure bequest a few years ago): RENEE MONTAGNE: And our last word in business today comes from another Illinois-based employer. The word is McJobs. That […]
MSNBC‘s Rachel Maddow had a discussion last week (3/31/11) about the U.S. role in the Libya War with Col. Jack Jacobs, an MSNBC military consultant. Jacobs described the U.S. military’s “ability to jam communications that take place between units or among units of Gadhafi’s army,” then referred to the U.S.’s ability to jam electronic transmissions […]
The Los Angeles Times‘ Michael Muskal explains Obama’s 2012 campaign: Running for reelection is different than running for the first time because the incumbent has a record that voters can evaluate. Obama will cite healthcare insurance overhaul, his administration’s response to the recession and his foreign policy, which includes winding down wars in Iraq and […]
A brave, truth-telling whistleblower has emerged to tell the White House’s side of the story in the Libya War. The inside scoop appears in a Los Angeles Times article by Christi Parsons (4/2/11) headlined, “For Obama, a Carefully Calculated Delay on Justifying Libya Airstrikes.” Are you confused by the White House’s decision-making on Libya? Fear […]
Few pieces better illustrate the uselessness of so much corporate media political journalism than Kathleen Hennessey’s piece in the L.A. Times (4/4/11) on Republican Rep. Paul Ryan’s deficit reduction plan. The piece is headlined “House Republican Budget Plan Would Revamp Medicare,” and the lead explains that the GOP budget proposal outlined by Ryan “includes an […]
There’s been plenty of talk about NBC‘s decision to skip the news about General Electric‘s ability to make huge profits and pay zero taxes. Now, it’s possible that everyoneat NBC misplaced theircopies of the March 25 New York Times, but the GE story finally made it to the NBC Nightly News yesterday–in a report that […]
In a mostly informative “news analysis” (“Ohio’s Anti-Union Law Is Tougher Than Wisconsin’s,” New York Times, 4/1/11) comparing new anti-union laws that restrict collective bargaining rights in Ohio and Wisconsin, New York Times labor and workplace correspondent Steven Greenhouse seems at one point to adopt the framing and language of anti-labor politicians and pundits: Moreover, […]
The Washington Post‘s Greg Jaffe (4/1/11): Some of the United States’ partners have acknowledged that the initial descriptions of the intervention in Libya no longer apply. “What is happening in Libya is not a no-fly zone,” a senior European diplomat told reporters, speaking on the customary condition of anonymity. “The no-fly zone was a diplomatic […]
The Washington Post‘s Paul Farhi has a piece today (3/30/11) about NBC‘s non-coverage of the revelation that part-owner General Electric is making piles of money–and paying no federal taxes.I’m quoted in it. Farhi breaks it down, and gets an NBC response: It’s the kind of accountability journalism that makes readers raise an eyebrow, if it […]
FAIR’s alert on the NewsHour‘s limited debate on Libya hasn’t sparked any immediate changes at the program. From last night’s broadcast: JUDY WOODRUFF: For more on Libya and the president’s speech, we get the views of two senators. Rhode Island Democrat Jack Reed is on the Armed Services Committee. And Georgia Republican Johnny Isakson is […]
One of the questions about U.S.-led war in Libya is the scope of the conflict. Some rebel forces seem to want more U.S. military action. The Washington Post reportstoday (3/29/11) that this is already happening. Under the headline”U.S. Deploys Low-Flying Attack Planes,” Greg Jaffe explains: The U.S. military dramatically stepped up its assault on Libyan […]
The New York Times‘ Helene Cooper on President Obama’s speech last night (3/29/11): To the democracy protesters across the Middle East, he vowed that the United States would stand by them, even as he said that “progress will be uneven, and change will come differently in different countries,” a partial acknowledgment that complex relations between […]
You may have heard about the New York Times report (3/25/11) explaining that General Electric made $14 billion in worldwide profits in 2010–and paid the federal government exactly nothing in taxes. The Times explained this is”based on an aggressive strategy that mixes fierce lobbying for tax breaks and innovative accounting that enables it to concentrate […]
From Meet the Press (3/27/11): GREGORY: I’ll start with you, Ted Koppel. You spent time, in your early days as a correspondent, with Henry Kissinger. KOPPEL: I did. GREGORY: Who knew something about the big ideas for the world. Is this administration getting the big ideas right in the–in the tumult of the Middle East? […]
The Washington Post‘s Lori Montgomery has what sounds like a pretty important story in today’s paper (3/25/11). The headline: Democrats Splinter Over Strategy for Reducing Deficit Battle Lines Drawn as More Are Willing to Put Entitlements on Table The piece leads off: Democrats are sharply divided over whether to tackle popular but increasingly expensive safety-net […]
Last night (3/24/11) Jim Lehrer introduced a NewsHour discussion segment about the Libya War: Now, how it looks to two former U.S. senators, Democrat Gary Hart of Colorado and Republican Norm Coleman of Minnesota. Senator Hart is now a scholar in residence at the University of Colorado and chair of the Defense Department’s Threat Reduction […]
USA Today has a regular left-right feature between hard-right pundit Cal Thomas and TV “liberal” Bob Beckel. Today’s topic? Nuclear power. And the verdict? Well, the headline tells you all you need to know. Knee-Jerks and Nukes Cal and Bob agree that despite the chorus of hand-wringers, it would be foolish to give up on […]
