President Barack Obama's address yesterday on U.S. terror strategies got a lot of attention for supposedly charting a new course in America's longest war. But some of the facts were mangled along the way.
May
24
2013
FAIR TV: PBS and Koch, Guatemala and the U.S. Role and Rumsfeld Meets the Press
By 3 Comments
This week: PBS won't be showing us the documentary Citizen Koch–for some very dubious reasons. Also: The New York Times points out that the U.S. role in supporting genocide in Guatemala was hardly discussed at the trial; the same goes for U.S. media coverage of that trial. And Donald Rumsfeld goes on Meet the Press to talk about accountability. No, it's not what you think.
May
23
2013
Yes, You Can Be for Press Freedom and Still Think Journalists Ought to Do Their Jobs Well
By 3 Comments
The reality is that it is possible to both protest government intrusions on press freedom and to condemn bad journalism of the sort practiced by Jonathan Karl. It's important for protect journalism from official control for the same reason that it's important for media outlets to do a good job.
May
22
2013
What an Anonymous U.S. Official Says About Iranians in Syria
By 10 Comments
Suggesting that the Free Syrian Army believes Iranians are in Syria–which is probably true–is not the same thing as saying "Iran has sent soldiers to Syria" to fight on Assad's behalf.
May
21
2013
Problems at PBS, From Rose to Koch
By 36 Comments
If you think public television exists to offer challenging, independent news and public affairs shows that bring us stories the stories the commercial media too often ignore, free of the influence of big sponsors and corporate owners… well, this hasn't been a good week.
May
20
2013
Bum Rap: The U.S. Role in Guatemalan Genocide
By 10 Comments
The New York Times report, "Trial on Guatemalan Civil War Carnage Leaves Out U.S. Role," raises at least one obvious question: How much has U.S. coverage of the Ríos Montt trial talked about U.S. support for genocide?
May
17
2013
You're to Blame for Factory Deaths. Well, You and Walmart
By 19 Comments
The New Yorker's James Surowiecki has figured out who's to blame for unsafe working conditions for garment workers: people who wear clothing: "The problem isn't so much evil factory owners as a system that's great at getting Western consumers what they want but leaves developing-world workers toiling in misery."
May
17
2013
FAIR TV: The IRS & Obama's Scandal Trifecta, Matthews Praises Reagan, Newseum Scandal
By 3 Comments
What should we make of the so-called "trifecta" of scandals hitting the Obama White House? And what questions should we ask about the IRS/Tea Party story? Also this week: Chris Matthews wants Obama to take charge–just like the union-busting Ronald Reagan. And the Newseum decides two Palestinian journalists shouldn't be considered part of their tribute to journalists who died reporting the news.
May
17
2013
Is There Really a 'Scandal Trifecta'?
By 19 Comments
Benghazi, the Justice Department seizing AP phone records, and the IRS targeting Tea Party groups: Much of the Beltway press corps–which has pushed the Benghazi story for months–is seeing the Obama presidency in a state of near free-fall. But what's actually happening?
May
16
2013
The Supreme Court Is an Ass
By 7 Comments
From Free Press's helpful explainer of the AP phone records scandal, noting the legal background: Smith v. Maryland — In this 1979 decision, the Supreme Court found that people have no expectation of privacy when it comes to the numbers they call because they understand it has to be transmitted through a third party (telephone company). Thus, the [Digital Media Law Project] notes, "the government can obtain that information simply by issuing a subpoena to a telephone company or other third party." As Mr. Bumble says, "If the law supposes that, the law is a ass–a idiot." Everyone who wouldn't [...]
May
15
2013
Matthews: Obama Needs to Break a Union Like Reagan
By 17 Comments
Praise for a conservative president's breaking the air traffic controllers' union–that's what you hear on the liberal cable channel.
May
15
2013
The Problem With Journalism? Scott Pelley Blames the Internet
By 6 Comments
CBS anchor Scott Pelley declared, "We are getting big stories wrong, over and over again.'" Well, that sounds like pretty dramatic self-criticism. But, as usual with corporate media self-critiques, Pelley's criticism mostly misses the mark.
May
14
2013
Heritage Immigration Scandal Proof That…Both Sides Do It?
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The controversy over Heritage's dubious immigration report led Bill Keller of the New York Times to write a column about the big lessons of this scandal. And the first lesson? Think tanks on "both sides" are up to no good.
