Monthly Archives: March 2009

Black Women Are Props in Caitlin Flanagan's Rant

Caitlin Flanagan, primarily known (and embraced by mainstream media) for her anti-feminist writings, was back in the New York Times this weekend–this time attacking former '70s radical Sara Jane Olson. As a member of the Symbionese Liberation Army, Olson (born … Continue reading

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The WPost's Salvadoran History Lesson

The Washington Post editorial page produced a remarkable editorial on Saturday (3/21/09) headlined "Victory in El Salvador." It's not surprising that the Post would try to argue that the victory of left-wing FMLN presidential candidate Mauricio Funes was not anothersign … Continue reading

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On WaPo's 'Remarkable Class Solidarity'

Wondering at the "remarkable class solidarity" displayed by U.S. elitists, Robert Parry (Consortium News, 3/22/09) hypothesizes that "this may help explain why the Washington Post's editorial writers penned three editorials last week decrying the populist outrage over the AIG bonuses": … Continue reading

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Euphemisms and Afghanistan

The lead of an articlein the New York Times today (3/23/09): KABUL, Afghanistan â┚¬” A predawn raid by United States Special Forces that killed five people on Sunday has produced sharply conflicting accounts from the American military and local Afghan … Continue reading

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A New Challenge to Net Neutrality

The media activist group Free Press has a new release (3/19/09) warning of the latest threat to free speech online: "a technology known as Deep Packet Inspection (DPI) that offers Internet service providers unprecedented control over Internet content." DPI, says … Continue reading

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O'Reilly: A New Low in Creepiness?

It takes a special kind of person to send stalkers out after a woman because she wrote a blog post criticizing you for blaming a victim of rape and murder for wearing the wrong sort of clothing.

Posted in Gender | Tagged , | 1 Comment

When Are the Rich Not Really 'Rich'?

If you look at the front page of the New York Post today (3/23/09), you see a big headline about New York State's "Secret Deal to Tax 'Rich.'" The scare quotes are there to indicate, presumably, that the taxpayers in … Continue reading

Posted in Economy, Media Business | Tagged , | 2 Comments

Sports Mag's 3 Strikes: Racist, Sexist, Homophobic

Journal-isms writer Richard Prince is highlighting (3/19/09) an article in the current issue of GQ headlined "You Think Your Job Sucks? Try Working for Lenny Dykstra"–the title of which might be an understatement, considering some of its reporting therein: A … Continue reading

Posted in Gender, Media Business, Race | Tagged , , , , | 2 Comments

Fox News and Sarah Palin, Like Family. . . Really

Upon seeing that, "on her show Tuesday night, Fox News' Greta Van Susteren devoted an entire segment to criticizing David Letterman" for having "made jokes about Sarah Palin and her family," Political Animal blogger Steve Benen (3/19/09) notices that there … Continue reading

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Lou Dobbs Celebrates America by Slurring Asians

Think Progress editor Ali Frick (3/18/09) has posted video of CNN's celebrity xenophobe descending into the Rosie O'Donnell realm of racist ridicule of Asian language: Yesterday on his radio show, anti-immigrant crusader Lou Dobbs attacked St. Patrick's Day as a … Continue reading

Posted in Race | Tagged , , | 1 Comment

Liberal Blogger Men Love Conservative Columnist Man

Resisting the tide of "liberal blogger men" who "are thrilled with the New York Times' appointment of 29-year-old Atlantic blogger Ross Douthat to replace William Kristol on the op-ed page," Katha Pollitt (Nation, 3/18/09) contrasts the fact that "Douthat is … Continue reading

Posted in Gender, Iraq | Tagged , , , | 1 Comment

ABC Tries to Calm the Populist Fire

You can accuse some in the media of paying too much attention to the bonuses at AIG, but on ABC's newscast they've been doing the opposite–trying to tell people to stop talking down "our" company. ABC's World News With Charles … Continue reading

Posted in ABC, Economy | Tagged , , , | 3 Comments

Charlie Gibson on Pulling Punches

Courtesy of the New York Daily News (3/18/09): ABC's World News anchor Charles Gibson at one point considered being a sports reporter. However, he ultimately realized the job was more difficult than it looked. "I began to realize that sports … Continue reading

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On Groupthink and 'Financial Infotainment'

Editorializing in the Wall Street Journal (3/18/09) on how "Financial Journalists Fail Upward," Wrecking Crew author Thomas Frank sees the "world of financial infotainment" as its own "market where accountability does not seem to exist" and in which "the old … Continue reading

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Crony Capitalist Props Up NYT

Writing that "an astonishing number of North American dailies are gasping their last," veteran Mexico journalist John Ross (CounterPunch, 3/18/09) cites "a recent survey by the New York Times, itself on its last legs," that "lists 75 daily newspapers of … Continue reading

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