Monthly Archives: April 2009

On the Rare Journalistic Habit of 'Thinking Independently'

Posted on 04/22/2009 by Gabriel Voiles

On the occasion of the first annual Izzy Awards from Jeff Cohen's Park Center for Independent Media, the son of progressive journalism icon I.F. Stone, Jeremy Stone (Consortium News, 4/1/09), describes Stone's most journalistically valuable quality–"his capacity for thinking independently"–along … Continue reading →

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Commentary's Trumped-Up Case Against I.F. Stone

Posted on 04/22/2009 by Jim Naureckas

Right-wing historians are back again with more claims that the renowned progressive journalist I.F. Stone was a KGB operative. Harvey Klehr, John Earl Haynes and Alexander Vassiliev have an article on Commentary's website headlined "I.F. Stone, Soviet Agent–Case Closed." "Until … Continue reading →

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Unaccountability: 'A Trans-Partisan Religious Tenet of Beltway Culture'

Posted on 04/22/2009 by Gabriel Voiles

Blogging from his regular Salon perch (4/20/09, ad-viewing required), Glenn Greenwald notes that the public wants to investigate U.S. torture (that's what the polls tell us), but: These facts about public opinion are virtually always excluded from establishment media discussions, … Continue reading →

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More Calls to Bomb (Any) Somalians

Posted on 04/22/2009 by Gabriel Voiles

Taking the brave position (ScholarsAndRogues.com, 4/20/09) that the National Review Online is so bad that it makes William F. Buckley's print version look "semi-respectable" by comparison, former U.S. Navy Commander Jeff Huber writes that in his April 11 NRO post, … Continue reading →

Posted in International | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | 4 Comments

Glimpsing Journalism's 'Devouring Black Hole of Corruption'

Posted on 04/22/2009 by Gabriel Voiles

A Tiny Revolution blogger Jonathan Schwarz (4/18/09) samples the response to Mike Allen of Politico's quote of "a former top official in the administration of President George W. Bush" calling the publishing of U.S. torture memos "damaging because these are … Continue reading →

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Challenging Media Distortions on Pro-Labor Bill

Posted on 04/21/2009 by Isabel Macdonald

NBC Today show host Matt Lauer introduced Today's exclusive interview with Wal-Mart's new CEO by saying, 'If you really want to know how the economy is affecting the average American, he's the guy to talk to.â┚¬Ã‚ Trust the corporate media … Continue reading →

Posted in Media Criticism | 1 Comment

Media Discover 'Obscure' Latin American Book

Posted on 04/20/2009 by Isabel Macdonald

When Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez gave U.S. President Barack Obama a copy of Eduardo Galeano's book The Open Veins of Latin America: Five Centuries of the Pillage of a Continent at last weekend's Summit of the Americas, the corporate media … Continue reading →

Posted in International | Tagged , , , , , | 3 Comments

ABC's 2007 Pro-Waterboarding Propaganda

Posted on 04/20/2009 by Peter Hart

Today the New York Times is reporting that waterboarding was used far more often than we have been told–almost 300 times on two prisoners, including Abu Zubaydah.Thisstands in rather stark contrast to what we heard about the instant, positive effects … Continue reading →

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

Playing the Left on TV

Posted on 04/20/2009 by Peter Hart

Regular NewsHour left/right panelists Mark Shields and David Brooks were off on April 18. Sittingin on the right was former Bush speechwriter Michael Gerson.In the liberal chair was Washington Post columnist Ruth Marcus, who is not exactly known for her … Continue reading →

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MSNBC's 'Train Has Left the Station'–and Left Truth Behind

Posted on 04/20/2009 by Gabriel Voiles

Political Animal blogger Steve Benen (4/8/09) asks if maybe it's "Already Too Late for the Truth" in cable news coverage of U.S. military spending, considering that directly "after Defense Secretary Robert Gates unveiled his recommendations for restructuring military spending–and boosting … Continue reading →

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

MSM: Pioneers in Selective Memory

Posted on 04/20/2009 by Gabriel Voiles

Norman Solomon is unable to resist the irony (Huffington Post, 4/11/09) of a lead New York Times article titled "Brain Researchers Open Door to Editing Memory," inverting the futuristic character of news that scientists possibly "could erase certain memories by … Continue reading →

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Activists Beat Back Tiered Internet Scheme

Posted on 04/20/2009 by Gabriel Voiles

Free Press Campaign Director Tim Karr (SaveTheInternet.com, 4/16/09) is celebrating Time Warner Cable having "shelved its plan to impose excessive Internet fees against those who use the Web for more than email and basic surfing." Karr details how Time Warner … Continue reading →

Posted in Media Business | Tagged , , | 1 Comment

WSJ Distorts Tax Rate for the Rich

Posted on 04/20/2009 by Gabriel Voiles

Reading Wall Street Journal reporter Gary Fields' "point that a family making slightly over $250,000 doesnâ┚¬Ã¢”ž¢t necessarily feel all that 'rich' when it comes to facing a tax hike from Barack Obama," Matthew Yglesias (Think Progress, 4/17/09) dubs his story … Continue reading →

Posted in Economy, Wall Street Journal | Tagged , , , | 5 Comments

Spanish Torture Indictments Dead?

Posted on 04/18/2009 by Steve Rendall

Reading some of the latest headlines, one might think that Spanish investigations and possible indictments of six former Bush officials for alleged involvement in torture were dead in the water. As the Associated Press banner put it (4/17/09): "Spain: No … Continue reading →

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Robert Samuelson, Not an Economist

Posted on 04/18/2009 by Peter Hart

Washington Post/Newsweek economics columnist Robert Samuelson was recently out plugging his new book at an event recorded by C-SPAN. Samuelson began his remarks (watch the video here, at the 4:20 mark) by saying: I am not an economist. I'm a … Continue reading →

Posted in Economy | Tagged , , | 3 Comments