Monthly Archives: April 2010

PBS Oil Spill Deja Vu?

Posted on 04/30/2010 by Peter Hart

When FAIR released a study of the PBS's NewsHour (then known as the MacNeil/Lehrer NewsHour) in 1989, one finding stood out: The Exxon Valdez oil spill was the major environmental story of the period. MacNeil/Lehrer had seven segments on the … Continue reading →

Posted in Environment, PBS | Tagged , | 16 Comments

Obama's DOJ vs. the First Amendment

Posted on 04/29/2010 by Jim Naureckas

The Obama Justice Department–or at least one of its top prosecutors–is cracking down on investigative reporting without regard for the First Amendment. The first disturbing development was the indictment of NSA whistleblower Thomas Drake, whose leaks to the Baltimore Sun … Continue reading →

Posted in Barack Obama, First Amendment, New York Times | Tagged , , , , | 9 Comments

Glenn Beck Thinks Some People Have Gone Too Far

Posted on 04/28/2010 by Peter Hart

Fox host Glenn Beck has had it (4/27/10) with opponents of Arizona's new immigration law making analogies to Nazi Germany: I hate to rain on the hate parade here, but can we please slow down for just a minute and, … Continue reading →

Posted in Cable TV, Fox News | Tagged , | 16 Comments

George Will Thinks You Don't Know Any Latinos, Either

Posted on 04/28/2010 by Jim Naureckas

George Will, defending Arizona's draconian new immigration law, concludes his column (Washington Post, 4/28/10) with this today: Arizonans should not be judged disdainfully and from a distance by people whose closest contacts with Hispanics are with fine men and women … Continue reading →

Posted in Race, Washington Post | Tagged , , | 24 Comments

Can Intent to Commit Journalism Turn a Good Samaritan Into a Felon?

Posted on 04/27/2010 by Jim Naureckas

I'm having trouble getting my mind around the legal case against Gizmodo editor Jason Chen, who purchased an iPhone prototype that was apparently mislaid in a bar, published photographs of it on the Gawker-affiliated blog, and then returned it to … Continue reading →

Posted in First Amendment | Tagged , , | 15 Comments

What Would the Tea Party Look Like if It Were British, and Totally Different?

Posted on 04/27/2010 by Jim Naureckas

As a U.S. political columnist, the Washington Post's Anne Applebaum ("Britain's Spot of Tea Party," 4/27/10) might be excused for calling the Liberal Democratic Party "Britain's historically insignificant third party"; historically speaking, it was actually one of Britain's two major … Continue reading →

Posted in International, Politics, Washington Post | Tagged , , | 4 Comments

The IMF to the Rescue?

Posted on 04/26/2010 by Peter Hart

A Washington Post article (4/23/10) about the International Monetary Fund focused on the advice it is offering for the United States. The piece notes that this is somewhat unusual. Even stranger, though, is the Post's description of IMF officials as … Continue reading →

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

Someone Has to Defend Goldman Sachs

Posted on 04/26/2010 by Peter Hart

And that someone is Fareed Zakaria, in columns published in the Washington Post ("Cool the Goldman Rage") and in the Post-owned Newsweek. Zakaria is unimpressed by the SEC's fraud case against Goldman Sachs; he likens the firm's mortgage securities bonds … Continue reading →

Posted in Economy, Media Criticism, Newsweek, Washington Post | Tagged , | 14 Comments

Washington Post, or The Onion?

Posted on 04/26/2010 by Peter Hart

A real headline today (4/26/10) in the Washington Post: Amid Outrage Over Civilian Deaths in Pakistan, CIA Turns to Smaller Missiles The piece–by Joby Warrick and Peter Finn–has government officials (anonymously, of course) providing new assurances: The technological improvements have … Continue reading →

Posted in War/Military, Washington Post | Tagged | 14 Comments

WP: Israelis, Palestinians Not Sharing Israeli Highway?

Posted on 04/26/2010 by Peter Hart

The headline of this Washington Post piece today (4/26/10) is certainly not promising: Sharing a West Bank Highway Proves a Tall Order for Israel, Palestinians The highway in question was built by the Israeli government on occupied Palestinian territory. Since … Continue reading →

Posted in Israel/Palestine, Washington Post | 20 Comments

Party Like a Beltway Insider Journalist!

Posted on 04/26/2010 by Peter Hart

Perhaps the most revealing anecdote (noted by Glenn Greenwald, and likely others) in Sunday's New York Times Magazine profile (4/25/10) of the Politico's gossip-journalist Mike Allen: On a recent Friday night, a couple hundred influentials gathered for a Mardi Gras-themed … Continue reading →

Posted in Media Criticism | 12 Comments

Action Alert: PBS Misrepresents Single-Payer Advocates

Posted on 04/23/2010 by Jim Naureckas

FAIR's latest Action Alert (4/23/10) concerns the Frontline program Obama's Deal, which not only didn't mention the single-payer proposal, but misrepresented single-payer advocates as proponents of a public option. You can leave copies of your messages to Frontline, or comments … Continue reading →

Posted in Healthcare, Media Activism, PBS | Tagged , | 48 Comments

It's Hard to Make a Flat Line Sound Sexy

Posted on 04/23/2010 by Jim Naureckas

A New York Times article (4/23/10) by Peter Baker and David Herszenhorn remarks of Barack Obama: With his poll numbers sagging, the choreographed confrontation seemed aimed at tapping the nationâ┚¬Ã¢”ž¢s antiestablishment mood as well as muscling financial regulation legislation through … Continue reading →

Posted in Barack Obama, New York Times, Polling | Tagged , , | 5 Comments

'The Money Is Not There' for Education, NBC Says–So Where Did It Go?

Posted on 04/22/2010 by Jim Naureckas

Brian Williams introduced a report on NBC Nightly News (4/21/10) with this declaration: "Public schools from coast to coast in this country are looking at tens of thousands of layoffs, a lot of them teachers, because the money is not … Continue reading →

Posted in Economy, Education, Network TV | Tagged , , | 29 Comments

Reuters Explains Iran in One Sentence

Posted on 04/21/2010 by Peter Hart

Usually propaganda is a little more clever than this (Reuters, 4/20/10): Israel, like the United States, European Union and others, suspects Iran is developing atomic weapons, a charge Tehran denies. Iran, whose president has said Israel should be wiped off … Continue reading →

Posted in International, Israel/Palestine, Media Criticism | Tagged | 24 Comments