Monthly Archives: April 2010

Factchecking: At NBC, That's a Job for the Viewer

Posted on 04/13/2010 by Peter Hart

In his stint as interim host of ABC's This Week, Jake Tapper has arranged for the fact-checkers at Politifact to review what the guests say on the ABC Sunday morning show.An idea worth applauding, it came to Tapper via NYU's … Continue reading →

Posted in Washington Post | Tagged , , | 23 Comments

Rewriting Ratzinger's Record to Create a Hero of the Abuse Scandal

Posted on 04/13/2010 by Jim Naureckas

While FAIR Blog complained earlier (3/30/10) that coverage of the Catholic priest sexual abuse scandal was overlooking Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger's involvement in the story before he became Pope Benedict XVI, yesterday two prominent op-eds focused on this history. Unfortunately, both … Continue reading →

Posted in New York Times | Tagged , , , | 14 Comments

Newsweek's Implausible Defense of Catholic Priests

Posted on 04/10/2010 by Jim Naureckas

The evidence Newsweek presents to back up the heading of a recent Web article–"Priests Commit No More Abuse Than Other Males" (4/8/10)–is remarkably unpersuasive. Here's the main argument offered by reporter Pat Wingert: The only hard data that has been … Continue reading →

Posted in Gender, Newsweek | Tagged , | 22 Comments

NYT 'Bent Over Backwards' to Deny Ground Zero Health Risks It Now Reports

Posted on 04/08/2010 by Julie Hollar

As yet another study is released documenting the damaging health effects of breathing in toxic Ground Zero dust, it's good to see corporate media outlets taking it seriously. (Most media outlets, anyway–the New York Post continues to give a platform … Continue reading →

Posted in Media Criticism | Tagged , | 8 Comments

Washington Post's Anti-Social Security Crusade Continues

Posted on 04/08/2010 by Jim Naureckas

The Washington Post (4/8/10) continues its crusade against Social Security (Action Alert, 1/6/10; FAIR Blog, 5/15/09, 5/13/09, 4/1/09) in a front-page news story by Neil Irwin and Lori Montgomery: Social Security is already draining resources from the broader federal budget, … Continue reading →

Posted in Economy, Washington Post | Tagged | 6 Comments

Corporate Media Love to Be Hated by Sarah Palin

Posted on 04/07/2010 by Jim Naureckas

New York Times media reporter David Carr wrote the other day (4/5/10) about Sarah Palin's wide-ranging appeal: Ms. Palin still gets a session in the media spanking machine every time she does anything, but the disapproval seems to further cement … Continue reading →

Posted in New York Times, Politics | Tagged | 4 Comments

NYT Discovers 'New' Palestinian Nonviolent Resistance

Posted on 04/07/2010 by Peter Hart

New York Times reporter Ethan Bronner has a piece today (4/7/10) headlined "Palestinians Try a Less Violent Path to Resistance," which attempts to show that there is a new move away from armed resistance to Israeli occupation. You get that … Continue reading →

Posted in Israel/Palestine, New York Times | Tagged | 22 Comments

Action Alert: Tasini Campaign Not Fit to Print?

Posted on 04/07/2010 by Jim Naureckas

FAIR has a new action alert out about the New York Times' snubbing the U.S. Senate candidate Jonathan Tasini. While the paper has given intensive coverage to numerous New Yorkers who thought about challenging appointed incumbent Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand–but in … Continue reading →

Posted in Media Activism, New York Times, Politics | Tagged | 26 Comments

Tea Party Stupid and Racist? They're Not All Republicans, Says O'Reilly

Posted on 04/06/2010 by Jim Naureckas

Like Andrew Malcolm (FAIR Blog, 4/6/10), Bill O'Reilly (O'Reilly Factor, 4/5/10) has a bone to pick with how the "left-wing media" have representing the Tea Party movement. First, he complained, "Tea Party folks were labeled stupid, too dumb to understand … Continue reading →

Posted in Fox News | Tagged , | 14 Comments

Jonah Goldberg and the Myth of 'Tax Freedom' Day

Posted on 04/06/2010 by Peter Hart

Right-wing columnist Jonah Goldberg leads his column today (USA Today, 4/6/10): Congratulations! This is your last week working for the man–at least for this year. The Tax Foundation calculates that Tax Freedom Day for 2010 is April 9, which means … Continue reading →

Posted in Economy | Tagged , , | 6 Comments

Distorting the Polling on Tea Party Supporters

Posted on 04/06/2010 by Jim Naureckas

Is theTea Party movement actually more politically diverse than the "liberal media" would have you believe? Andrew Malcolm, a blogger for the L.A. Times who used to be Laura Bush's press secretary, thinks so. He wrote yesterday (4/5/10) about a … Continue reading →

Posted in Polling | Tagged , , , , | 13 Comments

More on NYT and ACORN

Posted on 04/05/2010 by Peter Hart

A short New York Times piece by Ian Urbina (4/2/10) serves as an update of sorts on the future of community organizing group ACORN, which says it will continue to have a national presence. Urbina includes this description of the … Continue reading →

Posted in New York Times | Tagged | 12 Comments

NPR Studies NPR's Gender Balance

Posted on 04/05/2010 by Peter Hart

NPR ombud Alicia Shepard has posted an article (4/2/10)headlined "Where Are the Women?,"a summary of a study of the gender diversityofhigh-profile NPR programs. The most important findings: With the aid of NPR librarian Hannah Sommers, we compiled a list of … Continue reading →

Posted in Gender | Tagged | 11 Comments

NYT on U.S. 'Role' in Atrocity

Posted on 04/05/2010 by Peter Hart

The New York Times has a web headline today (4/5/10): "U.S. Admits Role in February Killing of Afghan Women." The story explains that the "role" the U.S. played in the killing of the three women was that it killed them. … Continue reading →

Posted in Afghanistan, New York Times | 4 Comments

Will Face the Nation Factcheck Guest's Healthcare Lies?

Posted on 04/01/2010 by Julie Hollar

Republican Rep. Michele Bachmann made two false claims about healthcare on CBS's Face the Nation last Sunday that went unchallenged by host Bob Schieffer. CBS did, however, post an article on their website challenging her claims. FAIR has a new … Continue reading →

Posted in Healthcare, Media Activism | Tagged , , | 19 Comments