Monthly Archives: June 2010

In 'Ramallah Bubble,' Gaza and West Bank Poverty Don't Exist

Posted on 06/30/2010 by Alex Kane

Writing from the confines of what some Palestinians call the "Ramallah bubble" (Ha'aretz, 1/1/09), Thomas Friedman (New York Times, 6/30/10) thinks he knows how to solve the Israeli/Palestinian conflict: "quietly support[ing]" the Palestinian Authority while it builds a "real economy, … Continue reading →

Posted in International, Israel/Palestine, New York Times, newspapers | Tagged | 6 Comments

Pete Peterson's Real Crisis: America Speaks and Says the Wrong Thing

Posted on 06/30/2010 by Peter Hart

Billionaire Pete Peterson has spent a lot of money trying to convince people that Social Security is a serious threat to the country's finances. And it's a message that the corporate media love to echo. So when Peterson's group decided … Continue reading →

Posted in Social Security | Tagged , | 9 Comments

Larry Rohter Responds on South of the Border

Posted on 06/29/2010 by Peter Hart

New York Times reporter Larry Rohter turned in afactually challenged fact-check of Oliver Stone's new film South of the Border. So Stone and the film's co-writers Mark Weisbrot and Tariq Ali wrote a devastating rebuttal. A reader passed along a … Continue reading →

Posted in International, New York Times | Tagged , , , , | 6 Comments

NYT on Arizona's Immigrant Crime: Not as Bad as O'Reilly

Posted on 06/28/2010 by Peter Hart

We've rather amply documented Bill O'Reilly's record of misinformation on Arizona, immigration and crime. It's not surprising–but nonetheless worth documenting–that O'Reilly would bend reality in order to bash immigrants and defend the new Arizona law. But the way the New … Continue reading →

Posted in Immigration, Media Criticism, New York Times | Tagged , | 1 Comment

NYT Reporter, Playing Film Critic, Pans Film About Himself

Posted on 06/28/2010 by Peter Hart

It's not a huge surprise that a correspondent for a newspaper that supportedthe coup thatousted Venezuelan PresidentHugo Chavez would dislike a film that offers a more sympathetic view of Chavez's politics. That said, Larry Rohter'sreview (New York Times, 6/26/10) of … Continue reading →

Posted in International, New York Times | Tagged , , , | 13 Comments

After McChrystal, Still No Room for Afghanistan Debate?

Posted on 06/28/2010 by Peter Hart

In the wake of the Rolling Stone/Stanley McChrystal controversy, one might think that there could finally be some space to have a debate about the Afghanistan war–especially considering that the magazine article was really about fundamental questions about the war … Continue reading →

Posted in Afghanistan, Media Criticism, Washington Post | 3 Comments

McChrystal's Media Soldiers Strike Back

Posted on 06/28/2010 by Peter Hart

It's not that surprising that some in the corporate media, driven either by admiration for ousted Gen. Stanley McChrystal or disdain for Rolling Stone's scoop, have rushed in to defend or explain away his behavior. In Saturday's Washington Post (6/26/10), … Continue reading →

Posted in magazines, Media Criticism, War/Military, Washington Post | Tagged , , , | 15 Comments

Journalistic Standards Plunging, Say Anonymous Name-Calling Friends

Posted on 06/28/2010 by Jim Naureckas

Salon's Glenn Greenwald has an illuminating post (6/27/10) that argues that the Atlantic's Jeffrey Goldberg, with his "self-praising, desperately insecure need to tout his own wisdom, knowledge and expertise, while demeaning those who are not admitted to his Special Club…is … Continue reading →

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

Conservative Exclusion Is a Right-Wing Delusion

Posted on 06/25/2010 by Jim Naureckas

National Review senior editor Jay Nordlinger (Corner, 3/24/10), responding to CNN pairing disgraced Democratic Gov. Eliot Spitzer with a not-conservative-enough-for-National-Review Kathleen Parker, muses: I'm reminded why conservatives had to build their own media outlets. It's sort of like Jews and … Continue reading →

Posted in Time | Tagged , , , | 19 Comments

Oxymoron: Murdoch Media Ethics

Posted on 06/25/2010 by Steve Rendall

Having your ethics challenged by a Rupert Murdoch-owned media outlet is like having your honesty challenged by Bernie Madoff. Take the recent story about CNN hiring former New York Gov. Eliot Spitzer, who resigned from the office in 2008 following … Continue reading →

Posted in Fox News | Tagged , , | 14 Comments

Congo: The Sucking Vortex Where Africa's Heart Should Be

Posted on 06/25/2010 by Julie Hollar

That's according to Time magazine's Alex Perry (7/5/10): If you want to see what's wrong with Africa, take a trip to the Democratic Republic of Congo. The size of Western Europe, with almost no paved roads, Congo is the sucking … Continue reading →

Posted in International, Time | Tagged , | 163 Comments

Action Alert: NYT, WaPo Create a Nation of Deficit Hawks

Posted on 06/24/2010 by Peter Hart

FAIR has a new Action Alert (6/24/10) on recent reports in the NY Times and WashingtonPost suggesting that voters are more concerned with the budget deficit than job creation.Please post copies of your letters to the papers, or responses on … Continue reading →

Posted in Media Criticism | 2 Comments

Trust Me, But Don't Quote Me

Posted on 06/24/2010 by Peter Hart

The Washington Post (6/23/10) allows an anonymous voice inside the White House to spill the beans on the decision to replace Gen. Stanley McChrystal with Gen. David Petraeus: Said a senior administration official, who, like others, spoke on the condition … Continue reading →

Posted in Afghanistan, Media Criticism, War/Military | Tagged , | 1 Comment

Media, Access and McChrystal

Posted on 06/24/2010 by Peter Hart

There's been a discussion (some of it neatly summarized on the Daily Show) of elite journalists' reaction to the explosive comments made by Gen. Stanley McChrystal and his staffers to Rolling Stone freelancer Michael Hastings. One admission came via a … Continue reading →

Posted in Afghanistan, War/Military | Tagged , , , | 11 Comments

The Petraeus Surge Narrative Is Back

Posted on 06/24/2010 by Alex Kane

With Gen. David Petraeus back in the media spotlight after being tapped to take control of the Afghanistan war following General Stanley McChrystal's fall from grace, the corporate media are trumpeting the "successful" surge in Iraq (Extra, 9/10/08) that Petraeus … Continue reading →

Posted in CNN, International, Iraq, NBC, Washington Post | Tagged , , | 15 Comments