Monthly Archives: June 2010

The Real Ed Henry

Posted on 06/15/2010 by Jim Naureckas

NPR's Brooke Gladstone (On the Media, 6/11/10) interviewed CNN's Ed Henry about thesquirt-gun party at the vice president's mansion that Henry giddily tweeted about: BROOKE GLADSTONE: If these events don't influence coverage, why do you think the White House throws … Continue reading →

Posted in CNN, Politics | Tagged , , | 7 Comments

You Can't Watch What You Want

Posted on 06/15/2010 by Peter Hart

The AP has a story today (6/14/10) noting the continuing problems Al Jazeera English is experiencing in getting on American television: Frustrated by its continuing inability to crack the American television market, Al Jazeera English's new strategy is to make … Continue reading →

Posted in Cable TV | Tagged | 14 Comments

It's Apple's Party, and We're Just the Guests There

Posted on 06/14/2010 by Jim Naureckas

Media Detector, a New York Times blog, has a post today (6/14/10) about a comic book adaptation of James Joyce's Ulysses that Apple is insisting be bowdlerized before it can be turned into an app for the iPad–replacing an image … Continue reading →

Posted in First Amendment | Tagged | 13 Comments

Iran's Nuclear Weapons, Again

Posted on 06/14/2010 by Peter Hart

Last October we noted ("Iraq All Over Again?," Media Advisory, 10/7/09) thatreporters and corporate pundits were often treating allegations about Iran's nuclear weapons ambitions as if they were facts. There have been no verifiable discoveries of an Iranian nuclear weapons … Continue reading →

Posted in Iran, Media Criticism | Tagged | 8 Comments

Who Knew That Israeli Blockade Is 'Economic Warfare'?

Posted on 06/14/2010 by Alex Kane

When the corporate media explain the logic behind Israel's blockade of the Gaza Strip, they turn to what Israel says officially and publicly. For example, today's New York Times, in an article on an Israeli government-backed investigation into the deadly … Continue reading →

Posted in Israel/Palestine | Tagged | 11 Comments

Howard Kurtz and the Problem of Helen Thomas

Posted on 06/14/2010 by Peter Hart

People have interpreted the Helen Thomas controversy an number of ways.Some weredisappointed in her remarks,sincethey are overshadowing the fact that for years she's asked questions aboutissues that the rest of the press corps didn't care about. Others have suggested that … Continue reading →

Posted in CNN, Washington Post | Tagged , | 26 Comments

Thomas Friedman and 'Our' Failures

Posted on 06/14/2010 by Peter Hart

New York Times columnist Tom Friedman arguedyesterday (6/13/10) that, when it comes down to it,we're all to blame for the BP disaster. And that's not all we're to blame for: We cannot fix what ails America unless we look honestly … Continue reading →

Posted in Economy, Environment, New York Times | Tagged | 24 Comments

The Ghost of Anti-Entitlement Crusaders Past

Posted on 06/12/2010 by Jim Naureckas

You know, the fact of the matter is we have to change how we do things. We are on an imprudent and unsustainable path in a number of ways. You talk about debtors' prisons, we used to have debtors' prisons, … Continue reading →

Posted in CNBC, Economy | Tagged , , | 10 Comments

Thousands of Rockets, Millions of Bullets?

Posted on 06/11/2010 by Jim Naureckas

One thing to add about coverage of Gaza's' rockets is the popularity of the phrase "thousands of rockets." To cite one of many examples, Joe Klein writes for Time (6/9/10): There is reason to treat Hamas as an enemy of … Continue reading →

Posted in Israel/Palestine | Tagged | 37 Comments

Misleading Media on Israel and Gaza Rockets

Posted on 06/11/2010 by Peter Hart

In much of the coverage of Gaza, there is a media shorthand that is used torecall some of the most important recent history. Like in today's New York Times (6/11/10): Israel imposed the embargo, allowing in charitable goods and letting … Continue reading →

Posted in Israel/Palestine, New York Times, Time | Tagged | 31 Comments

Turkey Is Media's Latest Target for Alleged 'Terror' Ties

Posted on 06/10/2010 by Alex Kane

The Israeli raid on the Gaza flotilla that resulted in the deaths of eight Turkish citizens and one Turkish-American has led Israel and its supporters to argue (see The Weekly Standard, 5/31/10) that the Turkish government and a prominent Turkish … Continue reading →

Posted in International, Israel/Palestine, Media Criticism, New York Times, Washington Post | 21 Comments

When You Said Bush Wasn't a Nazi, You Meant He Was a Nazi–But He Isn't

Posted on 06/10/2010 by Jim Naureckas

Under the headline "President Bush Is No Nazi Torturer," Washington Post editorial writer Eva Rodriguez uses a blog post (6/9/10) to "take exception" to another Post blog item (6/9/10) written by Nation editor Katrina vanden Heuvel. The point of contention: … Continue reading →

Posted in Afghanistan, Washington Post | Tagged , | 20 Comments

Political Eras Are Getting Shorter and Shorter

Posted on 06/09/2010 by Jim Naureckas

Three weeks ago, under the headline "Activists Seize Control of Politics," Politico (5/19/10) was reporting that U.S. politics may have changed forever: The 2010 electorate has swallowed an emetic–disgorging in a series of retching convulsions officeholders in both parties who … Continue reading →

Posted in Politics | Tagged | 2 Comments

More Social Security Bashing from NYT, WashPost

Posted on 06/09/2010 by Peter Hart

In a June 8 piece about a liberal summit in D.C. this week,the New York Times notes thatthe left's support forprograms like Medicare and Social Security areoutof touch with fiscal reality, and that budget cuts elsewhere aren't going to matter … Continue reading →

Posted in New York Times, Washington Post | Tagged , | 19 Comments

A Question for Defenders of 'Go Back to Poland and Germany'

Posted on 06/09/2010 by Jim Naureckas

I have a question for the surprising number of people who are defending Helen Thomas' comments: Don't you think, given Thomas' record, that if she thought she had said something she could stand behind, she would be standing behind it?

Posted in Israel/Palestine | Tagged | 69 Comments