Monthly Archives: February 2011

Tom Friedman Admires His Writing in Egyptian Mirror

Posted on 02/11/2011 by Peter Hart

It might be hard for you to imagine covering the democratic uprising in Egypt as a way to reflect upon all the wise things you've written in the past. But you're not Tom Friedman. He wrote today (New York Times, … Continue reading →

Posted in Egypt, New York Times | Tagged | 33 Comments

More 'Liberal Bias' at CNN

Posted on 02/11/2011 by Peter Hart

According to this post at MediaBistro (2/10/11), CNN is adding three new contributors. Two are right-wingers: Dana Loesch, a Tea Party radio host and editorof Andrew Breitbart's BigJournalism website. Will Cain is a commentator at the National Review website. And … Continue reading →

Posted in CNN | Tagged , , , | 26 Comments

Conflating Ousted Presidents and Former Dictators in Haiti

Posted on 02/10/2011 by Peter Hart

It was certainly surprising to see former Haitian dictator Jean-Claude Duvalier return to the country on January 16. To say he hasblood on his hands is an understatement–the Duvalier regimes were responsible for tens of thousands of deaths and widespread … Continue reading →

Posted in Haiti, L.A. Times, New York Times, USA Today | Tagged , , | 14 Comments

Not the Onion: Redskins Owner Offended by Dehumanizing Imagery

Posted on 02/08/2011 by Peter Hart

The owner of the Washington Redskins football team, Dan Snyder, is suing the local City Paper for publishing an unflattering cover image of him–namely, a photo doctored to include devil horns. That imagewasaccompanied by an article about Snyder'sbusiness practices. Rob … Continue reading →

Posted in Race | Tagged , | 13 Comments

NYT's Fisk Factcheck Fail

Posted on 02/08/2011 by Peter Hart

The United States sent former ambassador Frank Wisner to Egypt to talk to Hosni Mubarak. Wisner garnered headlines when he declared support for Mubarak staying in power, causing the White House to try and argue that wasn't the message the … Continue reading →

Posted in Egypt, New York Times | Tagged , , | 12 Comments

LAT Invents Support for LAT Series on Teacher Testing

Posted on 02/08/2011 by Peter Hart

The L.A. Times' controversial investigation last year that rated Los Angeles schoolteachers' effectiveness based on a value-addedresearch methodhasfaced a storm of criticism. (See Wayne Au's recent Rethinking Schools piece.) Now the National Education Policy Center has weighed in, finding that … Continue reading →

Posted in Education, L.A. Times, Washington Post | Tagged , | 1 Comment

U.S. Outraged Over Cuban Detention Practices

Posted on 02/08/2011 by Peter Hart

OnFebruary 5 theAssociated Press ran a story about a case in Cuba: Prosecutors are charging jailed U.S. contractor Alan Gross with "acts against the integrity and independence" of Cuba and requesting a 20-year prison term, state news media reported Friday, … Continue reading →

Posted in AP | Tagged , | 12 Comments

NYT Documents U.S. Support for Egypt's Torturer

Posted on 02/08/2011 by Peter Hart

The White House position on Egypt would seem to back the transfer of some level of official power to Omar Suleiman, who Hosni Mubarak recently named vice president. Suleiman's former role as intelligence chief made him a key player in … Continue reading →

Posted in Media Criticism | Tagged , , | 11 Comments

Politico and Centrist Media Bias (22 Years Late)

Posted on 02/07/2011 by Peter Hart

One of the supposed attractions of the news site Politico is that every so often they give you a peek behind the media curtain, trying to explain how Beltway journalism works. So they don't just obsessively cover Sarah Palin–they explain … Continue reading →

Posted in Media Criticism | Tagged , | 8 Comments

The Powerless Superpower: Broder on Egypt

Posted on 02/07/2011 by Peter Hart

In yesterday's Washington Post (2/6/11),David Broder likenedthe U.S. position on Egypt tobeinga fan of the hapless Chicago Cubs: Big things are happening all aroundyou, but you have noway to do anything about it. That is the reality that confronts President … Continue reading →

Posted in Egypt, Washington Post | Tagged | Leave a comment

The Right Way to Support a Friendly Dictator…er, 'Strongman'

Posted on 02/07/2011 by Peter Hart

From the Friday broadcast of the PBS NewsHour (2/4/11) came a discussion about how the U.S. supports dictators–which elicited some chuckles. Remember, Mark Shields is the one who plays the "left" on the program. MARK SHIELDS: Just one little point … Continue reading →

Posted in Egypt, Media Criticism, MSNBC, PBS | Tagged , , , | 4 Comments

Egypt 'Experts' on 'Public' Television

Posted on 02/04/2011 by Peter Hart

There have been some interesting, informativeTV coverage of Egypt. And then there was last night's Charlie Rose (2/3/11), with special guestsTom Friedman and Henry Kissinger.

Posted in Egypt, PBS | Tagged , , | 3 Comments

Krauthammer's Allergy to Democracy

Posted on 02/04/2011 by Jim Naureckas

Displaying the same allergy to actual democracy shown by Joe Klein (FAIR Blog, 2/3/11), Washington Post columnist Charles Krauthammer (2/4/11) calls, like Klein, for a military regime in Egypt to impose a "period of stability" for "guiding the country to … Continue reading →

Posted in Egypt, Washington Post | Tagged | 10 Comments

A Tough Call: Daily News Media Bias Poll

Posted on 02/04/2011 by Peter Hart

Hmmm… can I get two votes? For the record, the results are currently 94 percent for liberal control, 1 percent for conservative-pandering and 5 percent for control by the rich.

Posted in Media Criticism, newspapers, Polling | Tagged , , | 42 Comments

Joe Klein and the Rotten Fruit of Arab Democracy

Posted on 02/03/2011 by Peter Hart

Sometimes words fail. Joe Klein, writing in the new issue of Time, wonders: How on earth do we get saddled with such creepy clients as Karzai and Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak, over and over again? Yes, why do they keep … Continue reading →

Posted in Afghanistan, Egypt, Time | Tagged , | 22 Comments