Monthly Archives: November 2011

Mitt Romney's Murderous Dictator Gaffe

Posted on 11/30/2011 by Peter Hart

If you've paid attention to the presidential campaign season, you've no doubt been entertained by the string of embarrassments and gaffes: Rick Perry blows the voting age! Herman Cain can't remember what to say about Libya! Mitt Romney talks about … Continue reading →

Posted in Asia, Election | Tagged , , , , , | 20 Comments

Newt Gingrich, Smartest Man in the Room

Posted on 11/29/2011 by Peter Hart

The New York Times today (11/29/11) has a somewhat cheeky piece about Republican candidate Newt Gingrich's background as a historian–which, according to reporter Trip Gabriel, means he's unusually smart: In an election season rife with factual misstatements, deliberate and otherwise, … Continue reading →

Posted in Election, New York Times | Tagged , , | 28 Comments

Anonymously Explaining Pakistan Deaths

Posted on 11/29/2011 by Peter Hart

A New York Times piece today (11/29/11) about the U.S. airstrikes that apparently killed 24 Pakistani soldiers opens with Pakistani Prime Minister Yousaf Raza Gilani speaking publicly about the incident, as does Pakistani military spokesperson Maj. Gen. Athar Abbas. Readers … Continue reading →

Posted in Afghanistan, anonymity, New York Times | 5 Comments

Dead Afghan Kids Still Not Newsworthy

Posted on 11/28/2011 by Peter Hart

Back in March, we wondered when U.S. corporate news outlets would find U.S./NATO killing of Afghan kids newsworthy. Back then, it was nine children killed in a March 1 airstrike. This resulted in two network news stories on the evening … Continue reading →

Posted in Afghanistan, Media Activism, War/Military | Tagged | 10 Comments

Sam Husseini, David Ignatius: Who's the 'Real' Journalist?

Posted on 11/28/2011 by Peter Hart

Sam Husseini asked a tough question of a member of the Saudi royal family at a National Press Club event–which got him into some trouble with folks at the Press Club. (Good news–his suspension has been lifted.) Part of what … Continue reading →

Posted in Media Criticism, Mideast, Washington Post | Tagged , , , | 8 Comments

Which Side Are We On? NYT, U.S and Cluster Bombs

Posted on 11/28/2011 by Peter Hart

International efforts to ban cluster bombs fell apart late last week. If you were reading about this in the New York Times, you might have been led to believe that the United States was pushing to get rid of the … Continue reading →

Posted in New York Times, Reuters, War/Military | Tagged | 22 Comments

A Fox News Blacklist?

Posted on 11/23/2011 by Peter Hart

Conservative David Frum writes in the new issue of New York: Back in 2009, I wrote a piece for Newsweek arguing that Republicans would regret conceding so much power to Rush Limbaugh. Until that point, Iâ┚¬Ã¢”ž¢d been a frequent guest … Continue reading →

Posted in Fox News, New York | Tagged , , | 12 Comments

Does the Lie in Mitt Romney's TV Ad Matter?

Posted on 11/22/2011 by Peter Hart

Huffington Post reporterJon Ward did what reporters should do when covering political campaign ads. He told readers, at the top of his story, that the new Mitt Romney ad was based on a lie: The 60-second Romney ad quoted Obama … Continue reading →

Posted in Advertisers, Barack Obama, Economy, Election, New York Times, Washington Post | Tagged , , , , | 6 Comments

Jonathan Karl Plays the Freddie/Fannie Blame Game

Posted on 11/21/2011 by Peter Hart

News that Newt Gingrich was receiving millions of dollars to advise Freddie Mac has to be a little unsettling for at least some conservative voters, who are accustomed to demonizing the government-sponsored entities Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac for causing … Continue reading →

Posted in ABC, Economy | Tagged , , , , | 5 Comments

It's True: Cops Beat Protesters Even Before OWS

Posted on 11/21/2011 by Peter Hart

New York Times media reporter David Carr has written some interest pieces on Occupy Wall Street. His piece today tries to work out where things go from here, but one comment in the piece about how Occupy Wall Street compares … Continue reading →

Posted in New York Times, protest | Tagged , | 8 Comments

The Ex-Spymaster Currently Known as Prince

Posted on 11/18/2011 by Jim Naureckas

Sam Husseini's encounter with Prince Turki bin Faisal Al Saud makes me wonder once again–why do we call a person like Al Saud a "prince"? Al Saud was the longtime chief of Saudi Arabia's intelligence agency, and later served as … Continue reading →

Posted in Mideast | Tagged , | 9 Comments

Media Get 'Lazy' Factchecking Rick Perry's Ad Claim

Posted on 11/18/2011 by Peter Hart

Republican presidential candidate Rick Perry's new TV commercial is based on a lie. Will reporters say so? The ad starts with a Barack Obama quote: "We've been a little bit lazy, I think, over the last couple of decades." To … Continue reading →

Posted in Barack Obama, CBS, Economy, Election, New York Times, Washington Post | Tagged , , , , | 24 Comments

Don't Commit Journalism at the National Press Club

Posted on 11/18/2011 by Peter Hart

When former FAIR staffer Sam Husseini found out that Saudi Prince Turki al-Faisal al-Sa'ud would be speaking at the National Press Club, he thought it might be a good chance to ask a tough question. The National Press Club apparently … Continue reading →

Posted in First Amendment, Mideast | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | 18 Comments

Public TV's Biz Show Now Owned By….

Posted on 11/18/2011 by Peter Hart

The public TV show Nightly Business Report has gone through some serious changes over the past year or so–sold by the public station that had produced it for years to a somewhat mysterious private company run by an entrepreneur whose … Continue reading →

Posted in Economy, Media Business, PBS | Tagged | 2 Comments

The Kind of Journalist Authorities Don't Mind Not Suppressing

Posted on 11/18/2011 by Jim Naureckas

When the authorities are going out of their way to keep your journalistic colleagues from witnessing what they're up to, yet they reach out to give a ringside seat–what does that say about your reporting? That's the question raised by … Continue reading →

Posted in Media Criticism, New York Times | Tagged | 7 Comments