Monthly Archives: December 2011

How Many Media Activists Does It Take….

Posted on 12/23/2011 by Peter Hart

..To keep FAIR going strong? Almost 900,000 people have visited the FAIR Blog this year. On these pages we've given you timely, informed media criticism. We've past the halfway mark to our fundraising goal for 2012. We need YOU to … Continue reading →

Posted in Media Criticism | Leave a comment

New York Times Finds Noam Chomsky Fit to Print

Posted on 12/22/2011 by Peter Hart

Left-wing activist and author Noam Chomsky is in the New York Times today: The American linguist Noam Chomsky, a prominent source of intellectual inspiration for President Hugo Chávez, made a new appeal on Wednesday for the release of María Lourdes … Continue reading →

Posted in Media Criticism | Tagged , , | 18 Comments

Ron Paul Has NOT Been Ignored by Media–Except, Well, Yes He Has

Posted on 12/22/2011 by Jim Naureckas

"Ron Paul Ignored by the Media? Not So Much" was the headline on a National Journal post yesterday (12/21/11). "The Texan's campaign has raised millions of dollars to combat the alleged media conspiracy that, they claim, is out to destroy … Continue reading →

Posted in Election, magazines | Tagged , , | 15 Comments

CBS, Panetta and (Hypothetical) Iranian Nukes

Posted on 12/21/2011 by Peter Hart

The Monday broadcast of CBS Evening News (12/19/11) began with big news, with anchor Scott Pelley announcing: The secretary of Defense says tonight that the United States will not allow Iran to develop a nuclear weapon. In an interview with … Continue reading →

Posted in CBS, Election, Fox News, Iran | Tagged , , , , , | 11 Comments

ABC's Bogus Big Government Debate

Posted on 12/21/2011 by Peter Hart

On Sunday (12/18/11), ABC's This Week presented an installment of what it's calling "The Great American Debates." What it really was, though, was a perfect example of how corporate media adopt right-wing assumptions when framing a discussion. In this case, … Continue reading →

Posted in ABC, Economy | Tagged , , | 16 Comments

Tom Friedman Not Sucking It on Iraq War

Posted on 12/21/2011 by Peter Hart

Today New York Times columnist Thomas Friedman (12/21/11) gives readers a sense of what the Iraq War was all about: Iraq was always a war of choice. As I never bought the argument that Saddam had nukes that had to … Continue reading →

Posted in Iraq, New York Times, PBS, War/Military | Tagged , | 35 Comments

Now It Can Be Told: Libyan Civilian Deaths

Posted on 12/19/2011 by Peter Hart

The Sunday New York Times (12/18/11) featured a powerful investigation of civilian casualties resulting from the NATO war in Libya–casualties that, to hear NATO officials tell it, maybe don't even exist. The Times' C.J. Chivers and Eric Schmitt report: But … Continue reading →

Posted in Libya, New York Times | Tagged , , , | 11 Comments

Louis C.K. and Net Neutrality

Posted on 12/19/2011 by Peter Hart

New York Times reporter David Carr (12/19/11) takes a look at comedian Louis C.K.'s recent decision to webcast his own comedy special: A scabrous and successful champion of the everyman, Louis C. K. decided last week to go direct with … Continue reading →

Posted in Internet, New York Times | Tagged , , | 3 Comments

The New Anti-Corporate Populism Isn't So New

Posted on 12/16/2011 by Peter Hart

Last night (12/15/11), MSNBC hosts Rachel Maddow and Chris Hayes were impressed by a new Pew poll–flagged by Washington Post blogger Greg Sargent–showing that a vast majority of the public believes that corporations and the wealthy have too much power. … Continue reading →

Posted in Economy, MSNBC, Politics | Tagged , | 16 Comments

Time Paints Paul Ryan as Deficit-Slashing Superhero

Posted on 12/15/2011 by Peter Hart

The fact that Time magazine named "The Protester" its Person of the Year was maybe a little surprising. Totally unsurprising, though, was the choice of a runners-up: Republican Rep. Paul Ryan, a hero to many in the corporate media for … Continue reading →

Posted in Budget, protest, Taxes, Time | Tagged , , , | 18 Comments

In Explaining Iraq War, WMD Hoax Becomes a Footnote

Posted on 12/15/2011 by Peter Hart

The Washington Post's Scott Wilson has a piece (12/13/11) looking back on the Iraq War, where he writes of the "arc of the American experience in Iraq" being "from hope to barbarity, from swaggering invasion to quiet departure." When it … Continue reading →

Posted in Iraq, War/Military, Washington Post | Tagged | 17 Comments

Why WaPo Won't Cover Ron Paul: He Looks Funny, Sounds Funny

Posted on 12/15/2011 by Peter Hart

The Washington Post's series of candidate profiles continues. Today it's Ron Paul's turn. In Joel Achenbach's main piece (12/15/11), readers learn, in the lead paragraph, that Paul is not the standard presidential candidate–he lacks the factory-built appearance of Mitt Romney … Continue reading →

Posted in Election, Washington Post | Tagged , , | 15 Comments

Driving Out Politics From Privately Owned Public Space

Posted on 12/14/2011 by Jim Naureckas

The Winter Garden is one of New York City's largest and most beautiful indoor public spaces. Graced by giant palm trees that would look impressive on Sunset Boulevard and a vast skylight that provides year-round balmy sunlight, this crossroads of … Continue reading →

Posted in First Amendment, protest | Tagged , , , | 9 Comments

A New Lowe in Advertiser Cowardice

Posted on 12/14/2011 by Jim Naureckas

The national hardware chain Lowe's pulled its advertising from the TLC reality show All-American Muslim–explaining that the question of whether Muslims can be presented as regular human beings is a "hotly contested debate." All-American Muslim is a reality show described … Continue reading →

Posted in Advertisers, Islamophobia, Media Activism | Tagged , , | 17 Comments

'Invented' Palestinians Can't Be Quoted

Posted on 12/13/2011 by Peter Hart

Of course Newt Gingrich (you know, the "big thinker" in the Republican campaign) made a lot of news by declaring that the Palestinians are an "invented" people. As As'ad AbuKhalill–aka Angry Arab–pointed out, the New York Times ran a piece … Continue reading →

Posted in Election, Israel/Palestine, New York Times | Tagged , , , | 50 Comments