Monthly Archives: January 2012

Dubious Pipeline Assertions Become USA Today Headlines

Posted on 01/19/2012 by Peter Hart

Today's front page of USA Today: The paper adds that "Obama was putting politics ahead of jobs and the nation's energy security by rejecting the pipeline now, Republicans and oil industry leaders said." It closes with this: Business leaders and … Continue reading →

Posted in Barack Obama, CBS, Economy, Environment, USA Today | Tagged , , , | 46 Comments

NYT, SOPA and Internet Factchecking

Posted on 01/19/2012 by Peter Hart

Remember last week's uproar about the New York Times and factchecking? In today's paper, we see a great example of how this works. Former Democratic Sen. Chris Dodd's new job is as a lobbyist for the Motion Picture Association of … Continue reading →

Posted in Economy, Internet | Tagged , , , | 27 Comments

O'Reilly's Comes to Romney's Aid on Taxes–Armed with Inaccuracies

Posted on 01/19/2012 by Peter Hart

Mitt Romney might need some help defending his considerable wealth or controversial career in private equity. But he doesn't need the kind of help Bill O'Reilly is offering. Mitt Romney's declaration that he pays about a 15 percent tax rate … Continue reading →

Posted in Election, Fox News, Taxes | Tagged , , | 16 Comments

NYT and the Racism Bog

Posted on 01/18/2012 by Peter Hart

When a Republican presidential candidate goes around talking about Barack Obama as the "food stamp president," eventually reporters are going to have to write about racism. But how they talk about the issue in instructive. In today's New York Times … Continue reading →

Posted in Election, Media Criticism, New York Times, Race | Tagged , , , , , | 11 Comments

What Do NPR's Right-Wing Critics Have to Complain About?

Posted on 01/18/2012 by Peter Hart

David Margolick has an interesting piece about NPR in the new issue of Vanity Fair. He spends much of his time on Juan Williams, but this observation about NPR's right-wing critics is an important observation: Apart from the occasional stories … Continue reading →

Posted in NPR | Tagged , , , , | 15 Comments

PBS, NPR Try to Defend Iran Distortions

Posted on 01/17/2012 by Peter Hart

Evaluating reporting and commentary about Iran could be reduced to one simple rule: There is no evidence that Iran is working on a nuclear weapon. Statements that suggest otherwise are misleading. Reports that fail to point this out are doing … Continue reading →

Posted in Iran, NPR, PBS | Tagged , , , , , , , | 52 Comments

NYT to Readers: Can You Handle the Truth?

Posted on 01/12/2012 by Peter Hart

New York Times public editor Arthur Brisbane has a new column wondering if the readers of the Paper of Record want to know if the politicians the paper covers are telling the truth. Seriously. It's right here. He writes: I'm … Continue reading →

Posted in Barack Obama, Election, New York Times, Politics | Tagged , , | 24 Comments

When the Campaign Moves Back to the 'Center'

Posted on 01/12/2012 by Peter Hart

The presidential campaign is breaking down along familiar ideological lines, according to New York Times reporter John Harwood (1/12/12): American voters loathe both major symbols of the forces squeezing their pocketbooks and life savings. President Obama will seek re-election vowing … Continue reading →

Posted in Barack Obama, Election, New York Times, Taxes | Tagged , , | 18 Comments

At WaPo, Editorial Page Can Make Up Iran Facts

Posted on 01/11/2012 by Peter Hart

Last month the group Just Foreign Policy alerted readers to a Washington Post feature that was headlined "Iran's Quest to Possess Nuclear Weapons." The Post changed the headline, and ombud Patrick Pexton weighed in with a column (12/7/11) saying that … Continue reading →

Posted in Iran, Washington Post | Tagged , , | 12 Comments

'Opinions Differ' Should Be the Start of PolitiFact's Job

Posted on 01/10/2012 by Jim Naureckas

There are two ways to approach being evenhanded: You can try to actually be evenhanded, which could mean that you find that one side is right and the other is wrong. Or you can strive for the appearance of being … Continue reading →

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

Pundits and the Romney Pass

Posted on 01/10/2012 by Peter Hart

In theory, presidential campaigns are a valuable opportunity for journalists to evaluate candidates' positions on important issues so citizens can make an informed choice. Actual media coverage is different, of course. And it's striking how some media voices diminish the … Continue reading →

Posted in Election, New York Times, Washington Post | Tagged , , | 14 Comments

PBS's Dishonest Iran Edit

Posted on 01/10/2012 by Peter Hart

As if tensions between the United States and Iran weren't high enough, here's PBS NewsHour anchor Margaret Warner (1/9/12): The Iranian government insists that its nuclear activities are for peaceful energy purposes only, an assertion disputed by the U.S. and … Continue reading →

Posted in Iran, Media Criticism, PBS | Tagged , , | 57 Comments

Newsweek's Surprising Media Advice: Watch More Al Jazeera

Posted on 01/10/2012 by Peter Hart

In its new issue, Newsweek puts this as #4 on their list of "31 Ways To Get Smarter In 2012": 4. Get News from Al Jazeera Don't shut yourself out from new ideas. A 2009 study found that viewers of … Continue reading →

Posted in Fox News | Tagged , | 11 Comments

It's GOOD That Romney Has No Principles

Posted on 01/10/2012 by Jim Naureckas

We've been seeing a lot of this sort of thing lately–this time from Elizabeth Wurtzel on TheAtlantic.com (1/9/12): All the reasons Romney is disliked are all the reasons he would be an excellent president. Let's start by recognizing that principled … Continue reading →

Posted in Election, Media Criticism, New York Times, Washington Post | Tagged , , , , , , | 28 Comments

If PBS Is Afraid of Moyers, Maybe It Needs a New Slogan

Posted on 01/09/2012 by Peter Hart

Elizabeth Jensen has a preview (New York Times, 1/8/12) of the new Bill Moyers program coming to public television stations later this month–a show that is not being distributed by PBS. Why not? She reports: Mr. Moyers said he was … Continue reading →

Posted in New York Times, PBS | Tagged , | 55 Comments