Monthly Archives: February 2012

Tom Friedman Is Waiting For Afghans to Shape Up

Posted on 02/29/2012 by Peter Hart

I think most sensible people understand that the current uproar in Afghanistan over the desecration of the Quran isn't really just about the defiling of a holy book. But if there's sense in the world, there's also nonsense. Enter Tom … Continue reading →

Posted in Afghanistan, Islamophobia, New York Times, War/Military | Tagged , , | 47 Comments

No Fracking Way, CBS Evening News

Posted on 02/28/2012 by Peter Hart

The February 23 CBS Evening News segment on hydraulic fracturing gas drilling, better known as fracking, revealed how journalists can cover a highly controversial subject by removing the controversy. The report started off with references to high gasoline prices; the … Continue reading →

Posted in CBS, Environment | Tagged , , | 32 Comments

NYT on Diabolical Experiments: Better Than Being Eaten by Sharks

Posted on 02/27/2012 by Jim Naureckas

Imagine that there's a mad scientist living on an island surrounded by treacherous, shark-infested waters. When ships are wrecked on the hidden rocks, the survivors swim to the island to escape the sharks, where they become prisoners of the mad … Continue reading →

Posted in China, New York Times | Tagged , | 16 Comments

NYT Public Editor on Anonymity and Drone Story

Posted on 02/24/2012 by Peter Hart

After our new alert (2/24/12), the New York Times public editor's office contacted FAIR to let us know that Arthur Brisbane responded to readers who complained about one of the articles discussed in the alert. Below is that response, which … Continue reading →

Posted in Media Activism, New York Times, Pakistan | Tagged , , , | 12 Comments

NYT Sues for Right to Publish Bad Teacher Data

Posted on 02/24/2012 by Peter Hart

The New York Times, along with a few other media outlets, went to court to win the right to publish Teacher Data Reports–the "value-added" ratings for some 18,000 New York City public schoolteachers. The Times explains today–accurately–that the numbers are … Continue reading →

Posted in Education, New York Times | Tagged , , | 20 Comments

Krugman: Actually, Romney's Insincerity Is a Bad Thing

Posted on 02/24/2012 by Peter Hart

There's this notion in the elite press that Mitt Romney's flip flops are a good thing–we've written about it here and here. In the latter post, I pointed to Nicholas Kristof's take: I'd much rather have a cynical chameleon than … Continue reading →

Posted in Economy, Election, New York Times | Tagged , , | 16 Comments

Tell the NY Times: Follow Your Own Rules on Anonymity

Posted on 02/24/2012 by Peter Hart

FAIR's new Action Alert points out that the New York Times has abused its own policies on anonymity to allow government officials to smear critics. We're encouraging people to write to the Times public editor. Please post your letters to … Continue reading →

Posted in Media Criticism | Tagged , | 33 Comments

New NYT Rule: Anonymous Govt Sources Can Call Their Critics Terrorists

Posted on 02/22/2012 by Peter Hart

In today's New York Times report (2/22/12) about Khader Adnan–the Palestinian hunger striker challenging Israeli "administrative detention" practices–reporter Isabel Kershner allows this: An Israeli official, speaking on the condition of anonymity, called the deal over Mr. Adnan "a workable arrangement" … Continue reading →

Posted in anonymity, Israel/Palestine, New York Times | Tagged , | 13 Comments

Media's Weird Ethics: Pretending to Be Someone Else Is Worse Than Facilitating Global Catastrophe

Posted on 02/22/2012 by Jim Naureckas

There's a popular verb in headlines about climate researcher Peter Gleick's admission that he used trickery to get damning documents out of the climate change-denialist group the Heartland Institute: "Activist Says He Lied to Obtain Climate Papers" (New York Times, … Continue reading →

Posted in Climate Change, New York Times, Time, Washington Post | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | 56 Comments

James Traub Bids a Fond Farewell to an Era of Constant Warfare

Posted on 02/22/2012 by Steve Rendall

James Traub seemed a little bummed in a Sunday New York Times op-ed ("The End of American Intervention?," 2/18/10), that military cuts and changing priorities will mean fewer humanitarian interventions in America's future. So we must accept, if uneasily, the … Continue reading →

Posted in China, Europe, Haiti, Iraq, Libya, magazines, New York Times, War/Military | Tagged , | 5 Comments

Bombing Iran: A Real Headache for Israel

Posted on 02/21/2012 by Steve Rendall

Bombing Iran could be a real strain for Israel, reports Elisabeth Bumiller in the New York Times ("Iran Raid Seen as a Huge Task for Israeli Jets," 2/19/12). No one's sure they can pull it off, what with the logistics … Continue reading →

Posted in Iran, Israel/Palestine, Media Criticism, New York Times, War/Military | Tagged | 43 Comments

Apple's ABC Friends Get China Exclusive

Posted on 02/21/2012 by Peter Hart

With all the recent critical attention to Apple's manufacturing policies, it was perhaps only a matter of time before the company decided to push back.One way Apple might do this is by granting an "exclusive" to a media outlet that … Continue reading →

Posted in ABC, China, Labor | Tagged , , , , , | 11 Comments

Money Rules Politics? Robert Samuelson Busts That 'Myth'

Posted on 02/21/2012 by Peter Hart

It's possible that someone could write a column arguing that efforts to restrict the influence of big money on our political system do more harm than good. Washington Post columnist Robert Samuelson tried to pull it off on Monday (2/20/12), … Continue reading →

Posted in Social Security, Washington Post | Tagged | 9 Comments

Postal Service Broke? Letter Explains What USA Today Omitted

Posted on 02/17/2012 by Peter Hart

Much of the coverage about the U.S. Postal Service tells us that it is losing money hand over fist. But one of the questions journalists are supposed to ask–why?–is rarely posed. A letter to the editor in today's USA Today … Continue reading →

Posted in Labor, USA Today | Tagged | 12 Comments

Is Iraq Media Failure 'Coloring' Iran Coverage?

Posted on 02/17/2012 by Peter Hart

Huffington Post reporter Michael Calderone (2/17/12) has a fairly comprehensive lookat the way media are covering Iran (I wish he'd cited FAIR's long record on this; perhaps next time). The point is that Iran coverage looks a whole lot like … Continue reading →

Posted in Iran, Iraq | Tagged , | 20 Comments