Category Archives: Mideast

Israel in the NYT Corrections Box

Posted on 03/09/2012 by Peter Hart

Anyone who doubts the extent of pressure on media outlets when it comes to covering Israel should pick up the New York Times. In yesterday's Times (3/8/12), we saw this correction: Because of an editing error, an article on Wednesday … Continue reading →

Posted in Israel/Palestine, New York Times | Tagged , | 37 Comments

Time's Iran Nuke Assumptions

Posted on 03/09/2012 by Peter Hart

There are plenty of problems with coverage of Iran right now. The most important issue to understand is that there is no evidence that Iran is pursuing a nuclear weapon. Since this is the basis for the current "crisis" narrative, … Continue reading →

Posted in Iran, Israel/Palestine, Time | Tagged , , , | 14 Comments

Satellite Intelligence: Iran 2012, Iraq 2003

Posted on 03/08/2012 by Peter Hart

The big news today looks and sounds familiar. Here's USA Today (3/8/12): Here's what that Associated Press piece is reporting: VIENNA — Satellite images of an Iranian military facility appear to show trucks and earth-moving vehicles at the site, indicating … Continue reading →

Posted in AP, Iran, USA Today, Washington Post | 18 Comments

ABC and the (Still) Growing Iran Threat

Posted on 03/06/2012 by Peter Hart

ABC World News was responsible for a flagrantly propagandistic report about Iran on January 31. They're still at it. At the top of the March 5 report, anchor Diane Sawyer announced that Barack Obama and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu … Continue reading →

Posted in ABC, Iran | Tagged , , , | 22 Comments

The Iran Non-Debate, Continued…

Posted on 03/06/2012 by Peter Hart

Glenn Greenwald wrote recently of the extraordinarily limited media debate on Iran, which seems to consist of U.S. and Israeli officials making threats–attack now or attack later–alongside clinical discussions of the difficulties of bombing Iran. There is plenty missing–actual Iranians … Continue reading →

Posted in Iran, Iraq, Israel/Palestine, New York Times, Time | Tagged | 13 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

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

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

Corporate Pundits Waiting for a Palestinian Gandhi? Meet Khader Adnan

Posted on 02/17/2012 by Peter Hart

For years prominent corporate media pundits have told us that the world–and the media–would embrace a dramatic, non-violent Palestinian resistance movement. If only such a movement–perhaps led by a Gandhi-like figure–were to finally emerge, we are told, the media coverage … Continue reading →

Posted in Israel/Palestine, New York Times, Time | Tagged , , , | 15 Comments

Newsweek and the 'War on Christians'

Posted on 02/15/2012 by Peter Hart

A cover that declares a "War on Christians" is bound to get some attention. Writing in the February 12 issue of Newsweek, author Ayaan Hirsi Ali's argument is just as blunt. Enough with all this talk "about Muslims as victims … Continue reading →

Posted in Egypt, Iraq, Islamophobia, Media Criticism, Newsweek | Tagged , | 66 Comments

NYT: 'Scrutiny' of Iran's Nuke Sites Means Bombing Them

Posted on 02/15/2012 by Peter Hart

The media coverage of Iran is terrible, and seems to be getting worse–see Glenn Greenwald's latest piece on the ABC and NBC nightly newscasts. And today the New York Times (2/15/12) tells readers this about Iran's nuclear program: The new … Continue reading →

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

Do TV Networks 'Practice' for War?

Posted on 02/13/2012 by Peter Hart

Alexander Cockburn's latest piece at CounterPunch (2/10/12) included this from a tipster: I was visiting ABC News the other day to see a friend who works on graphics. When I went to his room, he showed me all the graphics … Continue reading →

Posted in CBS, Iran, Media Criticism | Tagged , | 25 Comments

Iran and the Threat of Not Having Future Wars

Posted on 02/03/2012 by Peter Hart

The conventional understanding you get from the media is that Israel is worried that a nuclear-armed Iran would pose a serious threat to the country's existence. Is that really what's happening, though? Another interpretation is that Iran might want nuclear … Continue reading →

Posted in Iran, Israel/Palestine, NPR | Tagged , | 18 Comments

Iran: This Is What Propaganda Looks Like

Posted on 02/01/2012 by Peter Hart

Alarmist corporate media coverage of the "threat" from Iran is everywhere, thanks to a Senate appearance yesterday by Director of National Intelligence James Clapper. But Clapper said very little in his remarks that would justify the propagandistic coverage we're seeing. … Continue reading →

Posted in ABC, Iran, Media Criticism, NBC, Wall Street Journal | Tagged , , , | 45 Comments