CBS's Schieffer followed the establishment media's script on Snowden: We don't know what exactly the government is doing, and we should know, but the guy who's generated the discussion about all of this is a narcissist.
Jun
11
2013
What to Make of Snowden? CBS Asks Bush-Era Counterterror Official
By 12 Comments
The debate over the government's surveillance powers that was set off by whistleblower Edward Snowden is an important one. Who is invited to take part in that discussion really determines the kind of debate we're likely to get.
Jun
07
2013
How Many Iraqis Died in the Iraq War?
By 34 Comments
How many Iraqis died in the Iraq War? Public responses to that question are disheartening because they reflect a very distorted public perception of the war. But they are indicative of an even bigger problem: corporate media's inadequate coverage of the human costs of U.S.-led wars.
Jun
05
2013
After a Massacre, a 'Glimmer of Hope'?
By 6 Comments
In a courtroom base near Tacoma, Washington, Army Staff Sergeant Robert Bales will plead guilty today to killing 16 civilians–most of them women and children–in an Afghan village on March 11, 2012. A little more than a year later, U.S. media seem to have not much interest left in the Bales case.
Jun
04
2013
Bradley Manning on TV Network News
By 11 Comments
If you care at all about war and peace, press freedom, whistleblowers' rights and the public's right to know what the government is doing, the trial of Bradley Manning is of enormous consequence. It would have been hard for NBC News to come up with a more hostile framing.
May
31
2013
FAIR TV: Obama's Terror 'Pivot,' Monsanto March, Schieffer's Lament
This week on FAIR TV: Obama's big speech on U.S. anti-terrorism policies was treated as a big shift, a pivot away from war. Was it? Activists around the world rallied against Monsanto–which wasn't considered big news here. And Bob Schieffer complains that the White House makes it hard to get good guests for his Sunday chat show. There's an easy fix for that, isn't there?
May
28
2013
Bob Schieffer Is Tired of Booking Bad Guests on His Show
By 14 Comments
Mainstream reporters are speaking openly about the chilling effect of the Obama White House's investigations into leaks of classified material. But this willingness to talk about how the White House operates can lead some journalists to make some rather strange arguments.
May
28
2013
Did Obama's Speech Really 'Narrow' the War?
By 9 Comments
If you followed the coverage of President Barack Obama's May 23 speech at the National Defense University, you would think something big happened to the "war on terror." That was probably the message the White House wanted the press to send. But is true?
May
25
2013
Still Getting Gitmo Wrong
By 15 Comments
President Barack Obama's address yesterday on U.S. terror strategies got a lot of attention for supposedly charting a new course in America's longest war. But some of the facts were mangled along the way.
May
15
2013
The Problem With Journalism? Scott Pelley Blames the Internet
By 13 Comments
CBS anchor Scott Pelley declared, "We are getting big stories wrong, over and over again.'" Well, that sounds like pretty dramatic self-criticism. But, as usual with corporate media self-critiques, Pelley's criticism mostly misses the mark.
May
10
2013
FAIR TV: CBS 'Covers' Immigration, Joe Klein's Angry Middle, Dangerously Anti-War Public
By 3 Comments
This week on FAIR TV: CBS Evening News looked like it was covering an immigrant rights rally– but it was merely a set up to talk about chaos at the border. Time's Joe Klein goes after the "gun lobby" by saying… both sides are at fault? And Cokie Roberts hears the public doesn't want to start a war with Syria. Why does she think that's "dangerous"?
Apr
30
2013
Syria and the 'Red Line' Nonsense
By 6 Comments
The pundits' message on Barack Obama's talk of a "red line" on Syria is that they are concerned about the credibility of the president's threats of violence–much more so than about the credibility of his evidence.
