May
01
2013

How Dare Hamid Karzai Take Our Money!

nbc-karzai

NBC Nightly News anchor Brian Williams had a most peculiar reaction to revelations that Afghan president Hamid Karzai receives regular deliveries of cash from the Central Intelligence Agency.

Apr
30
2013

Breaking with Bush–Many Years Too Late

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When someone says they "broke" with George W. Bush over the Iraq War, you might be inclined to think that they did that sometime before 2006 or so, which is about when Bush strategist-turned-TV pundit Matthew Dowd is saying he left.

Apr
05
2013

North Korea's Attack Plan: Apocalypse Never Mind

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It didn't take long for TV coverage of North Korea to enter the "Retired General Sketches Out War Games on a Big Map" phase. But a recent example of the genre on CNN demonstrated only the alarmism seems to be the order of the day.

Apr
03
2013

North Korea 'Rattles Sabres'; Meanwhile, U.S. Pretends to Drop Nuclear Bombs on Them

NBC's Brian Williams

To hear U.S. corporate media tell it, there are "exercises" right next door, conducted by the world's most powerful military, which possesses thousands of nuclear weapons–and then there's menacing "saber-rattling."

Apr
01
2013

Did the Public Really Give Up on Gun Control?

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On two Sunday shows this weekend, the hosts made the same point about the White House's plan for modest gun control efforts: The public isn't going along. Oddly, they both ignored their own networks' polling that would have undermined their argument.

Mar
15
2013

The Pope and Politics

weigel-nbc

Argentine cardinal Jorge Mario Bergoglio was chosen as the new pope this week. But coverage often glossed over the most intense political controversies about him.

Feb
20
2013

Tom Friedman's Apple Hunch

Tom Friedman wrote a column about how government policies are harming the recovery. What we need is some kind of grand bargain to, as the headline puts is, "unparalyze" the economy and spur new growth. What's that mean? Cuts to Social Security and Medicare, along with "tax reform."

Feb
07
2013

EXCLUSIVE: Bill O'Reilly Does Not Have Access to the Internet

FireShot Screen Capture #336 - 'The O'Reilly Factor I Bill O'Reilly I Fox News' - www_foxnews_com_on-air_oreilly_index_html#_v_2147471195001_the-liberal-moral-dilemma-with-drones__playlist_id

On last night's O'Reilly Factor, the Fox News host wondered why NBC has failed to cover the new revelations about the White House drone program. The real question here is why Fox doesn't let O'Reilly have access to the Internet.

Feb
05
2013

Where Are They Now? The Reporters Who Got Iraq So Wrong

Colin Powell at the UN

Ten years ago today, Colin Powell made the Bush administration's case for going to war against Iraq, and much of what he said was false. Most of the journalists who promoted his justifications for the war paid no price for their failures.

Feb
04
2013

When 'Confirmed' Means 'An Official Told Me So'

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NBC's Richard Engel report that "what we've been able to confirm" is that a Syrian convoy attacked by Israel "was packed with fairly sophisticated Russian anti-aircraft missiles." It is highly doubtful that Engel could "confirm" any such thing–unless by "confirm" he means that NBC is confirming that government sources are claiming what they are claiming.

Jan
29
2013

David Gregory: Obama Should Trick Republicans by Being More Like Them

davidgregory

When reporters give strategic advice, they tend to reveal what they consider preferable policy goals. A discussion of taxes and spending on Meet the Press revealed a lot about host David Gregory's worldview.

Jan
25
2013

'Divided' on Abortion Rights?

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USA Today's point in covering this weekend's anti-choice "March for Life" is is to note that, 40 years after the Roe v. Wade decision, the country is divided on abortion rights. That's an odd way of describing a 24-point spread in public opinion

Jan
16
2013

Journalism by–and for–the Sponsors

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The headline of a recent article posted at the website of the Atlantic–"David Miscavige Leads Scientology to Milestone Year"–probably tipped readers that something was more than a little off. It wasn't an article, really; above the headline, in a yellow box, was the phrase "Sponsor Content." But is what the Atlantic did–and quickly apologized for–really unusual?