Category Archives: newspapers

Anti-Obama, Pro-Romney Media? Don't Believe the Hype

Posted on 04/23/2012 by Peter Hart

There seems to be a lot of attention to a new study from the Project for Excellence in Journalism (PEJ) study that finds Barack Obama to be much more harshly covered than the Republicans competing to run against him this … Continue reading →

Posted in Barack Obama, Election, New York Times | Tagged , , , | 2 Comments

NY Times Bungles Keystone Debate (Again)

Posted on 04/20/2012 by Peter Hart

More Democrats are starting to shift towards supporting the controversial Keystone pipeline, reports Jennifer Steinhauer in the New York Times (4/20/12). The media discussion has leaned heavily in favor of the project, so perhaps this is no surprise. And this … Continue reading →

Posted in Economy, Environment, New York Times | Tagged , | 10 Comments

NYT Finds Fox News Whistleblower!

Posted on 04/20/2012 by Peter Hart

Brian Stelter reports in the New York Times that Bill O'Reilly and Sean Hannity are renewing their contracts…meaning that we'll be enjoying–and paying for–their talents through the 2016 election season. Not many people around Fox wanted to speak on the … Continue reading →

Posted in anonymity, Fox News, New York Times | Tagged , | 18 Comments

Now They Tell Us: Iran Didn't Actually Threaten to Wipe Israel Off the Map

Posted on 04/19/2012 by Steve Rendall

Israeli Deputy Prime Minister Dan Meridor acknowledged on Al Jazeera English (4/14/12) that Iranian leaders have never called for Israel to be "wiped" off the map. Meridor agreed with interviewer Teymoor Nabili's suggestion that the supposed remarks were never actually … Continue reading →

Posted in CBS, CNN, Iran, Israel/Palestine, New York Times, Washington Post | Tagged , , , , , | 35 Comments

Assange's 'Nut Job' Portrayal Says More About Portrayers

Posted on 04/18/2012 by Peter Hart

New York Times critic Alessandra Stanley–whose work has been regularly featured in the paper's Corrections box–doesn't think much of WikiLeaks' Julian Assange's new TV show, which debuted on the Russian-backed RT cable channel. Stanley takes her shots–the channel has a … Continue reading →

Posted in New York Times, WikiLeaks | Tagged , , | 43 Comments

Washington Post's Molotov Peace Offer

Posted on 04/18/2012 by Peter Hart

Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas has delivered a letter to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu that calls for a resumption of peace negotiations. Look at the image the Washington Post (4/18/12) used to accompany its story about this : I … Continue reading →

Posted in Israel/Palestine, Washington Post | Tagged | 15 Comments

NYT: Iranians and Their Lying Religion

Posted on 04/17/2012 by Peter Hart

There are different ways media talk about how you can't trust Iran. Washington Post columnist Richard Cohen, for one, went straight for bigotry: "These Persians lie like a rug," he wrote in 2009. The New York Times took a slightly … Continue reading →

Posted in Iran, Islamophobia, Libya, New York Times | Tagged , , , | 20 Comments

Richard Cohen on Candidate Lying Is Half-Baked–and Half Cribbed

Posted on 04/17/2012 by Jim Naureckas

Richard Cohen says he envies people who are persuasive liars. He really ought to envy people who are persuasive writers. His column today (4/17/12) is ostensibly about how Mitt Romney is a big liar. It goes almost its entire length, … Continue reading →

Posted in Barack Obama, Budget, Election, Washington Post | Tagged , , | 4 Comments

Pondering Bill Keller's 'Middle'

Posted on 04/16/2012 by Peter Hart

Nobody loves centrism, writes Bill Keller in the New York Times (4/16/12), but they should. "Centrism is easily mocked and not much fun to defend," writes, noting that critiques of centrism from the left and right have a certain appeal: … Continue reading →

Posted in Barack Obama, New York Times, Taxes | Tagged , | 11 Comments

On Drones and Democracy

Posted on 04/13/2012 by Peter Hart

Yesterday (4/12/12) Pakistan's parliament unanimously voted in favor of a resolution that, among other things, calls for an immediate end to CIA drone strikes in their country. The Washington Post's account of this news included this curious observation: From Washington's … Continue reading →

Posted in New York Times, Pakistan, War/Military, Washington Post | Tagged | 24 Comments

Are Apple and Publishers Helping Readers by Ripping Them Off?

Posted on 04/13/2012 by Jim Naureckas

The Justice Department alleges that Apple's collusion with book publishers to fix ebook prices has cost readers $100 million. So why are so many news reports on the anti-trust suit suggesting that the Apple/publisher alliance is actually good for consumers? … Continue reading →

Posted in Books, CNN, New York Times | Tagged , , , , , , | 13 Comments

Buffett Rule Bores, Annoys Washington Post Reporters

Posted on 04/12/2012 by Peter Hart

The "Buffett rule"–as in Warren Buffett–suggests that super-rich should pay a tax rate comparable to middle-income earners. In Buffett's case, this grew out of his observation that he pays a lower tax rate than his secretary. Seems straightforward enough–and the … Continue reading →

Posted in Budget, Economy, Taxes, Washington Post | Tagged , , | 35 Comments

Winners of the 2012 Election Revealed

Posted on 04/11/2012 by Peter Hart

Forget the polls and the horserace for a second. In this election season, the big winners will be big media. As most people should know–but media don't tell you very often–much of the money that flows into and around the … Continue reading →

Posted in Advertisers, Election, PBS, USA Today | Tagged , , , | 20 Comments

Samuelson's Social Security Screed

Posted on 04/10/2012 by Peter Hart

Washington Post columnist Robert Samuelson really doesn't like Social Security and Medicare. And he'll go a long way to argue that they're wasteful, inefficient forms of welfare. (See Extra!, 10/11.) But his arguments rarely hold up. His most recent column … Continue reading →

Posted in Media Criticism, Medicare, Social Security, Washington Post | Tagged , | 44 Comments

All the Smart People Love Bowles/Simpson–Says Bowles

Posted on 04/05/2012 by Peter Hart

The corporate media love bipartisanship. So the news that a "bipartisan" budget failed a vote in the House was something to be mourned. Under the headline "Budget Plan's Defeat Shows Hurdles to Compromise," New York Times reporter Jonathan Weisman (4/2/12) … Continue reading →

Posted in Budget, New York Times | Tagged , | 13 Comments