Category Archives: USA Today

McHistory: Fox Launched to Counter Nonexistent Leftism of MSNBC

Posted on 07/15/2011 by Peter Hart

The headline of Al Neuharth's column in USA Today (7/15/11) summed up his case: "Murdoch Media Give You What You Want." That sort of depends on who "you" is. Neuharth explains: Murdoch has an uncanny knack for figuring out what … Continue reading →

Posted in Fox News, Media Criticism, MSNBC, USA Today | Tagged , | 14 Comments

USA Today Debunks Once Again the Myth of the Bloody Border

Posted on 07/15/2011 by Steve Rendall

USA Today published a useful investigation today (7/15/11) finding that "rates of violent crime along the U.S./Mexico border have been falling for years," that U.S. border cities are "statistically safer on average than other cities in their states" and "border … Continue reading →

Posted in Immigration, Media Criticism, USA Today | 4 Comments

USAT: Anti-war movement applauds Obama speech?

Posted on 06/23/2011 by Peter Hart

An analysis in USA Today (6/23/11) by Richard Wolf claims: President Obama's decision to remove 10,000 troops from Afghanistan this year and a total of 33,000 by next September was deemed a step in the right direction Wednesday by a … Continue reading →

Posted in Afghanistan, USA Today, War/Military | Tagged , | 17 Comments

June 2007 Flashback: The Clinton/Giuliani Election

Posted on 06/13/2011 by Peter Hart

I noticed a few stories in today's USA Today (6/13/11) about supposed Republican front-runner Mitt Romney. There will be plenty more of this to come–horserace commentary based on polling that's being done in order to give journalists a reason to … Continue reading →

Posted in Election, Polling, USA Today, Washington Post | Tagged , , | 3 Comments

USAT, Baker and Shell: Update

Posted on 06/09/2011 by Peter Hart

We noted here on June 3 that a USA Today column by former Secretary of States James Baker was missing some important disclosure. Baker argued that the United States needs to encourage more domestic oil drilling. Baker championed efforts by … Continue reading →

Posted in Media Criticism, USA Today | Tagged , , | 5 Comments

Drilling for Disclosure on USA Today's Op-Ed Page

Posted on 06/03/2011 by Peter Hart

The headline above this USA Today op-ed read like a slightly wordier version of a Sarah Palin bumper sticker slogan: "Cut the Red Tape: Free Up Oil Drilling in Alaska." The author is former George H.W. Bush Secretary of State … Continue reading →

Posted in Environment, USA Today | Tagged , | 17 Comments

USA Today and the Torture 'Debate'

Posted on 05/10/2011 by Peter Hart

USA Today weighs in today (5/10/11) on the argument that U.S. torture of detainees like Khalid Sheikh Mohammed was instrumental to tracking down Osama bin Laden. Like other outlets, the newspaper does a pretty lousy job of summarizing the evidence. … Continue reading →

Posted in USA Today | Tagged , , , | 10 Comments

Cheering for John Paul's Sainthood–and Ignoring His Ties to Abuse Scandal

Posted on 05/03/2011 by Jim Naureckas

"John Paul II's Beatification Cheered" was USA Today's headline (5/2/11)–followed by 19 paragraphs of cheerleading for the accelerated process of declaring the late Pope John Paul II an official saint: Various sources in Eric Lyman's article called the event "an … Continue reading →

Posted in USA Today | Tagged , | 13 Comments

Everyone Cares About the Royal Wedding

Posted on 04/28/2011 by Peter Hart

A USA Today headline (4/28/11): Americans, Here and There, Get Swept Up by the Royal Wedding Much further down in the piece, evidence of that sweeping feeling: Polls initially indicated that most Americans were underwhelmed by the royal nuptials, but … Continue reading →

Posted in Europe, USA Today | Tagged , | 21 Comments

USA Today 'Debates' Nuclear Power

Posted on 03/24/2011 by Peter Hart

USA Today has a regular left-right feature between hard-right pundit Cal Thomas and TV "liberal" Bob Beckel. Today's topic? Nuclear power. And the verdict? Well, the headline tells you all you need to know. Knee-Jerks and Nukes Cal and Bob … Continue reading →

Posted in Nuclear power, USA Today | Tagged , | 14 Comments

USA Today's Advertiser-Friendly Future

Posted on 03/23/2011 by Peter Hart

A condensed version of an AP story (3/23/11) about USA Today's new business plan: The nation's second-largest newspaper is expanding its coverage of advertising-friendly topics, designing content for smartphones and tablet computers and refreshing the look of its print edition, … Continue reading →

Posted in Advertisers, Media Business, USA Today | Tagged | 3 Comments

War to Protect Civilians Threatened by Killing Them

Posted on 03/23/2011 by Peter Hart

USA Today (3/23/11): WASHINGTON–The top commander of the allied air war to protect civilians in besieged Libyan cities said the forces of Moammar Gadhafi must pull out or face attack, a task analysts say is complicated by the risk of … Continue reading →

Posted in Libya, Media Criticism, USA Today | Tagged | 11 Comments

Blaming the Internet for Reporters' Gullibility

Posted on 03/17/2011 by Peter Hart

USA Today has a long piece (3/17/11) by Martha Moore about video hoax artist James O'Keefe's NPR project. The article does a pretty good job ofrunning down thedeceptions inO'Keefe's video. That's good. This, however, is not: The video follows a … Continue reading →

Posted in Internet, NPR, USA Today | Tagged | 7 Comments

The Public Doesn't Hate Public Workers

Posted on 02/24/2011 by Peter Hart

As Josh Marshall noted recently, one of the assumptions in the media discussion about Wisconsin is that Republican politicians are playing on public outrage over the perks given to public workers. That assumption took a hitafter anew Gallup Poll, reported … Continue reading →

Posted in Economy, Polling, USA Today, Washington Post | Tagged , , , | 22 Comments

General Hails His Own Success, USA Today Investigation Finds

Posted on 02/15/2011 by Jim Naureckas

For a good example of how not to report the Afghan War, check out the lead story in today's USA Today (2/15/11): General: Taliban 'Beaten' by Surge Momentum Shifts in Afghanistan The piece–by Jim Michaels, who has an unfortunate history … Continue reading →

Posted in Afghanistan, USA Today, War/Military | Tagged , , , , | 3 Comments