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 Shell to drill in Alaska, which have been stymied by government bureaucrats. As FAIR noted, Baker's Rice University institute receives funding from an array of energy companies, including Shell– which also funds the institute's lecture series. It would be normal for a newspaper to mention this to readers, but USA Today did not. After receiving a letter from FAIR, the [...]
Jun
03
2011
Drilling for Disclosure on USA Today's Op-Ed Page
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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 James Baker, and he writes: Even more domestic offshore drilling will be required if our country is to increase its stable and secure energy. One reasonable place to accomplish that goal lies beneath the waters off of Alaska's northern shores. He tells the tale of an underdog corporation fighting the good fight–only to be stymied by government bureaucrats: An effort [...]
May
10
2011
USA Today and the Torture 'Debate'
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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. Under the headline "Raid Renews Debate on Interrogations," reporter Oren Dorell suggests this starting point: But the revelation that tips prodded from captured Al-Qaeda members subjected to "enhanced interrogations" led to the capture of Osama bin Laden has ignited a debate over whether Obama should revisit the policies he cast aside. There is no strong evidence that torture "led" to [...]
May
03
2011
Cheering for John Paul's Sainthood–and Ignoring His Ties to Abuse Scandal
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"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 important day and a wonderful opportunity to recognize a great man," "a man of God who inspired countless people" with "the strength of a titan, a strength which came to him from God." The only hint of dissent came in the last two paragraphs of the piece: Not all were pleased about the beatification. "John Paul was a great man, [...]
Apr
28
2011
Everyone Cares About the Royal Wedding
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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 interest has spiked as the wedding day nears. U.S. media outlets are publishing twice the amount of coverage as the British media, according to a new Nielsen study. So people don't care about it, but the media care a lot–which is evidence of, well, something. And more on that: Jane Seymour, the actress-turned-correspondent for ET, says she hasn't met anyone [...]
Mar
24
2011
USA Today 'Debates' Nuclear Power
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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 agree that despite the chorus of hand-wringers, it would be foolish to give up on nuclear power plants in the wake of Japan's tragedy To give you a sense of the seriousness of the discussion, here's Beckel criticizing Joe Lieberman: Bob: I grew up in his home state near one of the country's oldest nuclear power plants (the Connecticut Yankee [...]
Mar
23
2011
USA Today's Advertiser-Friendly Future
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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, whose circulation has fallen by 20 percent over the past three years…. For readers, it means lots of travel tips, gadget reviews, sports features, financial advice and lifestyle recommendations. Top editors say investigative journalism will also be emphasized…. Even as it publishes more stories aimed at attracting advertisers, USA Today is promising to produce more hard-hitting coverage from an expanded [...]
Mar
23
2011
War to Protect Civilians Threatened by Killing Them
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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 bombing in populated areas. The "war to protect civilians" could be "complicated" by the killing of civilians.
Mar
17
2011
Blaming the Internet for Reporters' Gullibility
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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 long, if not always honorable, tradition of muckraking exposés. It also is a stepchild to the political tactic of tracking an opponent with video until a gaffe occurs, then capitalizing on it. The sting's impact was magnified by the quick dissemination-without-scrutiny that is a hallmark of Internet-driven media. O'Keefe's video has nothing to do with muckraking. And please don't blame [...]
Feb
24
2011
The Public Doesn't Hate Public Workers
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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 hit after a new Gallup Poll, reported on the front page of USA Today, found this: Americans strongly oppose laws taking away the collective bargaining power of public employee unions, according to a new USA Today/Gallup Poll. The poll found 61 percent would oppose a law in their state similar to such a proposal in Wisconsin, compared with 33 percent who would favor such a [...]
Feb
15
2011
General Hails His Own Success, USA Today Investigation Finds
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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 of this kind of reporting–is mostly sourced to Richard Mills, the Marine general who's in charge of the fight in Afghanistan's Helmand province. Unsurprisingly, he thinks he's doing a bang-up job; Michaels' story begins: Coalition forces in Afghanistan have beaten the insurgency in an important stronghold of Taliban fighters, though pockets of resistance remain, a U.S. commander said Monday in [...]
Feb
10
2011
Conflating Ousted Presidents and Former Dictators in Haiti
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It was certainly surprising to see former Haitian dictator Jean-Claude Duvalier return to the country on January 16. To say he hasblood on his hands is an understatement–the Duvalier regimes were responsible for tens of thousands of deaths and widespread abuse, and stole millions of dollars from the country. Soon thereafter, former President Jean-Bertrand Aristide announced his intention to return to his country.Aristide, twice elected andtwice removed from office, remains a popular figure in Haitian politics. His first stint in office was remarkably peaceful; his second, during which he faced armed attacks that eventually succeeded in overthrowing his government, was [...]
