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THE NEWS BEHIND THE HEADLINES
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Broadcast dates: 12/3-12/9/04

Guests:
Jim Lobe on Rumsfeld & Latin America
Chad Graham on 20/20 & Matthew Shepard

This week on CounterSpin: Media didn't find much newsworthy in Donald Rumsfeld's recent trip to Latin America, but our guest says that Rumsfeld's comments at the conference of the hemisphere's defense ministers actually yielded significant signals about the Bush administration's policy toward the region. Jim Lobe has written for years on international affairs for Inter Press Service, Foreign Policy in Focus and other outlets.

Also on the show: the October 1998 murder of gay college student Matthew Shepard provoked a national conversation about hate crimes and homophobia. But on November 26, ABC's 20/20 program offered a stunning re-assessment of the case, arguing that Shepard's sexual orientation was not central to the crime. ABC presented its report as a corrective to the "legend" that Shepard was killed because he was gay. But did ABC really make the case? Chris Graham from the Advocate magazine will join us to weigh in.

LINKS:

  • U.S. Media Miss Rumsfeld's "Dirty Wars" Talk, by Jim Lobe (Inter Press Service, 11/24/04)
  • ABC's 20/20 takes another look at Matthew Shepard murder, by Chad Graham (Advocate, 11/25/04)

    CounterSpin is FAIR's weekly radio show, hosted by Janine Jackson, Steve Rendall and Peter Hart. It's heard on more than 125 noncommercial stations across the United States and Canada.

    CounterSpin provides a critical examination of the major stories every week, and exposes what the mainstream media might have missed in their own coverage. Combining lively discussion and a thoughtful media critique, CounterSpin is unlike any other show on the dial.

    CounterSpin exposes and highlights biased and inaccurate news; censored stories; sexism, racism and homophobia in the news; the power of corporate influence; gaffes and goofs by leading TV pundits; TV news' narrow political spectrum; attacks on free speech; and more.

    "You should tune in to CounterSpin, the program that sees things and says things about the media you'll see no place else."
    --Ben Bagdikian, author of The Media Monopoly
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    • CounterSpin staff:

    Host/Producer:
    Janine Jackson (jjackson@fair.org)
    Host/Producer:
    Steve Rendall (srendall@fair.org)
    Host/Producer & Distribution:
    Peter Hart (phart@fair.org)

    CounterSpin is recorded and engineered at Mercer Media.

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