A reader of the NPR Check blog flags a troubling passage from the October 1 All Things Considered: "Some estimates put the number of widows in Iraq at 1 million--women who've lost their husbands to Iraq's endless succession of wars: Iran/Iraq, the invasion of Kuwait, the recent civil war." Public radio watchdog Mytwords (10/5/08) isn't sure

if the omission of any mention of U.S. responsibility for the widow tragedy of Iraq is the work of [quoted reporter Lourdes] Garcia-Navarro or of an editor--but it is outrageous (and typical for NPR). »

Deeming it good news that "the FCC is finally beginning to take some action on perhaps the most egregious propaganda assault ever directed at the American people by their own government," News Corpse blogger Mark Howard notices (10/9/08) an odd aspect of the Pentagon Pundits story so far:

More than 150 retired officers participated in this program, and most of them worked for--you guessed it--Fox News. However, letters sent by the FCC have only been received by CBS and ABC so far. »

A former ACORN communications coordinator from 2000 to 2003, David Swanson rebuts the "absolutely fraudulent and nationally coordinated attacks... currently all over the news" for American Chronicle readers (10/10/08)

In fact, the accusations against ACORN are not about voting, but about voter registration. Now, if some kid fills out bogus forms in order to make more money from ACORN for supposedly registering voters, ACORN is supposed to try to catch that stuff and not turn in those forms. On the whole, ACORN has registered huge numbers of people with only a tiny percentage of problems. But the more important point is that the kid trying to scam extra bucks has no intention of trying to vote multiple times, risking imprisonment, and no intention of bringing in corpses to have them vote, as CNN seems to imagine. »

With the presidential election fast approaching, Uncounted documentarian Mary Mancini uses her film's blog (10/10/08) to give us "a little history from the year 2000--to remind us why we need to keep our eyes and ears open this November 4. . . and beyond":

We're still not ready for a close election. . . . The media will rush to report the returns and will use talking points to conveniently explain unusual results.... »

An Inter Press Service piece (9/24/08) on the U.S.-press-distributed anti-Muslim video Obsession gives kudos to

major metropolitan newspapers solicited to insert the paid advertisement into their product [that] have refused to do so.... "Despite the perilous state of American newspapers, the St. Louis Post-Dispatch advertising department took an ethical stand and refused to distribute the DVD of a film that... has troubled American Muslims."

Reporters Ali Gharib and Eli Clifton then go beyond "initial press reports about the mass distribution [that] focused on the Clarion Fund's financing role," »

Having found the issue "quite... complex" when facing it herself as a parent, Veronica Arreola of Women In Media & News writes (10/8/08) that "the debate over vaccines is a serious issue and does not deserve to be sexualized" as in this Chicago Tribune lede (10/3/08): "Former Playboy Playmate Jenny McCarthy and actress Amanda Peet are publicly feuding over the safety of childhood vaccines. Who says there's nothing sexy about inoculations?" »