SHARE        Monday, November 10, 2014
The Washington Post's "Worthless and Whiny" Attack on Genuine Journalistic Hero Gary Webb Since the release of the film "Kill the Messenger," there has been renewed focus on Gary Webb's story, which documented how CIA-linked drug traffickers were supplying US drug dealers with cheap cocaine that helped fuel the crack epidemic in the 1980s. For the Post, this means it's time to argue once again that Webb got the story wrong.

(4 comments) SHARE        Wednesday, October 8, 2014
The Media's New Climate Denial Sensible people know there's no more arguing about climate change: The planet is warming due to human activity. The only important question now is whether we plan to do anything about it. It will require, among other things, a massive shift away from burning oil, gas, and coal.

(1 comments) SHARE        Monday, September 1, 2014
Washington Post Editorial Page, Meet Noam Chomsky Chomsky's point is that Western elites carve out an obvious exception for themselves -- they deem their own countries "to be uniquely exempt from the principle of universality." The crimes of enemies take place; our own do not, by virtue of our exemption from the most elementary of moral truisms."

SHARE        Wednesday, July 30, 2014
Media Hype and Gaza's 'Terror' Tunnels CNN and NY Times hype Israeli claims that Hamas tunnels exist to target civilians. But so far the tunnels have only been used to attack Israeli soldiers.

(1 comments) SHARE        Thursday, July 17, 2014
NYT Rewrites Gaza Headline: Was It Too Accurate? There's a television equivalent to a headline -- the information an anchor provides to introduce a piece. The NBC Nightly News last night (7/16/14) led with Gaza, and the segment by Richard Engel was vivid and powerful. But anchor Brian Williams' introduction included this comment: "When Hamas launches rockets from Gaza, Israel hits back."

(1 comments) SHARE        Sunday, June 22, 2014
Chelsea Manning Speaks -- But Who Listened? Manning is serving a 35-year prison sentence for sharing intelligence documents with the website WikiLeaks. The revelations have made news around the world, providing a glimpse into the US military's own assessments of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan and a glimpse at various US diplomatic efforts.

SHARE        Tuesday, June 17, 2014
Debating Iraq in 2014: Wrong All Over Again The crisis in Iraq has brought war back to the US airwaves. But if you were expecting a more robust discussion about US military action this time around, think again. The rule seems to be that if you were wrong in 2003, you're still an expert in 2014. One wouldn't keep trusting a meteorologist who got the weather forecast horribly wrong. Why do news shows treat matters of war any differently?

(1 comments) SHARE        Sunday, June 1, 2014
Brian Williams Frantically Tries to Prove He's No Glenn Greenwald NBC News was able to snag an exclusive interview with NSA whistleblower Edward Snowden. They turned it into a one-hour primetime special. But before it aired, NBC Nightly News delivered a lengthy segment making the case against Snowden -- almost as if the network needed to establish that it certainly wasn't taking his side.

SHARE        Thursday, May 22, 2014
American TV to Chinese Spies: Do as US Says, Not as US Does Early this week, the FBI announced that five Chinese hackers had been indicted for spying on American companies. That's right, economic espionage. The newscasts spent so much time loading up on hyperbole and jingoism that there was evidently no way to note that the US government is accusing China of doing something that closely resembles US actions.

(4 comments) SHARE        Tuesday, August 20, 2013
When the State Attacks Journalism The stories described here, taken together, represent a direct attack on news gathering. This should outrage every single journalist, and anyone who believes in freedom of expression.

(1 comments) SHARE        Saturday, August 10, 2013
Was George W. Bush Aiding Al-Qaeda? If the killing of civilians might rally people behind the cause of Al-Qaeda -- then shouldn't someone be talking to George W. Bush about ordering the invasion that caused all the killing? Of course not -- the only person facing punishment is the person who thought the rest of the world should know about it.

(4 comments) SHARE        Sunday, January 13, 2013
Hugo Chavez: Why Does He Hate Us? f there's one thing media want you to know about Venezuelan president Hugo Chavez, it's that he doesn't like the United States. While it's hard to say Chavez has made a "career" out of U.S.-bashing--he does have, after all, a full-time job as president of Venezuela--you, too, might be excused for harboring some hard feelings towards a government that helped to try to overthrow your own.