FAIR blog
Yes, You Can Be for Press Freedom and Still Think Journalists Ought to Do Their Jobs Well
The reality is that it is possible to both protest government intrusions on press freedom and to condemn bad journalism of the sort practiced by Jonathan Karl. It's important for protect journalism from official control for the same reason that it's important for media outlets to do a good job.
What an Anonymous U.S. Official Says About Iranians in Syria
Suggesting that the Free Syrian Army believes Iranians are in Syria--which is probably true--is not the same thing as saying "Iran has sent soldiers to Syria" to fight on Assad's behalf.
Problems at PBS, From Rose to Koch
If you think public television exists to offer challenging, independent news and public affairs shows that bring us stories the stories the commercial media too often ignore, free of the influence of big sponsors and corporate owners... well, this hasn't been a good week.
Bum Rap: The U.S. Role in Guatemalan Genocide
The New York Times report, "Trial on Guatemalan Civil War Carnage Leaves Out U.S. Role," raises at least one obvious question: How much has U.S. coverage of the Ríos Montt trial talked about U.S. support for genocide?
You're to Blame for Factory Deaths. Well, You and Walmart
The New Yorker's James Surowiecki has figured out who's to blame for unsafe working conditions for garment workers: people who wear clothing: "The problem isn't so much evil factory owners as a system that's great at getting Western consumers what they want but leaves developing-world workers toiling in misery."
FAIR TV: The IRS & Obama's Scandal Trifecta, Matthews Praises Reagan, Newseum Scandal
What should we make of the so-called "trifecta" of scandals hitting the Obama White House? And what questions should we ask about the IRS/Tea Party story? Also this week: Chris Matthews wants Obama to take charge–just like the union-busting Ronald Reagan. And the Newseum decides two Palestinian journalists shouldn't be considered part of their tribute to journalists who died reporting the news.
Is There Really a 'Scandal Trifecta'?
Benghazi, the Justice Department seizing AP phone records, and the IRS targeting Tea Party groups: Much of the Beltway press corps--which has pushed the Benghazi story for months--is seeing the Obama presidency in a state of near free-fall. But what's actually happening?
The Supreme Court Is an Ass
From Free Press's helpful explainer of the AP phone records scandal, noting the legal background: Smith v. Maryland — In this 1979 decision, the Supreme Court found that people have no expectation of privacy when it comes to the numbers they call because they understand it has to be transmitted through a third party (telephone company). Thus, the [Digital Media Law Project] notes, "the government can obtain that information simply by issuing a subpoena to a telephone company or other third party." As Mr. Bumble says, "If the law supposes that, the law is a ass–a idiot." Everyone who wouldn't [...]
Matthews: Obama Needs to Break a Union Like Reagan
Praise for a conservative president's breaking the air traffic controllers' union--that's what you hear on the liberal cable channel.
The Problem With Journalism? Scott Pelley Blames the Internet
CBS anchor Scott Pelley declared, "We are getting big stories wrong, over and over again.'" Well, that sounds like pretty dramatic self-criticism. But, as usual with corporate media self-critiques, Pelley's criticism mostly misses the mark.
Heritage Immigration Scandal Proof That…Both Sides Do It?
The controversy over Heritage's dubious immigration report led Bill Keller of the New York Times to write a column about the big lessons of this scandal. And the first lesson? Think tanks on "both sides" are up to no good.
Bursting Benghazi's Bubble–Only to Boost Bush
Benghazi isn't the scandal that Obama's critics make it out to be, the Washington Post's Jackson Diehl writes. But the real point of his column is to protect the legacy of the Bush White House's Iraq claims.
Dead Journalists and the Newseum Scandal
A memorial for journalists who died while reporting the news wouldn't seem to be the kind of thing that would attract controversy, but that's exactly what's happened with an exhibit at the Newseum.
L.A. Times' Distorted Report on USAID
"USAID Develops a Bad Reputation Among Some Foreign Leaders," read a May 7 Los Angeles Times headline, followed by the subhead: The U.S. Agency for International Development doesn't just offer aid to the poor, it also promotes democracy, which is seen as meddlesome or even subversive. Fighting poverty and spreading democracy–what's not to like? And so, the report seems to suggest, there's something a little off about foreign leaders, nine in recent years, who've expelled the agency. Why else would Bolivian President Evo Morales expel an anti-poverty group from his "impoverished" country, if he wasn't just a little bit crazy? [...]
FAIR TV: CBS 'Covers' Immigration, Joe Klein's Angry Middle, Dangerously Anti-War Public
This week on FAIR TV: CBS Evening News looked like it was covering an immigrant rights rally-- but it was merely a set up to talk about chaos at the border. Time's Joe Klein goes after the "gun lobby" by saying... both sides are at fault? And Cokie Roberts hears the public doesn't want to start a war with Syria. Why does she think that's "dangerous"?
Benghazi Bias on One Page
The controversy over the attacks at a diplomatic compound in Benghazi, Libya, is a great test of the right's tired claim that the corporate media have a liberal bias. If that were true, then this "scandal" would exist almost entirely on Fox News Channel and conservative talk radio.
When Libyans Die From NATO Airstrikes, It's Not Benghazi
There's another Libya story that should be getting attention. It's not, and never really has, because the dead are Libyan civilians, killed by U.S./NATO airstrikes.
Iron Man 3 and the Art of Missing the Point
Hollywood's latest superhero movie has a political message that's not particularly hard to decipher. Yet fail to decipher it New York Times film critic Manohla Dargis evidently did.
Between Two Economists Lies the American Center
The "center" doesn't usually indicate where most of the public is, but rather where elites have determined an appropriate middle between opposing arguments.
Those Who Send Innocents to Prison Are Not Like Innocents Who Are Sent to Prison
It shouldn't be necessary to spell out, but apparently it is, that sending the Central Park Five to prison for a crime they hadn't committed was wrong because they hadn't committed the crime.
Click the flash players below to hear or the mics to download these Black Agenda Radio Commentaries.
Demonstrators Demand End of Impunity for Banks
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Chicago Teachers Build a Movement
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Black Vote Rising, Black Power Diminishing, Black Condition Worsening
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Radicalized = Weaponized = Kill at Will
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End Solitary Confinement in U.S. Prisons, Prepare to Back Hunger Strikers
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From Race Men to Debased Men, Obama at Morehouse, Arne Duncan at Morgan State
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Defend Assata, Defend Ourselves: The Black Is Black Coalition Rallies in Harlem
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The New Urban Regime: In Atlanta Gentrification Wears A Black Face
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