Submitted by John Stauber on
"Tensions have escalated far beyond the inevitable grousing
between press secretaries and journalists, who said they
could not remember a White House that was more grudging or
Submitted by Sheldon Rampton on
In an effort to distance itself from the stench of its reputation as the world's worst tobacco company, Philip Morris recently changed its name to "Altria." To guard the new name against parodies, the company then sneakily bought up the domain name registration for "AltriaSucks.com." Bret Fausett,
Submitted by John Stauber on
Submitted by Sheldon Rampton on
Industry apologist Steven Milloy, formerly a tobacco lackey at The Advancement of Sound Science Coalition and currently a self-proclaimed expert on "junk science," is hiding behind yet another front group.
Submitted by Sheldon Rampton on
ABC, CBS and NBC all decided not to carry President Bush's speech live at 8 Monday night. "They said yesterday that they made this call because the White House never asked them to carry the speech live," reports the Washington Post. "But the White House said it did not put in the usual formal request because it wanted to keep the American public from thinking we were going to war." However, the fact that we are going to war did manage to register with a few pundits.
Submitted by Sheldon Rampton on
Hollywood is making a movie about Stephen J. Glass, one of the most notorious frauds in the recent history of journalism. Formerly a hot star at The New Republic, Glass was fired after he was caught fabricating events, people and whole news stories. Given the nature of their subject matter, the filmmakers say they tried extra hard to make their movie stick to the real facts about Glass. Nevertheless, the film contains invented scenes and dialogue, composite characters, and a fictional news intern.
Submitted by Sheldon Rampton on
Ever since TV talking head Paula Zahn jumped to CNN from Fox News Channel last fall, her former employers have badmouthed her relentlessly. "The jibes are sometimes brutal, sometimes humorous and once even profane," writes David Bauder. "The underlying message seems clear: It's not wise to cross Fox News Chairman Roger Ailes." In an interview, Ailes compared Zahn to a "dead raccoon." Radio shock jock Erich "Mancow" Muller, a vassal of the Fox empire, called her a "knucklehead" and said, "I just want to punch her in the face. ... I'll kill you, Paula. We will kill you, Paula."
Submitted by Sheldon Rampton on
In a recent public speech, Senator Edward Kennedy "laid out what was arguably the most comprehensive case yet offered to the public questioning the Bush administration's policy and timing on Iraq," writes Washington Post ombudsman Michael Getler. "The next day, The Post devoted one sentence to the speech. ... Ironically, Kennedy made ample use in his remarks of the public testimony in Senate Armed Services Committee hearings a week earlier by retired four-star Army and Marine Corps generals who cautioned about attacking Iraq at this time -- hearings that The Post also did not cover.
Submitted by Sheldon Rampton on
After Al Gore spoke out against war with Iraq, media pundits like Morton Kondracke and Linda Chavez outdid themselves inventing "disturbing contradictions" in his statements, raising questions about his motives and avoiding the merits of his arguments. "Remember -- the pursuit of facts plays almost no role in our devolving pundit culture," writes Bob Somerby."What does your pundit corps try to get right? They try to get their scripted spins right."
Submitted by Sheldon Rampton on
"Pick up The Wall Street Journal today, and the business pages are full of stories about the men and women who built the stock market bubble," writes business journalist Philip Longman. "But there's another sector of the economy, deeply implicated in the collapse, whose conflicts of interest, ethical lapses and naive enthusiasms have so far received little press attention: business journalism itself." Longman examines the conflicts of interest and delusions that led journalists to hype the stock market bubble.
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