Media
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Copyright Maximalists Harm Authors
Copyright maximalists want all sorts of new laws to “help authors get paid”. Well, I’m a published author, and all their efforts to “help” cost me money. Even if we strictly limit the argument to printed books, copyright maximalists still only succeed in harming authors and publishers. This is how. Continue reading
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Media Diversified: An Interview with Samantha Asumadu By Alice Bell
We talked to Samantha Asumadu, a documentary filmmaker, former journalist and campaigner about her project Media Diversified, which tackles the lack of diversity in UK media and the ubiquity of whiteness it both reflects and perpetuates. Continue reading
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9/11 and the Collapse of WTC Building 7: The BBC’s Role in Distorting the Evidence and Misleading the Public By Peter Drew
In their documentary, the BBC went to great lengths to attempt to demonstrate through their own analysis that WTC Building 7 had not actually achieved free fall acceleration, as claimed by the professional experts, and that therefore this was not evidence that could be used to contradict the official version of events on 9/11. The… Continue reading
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Media: Iran's Suspicious Smile By Peter Hart
There are suspicions, mostly coming from some US and Israeli officials, that the country’s enrichment activities are intended to produce a nuclear weapon. But international inspectors have never found evidence of this, and official US intelligence estimates are that Iran is not currently working on a weapons program. Continue reading
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The Rise of Establishment Reporting: How a Crisis in Journalism Led to the “Cult of Balance” By John Nichols and Robert W. McChesney
A crisis in journalism lasted from the 1890s until the 1920s. Party-driven journalism had disintegrated, the increasingly lucrative and powerful newspaper magnates ruled their independent empires and exercised considerable political power, and the pursuit of profit sometimes led to an incredible, even appalling, journalism. Mounting public anger and dissatisfaction with the journalism of this era… Continue reading
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The Battle Over The Future of Journalism is Becoming More Intense By Danny Schechter
America’s largest media reform organization commemorated ten years of a media war but other forces are at work to undercut their efforts Continue reading
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Police State UK: The NSA spy scandal and the attack on press freedom By Chris Marsden
Recently released police documents on the August 18 arrest and questioning at London’s Heathrow airport of David Miranda, the domestic partner of journalist Glenn Greenwald, are a serious warning on the advanced stage of the decay of democracy in Britain and internationally. Continue reading
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Police State UK: The witch-hunt of Britain’s Guardian newspaper By Julie Hyland
Raids on newspaper offices, the forced destruction of computer drives and threats to arrest journalists are actions more commonly associated with military dictatorships. But this is exactly what has been meted out against the Guardian, with threats of worse to come. Continue reading
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Police State UK: Guardian faces parliamentary investigation over Snowden revelations By Chris Marsden
Britain’s Guardian newspaper is facing an investigation by at least one parliamentary committee, in line with demands made by Prime Minister David Cameron, concerning the exposures of Edward Snowden, the whistleblower from America’s National Security Agency (NSA). Continue reading
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NYT's Iraq War History, Still Misleading By Peter Hart
As the story goes (and was reported at the time), Bustani had been working on getting Iraq to agree to join the Chemical Weapons Convention. This was an unwelcome development for the Bush administration, since it could complicate efforts to invade Iraq based in part on its chemical weapons stockpile. Continue reading
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NYT's OPCW "He Said, She Said" Reporting Misses Major Judgement
In 2002 José Bustani, the then head of the now Nobel prized Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons, was fired because his insistence on bringing Iraq into the Chemical Weapon Treaty conflicted with the war plans of the Bush administration. Continue reading
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The NHS and You: The BBC wants to hear from you
The BBC is asking for your views on its news and current affairs coverage. This is a good chance to feedback any comments you may have on its coverage of the NHS Continue reading
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Charlie Rose: Media Straight Man for Bashar el-Assad By Cameron Salisbury
On Monday night, September 9, 2013, media personality Charlie Rose sat down with Syria’s leader Bashar el-Assad for an interview that lasted the better part of an hour. It was a remarkable conversation but not for the reasons that Charlie Rose is being treated like a conquering hero at CBS. The person who deserves the… Continue reading
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On Syria, Sunday Morning TV Journalists Don't Need Proof By Peter Hart
The public doesn’t seem to support going to war in Syria–but some high-profile Sunday morning TV journalists are either declaring their support for the war, or professing faith in the case for going to war. Continue reading
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When It Comes to State Violence, Too Much Is Never Enough By Jim Naureckas
Obama does “hesitate to use force”–is that his problem? Since 2009, US drone strikes have killed more than 2000 people in Pakistan, including 240 civilians, 62 of them children. Since Obama took office, they’ve killed more than 400 in Yemen; drone deaths in Somalia are harder to quantify. Continue reading
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The Strange Thing About Cluster Bombs By Jim Naureckas
That’s the strange thing about cluster bombs: When they’re used by official enemies, they’re weapons of indiscriminate terror (FAIR Blog, 4/16/11,1/2/13). When they’re used by the United States, they’re not much worth talking about. Continue reading
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John Kerry's Very Precise Death Toll: Where Does It Come From? By Peter Hart
Journalists should, at a minimum, attribute these estimates to the government–and note that they are not in line with other reputable estimates of the death toll in Syria. Ideally, reporters should ask John Kerry to explain the discrepancy. He just made the rounds on all the major Sunday chat shows, and no one who was… Continue reading
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BBC editor urged colleagues to downplay Israel’s siege of Gaza By Amena Saleem
The new Middle East online editor for BBC News has been praised by a pro-Israeli website for being “willing to listen to his critics” after he sent internal emails guiding BBC staff to write more favorably about Israel. Continue reading
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BBC editor urged colleagues to downplay Israel’s siege of Gaza By Amena Saleem
The new Middle East online editor for BBC News has been praised by a pro-Israeli website for being “willing to listen to his critics” after he sent internal emails guiding BBC staff to write more favorably about Israel. Continue reading
The New Dark Age 