All Entries in the "Media" Category

Jesse Ventura on “American Conspiracies”

Thom Hartmann

Upload C-SPAN Highlights, Win A Prize

This Wednesday, C-SPAN will be releasing over 160,000 hours of footage in a searchable video library. The programming dates back to 1987, just a year after the launch of C-SPAN 2, which ostensibly means that every Congressional floor speech and high profile event since Reagan’s final years in office will be available and embeddable online.

According to a press release:

Of the video library, C-SPAN co-president Susan Swain said: “Its extensive holdings will allow the public to see how elected officials, politicians, journalists, experts, authors and other opinion leaders present themselves on the issues of the day and over time.”

Added bonuses: A “Congressional Chronicle” feature lets viewers to search all floor speeches and committee remarks for any member, and built-in tools allow you to post a video link to Facebook, Twitter or e-mail.

So what’s worth watching? Which memorable speech deserves revisiting? And what can we learn from such a rich archive?

The Huffington Post needs your help in answering these questions. Upon the launch of C-SPAN’s video library, we’re inviting readers to send us the embed codes of the best videos and moments from over 20 years of Congressional history.

Full Story: Upload C-SPAN Highlights, Win A Prize.

Rachel Maddow Questions Geithner About Role At New York Fed: ‘Where Were You?’ (VIDEO)

Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner described the nation’s financial crisis as “deeply unfair” to average Americans Tuesday, during an interview with Rachel Maddow. Geithner told Maddow that because of American suffering, he felt a “deep sense of responsibility” to reform the nation’s financial system:

GEITHNER: I think this is a just war. I think it’s a necessary and important thing to do. I think we have a deep obligation to get them to do this. The president has put out a sweeping package of reforms, strongest reforms we’ve contemplated as a country since the Great Depression, necessarily so because this was so damaging.

The House passed a bill very close to what the president proposed. Senator Dodd has put out a very good, strong bill. I do not think this is a Democratic or Republican thing. This is an American thing. I think you’re going to see — when this gets to the Senate floor, I think you’re going to see a lot of support for this, because I think it’s very hard for people in Washington to look their constituents in the eye and say, we’ve just had the worst financial crisis in generations, but we couldn’t find the will as a country to reform the rules of the game.

Full Story: Rachel Maddow Questions Geithner About Role At New York Fed: ‘Where Were You?’ (VIDEO).

Daily Beast Female Elites Denounce Global Human Rights Violations While Ignoring U.S. Crimes

Promising solutions for international women’s rights problems, the Daily Beast’s ‘Women in the World’ conference ended up supporting the status quo for US foreign policy.

On the last day of the Daily Beast’s Women in the World summit in Manhattan, a weekend-long conference offering “stories and solutions” to some of the most serious human rights problems faced by women across the globe, “60 Minutes” reporter Lesley Stahl sat down with Barack Obama’s senior adviser and confidant, Valerie Jarrett, for a pleasant conversation. After some initial “hard news” questions on health care — no mention of Stupak or the public option — Stahl invited Jarrett to provide some biographical bullet points tracing her early career as a Chicago real estate lawyer (the job made her so “miserable” she would sit in her office and cry), to the Daley administration (she was “scared to death” of the mayor), to the White House, asking her at one point, as a single mom, “How do you do it?”

As a preface to a broader discussion of the White House and its policies, all this would be fine and good. Jarrett is a public figure, and, as some of the conference speakers eloquently demonstrated over the weekend, personal narrative has its value (especially given the tough reality for single moms). But before long, the interview devolved into something resembling a PR show. Stahl gave Jarrett ample room to wax poetic about the great privilege of working for Barack Obama, an “extraordinary” man full of “tenacity,” “empathy,” “inner strength,” and so on, without asking her a single substantive question about the policies his administration has adopted — policies with significant implications for the rest of the world. “Every day I pinch myself,” Jarrett mused.

Full Story: Daily Beast Female Elites Denounce Global Human Rights Violations While Ignoring U.S. Crimes | World | AlterNet.

Why Does Corporate Media Ignore That Palin Wants Extreme Christian Government?

The New Apostolic Movement uncovered … and un-covered.

The mainstream media has plenty of time and space to devote to Sarah Palin’s Hollywood hi-jinks, but apparently has little interest in delving into her fantastic religious connections.

A few weeks back, I interview Rachel Tabachnick about a movement of religious conservatives called the New Apostolic Reformation (NAR). The story, which appeared at Alternet on Monday, March 1, was given the rather tantalizing title, “Heads Up: Prayer Warriors and Sarah Palin Are Organizing Spiritual Warfare to Take Over America”. The subhead was also a juicy tease, advising that the NAR was likely “the largest religious movement you’ve never heard of.”

All-in-all, the piece was probably the most extensive article/interview yet published on this movement. While the piece didn’t go “viral,” it did provoke an interesting response. Within a few days, it became one of the “Most READ,” “Most EMAILED” and “Most DISCUSSED” articles at Alternet.

Full Story: Why Does Corporate Media Ignore That Palin Wants Extreme Christian Government? | BuzzFlash.org.

OPS: On the other hand Why does the media ignore that the Republican endgame is a Fascist Police State?

Jon Stewart Assumes Corporate Rights, its only fair –

- A liberal dose of political comedy

CNN Taps Unhinged Conservative Blogger Erick Erickson As Regular Political Commentator

CNN announced today that conservative blogger Erick Erickson will join the network next week as a paid political commentator, primarily paired with John King on his new 7 p.m. show. Erickson, editor of the leading conservative blog RedState, also announced the selection on his blog. CNN’s decision is not surprising, as the network in recent months has increasingly turned to Erickson for political commentary. In a statement posted on CNN, the network praised Erickson’s “exceptional knowledge of politics, as well as his role as a conservative opinion leader.”

The selection of Erickson as a regular commentator raises the question of whether CNN is willing to sanction his record of offensive comments. In just the past year, Erickson has made several racial and violent statements that cast a poor light on his role as a “conservative opinion leader”:

Full Story: Think Progress » CNN Taps Unhinged Conservative Blogger Erick Erickson As Regular Political Commentator.

New York Times urged to issue correction for David Brooks’ column.

In his New York Times column today, David Brooks complains that the use of the budget reconciliation process to finish health care reform with a “simple majority” vote will ruin “the remnants of person-to-person relationships” that are left in the Senate. Though he acknowledges that reconciliation has been used plenty in the past, Brooks asserts that the Democrats would be using it in an unprecedented manner:

Full Story: Think Progress » New York Times urged to issue correction for David Brooks’ column..

Glenn Beck ‘has teared up’ during rehearsals, staffers say

Glenn Beck received a mix of mockery and intrigue last year after crying several times on camera during his Fox News program. Now, the conservative lightning rod’s assistants reportedly say he sheds the occasional tear even while rehearsing for the show.

In a Post feature story about the controversial Fox host, Howard Kurtz writes, “Some staffers say they have watched rehearsals, on internal monitors, in which Beck has teared up or paused at the same moments as he later did during the show.”

Observers have speculated that his crying may simply be an act to boost ratings. But according to the Chris Balfe, president of Beck’s production company Mercury Radio Arts, the fact that Beck does it both on and off camera is a mark of his sincerity.

Full Story: Glenn Beck ‘has teared up’ during rehearsals, staffers say | Raw Story.

Maddow Wipes Floor with AZ Senate Candidate J.D. ‘Man on Horse’ Hayworth

The Take-down

Full Story: Pensito Review.

The 1,000 Day Siege of Gaza

This week marked 1,000 days of an Israeli and international siege on Gaza – 1,000 days of an open air prison where “inmates,” the civilian Palestinian population of 1.5 million, cannot leave or enter at will – by land, sea or air, the tiny area known as the Gaza Strip.

60 years after the World War II Nazi military siege of Leningrad that lasted for 900 days and caused the greatest destruction and largest loss of life ever known in a modern city, the Israeli military has imprisoned Gaza for 1,000 days. The blockade has caused incredible physical and emotional suffering those crowded into an incredibly small space-25 miles long and 5 miles wide-one of the most densely populated areas in the world.

The siege means that the Israeli government controls the entry of food, medicines, and gasoline and construction materials for the Palestinians. The purpose of the blockade is to force by blatantly violating international law, a change in the government represented by Hamas, the political organization the people elected. The siege began in June, 2007, following Hamas’ takeover of governmental functions in Gaza.

Full Story: The 1,000 Day Siege of Gaza | CommonDreams.org.

Apple and other advertisers have ‘abandoned’ Fox News because of Glenn Beck.

Since Glenn Beck called President Obama a “racist” with “a deep-seated hatred for white people, or white culture” in July 2009, a campaign initiated by Color of Change has compelled “more than 200 companies” to join a boycott of Beck’s Fox News show. In August, when just 33 companies had left the program, Fox News spokeswoman Irena Briganti told the AP that the network wasn’t losing any revenue from the boycott because the companies had “simply requested the ads be moved elsewhere.” But the Washington Post’s Howard Kurtz reports today that Apple, along with a “handful” of other advertisers, have “abandoned” the entire network:

More than 200 companies have joined a boycott of Beck’s program, making it difficult for Fox to sell ads. The time has instead been sold to smaller firms offering such products as Kaopectate, Carbonite, 1-800-PetMeds and Goldline International. A handful of advertisers, such as Apple, have abandoned Fox altogether. Network executives say they believe they could charge higher rates if the host were more widely acceptable to advertisers.

Full Story: Think Progress » Apple and other advertisers have ‘abandoned’ Fox News because of Glenn Beck..

Maher: Obama’s ‘mistake’ was not telling Republicans to ’suck on it’

On health care, Democrats ’should have started with single payer,’ he alleges

Maher: Obamas mistake was not telling Republicans to suck on it

Comedian and political commentator Bill Maher said Wednesday that President Obama’s insistence on courting Republican votes on his legislative priorities has weakened his presidency and the outcome of health care reform.

“I think the biggest mistake that he has made in his first year was to put bipartisanship ahead of fixing the country,” Maher declared Wednesday on MSNBC’s Countdown With Keith Olbermann

Full Story: Maher: Obama’s ‘mistake’ was not telling Republicans to ’suck on it’ | Raw Story.

Patrick Kennedy: Press Corps Is ‘Despicable’ For Not Covering Afghanistan War Resolution

Rep. Patrick Kennedy (D-R.I.) excoriated the national press on Wednesday during a debate over the war in Afghanistan, charging reporters with shirking their duty to cover the issue and instead focusing on the peccadillos of former Rep. Eric Massa (D-N.Y.).

“There’s one, two press people in this gallery,” he thundered. “We’re talking about Eric Massa 24/7 on the TV. We’re talking about war and peace; $3 billion; 1,000 lives and no press! No press!”

The House is debating a resolution written by Rep. Dennis Kucinich (D-Ohio), which would require the military to withdraw from Afghanistan within 30 days or longer if it couldn’t be done safely that quickly.

“You want to know why the American public is fit? They’re fit because they’re not seeing their Congress do the work that they’re sent to do,” railed Kennedy, who is retiring at the end of this term. “It’s because the press, the press of the United States, is not covering the most significant issue of national importance and that’s the laying of lives down in the nation for the service of our country. It’s despicable, the national press corps right now.”

Full Story: Patrick Kennedy: Press Corps Is ‘Despicable’ For Not Covering Afghanistan War Resolution.

Newsmax: Americans strongly prefer Obama — to Bush – Barack Obama

The right-wing site’s online poll may cheer the White House, a little

Online polls taken by partisan Web sites tend to be discounted — and some observers would question a Zogby online poll in particular — but when the results cut against the ideology of the sponsor, they may still be worth noting. Today’s morning lead on the ultra-conservative Newsmax site touts a Zogby online survey on presidents past and present, with findings that bolster the White House’s current occupant, who is usually the target of extremely harsh criticism from Newsmax and its columnists (one of whom seemingly advocated a military coup last year).

The headline on the Newsmax poll story — “Bill Clinton Bests Former Presidents to Handle Crisis Today” — concerns the unsurprising discovery that the American public considers the last Democratic president best qualified of all his peers (by far) to cope with the issues that America confronts today. Comissioned by Newsmax, which is run by Christopher Ruddy and owned by him and Richard Mellon Scaife, among others, the poll queried 4,000 people who participate in Zogby’s online surveys.

Among respondents asked the following question — “Of the current living former presidents, which do you think is best equipped to deal with the problems the country faces today?” — 41 percent chose Bill Clinton, trailed by George W. Bush with 15 percent, George H.W. Bush with 7 percent, and Jimmy Carter with only 5 percent, while 26 percent chose “none,” and 5 percent were “not sure.” Those choices may be partly a function of the age of the former presidents, since the elder Bush and Carter are considerably older than the younger Bush and Clinton. But Clinton finished first among all age groups, all races, all religions, and both sexes, with a significantly better showing among women (46 percent) than men (36 percent).

Full Story: Newsmax: Americans strongly prefer Obama — to Bush – Barack Obama – Salon.com.

OPS: any bets on how long it will be before they print the retraction?

‘Pulitzer’s Gold’: The Irreplaceable Role Of Investigative Journalism

Behind The Prize for Public Service Journalism

University of Missouri Press

One of the best pieces of journalistic advice I know comes from a fellow investigative reporter who, when asked how he finds so many good stories, gives this simple answer: Just look around you, he says. Look at what seems to be too good to be true or what doesn't seem to add up. Chances are, he says, it is too good to be true and doesn't add up.

I thought of this while reading “Pulitzer's Gold” by Roy J. Harris Jr., now updated and just released in paperback. Harris tells a story about the Pulitzer Prizes that's never really been told before. He zeroes in on the history of the most prized Pulitzer, the Gold Medal for public service. Most Pulitzer prizes go to individual journalists, but the public service medal is awarded to newspapers that publish exceptional work.

Full Story: James B. Steele: ‘Pulitzer’s Gold’: The Irreplaceable Role Of Investigative Journalism.

Is the Medium the Message? The New Media Watchdogs

In 1964, media analyst Marshall McLuhan suggested that a given medium was more important than its message. In 2009, I sat down with Dan Rather, Geraldo Rivera, Tim Zagat, Amy Goodman, Rachel Sklar, Carol Jenkins, Bill Pullman, Bob Simon, John Ziegler, Juan Williams, Kevin Macdonald , Mary Alice Williams, and Stephen Cannell to see what they had to say about the changing face of our news media.

Watch ‘The New Media Watchdogs’

Full Story: Kimberly Butler: Is the Medium the Message? The New Media Watchdogs.

Are 2010 Dems as corrupt as the 2006 GOP?

Of course not. But the media seems to be buying the GOP’s false equivalence

I predicted Wednesday that Republicans and the mainstream media would soon have a new but typically simplistic partisan line: that recent scandals involving Democratic Reps. Eric Massa and Charlie Rangel and New York Gov. David Paterson would make 2010 what 2006 was for Republicans — the year voters punished the party for its corruption. Throw in oldies but goodies like former Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich and former New York Gov. Eliot Spitzer, both Democrats, and I foresaw an avalanche of 2006-2010 comparisons. And I was right.

Before I attack that false equivalence, let me make clear: I’m not defending these Democrats. I said on “Morning Joe” Tuesday that Paterson should resign, given the mounting evidence that he abused his power to help an aide duck a serious domestic violence charge. I was a Blagojevich critic like every other Democrat, and I wrote at the time that it was wrong to seat Roland Burris in Barack Obama’s Senate seat after Blagojevich’s cynical appointment.

But this is another dramatic case of the double standard the media can’t seem to avoid when it comes to Republicans and Democrats. The big difference between the two sets of scandals is that GOP corruption in 2006 was big-time, it was systemic — and much of it was covered up, ignored and, in some cases (House Majority Leader Tom DeLay, anyone?), perpetrated by congressional leadership. Nancy Pelosi’s team came in and developed ethics standards and investigation protocols that are working in the Rangel case, standards that many Republicans, including House Minority Leader John Boehner, opposed.

Full Story: Are 2010 Dems as corrupt as the 2006 GOP? – Joan Walsh – Salon.com.

The Moyers Legacy

Moyers has always chosen his guests with a purpose: to put new ideas, new analyses, new approaches on the table

Even in an age of old-media uncertainty, much is still made of the transfer of network anchor and host positions. Too often the discussion is purely about personality, but there's more to it than a celebrity shuffle: the character and content of programs with rich histories and the potential for crucial contributions to civic discourse are at stake. So oceans of ink are spilled when CBS shifts the news anchor chair from Dan Rather to Bob Schieffer to Katie Couric; or when Tim Russert's Meet the Press post goes to David Gregory. Unfortunately, scant attention has been paid to the coming shift of what over the past decade has become the most significant seat in broadcast journalism–the Friday night position occsupied by Bill Moyers.

Moyers has been the most radical presence on broadcast and cable television since 2002, when the former White House press secretary, newspaper publisher, CBS and NBC commentator, bestselling author and award-winning documentarian settled into the work of producing weekly reviews not of the transitory arguments of the moment but of the great debates on the fate of the Republic. What has made Moyers, who will retire in April, such a radical presence is not his politics but his journalism.

As the host of NOW With Bill Moyers, Moyers on America and, since 2007, Bill Moyers Journal, he has provided an antidote to the blather served up by most news and public affairs programs. Never satisfied to practice stenography to power, as so many news programs do, or to moderate recitations of talking points by political hacks, Moyers refuses to treat Americans as imbeciles who need to be ideologically coddled.

Full Story: The Moyers Legacy.

Sarah Palin Had Help From Jay Leno Laugh Track, Says Audience Member

Michael Stinson is not a Sarah Palin fan. The lefty activist and founder of takebackthemedia.com expressed his distaste for the Thrilla from Wasilla with a parody of Palin’s ghostwritten autobiography called “Going Rouge: The Sarah Palin Rogue Coloring & Activity Book.”

So when Stinson claims that Palin was the beneficiary of canned laughter during her Tuesday appearance on Jay Leno’s “Tonight Show,” there’s reason to be skeptical.

But Stinson has two aces up his sleeve. He’s been working with sound engineering for three decades, including a stint operating master reel-to-reel tapes at EMS Music in Seattle in the 80’s. And he was actually at the Palin taping.

Full Story: Sarah Palin Had Help From Jay Leno Laugh Track, Says Audience Member – Seattle News – The Daily Weekly.

Media Leaves Stupak’s False Claims About Senate Bill’s Abortion Provision Unchallenged

Yesterday, President Obama signaled his support for passing the Senate health care bill in the House alongside a reconciliation package of fixes, but pro-life Democrats led by Rep. Bart Stupak (D-MI) have pledged to oppose the Senate bill unless Congress strengthens the prohibitions against federal funding of abortion.

Stupak has relied on a fundamentally dishonest interpretation of the Senate bill to argue that it would allow for public funding of abortion, and the media has failed to fact check his assertions. Instead, most reports have covered the dispute between Stupak and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) as a he-said/she-said story, adding legitimacy to Stupak’s gross misrepresentations:

– Yesterday, MSNBC’s Chris Matthews Matthews played a clip of Speaker Pelosi adamantly denying that the Senate Bill allows federal funding for abortion and allowed Stupak to contradict Pelosi without settling the dispute.

Full Story: Think Progress » Media Leaves Stupak’s False Claims About Senate Bill’s Abortion Provision Unchallenged.

Jon Stewart Exposes Fox News ‘Balance,’ Goes After Sarah Palin And Megyn Kelly (VIDEO)

It looked like Jon Stewart was going for some of his bread-and-butter Sarah Palin jokes on Wednesday night, mocking her appearance on NBC’s Tonight Show and tossing in a little ribbing of Jay Leno.

But the quips about a Palin “Fair and Balanced” remark quickly turned into an amusing — if not scathing — indictment of Fox News programming, particularly host Megyn Kelly and her new mid-day program, America Live.

Stewart hounded the network about an apparent lack of balance, ranging from the show’s promos (showing a clean-cut man in a Jesus t-shirt evidently representing the right, juxtaposed with an “angry nose-ring liberal lady” pointing at his face) to the actual reporting and clips that only showed one-sided opinions from a very homogeneous group. He emphasized that this was one of the few programs held during the network’s allotted news time, as opposed to shows that are explicitly opinion.

The Daily Show segment ended with a flourish, showing clips that seemed to indicate an inconsistent approach at Fox News to polling, endorsing or dismissing polls depending on the results.

WATCH:

Full Story: Jon Stewart Exposes Fox News ‘Balance,’ Goes After Sarah Palin And Megyn Kelly (VIDEO).

Roger Ailes Admits That The White House Might Have ‘Legitimate Complaints’ About Fox News

Last September, President Obama appeared on five Sunday morning talk shows in one day to promote health care reform, but did not sit down with Fox News Sunday host Chris Wallace — a snub that was considered “the first real shot from the White House” in its clash with Fox News. Appearing on the O’Reilly Factor after news of the snub broke, Wallace attacked the White House, claiming there was a “kind of childishness or pettiness” to the decision. “They are the biggest bunch of crybabies I have dealt with in my 30 years in Washington,” said Wallace.

In an interview with the Hoover Institution’s Peter Robinson that was posted on National Review today, Fox News Chairman and CEO Roger Ailes distanced himself from Wallace, saying that the Obama administration wasn’t “whining over nothing”:

ROBINSON: Do you subscribe to the statement of your news host Chris Wallace that the Obama administration is “the biggest bunch,” he said, “the biggest bunch of crybabies” that he’s dealt with in his 30 years in Washington?

Full Story: Think Progress » Roger Ailes Admits That The White House Might Have ‘Legitimate Complaints’ About Fox News.

Michael Moore: ‘Democrats are a bunch of wusses…It’s disgusting… I’m sick of them’

America’s top documentary filmmaker talks “Capitalism,” politics and Oscars with Raw Story

Michael Moore: Democrats are a bunch of wusses…Its disgusting… Im sick of themJust over a year ago, Michael Moore vigorously campaigned for President Obama and the Democratic Party. But watching them jettison the public option from health care legislation appears to have been the final straw.

“These Democrats are a bunch of wusses,” Moore told Raw Story in a hard-edged interview Wednesday. “They don’t have the courage of their convictions. They won’t stand and fight.”

Full Story: Michael Moore: ‘Democrats are a bunch of wusses…It’s disgusting… I’m sick of them’ | Raw Story.

Chris Hedges on ‘The Death and Life of American Journalism’

Chris Hedges – - Book Review

Robert W. McChesney and John Nichols in “The Death and Life of American Journalism” argue correctly that the old models for delivering the news are dead. They see the government as the savior of last resort. The authors cite the massive postal and printing subsidies that lasted into the 19th century as a precedent for government intervention. And they propose building a new generation of journalists and publications from new government subsidies and from programs such as their suggested News AmeriCorps, which would train the next generation of journalists.

The authors offer a series of innovations including “citizen news vouchers” and low-cost, low-profit newsrooms. They write: “The government will pay half the salary of every reporter and editor up to $45,000 each. Assuming most daily and weekly newspapers go post-corporate and employment returns to the high-water mark of two decades ago—the latter is a very big assumption, we know—this would cost the state $3.5 billion annually. If employment stayed at current levels it would run half that total. Newspapers that benefit from these subsidies would also be prime candidates for News AmeriCorps rookie journalists.”

Full Story: Chris Hedges: Chris Hedges on ‘The Death and Life of American Journalism’ – Book Review – Truthdig.

Viacom Will Take ‘Daily Show,’ ‘Colbert’ Off Hulu

Unable to make the digital media dollars add up to their liking, Viacom will remove “The Daily Show with Jon Stewart,” “The Colbert Report” and other Comedy Central television shows from Hulu next week.

Although the companies said Tuesday evening that they were parting amicably, the decision represents the first major fracture between television show owners and the wildly popular video Web site.

Viacom’s decision is a serious loss for Hulu — this week “The Daily Show” is listed as the third most-watched TV show on the site — and it is a reminder that content owners can control just how much video — or how little — is placed online for all to view. At the moment, that spigot is being tightened, in part to protect the industry’s primary revenue stream, cable and satellite distribution.

Full Story: Viacom Will Take ‘Daily Show,’ ‘Colbert’ Off Hulu – Media Decoder Blog – NYTimes.com.

ABC News to cut half its domestic correspondents, close bricks-and-mortar bureaus

As part of the deep cuts announced this week at ABC News, the network plans to close all of its physical bureaus around the country except Washington and halve the number of its domestic correspondents.

ABC News President David Westin confirmed in an interview Friday that the network’s ranks of bureau correspondents, which currently number several dozen, would be cut in half and be replaced with “digital” journalists who would be expected to shoot and edit their own stories.

“We will have as many total journalists as we do now,” he said.

Although the network will keep a minimal staff presence in Atlanta, Chicago, Dallas, Los Angeles, Miami and Boston, it will shut down its bricks-and-mortar bureaus there and ask its remaining employees to work from the local affiliates. The Washington bureau will remain open, but its size will be substantially reduced.

[Updated at 1:10 p.m.: Kate O'Brian, ABC's senior vice president of news, said that although the network eventually plans to shut down its physical bureaus in the long term, it is still examining all of its leases and is not going to immediately vacate all offices. The news division has not yet approached affiliates about housing network correspondents, but has found that model works in Denver and Detroit.]

Full Story: ABC News to cut half its domestic correspondents, close bricks-and-mortar bureaus [Updated] | Company Town | Los Angeles Times.

OPS:  The March of Police State. Locking down the Country.

Dubai police chief says to seek Netanyahu arrest

Dubai’s police chief plans to seek the arrest of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and the head of Israel’s spy agency over the killing of a Hamas leader in the emirate, Al Jazeera television reported.

Dahi Khalfan Tamim “said he would ask the Dubai prosecutor to issue arrest warrants for … Netanyahu and the head of Mossad,” the television said. It did not give details.

Tamim has said he is “almost certain” Israeli agents were involved in the killing of Hamas commander Mahmoud al-Mabhouh at a Dubai hotel in January, calling for Mossad’s boss, Meir Dagan, to be arrested if it is proved responsible. Tamim said on Monday Mossad had “insulted” Dubai and Western countries whose fraudulent passports were used by suspects in the assassination.

Dubai has asked the U.S. Federal Bureau of Investigation to look into prepaid cards issued by the Meta Financial Group’s MetaBank which the suspects used, a United Arab Emirates newspaper said.

Citing an FBI source, The National newspaper said the investigation would look into any Israeli involvement in the killing.

Full Story: Dubai police chief says to seek Netanyahu arrest | Reuters.

Ratigan to Tea Party leader Williams: “Can we please cut off this man’s microphone? … You’re offensive” | Media Matters for America

From the March 2 edition of MSNBC’s The Dylan Ratigan Show:

Full Story: Ratigan to Tea Party leader Williams: “Can we please cut off this man’s microphone? … You’re offensive” | Media Matters for America.

Ultimate Fox News revisionism: ‘What used to be called the nuclear option’ is now ‘called reconciliation.’

As ThinkProgress has noted, conservatives — especially Fox News — have been trying to re-brand the long-standing Senate process known as reconciliation as the “nuclear option” — a term that came into prominence when Republicans threatened to unilaterally change the rules of the Senate in 2005 to prohibit the filibuster on judicial nominations. The right wing’s revision of the terminology hit an apex yesterday when Fox News’ Gregg Jarrett declared that “reconciliation” is a “warm and fuzzy phrase” that has been recently coined to change the name of “what used to be called the nuclear option.” “Only in Washington would they do that,” said Jarrett. Watch it:

Full Story: Think Progress » Ultimate Fox News revisionism: ‘What used to be called the nuclear option’ is now ‘called reconciliation.’.

Robert Greenwald discusses Stop the Kennedy Smears on CNN’s Reliable Sources

Robert Greenwald discusses Stop the Kennedy Smears on CNN’s Reliable Sources

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The NYT Veers Neocon

Robert Parry –

Many American progressives don’t want to recognize how bad the U.S. mainstream news media has become. It’s easier to praise a few exceptions to the rule and to hope that some pendulum will swing than to undertake the challenging task of building a new and honest media infrastructure.

But the hard reality is that the U.S. news media is getting worse, with now both premier national newspapers – the New York Times and the Washington Post – decidedly sliding into the neocon camp, where the likes of the Wall Street Journal have long resided.

For the Post, this may already be an old story, given its enthusiastic cheerleading for the Iraq War. The Times, however, was a somewhat different story. Yes, it did let Judith Miller and other staff writers promote the fictions about Iraq’s WMD, but it hadn’t sunk to the depths of the Post.

That is now changing as the Times – behind executive editor Bill Keller and editorial page editor Andrew Rosenthal – tosses aside all pretense of objectivity in the cause of seeking “regime change” in Iran, today’s top priority for the neoconservatives.

Full Story: Consortiumnews.com.

BBC signals an end to era of expansion

The BBC will close two radio stations, shut half its website and cut spending heavily on imported American programmes in an overhaul of services to be announced next month.

Mark Thompson, the Director-General, will admit that the corporation, which is funded by the £3.6 billion annual licence fee, has become too large and must shrink to give its commercial rivals room to operate.

In a wideranging strategic review, he will announce the closure of the digital radio stations 6 Music and Asian Network and introduce a cap on spending on broadcast rights for sports events of 8.5 per cent of the licence fee, or about £300 million.

Full Story: BBC signals an end to era of expansion – Times Online.

Max Headroom Finally Coming To DVD!

A major injustice is about to be redressed.The ground-breaking cyberpunk TV series Max Headroom is finally coming out on DVD — and the extras may include the original British short film 20 Minutes Into The Future.

You may finally be able to throw away your VHS copies of Max, which probably have sentient entities growing on them at this point. Shout! Factory has scored the rights to do a complete box set, including all 14 episodes as well as unspecified extras. Home Media Magazine reports:

“Max Headroom” starred Matt Frewer as a reporter whose mind is downloaded into a computer to create a virtual clone who exists in the digital world. Amanda Pays, Jeffrey Tambor and W. Morgan Sheppard also star in the series, which ran for 14 episodes on Cinemax and ABC in 1987 and 1988. Set in the near future, “Max Headroom” depicted a world of television run amok.

Full Story: Max Headroom Finally Coming To DVD! – Max Headroom – io9.

Real Time With Bill Maher: NEW RULES

- Feb 27 2010 – Sex addiction

Skewing the Health Care Debate

William Rivers Pitt -

President Obama met on Thursday with the glitterati of Capitol Hill in a much-ballyhooed confab on health care reform, and more specifically, the health of his current health care reform proposal. I was supposed to use this space to describe the details of that conference, to get into the nitty-gritty details of who said what, who made the most sense and What It All Means in the end. My intention was to do another running diary on the actual proceedings, but I couldn't do that, and for one reason: I didn't tune in to C-SPAN.

Instead, I spent my day oscillating between MSNBC, CNN and even Fox, not only to see what was happening at the conference, but to get a sense of how the three big cable news networks were covering the affair. I tired quickly of Fox, for all the oft-repeated reasons, and began flipping back and forth between the other two cans of alphabet soup. Every once in a while, CNN and MSNBC deigned to show footage of the actual event, but a majority of their air time was devoted to giving right-wing anti-reform mouth-breathing cretins free reign to spew their nonsense to all points on the compass.

Full Story: t r u t h o u t | Skewing the Health Care Debate.

It Is Happening Here

by David Sirota  -

Let’s pause and give thanks to Glenn Beck.

No, seriously — because that’s what he’s due.

We owe this talk-show-host-turned-political-leader gratitude for using his televised keynote address to the Conservative Political Action Conference to so frankly outline what the conservative movement has become — and why it repulses so many Americans.

Coming days after an anti-tax terrorist kamikaze-attacked a government facility in Texas, and following Republicans like Sen. Scott Brown and Rep. Steve King expressing sympathy for that terrorist’s grievances, Beck’s homily stands as the moment’s most forthright manifesto on the right’s authoritarian objectives.

Beck began his speech posing as a libertarian against “big government.” Notice that most Republican icons are now saying this, though not all resemble Beck — not all of them previously pushed the big-government Patriot Act or the even-bigger-government bank bailout.

Full Story: It Is Happening Here by David Sirota on Creators.com – A Syndicate Of Talent.

Is the Future Bright for Progressive Media?

A new book highlights how progressive media has achieved more influence than ever before. But there’s still work to be done.

While the journalistic establishment, and even progressives like Bob McChesney and John Nichols wring their hands over the demise of advertising-driven corporate journalism, activists and journalists Tracy Van Slyke and Jessica Clark have chosen to tell a different, more positive story about the future of media in America.

In their book Beyond the Echo Chamber: Reshaping Politics Through Networked Progressive Media (New Press), the authors take us on a celebratory journey through the relatively recent (over the past eight years) surge of independent, progressive media. The conclusion they reach is undeniable: by every measure, what we know as the progressive media and the netroots, “reaches far larger audiences — millions of people every day — and is decidedly more influential than ever before.”

In the old days, it was considered a big success when a progressive magazine had 200,000 monthly subscribers. But today, there are a dozen or more blogs, magazines and online news sites that have enjoyed more than a million unique readers in a month. A recently formed Ad Progress Network, founded by AlterNet, The Nation, and Mother Jones, and joined by American Prospect, The New Republic and others, reaches over four million people. And by the way, progressive media is not in crisis, primarily because it is not dependent on one source of revenue — advertising — as corporate media is, but rather is often supported by a mix of grants, reader donations, advertising sales and list partnerships with the large non-profit advocacy sector.

Full Story: Is the Future Bright for Progressive Media? | Media and Culture | AlterNet.

Dylan Ratigan Calls Out Joe Wilson For Calling US Health Care System “Best” In The World (VIDEO)

Rep. Joe Wilson (R-S.C.) believes that the U.S. has the best health care system in the world.

The congressman made the pronouncement during an appearance Tuesday on The Dylan Ratigan Show and then went on to talk about the “nice hospital” in one of South Carolina’s poorest counties. Ratigan promptly corrected Wilson.

Rep. Wilson: I’ll take you to the poorest county in South Carolina, Allendale, a very nice hospital. I’ll take you to another county which is very depressed.

Ratigan: South Carolina has the 33rd worst health care in America, according to The Commonwealth Fund. America has the most expensive health care in the world and the 37th highest quality. We pay more than any country in the world. We have huge amounts of money going to special interests. Our budget is dominated by health care and people don’t have coverage.

Watch the excerpted exchange below. Click here to watch the full segment.

WATCH

Full Story: Dylan Ratigan Calls Out Joe Wilson For Calling US Health Care System “Best” In The World (VIDEO).

Glenn Beck Admits He’s Secretly Liberal?!

Beck’s comparison is insane:

Historians slam Beck:

New York Times Silent On Major Carlos Slim Lawsuit

The New York Times’ lack of coverage on a major lawsuit involving its billionaire shareholder Carlos Slim has at least one writer wondering if Slim has bought the paper’s silence.

The Big Money’s James Ledbetter wrote over the weekend about “The Story The New York Times Won’t Touch.” Slim, who bought a large stake in the New York Times in 2008 and then raised his stake in early 2009, is a Mexican telecom billionaire.

Slim is involved in a lawsuit that includes both JP Morgan and his main telecom rival, as summarized by Reuters’ Felix Salmon:

Full Story: New York Times Silent On Major Carlos Slim Lawsuit.

Fox News ambusher Griff Jenkins hypocritically cowers from interview: ‘Call the media relations people.’

Video – Fox News correspondent Griff Jenkins, who often ambushes liberals for host Bill O’Reilly, appeared at CPAC this weekend to help cover the event for his network. When ThinkProgress found him, he was casually chatting with a gaggle of students about working at Fox News, and about conservatism in general. Asked about Saudi Prince Alwaleed bin Talal’s ownership stake in News Corp — the parent company of Fox News — Jenkins dodged the question. Then, before ThinkProgress could continue the interview, Jenkins said any request for an interview had to be scheduled beforehand by his media relations personnel in New York:

JENKINS: I’m just covering CPAC for Greta, but listen, call the media relations people, we can do something about my coverage here, other than that, ask the media relations people.

[crosstalk]

TP: Do you ever extend that courtesy to the people you interview?

JEKINS: I gotta go buddy. [...]

Full Story Think Progress » Fox News ambusher Griff Jenkins hypocritically cowers from interview: ‘Call the media relations people.’.

The myth of the “liberal” Washington Post opinion pages

Media Matters for America -

There may be no better example of the absurdity of the “liberal media” myth than the widespread notion that the Washington Post’s opinion pages — and Fred Hiatt, the man who runs them — lean to the left.

The Daily Beast and Forbes magazine have both named Hiatt one of America’s five most influential liberal journalists — though the Daily Beast acknowledged that many liberals would question that assessment given Hiatt’s “near-neocon” views on foreign policy, while asserting “there is no doubt at all that he is a traditional liberal in all matters domestic.”

The assertion that a neocon — near or otherwise — is the nation’s fifth most influential liberal is self-evidently absurd. But that bizarre assessment isn’t limited to Tunku Varadarajan, the Scaife-funded Hoover Institution fellow who compiled both lists. NewsBusters’ Warner Todd Huston has called Hiatt a “socialist” — a kinder assessment than that of his colleague, Matthew Sheffield, who thinks the Post’s editorial page is merely “liberal.” Fellow NewsBuster Noel Sheppard expresses surprise when the Post publishes an op-ed that is “counter to leftwing economic dogma.” Tim Russert described the Post in 2006 as “hardly an organ for Republican views.”

Even the Post’s own media critic, Howard Kurtz, says that the paper’s editorial page is “left-leaning” and that “liberals are pretty well represented on the Post op-ed page” by, among others, Richard Cohen. For his part, Hiatt has insisted that the Post has “a pretty good balance on the oped page.”

So, the idea that the Post’s opinion operation is liberal is pretty well-entrenched, if not unanimously held. But is it true?

Full Story The myth of the “liberal” Washington Post opinion pages | Media Matters for America.

Public option returns to reform debate

Rachel Maddow – Bernie Sanders

Papantonio Explodes on Fox Panel

What happens when 4 right wing hacks deny reality and facts? When they’re put up against Ring of Fire’s own Mike Papantonio, he let’s them know what really is happening in the world, and how they are the ones who kept pushing the toxic trash that helped crash our economy. As you can see in this clip, they don’t always enjoy being forced to live in reality.

Journalists Killed 2009: Record Number Killed, International Watchdog Group Says

An international press freedom watchdog said that 2009 saw a record number of journalists killed, including the single worst massacre in the Philippines, as well as an increase in journalists jailed, fueled by the crackdown in Iran.

The New York-based Committee to Protect Journalists said the massacre of 29 journalists and two media support workers in a politically motivated ambush in the southern Philippines on Nov. 23 claimed more lives than any single event since it started documenting attacks on the press 18 years ago.

In its annual report on freedom of the press released Tuesday, the committee also accused Iran of being one of the leading jailers of journalists last year, with more than 90 reporters arrested and at least 23 writers and editors still being held.

Full Story Journalists Killed 2009: Record Number Killed, International Watchdog Group Says.

Media Response to the Growing Influence of the 9/11 Truth Movement, Part II

In the past year, in response to emerging independent science on the 9/11 attacks, nine corporate, seven public, and two independent media outlets aired analytic programs investigating the official account. Increasingly, the issue is treated as a scientific controversy worthy of debate, rather than as a “conspiracy theory” ignoring science and common sense.

This essay presents these media analyses in the form of 18 case studies.

Eight countries – Britain, Canada, Denmark, France, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway and Russia – have allowed their publicly-owned broadcasting stations to air the full spectrum of evidence challenging the truth of the official account of 9/11.

This more open approach taken in the international media – I could also have included the Japanese media – might be a sign that worldwide public and corporate media organizations are positioning themselves, and preparing their audiences, for a possible revelation of the truth of the claim that forces within the US government were complicit in the attacks – a revelation that would call into question the publicly given rationale for the military operations in Iraq, Afghanistan, and Pakistan.

The evidence now being explored in the international media may pave the way for the US media to take an in-depth look at the implications of what is now known about 9/11, and to re-examine the country’s foreign and domestic policies in the light of this knowledge.

Full Story Media Response to the Growing Influence of the 9/11 Truth Movement, Part II « COTO Report.

The American Press Misleading Us on the Role of Finance

The following is part five of a 30 minute interview with Eamonn Fingleton.

The American Press Misleading Us on the Role of Finance | Economy In Crisis.

Zachery Kouwe Plagiarism Scandal? New York Times Says Reporter ‘Borrowed’ Repeatedly

The New York Times has issued an editor’s note saying that business reporter Zachery Kouwe, “reused language from The Wall Street Journal, Reuters and other sources without attribution or acknowledgment.”

According to the Times, they were notified of the issue by the Journal.

In articles about the Bernard Madoff scandal that appeared in both newspapers on February 6, there were similar phrases and even identical sentences. Versions of the stories were also available online on February 5. For example, each contained a sentence reading:

Last year Mr. Madoff’s wife, Ruth, also agreed to an asset freeze as part of a separate trustee’s $45 million lawsuit against her.

In each story, that sentences was immediately preceded by very similar passages. From the New York Times version:

Full Story Zachery Kouwe Plagiarism Scandal? New York Times Says Reporter ‘Borrowed’ Repeatedly.

The Washington Post’s deceptive false-balance

Factually, that’s correct, but the phrasing majorly distorts reality. It essentially implies the Democrats used stalling tactics to largely the same degree when they were in the minority. If you believe that, have a look at this chart:

No fair-minded or objective reporter can look at that and say the Republican use of the filibuster (since being pushed back into the minority) isn’t unprecedented. It is, and it needs to be reported as such.

This could just be an honest mistake for lack of fact checking, but given how the mainstream media works it’s far more likely a backwards attempt at portraying balance whether or not it’s there, usually out of fear of being labeled partisan. Either way, it’s wrong.

Full Story The Washington Post’s deceptive false-balance – Sahil Kapur – AntiPartisan – True/Slant.

Keith Olbermann blames Bush, Cheney for 9/11 attacks

The attacks of Sept. 11, 2001 changed American politics forever. But in spite of the warning signs raised by the U.S. intelligence community, the Bush administration seemed preoccupied with other issues, aloof to the alleged threat until the day both towers fell.

Why then, MSNBC’s liberal host Keith Olbermann asked on Friday night, is it “taboo” to blame the Bush administration for allowing the deaths of nearly 3,000 Americans on their watch?

His conclusion: For their lack of vigilance and because they “did not prioritize,” President George W. Bush and Vice President Dick Cheney are to be faulted for the attacks.

Full Story Keith Olbermann blames Bush, Cheney for 9/11 attacks | Raw Story.

Republican Busted Lying On MSNBC

and O’Donnell gets Booted From Morning Joe

Rachel Maddow Stuns Rep. Aaron Schock By Calling Out His Spending Hypocrisy (VIDEO)

A heated exchange took place during NBC’s “Meet the Press” on Sunday when MSNBC host Rachel Maddow accused Rep. Aaron Schock (R-Ill.) of hypocrisy for railing against a spending bill in public while touting its benefits in his home district.

Appearing alongside each other during a panel session, Maddow pivoted from a discussion on job creation to note that Schock had appeared at an event on Friday touting a grant program that he had voted against.

“You, in your district, I just read that you were at a community college touting a $350,000 green technology education program, talking about how great that was going to be for your district,” she said. “You voted against the bill that created that grant. That’s happening a lot with Republicans sort of taking credit for things that Democratic bills do and then Republicans simultaneously touting their votes against them and trashing them. That, I think, is a problem that needs to be resolved within your caucus. Because you seem like a very nice person but that is a very hypocritical stance to take.”

Full Story Rachel Maddow Stuns Rep. Aaron Schock By Calling Out His Spending Hypocrisy (VIDEO).

OPS: There’s a new sheriff in town….

Terrorist backer supports FOX NEWS

Thom Hartmann -

This is a twofer video!!!!! Thom Hartmann NAILS them on his 2/10/10 radio/tv show.

#1- Newt Gingrich lies to Jon Stewart about underwear bomber and shoe bomber.

#2- FOX News aka NewsCorp #2 investor man who supported families who carried out attacks against our ally Israel and he opposes getting the USA off of oil and he opposes bank/financial reform. FOX News to toe the line from their #2 investor from Saudi Arabia who does not support the USA side on many issues. What will teabaggers do now as their TV channel is pro-terrorist.

Health Care Reform Summit Looks Like Political Theater (VIDEO)

President Obama’s upcoming health care summit is more about political theater than the politics of health care reform, according to HuffPost Editor Roy Sekoff.

Sekoff appeared on “The Ed Show” Friday evening with guest host Lawrence O’Donnell to discuss health care reform.

Sekoff pointed out that the administration’s invitation to Republican leaders for the February 25 health care summit called for the party to bring a “comprehensive” health care plan. How, Sekoff wanted to know, could the GOP be expected to produce new health care ideas in two weeks, when they could not produce them in 14 months.

WATCH:

Full Story Huff TV: Roy Sekoff: Health Care Reform Summit Looks Like Political Theater (VIDEO).

Alex Jones interviews Max Keiser

As you would expect, Max drives Alex crazy (even crazier that he already was).

Max Keiser – Exposing Corruption

Hollywood filmmaker Oliver Stone has said Western bankers enabled Hitler to carry out his atrocities during World War two. Keiser report reveals that similar schemes still go on today with U.S. banks financing terrorists as well as Wall Street bonuses. Watch the full 13th episode later on RT.

Lawrence O’Donnell Rages On Bush Speechwriter Marc Thiessen: ‘Your Administration Invited The First Attack’ (VIDEO)

Fireworks erupted on the set of “Morning Joe” Friday, after MSNBC’s Lawrence O’Donnell took umbrage with former Bush speechwriter Marc Thiessen’s claim that President Obama is inviting a domestic terrorist attack.

Things started off rocky after Thiessen — in the process of justifying the coercive counter-terrorism techniques used under the Bush administration and condemning Obama for “eliminating the CIA’s interrogation program” — insisted that his former boss was required to essentially start from scratch.

“You gotta think back to the period after 9/11,” he said. “We didn’t even know who hit us. We didn’t know that Khalid Sheik Mohammad was the mastermind of 9/11 or the operational commander of al Qaeda. And then we started rounding up these terrorists…”

Full Story Lawrence O’Donnell Rages On Bush Speechwriter Marc Thiessen: ‘Your Administration Invited The First Attack’ (VIDEO).

Rachel Maddow Interviews Scientist Bill Nye On Climate Change

Bill Nye the science guy calls Republicans unpatriotic

MSNBC’s Rachel Maddow Interviews Scientist Bill Nye ‘The Science Guy’ Refuting Conservative Claim That The Blizzard In Washington, DC Proves Climate Change Does Not Exist – 02/10/10

FOX Fraudcasting Isn’t News; It’s a Campaign Headquarters

FOX News has long positioned itself as a place for former GOP leaders like Mike Huckabee, Sarah Palin, and Rudy Giuliani to contribute to the national GOP talking point express long after their ephemeral periods of success as politicians passed them by. Emboldened by the network’s success in aggressively promoting the campaigns of Scott Brown and the tea partiers, FOX has done little to hide its attempt to promote GOP candidates for the upcoming elections, as well.

Due to Gregg Jarrett’s position as part of the programming FOX itself claims is the “news” section, viewers should expect Jarrett to give a bias-free presentation of stories. But Jarrett highlighted an attempt by GOP Senator Jim DeMint to raise cash in the form of a “moneybomb” for Marco Rubio, a candidate attempting to become a fellow conservative senator, might have had a chance to qualify as straight news reporting. Then Jarrett proceeded to bring in Senator DeMint to discuss said “moneybomb” while referring to him as a “conservative kingmaker” and allowing DeMint to shill for his website to contribute to Rubio’s campaign, though, making Jarrett’s lack of objectivity apparent. Coupled with his penchant for reporting unsubstantiated stories as facts, Jarrett’s journalistic credibility decreases with his every politically motivated broadcast.

The more appallingly salient campaigning from a FOX contributor came from Angela McGlowan. McGlowan began her career with FOX in 1999, but not until May 2008 did she come onto the network to pitch for herself as a candidate for a seat in Congress. Speaking of the eventual race in Mississippi, McGlowan told Bob Beckel on the air, “That’s my district, and I’m going there soon to beat your Democrat colleague, honey. I’m going soon. 2010 is my year. Announcing it right here.” For a little under a year, McGlowan has since used her position at the network to court Mississippi voters and bolster her conservative credentials despite so brazenly campaigning as a candidate. She reportedly waited until her FOX contract expired before making her candidacy official, suggesting a recognition of a conflict of interest for an active political candidate contributing as an “analyst,” but her unambiguous proclamation to Beckel made her intentions clear last year

Full Story FOX Fraudcasting Isn’t News; It’s a Campaign Headquarters | BuzzFlash.org.

Chris Matthews Rips Palin: ‘Frightening,’ ‘Empty Vessel,’ ‘Nothing Going On Mentally’ (VIDEO)

“Hardball” host Christ Matthews harshly criticized Sarah Palin for her comments that President Obama could increase his re-election chances by bombing Iran. Matthews called this line of thinking “frightening”:

She’s frightening. Mark, that is frightening stuff. Frightening. First of all, president don’t declare war. Anybody knows that in high school. Congress has to declare war. To declare war on Iran, I don’t think the most far right, Middle East hawk will talk about declaring war on Iran, a country with 70-some million people, with an advanced air force…. Why does she talk like that? Is Michael Ledeen, a real hawk, writing this stuff for her? I don’t know anyone as far right as that, besides him.

Matthews went on to say that Palin “has nothing going on mentally… I’d be afraid of her because I think she’s an empty vessel ready to be filled by ideology she doesn’t understand. And that is really scary.”

TIME’s Mark Halperin noted that she’s “obviously flailing” during her interview with Fox News’ Chris Wallace and that “she’s lucky [her answers] are not worse.”

WATCH:

Full Story Chris Matthews Rips Palin: ‘Frightening,’ ‘Empty Vessel,’ ‘Nothing Going On Mentally’ (VIDEO).

Conservative Activists Rebel Against Fox News: Saudi Ownership Is ‘Really Dangerous For America’

Saudi Prince Alwaleed bin Talal owns a 7% stake in News Corp — the parent company of Fox News — making him the largest shareholder outside the family of News Corp CEO Rupert Murdoch. Alwaleed has grown close with the Murdoch enterprise, recently endorsing James Murdoch to succeed his father and creating a content sharing agreement with Fox News for his own media conglomerate, Rotana.

Last weekend, at the right wing Constitutional Coalition’s annual conference in St. Louis, Joseph Farah, publisher of the far right WorldNetDaily, blasted Fox News for its relationship with Alwaleed. Farah noted correctly that Alwaleed had boasted in the past about forcing Fox News to change its content relating to its coverage of riots in Paris, and warned that such foreign ownership of American media is “really dangerous.” ThinkProgress attended the speech, and observed attendees of the conference murmuring and shaking their heads in disapproval:

FARAH: There’s a flaw, a real compromise in Fox that you need to understand. And if you care about national security, you especially need to be attentive to it. And that is that Fox News parent company is News Corp has a significant ownership by a Saudi prince that many of you will be familiar with because right after 9/11 this prince very famously offered Rudolph Giuliani a big multi-million dollar check to rebuild and Giuliani told him to stick the check where the sun don’t shine because this guy was basically blaming America for what happened on 9/11. Well this guy owns a very significant percentage of the News Corp and has let the world know that he can get things taken off Fox News when he finds them objectionable and has in the past. And I really believe this is really dangerous for America.

Listen here:

Full Story Think Progress » Conservative Activists Rebel Against Fox News: Saudi Ownership Is ‘Really Dangerous For America’.

Corporate Media’s Cave-In to ‘Liberal Bias’ Attacks Pose a Real Threat to Our Democracy

Robert Parry -

Palin, Psy-Ops & ‘Condescending’ Libs

In the 1980s, while a reporter for the Associated Press, I had the opportunity to chat over the phone with legendary CIA psy-war specialist Edward Lansdale. A mutual friend had set up the contact, which I hoped might lead to a more formal interview.

Though that hope didn’t pan out – and Lansdale died in 1987 – I was struck by one thing that Lansdale told me about how he sold his propaganda message inside a target country. He said the goal wasn’t to plant a story in a publication that people knew to be under U.S. control, because their defenses would be up.

The trick, he said, was to plant propaganda in a publication that was perceived to be open and honest because the readers’ defenses would be down and thus they would be more susceptible to the message. In other words, they first had to be fooled about who controlled the outlet and what its biases were.

Full Story Consortiumnews.com.

“But I’m Not Wrong”: Bill Maher Talks Teabaggers, Mark Sanford, And Fake Patriotism In His New HBO Special (EXCLUSIVE CLIP)

Bill Maher’s ninth stand-up special airs this Saturday on HBO, and we have an exclusive clip!

In the special, Maher’s going to address whether the “Great Recession” is really over; the fake patriotism of the right wing; what goes on in the mind of a terrorist; why Obama needs a posse instead of the secret service; the drug war; Michael Jackson; getting out of Iraq and Afghanistan; racism; the Teabagger movement; religion; the healthcare fight; why Gov. Mark Sanford will come out looking good, and how silly it is to ask “Why do men cheat?”; and why comedy most definitely didn’t die when George Bush left office.

As a sneak peek, check out Bill take on god and Rocky all in the same punchline.

WATCH:

Full Story “But I’m Not Wrong”: Bill Maher Talks Teabaggers, Mark Sanford, And Fake Patriotism In His New HBO Special (EXCLUSIVE CLIP).

Colbert: “Sarah Palin Is A F–king Retard”

The US Economic Crisis: Jobs Continue to Vanish While the Media Applauds “Recovery”

At first glance it appeared there was a typo in the headlines. The national media reported that, in January, another 20,000 more jobs were lost. Somehow, the unemployment rate dropped, from 10 percent to 9.7 percent. Nobody thought this paradox was worth explaining; instead, the media’s attitude was “more good news” about the economy.

But there was other evidence of an obliterated job market hiding behind the cheerful headlines. After revising the employment numbers in 2009, The New York Times reported, “…the economy lost 150,000 jobs in December, far more than the 85,000 initially reported.” Overall in 2009, the adjusted numbers showed an additional “…1.36 million fewer jobs…” (February 5, 2010).

And yet the unemployment rate dropped. One reason this happened is that the U.S. government uses a separate, more unreliable survey to calculate the unemployment rate, in contrast to the survey used to calculate job losses. There are other more important ways the government obscures the unemployment numbers: if you are no longer receiving unemployment benefits you’re not counted as unemployed; if you’ve given up looking for a job, you’re not counted either. You are counted, however, if you are working only 15 hours a week, or if you’re a temporary worker.

Full Story The US Economic Crisis: Jobs Continue to Vanish While the Media Applauds “Recovery”.

Papantonio: Obama – A Populist at Last

President Obama announced that he was beefing up funding for the Small Business Administration, which is expected to increase job creation. But the biggest opponent is the U.S. Chamber of Commerce. Mike Papantonio appears on Fox Business's Happy Hour to talk about why the Chamber must be stopped in order to create sustainable jobs in America.

SNL Mocks Fox News’s Coverage Of Don’t Ask Don’t Tell (VIDEO)

SNL Mocks Fox News’s Coverage Of Don’t Ask Don’t Tell (VIDEO).

Fox News Military Analyst Endorses DADT Repeal, Criticizes McCain For Flip-Flopping

This morning, Fox & Friends Weekend hosted Col. David Hunt, a Fox News military analyst, to discuss whether to repeal Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell.

According to his bio on the Fox News website, Hunt is a retired colonel with “over 29 years of military experience including extensive operational experience in special operations, counter terrorism and intelligence operations.” Hunt generally adheres to the conservative line on national security matters. For instance, he was an advocate for attacking Iraq. And instead of encouraging dialogue with Iran and Syria, Hunt said in 2006, “I think we can talk to them when we line them up and kill them.”

This morning, however, Hunt sided with progressives who are advocating repeal of the Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell policy. Hunt called the discriminatory law “an abject failure” because “we’ve lost somewhere between 11 and 14,000 soldiers.” He continued:

Being brave in the battlefield has nothing to do with how you go to the bathroom or how you have sex. … If you volunteer to serve this great country, we should welcome you, not push you away because of some arcane attitude about sex.

Full Story Think Progress » Fox News Military Analyst Endorses DADT Repeal, Criticizes McCain For Flip-Flopping.

Full Unedited Interview of Jon Stewart by Bill O’Reilly

Part 1

Part 2 Part 3 Part 4 Part 5

The double standard at CBS

THERE ARE already at least two Christian broadcasting channels, so there is no need for CBS to be a right-wing revival tent for the Super Bowl.

Now, before all the knees start jerking, I want to be clear that this pro-choicer has no problem in the abstract with CBS’s decision to air an ad featuring Florida football star Tim Tebow. The ad, funded by the conservative Christian group Focus on the Family, features the decision by Tebow’s mother to reject the advice of doctors to have an abortion when she was very sick while the future Heisman Trophy winner was in her womb. That story is an unqualified, beautiful individual testament to faith and love.

But Focus on the Family wants to twist the free choice of this mother into a political vehicle to eliminate choice for all other women. But not even that ultimately offends me. Where CBS bears false witness is the fact that they accepted that ad while rejecting a Super Bowl ad for a gay dating service. The ad starts with one man in a Green Bay Packers jersey and the other in a Minnesota Vikings shirt cheering against each other. It ends with them making out on the couch.

Full Story The double standard at CBS – The Boston Globe.

Frank Exposes How the Right-Wing Media Spreads Disinformation

Ellsberg documentary attracts wide audience

On first impression, Judith Ehrlich and Rick Goldsmith’s “The Most Dangerous Man in America: Daniel Ellsberg and the Pentagon Papers” is the kind of documentary that no Sarah Palin-loving red stater would be caught dead seeing.

It is made by Berkeley lefties. It is a tribute to a man who leaked 7,000 pages of top-secret Vietnam War documents, revealing that our highest public officials were liars and essentially murderers. Its subtext is that we are awash in government deception again.

But the documentary – which follows Ellsberg’s path from Harvard wunderkind to Marine commander to White House and Defense Department consultant to political pariah – has been embraced by old and young, dove and hawk, earnest leftist and ardent right-winger as an inspiring story of patriotism and moral courage. Even stranger, the film has widely been described as entertaining.

Full Story Ellsberg documentary attracts wide audience.

Senator Franken Rips Into Comcast CEO Brian Roberts

Comcast CEO Brian Roberts and NBC President Jeff Zucker testified in front of House and Senate subcommittees Thursday as regulators decide whether to allow the proposed merger of the two media giants. Comcast is the largest cable TV and residential high-speed Internet company in the nation. NBC is one of the largest content providers.

The House hearing opened with several politicians waxing poetic about how the merger is great for America. While nobody in the room cracked a smile, their enthusiasm is laughable. The only people who could believe that the largest media merger in a generation is good for the public are either: 1) on the receiving end of the massive campaign contributions from said media companies; 2) bending to the phalanx of industry lobbyists swarming Capitol Hill; or 3) hoodwinked believers in the “all regulation is bad” approach that brought us Enron and the financial meltdown.

Not everyone is swallowing the snake oil Comcast is peddling to grease its takeover of NBC. None shone brighter yesterday than Sen. Al Franken (D-Minn.), who aggressively interrogated Comcast CEO Brian Roberts and NBC Universal President Jeff Zucker — all but accusing them of lying to his face.

Full Story Josh Silver: Senator Franken Rips Into Comcast CEO Brian Roberts.

John Oliver: “Stop Letting Old People Serve In The Senate” (VIDEO)

The “Daily Show” took on John McCain's opposition to gays and lesbians in the military last night, turning the tables and mocking his age in the process.

John Oliver excused McCain for his hypocritical stance, saying, “I think he may have forgotten what he said three and a half years ago…Old people are prone to memory lapses.”

Putting it bluntly, he proposed a solution that would keep inconsistencies like that from happening: “I think it's time we stop letting old people serve in the Senate.”

Echoing the views of those who believe gays should not be allowed to serve, Oliver pointed out the affect of the elderly on Senate cohesion:

Full Story John Oliver: “Stop Letting Old People Serve In The Senate” (VIDEO).

Public Interest Groups Warn Congress: Comcast Takeover of NBC Is Anti-Competitive

Free Press, Consumers Union, and Consumer Federation of America

In testimony prepared for the House and Senate hearings Thursday on Comcast’s proposed takeover of NBC Universal, public interest groups Consumer Federation of America, Free Press and Consumers Union argue that Comcast has both the incentive and the ability to engage in anticompetitive practices if the government allows the takeover.

Corie Wright, policy counsel for Free Press, said, “In this testimony, we warn Congress, the FCC and the public about the effects of the takeover: higher cable bills, less competition and the concentration of power in one company across multiple media markets and platforms. Comcast is already the largest cable operator and broadband Internet access provider. Comcast will attempt to gloss over the fact that this takeover involves the elimination of head-to-head competition in the emerging online video market. If Comcast succeeds in bringing the cable model to the Internet, then consumers will lose.”

Full Story Public Interest Groups Warn Congress: Comcast Takeover of NBC Is Anti-Competitive | CommonDreams.org.

Daily Show Samantha Bee goes camo to report on the discrimination of men in America! – Kick! Making Politics Funny – A liberal dose of political comedy

Hilarious!  These have to be Conservatives.

Raging Grannies Rip CBS Anti-Choice Super Bowl Ad

Raging Grannies of South Florida tear CBS a new one, in no uncertain terms, over its decision to run an anti-choice ad, a commercial from the Christian right-wing extremist group, Focus On The Family, during next Sunday’s Super Bowl. This savage song parody, set to the tune of “Three Blind Mice”, is part of the Women’s Media Center “What Does CBS Stand For?” campaign .

Planned Parenthood’s Tim Tebow Super Bowl Ad Response (VIDEO)

Tim Tebow’s Super Bowl ad, which is expected to convey an anti-abortion message and is funded by the conservative Christian group Focus on the Family, has generated controversy and drawn protests from women’s groups. One high power attorney has even alleged that the ad may be based on a falsehood, although the veracity of the claim is not certain.

Planned Parenthood released an ad today with former Viking Sean James and Olympic gold medalist Al Joyner. In the ad, the athletes say they “respect Ms. Tebow’s decision” not to have an abortion when she was pregnant with her son Tim, but they are also “working toward the day where… every woman’s decision about her health and her family will be respected.” Scroll down to watch the video.

WATCH:

Full Story Planned Parenthood’s Tim Tebow Super Bowl Ad Response (VIDEO).

BUZZFLASH WINGS OF JUSTICE AWARD TO THOM HARTMANN

For Writing the First Book on the Outrage of Corporate Personhood, Thom Hartmann Merits BuzzFlash’s Wings of Justice Award

Many Americans, including many BuzzFlash readers, never heard of the concept of “corporate personhood” until January 21st when the corporate GOP 5 on the Supreme Court ruled that corporations are entitled to the same rights as people when it comes to financing elections.

Thom Hartmann wasn’t surprised. He wrote the first book on the topic years ago, “Unequal Protection: The Rise of Corporate Dominance and the Theft of Human Rights.” (There is also a small expensive series of essays that only came out late last year for college use.) Hartmann, who is a colleague and friend of BuzzFlash, was a seer to see the disastrous impact the concept of corporate personhood was having on America, until January 21st when many in America took note, including the President of the United States who chastised the Supreme Court ruling on campaign financing.

Hartmann, who writes regular book reviews exclusively for BuzzFlash, saw the forest through the trees when it came to an obscure Supreme Court ruling in the late 1800s that mistakenly legally bestowed corporate personhood on companies (likely due to an intentional editing error on the part of a SCOTUS law clerk at the time). Moreover, Hartmann saw how the original intent of America’s revolution to put people first had been usurped by officially anointing businesses with the legal rights of individual citizens. The concept of corporate personhood set the ball rolling for the de facto corporate governance that runs Capitol Hill today, and the Supreme Court ruling of this year which allows companies to transparently buy elected officials.

Full Story For Writing the First Book on the Outrage of Corporate Personhood, Thom Hartmann Merits BuzzFlash’s Wings of Justice Award | BuzzFlash.org.

Eliot Spitzer To Colbert: ‘Team Of Summers And Geithner Has Been An Abject Failure’

Video -

Former New York Governor Eliot Spitzer was a guest on “The Colbert Report” Tuesday for the first time since February of 2008, just weeks before his infamous prostitution scandal broke.

Right off the bat Colbert established Spitzer's bona fides, joking that the ex-governor must be honest because he's “got nothing to lose” and “no public image to uphold.”

Spitzer gamely played along, telling Colbert that “there is a certain virtue to being able to tell the absolute truth and being able to stick it to people without worrying about repercussions.”

Spitzer used the opportunity to continue his recent criticism of the Obama administration's handling of the economic crisis, quipping that “the same people running the banks, who destroyed our economy, are still there.”

“The team of Summers and Geithner,” Spitzer continued, “has been an… abject failure.”

WATCH:

Full Story Colbert To Eliot Spitzer: You’re Honest Because ‘You’ve Got No Public Image To Uphold’ (VIDEO).

Top BANNED Super Bowl Commercials (VIDEO)

One of the most entertaining parts about the Super Bowl, besides the game of course, is the anticipation of the new commercials. Now we know we won’t be seeing a new Pepsi commercial on Super Bowl Sunday, but not because of any controversial issues.

But believe it or not, there are scores of commercials that are too controversial for television (including one notable case this year), leading to many ads that are banned before they ever reach the airwaves. Scroll down to see some Super Bowl ads that were deemed too inappropriate to actually be aired. (WARNING: Some ads may be NSFW.)

Full Story Top BANNED Super Bowl Commercials (VIDEO).

Fox cuts away from Obama – AGAIN

Fox cuts away from Obama town hall to air health reform critic

For the second time in less than a week, Fox News on Tuesday cut away from a live broadcast of a presidential address to air comments from a critic of President Obama.

Speaking at a town hall meeting in New Hampshire, the president laid out his argument that health care reform would actually save the government money in the long term by reducing health care costs.

“Well there you have it, a rather long answer to a question about health care from a recovering cancer patient,” said Fox News host Megyn Kelley, before introducing Dr. Marc Siegel, a Fox News contributor and critic of the president's health care reform agenda.

Fox took some criticism from left-wing bloggers when it cut off the president's question-and-answer session with House GOP members at a retreat last Friday.

Full Story Fox cuts away from Obama town hall to air health reform critic | Raw Story.

Reuters Pulls ‘Backdoor Taxes’ Story

The news service Reuters withdrew a story last night titled “Backdoor taxes to hit middle class” after the White House reached out and pointed out “errors of fact.”

The story, which claimed the White House’s deficit reduction plan relies on raising taxes against the middle class by allowing tax cuts to expire, was withdrawn at about 8 p.m. Monday, according to Yahoo timestamps. The original story ran at 4 p.m. The withdrawal promises a replacement story later this week.

“The story went out, and it shouldn’t have gone out,” said Courtney Dolan, a spokeswoman for Reuters. “It had significant errors of fact.

Full Story Reuters Pulls ‘Backdoor Taxes’ Story | TPM LiveWire.

Arianna Discusses Roger Ailes And Glenn Beck On Countdown (VIDEO)

On Monday night, Arianna appeared on Countdown With Keith Olbermann to follow up on her back-and-forth with Roger Ailes concerning Glenn Beck and Fox News. Olbermann’s introduction sums it up perfectly. Transcript and video clip are below.

Earlier in the day, Beck used his radio show to flatly deny using certain language when discussing the Obama administration, even though readily available video evidence proves him wrong. For more insight, read Arianna’s latest blog post on Beck and Ailes, “Glenn Beck Goes After Me, But Forgets His Show Is on Video and Lies About Things He ‘Never, Never’ Said.”

WATCH THE VIDEO

Full Story Huff TV: Arianna Discusses Roger Ailes And Glenn Beck On Countdown (VIDEO).

Fox News misrepresents US attorney recusal from O’Keefe case

“And why behold you the mote that is in your brother’s eye, but consider not the beam that is in your own eye?” Matthew 7:3 states.

Andrew Breitbart’s Big Journalism website has spent the last few days cataloging alleged “journalism malpractice” committed by the media in reporting on the arrest of star contributor James O’Keefe and three conservative colleagues for attempting to “interfere” with the telephone system in a Democratic senator’s office. But a Fox News article linked on the site Monday night distorts the latest facts in order to pad a conspiracy theory that Breitbart alleged earlier in the day. And a growing pool of right-leaning bloggers have also glommed onto the false narrative.

Breitbart websites Big Journalism and Big Government link to an article credited only to FoxNews.com.
Full Story Fox News misrepresents US attorney recusal from O’Keefe case | Raw Story.

ABC Panelists Criticize Ailes’ Evasion Of Why Fox News Cut Away From Obama-House GOP Conversation

As ThinkProgress reported last week, Fox News was the only major cable news network to not show the entirety of President Obama’s conversation with House Republicans at their annual retreat. Fox cut away from the event 20 minutes early and instead began attacking the President for “lecturing” to the lawmakers.

Yesterday on ABC’s This Week, Arianna Huffington challenged Fox News President Roger Ailes about this decision:

HUFFINGTON: Roger, you clearly are in ratings, but if you are in ratings, can you explain to me why FOX went away from the meeting the president was having in — why did you go away, 20 minutes before the end?

AILES: Because we’re the most trusted name in news.

Guest host Barbara Walters cut off the conversation though, since the show was over. However, discussion on the topic then continued in the green room, even though Ailes wasn’t present. Both Huffington and New York Times columnist Paul Krugman criticized the network for its hypocrisy:

Full Story Think Progress » ABC Panelists Criticize Ailes’ Evasion Of Why Fox News Cut Away From Obama-House GOP Conversation.

The Creed of Objectivity Killed the News

Chris Hedges

Reporters who witness the worst of human suffering and return to newsrooms angry see their compassion washed out or severely muted by the layers of editors who stand between the reporter and the reader. The creed of objectivity and balance, formulated at the beginning of the 19th century by newspaper owners to generate greater profits from advertisers, disarms and cripples the press.

And the creed of objectivity becomes a convenient and profitable vehicle to avoid confronting unpleasant truths or angering a power structure on which news organizations depend for access and profits. This creed transforms reporters into neutral observers or voyeurs. It banishes empathy, passion and a quest for justice. Reporters are permitted to watch but not to feel or to speak in their own voices. They function as “professionals” and see themselves as dispassionate and disinterested social scientists. This vaunted lack of bias, enforced by bloodless hierarchies of bureaucrats, is the disease of American journalism.

“The very notion that on any given story all you have to do is report what both sides say and you’ve done a fine job of objective journalism debilitates the press,” the late columnist Molly Ivins once wrote. “There is no such thing as objectivity, and the truth, that slippery little bugger, has the oddest habit of being way to hell off on one side or the other: it seldom nestles neatly halfway between any two opposing points of view. The smug complacency of much of the press—I have heard many an editor say, ‘Well, we’re being attacked by both sides so we must be right’—stems from the curious notion that if you get a quote from both sides, preferably in an official position, you’ve done the job. In the first place, most stories aren’t two-sided, they’re 17-sided at least. In the second place, it’s of no help to either the readers or the truth to quote one side saying, ‘Cat,’ and the other side saying ‘Dog,’ while the truth is there’s an elephant crashing around out there in the bushes.”

Full Story Chris Hedges: The Creed of Objectivity Killed the News – Chris Hedges’ Columns – Truthdig.

Paul Krugman to Fox News CEO: ‘Deliberate misinformation’

In an interview Sunday, New York Times economist Paul Krugman hammered conservative talk show host Glenn Beck for spreading blatantly false information about the Democrats’ health care bill — and put the blame squarely on Fox News CEO Roger Ailes.

“Glenn Beck doesn’t, you know,” Krugman began, “what bothers me is the fact that people are not getting informed, that we are going through major debates on crucial policy issues; the public is not learning about them. And you know, you can say, well, they can read the New York Times, which will tell them what they need to know, but you know, most people don’t. They don’t read it thoroughly…. People did not know what was in the plan, and some of that was just poor reporting, some of it was deliberate misinformation. I have here in front of me when President Obama said, you know, why — he said rhetorically, why aren’t we going to do a health care plan like the Europeans have, with a government-run program, and then proceeds to explain why he’s different. On Fox News, what appeared was a clipped quote, “why don’t we have a European-style health care plan?” Right, deliberate misinformation.”

Fox News CEO Roger Ailes interjects: “Wait a minute, wait a minute…”

And Krugman replies, “I can show you the clip, and you can…”

Full Story Paul Krugman to Fox News CEO: ‘Deliberate misinformation’ | Raw Story.

Ailes Defends Beck’s Incendiary Rhetoric: ‘He’s Talking About Hitler And Stalin’ Killing People, So It’s ‘Accurate’

Shortly after President Obama’s inauguration, Fox News anchors and media personalities began attacking his administration and its policies. The White House fired back, calling Fox the “communications arm of the Republican Party.” Today on ABC’s This Week, host Barbera Walters asked Fox News CEO Roger Ailes if the White House and his network have “kissed and made up.” “We’re fine,” he said but added one caveat. “Well I’ll pick a fight if you want. I’d be happy to get into one.”

Arianna Huffington then called out Ailes, particularly because of Fox News host Glenn Beck’s radical rhetoric, talking about people “being slaughtered.” But Ailes dismissed the criticism, saying Beck was “probably accurate”:

HUFFINGTON: But Roger it’s not a question of picking a fight and aren’t you concerned about the language that Glenn Beck is using which is after all, inciting the American people. Three’s a lot of suffering out there as you know and when he talks about people being slaughtered, about who is going to be on the next killing spree.

AILES: He’s talking about Hitler and Stalin slaughtering people so I think he was probably accurate.

HUFFINGTON: No he was talking about this administration.

Watch it:

Full Story Think Progress » Ailes Defends Beck’s Incendiary Rhetoric: ‘He’s Talking About Hitler And Stalin’ Killing People, So It’s ‘Accurate’.

Foreign News Channels Drawing U.S. Viewers

Television viewers in the United States seeking international news are starting to switch over to foreign channels to learn what is happening in the outside world, media watchers here say.

“They are comparable to CNN,” said Steve Randall, about television news channels such as Russia Today, Al Jazeera, CCTV of China, and the Press TV of Iran, which are now being watched by millions of people in the United States via cable and dish networks.

According to a survey by Nielsen Media Research, many people in Washington, DC now turn to Al Jazeera, Deutsche Welle, France 24, Euronews, and China Central Television to get their foreign news.

Full Story MEDIA: Foreign News Channels Drawing U.S. Viewers.

Clock Is Ticking On LowPowerFM Bill

The Prometheus Radio Project says the Local Community Radio Act — which would open the door to potentially thousands of new low-power FMs — is “in the home stretch,” but there are still obstacles.

On the group’s website, Prometheus says, “In our fight to pass the Local Community Radio Act, every victory we celebrate comes with a new hurdle to overcome.” The group notes that the bill has passed out of committee in the Senate and must pass the full Senate to go to President Obama for signature, and that it still needs to be officially reported and filed.

Prometheus says, “2010 began in the throes of combative partisanship and a supreme court ruling that further deregulates corporate campaign donations, giving corporate interests and corporate media more power in government. But, we will not give in. We’ve seen grassroots supporters take action and make their voices heard, helping push the Local Community Radio Act out of the House of Representatives. We’re going to keep fighting and see this thing through to the end.

Full Story Radio Ink Magazine.

Pat Tillman cover-up focus of Sundance documentary

Six years after US sports star Pat Tillman was killed in Afghanistan, his family’s search for truth in the face of a US government cover-up has gripped audiences at the Sundance Film Festival.

Tillman, 27, was portrayed as an all-American hero when he turned his back on a multi-million-dollar American football career to enlist in the US military following the September 11, 2001 attacks.

The initial account of his death — that he had died engaging enemy fire — elevated the Army Ranger to a near mythical status which was sealed by a nationally televised memorial service.

But eventually the truth emerged: the 27-year-old had died in a friendly fire incident and senior US Army commanders conspired to cover it up, in an attempt to use Tillman as a propaganda tool.

Full Story Pat Tillman cover-up focus of Sundance documentary – Yahoo! Canada News.

Will Al Jazeera English Revolutionize America’s TV News Landscape?

The Qatar-based TV international news channel has changed the face of Arab media, and its poised to do the same in North America.

There are three forces shaping the world, an Arab reporter I met in the Gaza Strip once told me: money, women, and journalism.

On the first and third counts, he might have been thinking of Qatar, where I pass by luxury shopping malls, glittering real estate developments, and, in a spirit of reasonableness, traffic signs that advise caution when driving the wrong way down one-way streets. Over the past decade, this tiny desert emirate of a million and a half people — a bump on the rib cage of Saudi Arabia, directly across the Persian Gulf from Iran — has asserted itself on the world stage in large measure by pouring money into, of all things, journalism. Since 1996, it has been funding Al Jazeera (Arabic for “the island”), the network that revolutionized the Arab media and is poised to do the same for the English-speaking world.

Passing through the security gate, where a Yemeni guard gives my documents the once-over, I enter the air-conditioned headquarters of Al Jazeera English, the international news channel the network launched in November of 2006. Inside the sweeping high-tech production facility, cameras roll as a young Australian anchor opens a segment on the South African elections, then passes the baton to his co-anchors at the channel’s three other broadcast centres, in Washington, London, and Kuala Lumpur.

Full Story Will Al Jazeera English Revolutionize America’s TV News Landscape? | Media and Culture | AlterNet.

The Most Ridiculous Public Access Moments Of All Time (VIDEO)

In a world before YouTube, the only home for ordinary people with something to say was on public access television. Though it lacks the glamor and prestige of regular television programming it sure beat being committed to an institution.

Full Story The Most Ridiculous Public Access Moments Of All Time (VIDEO).

Tim Tebow Super Bowl Ad May Be Based On Falsehood

A commercial featuring Tim Tebow and his mother Pam that is likely to air during Super Bowl XLIV may be rife with inaccuracies, according to power lawyer Gloria Allred.

The ad, which is expected to promote an anti-choice message, will be based on the theme “Celebrate Family, Celebrate Life.” The Christian conservative group Focus on the Family has paid for the spot. James Dobson, the group's founder, has a history of inflammatory statements and once said that gay marriage will “destroy the earth.”

Despite resistance from women's groups, the ad is expected to air during the Super Bowl. It is believed that the commercial will focus on Pam Tebow's 1987 pregnancy, during which time she fell ill in the Philippines. According to reports, doctors recommended that she abort the pregnancy, but she chose to go through with the birth of her son Tim.

Full Story Tim Tebow Super Bowl Ad May Be Based On Falsehood.

CBS Allows Focus On The Family Advocacy Ad During Super Bowl, But Bans Gay Dating Site Ad

In recent weeks, CBS has been taking heat over its decision to allow Focus on the Family’s pro-life ad, featuring Heisman winner Tim Tebow, to air during the Super Bowl. The right wing quickly rushed to the defense of Focus on the Family. Former Alaska governor Sarah Palin urged CBS to “just do the right thing. Don’t cave. Have the backbone to run the ad.” This week, the far-right American Family Association (AFA) launched an action alert asking people to let CBS know they support the ad.

CBS revealed that it is open to accepting other “responsibly produced” advocacy ads, besides the Focus on the Family spot. “We have for some time moderated our approach to advocacy submissions after it became apparent that our stance did not reflect public sentiment or industry norms,” spokesman Dana McClintock said.

However, yesterday CBS announced that it had rejected a commercial for a gay dating site called ManCrunch.com:

“After reviewing the ad, which is entirely commercial in nature, our standards and practices department decided not to accept this particular spot,” said CBS spokeswoman Shannon Jacobs. “We are always open to working with a client on alternative submissions.”

Full Story Think Progress » CBS Allows Focus On The Family Advocacy Ad During Super Bowl, But Bans Gay Dating Site Ad.

This Just In: Government Spent More Than $1B To Support The News Industry Last Year

The two normally are seen as antagonists, but in reality the news business very much as relied financially on government support. Government at all levels — federal, state and local — spent more than $1 billion last to support commercial news publishers, according to a new report the University of Southern California’s Center on Communication Leadership & Policy.

Public support for journalism is fading fast, however, and that drop-off has strong implications for a business already weakened by technology changes and the economic downturn, the report says.

The report, Public Policy and Funding the News, analyzes some of the financial tools that government has used to support the press over the years — from postal rate discounts and tax breaks to public notices and government advertising. The report documents cutbacks across a range of sectors and presents a framework for the consideration of policy options to place the industry on more secure financial footing.

Full Story On The Hill: This Just In: Government Spent More Than $1B To Support The News Industry Last Year.

‘Left-leaning’ Washington Post op-ed page features mostly right wingers.

In an online chat earlier this week, Washington Post media reporter Howard Kurtz defended Fox News’ conservative orientation by saying there is a “distinction” between Fox’s opinion shows and news programming. “Just as you have to make a distinction between The Post’s news pages and its left-leaning editorial page,” said Kurtz. As Jamison Foser pointed out at the time, the idea that the Post’s op-ed pages are “left-leaning” is laughable. As if to prove that point today, the Post’s op-ed page features columns by two former Bush speechwriters, “Obama’s biggest critic,” and a former National Review editor:

Business columnist Robert Samuelson also has a piece saying that the Obama administration’s “blunder” of pushing for health care reform has caused “business planning and the willingness to expand” to suffer. The print edition of the Post also has a short item from liberal Eugene Robinson. This isn’t the first time that the Post has loaded its op-ed page overwhelmingly with conservatives.

Full Story Think Progress » ‘Left-leaning’ Washington Post op-ed page features mostly right wingers..

Stewart: Democrats have ‘right turn blinker on’

Conservatives are predicting a big loss for Democrats in the 2010 election if President Barack Obama doesn’t move to the center. Jon Stewart ripped into Democrats Wednesday for taking the bait.

While many liberals don’t think Obama has governed to the left, Republican politicians and pundits are calling for him to moderate his positions in the wake of Republican Scott Brown’s win in Massachusetts.

Last week, former Mayor Rudy Giuliani told Fox News, “I think the only way he stops a Republican landslide in November is if he moves to the middle.”

“I think if he moves to the center he will find Republican support,” Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell told NBC’s David Gregory Sunday.

Stewart was incredulous. “Wait, what? Where is the Republican support in the center?” he asked. “The center of what? A freedom day prayer circle?”

Full Story Stewart: Democrats have ‘right turn blinker on’ | Raw Story.