Writer and activist Sam Husseini asked Saudi Prince Turki al-Faisal a tough question at a National Press Club news conference earlier this month. As a result, and much to the chagrin of his colleagues, his membership in the organization was suspended. (more)
To read Matt Taibbi, a popular and well-paid journalist for Rolling Stone magazine, is to witness the extreme cowardice and creative bankruptcy of the modern media. Taibbi is a Hunter S. Thompson wannabe, but a comparison between the two reveals no small differences. It in fact reveals a chasm, a massive gorge that indicates how propagandistic and predictable the press has become since Thompson’s heyday in the 1970s. (more)
COLUMBIA, S.C. (AP) — South Carolina’s first woman governor called a female reporter a “little girl” over an article detailing at least $127,000 in taxpayer dollars the governor and other state officials spent on a European economic development trip. (more)
One of my favorite habits is meeting people and answering questions about my job. I always say: “I’m a conservative Republican, a U.S. citizen and I work for a Chinese state-run media outlet called China Radio International, where I write a daily political column on China-world affairs.” After answering, I await their response. I usually see people caught with a facial expression of shock and disbelief. Many will ask if I’m joking. But if they have a cell phone with an Internet connection, I suggest they log on to the CRI English website, where they’ll see my photo with a column included. (more)
When I was sixteen years old, I had a memorable conversation with a friend about what we wanted to be when we got older. I — in my typical state of indecision — rambled off a slew of completely unrelated job possibilities. I’m pretty sure one was an acrobat. (more)
Dear Arianna and Tim: (more)
Whether the “Arab Spring” will eventually bring the blessings of liberty and human rights to residents of the Middle East is still unclear. But we already know it has done wonders for Al Jazeera English (AJE), a “news” network owned by the ruling family of Qatar and funded by its government. (more)
The Sarasota Herald-Tribune’s Matthew Doig’s ideal journalism candidate has cursed out editors, had spokespeople hang up on them in anger and has “threatened to resign at least once because some fool wanted to screw around with their perfect lede.” (more)
ISHINOMAKI, Japan — Nobody tweeted or blogged or e-mailed. They didn’t telephone either. Bereft of electricity, gasoline and gas, this tsunami-traumatized town did things the really old-fashioned way — with pen and paper. (more)
Public broadcasting must be defunded, but not because of partisan bias. The recent Daily Caller video of NPR executives saying “appalling” things to undercover agents was yet another attempt to demonstrate NPR’s liberal bias. Trying to conclusively pin down the direction of NPR’s bias, however, misses the point. It is irrelevant which way public broadcasting “tilts.” What matters is that it tilts at all. (more)
Harry Shearer, the actor, writer, musician, and most recently filmmaker who is best known for being the voice of characters on “The Simpsons,” had some harsh words for the news media during a visit to the D.C. journalists’ private club Monday, accusing the industry of being driven by group-think and unable to divert from the narrative it creates, even when new facts dispute it. (more)
Recently, The New York Times Magazine started using bylines not only for pieces’ writers but also for their editors. It’s a good idea, but it still comes up short: not only should journalists and their editors be identified, but their politics should be identified too. (more)
This February 6th marks the birth centennial of Ronald Reagan, a president so universally admired that much of the media is doing tributes, from front-page profiles to full-blown commemorative issues. Many of these, even from mainstream/liberal sources, will unhesitatingly acknowledge Reagan’s bold, successful effort to undermine what was indeed an “Evil Empire.” (more)
NPR recently ran a two-part series on media bias. The reports, by David Folkenflik, were quite good, with a couple major flaws. Folkenflik ignored the question of who gets hired by the major media and why. Isn’t it time to do a nuts-and-bolts investigation of who gets brought on to the Washington Post, New York Times, CBS, et al, and who does not? Answering that question may answer why the media has lost its capacity to report fairly, not to mention delight, compel, and surprise — characteristics that, idiotic pronouncements about “objectivity” aside, are part of what makes good journalism. (more)
CBS anchor Katie Couric believes a “Muslim version of ‘The Cosby Show’” could open the eyes of Americans and perhaps put an end to all the ”seething hatred many people feel towards all Muslims.” (more)
William McGowan is the author of “Gray Lady Down: What the Decline and Fall of the New York Times Means For America.” (more)
NEW YORK (AP) — MSNBC says Keith Olbermann will be back on the air Tuesday, ending his suspension for violating NBC’s rules against making political donations after two shows. (more)
