Newspaper Websites Ignore or Downplay Pew Poll Showing Americans Large

May 13th, 2010 11:45 AM
Yesterday the Pew Research Center for the People & the Press released a poll finding "Broad Approval For New Arizona Immigration Law."While Republicans were the most supportive, a full 45 percent of Democrats and 64 percent of independents polled supported the law. When broken down to the particulars of the bill, there was even broader support. For example, 65 percent of Democrats and and 73…

Former Car Czar Rattner's Creative Term For Fibbing: 'Elasticized the

May 11th, 2010 9:43 PM
If a conservative or Republican uttered the nonsense to be revealed shortly, we'd justifiably never hear the end of it on the late-night comedy shows and elsewhere. As it is, former car czar Steve Rattner's "creative" term for fibbing has and probably will continue to get little coverage outside of Detroit. Rattner's risible rendition of reality spewed forth before he spoke at a Federal…

Obama's 'Grocery Scanner' Moment (Except That It's Not Made Up) Mostly

May 10th, 2010 1:48 PM
Yesterday, in the midst of the commencement address he delivered at Hampton University, President Obama made a startling "admission" (readers will see why "admission" is in quotes shortly): And meanwhile, you're coming of age in a 24/7 media environment that bombards us with all kinds of content and exposes us to all kinds of arguments, some of which don't always rank that high on the truth meter…

IBD Editorial: Media’s ‘Bird Obsession’ Trumps Loss of Human Lif

May 9th, 2010 12:55 PM
The editorialists at Investors Business Daily are not pleased with the values on display in the relative importance given to three major stories: the deaths of 11 oil rig workers off the Gulf Coast, the oil spill that resulted from that rig's collapse, and the historic flooding in Tennessee that has taken at least 30 lives. Here's the newspaper's take: What does it say when 11 men who perish on…

Detroit Free Press Copy Editor/Blogger Vandalizes New Bridge

May 9th, 2010 9:33 AM
This item will not be filed under "Mother's Day Role-Modeling Behavior." In this story, it's hard to figure out what's more outrageous: The willful defacement of property -- in this case, a brand-new $5 million pedestrian bridge by an alleged adult in her mid-40s who is the mother of a teenaged son -- or the near non-reaction to wanton vandalism perpetrated in broad daylight by her and others on…

WaPo Drifts Further Leftward in Pursuit of Blog Strategy

May 5th, 2010 12:47 PM
The Washington Post is making the transition from a powerhouse liberal newspaper to a network of powerhouse liberal blogs. While the paper's Old Guard is worried that the move will tarnish the Post's supposed reputation for political neutrality, it should be seen more as a embrace of the agenda the Post has evinced for years."Traditionalists," wrote Politico today, "worry that the Post is…

NYT Writer on GM 'Repayment': Company Is Guilty of 'Employing Spin and

May 2nd, 2010 6:41 PM
Well, it's not the same as saying "the company lied through its teeth and the government let them," but it's as close to that as you'll probably ever see in an establishment media outlet like the New York Times. In a column that apparently appeared on the web on Friday while appearing Sunday's print edition, Gretchen Morgenson, assistant business and financial editor at the Times, ripped into…

Obama Repeats the Big Arizona Immigration Enforcement Law Lie; Who in

April 29th, 2010 2:38 PM
An unbylined Associated Press item carried at NPR quotes President Obama as follows about Arizona's recently enacted immigration law-enforcement measure: The president is repeating a blatant falsehood about the Arizona law that has gained instant currency in the establishment press and leftist circles. It has no basis in fact, or in the legislation Grand Canyon State Governor Jan Brewer…

OAS Criticizes Arizona Immigration Enforcement Measure; Press Has Igno

April 28th, 2010 11:58 PM
A short Associated Press item tonight notes that the Organization for American States is not happy with the state of Arizona for passing an immigration law-enforcement measure: I don't expect AP to expand on OAS's statement any time soon, because in the process of doing so they might feel compelled to look at how some of the countries criticizing Arizona handle their own illegal immigrants.

'Good News': Newspaper Circ Shrinks 'Just 8.7%'; Fair/Balanced WSJ Onl

April 26th, 2010 3:58 PM
Update: The well-publicized announcement that Editor & Publisher was going to "cease operations" last December and that was stated as a given in the original version of this post was apparently premature, as it's still there on the web. E&P is also covering the circulation news (daily; Sunday; HT to a BizzyBlog commenter). Advertising Age (AA) had the unenviable task (given that it's…

At Columbus Dispatch, Joe Hallett's Anti-Tea Party Harangue Is Based o

April 25th, 2010 11:28 AM
Based on what I observed at Mary Taylor's Lieutenant Governor announcement in January, it seems that veteran Columbus Dispatch reporter/columnist Joe Hallett at least occasionally gets to ask the first question at press conferences based on respect for his longevity. This has led me to refer to Hallett as "Ohio's Helen Thomas." (Thomas was allowed to ask the first question at White House press…

Detroit Freep Cartoonist Praises GM Loan Repayment; Forbes Columnist S

April 24th, 2010 6:31 PM
On Wednesday, the Detroit Free Press published the Mike Thompson cartoon seen at the right. It shows a GM bigwig carrying a briefcase telling a recoiling Barack Obama, Nancy Pelosi, and three other politicians that "We're going to pay off the loan." The cartoon's caption is, "The Seven Dirty Words You Can't Say in Washington." At his blog, where a full-size version of the cartoon can be found,…

Critics Point Out Movie About Dr. Kevorkian Is 'One-Sided

April 23rd, 2010 2:33 PM
HBO is airing a movie, “You Don’t Know Jack,” about the life of Dr. Jack Kevorkian (aka: “Dr. Death”), who enabled the suicides of more than100 terminally-ill people. But the movie is so one-sided that even many mainstream media reviewers couldn’t help but point it out. USA Today, The Los Angeles Times, and the Boston Globe all noted how the movie favored assisted suicides. USA Today’s Robert…

Neil Who? Chuck Who? Press Virtually Ignores Barofsky, Grassley Compla

April 23rd, 2010 12:32 PM
Ed Whitacre, Chairman of Government/General Motors, took to the Wall Street Journal on Wednesday to crow about repaying a loan (link may require subscription). Note the deceptive headline and its accompanying end-zone dance: The GM Bailout: Paid Back in Full The investment of U.S. and Canadian tax dollars worked. Whitacre can try to make a case that the government's loans have been repaid, but…