Study: Online Media Don't Polarize Like Critics Claim
Update - 12:48 PM | Lachlan Markay: David Brooks weighs in. See his thoughts below.One of the gripes about online journalism often aired by the Helen Thomases and the Chuck Todds of the world is that online news consumers will only consume news that reinforces their worldview or political beliefs. A new scholarly study challenges that assumption.The study, conducted by Matthew Gentzkow and Jesse…
Massa Saga 'Just Heating Up'? Don't Hold Your Breath for Media Obsessi
The "Eric Massa saga [is] just heating up," promises the headline for Jonathan Allen's April 19 Politico story about the latest development in the swift demise of the tickle-happy freshman Democrat:For nearly a year, the allegations of scandalous activity in former Rep. Eric Massa’s office were kept quiet — by the congressman, by male aides who accuse him of sexually harassing them and by other…
Conservative Blogger Takes Flak for Noting SCOTUS Nominee's Presumed H
Here's the thing about the vast right-wing conspiracy: it doesn't really exist. The left's latest attempt to invoke the notion has ended in rebuttals from commentators on both sides of the political spectrum.Conservative blogger Ben Domenech noted the White House's apparent desire to appoint a homosexual to the Supreme Court. He noted in a post at the New Ledger that at least three nominees --…
PBS's Bonnie Erbe Slams 'Offensive' Measure to Call Attention to Traum
Darn! She's on to us pro-lifers! PBS "To the Contrary" host Bonnie Erbe has discovered the real eeeevil secret of the pro-life movement, which she unveiled in an April 15 post at the Thomas Jefferson Street blog on USNews.com (emphasis mine):What is the religious right doing by campaigning against abortion? First and foremost, its efforts seem aimed at trying to keep church pews filled by…
Newsweek's Ben Adler Slams 'Stupid Idea' of Putting 'Tax' On Homeless
Combining bleeding heart bluster with soak-the-rich envy, Newsweek's Ben Adler savaged liberal billionaire New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg in an April 14 The Gaggle blog post for his green-lighting city homeless shelters to levy a monthly rent on residents who hold down jobs:Don't complain about your taxes today, they are surely less than the 44 percent of one's income that homeless New…
How AP Feels About Today's Tea Party Gatherings
This is sooooo predictable. An unbylined Associated Press item on today's Tea Party Express tour wrap-up in Washington uses a word that the wire service almost never (if not absolutely never) applies to truly violent leftist groups. The Google page carrying the AP report also has an interesting lead "Related article." Here's the brief AP item (produced in full for fair use and discussion…
Kudos: Time's Pickert Criticizes Airline-bashing Bill as 'Pandering At
Given the media's penchant for furthering populist anti-business rhetoric, especially when it comes to beleaguered industries like the airlines, I must confess it was a bit refreshing to see a mainstream journalist skeptical of a legislative push to stick it to the commercial aviation sector.In her April 13 Swampland blog post, "Bashing the Airlines -- Always a Safe Political Bet," Time's Kate…
Over at HuffPo Alec Baldwin Tries Real, Real Hard to Sound Smart But
No one has ever accused Alec Baldwin of being a rocket scientist, but apparently the actor fancies himself a nuclear physicist. At least that’s the logical conclusion to draw based on his post over at HuffPo entitled “The Human Cost of Nuclear Power.” The actor assumes his new role with gusto, metaphorically donning a lab coat to explain what he believes are the inherent dangers of nuclear…
Roseanne Barr: Church-going Catholics 'Should Lose Custody' of Their K
For some reason, washed up celebrities simply cannot resist weighing in on the Catholic Church's ongoing abuse scandal.The latest is Roseanne Barr, who last weekend wrote on her personal blog that Catholics who bring their children to church should lose custody. "Taking your kid where you know sex offenders hang out is inexcusable!!!"This is but the latest example of vitriol directed at the…
Matthews: Left-wing Bloggers Haven't Convinced Public of Wonders of 'S
Wondering how much faith the left has in your ability to run your own life? Chris Matthews was brutally honest today when he criticized that "idealistic notion" of self-reliance that ignorant conservatives insist on pushing.Matthews apparently believes that without massive social welfare programs like Medicare and Social Security, there would be "poor people all over the place, old people lying…
Former CA Dem Chairman Bill Press Smears Erick Erickson with False Cen
The former Chairman of the California Democratic Party was for some reason treated as a journalist during yesterday's White House press briefing, and used the opportunity to smear a prominent conservative blogger.Bill Press, who chaired the California Democratic Party for a few years in the 1990s, and who now hosts a radio talk show, demonstrated his total lack of serious journalistic credibility…
CNN Producer: Media's Tea Party Stereotypes 'Don't Tell the Whole Stor
CNN political producer Shannon Travis surprisingly acknowledged that the mainstream media has stereotyped the Tea Party movement in a Wednesday article on CNN.com: "When it comes to the Tea Party movement, the stereotypes don't tell the whole story." Travis continued by emphasizing positive aspects of the nascent grassroots movement and noting the presence of minorities.The producer's article,…
Newsweek: Obama's Nuke Policy 'Middle of the Road
President Obama is staking out "middle ground" on the new Nuclear Posture Review, Newsweek's Liz White insists in a 3-paragraph-long April 6 The Gaggle blog post.White concludes so because Obama is getting flak from allies on his left and critics on his right. While it's true that in that sense, Obama is in the middle of criticism from both sides, in a broader historical sense, Obama is…
HuffPo: Academic Thesis Worse Than Felony Sexual Offense
Pop quiz: which of the following political candidates would you be less likely to vote for: one who had written things offensive to many women in a master's thesis, or one who was convicted of trying to solicit sex from a minor?If you think the felony conviction is a more condemnable offense for a political candidate, you may want to give up your dream job as a Huffington Post columnist. In the…
