There is an abundance of morbidity engulfing the media in these days before the new year. Death is the new Life of the of the party. From James Brown to Gerald Ford to the freshly executed Saddam Hussein. But let’s not forget that December of 2006 was also the deadliest month of the year for [...]
Monthly Archives: December 2006
Dec 27
Gerald Ford’s FOIA Veto
The passing of former President Gerald Ford will produce a torrent of retrospectives and remembrances. The media will undoubtedly focus on the Nixon resignation, the end of our “long national nightmare,” and the pardons that probably cost Ford the election in 1976. But there is a lesser known story that may have an even longer [...]
Dec 23
White House Orders Propaganda Broadcasts
“No part of any appropriation contained in this or any other Act shall be used for publicity or propaganda purposes within the United States not heretofore authorized by Congress.” Since 1951, that prohibition on the funding of propaganda within the U. S. has been enacted annually. It’s a straight forward ban on the expenditure of [...]
Dec 21
More Bush Cronies Get Recess Appointments
This president, who has repeatedly demonstrated his disdain for democracy and the rule of law, is again bypassing the senate to install a pair of unqualified and partisan cronies to the Corporation for Public Broadcasting (CPB) and the Broadcasting Board of Governors (BBG). The BBG is the agency that oversees federal media operations like Radio [...]
Dec 21
Sean Penn Gets First Amendment Award
The public spirited artists and entertainers of the Creative Coalition honored Sean Penn this week with their First Amendment Award. The acceptance speech he delivered was so moving and comprehensive that I don’t want to clutter it up with my extraneous commentary. So I’ll just provide a few choice excerpts and implore you to go [...]
Dec 20
AP: Top News Stories of 2006
Editors and news directors in The Associated Press have voted for what they consider to be the top stories of 2006. Time magazine may be a little disappointed that none of the top finishers validated it’s selection of YOU as Person of the Year. I myself am disappointed that violations of the Constitution, in the [...]
Dec 20
YOU Are Time’s Person Of The Year?
In it’s homage to You, TIME informs us that it is no longer… “the powerful and the famous who shape our collective destiny as a species.” As a member of a species whose collective destiny is in dire need of reshaping, this news is received with cautious optimism. Along with the Internet there has come [...]
Dec 18
Howard Kurtz Defends His Own Kind
In his Media Talkback online forum, Howard Kurtz takes questions from readers. Unfortunately, at least in this instance, he doesn’t actually answer them: Pennington, N.J.: Why do we keep having people who were wrong on Iraq giving advice on TV? MTP this week had a politician and two Times columnists who have been consistently wrong. [...]
Dec 17
O’Reilly’s No-Spin Green Zone Holiday Tour
From the official web site of the Multi-National Force – Iraq, comes this nausea inducing press release: Camp Striker dining facility becomes ‘No-Spin Zone’ In a war that has perhaps been even hotter in debates than it is on the streets of Baghdad, the one constant in the media has been “spin.” It was fitting, [...]
Dec 16
Fox Makes Regan Walk The Plank
Judith Regan, the third rail of publishing, has been fired by HarperCollins, the Murdoch-owned division that ran ReganBooks. This seperation is ceratinly the consequence of her having shepherded one of the most despicable projects ever to be conceived in popular media: O. J. Simpson’s, “If I Did It.” Her termination notice was a two line [...]
Dec 16
WSJ: Champion Of The Poor
The Wall Street Journal is not generally known for its proletarian leanings. So it may come as some surprise that an editorial on Friday courageously attacks Democrats it says are “carrying water for rich special interests.” What a relief that the Journal is here to keep those wealthy ne’er do wells from exploiting the masses. [...]
Dec 16
Great Moments In Stupidity
It has been famously reported that Charles H. Duell, a Commissioner of the U.S. patent office in 1899, said: “Everything that can be invented has been invented.” What a monumentally stupid thing to say. The only problem is that there is no evidence that he ever said any such thing. Consequently, Daryl Plummer, of Gartner, [...]
Dec 14
IraqSlogger To Michele Malkin: Go To Hell
Or rather, to Iraq. Same thing really, though you wouldn’t know it by the First Lady’s description earlier today. Former CNN chief Eason Jordan recently launched (in beta) a new web site that he says will aggregate news and opinions on Iraq from a neutral perspective. Unfortunately, his IraqSlogger has already demonstrated the weakness of [...]
Dec 14
War Supporters Get Upgraded By The Media
Nevermind the fact that the Bush administration is notching its lowest ratings ever in recent polling, or that the war they promote is likewise at the nadir of its popularity, the media still seems to find ways to prop it up. A report from the Associated Press is headlined: Unpopular Iraq war still has supporters: [...]
Dec 12
The White House’s Contempt For The People
In his daily press briefing, Tony Snow inadvertantly revealed the administration’s true feelings about the public they purport to serve. Question: …it seems that the American people are also speaking very loudly. I’m wondering how much is he going to factor in what they seem to be saying, and is he going to be listening [...]
Dec 12
Big Media Is Big On The Internet
An audience survey by comScore Networks reveals that the major league players in establishment media are coming closer to dominating the new media playing field as well. Fox Interactive Media (1), Time Warner (3), Viacom (7), and Comcast (10), are all in the top 10 of sites as ranked by page views. It has already [...]
Dec 12
The Great American Voice Of Pessimism
There are good reasons to be pessimistic about the 110th Congress. The corrupting influence of power is ever-present and it is advancing on the Democrats. While I couldn’t be more thrilled and relieved that Repubs took the thumpin’ that they did last month, I don’t think that this victory automatically ushers in a new era [...]
Dec 10
2006 Word Of The Year: Truthiness
Merriam-Webster has announced that the winner of their first Word of the Year online survey is Stephen Colbert’s own “truthiness.” “By an overwhelming 5 to 1 majority vote, our visitors have awarded top honors to a word Colbert first introduced on ‘The Word’ segment of his debut broadcast on Comedy Central back in October 2005.” [...]
Dec 08
The Iraq Study Group’s Media Blindness
In the 96 pages of the ISG report, there is not a single reference to television, radio, newspapers, or any other media in Iraq or worldwide. Yesterday the Bush family consigliore, James Baker, and his Leisure World Rockettes, released the product of their nine month review of the sad state of affairs (pdf) in Iraq. [...]
Dec 07
The FCC’s Ownership Quandry
The Federal Communications Commission is getting it from both sides. A consortium of broadcasters and publishers wrote to Chairman Kevin Martin, to complain that they still don’t have as much of a stranglehold on the public’s attention as they would like. The letter was signed by all of the broadcast networks as well as radio [...]
