Bill O’Reilly just got some more bad news (pdf). His hairline isn’t the only thing that’s receding. The February ratings show that he has the slowest growing program (11%) of all the cable news primetime programs in the 25-54 demographic. And he is clearly bringing down the Fox network because the same is true for [...]
Monthly Archives: February 2007
Feb 26
Exposure to Media Corrupts
A juror in the Scooter Libby perjury case has been dismissed, and a mistrial was narrowly avoided, when it was discovered that the juror had watched media coverage of the trial or some aspect of it. By declaring that the juror’s capacity to pass judgement was irrepairably harmed as a consequence of her viewing the [...]
Feb 25
If Washington Ran Hollywood
Having addressed the silliness of a Fox News imagined America as run by celebrities, it seemed appropriate to throw some speculation back the other way. If you think celebrities would run Washington into the ground, just wait till you see what politicians would do to Tinseltown. It’s long been said that Washington is Hollywood for [...]
Feb 23
If Hollywood Ran America
This weekend the Fox News… er … Comedy Channel will air its latest stab at humor. Fox entertainment reporter, Bill McCuddy, will host “Reel Politics: If Hollywood Ran America.” The program purports to take a humorous look at the denizens of Tinseltown who inject themselves into the political arena and extends the premise into what [...]
Feb 22
Did U. S. Troops Raid Iraqi Journalists?
There is a disturbing report from the International Federation of Journalists that alleges an assault by American soldiers against the Iraq Syndicate of Journalists. The IFJ’s account of these events says that… “United States soldiers caused destruction and havoc last night when they broke into the offices of the Syndicate, which is a member of [...]
Feb 22
Lou Dobbs, American Workers, Politicians And The Press
There are plenty of reasons to complain about Lou Dobbs. He can be a sanctimonious, egomaniacal loudmouth that forces his infallibility down America’s throats. His one-man Department of Anti-immigration trespasses the boundaries of racism. But in the realm of rights for America’s working class, and the economic model for preserving them, he has emerged as [...]
Feb 21
Nevada Dems Fox Up Debate
From the “What Were They Thinking Department:” The Nevada Democratic Party has announced that they will conduct an August primary debate that will air on Fox News. This is the same Fox News: whose chief anchor, Brit Hume, dismissively described Rep. John Murtha as senile. whose VP, John Moody, claims that terrorists are “thrilled” with [...]
Feb 19
The Sock Puppetry Of The Los Angeles Times
Cross-ownership in the media business is a growing threat to the independence and diversity of the press. Numerous studies have demonstrated that when newspapers and television stations in the same market are owned by the same parent corporation, balanced coverage and local reporting suffer. One such study that was originally commissioned by the FCC was [...]
Feb 17
Blogs And The Future Of Journalism
A new WE Media/Zogby Interactive poll surveyed members of the public and the media for their views on contemporary journalism. The results offer an interesting perspective on both the regard for which the press is held and the variance of that regard by each group: Statement Public Media Traditional journalism is out of touch with [...]
Feb 15
Olbermann Re-ups At MSNBC With New NBC Gig
Keith Olbermann has built Countdown into the fastest growing cable news program. He is the most watched MSNBC primetime personality and his show is driving the network’s ratings surge. Now MSNBC is announcing that Olbermann’s contract has been renewed for four more years. More significantly, he is being given new duties with the daddy net, [...]
Feb 14
On The Demise Of Old Media
Paul R. La Monica, CNNMoney.com editor at large, says that “Old media isn’t dead.” The following is my response: Dear Paul, As the publisher of News Corpse, I have to take issue with the premise of your article this morning that “old media isn’t dead.” You make the argument that because old media isn’t going [...]
Feb 13
Joan Baez’ Publicist Shows How It’s Done
Mike Straka, VP and Executive Producer of FOXNews.com, got dissed in a most deserving way. The author of “Grrr! Celebrities Are Ruining Our Country”, was attempting to corral a celebrity at the Grammys so he could mooch a little bit off of her fame. After which he likely would have included her in his next [...]
Feb 13
War On The Press?
Slate’s editor at large, Jack Shafer, disputes the notion that the Bush administration is at war with the media. His support for that position is that the New York Times’ James Risen and Eric Lichtblau aren’t imprisoned at Gitmo. He further imagines that… “A president intent on making war on the press would surely have [...]
Feb 11
Judith Miller Redux: Has The New York Times Learned Nothing?
I can’t say this much better than Greg Mitchell of Editor and Publisher, so… “Saturday’s New York Times features an article, posted at the top of its Web site late Friday, that suggests very strongly that Iran is supplying the “deadliest weapon aimed at American troops” in Iraq. The author notes, “Any assertion of an [...]
Feb 10
Fox Gives You The Business
Not two weeks after Rupert Murdoch confesses to propagandizing in support of the war in Iraq, he visits the confessional again, this time with regard to his new Fox Business Channel. At a media summit sponsored by McGraw-Hill, Murdoch promised the gathered conferees that: How can any viewer take seriously what they will see on [...]
Feb 09
Broken News: Anna Nicole Smith Edition
The sad discovery of a deceased celebrity is certainly worthy of mention in the press. The real sadness, however, is a private matter shared by family and friends. That privacy is intruded upon when media clowns turn the event into a circus. That’s what happened yesterday (and continues today) to Anna Nicole’s family. If being [...]
Feb 09
The PEP Squad: Perpetually Erroneous Pundits
The American model of mass media is laden with an abundance of notorious flaws. One of the most pernicious is the clubby environment that embraces the fraternity of professional opiners. Amongst the benefits of membership in the PEP Squad (Perpetually Erroneous Pundits) is that, no matter how much you screw up, you never lose your [...]
Feb 08
Olbermann Runs With Murdoch Confession
Thanks to Newshounds for this video wherein Olbermann brilliantly juxtaposes Murdoch’s rare moment of honesty with the instructions William Randolph Hearst gave to an illustrator who couldn’t find any evidence of the war in Cuba that Hearst was jonesing for: “You furnish the pictures. I’ll furnish the war.”
Feb 07
What Part Of NO…
As yesterday’s debate in the Senate stumbled aimlessly for hours without conclusion, there were moments of clarity from unexpected sources: “If you believe that this new strategy is flawed or that our cause is hopeless, then vote to stop it. Vote to cut off funds. Vote for a binding timeline for U.S. withdrawal.” ~ Joe [...]
