Topic: Media Research Center
Media Research Center chief Brent Bozell doesn't seem to understand that conservative-leaning newspapers are money-losers, kept in business only through the grace of their deep-pocketed owners. Read more >>
Thursday, April 11, 2013
NEW ARTICLE: The Right-Wing Paper Chase (And Money Pit)
Topic: Media Research Center Media Research Center chief Brent Bozell doesn't seem to understand that conservative-leaning newspapers are money-losers, kept in business only through the grace of their deep-pocketed owners. Read more >>
Posted by Terry K.
at 7:19 AM EDT
Wednesday, April 10, 2013
MRC's Hadro Ignores Denials Of Claim By GOP Rep's Gay Son
Topic: NewsBusters
Meanwhile, in an article posted at almost exactly the same time as Hadro's, Mediaite also reported on Salmon's claims but added something Hadro didn't -- comments from the networks involved:
Hadro also cited Buzzfeed as the source for his Salmon claim, but he faiied to note CNN's denial as contained in the article. And the TPM article Mediaite cites for MSNBC's denial was posted an hour before Hadro's. Hadro had access to MSNBC's and CNN's denials of Salmon's claims, yet he refused to note them, choosing instead to rehash his employer's anti-gay agenda. That may be the kind of "news analysis" the MRC is paying him to do, but it's unfair and dishonest.
Posted by Terry K.
at 9:57 PM EDT
Updated: Wednesday, April 10, 2013 9:58 PM EDT
WND Won't Tell You That Anti-Obama Activist Is A Birther
Topic: WorldNetDaily WorldNetDaily used to like to tout when someone to whom it gave a platform to bad-mouth President Obama and his administration were birthers who questioned Obama's "eligibility" to be president. No longer, it seems. An April 8 WND article on an interview it conducted with Larry Bailey, head of Special Operations Speaks, a group of right-wing anti-Obama ex-special operations veterans, is all about his demand that Congress delve even further into the terrorist attack at Benghazi. At no point during the audio interview -- where Greg Corombos tosses softball questions to Bailey -- or WND's writeup of it is it mention that Bailey is a birther and Obama-hating conspiracy-monger. As Media Matters details, Bailey believes Frank Marshall Davis is Obama's real father and called Obama "one of the most unlikeable and unprepared politicians we've ever had." Bailey's organization also sent out a fund-rasing email stating, "We are in a war with Barack Obama ... We absolutely MUST remove that anti-American machine from power." So, hardly an objective source and seemingly driven by hate rather than facts. Too bad WND doesn't think you need to know that.
Posted by Terry K.
at 7:45 PM EDT
CNS' Jeffrey Complains That Media Didn't Cover Lanza Story CNS Also Didn't Cover
Topic: CNSNews.com CNSNews.com editotr in chief Terry Jeffrey thinks it's significant that Newtown shooter Adam Lanza "refused to identify himself by a gender when registering at college." So much so, in fact, that Jeffrey devoted a chunk of his April 8 article on the subject to documenting how few media outlets have covered it:
Also missing from that list of media that allegedly failed to cover this: CNS. A search of "Lanza" and "I choose not to answer" in the CNS database uncovered no results. That's right -- Jeffrey is complaining about lack of coverage of a story that he himself couldn't be bothered to cover until he devised the hook of other media not covering it. But now that Jeffrey has finally covered it, CNS is desperately trying to turn it into a thing:
None of this, of course, has anythng to do with anything important. CNS is trying to manufacture a controversy over something CNS itself ignored until it figured out how to use it as a cudgel.
Posted by Terry K.
at 12:34 PM EDT
Updated: Wednesday, April 10, 2013 5:41 PM EDT
WND's Farah is Profiting Off His EMP Fearmongering
Topic: WorldNetDaily Joseph Farah does love to fearmonger about the possibility of the enemy du jour threatening launching an electro-magnetic pulse weapon at the United States: In his April 5 column, in which he discusses the merits of the "Red Dawn" remake which features an EMP attack, Farah declared that "an EMP attack would truly be catastrophic beyond anything the moviemakers envisioned. How bad would it be? Imagine a third or more of the country starving to death because of their dependence on technology that would be rendered useless." In his April 8 column, Farah highlighted how the new TV show "Revolution" invokes the same plot element, which means that "Hollywood has recognized the beyond-scary potential of EMP."
Farah concluded his April 8 column by stating, "What I am telling you is the ugly truth about America’s vulnerability to utter catastrophe can only be found in one place – in the pages of 'A Nation Forsaken.'" Farah conveniently fails to mention that Maloof is one of his employees, and that "A Nation Forsaken" is published by WND Books. That means Farah's EMP fearmongering has a profit motive. We've documented Maloof's sketchy past, a member of a special intelligence unit that pushed the discredited idea Saddam Hussein was involved with the 9/11 attacks. Maloof was also having an affair witha woman whom intelligence agencies were trying to recruit as an asset. He was also aaccused of associating with a Lebanese-American businessman who was under federal investigation for possible involvement in a gun-running scheme to Liberia, then involved in a civil war; that, along with longtime allegations that he was responsible for security leaks (including possibly to WND) ultimately resulted in his security clearance being pulled. This is the guy Farah wants you to think has written "one of the most important books published in 2013."
Posted by Terry K.
at 9:08 AM EDT
Updated: Wednesday, April 10, 2013 9:09 AM EDT
Tuesday, April 9, 2013
Tim Graham, Music Critic
Topic: NewsBusters Tim Graham takes a break from media criticism to offer some music criticism in an April 8 NewsBusters post, proclaiming Morrissey to be a "Has-Been '80s Pop Star." Why? Because the Daily Beast published a column by Morrissey about the death of Margaret Thatcher. Graham went on to complain: "Between the old Newsweek offering Morrissey a forum and Time magazine listing five hate-filled Thatcher protest songs, the two news magazines are showing why they're dead or dying. Both have adored Obama with an embarrassing ardor." So, yeah, Graham's music criticism is on a par with his media criticism.
Posted by Terry K.
at 9:15 PM EDT
WND's Unruh Uncritically Touts Anti-Gay Hate Group's Claims of 'Homofascism'
Topic: WorldNetDaily One of the more ridiculous ledes we've ever read kicks off in Bob Unruh's April 6 WorldNetDaily article:
At no point does Unruh consider that this is because homophobia is an actual thing, while "homofascism" is a term made up by homophobes for the sole purpose of denigration. But since the purpose of Unruh's article is to further the idea of "homofascism," he's not about to let such things as logic get in his way. And ironically,Unruh as teamed up with the leader of a hate group to promote "homofascism." Scott Lively is head of Abiding Truth Ministries, which the Southern Policy Law Center has identified as a"hate group" for Lively's vicious anti-gay activism. We've documented how WND uncritically promotes his homophobia and covers up for his extreme anti-gay activism when he's caught going way over the line, as he did in allegedly inspiring a proposed law in Uganda that would permit the death penalty for mere homosexuality. Since agenda trumps facts at WND, Unruh does more uncritical promotion of Lively's anti-gay agenda:
Neither Lively nor Unruh identify any of these alleged "set-asides" for gays. Instead, Unruh regurgitates a laundry list of"incidents that show abuse of Christians’ rights." Being the lazy, biased reporter he is, Unruh can't be bothered to obtain any response from any pro-gay group regarding Lively. Does Unruh think talking to people who might be gay is too icky for him?
Posted by Terry K.
at 6:10 PM EDT
MRC's Bozell Changes Gender of Melissa Harris-Perry's Child To Fit His Attack on MSNBC
Topic: Media Research Center Media Research Center chief Brent Bozell has a fit about a new MSNBC promo by Melissa Harris-Perry:
But as Bozell's own "news" outlet, CNSNews.com, has reported, Harris-Perry has a daughter, not a son. Changing the gender of Harris-Perry's child in order to insult her seems par for the course for Bozell. On top of that, Bozell's quoting on snippets of Harris-Perry's words and not providing what Harris-Perry actually said in full context. That's another clear sign that he's twisting her words. Here's what she actually said:
In other words, Harris-Perry is arguing that Americans treat children as part of a community through investment in public education, and that the idea of people like Bozell that public education is a waste and children are the property of parents instead of a member of society is harmful to children. Harris-Perry did not "shred the notion of family" in favor of "the commands of the state." Wait, weren't Bozell's employees complaining just the other day that the "liberal media" was focusing only on controversial comments while ignoring the overall point of what was being said? Yes, they were.
Posted by Terry K.
at 12:18 PM EDT
WND's Klein Confirms What Others Confirmed A Long Time Ago About Obama, Ayers
Topic: WorldNetDaily Under the headline "Ayers confirms what Obama has denied," Aaron Klein writes in an April 7 WorldNetDaily article:
Sadly for Klein, none of this is the massive scoop he portrays it as. First, at no point does Klein quote Obama denying that he was the subject of a fundraiser at Ayers' house -- all he offers is a 2008 clip of Obama campaign spokesman Robert Gibbs denying it was a fundraiser. Second, this is not the first time Ayers has alluded to an event for Obama at his house. In November 2011, conservative blogs were all over a similar statement by Ayers. Klein must have missed that if he thinks the latest statement was the first time Ayers addressed it, which would seem to make him a lousy reporter. Third, Klein seems to have forgotten that this has been talked about for more than five years. Politico reported in February 2008:
Klein actually cites Young's statements in his article -- without crediting Politico, of course and removing any reference to the date the accusation was made -- but he offers no evidence that Obama ever denied this account. (Politico states that the Obama campaign did not respond to a request for a comment.) Given the fact that nobody had denied this account at the time, it's more than a little disingenous for Klein to suggest that it has been consistently denied for the past five years. Further, as Politico's Ben Smith pointed out in 2011, the event at Ayers' house was technically more of an introduction of Obama as a candidate than an explicit fundraiser. It's a bit of a thin distinction, sure, but Klein simply paints Gibbs' denial as a blanket falsehood rather than the threading of the needle it arguably was. In summary: Klein is trying to create news where there is none by faulty, biased reporting. Anyone surprised?
Posted by Terry K.
at 7:49 AM EDT
Monday, April 8, 2013
MRC Bashes Fearmongering About Vaccines, Ignores Its Own
Topic: Media Research Center Julia Seymour writes in an April 3 MRC Business & Media Institute item:
Seymour, of course, makes no mention of anti-vaccine fearmongering in conservative media, where WorldNetDaily serves as a leader. Further, Seymour makes no mention of the MRC's own anti-vaccine fearmongering, particularly on the subject of anti-HPV vaccines like Gardasil that help prevent cervical cancer. In a 2007 MRC Culture & Media Institute item, Kristen Fyfe declared that she would not allow her teenage daughter to get the vaccine because HPV "is not passed through casual contact, like measles, mumps, chicken pox or any of the other diseases for which mandatory vaccination makes sense. No matter how germ-infested my child's classroom is, one germ she won't catch there is HPV." A 2008 CMI article complained that the media was "ignoring reports that some women have suffered convulsions, paralysis and death after being vaccinated" with Gardasil, citing fellow fearmongers WorldNetDaily as evidence. For all its fearmonger, the article provided no evidence that the rate of serious side effects of Gardasil is any worse than any other vaccine; instead, the fearmongering continued, declaring that "The media continue to keep quiet about the side effects associated with the drug even when young girls' health and lives are at stake." A 2009 CMI article declared that a media report on Gardasil filed to menion that "the only reason to administer the vaccine is the assumption that girls will be sexually active. It is an assumption that they are incapable of abstinence. In fact, nobody in the segment mentioned that abstinence is the only 100 percent effective way to avoid HPV." A 2010 CMI article declared Gardasil to be "an unnecessary risk," huffing, "What's truly a failure is calling Gardasil a cervical cancer vaccine and not reporting all the side effects." It also referenced claims about side effects by the National Vaccine Information Center, failing to mention that the NVIC has an anti-vaccine agenda. Apparently, it's OK to fearmonger against vaccines at the MRC when a moral case can be devised.
Posted by Terry K.
at 10:55 PM EDT
Meanwhile ...
Topic: WorldNetDaily Richard Bartholomew deconstructs self-proclaimed prophet Joel Richardson's claim, as published in an April 3 WorldNetDaily article, that an apparent "gate to hell" was discovered by archelologists in Turkey. In short, Bartholomew says that Richardson "shows a basic misunderstanding of the nature of scholarship," conflates two separate cities, and apparently thinks Magog and Mabog are the same.
Posted by Terry K.
at 9:27 PM EDT
CNS Issues Dishonest, Petty Attack on Obama Over Thatcher Death
Topic: CNSNews.com The Obama-hating agenda of CNSNews.com means that there is nothing too petty that can't be turned into an attack on the president. Thus, the existence of an April 8 CNS article headlined "Obama Responded Faster to Ebert's Death Than He Did to Thatcher's." But CNS was in such a rush to smear the president that it couldn't get its facts straight. In the original article below, the unbylined CNS article claimed that the BBC first tweeted news of Margaret Thatcher's death at "4:49," meaning that as of the article's posting at approximately 10 a.m. ET, the White House had been silent for five hours about Thatcher's death. Not only is this petty gotcha journalism, it's dishonest journalism. But then, CNS is a political organization, not a journalistic one.
Posted by Terry K.
at 12:05 PM EDT
WND Blames Obama For Suicides, Stress
Topic: WorldNetDaily
One of the "stunning trends" WND apparently wants to pin on Obama: "More U.S. soldiers died last year by suicide than in combat, and suicide has surpassed car crashes as the leading cause of injury death in America." Apparently, lengthy wars in Iraq and Afghanistan -- neither of which was started by Obama -- has nothing to do with that statistic. WND will also apparently use the magazine to rehash its baseless fearmongering about antidepressants. There are two articles by WND managing editor David Kupelian, one of which, titled "Doctors, drugs and demons," is sure to once again blame Andrea Yates' killing of her five children on antidepressant use and will most certainly not mention that she was in thrall to a fundamentalist street preacher who not only did nothing to help her but may have actually made her condition worse.
Posted by Terry K.
at 7:50 AM EDT
Updated: Monday, April 8, 2013 7:51 AM EDT
Sunday, April 7, 2013
MRC Isn't A Copy-Editing Watchdog
Topic: Media Research Center The Media Research Center loves to bill itself as "America's Media Watchdog." (If you define Fox News and conservative blogs as a media outlet that don't need watchdogging, then sure.) The MRC does not bill itself as "America's Copy-Editing Watchdog." And for good reason. Spot the error in the wallpaper image on the MRC's Twitter page: It seems that the MRC is so enraptured by its self-propaganda that little things like checking to see if "America's Media Watchdog" is spelled correctly just go right past them. But then, when you consider that the MRC's mission really isn't watchdogging but serving as an outlet for right-wing propaganda -- added to the fact that there are precious few MRC employees with actual journalism experience -- it's no wonder that something as essential as spell-checking is not a priority. Even in prominently placed copy, like Twitter wallpaper.
Posted by Terry K.
at 9:51 PM EDT
Gay Derangement Syndrome, Supersize WorldNetDaily Edition
Topic: WorldNetDaily
-- Susan D. Harris, March 26 WorldNetDaily column
-- Erik Rush, March 27 WND column
-- Bradlee Dean, March 28 WND column
-- Matt Barber, March 29 WND column
-- Joseph Farah, March 29 WND column
-- Pat Boone, March 29 WND column
-- Ellis Washington, April 5 WND column
Posted by Terry K.
at 10:27 AM EDT
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