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Oldest Journal Covering the Newspaper Industry
Thursday, November 20, 2008
Another Noncombat Death in Iraq -- And More Lies for a Mother and the Media Yes, full investigations must be carried out, but usually the essence of the full truth could have been communicated early on. When delayed, it can seem like -- or actually is -- a "coverup" of a accident or shooting that should have been prevented. - November 18, 2008
Was the Press Really 'In the Tank' for Obama? It may yet turn out that major, exhaustive studies will prove that the media were grossly unfair to John McCain. But recent studies by The Washington Post and PEJ -- contrary to what you might have heard -- don't do that.- November 10, 2008
Think This Year's Campaign Is Dirty? It Can't Top What Happened in 1934 Like Barack Obama, Upton Sinclair led a "change" campaign. Like Obama, he was pictured as mysterious interloper. And like Obama, he was labeled a "Socialist." His campaign inspired the birth of the modern campaign -- with Hollywood, spin doctors and ad men calling the shots.
- October 27, 2008
UPDATED: Bogus 'Wash Post' Reporter Featured in Obama Smear In recent months, conservatives have been caught red-faced spreading smears about Barack Obama via emails and blogs and Web sites, their sources eventually unmasked as tainted or non-existent people. Now here's another example, but this one is a little different--the source is a Washington Post reporter named Dale Lindsborg.- October 16, 2008
UPDATE: David Brooks Held Hostage -- Day 11 It's now been eight days since New York Times columnist David Brooks admitted at a Manhattan forum that Sarah Palin was not qualified for higher office -- "not even close" -- and is a "cancer" on his favorite party, the GOP, yet he has not shared this view with readers of the Times- October 14, 2008
Debate Shortchanges American Public Remember, this was supposed to be the "domestic policy" debate. Yet there we were once again talking about raids on Pakistan and defending Israel. Brokaw and the debate organizers (and whoever picked the final questions) let down the American public.- October 08, 2008
Pundits Blow Debate Analysis (Again) The mainstream outlets wonder why so many have lost respect for their judgment. The voters, as revealed by the polls, are apparently not buying "aw shucks, wink, you betcha" as enough of a qualification for the presidency. Yet for many in the punditocracy that's just enough. - October 03, 2008
Do Newspaper Endorsements Matter? Here's One Vote for...Yes In the next few weeks, newspaper editorial boards will decide which candidate to endorse in the red-hot 2008 race for the White House and E&P is charting them all. But do they make any difference? This may surprise you: They seemed to have some impact in the key battleground states in 2004. - October 03, 2008
When a Young Reporter Crossed Paths with Paul Newman -- During a Race for the White House Some in the newspaper biz may remember Paul Newman for, among other things, his starring role in one of the great "newspaper" films ever, "Absence of Malice." But here I will recall when my path, as a young reporter, crossed with his, if only briefly. - September 28, 2008
Pundits: Debate Even. Viewers: Obama Clearly Won. Why the Disparity? As so often happens, the pundit "scoring" of a presidential debate ends up quite at odds from the polls of viewers that soon follow. Here's why that happened again on Friday night, in my view.
- September 27, 2008
When Sarah Meets Charlie As ABC's Charles Gibson gets ready to conduct the first national media interview with Sarah Palin (beyond People magazine), dozens of media folk, from Alaska to New York, are offering up good questions. - September 10, 2008
The 'Online Campaign' -- Election 2.008 -- Rolls On This is the first national campaign strongly shaped -- even, at times, dominated -- by the new media, from viral videos and blog reports that "go mainstream" to profoundly successful online fundraising. Just in the past week we have seen the first vetting of a candidate for vice president aided, or even led, by the Web.- September 06, 2008
Tom Shales Hits Helen Thomas -- Way Out of Line? To criticize Israel at all in the U.S. media generally provokes this kind of outraged and outrageous response. Of course, in Israel itself, Israelis criticize their own government and policies all the time. - August 18, 2008
This Time the Press Does Not Wait to Hit a Swiftboater's Claims In 2004, the false or unproven anti-Kerry charges -- probed rather belatedly by the media -- may have cost him the White House. This week, the press does not repeat that performance in covering a new anti-Obama broadside.- August 15, 2008
Be Careful What You Wish For: Is the U.S. Heading -- And Ready -- For a Long War in Afghanistan? Few voices in the mainstream media -- and even in the liberal blogosphere -- have tackled this subject, partly because of long arguing for shifting troops to this "good war" from the "bad war" in Iraq. Now some commentators with impeccable pro-military credentials are starting to sound off.- August 07, 2008
63 Years Ago: Media Distortions Set Tone for Nuclear Age At this time of year it is always important to look back at how the original "first-strike" was explained to the press, distorted, and then became part of the decades-long narrative of how, in this view, nuclear weapons can be used -- and used again.- August 06, 2008
New Book from 'WSJ' Bureau Chief 'In Same Spirit' As Famous E-mail from Iraq It was the e-mail read 'round the world. Nearly four years ago in September 2004, Farnaz Fassihi of the Wall Street Journal penned a private email to friends exposing horrific conditions in Iraq. Now she has written a book that updates and expands on her outspoken views.- July 29, 2008
'Spokesman-Review' Probes Another Vet Suicide A day after the Spokesman-Review of Spokane, Wash. highlighted a surge in vet suicides in her state -- and focused on the most recent case where the victim was denied full help by the V.A. -- Sen. Patty Murray (D-WA) spoke out on this issue.- July 22, 2008
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