Norman Solomon from Creators Syndicate

Announcing the P.U.-litzer Prizes for 2007 for 12/22/2007

Sat, 22 Dec 2007 00:00:00 -0800

Many journalists qualify for the annual P.U.-litzer Prizes, but only a few are able to win recognition for turning in one of the truly stinkiest media performances of the year.

This is the 16th year that I have served as a P.U.-litzer judge with Jeff Cohen — author of the recent book "Cable News Confidential: My Misadventures in Corporate Media" and founder of the media w ...

Updated: Sat Dec 22, 2007

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Political Forecast for 2008: Bad Media Weather for 12/29/2007

Sat, 29 Dec 2007 00:00:00 -0800

My crystal ball is usually in the shop, but I hope you'll forgive me for a momentary lapse into predictive punditry. As the end of 2007 becomes history, here are some thoughts about what's likely to occur in the media world of the next year.

One of the big media surprises of the last 12 months — the purchase of The Wall Street Journal by Rupert Murdoch's News Corp — is apt to ...

Updated: Sat Dec 29, 2007

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The Twisting Pretzel: Coverage of Democratic Race for President for 01/05/2008

Sat, 05 Jan 2008 00:00:00 -0800

After a near-eternity of news coverage, the 2008 presidential campaign has entered the first phase when voters get a direct role. Along the way, one of the most fascinating aspects of the media behavior has been the dominant spin applied to the two candidates with an appreciable chance of becoming the Democratic nominee instead of Hillary Clinton.

For Barack Obama, the media ride has bee ...

Updated: Sat Jan 05, 2008

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Issues Have Gone Missing in Presidential Race for 01/12/2008

Sat, 12 Jan 2008 00:00:00 -0800

In recent decades, the news media have shown increasing attraction to style over substance. Under the cover of journalism, endless discussions have pumped up the public discourse with evaluations of candidates as theatrical performers rather than policy advocates.

But the current presidential race has brought us to a new journalistic low. The media fascination with story angles seems to ...

Updated: Sat Jan 12, 2008

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The Martin Luther King You (Still) Don't See on TV for 01/19/2008

Sat, 19 Jan 2008 00:00:00 -0800

It's become a TV ritual: Every year in mid-January, around the time of Martin Luther King's birthday, we get perfunctory network news reports about "the slain civil rights leader."

The remarkable thing about this annual review of King's life is that several years — his last years — are totally missing, as if flushed down a memory hole.

What TV viewers see is ...

Updated: Sat Jan 19, 2008

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Presidential Race: The Media Image is the Message for 01/26/2008

Sat, 26 Jan 2008 00:00:00 -0800

The 2008 race for the White House is now revving into high gear as the biggest primaries appear on the horizon for early February. The excitement in the news media is close to a roar, though most Americans are considerably less interested.

By now, the candidates' images are like wallpaper that has been hung all around the national media echo chamber. We may think that we know who the can ...

Updated: Sat Jan 26, 2008

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History is Elusive in Media's JFK Hype for 02/02/2008

Sat, 02 Feb 2008 00:00:00 -0800

Caroline Kennedy's op-ed article "A President Like My Father," appearing in The New York Times on Jan. 27, launched the news media into orbit around a central theme: The torch has been passed from John F. Kennedy to Barack Obama.

From all appearances, the essay by JFK's daughter was a heartfelt and sincere endorsement of Obama. "Sometimes it takes a while to recognize that ...

Updated: Sat Feb 02, 2008

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From the Media Past, a Loud Echo of TV Invective for 02/16/2008

Sat, 16 Feb 2008 00:00:00 -0800

One of the more freewheeling aspects of the cable news channels these days is the inclination of some soapboxing program hosts to target the opinionated personalities on other networks. So, MSNBC's Keith Olbermann takes some well-aimed shots at Fox News Channel's Bill O'Reilly, who is pleased to turn his factually challenged fire on CNN. And so it goes — often, in the case of O'Reilly, wi ...

Updated: Sat Feb 16, 2008

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When the News is Bad About the News Business for 02/23/2008

Sat, 23 Feb 2008 00:00:00 -0800

If you've been feeling a bit sorry for the newspaper executives who are in charge of a business that has fallen on hard times, you're in sync with the idea behind most of the industry's coverage of its own financial downturn.

A recent New York Times article, on the front of the paper's business section, appeared under a headline that moaned: "Shrinking Advertising and Falling Profit ...

Updated: Sat Feb 23, 2008

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The Iraq War as Media Football for 03/01/2008

Sat, 01 Mar 2008 00:00:00 -0800

An observer of current election news in the United States might be forgiven for thinking that "Iraq" is the name of a political poker chip rather than a country or a war.

In all the back-and-forth rhetoric and media coverage of the presidential race, precious little deals with the human suffering of the Iraq War. And we don't hear much about transgressions against international ...

Updated: Sat Mar 01, 2008

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No End to Media Myths About Healthcare Policy for 03/08/2008

Sat, 08 Mar 2008 00:00:00 -0800

I remember the ferocious media debate over the proper government role in healthcare — 43 years ago. As the spring of 1965 got underway, the bombast was splattering across front pages and flying through airwaves.

A bill in Congress aimed to assure some basic healthcare for all Americans at least 65 years old. The U.S. government would automatically cover the costs for a bedrock of m ...

Updated: Sat Mar 08, 2008

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The Media Politics of Decency for 03/15/2008

Sat, 15 Mar 2008 00:00:00 -0700

What's decent in the politics of media?

If we didn't know it before, we're now keenly aware that paying money for prostitutes by the hour is decidedly indecent — especially if the payment is coming from an elected official. It's even worse when the payer has a renowned background as a no-nonsense get-tough law-enforcement official.

Eliot Spitzer's downfall has a very familia ...

Updated: Sat Mar 15, 2008

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The Media Can Learn from Obama for 03/22/2008

Sat, 22 Mar 2008 00:00:00 -0700

Unfortunately, journalists are not often prone to deep reflection. Deadlines and conventional wisdom are powerful forces that usually keep introspection at bay. But there are signs that Barack Obama achieved a breakthrough with his landmark speech on race relations in Philadelphia on March 18, and the news media — along with our entire society — stand to gain a great deal from what ...

Updated: Sat Mar 22, 2008

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NPR and the Iraq War: National Pentagon Radio? for 03/29/2008

Sat, 29 Mar 2008 00:00:00 -0700

A few days into the sixth year of the Iraq War, the flagship NPR News program "All Things Considered" aired a discussion between an anchor and a familiar guest.

"To talk about the state of the war and how the U.S. military changes tactics to deal with it," said longtime anchor Robert Siegel, "we turn now to retired Gen. Robert Scales, who's talked with us many ti ...

Updated: Sat Mar 29, 2008

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The Cat in the Journalist's Hat Comes Back for 04/05/2008

Sat, 05 Apr 2008 00:00:00 -0700

A few weeks ago, I wrote a column that drew on a Mark Twain short story about journalism turning observations into slanderous diatribes. Now, with spring in the air, I return to the peerless American humorist for another yarn, "How I Edited an Agricultural Paper." It's a superb instance of 19th century media criticism that remains as contemporary as the tendency of numerous well-paid ...

Updated: Sat Apr 05, 2008

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The Media Ballad of General Petraeus for 04/12/2008

Sat, 12 Apr 2008 00:00:00 -0700

General David Petraeus is the name. And if he didn't exist, a media presence like him would have to be invented.

Standing behind the general, of course, is a Commander in Chief whose highs and lows can be charted with press clippings. After mediocre reviews through most of 2001, he became the media's genuine global-vision cowboy, guns about to blaze, atop the smoking ruins of the World T ...

Updated: Sat Apr 12, 2008

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Being Pro-War Means Never Having to Say You're Sorry for 04/19/2008

Sat, 19 Apr 2008 00:00:00 -0700

Thank you, Tim Robbins! In a keynote speech to the recent National Association of Broadcasters conference, Robbins laid on the line what few in big media are willing to acknowledge.

Five years ago, many studio-chair warriors of the major U.S. networks trashed him for daring to oppose the invasion of Iraq. Today, Robbins — a very fine actor and director — continues to show tha ...

Updated: Sat Apr 19, 2008

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Viewers, Listeners and Readers Beware! for 04/25/2008

Fri, 25 Apr 2008 00:00:00 -0700

John Stauber is one of the most astute observers around when it comes to propaganda and the news. Co-author of two well-documented books about media manipulation and the Iraq war — "Weapons of Mass Deception" and "The Best War Ever" — he's the executive director of the Center for Media and Democracy. Most importantly, he's a very perceptive media critic.

S ...

Updated: Fri Apr 25, 2008

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Media Beat, May 3 for 05/03/2008

Sat, 03 May 2008 00:00:00 -0700

How many times can we be astonished by the same phenomenon? How often should our jaws drop before we resolutely clench our teeth, hunker down and come to terms with basic media dynamics that keep emerging?

Understandably, many people are appalled by the low quality of news media — and TV news in particular — at historic moments. That's what happened the other day when the Sup ...

Updated: Sat May 03, 2008

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Barack Obama, Media Critic? for 05/10/2008

Sat, 10 May 2008 00:00:00 -0700

In late August, when I go to Denver, I'll be attending a Democratic National Convention for the fifth time in my life. But for the first time, when I wander across the convention floor, I won't be wearing a press pass.

Last month, at a caucus of voters in the vicinity of my home, I was elected as an Obama delegate. So, for the rest of this year, when I write about the presidential race, ...

Updated: Sat May 10, 2008

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