America's Real Quagmire

What kind of a public debate can we have on the most vital issues of the day in the United States? A lot depends on the media, which determines how these issues are framed for most people.

Reality Bites

If you're like me, at some point in the past few years you've had the conversation about why there are so many dead bodies -- fake dead bodies -- on television.

We have dead bodies lying on slabs in the morgue on most of the "Law & Order" franchises -- and there are three of them, plus endless reruns. We have three "CSI" (Crime Scene Investigation) franchises, one each in Las Vegas, Miami and New York. We have two naval crime shows, although only one has an autopsy component. And only one has Mark Harmon, which is reason enough for watching.

Equality March Shows What Grassroots Can Do

Without even one cable news outlet promoting the event and even without Glenn Beck--even without corporate lobbyists sending in activists by the thousands, and corporate advertisers publicizing it--the National Equality March on the D.C. mall on October 11 drew one hell of a crowd.

Healthcare Reform Minus the Public Option—or the Public

It was probably a given that the corporate press would mangle the debate over this year's healthcare reform legislation, considering their poor showing in the healthcare debate of the early '90s (Extra!, 7-8/93). The only questions were when and how.

Institutional Racism Ignored

After a tour of the country last year, a United Nations special rapporteur (4/28/09) urged Washington to do more to address "the depth of racism [that] still permeates all dimensions of life of American society." Not "questions of race," not "past racism," not "personal biases"--but present-day, institutional racism, as expressed in, for example, "racial bias in conviction rates and length of sentences of both juvenile and criminal courts," "direct discriminatory practices in housing...as well as in mortgage lending," and in

Iran, Israel, and the Muzzled US Press

"Iran must comply with United Nations resolutions," declared President Obama. Iran is "as defiant as ever" says a chorus of corporate employees otherwise known as mainstream journalists.  Really!  Is Iran defiant for testing missiles for its military?  What military in the world fails to test missiles?  Is Iran defiant for reporting the construction of a "secret underground" uranium enrichment plant at least a year in advance of International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) obligations require it to? 

Drowning Out the Noise Machine

Journalism is breaking my heart. Or should I say, “journalism.”

Hate-mongering media extremists have captured our news networks and are using the public’s platform – our airwaves – to pick off progressive leaders like Van Jones and misinform the American people.

Nothing new there, of course. But it’s especially outrageous that the same networks that didn’t challenge the rush to war with Iraq and Afghanistan now host right-wing talking heads suspicious of healthcare reform who help spread absurd lies about “death panels.”

Bearing Witness 2.0: You Can't Spin 10,000 Tweets and Camera Phone Uploads

China just delivered a stunning, real-world demonstration of the changes rocking -- and transforming -- modern journalism.

Wall Street Journal Loves Obama's Drone War Vs. Pakistan: 'Unmanned Bombs Away'

The Wall Street Journal is officially in love with President Obama's undeclared air war inside of Pakistan's borders. In an unsigned editorial, the paper enthusiastically endorses Obama's use of predator drones to bomb areas throughout Pakistan.