Media

TV News Winds Down Operations on Iraq War

$Richard Engel, a top correspondent for NBC, is rotating in and out of Baghdad. Stories from Iraq that are strongly visual - as when an Iraqi journalist tossed two shoes at President Bush this month - are still covered by the networks, though often with footage from freelance crews and video agencies. \"But these other stories - ones that require knowledge of Iraq, like the political struggles that are going on - are going uncovered,\" said a former NBC vice-president.(NBC Photo)$

Quietly, as the United States presidential election and its aftermath have dominated the news, America's three broadcast network news divisions have stopped sending full-time correspondents to Iraq.

"The war has gone on longer than a lot of news organizations' ability or appetite to cover it," said Jane Arraf, a former Baghdad bureau chief for CNN who has remained in Iraq as a contract reporter for The Christian Science Monitor.

Posted in Media, Iraq

NAACP Report Finds TV Networks Lagging in Diversity

LOS ANGELES - Nearly a decade after the NAACP condemned a "virtual whiteout" in broadcast TV, the civil rights group said major networks have stalled in their efforts to further ethnic diversity on-screen and off.

Television shows of the future could be even less inclusive because of a failure to cultivate young minority stars and to bring minorities into decision-making positions, NAACP President and CEO Benjamin Todd Jealous said.

The effect on the country could be profound, Jealous said.

Posted in inequality, Media

Media's Failing Grade on Education 'Debate'

President-elect Barack Obama chose Chicago schools superintendent Arne Duncan as his nominee for Education secretary after an almost entirely one-sided media discussion that portrayed the most progressive candidate in the running for the post--Stanford educational researcher Linda Darling-Hammond--as an unacceptable pick.

Posted in Education, Media

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
December 17, 2008
9:31 AM

CONTACT: Park Center for Independent Media

Nominations Open for Independent Media Award Named for Maverick Journalist I.F. Stone

ITHACA, N.Y. - December 17 - The Park Center for Independent Media at Ithaca College is now accepting nominations from journalists, academics and the public at large for the first annual Izzy Award, named after legendary maverick journalist I. F. Stone.

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Launched in 2008, the Park Center for Independent Media is a national center for the study of media outlets that create and distribute content outside traditional corporate systems and news organizations. Located within Ithaca College's Roy H. Park School of Communications, the PCIM examines the impact of independent media institutions on journalism, democracy and a participatory culture.

Posted in journalism, Media

Still Lying, Still Allowed To Lie

I'm sorry, but there are moments when I just feel like a total alien who stumbled onto some planet full of bizarre life forms. They call this place America, and it sure is weird. And, lemme tell ya, I know what I'm talking about here. I've visited some pretty weird places in this part of the universe.

Posted in Media

Observations On Concision

My appearance on Bill Moyers' Journal, broadcast last night (and re-broadcast throughout this weekend on PBS), can be viewed here, and a transcript is here. The show's format, as well as Moyers' interviewing style, allowed for what I thought was a very substantive and in-depth discussion -- especially for television -- of th

Posted in Media

The 2008 Falsies Awards: In Memory of the First Casualty

There's nothing quite like a hotly contested election. The candidates have their devoted supporters and angry detractors. Then there are vigorous debates over the issues, while some people question the integrity of the entire process.

We speak, of course, of the Falsies Awards.

Posted in Media

Critics Rap MSNBC, Matthews

MSNBC and its talk show host Chris Matthews are coming under increasing criticism as more and more details have emerged to reveal the extent of the pundit's preparations to challenge Republican Sen. Arlen Specter of Pennsylvania.

After Politico reported Thursday that Matthews had taken steps to establish residency in Pennsylvania and been advised by partisan operatives to quit MSNBC and begin his campaign, the network took incoming flak from all sides.

Posted in Media, Politics

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
December 4, 2008
11:00 AM

CONTACT: Free Press
Jen Howard, InternetforEveryone.org, (202) 265-1490 x22 or (703) 517-6273 ; or Lindsy Embree, InternetforEveryone.org, (630) 292-8347 (in Los Angeles)

Los Angeles Debates Internet's Future

Hundreds to attend first InternetforEveryone.org town hall meeting on Dec. 6

LOS ANGELES - December 4 - On Dec. 6, hundreds of Los Angeles residents from all walks of life will discuss the future of the Internet at a town hall meeting sponsored by InternetforEveryone.org -- a broad-based initiative to connect every American to a fast, open and affordable Internet. This interactive event is the first in a nationwide series to show popular support for making universal Internet access a top priority of the Obama administration and new Congress.

WHAT: InternetforEveryone.org Town Hall Meeting
WHEN: Saturday, Dec. 6, 2008, 12:30 - 5:30 p.m. PT

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Posted in Media

NBC and McCaffrey's coordinated responses to the NYT story

Following up on yesterday's post regarding NBC News' suppression of the "military analyst" scandal and its ongoing reliance on the deeply conflicted Barry McCaffrey: I have obtained, from a very trustworthy source, emails sent last week between NBC News executives and McCaffrey (which cc:d Brian Williams), reflecting the extensive collaboration between NBC and McCaffrey to formulate a coordinated response to David Barstow's story. The emails are re-printed Posted in Media, military industrial complex