Jeff Cohen
Jeff Cohen was associate professor of journalism and the director of the Park Center for Independent Media at Ithaca College, founder of the media watch group FAIR, and former board member of Progressive Democrats of America. In 2002, he was a producer and pundit at MSNBC (overseen by NBC News). He is the author of Cable News Confidential: My Misadventures in Corporate Media - and a cofounder of the online action group, www.RootsAction.org. His website is here: http://jeffcohen.org
Articles by this author
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Views Monday, April 28, 2008 Military Propaganda Pushed Me Off TV In the fall of 2002, week after week, I argued vigorously against invading Iraq in debates televised on MSNBC. I used every possible argument that might sway mainstream viewers -- no real threat, cost, instability. But as the war neared, my debates were terminated. In my 2006 book Cable News Confidential , I explained why I lost my airtime: Read more |
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Views Monday, March 17, 2008 Iraq Winter Soldier Hearings: Victory for Independent Media In 1971 at age 19, I had a life-changing experience when I met dozens of Vietnam veterans who'd descended on my hometown of Detroit to testify at the "Winter Soldier" hearings organized by Vietnam Veterans Against the War. In anguished presentations, the Vets painstakingly described the horrors against Vietnamese they'd seen or taken part in. And the attitudes of racism and bloodlust that motored the war. Many vets blamed the lies in mainstream media for convincing them to go to Vietnam in the first place. Read more |
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Views Friday, February 01, 2008 Stepford Republicans: All Caught on Tape! "The Stepford Wives" tells the chilling story of once smart, independent women who get abducted and turned into tamed, mindless robots. I have a theory about a similarly subversive process that turns grown men once capable of independent and reasoned thought into robotic extremists. Call them Stepford Republicans. The nefarious transformation always occurs before the individual gets close to becoming a Republican president or vice president. Read more |
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Views Friday, December 21, 2007 Announcing the P.U.-litzer Prizes for 2007 Many journalists qualified for the sixteenth annual P.U.-litzer Prizes, but only a few were able to win recognition for turning in one of the truly stinkiest media performances of the year. As the judges for this un-coveted award, we have done our best to confer this honor on the most deserving. And now, the winners of the P.U.-litzers for 2007: SPINNING FOR ANOTHER WAR AWARD -- Michael Gordon of The New York Times Read more |
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Views Saturday, October 13, 2007 Can Al Gore Be Trusted? This is a repint of a vintage 2006 CommonDreams column exploring an Al Gore presidential candidacy and the old Gore vs. the new Gore. "Fool me once, shame on you. Fool me twice, shame on me." Read more |
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Views Friday, October 05, 2007 Pundit Elite Enraptured by Hillary's 'Flawless Campaign' The satirical video short "Harlan McCraney, Presidential Speechalist" offers a comedic explanation of why George W. Bush comes off to many Americans as an inarticulate, even stupid politician. It's intentional: There's "a genius behind the stupidity" - speechalist McCraney (played by Andy Dick), a consultant who coaches Bush to come off as a misspoken, folksy everyman. Read more |
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Views Saturday, September 22, 2007 Senate Clown Show This week, the U.S. Senate put on a clown show. With most Americans wanting troops out of Iraq, Democratic leaders in the Senate failed to get enough Republican votes to overcome GOP filibusters for fairly tepid change-course measures. They could get only six Republican votes even for a Jim Webb proposal simply requiring that U.S. troops spend as much time at home as they spend deployed in Iraq. Read more |
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Views Tuesday, September 04, 2007 Hillary Rolls On: Are Netroots a Paper Tiger? As a longtime progressive tired of ineffective protesting, I've watched in glee as MoveOn has amassed political power by Webbing a few million of us and our dollars together. I'm a proud MoveOn member, even though I disagree sometimes with its leaders (mostly over too-cozy relations with top Democrats). And as a longtime proponent of independent media, I'm gleeful that liberal/progressive bloggers have seized a new medium to mobilize millions of activists and confront a Democratic elite that seemed unwilling to confront and beat Team Bush. Read more |
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Views Tuesday, August 07, 2007 Keith Olbermann: Ask Hillary About. . . Tonight, MSNBC will telecast a Democratic presidential forum sponsored by the AFL-CIO, with an expected audience of thousands of union members at Chicago's historic Soldier Field. Although questions will come mostly from labor folks, the forum will be moderated by MSNBC's Keith Olbermann, known for his searing anti-Bush "Special Comments." Below I propose a few questions I'd like to hear tonight. Read more |
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Views Thursday, May 31, 2007 Are Media Out to Get John Edwards? Give me a break about John Edwards' pricey haircut, mansion, lecture fees and the rest. The focus on these topics tells us two things about corporate media. One we've long known - that they elevate personal stuff above issues. The other is now becoming clear - that they have a special animosity toward Edwards . Read more |