![Dick Cheney on Meet the Press: 'I would [torture] again.'](http://web.archive.org./web/20150131223553im_/http://fair.org/new/wp-content/uploads/2015/01/CheneyMTP-600x300.jpg)
We'll talk to Mark Weisbrot about the Greek elections: Could it be that what elite media fear isn’t that Syriza will fail—but that it might succeed? And Amanda Marcotte on how shallow cover of abortion and the new Congress threatens women's rights.
- All the NYPD Spin That's Fit to Print Neil deMause
- Sterling Conviction a Victory for Government's Right to Hide Jim Naureckas
- Attack on Israeli Soldiers 'Most Serious Flare-Up in Years'–if Arab Deaths Aren't Taken Seriously Jim Naureckas
- Good News! US Corporations Won't Have to Pay for Nuclear Disasters in India Jim Naureckas
- Improbable as It May Seem to WaPo, Greek Voters Doubt Austerity Is Required Jim Naureckas
- My Joe Franklin Memory Steve Rendall
- 'Poor,' 'Middle Class'–What's the Difference to the 1 Percent? Jim Naureckas
Jan
28
2015
The Super Bowl Windfall Myth
Why media fall for sports industry's bogus economic claims
By Neil deMause
With Super Bowl Sunday approaching, expect plenty of media reports on the projected economic windfall for host city Glendale, Arizona. Last year, when the NFL announced that its big game would provide a $600 million boost to the New York/New Jersey economy, that figure promptly became a fixture in news coverage of the event (CNN, 1/24/14; Newsday, 1/22/14; FoxNews.com, 5/21/14). In one typical article, the New York Daily News (1/20/14) reported that city business owners were scurrying to grab a piece of the Super Bowl pie, quoting a local limo-service owner: “Nothing comes close to this. Everyone in New York […]
Jan
26
2015
Saudi Dictator's Death Shows NYT as Pawn of Power
Abdullah, tyrant who beheaded 'sorcerers,' was 'force of moderation'
By Keane Bhatt
"This is a sad day," remarked Secretary of State John Kerry (State Department, 1/22/15) over the death of Abdullah, the dictator of Saudi Arabia. "The United States has lost a friend," he continued, and "the world has lost a revered leader." The monarch--whose regime routinely flogs dissenters and beheads those guilty of "sorcery"--was, in Kerry's words, "a man of wisdom and vision" (BBC, 1/22/15; 6/19/12). Vice President Joe Biden (White House, 1/22/15) announced that he "will be leading a presidential delegation representing the United States to pay our respects." President Barack Obama himself fawned over the late autocrat: "I always […]
Jan
23
2015
Keane Bhatt on State of the Union, Daniel Denvir on Silencing Mumia Act
What's the public to make of the exercise in political theater known as the State of the Union Address and the media's morning-after tea leaf-reading? And why aren't more journalists up in arms about a law that muzzles them as well as convicts?
Jan
16
2015
Laura Carlsen on Mexican Violence, Jim Naureckas on 'Selma'
We'll talk about Coverage of the recent state visit from Mexican President Enrique Peña Nieto, the desaparacidos and the nature of violence in Mexico. Plus: What high-profile criticisms of the movie 'Selma' say about the critics.
Jan
09
2015
Robert Weissman on New Congress, Jamie Kalven on Police Abuse Records
We're told the recent midterm elections were the "most expensive in US history," but who was buying? And what do they expect in return? And what does it all mean for the relatively unmoneyed, namely most of us? We talked with Robert Weissman, president of Public Citizen, about the 114th Congress.
Also on the show: A reairing of an interview from July 2014 with Chicago journalist and activist Jamie Kalven about adding information to the story of police policy.
Jan
07
2015
Torture Advocates Outnumbered Critics 2-to-1
FAIR survey finds torturers well-represented on TV news
![Dick Cheney on Meet the Press: 'I would [torture] again.'](http://web.archive.org./web/20150131223553im_/http://fair.org/new/wp-content/uploads/2015/01/CheneyMTP-100x100.jpg)
A new FAIR study finds that torture defenders outnumbered critics of torture by nearly 2 to 1 in TV news coverage of the Senate Intelligence Committee report released on December 9. FAIR surveyed the guests of nine news programs for the week of December 7 to December 14, when discussion of the torture report’s findings was most prominent. The programs included the Sunday talk shows (NBC's Meet the Press, CBS's Face the Nation, ABC's This Week, Fox News Sunday and CNN’s State of the Union) along with four weekday news shows (MSNBC's Hardball, Fox's Special Report, the first hour of […]
Jan
02
2015
Best of CounterSpin 2014
Each week CounterSpin brings you a look behind the headlines of the mainstream news. At year's end we take a look back and revisit some of the stories it's been our privilege and pleasure to bring you. We call it "best of," but the truth is we always work to shine a light on angles or perspectives on events we think you might not hear elsewhere ,and insights into why and how corporate media coverage comes to look the way it does.
