Left Wing

Censorship Becomes Publicity for Emma Goldman Project

by John Stauber — January 13, 2003 - 11:00pm

Front page attention in the New York Times is priceless publicity. Heavy-handed censorship at UC Berkeley has backfired, landing a fundraising appeal by the school's Emma Goldman Papers Project on the Times front page. "Goldman died in 1940, more than two decades after being
deported to Russia with other anarchists in the United
States who opposed World War I. Now her words are the
source of deep consternation once again, this time at the
University of California, which has housed Goldman's papers
for the past 23 years.

Main Source: 
New York Times, January 14, 2003

Conservatives Rule the "Liberal" Media

by Sheldon Rampton — December 15, 2002 - 11:00pm

"Resentment at the 'liberal media' has been a Holy Grail of the American right for 40 years, and a gold mine for conservative direct-mail fund-raisers," writes Joel Connelly. In reality, though, "the right plays an almost dominant role in setting the agenda and stereotyping opponents. It has unmatched powers to get a story airborne. ... The party line gets out on issues from going to war with Iraq to drilling the West." Then why do conservatives still pretend that the media are liberal?

Main Source: 
Seattle Post-Intelligencer, December 16, 2002

Talking Back to Talk Radio

by Sheldon Rampton — December 10, 2002 - 11:00pm

"Setting aside the shrill and nonsensical efforts of those who suggest the corporate-owned media in America is 'liberal,' the situation with regard to talk radio is particularly perplexing: It doesn't even carry a pretense of political balance," writes former radio DJ Thom Hartmann.

Main Source: 
AlterNet.org, December 11, 2002

Cheerleading for War on TV, Resisting It Online

by John Stauber — December 6, 2002 - 11:00pm

While Fox News and other mainstream media often seem to be cheerleading for a US attack on Iraq, an alternative media website is providing information, analysis and anti-war advocacy that is kept off the Boob Tube. Check out Alternet's Iraq News Log which says that "a unilateral strike against Baghdad is both unwarranted and potentially disastrous. This content file offers readers breaking news, the best analysis, activism resources, and timely information they need to resist this precipitous rush to war."

Main Source: 
www.alternet.org, December 7, 2002

Bowling Over The Internet

by Laura Miller — November 3, 2002 - 11:00pm

"Documentarian Michael Moore has once again used a personal appeal over the internet to boost the success of his controversial work, highlighting the effectiveness of the web as a promotional tool," PR Week reports. Encouraging people to see his new movie "Bowling for Columbine," Moore's email was sent to thousands on his mailing list and "was widely circulated, especially by film buffs and political activists who support Moore." Moore's movie features PR representatives from Lockheed's Littleton, CO missile plant and K-Mart corporate headquarters.

Main Source: 
PR Week, November 4, 2002

Behind the Placards

by Sheldon Rampton — October 31, 2002 - 11:00pm

"If public-opinion polls are correct, 33 percent to 40 percent of the public opposes an Iraq war; even more are against a unilateral action. This means the burgeoning anti-war movement has a large recruiting pool," writes David Corn. Most Americans, however, won't agree with the agenda of the Workers World Party, which organized the recent anti-war demonstration in Washington.

Main Source: 
LA Weekly, November 1-7, 2002

Advertising for Peace: "Uncle oSAMa Wants You!"

by John Stauber — October 13, 2002 - 10:00pm

Two separate full page anti-war advertisements appear in today's New York Times. The Florence Fund's ad feature's "Uncle Osama," an Uncle Sam take-off who taunts "Send me a new
generation of recruits. Your bombs will fuel their hatred of America and
their desire for revenge." Meanwhile, a full page advertisement
from the TrueMajority Campaign led by former ice cream magnate Ben Cohen
features photos of Bush, Cheney and Rumsfeld and says "They're Selling War.

Main Source: 
New York Times, October 14, 2002

Think Tanks in a Time of Crisis

by Laura Miller — March 28, 2002 - 4:45pm

Conservative and right-leaning think tanks continue to get more mainstream media attention than centerist and progressive groups according to a new report by Fairness & Accuracy in Reporting. "The overall percentages for the year were consistent with findings for previous years, with conservative or right-leaning think tanks garnering 48 percent of the citations, centrists receiving 36 percent and progressive or left-leaning think tanks receiving 16 percent," FAIR writes.

Main Source: 
http://www.fair.org/extra/0203/think_tanks.html

Help Needed to Save Pacifica

by Sheldon Rampton — March 26, 2002 - 12:00am

Now that community radio advocates have regained control of the Pacifica Radio Network, they are discovering that the outgoing Pacifica managers "treated the network like a trough," in the words of current acting executive director Dan Coughlin. In addition to racking up huge personal expense bills and handing themselves "golden parachute" severance packages, the former managers ran up millions of dollars on attorneys and PR firms.

Main Source: 
http://www.savepacifica.net/20020313_edreport.html

The Bias of "Bias"

by Sheldon Rampton — January 20, 2002 - 12:00am

"Proving that irony is alive and well post-Sept. 11," observe Steve Rendall and Peter Hart, "a book deriding the national press corps for its flagrant liberal bias has been the subject of enormous attention in the same mainstream media that, the book argues, suppress conservative views." In their critical review of Bernard Goldberg's book, Bias, they note that "right-wing media watchdogs ...

Main Source: 
Arizona Republic, January 20, 2002
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