Foreign News Channels Drawing US Viewers

Television viewers in the United States seeking international news are starting to switch over to foreign channels to learn what is happening in the outside world, media watchers here say. "They are comparable to CNN," said Steve Randall, about television news channels such as Russia Today, Al Jazeera, CCTV of China, and the Press TV … Continue reading “Foreign News Channels Drawing US Viewers”

The Case of the Tell-tale Tunnels: Tall Tales from the Times

The drumbeat for war with Iran started quite some time ago, but as we begin the new year the tom-toms are getting more frenetic and certainly louder. It wasn’t twenty-four hours after the intrepid Gareth Porter effectively debunked the latest war propaganda in the Times of London – a forged document purporting to show Iranian … Continue reading “The Case of the Tell-tale Tunnels: Tall Tales from the Times

Polls Give False Impressions About War

Polling results have tracked so closely with the politicization of the Afghan war that it’s difficult to discern the public’s actual views in such a polarized environment. The polls tell us less about what the public is really feeling than about how well the two parties – in concert with the military – are spinning … Continue reading “Polls Give False Impressions About War”

War Porn

In an Oct. 26 op-ed piece, David Ignatius of the Washington Post tells us everything we need to know about why mainstream media war coverage is so tainted. The article is 750 words worth of war pornography, verbal sex performed on Gen. David Petraeus, who gives Ignatius an aerial view of Baghdad aboard a Blackhawk … Continue reading “War Porn”

Mr. Al-Jazeera Goes to Washington

The director of the Arab satellite television network al-Jazeera, Wadah Khanfar, is in Washington this week for the first time, part of a brief tour of the U.S. that will also take him to New York. The visit comes just weeks after a deal between al-Jazeera and U.S. cable distributors made al-Jazeera’s English-language channel accessible … Continue reading “Mr. Al-Jazeera Goes to Washington”