Mission

Media Resources

  • PR Watch - Center for Media and Democracy
    Promoting media that are "of, by, and for the people"
  • Find Media Resources
    Quickly find media resources across the U.S.
  • FAIR - Fairness & Accuracy In Reporting
    A national media watch group that has been offering well-documented criticism of media bias and censorship since 1986.
  • Center for Public Integrity
    Centers on investigative journalism that looks at issues related to government and corporate operation. Issues they cover are typically not brought to the mainstream media and profile operations that need to be monitored for legality and ethics.

  • Democracy Now
    A daily radio and TV news program on over 350 stations pioneering the largest communty media collaboration in the U.S.
  • Air America Radio
    Progressive alternative radio network
  • Common Dreams News Center
    A great progressivist news resource. Excellent and broad perspective. From a group in Maine
  • Freepress - media reform resource
    A nonpartisan organization working toward a more democratic media. Strong focus on "big media" problems.

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CNN Cordiality

Part of the problem of the consolidated media giants that now monopolize broadcast and print news media is their tendency to define fairness, balance and decency in their own terms, which may well not comport with our own understandings of those requirements.  Take the news about CNN Headline News' hiring of radio talkshow host Glenn Back to host a new primetime show.  See CNN announcement, here.  Fairness & Accuracy in Reporting provided an analysis, linked here, of Glenn Beck's style that appears to refute his new boss's claim, reported here in Vanity Fair, that he is "cordial" and "not confrontational," "conservative", but "apolitical."

It certainly is hard to see how Beck is "apolitical."  As noted in this entry for Beck in Wikipedia, he "gloated" when Bush and the Republicans returned to office in the 2004 elections.  He may "hate politics", but in fact his right-wing politics makes him very similar to Rush Limbaugh and Sean Hannity.

As the FAIR release explains, a number of specific statements made by Beck demonstrate his use of hate for entertainment value.

  • Beck set up Clear Channel's pro-war Rallies for America before the Iraq War and commented hatefully about anti-war candidate Dennis Kucinich that "Every night I get down on my knees and pray that Dennis Kucinich will burst into flames."  FAIR release, citing WABC-AM 3/16/03.
  • Beck criticized a father whose son was beheaded in Iraq as a "scumbag" because of the father's criticism of Bush.  FAIR release, citing MediaMatters.org, 5/17/04
  • Beck "fantasized about murdering anti-war filmmaker Michael Moore."  FAIR release, citing Mediamatters.org, 5/18/05
  • Beck spoke derogatorily of Katrina victims as "scumbags" and declared his hate for 9/11 victims' families.   FAIR release, citing Mediamatters.org 9/9/05

CNN claims that Beck will provide "an unconventional look at the news of the day featuring Beck's often amusing perspective."  Does hate speech like that illustrated in these examples of Beck's style now count merely as  "unconventional" and "amusing"?  If you don't think so, you might want  to call Ken Jautz, Presideent of CNN Headline News, at 404-878-5633 and tell him that you think Beck's hateful humor does not belong on a news network.

January 21, 2006 in Media Consolidation problem |