“Conservatives are trying so hard to highlight controversies, no matter how trivial, we have forgotten the basics of reporting: W5 + H, as I learned in grade school, also known as who, what, where, when, why, and how...There are scandals to uncover and there are outrageous stories to be outraged over, but I would submit conservatives are spending a lot more time trying to find things to be outraged over than reporting the news and basic facts online from a conservative perspective. ”
—RedState’s Erick Erickson, making a frank but much-needed plea to his colleagues on the right. While Erickson still sees a liberal bias in the media, he doesn’t think conservative journalists are attempting to overcome it the right way: “There is an institutional media bias against the right, but we must also honestly acknowledge that conservatives have also screamed ‘Wolf’ these past few years more often than there was one. Conservatives must start telling stories, not just producing white papers and peddling daily outrage.” A lot of conservative outfits will probably be upset at Erickson’s manifesto, but those are probably the ones that need to hear it the most (we’re looking at you, Daily Caller). The whole post is worth giving a read. source
Oliver Willis: Rush Limbaugh Is Racist, Here Are 46 Examples
oliverwillis.comConservatives have claimed for a long time that Rush Limbaugh isn’t a racist, that this image of the conservative thought leader is an invention of the so-called “liberal media.” This list exposes that for the lie that it is. It is a selection of Limbaugh comments, largely from the last 5-6 years (Limbaugh has been on the air for decades, but only has been closely monitored since Media Matters’ launch in 2004). The list has been pruned of simply outrageous statements to reflect the more racist proclamations by this leading conservative.
Limbaugh is not a fringe conservative media figure. Republican elected officials bow at his altar with alarmingly frequency, and he has hosted no less than the President of the United States on his show (President Bush also hosted this unapologetic racist at the White House).
Limbaugh is among the top 2-3 most listened to political figures in America, and was invited to be the keynote speaker at CPAC, the leading conservative gathering.
Click on the link above for the examples.
Michelle Goldberg of The Daily Beast notes that conservative outlets have recently taken digs at Trayvon Martin's reputation, focusing on him rather than the man who shot him. Why is that? Here's the key point:
thedailybeast.comSo why this desire to paint Martin, rather than the man who shot him, as the guilty party? Partly, of course, it’s just a reaction to his death becoming a cause célèbre on the left—it’s the same sort of impulse that leads some conservatives to delight in “Fry Mumia” T-shirts. Beyond that, though, some on the right are deeply invested in the idea that anti-black racism is no longer much of a problem in the United States, and certainly not a problem on the scale of false accusations of racism. You might call these people anti-anti-racists. They are determined to push back against any narrative that would suggest that a black man has been targeted for the color of his skin.
The Daily Beast’s article is largely a response to a Daily Caller piece that published a series of tweets from an account owned by Martin. We think it has something to do with Obama taking an interest in the story — kinda like how Rush Limbaugh found a way to criticize Michelle Obama’s trip to Target, the mere association with the president is enough to make Martin a target.
"We Win": Conservative Media Celebrate Public Misconception That Climate Scientists "Falsified" Data
mediamatters.orgAfter relentlessly pushing the false claim that the so-called “Climategate” controversy showed climate scientists deceitfully manipulating data, conservative media are celebrating a Rasmussen Reports poll finding that a majority of Americans believe “some scientists” have likely “falsified research data” to support “their own theories and beliefs about global warming.”
Rasmussen: “69% Say It’s At Least Somewhat Likely That Some Scientists Have Falsified Research Data.” A July 29-30 Rasmussen Reports survey asked, “In order to support their own theories and beliefs about global warming, how likely is it that some scientists have falsified research data?” From the Rasmussen Reports write-up of the results:
The latest Rasmussen Reports national telephone survey of American Adults shows that 69% say it’s at least somewhat likely that some scientists have falsified research data in order to support their own theories and beliefs, including 40% who say this is Very Likely. Twenty-two percent (22%) don’t think it’s likely some scientists have falsified global warming data, including just six percent (6%) say it’s Not At All Likely. Another 10% are undecided. [Rasmussen Reports, 8/3/11]
Well, this is a rather disturbing trend. The longer we put off implementing environmentally sustainable solutions to climate change, the more we all end up losing and these clowns are helping that become a reality.
ARE LEFT AND RIGHT EQUALLY EXTREME?
Google the terms and you’ll see alot of people saying that “left and right” are equally extreme. This is a false equivalency which serves as cover for lazy thinking or intimidated journalists. Mainstream journalists in particular believe they are being “fair and balanced” when they criticize “both sides” equally.
FOX News, of course, feels no such obligation. As for the mainstream media, what if “both sides” are not equally extreme?
After 9/11, left-wing conspiracy theories claimed the Bush administration staged the attacks. Not a single Democratic office holder - and no Democrat in Congress — lent their voice to this charge. Nor did any “liberal” pundit on MSNBC. They did not want to be associated with the slander and paranoia of the extreme left.
Not so for Republicans and FOX, both of whom publicly endorsed right-wing conspiracy theories about the President’s religion, patriotism and especially his citizenship. Even in the Congress, Republicans had no problem associating their party with the slander and paranoia of the extreme right. In fact, they saw it as a political asset.
Republicans are anti-government — their platform of tax cuts for the rich and deregulation for business makes it easy to raise big-time corporate money. Democrats have a much harder sell with their belief that government can restrain corporate profit to protect the environment or make the economy more just.
Republicans have a 24/7 partisan media machine openly trying to bring down the President. Incessant complaints about “liberal media” aside, there is no equivalent to FOX News on the left. None. (When FOX has regular contributors as liberal as Pat Buchanan and Joe Scarborough are conservative — name one who is — we can talk about MSNBC.)
Republicans claim the mantle of “faith” and “family” and presume to pronounce God’s judgment on those whose politics, patriotism or lifestyle they don’t like. Democrats do not indulge in this radical form of partisan idolatry.
Yes, there are radicals on both sides. But that’s where the similarities end.
Koch Brothers Plan To Buy Up Eight Major Newspapers
thinkprogress.orgBy Annie-Rose Strasser
Think Progress
Apr 21, 2013
The billionaire oil moguls Charles and David Koch are pushing ahead with their plans to purchase several news outlets across the United States, according to a detailed report in the New York Times on Sunday.
At a recent seminar in Aspen, one attendee reported that the brothers — infamous for bankrolling conservative candidates and causes — put forth the question of, “How do we make sure our voice is being heard?” Their answer, it seems, will be to purchase the entire Tribune company, which constitutes a huge swath of American print media:
The papers, valued at roughly $623 million, would be a financially diminutive deal for Koch Industries, the energy and manufacturing conglomerate based in Wichita, Kan., with annual revenue of about $115 billion. Politically, however, the papers could serve as a broader platform for the Kochs’ laissez-faire ideas. The Los Angeles Times is the fourth-largest paper in the country, and The Tribune is No. 9, and others are in several battleground states, including two of the largest newspapers in Florida, The Orlando Sentinel and The Sun Sentinel in Fort Lauderdale. A deal could include Hoy, the second-largest Spanish-language daily newspaper, which speaks to the pivotal Hispanic demographic.
In total, the Tribune company is responsible for eight print publications.
Read more.
