Labeling

Yahoo picked up a fluff AP article that distorted Democratic NJ Governor Jim McGreevey’s 2004 resignation. It perpetuated the success of what should have been a politician’s attempt to cover allegations of corruption by using his closeted sexuality to distract an incurious and complicit media. This puff piece kept alive McGreevey’s pattern of announcing something socially startling to draw…

Assume for a moment that a prominent Republican’s uncle that happened to be a former state senator was convicted of accepting bribes. Do you think: This would have been headline/front-page newsThe family relationship would have been in the lede and/or headlineHis party affiliation would have been in the lede and/or headline?Well, on Friday, the uncle of former Congressman Harold Ford, Jr. (D),…

Producer of an MSM morning news show? Got a few minutes to fill at the end of your first half-hour? Why not resort to a tried-and-true winner: a bit of good old class warfare?That was the "Today" formula this morning. Matt Lauer introduced the segment, enviously entitled "Share the Wealth?: The Rich Get Richer," fanning the flames of envy and resentment with this opener:TODAY CO-HOST MATT…

In an online chat at washingtonpost.com today, media reporter Howard Kurtz condemned the media's rush to judgment in 2006 in the Duke lacross rape allegations."If you go back and lok at the coverage of 13 months ago, knowing what we know now, teh tone of much of it was irresponsible," wrote Kurtz in response to a question from Floris, Va. Later in response to a question from Portland, Ore.,…

 TVWeek and TMZ announced that “conservative MSNBC pundit" Tucker Carlson, will host a game show pilot remake of the Johnny Carson 1950s classic, “Who Do You Trust." While this is potentially good news for Tucker, what is more interesting is how these two sites described the former “Jeopardy” champ.  TVWeek focused on Carlson’s conservatism while describing the show instead of his journalism…