Newsweek

First, give the New York Times credit for doing what NewsBusters' Ken Shepherd found Newsweek unable to do. The Times, in a report (link requires free registration) by Robert F. Worth and Nada Bakri, actually called the recently slain Hezbollah commander Imad Mugniyah a terrorist: A top Hezbollah commander long sought by the United States for his role in terrorist attacks that killed hundreds…

Earlier today I noted how Reuters avoided calling the late Imad Mughniyeh of Hezbollah a terrorist. Now it appears Newsweek is gun-shy with the label, or at least its headline editors are.The subhead for today's Web Exclusive, "Death of a Hizbullah Leader" reads, "Attack fells a suspected terrorist with a list of enemies."But don't blame the article's writer, Kevin Peraino. He dropped the "…

Jon Meacham is frustrated. After taking over Newsweek in 2006 as editor, he hasn't managed to get it out of its long-term rut as the second-best in the newsmagazine business. He also seems to have developed a severe case of Economist envy: After about an hour, there seemed to be no more questions for him, so Newsweek editor Jon Meacham turned to his audience—about 100 graduate students at…

In the age of Daniel Pearl, who does a leading MSMer refer to as a "throat cutter"?The essence of Howard Fineman's Newsweek column about the demise of Mitt Romney's campaign is the glorification of authenticity, and Romney's perceived lack of it. Ironic, then, that Fineman would resort to one of the oldest, and least authentic, journalistic dodges: suggest the worst about someone, then slyly…

"Bush's Tax Cuts Are Dead," declared Newsweek Senior Editor Daniel Gross one day after Super Tuesday. What's more, 'twas "McCain's victory [that] dooms them." Gross's February 6 story was the third in a slideshow lineup on the magazine's front page today (see screencap at right). But far from merely offering a prognosis on the Bush tax cuts, Gross weaved in his own opinion about how a President…

Slate.com Editor Jacob Weisberg can now add "medicine" to his list of expertise. Weisberg told an audience the awkwardness some claim Bush shows during speeches can be attributed to a learning disability. Weisberg linked it back to a pattern of dyslexia in the Bush family. "I agree with that," Weisberg said when presented the possibility that Bush has a "learning disability." "The other…

In a January 30 Newsweek Web Exclusive, Matthew Philips added his voice to a chorus of mainstream media figures effusively eulogizing the failed candidacy of class warrior par excellence John Edwards.In, "Travels With John: Edwards ran hard, and he leaves a lasting mark on his party," Philips moved from his lament about Edwards long hours and non-stop campaigning...Some of us started wondering…

"Uncivil Discourse: Bush pressures Dems to fall in line for his final year."That's how Newsweek.com teases a Richard Wolffe Web Exclusive analysis of President George W. Bush's final State of the Union address. Wolffe lamented the bitter partisanship in Washington, noting that the Bush-Pelosi-Boehner agreement on an economic stimulus plan was "the rare exception" of "respect and cooperation" that…

Recession stories have a lot in common with global warming stories - there are a lot of them and you hear only one side. And like global warming, recession is the subject of a Newsweek cover story, appearing on the front of the magazine's February 4 issue. The story, "The U.S. Economy Faces the Guillotine," written by Daniel Gross, takes a one-sided gloomy approach to reporting on the U.S.…