Mainstream Media

Tyranny by Assertion

By Justin Katz | March 28, 2005 |

I understand that Jerry Landay, “a former CBS News correspondent,” is part of the mainstream media club, and I continue to think the Providence Journal’s editorial page admirably broad in what it publishes. Still, I’m a bit surprised that the page would publish this rant from Landay: Few of the “hath littles” are aware of…

Stupid Is, Stupid Does

By | March 14, 2005 | Comments Off on Stupid Is, Stupid Does

Power Line has a commentary on an interview given by Washington Post Managing Editor Philip Bennett to the People’s Daily Online, a Communist China publication. The interview’s headline quote by Bennett is: I don’t think US should be the leader of the world. Bennett also offers up the following thought: Democracy means many things. How…

Why We Blog

By | February 17, 2005 |

Peggy Noonan’s latest editorial discusses the world of blogging. She makes the following general comments: The bloggers have…freedom. They have the still pent-up energy of a liberated citizenry, too. The MSM [main stream media] doesn’t. It has lost its old monopoly on information. It is angry. But MSM criticism of the blogosphere misses the point,…

An Example of Abusing History for Rhetorical Advantage

By Marc Comtois | February 11, 2005 | Comments Off on An Example of Abusing History for Rhetorical Advantage

If you’re interested, over at Spinning Clio I’ve posted on how a piece of historical “fact” has been misused to support the oft-used “the-Founders-weren’t-religious” argument. (Fair warning: it deals with treaty language.)

“It’s Fun to Shoot Some People”: How Headlines Don’t Reflect the Story

By Marc Comtois | February 4, 2005 | Comments Off on “It’s Fun to Shoot Some People”: How Headlines Don’t Reflect the Story

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – A senior U.S. Marine Corps general who said it was “fun to shoot some people” should have chosen his words more carefully but will not be disciplined, military officials said on Thursday. Lt. Gen. James Mattis, who commanded troops in Iraq and Afghanistan and is slated to be portrayed by star actor…

Media Bias – or Just Incompetence?

By | February 3, 2005 |

During his State of the Union speech, President Bush introduced an Iraqi citizen with these words: One of Iraq’s leading democracy and human rights advocates is Safia Taleb al-Suhail. She says of her country, “we were occupied for 35 years by Saddam Hussein. That was the real occupation. Thank you to the American people who…

Commentary as Job Interview

By Justin Katz | January 24, 2005 |

Related to Marc’s posts (here and here) on Peggy Noonan’s reaction to President Bush’s inaugural speech, Patrick Sweeney of Extreme Catholic delves into some of the relevant theological considerations. He also makes this story-behind-the-story suggestion: Perhaps Peggy Noonan thinks she’s in the running for William Safire’s job. This is ankle-biting envy. This is offering a…

The Power of a Podium

By Justin Katz | January 18, 2005 | Comments Off on The Power of a Podium

A 230-word piece in the Providence Journal nicely captures the good that disputatious writers like Edward Achorn and (to a much lesser extent… for now) us here at Anchor Rising can do: [RI House Speaker William] Murphy had said he would seek an advisory opinion from the state Supreme Court, but said today that he…

Driving a Stake into the Heart of the Mainstream Media

By | January 13, 2005 | Comments Off on Driving a Stake into the Heart of the Mainstream Media

Peggy Noonan has nailed an issue, again, as only she can do. Here are some excerpts from her latest editorial, in which she discusses Rathergate and the busting of the mainstream media monopoly in America: The Rathergate Report is a watershed event in American journalism not because it changes things on its own but because…

Chafee and McKay Oppose Electoral College

By Marc Comtois | January 6, 2005 | Comments Off on Chafee and McKay Oppose Electoral College

Senator Lincoln Chafee has decided to join California Sen. Diane Feinstein in calling for the abolishment of the Electoral College. “Under the current system, the only states that get any candidate visits are the battleground states,” said Chafee. “As a Rhode Islander . . . I’d like to see the presidential candidates make an investment…