journalism

By Juan Cole | (Informed Comment) | – – The meltdown of the US Republican Party is an unlovely sight inside the country, but what do people abroad think about the outlandish assertions of GOP frontrunner Donald Trump? Last week the Mufti of Egypt Shawqi Allam (maybe analogous to the president of the US Conference […]

censorship

‘A dark day for Turkish democracy’: violent clashes follow Zaman takeover

contributors

Euronews | (Video News Report) – – “The country’s “top-selling newspaper reopened on Saturday”following a state takeover and police raid. But the staff has experienced a shake up, with reports of editor-in-chief Abdulhamit Bilici and columnist Bulent Kenes being sacked.” Euronews: “‘A dark day for Turkish democracy’: violent clashes follow Zaman takeover”

Islam-hatred

The New York Times Presents Islam More Negatively than Cancer and Cocaine

contributors

TeleSur | – – Researchers say they were shocked to learn that Islam receives more negative coverage than cancer. The New York Times portrays Islam and Muslims more negatively than cancer, cocaine and alcohol, according to a report that studied the newspaper’s headlines. “Since 9/11, many media outlets began profiteering from the anti-Muslim climate. Though you could […]

journalism

MSNBC Sidelines Melissa Harris-Perry, hires Cruz Campaign Figure fired for Lying

contributors

Cenk Uygur, John Iadarola & and Jimmy Dore | (The Young Turks Video Report) | – – “Melissa Harris Perry walked off of MSNBC, and said they had been pre-empting her every week. MSNBC proceeded to hire a disgraced liar freshly fired from the Ted Cruz campaign. Cenk Uygur, John Iadarola (ThinkTank), and Jimmy Dore […]

Featured

How the US went Fascist: Mass media Makes excuses for Trump Voters

Juan Cole

By Juan Cole | (Informed Comment) | – – The rise of Donald Trump to the presumptive Republican standard bearer for president in 2016 is an indictment of, and a profound danger to the American republic. The Founding Fathers were afraid of the excitability of the voters and their vulnerability to the appeal of demagogues. […]

journalism

The Failure of Aljazeera America proves that the future of TV is the Web

contributors

By Scott Bridges | (The Conversation) | – – Yesterday came the surprising announcement that Al Jazeera America (AJAM), the not even three-year-old US news franchise of the Arab media giant, was shutting down. Come April this year, up to 800 journalists may be looking for work and more than US$2 billion of Qatari government […]

censorship

Triumph of Diplomacy: Iran, on cusp of Sanctions relief, releases 5 Iranian-American Detainees

Juan Cole

By Juan Cole | (Informed Comment) | – – Iranian news agencies announced Saturday that the government had released four dual nationals (Iranian-Americans with both passports). A fifth release was later reported. The release is another major diplomatic victory for President Obama and Sec. of State John Kerry, and is good news indeed for the […]

Bernie Sanders

Media Blackout on Bernie Sanders Continues even though he leads Trump in Polls

contributors

By Jim Hightower | (Otherwords) | – – The Tyndall Report, a non-partisan media monitoring firm that has been tracking the nightly news broadcasts of ABC, CBS, and NBC, found that Trump is tromp, tromp, tromping over the airtime of everyone else. From last January through November, these dominant flagship news shows devoted 234 minutes […]

journalism

Human Rights in Turkey: Is Turkish Press Freedom Doomed?

contributors

By Lorena Di Carlo | (Inter Press Service) | – – MADRID (IPS) – The last week of November marked another phase of an ongoing shift in the Turkish Government´s approach to human rights issues – Two important events highlighted the ongoing attack freedom of press is suffering in Turkey. First two prominent Turkish journalists […]