Isabel Macdonald is a freelance journalist living in Brooklyn, NY.

Blog Entries by Isabel Macdonald

NJ Law Enforcement Appear to Contradict Dobbs' Version of Gunfire Incident

1 Comments | Posted October 30, 2009 | 12:07 PM (EST)


New Jersey state police seem to be contradicting CNN Host Lou Dobbs' account of a gunfire incident near his Sussex County, New Jersey, house.

On Monday on his radio show, Dobbs stated that "my wife has now been and I have been shot at." The alleged incident, which...

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Sheriff Arpaio: "I Could Get Elected On Pink Underwear"

1 Comments | Posted October 16, 2009 | 01:14 PM (EST)


As Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio, in increasing defiance of the Feds' decision to strip him of his street-level federal immigration authority, charges forward with another of his notorious anti-immigrant sweeps today, listeners of NPR's "The Takeaway" were treated to an illuminating glimpse at Sheriff Joe's political vision.

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Censored by ABC, Obama's Doc Speaks Out

6 Comments | Posted July 17, 2009 | 12:59 PM (EST)


2009-07-17-imageofscheinerinterview.jpgWATCH VIDEO

In the wake of Republican charges that ABC was attempting to "exclude opposing viewpoints" from its June 24 forum on healthcare reform, the media was awash in concerns that the "town hall" would not allow for challenging questions to...

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Tell Media: Include Single-Payer in Healthcare Debate

1 Comments | Posted July 7, 2009 | 11:26 AM (EST)


Reforming the dysfunctional U.S. healthcare system is a major issue in the news these days. The goal of the reform efforts, we're told, is to expand coverage to the uninsured and to reduce costs. But what many experts and citizens see as the most sensible solution to these problems is...

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Challenging George Will's Reign of Climate Error

Posted February 27, 2009 | 12:06 PM (EST)


After eight years of George W. Bush's rule, popular disapproval of policies that had come to be regarded as grave mistakes -- from the invasion of Iraq to the response to the economic crisis -- drove the Republicans from power.

Unfortunately, the media system has no such built-in check on...

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The Anti-Muslim Smear Machine Strikes Again?

Posted October 10, 2008 | 05:55 PM (EST)


In the midst of remarkably cynical election-time mud-slinging, the Obsession campaign is truly in a class of its own.

Over the past weeks, 28 million copies of the anti-Muslim propaganda film Obsession: Radical Islam's War Against the West have been delivered to the doors of newspaper subscribers in swing...

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A Double Standard on Reporters Who Express Opinions?

Posted February 15, 2008 | 02:06 PM (EST)


The New York Times recently published an editor's note about a February 4 front-page article regarding an Afghan detainee who died in U.S. custody at Guantanamo. The note said that Andy Worthington, the article's co-author, should not have gotten a byline because he has expressed an opinion on Guantanamo: Worthington...

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Pundit Predictions v. Voters

Posted January 11, 2008 | 04:24 PM (EST)


Media reporter Jim Rutenberg observed in the New York Times (1/0/08) that both the Times and CNN were initially hesitant to declare Clinton the winner of the New Hampshire Democratic primary as early results came in. As the Times headline put it, "Despite Early Results, News Outlets Let Caution...

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Giuliani, Pro-Choice?

Posted November 14, 2007 | 11:23 AM (EST)


"Pro-abortion rights" is not exactly the first term that comes to mind when I think of a politician who promises to appoint more Supreme Court justices like Antonin Scalia and Clarence Thomas. But that's exactly how The New York Times described Rudy Giuliani (11/11/07) in a recent Week in...

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NPR Defends Torture-Based Reporting

Posted November 5, 2007 | 05:38 PM (EST)


A recent NPR Morning Edition report that passed off torture victims' confessions as journalistic evidence has generated a storm of criticism. Following an action alert by Fairness & Accuracy In Reporting (FAIR), over 700 concerned listeners wrote in to complain to NPR's new ombud Alicia Shepard. Shepard herself...

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