Media Criticism

Romney Goes Double Negative

HuffingtonPost.com | Jason Linkins | Posted 06.01.2012

Read More: Thomas Friedman, 2012 Speculatron, 2012 Speculation, Battleground States, Super PACs, Missouri Senate Race, Mitt Romney, Elections 2012, Virgil Goode, Jeb Bush, Crossroads GPS, Barack Obama, Wisconsin Recall Elections 2012, 2012, Missouri 2012, Swing States, Third Party Candidate, Wisconsin Recall, 2012 Election, Mitt Romney 2012, Donald Trump, Scott Walker, Media Criticism, Tom Barrett, Barack Obama 2012, Claire McCaskill, Veepstakes, Politics News

At some point in the past, most mainstream political observers, against all evidence to the contrary, came to the belief that President Barack Obama i...

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Fox News Doesn't Care About Your Outrage

Chez Pazienza | Posted 06.01.2012

Read More: Fox News, Media, Cable News, Fox and Friends, Roger Ailes, Fox News Obama Video, Media Criticism, Media News

Not only does Fox News not fret over its many detractors, it generally welcomes the outrage as an opportunity to once again let its pit-bullish media relations department off the chain to maul the crap out of the poor sap with the bad sense to hassle its master.

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Late Returns: We Bombed In Mar-A-Lago

HuffingtonPost.com | Jason Linkins | Posted 05.31.2012

Read More: Polls, 2012 Speculatron, 2012 Speculation, Marco Rubio, Battleground States, Donald Trump Mar-a-Lago, Mitt Romney, Elections 2012, Mar-a-Lago, Barack Obama, Polling, George Will, 2012 Election, Marco Rubio Vp, Mitt Romney 2012, Donald Trump, Media Criticism, Barack Obama 2012, Politics News

Over at the Washington Post, Erik Wemple dives into the one thing Donald Trump alleged this week that was of genuine curiosity, as opposed to a repeti...

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Classic Politico: GOP Upset About Politico's Chief Competitors, Says Politico

HuffingtonPost.com | Jason Linkins | Posted 05.31.2012

Read More: Eat the Press, Politico Media Bias, Politico New York Times, Politico, Mitt Romney, Politico Washington Post, Barack Obama, Video, Ana Marie Cox, Mitt Romney 2012, New York Times, Media Criticism, Washington Post, Barack Obama 2012, Media Bias, Politics News

As she did last week, Guardian columnist Ana Marie Cox joins me today for a discussion of the Politico story that has everyone picking ants from their...

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Classic Politico: GOP Upset About Politico's Chief Competitors, Says Politico

HuffingtonPost.com | Jason Linkins | Posted 05.31.2012

Read More: Eat the Press, Politico Media Bias, Politico New York Times, Politico, Mitt Romney, Politico Washington Post, Barack Obama, Video, Ana Marie Cox, Mitt Romney 2012, New York Times, Media Criticism, Washington Post, Barack Obama 2012, Media Bias, Politics News

As she did last week, Guardian columnist Ana Marie Cox joins me today for a discussion of the Politico story that has everyone picking ants from their...

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Late Returns: Ted Cruz Still Cruising For Texas Senate Upset

HuffingtonPost.com | Jason Linkins | Posted 05.31.2012

Read More: Polls, 2012 Speculatron, Republican National Convention 2012, Ron Paul, Campaign Ads, Elections 2012, Texas Runoff, Democratic National Convention 2012, Fox and Friends, Republican Convention, Campaign Adwatch, David Dewhurst, Steve Guttenberg, 2012, Video, Polling, 2012 Election, Ted Cruz, Mitt Romney 2012, Donald Trump, Texas Senate 2012, Media Criticism, Ron Paul 2012, Texas Senate, Barack Obama 2012, Politics News

Last night, Ted Cruz, who is vying for the Republican nomination in the Senate race to determine who will take over Kay Bailey Hutchison's seat, compl...

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The Arab World and the Media's Symbiotic Revolutions

Ahmed Shihab-Eldin | Posted 05.29.2012

Read More: Google, Social Media, Arabs, Twitter, Arab Spring, Egypt, Middle East, Crowdsourcing, Media Criticism, Innovation, Facebook, Journalism, Syria, HuffPost Live, Video, Media News

There has been much speculation as to how central a role social media has played in catalyzing the Arab Revolution or the Global Occupy Movement. But little has been discussed about its role in spurring the media revolution.

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Classic Politico: 'Surely, All Of This Could Prove To Be Ephemeral And Meaningless'

HuffingtonPost.com | Jason Linkins | Posted 05.25.2012

Read More: Eat the Press, Video, Ana Marie Cox, Media Criticism, Thumbsucking, Barack Obama 2012, Barack Obama, Politics News

Ana Marie Cox, columnist for the Guardian, joins me today for a brief conversation. *** ANA MARIE: Hey, you there? JASON: Sure, what's up? ...

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Morning Joe Praises Potty Talk Over Policy Talk

HuffingtonPost.com | Jason Linkins | Posted 05.24.2012

Read More: Eat the Press, Video, Simpson Bowles Commission, Social Security, Morning Joe, Media Criticism, Alan Simpson, Politics News

The Morning Joe crew got very excited today, because -- as you may already know -- former Sen. Alan Simpson (one of the titular heads of that whole ...

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Massachusetts Voters Not Swayed By Elizabeth Warren Cherokee Controversy

HuffingtonPost.com | Jason Linkins | Posted 05.24.2012

Read More: Scott Brown, 2012 Speculatron, Elizabeth Warren, 2012 Speculation, Elizabeth Warren Indian, 2012 Election, Massachusetts Senate 2012, Elections 2012, Media Criticism, Elizabeth Warren Native American, Ma-Sen, Elizabeth Warren Cherokee, Massachusetts Senate Race, 2012, Politics News

For a long while now, the hotly contested Senate race between Sen. Scott Brown (R-Mass.) and his Democratic challenger Elizabeth Warren has centered a...

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Conservative Website Freaks Out Over Obama Fundraiser Who Made Striptease Video

HuffingtonPost.com | Jason Linkins | Posted 05.23.2012

Read More: Eat the Press, Free Beacon Booty Bundler, Video, Booty Bundler, Obama Bundlers, Washington Free Beacon, Slut-Shaming, Stacii Johnson, Media Criticism, Stacii Jae Johnson, How Did This Happen, Free Beacon, Politics News

The Washington Free Beacon -- which, if you don't happen to be playing the home game version of Washington's blog soap opera, was conceived of as a co...

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Late Returns: Kentucky Primary Features A 'Proxy Showdown' Between Kentucky Senators

HuffingtonPost.com | Jason Linkins | Posted 05.22.2012

The presidential escapade continues to draw most of the media's attention these days, but there are actually some interesting downticket primaries to ...

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Memo To Media: Obama's Harsh Campaign Tone Is Not Actually A New Thing, Okay?

HuffingtonPost.com | Jason Linkins | Posted 05.22.2012

Read More: Eat the Press, Obama Negative Attacks, Obama Negative Campaigning, 2012 Election, Elections 2012, Media Criticism, Myths, Barack Obama, 2012, Politics News

I'm typically a big fan of Molly Ball's work for the Atlantic. But I'm afraid that in explicating this week's private equity-Bain Capital brouhaha tha...

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Jeff Greenfield Wants You To Stop Writing All Your Pointless 'Biden-for-Clinton' Veep-Switch Stories

HuffingtonPost.com | Jason Linkins | Posted 05.22.2012

Read More: Hillary Vice President, 2012 Speculatron, 2012 Speculation, Video, Hillary Biden Switch, 2012 Election, Things-You-Need-to-Stop-Doing, Elections 2012, Media Criticism, Hillary Clinton, Joe Biden, 2012, Politics News

Jeff Greenfield has heard all of your wild-eyed ideas about the possibility that President Barack Obama might pursue some election year gambit and swi...

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Has Karl Rove Gone 'Subtle'?

HuffingtonPost.com | Jason Linkins | Posted 05.22.2012

Read More: Eat the Press, Super Pac, Video, Karl Rove, 2012 Election, Campaign Ads, Elections 2012, Media Criticism, Campaign Ad Watch, Crossroads GPS, 2012, Politics News

Karl Rove has millions of dollars to indulge his political id. So while we may be in a weird period of focus-group recommended restraint these days, don't expect the restraint to continue. There are reasons for this. It's an article of faith among a large portion of the GOP base that Sen. John McCain lost in 2008 because he wasn't willing to throw heat at Barack Obama and turn the month of October into an all-Jeremiah-Wright-all-the-time sick-a-doo fiesta. Last week's revelation of a proposed ad campaign to do just that served as a reminder that there are plenty of people with money to burn who've a yen to fight the 2012 battle from the gutter. And if Republicans are reminded too much of McCain's perceived failures as they watch Romney prosecute the Obama administration in a too-gentle fashion, they could end up discouraged.

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The 2012 Speculatron Weekly Roundup For May 18, 2012

HuffingtonPost.com | Jason Linkins | Posted 05.18.2012

Read More: Deb Fischer, Polls, Dnc, 2012 Speculatron, 2012 Speculation, Joe Ricketts Obama, Super PACs, Ron Paul, Arkansas Primary 2012, Mitt Romney, Buddy Roemer, Elections 2012, Barack Obama, 2012, Nebraska Senate 2012, Rand Paul, Joe Ricketts Plan, Polling, Wisconsin Recall, 2012 Election, Buddy Roemer 2012, Mitt Romney 2012, Joe Ricketts, Scott Walker, Nebraska Senate Race, Bob Kerrey, Media Criticism, Ron Paul 2012, Wisconsin Recall Elections, Barack Obama 2012, Politics News

What began in Indiana continued in Nebraska this week, as long-shot state Sen. Deb Fischer scored an underdog victory in Nebraska's GOP primary for th...

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John Derbyshire Pretty Sure 'Overwhelming Majority' Of Blacks 'Prefer White Supremacy' Because Liberia!

HuffingtonPost.com | Jason Linkins | Posted 05.17.2012

Read More: Israeli-Palestinian Conflict, Eat the Press, Video, White Supremacists, Media Criticism, Liberia, John Derbyshire, Politics News

John Derbyshire, who was recently kicked out of the National Review's community of deep thinkers because his overt racism had finally become somewhat ...

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Senate Unanimously Rejects A Budget Offered By Sen. Jeff Sessions (R-Ala.)

HuffingtonPost.com | Jason Linkins | Posted 05.16.2012

Read More: Eat the Press, Jeff Sessions Budget, Senate Budget Plan, Budget Gimmicks, Senate Budget, Obama Budget, Jeff Sessions, Media Criticism, Politics News

I predict that the news cycle is going to characterize a bit of legislative maneuvering this week as a defeat for some "Obama Budget." The vote on a Potemkin "Obama Budget" is not intended to be taken seriously. It's a stunt designed to get a slag into the news cycle, and they tend to work. What happens is a Republican legislator presents a "budget proposal" that's designed to be a satirical presentation of an "Obama budget," and Democrats don't vote for it, because they recognize that it bears no resemblance to their budgetary preferences. This is all stuff that should be pretty easy for adults to penetrate and demystify. But how many times are we going to hear about the "Obama budget's" ignominious defeat in the Senate on this weekend's Sunday talk shows? I'm going to guess: "many times."

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Fox News Does Not Make You Dumb: Researchers Respond to Critics

Peter J. Woolley | Posted 05.15.2012

Read More: Msnbc, Peter J Woolley, Jon Stewart, Egypt Public Opinion, Npr, Fox News, Media Criticism, Fairleigh Dickinson University, Media, Dan Cassino, News Aggregator, Egypt Protests 2011, Public Opinion Polling, Publicmind, Pollster Analysis, Media News

NPR and Jon Stewart's Daily Show came out on top as the most informative, making the schadenfreude all the more delicious for Fox-haters, and the twisting of the liberal knife-in-the-back all the more painful for Fox fans. But how did it come to that?

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No One Is Watching? What a Stunner.

Dr. Lawrence M. Schall | Posted 05.07.2012

Read More: Cable News Ratings, Mainstream Media, Politics, Fox News, Media Criticism, Msnbc, Cnn, Media News

April 2012 was CNN's worst month in a decade and the other networks all suffered a miserable month as well. I think the answer is right before our very eyes. All these cable news stations now officially suck.

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CNN Is Terrible. Here's Why.

HuffingtonPost.com | Jason Linkins | Posted 05.04.2012

Read More: Cnn Problems, Eat the Press, CNN Holograms, CNN Ratings Trouble, Cnn, Media Criticism, Cnn Shows, How Did This Happen, CNN Ratings, Cnn Controversy, Video, Media News

CNN is terrible. A God-awful, wall-to-wall, epic mess. And now, they have, in their hands, the clearest sign yet of how bad things have actually gotten.

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David Maraniss Is Above Politico's Cheap Antics, Reports Politico

HuffingtonPost.com | Jason Linkins | Posted 05.03.2012

Read More: Eat the Press, Obama New York Girlfriend, Barack Obama the Story, Irony, Obama Girlfriends, Obama Girlfriend, Media Criticism, David Maraniss, Composite Girlfriend, Barack Obama, Media News

Politico reports today that there is a "dangerous new Obama book" coming out that turns out to be the same book -- David Maraniss' forthcoming "Barack...

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Late Returns: Americans Elect Candidates Still Not Doing Well

HuffingtonPost.com | Jason Linkins | Posted 05.02.2012

Last week, we reported on the newly minted "Draft David Walker" movement, a campaign to get the former head of the Government Accountability Office i...

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Girls of Color, Backpage, and the Online Girl Trade

Malika Saada Saar | Posted 05.02.2012

Read More: Media Criticism, Media, Child Sex Trafficking, Children, Sex, Human Trafficking, Power & Politics, Sex Trade, Poverty, Black Voices News

I grew up loving the Village Voice. During the 80's and 90's, it was also one of those rare mainstream publications in which the Black and Brown mind, body, and spirit were routinely celebrated. That is why I am heart-broken to witness how it now survives off the exploitation and enslavement of girls.

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Mann, Ornstein Urge Media To Get Smarter On Partisan Polarity, Chris Cillizza Says 'No Thanks!'

HuffingtonPost.com | Jason Linkins | Posted 05.01.2012

Read More: Eat the Press, Thomas Mann Brookings, Video, Ornstein Mann, The Republicans Are the Problem, Media Criticism, Norman Ornstein American Enterprise Institute, Mann Ornstein, Partisanship, Partisan-Polarization, Norman-Ornstein, Thomas Mann, Norman Ornstein Aei, Politics News

As you may already know, over the weekend, Thomas E. Mann of the Brookings Institution and Norman J. Ornstein of the American Enterprise Institute co-...

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