It’s really hard to imagine that anyone could take seriously the nonsense—make that the total falsehoods—spewed by the likes of Rush Limbaugh and Glenn Beck. It would make for good humor, except that people believe these shameless harlots who have dedicated their lives to the service of corporate greed and gratuitous attacks on progressives (or [...]
Entries Tagged as 'Media Ethics'
Limbaugh’s Lies on Environment and Safety
May 12th, 2010 · View Comments · Business Ethics, Media Ethics, Social and Economic Justice, propaganda
Tags: bp·gulf oil spill·Rush Limbaugh·umwa·united mine workers of america
Media is Complicit in Accepting Tiger Woods’ Scripted, Unquestioned Apology
February 19th, 2010 · View Comments · Media Ethics, Transparency vs. Secrecy, media-general, propaganda
My friend Peter Shankman solicited comments from PR practitioners about Tiger Woods’ apology scheduled for later today, and the fact that reporters will not have access to him during the event; they’ll actually be in another building. This drew lots of comments on Tiger but basically none other than Peter about how the media will [...]
Can A Journalist Whose Child is a Soldier be Objective About THAT War?
February 13th, 2010 · Comments Off · Media Ethics, Peace and War, propaganda
Very interesting post from Fairness and Accuracy in Reporting (FAIR), raising the question about whether a journalist with a son in the Israeli army can be neutral and objective in covering the war where his son is a soldier. Rather than tell you what I think in my usual blunt and loud way. I’d like [...]
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FAIR: Interlocking Directorates Could Influence Media Reportage on Healthcare
November 18th, 2009 · Comments Off · Media Ethics, Social and Economic Justice, propaganda
In all, though healthcare reform has been mentioned thousands of times in the output of these media corporations’ major outlets, single-payer was mentioned in only 164 articles
Sidewiki Makes Me Question Google’s “Don’t Be Evil” Mantra
October 7th, 2009 · View Comments · Business Ethics, Ethics-International, Media Ethics, Transparency vs. Secrecy, Uncategorized, Web 2.0/Social Media
mmediate spark of this post (which has been brewing for over a week), is my deep concern about Google’s Sidewiki.Sidewiki, as I understand it, allows users who have the Google Toolbar installed to comment, unmoderated, in an area that appears on the left side of the webpage–but those comments are only visible to others who have the Toolbar installed! Among the many evils this can lead to: spamming, blocking site owners’ sources of revenue (or even replacing them with links that benefit those commenting), loss of control over one’s own website, black hat search technique, slander of site owners or contributors, unethical business practices such as deceptive advertising, and even something as simple as wrecking the aesthetic and content integrity of a carefully designed website
Tags: censorship·don't be evil·google·intellectual property rights·privacy·sidewiki
Van Jones Resigns. Glenn Beck, You’ve Done the Country a Disservice
September 6th, 2009 · View Comments · Media Ethics, Politics, Social and Economic Justice, Uncategorized
Glenn Beck, this is the latest in a long line of despicable things you’ve done. You may feel smug now, but you’re the one whose conscience will bother you–not Van Jones.
Tags: 9/11 conspiracy·glenn beck·green jobs·Politics·republicans·van jones resignation
Criminal Activity Disguised as Public Relations
August 3rd, 2009 · View Comments · Business Ethics, Media Ethics, Politics, Transparency vs. Secrecy
I don’t know how you forge a letter from an imaginary person on someone else’s official letterhead—twice!—and call it an accident.
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What Was the Washington Post Thinking to Even CONSIDER This?
July 5th, 2009 · Comments Off · Media Ethics
Yeah, newspapers have a financial crisis AND great connections–but when you build a brand based on journalistic integrity, this isn’t going to fly very prettily.
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Is Merck on a Silencing Campaign to Neutralize Its Critics?
June 9th, 2009 · View Comments · Business Ethics, Energy & Sustainability, Media Ethics, Social and Economic Justice, Transparency vs. Secrecy
Very disturbing article on Total Health Breakthroughs about a deliberate campaign by Merck to intimidate, defund ,and otherwise make life miserable for doctors who dared to speak out about the nasty and sometimes-lethal side effects of Vioxx. I am not in a position to evaluate the claims this article makes, but if there’s any truth [...]
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One Small Victory Against Ulgtraright Hatemongering
July 22nd, 2010 · View Comments · Diversity, Ethics in Government, Media Ethics, Politics, language, propaganda
Right-wing bloviators spewing bile and calling it “news” have been a fixture on the political scene for quite a few years now. And they’ve had influence far beyond the numbers of “true believers.” While it’s hard to understand why anyone would pay attention to these mouthy masters of misrepresentation (take that, Spiro Agnew!), we see [...]
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Tags: acorn·commentators·shirley sherrod·van jones