Stories by Norman Solomon
Norman Solomon's latest book Made Love, Got War: Close Encounters with America's Warfare State (PoliPointPress) is available now. For more information go to www.madelovegotwar.com.
Groups like Rabbis for Human Rights, and Jewish American activists like Rabbi Waskow who vocally oppose Israeli policies, get short shrift in U.S. news outlets. Meanwhile, the reporting on the Israeli-Palestinian cycle of violence is badly skewed by an endless cycle of media bias.
Posted on Apr 26, 2001, Source: AlterNet
Their courage was something to behold. During America's 11-day ordeal with China, a few prominent journalists showed no fear, only valor, as they took up positions in one network TV studio after another.
Posted on Apr 17, 2001, Source: AlterNet
What would happen if a Chinese spy plane collided with an American fighter jet over Long Island? Chances are we wouldn't get the same knee-jerk reflexes from the media.
Posted on Apr 10, 2001, Source: AlterNet
The media industry -- no less than the campaign system -- is awash in oceans of dollars. We're hearing a lot about the need for campaign finance reform -- but how often have we heard the phrase "media finance reform"?
Posted on Apr 3, 2001, Source: AlterNet
Technology has often appeared to offer solutions to global problems. But the gaps between promises for a better world and the real impact of technology is always huge. So it will likely be with the InterNet.
Posted on Mar 27, 2001, Source: AlterNet
Now that the stock market bubble is deflating, will online trading companies and their friends in the financial networks continue to pump out the same cheerful script?
Posted on Mar 20, 2001, Source: AlterNet
A skeleton is rattling in George Will's closet. But it's difficult to hear above the steady applause from his elite boosters inside the media business.
Posted on Mar 13, 2001, Source: AlterNet
Stage presence, cadence, rhythm, choreography -- they can really add up in the professional calculations by journalists. And Bush, known to have a remarkably short attention span, seems to be well-suited to a medium that greatly values style over substance.
Posted on Mar 6, 2001, Source: AlterNet
Former secretary of state Henry Kissinger is a well-documented prodigious liar and killer. But the most influential news outlets continue to treat him like Dr. Statesman Emeritus.
Posted on Feb 27, 2001, Source: AlterNet
The power to depict history is entangled with the power to create it. And so it is in 2001, as American media outlets draw conclusions about the presidencies of Ronald Reagan and Bill Clinton.
Posted on Feb 19, 2001, Source: AlterNet
During the past several weeks, some major U.S. media outlets have taken bold and valuable steps in coverage of the global fight against AIDS. But journalists must keep probing for deeper questions and answers.
Posted on Feb 12, 2001, Source: AlterNet
With their pathetic coverage of the World Social Forum, North American media outlets showed that it's difficult to get a clear look at the global South without condescension and dismissiveness.
Posted on Feb 1, 2001, Source: AlterNet
After interviewing the new White House chief of staff, a CNN anchor bade him farewell by saying, "We look forward to working with you, to covering your administration." A sign of undue coziness with power brokers in Washington, her comment should have caused a media stir, but no one noticed.
Posted on Jan 30, 2001, Source: AlterNet
John Ashcroft is experienced at speaking in code while exploiting racism for political gain. During his Senate confirmation hearings he said, "I believe that racism is wrong ... I deplore racism and I always will." But the St. Louis Post-Dispatch recalled that Ashcroft "has built a career out of opposing school desegregation."
Posted on Jan 23, 2001, Source: AlterNet
Bush bears a passing resemblance to Howdy Doody. Given that you can judge a marionette by the company he keeps, Bush must be a pretty wily puppet.
Posted on Jan 16, 2001, Source: AlterNet
Fifty years after the first mushroom cloud overshadowed the Nevada desert, military contractors are eager to spread the news about the latest technologies nuclear technologies offering "an added angle of safety." Never mind the leukemia and cancer residents downwind of the Nevada tests developed.
Posted on Jan 9, 2001, Source: AlterNet
The Ashcroft nomination could turn out to be the defining issue of the presidential transition.
Posted on Jan 2, 2001, Source: AlterNet
As usual, the competition for P.U.-litzers -- the annual award that pays tribute to this nation's stinkiest media performances -- has been fierce.
Posted on Dec 19, 2000, Source: AlterNet
Iet's imagine what could happen if the great powers of the networks concentrated on cumulatively momentous day-to-day events that usually get scant media attention...
Posted on Dec 12, 2000, Source: AlterNet
As a matter of time-honored routine, from early November to Jan. 20, the President-elect basks in the mythic lights of intense media glory.
Posted on Nov 30, 2000, Source: AlterNet
The warfare between Al Gore and George W. Bush is certainly historic -- but this partisan version of a demolition derby may not be as profound as we think. A convincing case could be made that the 2000 presidential election was stolen a long time ago by both party's dirty campaign contributions.
Posted on Nov 27, 2000, Source: AlterNet
Many reporters and commentators who cover the national political scene reacted to the post-election uncertainties with alarm and dread -- and they strained to prod readers and viewers to follow suit. But most Americans declined to allow themselves to be stampeded by hyperventilating members of the punditocracy.
Posted on Nov 21, 2000, Source: AlterNet
Despite their vast resources and profuse assurances that they knew just what they were doing, the biggest television outlets -- ABC, CBS, NBC, CNN, Fox and PBS -- incorrectly proclaimed that the winner of the presidential race had been determined. The list of those networks is a dishonor roll for American media.
Posted on Nov 9, 2000, Source: AlterNet
The New Democrats may have outsmarted themselves. Where Bill Clinton's moderate centrism of 1992 and 1996 proved a winning formula, Gore's centrism in 2000 may have become too moderate for Democratic taste.
Posted on Nov 2, 2000, Source: AlterNet
Pacifica Foundation's increasing censorship of its radio stations has led it to no good end. Distinctive for its vigorous advocacy of freedom and democracy at home and abroad, Pacifica began foundering when it brandished the implements of censorship.
Posted on Oct 26, 2000, Source: AlterNet
An extra-terrestrial being explains the idiosynacies of America's Presidential elections -- the empty debates, candidate theatrics, pundits, and ensuing polls -- to the uninitiated.
Posted on Oct 24, 2000, Source: AlterNet
The formula for American media coverage of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict is simple. Rarely do American journalists explore the ample reasons to believe that the United States is part of the oft-decried cycle of violence.
Posted on Oct 16, 2000, Source: AlterNet
The costs of new high-tech products -- and related offerings such as online service, broadband connections, cable television and satellite TV -- all add up. Americans are indebted to new media technologies -- but also, increasingly, in debt.
Posted on Oct 9, 2000, Source: AlterNet
Eager to oust Slobodan Milosevic from power, the U.S. government has funneled millions of dollars to media projects in Yugoslavia. What if other nations tried to help level the playing field for candidates here in the U.S.? Ralph Nader could use a ten million dollar cash infusion...
Posted on Sep 28, 2000, Source: AlterNet
The media summer of 2000 is now history. As leaves begin to fall, let's consider a few key dynamics of the political season that has just passed.
Posted on Sep 27, 2000, Source: AlterNet
At the National Association of Broadcasters convention in late September, I look forward to being among those who will speak at nearby independent forums -- and will protest in the streets of San Francisco to confront the dire centralization of media ownership.
Posted on Sep 18, 2000, Source: AlterNet
After many months of controversy over her anti-gay statements to millions of radio listeners, Dr. Laura ascended the airwaves to an even higher and mightier pulpit. Much to the chagrin of gay-rights supporters, her crusade has reached televisionland.
Posted on Sep 11, 2000, Source: AlterNet
The lobbying goals of media corporations extend into areas that might surprise you. According to the Center for Public Integrity, "Federal Communications Commission employees were taken on 1,460 all-expenses-paid trips sponsored by media corporations and associations since 1995, costing a total of $1.5 million."
Posted on Sep 1, 2000, Source: AlterNet
"Democracy, we're sometimes informed, is a messy business. But let's not make it too messy. The two-party system streamlines the process. The limitations of news media reinforces it."
Posted on Aug 28, 2000, Source: AlterNet
On the televised surface, the Democratic National Convention exuded plenty of sweetness and generosity. It was great theater -- of the absurd.
Posted on Aug 18, 2000, Source: AlterNet
It's always dangerous when politicians claim to be doing God's will. So, as the novelty fades from Al Gore's selection of Joseph Lieberman, journalists should ask some probing questions about the ticket's conspicuous piety.
Posted on Aug 15, 2000, Source: AlterNet
You know the networks are desperate when they air live interviews with Lynne Cheney's beautician, and the key issue is: "hair spray vs. gel?"
Posted on Aug 3, 2000, Source: AlterNet
Once again, it's the season of the Republican and Democratic national conventions. Both events have been underwritten by generous corporate patrons; both cities are notorious for police misconduct. Hospitality and brutality -- the contrasts could hardly be more extreme.
Posted on Jul 27, 2000, Source: AlterNet
Big-name journalists are fond of rosy windows on the world. Overall, the powerful politicians they cover have similar vantage points. And when large numbers of them get together, the upbeat -- and facile -- rhetoric is thick.
Posted on Jul 21, 2000, Source: AlterNet
Try your luck in four categories: "Tv Follies," "Basics of News Media," "Quotable Quotes," and "To Have and Have Not."
Posted on Jul 18, 2000, Source: AlterNet
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