Stories by Danny Schechter

Danny Schechter writes the News Dissector blog for MediaChannel.org. His latest book is PLUNDER: Investigating Our Economic Calamity (Cosimo Books). subscribe to Danny Schechter's feed

Is Documentary Film Viable in a Sensationalized Media World?

Posted on: May 24, 2013, Source: Al Jazeera

When the "press" became the "media," news bookers began to see themselves like big-game hunters on an African safari.

As He Turns 93, Nelson Mandela's Quotations Still Inspire South Africa and the World

Posted on: Jul 1, 2011, Source: AlterNet

Most of South Africa takes pride in Mandela, including the older generation that first knew him as an apartheid government-designated terrorist.

The Fox Charade: How the News Organization Pretends to Be Populist While Fueling Partisan Flames

Posted on: May 13, 2011, Source: AlterNet

Fox's formula feeds into a political strategy of promoting partisanship through heightening polarization and political conflict.

The Little-Known Story of How a Financial Crash that Began on Wall Street is Setting the Middle East on Fire

Posted on: Jan 31, 2011, Source: AlterNet

Tens of thousands in the streets are being driven by an economic disaster that has sent unemployment skyrocketing and food prices climbing.

We Can't Let the Banksters Walk Away from Their Crimes

Posted on: Jan 25, 2011, Source: AlterNet

Although the financial crisis that swept the world may have started on Wall Street, it has brought down governments and shredded economic security worldwide.

Is Fascism Lurking in America?

Posted on: Jan 16, 2011, Source: Smirking Chimp

Fascism is a term we are used to reading in histories about WWII, not in news stories from present-day America. Yet the word has crept into popular use.

The Economy Is Getting Worse and Worse -- And No One's Doing a Thing About It

Posted on: Aug 22, 2010, Source: AlterNet

The economy is already down, and it can go lower. And no one seems willing to fix it.

Incompetent Russian Spies Get Speedy Justice, While Wall St. Criminals Face No Consequences

Posted on: Jul 12, 2010, Source: AlterNet

Our government can sort out international espionage affairs in the blink of an eye. So where's the justice for our financial criminals?

Corporate Anarchy: Wall Street and BP Criminals At Large

Posted on: Jun 22, 2010, Source: AlterNet

In this era of corporate anarchy, legal, ethical and financial rules have all been rescinded in the pursuit of profit.

Obama Talks a Lot of Game About Taking on Wall St, While Killing off Reforms in the Shadows

Posted on: May 28, 2010, Source: AlterNet

The American people are clamoring for justice but our voices are still being ignored. The President says he is on our side. Is he?

Wall Street Reform Turns Out Great for Wall Street -- Why Aren't the Big Banks Being Punished?

Posted on: May 24, 2010, Source: AlterNet

The plunder goes on, but Dems will pat themselves on the backs and move on to the next issue, praising half-baked 'reform.'

Baffling Market Plunge -- Is There a Shady Game of Market Manipulation At Work?

Posted on: May 9, 2010, Source: MediaChannel.org

Last week's market plunge continues to baffle economists. Should we blame a trader who made a typo or were there others playing a shadier game of market manipulation?

To Organize Against Wall St., We Need a Narrative Focusing on Crime and Massive Fraud

Posted on: Apr 14, 2010, Source: MediaChannel.org

How we can be experiencing the largest economic meltdown in decades with no real mass mobilization or ongoing response from the progressive world?

Americans Need Debt Relief -- Is Obama Brave Enough to Make It Happen?

Posted on: Jan 24, 2010, Source: AlterNet

Taking care of the victims of predatory rip-offs is only fair. Human rights must come before property rights.

Is the Haiti Rescue Effort Failing?

Posted on: Jan 17, 2010, Source: AlterNet

Everyone wants to believe in the best intentions of all involved, but five days after the quake, with so few being helped, we have to ask: how did this get so badly done?

Drumbeat to Boot Geithner Gets Louder, on Eve of Hearings on Disastrous Economic Crash

Posted on: Jan 11, 2010, Source: AlterNet

The Treasury Secretary's pro-Wall Street policies, along with those of adviser Larry Summers, are failing.

Obama's Economic Reforms Should Re-structure the System -- Not Just Reform It

Posted on: Jun 22, 2009, Source: AlterNet

We're dealing with a political elite that is more Clintonesque than Rooseveltesque. Will meaningful change be possible?

Wall Street's Scams, Lies and Frauds

Posted on: May 26, 2009, Source: AlterNet

There seems to be a lack of curiosity about the costly frauds that flushed our economy down the toilet.

Credit Card Companies Fight Reform

Posted on: May 11, 2009, Source: AlterNet

Will the U.S. Senate pass long-needed reforms of credit card abuses?

The Financial Crisis Pushes Europe to the Brink of Disaster

Posted on: Mar 11, 2009, Source: AlterNet

What is happening there will make things worse for us here.

As New Scammers Emerge, Is It 'Jailout' Time Yet?

Posted on: Feb 24, 2009, Source: AlterNet

Why haven't we seen punishment for those corporations that "recklessly sliced and diced all this debt into worthless gambling chips."

PBS Screws Up Report on Financial Crisis

Posted on: Feb 20, 2009, Source: AlterNet

At a time when we need hard-hitting investigations into our financial catastrophe, we are getting superficial reporting -- even on PBS.

Politicians Rehash Economic Cliches as Crisis Spirals Out of Control

Posted on: Jan 31, 2009, Source: AlterNet

Sooner rather than later, we'll learn that "reformism" does not rise to the challenge of the current crisis.

Will the Obama Generation Merge With the Protest Culture of MLK or Strike Its Own Path?

Posted on: Jan 18, 2009, Source: AlterNet

There is a complicated tension between civil rights leaders from MLK's era and President-elect Obama about how change can be made.

Inaugurate This: Let's Celebrate the Grassroots That Sent Obama to the White House

Posted on: Jan 16, 2009, Source: AlterNet

To discover who will make change once Obama takes office, supporters need to look in the mirror.

A $50 Billion Con Job Rocks Wall Street

Posted on: Dec 23, 2008, Source: AlterNet

Outlaws used to rob banks; now banks rob us. Meet the new poster boy for Wall Street excess and larceny.

All the Talk of a Depression Is ... Depressing

Posted on: Nov 25, 2008, Source: AlterNet

The Democrats have always sung "happy days are here again," but it doesn't seem to be the right song for these hard times.

5 Reasons Why Wall Street's Bailout Won't Work

Posted on: Oct 27, 2008, Source: AlterNet

Markets are volatile and trending down while banks are still not lending despite frequent projections of massive unemployment and stagflation.

Bush Might Be Right That 'This Sucker Could Go Down'

Posted on: Sep 26, 2008, Source: AlterNet

Missing in our media coverage is a sense of what's really behind this mess -- a debt we cannot manage or wish away.

What's the Government's Shadowy "Plunge Protection Team" Doing as Lehman Tanks?

Posted on: Sep 15, 2008, Source: AlterNet

Congress and the press have to investigate this secretive "working group."

Credit Card Debt: This Popping Bubble Is Really Going to Hurt

Posted on: Aug 11, 2008, Source: AlterNet

While everyone's watching the housing meltdown, few are paying attention to the next bubble expected to burst: credit cards

Are We Facing Just Another Market Problem or a System Collapse?

Posted on: Jul 28, 2008, Source: AlterNet

Even as foreclosures double, and the price of gas and food rises sharply, it's been business as usual in newspapers and in Washington.

As Housing Implodes, U.S. Is at an Economic Tipping Point

Posted on: Jul 16, 2008, Source: AlterNet

Instead of having a light at the end of the tunnel, we have another train. Brace yourselves for a wreck.

America's Debt Complex: FBI Finally Cracks Down on Mortgage Crime Wave

Posted on: Jun 23, 2008, Source: AlterNet

With trillions already lost, is the FBI's action too little too late?

Is Who Becomes the Next President All That Matters?

Posted on: May 13, 2008, Source: AlterNet

In many ways, Mao was right: The occupant of the oval office is a paper tiger.

Will the Mortgage Industry Pay for Its Crimes?

Posted on: May 8, 2008, Source: AlterNet

Borrowers are being crushed under the credit crisis. Someone needs to pay.

Fed Up: The Bush-Paulson Financial Reform Plan Is a Bogus Scheme

Posted on: Mar 30, 2008, Source: AlterNet

Suddenly, it's been discovered that the financial system is on the verge of collapse. Solution? Dump the problem in someone else's lap.

Subprime Is Really SubCRIME: America's Deeper Financial Crisis

Posted on: Feb 20, 2008, Source: AlterNet

Policy proposals are not enough to save the economy. Candidates, take note.

Greedy Bank of America Engineers "Fake Rescue" in Sub-Prime Fire Sale

Posted on: Jan 14, 2008, Source: AlterNet

Bank of America bought out Countrywide Home Loan to avoid harming its other ambitious and often avaricious strategies.

Our Economic Crisis Must Become the Top Political Issue in 2008

Posted on: Jan 11, 2008, Source: AlterNet

So far, none of the debates are focusing on solutions for the growing economic squeeze.

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