Special Coverage: Media and Technology

Anti-Abortion Group Tries to Swiftboat Obama

Bill Berkowitz, Media Transparency. October 13, 2008.
BornAliveTruth.org plays loose with the facts in an ad targeting Obama.

From the blogs

Conservatives Conflate Official McCain Events With Random Sh*t They Find on Google

by Blue Texan, Firedoglake

No one's buying the Madonna defense, guys. Try again.

Hard Rockers Demand McCain Stop Using Their Music

by Matt Corley, Think Progress

McCain's campaign has continually drawn the ire of musicians by using copyrighted material without permission.

Bill O'Reilly's Winning Strategy For McCain: Make Loud Noises!

by Jason Linkins, Huffington Post

To "transcend politics" Bill O'Reilly thinks McCain should just yell and engage in crazyfaced, nonsensical rantings.

Conservatives Hate That Obama Pronounces Words Correctly

by Staff, Think Progress

Gen. David Petraeus also pronounces Pakistan with a soft "a," are they saying he's exotic, academic, and annoying too?

Palin Watched Debate on 'One of Eight Televisions Tuned to Fox News'

by Amanda Terkel, Think Progress

Palin, like Dick Cheney and George W. Bush, obviously has a favorite network.

McCain's Buddy Brokaw's Unfair Debate Performance

by Melissa McEwan, Shakesville

I gave Brokaw the benefit of the doubt that he wouldn't let his bias show. Well, that was silly of me.

Fox, CNN, CBS Reaction Groups: Obama Won

by Sam Stein, Huffington Post

Who won the debate? It's looking like a clean sweep for Obama.

Hey Media! Palin Rape-Kit Story Has Not Been Debunked

by Melissa McEwan, Shakesville

Boehlert debunks the claim that the Palin rape-kit story has been debunked. It has not.

Jerome 'Swift Boat' Corsi Taken to Task, Arrested in Kenya

by Jane Hamsher, Firedoglake

The Author of Obama Nation gets called out by Jane Hamsher ... also deported from Kenya.

McCain Voted to Protect Domestic Terrorists

by Ryan Powers, Think Progress

McCain has repeatedly voted against protecting Americans from domestic terrorists in the anti-choice movement.

Stop Being a Narcissist -- It's Time to Quit Facebook

Carmen Joy King, Adbusters. October 13, 2008.
In the end, what does all this online, arms-length self-promotion ultimately provide?

Memo to Media: The Palin Rape-Kit Story Has Not Been 'Debunked'

Eric Boehlert, Media Matters for America. October 9, 2008.
The central, undisputed facts of Palin's actions remain hidden in plain sight for all to see. It's time for the press to take a closer look.

What Part of It's An Utter Nightmare to Migrate Legally Don't You Understand?

Diego Graglia, Feet in 2 Worlds. October 8, 2008.
The legal system is dysfunctional, and that's a primary reason we have illegal immigration.

The Ultimate 9/11 'Truth' Showdown: David Ray Griffin vs. Matt Taibbi

Matt Taibbi, David Ray Griffin, AlterNet. October 6, 2008.
The two writers lock horns over the accuracy of Griffin's recent book, 9/11 Contradictions.

The Growth of Talking Points Memo: A Case Study in Independent Media

Joshua Micah Marshall, AlterNet. October 6, 2008.
The editor and founder of TPM tells the story of how he went from running a personal blog to a small independent media empire.

Paul Newman's Politics

John Nichols, TheNation.com. September 28, 2008.
Unrepentant liberal, Newman was dedicated to civil rights, women's rights, gay rights, and was determined to elect opponents of war and militarism.

Ignore the Pundits: A Guide to Figuring Out Who Won the Debate

Judd Legum, Huffington Post. September 26, 2008.
Don't pay attention to the talking heads, here's how to decide who won the debate for yourself.

The Wild Stuff that Makes Its Way Around the Internet

The Masher, AlterNet. September 23, 2008.
You won't see this stuff in the mainstream media.

Dear Journalists, Don't Be Suckers About This Bailout

David Johnston, Poynter Online. September 23, 2008.
A veteran economic reporter warns, "Don't assume that Congress must act instantly."

Lies, Damned Lies, and How Much Should Obama Lie?

Don Hazen, AlterNet. September 23, 2008.
A special message from AlterNet’s executive editor about AlterNet's approach to lies in the campaign.

Canadian Media Giant Attacks Free Speech

Robert Jensen, AlterNet. September 22, 2008.
The corporation is suing a band of media activists for a satire of one of its newspapers.

John McCain and the Lying Game

Joe Klein, Time. September 20, 2008.
John McCain has allowed his campaign to slip the normal bounds of political propriety.

The 10 Most Talked-About Election '08 Viral Videos

Isaac Fitzgerald, AlterNet. September 17, 2008.
In a presidential election where online videos seem more important (and better) than the candidates' ads, here are 10 that you can't miss.

Sarah Palin and the Wrong Way to Battle Sexism

Rebecca Hyman, AlterNet. September 16, 2008.
Palin's VP run reveals more dimensions to sexism in America. And merely weeding out a few bad apples like Chris Matthews won't solve the problem.

The Media Call McCain and Palin on Their Trail of Lies

Newsday. September 15, 2008.
A rundown of 25 responses in the media to McCain and Palin's bald-faced lies from the past two weeks.

McCain and Palin Are Trying to Take Political Lying to the Next Dimension

Robert Parry, Consortium News. September 15, 2008.
McCain and Palin reach a new level of campaign dishonesty as they tell lies about their records and their opponent. But will they pay a price?

The Two Most Important Women in America: Gwen Ifill and Rachel Maddow

Rusty Russell, Huffington Post. September 12, 2008.
A lot rests on the questions these two ask during the final sprint toward the election.

Are 'Real' Journalists Jealous of Jon Stewart?

Norman Solomon, AlterNet. September 12, 2008.
It blows the conformist minds of big-name journalists to see "The Daily Show" regularly slam right-wing rulers.

Is CNN Getting Kicked Out of Russia?

Yasha Levine, eXiled Online. September 12, 2008.
Putin may strip CNN of its Russian broadcasting rights after it refused to air a 30 minute exclusive interview he gave the network.

Don't Think of a Maverick! Could the Obama Campaign Be Improved?

George Lakoff, AlterNet. September 11, 2008.
Obama's task is to reveal McCain as an elite DC insider and to convince conservatives to believe in Obama's leadership abilities.

Sarah Palin's Faux Populism

Jim Hightower, AlterNet. September 11, 2008.
Living in a small town and being able to field dress a moose does not make Palin a populist, no matter how much pundits want to pretend it does.

Naomi Klein Strikes Back at Critics of Her 'Shock Doctrine' Book

Naomi Klein, NaomiKlein.com. September 11, 2008.
Responding to critics from the libertarian Cato institute and The New Republic.

Maddow's Debut Show Launches on MSNBC: She Fights Lies Uttered by Politicians, Repeated by Media

The Masher, AlterNet. September 9, 2008.
Maddow shows that smart, provocative, truth-telling journalism and commentary has a potential massive audience on cable TV.

Watch Rachel Maddow's Debut Show Launch on MSNBC Tonight: She Fights Lies Uttered by Politicians, Repeated by Media

The Masher, AlterNet. September 8, 2008.
Maddow will show that smart, provocative, truth-telling journalism and commentary has a potential massive audience on cable TV.

Five Women Buried Alive -- and the Media Ignore It

Riane Eisler, AlterNet. September 6, 2008.
Why is it that we get so outraged over war but look the other way when women and girls are beaten and murdered in the name of tradition?

Only in America Could a Two-Faced Creature Like McCain Attain Such Media Status

Rory O'Connor, AlterNet. September 5, 2008.
Only in America could a man who has called the mainstream media his "base" run against that very same media.

Amy Goodman: Why We Were Falsely Arrested

Amy Goodman, Truthdig. September 5, 2008.
Government crackdowns on journalists are a true threat to democracy.

How the Media's Tarring of Hillary Hurt Obama Too

Eric Boehlert, Media Matters for America. August 29, 2008.
From the primaries to the convention, the media have become experts at inventing a storyline and skewing facts to support it.

Digital TV: A Giveaway to Corporate Media

Bruce Dixon, Black Agenda Report. August 28, 2008.
The FCC hopes the public won't notice its generous gift to corporate broadcasters: thousands of new channels on publicly owned spectrum.

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Electronic Frontier Foundation is a nonprofit activism and information hub for Internet privacy, accessibility and development issues. Leading the fight on Net Neutrality issues.

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Center for Digital Democracy is a nonprofit committed to the preservation and support of an open, diverse and democratic Internet.

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A progressive research and information center dedicated to comprehensively monitoring, analyzing, and correcting conservative misinformation in the U.S. media.

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The Center for Media and Democracy aims to strengthen participatory democracy by investigating and exposing public relations spin and propaganda, and by promoting media literacy and citizen journalism.

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Columbia Journalism Review encourages and stimulates excellence in journalism in the service of a free society. It is both a watchdog and a friend of the press in all its forms.

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