Tag Archives: Media Criticism

Evan Hearn :
MEDIA | Jussie Smollett, and why mainstream media needs to stand its ground

The media’s reaction has been depressingly predictable. By Evan Hearn | The Rag Blog | February 27, 2019 On January 29, actor Jussie Smollett made headlines after he claimed to be the victim of an assault. According to Smollett’s initial … Continue reading

Posted in RagBlog | Tagged , , , , | Leave a comment

Thorne Dreyer :
RAG RADIO PODCAST | Bob McChesney on our media crisis – and on ‘post-capitalist democracy’

In his important new book, the influential media critic is ‘Blowing the Roof Off the Twenty-First Century.’ Interview by Thorne Dreyer | The Rag Blog | January 24, 2015 Our guest on Rag Radio is Robert W. McChesney, one of … Continue reading

Posted in RagBlog | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

The Rag Blog :
METRO EVENT | Second chance to see landmark film about the American media monopoly

‘Shadows of Liberty’ asks why we have let a handful of powerful corporations write and manipulate the news. Event: Screening of ‘Shadows of Liberty’ What: Documentary film about failures of corporate journalism When: Thursday, March 5, 2015, 6-7:45 p.m. Presented … Continue reading

Posted in Metro, RagBlog | Tagged , , , , , | Leave a comment

Thorne Dreyer :
PODCAST | Texas public interest crusader Craig McDonald, whose complaint triggered the Rick Perry indictment

On Rag Radio, Craig McDonald says the Perry case is about ‘coercion and abuse of power,’ and that only the Texas media has gotten the story right. Interview by Thorne Dreyer | The Rag Blog | September 22, 2014 Texas … Continue reading

Posted in RagBlog | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Murray Polner :
MEDIA | A very very loud silence

How is it that for 11 long days of the Gaza War, the New York Times editorial board chose to remain voiceless? By Murray Polner | The Rag Blog | July 23, 2014 Respect them or not, it is undeniable … Continue reading

Posted in RagBlog | Tagged , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Robert Jensen :
BOOKS | Barking dogs and sinking ships: Journalism’s search for metaphor and meaning

Dean Starkman explains why journalists often aren’t alert watchdogs, but he can’t see why limiting the profession to the role of a barking dog is, quite literally, a dead end. By Robert Jensen | The Rag Blog | April 2, … Continue reading

Posted in RagBlog | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Robert Jensen :
The ideology problem: Thomas Patterson’s failed technocratic dream for journalism

Paterson’s new book is an excellent account of contemporary journalism’s struggles — as long as one defines excellence within the narrow confines bounded by the ideology of the powerful. By Robert Jensen | The Rag Blog | January 22, 2014 … Continue reading

Posted in RagBlog | Tagged , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

RAG RADIO / Thorne Dreyer : Sociologist Todd Gitlin on the State of American Mass Media

Todd Gitlin. Image from Pew Forum. Rag Radio podcast: Sociologist and author Todd Gitlin on  the state of mass media in America We discuss the so-called ‘Golden Age’ of journalism highlighted by the distinguished coverage of the Watergate scandal, as … Continue reading

Posted in RagBlog | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Robert Jensen : The Collapse of Journalism

Graphic treatment by James Retherford / The Rag Blog. The collapse of journalism and the journalism of collapse:From royal, to prophetic, to apocalyptic When we strip away supernatural claims and delusions of grandeur, we can understand the prophetic as the calling … Continue reading

Posted in Rag Bloggers | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

BOOKS / Robert Jensen : Prophets of the Fourth Estate

The corporate media crisis:Everything old is new again By Robert Jensen | The Rag Blog | April 4, 2012 [Prophets of the Fourth Estate: Broadsides by Press Critics of the Progressive Era, edited by Amy Reynolds and Gary Hicks; Foreword … Continue reading

Posted in Rag Bloggers | Tagged , , , , , , | Leave a comment

BOOKS / Lamar W. Hankins : ‘The Fox Effect’ Poisons Public Discourse

The Fox Effect:Disinformation that poisons public discourse By Lamar W. Hankins | The Rag Blog | March 26, 2012 [The Fox Effect, by David Brock, Ari Rabin-Havt, and Media Matters for America (2012: Anchor); Paperback; 336 pp; $15.] Sometimes education … Continue reading

Posted in Rag Bloggers | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

FAIR : Election Coverage Misses the Mark

Image from Blogging Belmont.Surprise!Press urges move to the right:Media misreading midterm elections By Fairness and Accuracy in Reporting / November 5, 2010 With the Democrats suffering substantial losses in Tuesday’s midterms, many journalists and pundits were offering a familiar diagnosis … Continue reading

Posted in RagBlog | Tagged , , , | 1 Comment