Is Obamacare the End of Liberalism? Not So Much ArticleDecember 5, 2013 Is Obamacare the End of Liberalism? Not So Much Pundits—evoking Chicken Little—treated the glitches in the health care website as a historic catastrophe. They look more than a little silly now. Dec 5, 2013 Eric Alterman
Murdoch, Ailes, and Fox: Right from the Start ArticleNovember 21, 2013 Murdoch, Ailes, and Fox: Right from the Start A new book from reporter David Folkenflik details how Fox News’ shady practices have been around since day one. Nov 21, 2013 Eric Alterman
A Bully Pulpit for Billionaires ArticleNovember 14, 2013 A Bully Pulpit for Billionaires With its double-barrel attack on New York City Mayor-elect Bill de Blasio, The Economist shows its contempt for unions, evidence, and, ultimately, New York City voters. Nov 14, 2013 Eric Alterman
The Super-Rich and Their Monster ArticleNovember 7, 2013 The Super-Rich and Their Monster The super-rich earn more than $200 million a year and pay lower taxes than the rest of us. The biggest problem they have is the “monster” they helped create: Tea Party Republicans. Nov 7, 2013 Eric Alterman
The Tea Party’s Forebears Are a Movement of the Rich ArticleOctober 31, 2013 The Tea Party’s Forebears Are a Movement of the Rich History can help us understand our present problems; the Tea Party and its funders are nothing new. Oct 31, 2013 Eric Alterman
10 Years of False Equivalence and Still Going Strong ArticleOctober 24, 2013 10 Years of False Equivalence and Still Going Strong Will the mainstream media ever wise up to the fact that both sides in our political debate don’t play by the same rules? Oct 24, 2013 Eric Alterman
Heads, the Tea Party Wins; Tails, the Tea Party Wins ArticleOctober 17, 2013 Heads, the Tea Party Wins; Tails, the Tea Party Wins The debate over the government shutdown and the debt ceiling demonstrates how Tea Party extremists, despite their unpopularity, enjoy a stranglehold on our politics. Oct 17, 2013 Eric Alterman
‘Who Speaks for the Jews?’ ArticleOctober 10, 2013 ‘Who Speaks for the Jews?’ American Jews are less conservative and more dovish regarding Israel than the media and certain Jewish organizations would have us believe. Oct 10, 2013 Eric Alterman
According to Politico, Ted Cruz Is the Same As Wendy Davis, “More or Less” ArticleOctober 3, 2013 According to Politico, Ted Cruz Is the Same As Wendy Davis, “More or Less” When false equivalence is the aim, facts go out the window. Oct 3, 2013 Eric Alterman
Bill de Blasio, ‘Sandalista’ ArticleSeptember 26, 2013 Bill de Blasio, ‘Sandalista’ In their desperation, Bill de Blasio’s opponents in the New York City mayoral race have turned the clock back to his time in Nicaragua, and the media is playing along. Sep 26, 2013 Eric Alterman
Austerity Kills, and So Will the Sequester ArticleSeptember 19, 2013 Austerity Kills, and So Will the Sequester The mainstream media paints an inaccurate and overly rosy picture of sequestration's devastating effects. Sep 19, 2013 Eric Alterman
Rupert Makes the News—Literally ArticleSeptember 12, 2013 Rupert Makes the News—Literally Rupert Murdoch is already the most powerful media man in the world, and he is eager to use—and abuse—that power everywhere he can. Sep 12, 2013 Eric Alterman
Labor for a Day, Capital for the Rest of the Year ArticleSeptember 5, 2013 Labor for a Day, Capital for the Rest of the Year The lack of media focus on labor helps ignore the relative paucity of benefits for American workers. Sep 5, 2013 Eric Alterman
The Mainstream Media and the Slowly Boiling Frog ArticleAugust 29, 2013 The Mainstream Media and the Slowly Boiling Frog When it comes to global warming, we’re cooked. Aug 29, 2013 Eric Alterman
When ‘Journalism’ Became ‘Liberalism’: Remembering Jack Germond ArticleAugust 22, 2013 When ‘Journalism’ Became ‘Liberalism’: Remembering Jack Germond Jack Germond was a smart, tough-minded, no-nonsense political reporter. That’s why people called him a liberal. Aug 22, 2013 Eric Alterman
Neoconservatism on the Decline ArticleAugust 15, 2013 Neoconservatism on the Decline Neoconservatism’s roots are being pulled up by the likes of Rand Paul and Ted Cruz. Aug 15, 2013 Eric Alterman
How to ‘Ignore’ and Obsess About a Story Simultaneously ArticleAugust 8, 2013 How to ‘Ignore’ and Obsess About a Story Simultaneously The mainstream media do not ignore right-wing pet issues; they indulge them—just not in the way conservatives want. Aug 8, 2013 Eric Alterman
The Nonexistent ‘Center’ Folds ArticleAugust 1, 2013 The Nonexistent ‘Center’ Folds There is no "center" in Washington, and the pundits who pretend to be fighting for the middle are misleading themselves and the rest of us. Aug 1, 2013 Eric Alterman
Indiana Is the Latest Skirmish in the Conservatives’ War on Knowledge ArticleJuly 25, 2013 Indiana Is the Latest Skirmish in the Conservatives’ War on Knowledge Purdue University president and former Gov. Mitch Daniels does not trust faculty or students with ideas he doesn’t like. Jul 25, 2013 Eric Alterman
Mainstream Media Refuses to Recognize the Elephant in the Room ArticleJuly 18, 2013 Mainstream Media Refuses to Recognize the Elephant in the Room Republican recalcitrance frames virtually every political issue in Washington these days, except in the reporting of those same incidents by the mainstream media. Jul 18, 2013 Eric Alterman
Have Progressives Abandoned Economic Liberalism? ArticleJuly 11, 2013 Have Progressives Abandoned Economic Liberalism? America continues to experience exploding inequality that threatens both our democracy and the very fabric of our society, without much attention from the mainstream media. Jul 11, 2013 Eric Alterman
Kurtz Joining Fox News Comes As No Surprise ArticleJune 27, 2013 Kurtz Joining Fox News Comes As No Surprise The fact that media pundit Howard Kurtz, formerly of CNN, has landed at Fox was preordained with the only question being why it took so long. Jun 27, 2013 Eric Alterman
America Is Much Less Conservative than the Mainstream Media Believe ArticleJune 20, 2013 America Is Much Less Conservative than the Mainstream Media Believe Journalists and pundits—and even politicians—routinely overestimate the relative conservatism of the American people. Jun 20, 2013 Eric Alterman
The Mainstream Media Needs to Break Its Addiction to the Drudge Report ArticleJune 13, 2013 The Mainstream Media Needs to Break Its Addiction to the Drudge Report Despite the fact that anyone with Internet access can publish “news” online, we should be more cautious about sources such as the Drudge Report that tend toward the outlandish. Jun 13, 2013 Eric Alterman
The Power of Money, Not Logic ArticleJune 6, 2013 The Power of Money, Not Logic In an age of exploding inequality, it is shocking that we are ignoring a tax system that deliberately makes the inequality crisis in our society far worse than it needs to be. Jun 6, 2013 Eric Alterman
Blame the News for the Public’s Ignorance About the Climate ArticleMay 30, 2013 Blame the News for the Public’s Ignorance About the Climate The general public remains misinformed on the issue of climate change, largely due to deception from the mainstream media. May 30, 2013 Eric Alterman
Remembering the ‘Feminine Mystique’ ArticleMay 23, 2013 Remembering the ‘Feminine Mystique’ Fifty years after Betty Friedan’s groundbreaking book, The Feminine Mystique, was published, American society remains in her debt. May 23, 2013 Eric Alterman
Harvard Professor’s Gay Theory for the World’s Economic Problems Is Nothing If Not Novel ArticleMay 9, 2013 Harvard Professor’s Gay Theory for the World’s Economic Problems Is Nothing If Not Novel A noted Harvard historian’s homophobic rant against iconic economist John Maynard Keynes, in the guise of intellectual exchange, cannot be excused and certainly not condoned. May 9, 2013 Eric Alterman
A Realistic Approach to Syria ArticleMay 2, 2013 A Realistic Approach to Syria Many conservatives have been quick to encourage U.S. intervention in Syria, without offering a responsible plan for our involvement. May 2, 2013 Eric Alterman
‘Class Warfare’ Revisited ArticleApril 18, 2013 ‘Class Warfare’ Revisited A recent Politico article rehashes the issue of class warfare and the tax code, but similar to contemporary conservatism, it ignores reality. Apr 18, 2013 Eric Alterman
Campaign-Finance Reform in an Age of Corporate Influence ArticleApril 11, 2013 Campaign-Finance Reform in an Age of Corporate Influence Publicly financed elections would be a benefit to our democracy, but the likelihood of campaign-finance reform is small since corporations have so much influence on government regulations and our daily lives. Apr 11, 2013 Eric Alterman
Why Didn’t the Iraq War Kill “The Liberal Media”? ArticleApril 4, 2013 Why Didn’t the Iraq War Kill “The Liberal Media”? The mainstream media’s initial coverage of the war should have erased any notion of a liberal media bias. Apr 4, 2013 Eric Alterman
Acknowledging Our Mistakes in Iraq Would Prevent Us from Repeating Them ArticleMarch 28, 2013 Acknowledging Our Mistakes in Iraq Would Prevent Us from Repeating Them We need to realize the errors of our ways from the Iraq invasion instead of brushing the topic under a rug, or else we may just find ourselves in the very same position a few years down the road. Mar 28, 2013 Eric Alterman
Are Journalists Any Less Gullible Today than They Were 10 Years Ago? ArticleMarch 21, 2013 Are Journalists Any Less Gullible Today than They Were 10 Years Ago? Instead of being a government watchdog and fact checking all the assertions politicians feed them, journalists have become prone to the lapdog tendencies of repeating what those in power say without questioning whether it’s true. Mar 21, 2013 Eric Alterman
Real Reporting and Right-Wing Ideology Don’t Mix ArticleMarch 14, 2013 Real Reporting and Right-Wing Ideology Don’t Mix Genuine journalism—the kind that allows the evidence to dictate the story—is inconsistent with the conservative worldview. Mar 14, 2013 Eric Alterman
The Terrible Power of Purposeful Ignorance ArticleMarch 7, 2013 The Terrible Power of Purposeful Ignorance When politicians say they “didn’t know” about certain consequences or actions, the sad truth is that often they knew and just didn’t care. Mar 7, 2013 Eric Alterman