Media

When the "New York Times Book Review" assigned conservative columnist David Brooks to review George Packer's book — one that argues that elite-driven economic policies have negatively "unwound" the lives of millions —the mass media blueprint was clearly placed on the table. This is how the American elite will convince the 99 percent that government and the poorest Americans are to blame for every one's everyday struggles.

According to the Pew Research Center, 54 percent of non-profit news organizations say that their greatest need comes in business, marketing or fundraising, compared to 39 percent who cited reporting or editing help. Nearly two-thirds of the groups said it was a major challenge to find enough time to focus on the business aspects of their operations.

What if activists closely following Keystone, immigration reform, the battle against federal budget austerity and other campaigns knew that each night MSNBC would have the latest developments? It might be enough to bring the news network back up from the ratings basement.

I'm not someone who believes that there are topics that should be off-limits to comedians. However, Daryl Cagle's cartoon crosses a line in equating the relationship between the American press and President Obama with that of an abused spouse.

While some news outlets are lining up to attend a series of "off the record" media briefings with the Department of Justice, others are balking at the invitation from embattled Attorney General Eric Holder, saying that it would be "inappropriate" to accept the government's conditions of secrecy as they actively report on how the DOJ "secretly" investigates journalistic activities.

On Wednesday, 12 groups sent a strong message to the Koch Brothers consisting of over 500,000 signatures delivered to Tribune Company Newspapers protesting the prospective "Kochtopus" buyout of the news outlets, which are up for sale by CEO Peter Liguori.

A recent expose in the New Yorker by writer Jane Mayer reveals that two major PBS stations attempted to edit and censor an upcoming documentary titled “Citizen Koch” for fear of the billionaire brothers halting their financial support of PBS.

On Tuesday, Wolf Blitzer was speaking to a survivor of a deadly tornado that ripped apart an Oklahoma City suburb, and awkwardly assumed that she owed her survival to God.

We know nutjob radio host Alex Jones is always good for one or two harebrained conspiracy theories involving the government coming up with ways to kill us. But he's outdone himself with his latest rant about a deadly tornado that devastated an Oklahoma City suburb.