Free Republic

LA Times Blog EditorVia Mickey Kaus, we learn that the Los Angeles Times has apparently banned its bloggers from mentioning the Edwards/Rielle Hunter story.

The New York Times' refusal to publish John McCain's rebuttal to Barack Obama's Iraq op-ed may be the most glaring example of liberal media bias this journalist has ever seen. But true proof of widespread media bias requires one to follow an old journalism maxim: Follow the money. Even the Associated Press — no bastion of conservatism — has considered, at least superficially, the media's favoritism for Barack Obama. It's time to revisit media bias. True to form, journalists are defending their bias by saying that one candidate, Obama, is more newsworthy than the other. In other words, there is...

Let us bow our heads for a moment... And then raise them in a cheer! The New York Times and its mutant adoptee, The Boston Globe, are going out of business. Slowly. Horribly. Gushing jobs and blood. Screams of dispair from its terrified, shrinking staff. Think "Cloverfield" at a party at the Kennedy Compound in Hyannis. Think "I am Legend" starring "Putz" Sulzberger in an empty Times' newsroom. Think "Going My Way?" from The Twilight Zone, starring P. Steven Ainsley instead of Inger Stevens.

A U.S. marine watches children play in Ramadi, 70 miles west of Baghdad. (AP File Photo/Todd Pitman)(CNSNews.com) – American heroism has been ignored and overlooked by networks at home and overseas for the duration of the Iraq war, while insurgents and terrorists have used willing media outlets to score public relations wins. That bleak assessment comes from U.S. soldiers who served in Iraq during the pre-surge time frame, when the insurgency was its height. A collection of graphs and charts made available through the public affairs office of the Multi-National Corps in Iraq indicates that the media has pulled back...

The New York Times (NYT: 13.07, +0.21, +1.63%) fell as low as $12.38 this morning after its second quarter earnings missed estimates. Profits plunged 82% to $21 mn versus the $118 mn posted in the same period a year ago, a period that was helped along by the one-time sale of an asset. The share plunge is the lowest since July 1995. Print ads dollars at the Times continue to shrivel, sending operating income in a nosedive, as ad dollars continued their inexorable march toward the Internet. Hotels, automakers, airlines, all hurt by high energy prices, have pulled back sharply....

This Los Angeles conference has been both sobering and encouraging. Sobering because the pace of change in our industry is faster and the nature of that change more extreme than any of us imagined. Hearing from specialists in electronic/digital media organizations other than newspapers has made it crystal clear that whatever we have done to this point is dangerously inadequate. If we don't change more dramatically and faster, there will not be an industry to support the sort of value-driven journalism that is at the heart of our craft. The encouraging news is that the tools we need to make...

Jeff Dufour and Patrick Gavin, in the Tuesday edition of the Washington Examiner’s "Yeas & Nays" feature, reported that Helen Thomas gave a vehement denial of whether the media, and the White House press corps in particular, has a liberal bent. "Yeas & Nays got a sneak peak at Rory Kennedy’s new HBO documentary -- ‘Thank You, Mr. President: Helen Thomas at The White House’ -- which premieres next month, and Thomas is asked whether most White House reporters are liberal. ‘Hell no!’ she responds. ‘I’m dying to find another liberal open their mouths. Where are they!’ This is the...

So, 48% have voted that the New York Times act appropriately in rejecting Sen. John McCain's op-ed piece? Amazing. If the "dems" get the White House, for sure silencing the right's voice is top of the list.

BEVERLY HILLS, Calif. - Abraham didn't exist? The Exodus didn't happen? The Bible's Buried Secrets, a new PBS documentary, is likely to cause a furor. "It challenges the Bible's stories if you want to read them literally, and that will disturb many people," says archaeologist William Dever, who specializes in Israel's history. "But it explains how and why these stories ever came to be told in the first place, and how and why they were written down." The Nova program will premiere Nov. 18. PBS presented a clip and a panel discussion at the summer tour of the Television Critics...

"Before I converted to Christianity, I was a Jehovah's Witness. In 1993, my mother was dying from diabetic complications. My sister was heavy into drugs, and we would have to go and get her from crack houses. I was in a very physically abusive relationship. I was sleeping with a lot of guys and had more abortions than I would like to count. I had very low self-esteem and just wanted to die. I felt if someone killed me, it wouldn't even make a difference. But God showed me that it would make a difference," she told the glossy.

When historians get around to 2008, it’s likely they will say it was the year the Los Angeles Times died. No, I don’t think the paper will fold between now and December. But I do fear the paper will be so diminished, so crippled, that the chance of saving it will have slipped away. I’m aware that there are residents in L.A. who are cheering this prospect. The Times engenders more hostility than any daily paper I know of; in the view of its critics, the Times is an arrogant, liberal behemoth that deserves whatever fate befalls it. But for...

It’s high time MSNBC chief Phil Griffin, hot off his "promotion" to president of the network, shot back at Fox News. Previously, we’ve only been treated to feuds between FNC's Bill O'Reilly and MSNBC's Keith Olbermann (and then, Page Six v. Olbermann). Now we're laying the groundwork for Griffin v. Roger Ailes! This is exciting kids. It’s just too bad Griffin’s primary argument spells the word "contradictory" when you put on special decoder glasses. Says the Griff: I totally respect Fox News and what they did. But it's totally cynical. For them to say that is outrageous. They saw an...

The New York Times' refusal to publish John McCain's rebuttal to Barack Obama's Iraq Op-Ed may be the most glaring example of liberal media bias this journalist has ever seen, but true proof of widespread media bias requires one to follow an old journalism maxim: Follow the money. With even the Associated Press -- no bastion of conservatism -- considering, at least superficially, the media's favoritism for Barack Obama, it's time to re-visit media bias. Typically, journalists are defending their bias by saying that one candidate, Obama, is more "newsworthy" than the other. In other words, there is no media...

The belief that reporters are trying to help Barack Obama win the fall campaign has grown by five percentage points over the past month. The latest Rasmussen Reports telephone survey found that 49% of voters believe most reporters will try to help Obama with their coverage, up from 44% a month ago. Just 14% believe most reporters will try to help John McCain win, little changed from 13% a month ago. Just one voter in four (24%) believes that most reporters will try to offer unbiased coverage. A plurality of Democrats—37%-- say most reporters try to offer unbiased coverage of...

BAGHDAD, July 20 (Xinhua) -- Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki denied that he has released statements backing a plan of Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama which sets a timeframe for possible U.S. troops withdrawal from Iraq, the government's spokesman said on Sunday. Ali al-Dabbagh said in a statement that Maliki's statements to German magazine Der Spiegel "have been misunderstood and mistranslated and were not conveyed accurately regarding the vision of Senator Barack Obama on the timeframe for U.S. forces withdrawal from Iraq."

The reporter who wrote the hit piece on Fox News explains that he had a tough past and was plagued by crack and alcohol abuse.

LONDON — There was a time, not all that long ago, when he was the invisible man whose name was a battle cry, his appearance known to most people only from an out-of-date photograph, a hidden hero on a prison island off the coast of Africa. But as he celebrated his 90th birthday Friday, Nelson Mandela was anything but invisible, a figure of reverence whose nine decades have been marked and observed at a huge rock concert in London’s Hyde Park, a gala dinner for his children’s charity in the august, chandeliered Long Room at Lord’s cricket ground and a...

Article at link. The "political" cartoon was enough for me

Pinch Sulzberger has taken perhaps the most recognizable media brand in the country and run it into the ground. Can the Gray Lady be saved?

Time magazine Managing Editor Richard Stengel told the hosts of MSNBC’s “Morning Joe” on July 17 that “there’s incredible despair out there and there’s a sense that, that something needs to be done and people have kind of an appetite for big government in a way” in America. Stengel was citing a new poll, but the interview did not discuss the fact that the poll also found 80 percent of respondents said they should be responsible for carrying their own financial burdens.

More than 300 Palm Beach Post employees have applied for buyouts and all have been accepted, according to an internal memo obtained by the Pulp. Though the newspaper announced it would cut 300 jobs, there will be additional layoffs. According to the memo: The number of applications was more than expected. However, we received too many in some areas and not enough in others, So we still expect to begin a small number of involuntary separations, or layoffs, the week of Aug. 18 in some departments as needed. Thanks to all who applied. You have greatly reduced the number of...

Greg Osberg, Newsweek’s president and worldwide publisher, is leaving the Washington Post Company, FOLIO: has learned. Osberg told FOLIO: Tuesday that he plans to stay on at Newsweek until early fall. No successor has been named, though Jon Meacham, the magazine’s editor, would figure to be a prime candidate. A Washington Post Company spokesperson said the decision would be made by Newsweek. A spokesperson for Newsweek did not immediately return a request seeking comment. Osberg joined Newsweek in 1990 as associate advertising director, then vice president/associate publisher. He left Newsweek in 1997 to become president of sales and marketing at...

Gannett shares were down as much as 13% Wednesday after the newspaper publisher and broadcaster reported that second-quarter earnings and revenue fell short of Wall Street's expectations and warned that it will take a charge in the same quarter that reflects a decline in the value of its assets. The news marks the latest sign that newspapers are having difficulty making the transition to the online era. Gannett stock was down $2.10 to $15.25 in morning trading on heavy volume of 5.2 million shares. In the quarter ended June 30, the publisher of USA Today said it expects to take...

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution will cut its workforce by 8 percent, some 184 jobs, and eliminate its "geographically targeted news sections" as part of a cost-cutting plan the paper announced Wednesday. "The moves come amid an advertising revenue slump that has ravaged the newspaper industry and has been made worse by rising costs for fuel and newsprint," the paper reported. The paper reported that "job cuts, which will occur between August and October, will mainly affect the news and advertising departments at the company. They will be accomplished through voluntary buyouts, layoffs and job eliminations." The company currently has about 2,300...

For those unfamiliar, since May of this year the Associated Press has had a new Washington Bureau Chief, a past AP reporter named Ron Fournier. According to Politico, the previous chief was pushed out to make room for Fournier in a "hard-feelings shake-up" with the old chief left worried that Fournier might "destroy" the AP. A pretty stark assessment, of course, but not necessarily all sour grapes from the passing chief because there is a legitimate reason for her to worry about Fournier. You see, Fournier has decided that a more hard-charging, opinion oriented style of writing is the new...

Usually it bugs me when he knocks lefty bloggers for foul comments, just because if you have a site with any kind of traffic you’re bound to have a crank infestation to some degree. This time is different. For one thing, as chronicled by Patterico in excruciating detail this weekend, the LAT moderates all comments; everything that appears is apparently read and approved by an editor — or disapproved, in the case of Patterico himself chiming in to call the cretins over there dicks. Beyond that, it’s no secret per the sheer volume of death-wish crap after a prominent conservative...

O'Reilly is doing what he does best. Calling out evil for what it is.

Los Angeles Times Publisher David Hiller resigned Monday, just hours after the editor of the flagship Chicago Tribune, Ann Marie Lipinski, announced she was quitting. Hiller’s resignation brought an end to a tumultuous 21-month tenure at the paper in which two Los Angeles Times editors quit amid huge staff reductions, and his attempt to move the newspaper’s monthly magazine from the newsroom to the business side revived memories of the 1999 Staples Center “revenue-sharing” controversy. No successor was named. The resignation was reported on the Times Web site, which did not quote Hiller. He was not immediately available for comment....

Los Angeles Times Publisher David Hiller resigned today after a 21-month tenure that included the departure of two Times editors and plans for the sharpest staff and production cuts in the newspaper's history amid a continuing slide in advertising revenue. Tribune Co. -- which owns The Times and other media assets, including the Chicago Tribune and KTLA-TV Channel 5, and the Chicago Cubs baseball team -- named no successor to Hiller. Hiller was the third Times publisher named since the newspaper was acquired in 2000 by Chicago-based Tribune. He succeeded Jeffrey M. Johnson, who lost his job after publicly resisting...

The New Yorker, in an attempt to point out the ridiculously over-the-top nature of some of the criticisms against Barack Obama, has the following picture on the cover of their magazine that seems to have garnered a reaction quite opposite to the stated intention. Some Dems are furious, some Repubs are snickering: Michelle Malkin has a good reminder for those who are incensed at that Obama cartoon. In other campaign news... there were rumors that the Obama campaign was going to become a NASCAR sponsor -- which is a perfect fit for Obama, as you go constantly and sharply to...

A BBC drama has triggered a barrage of complaints after it showed gruesome images of a Muslim being beheaded. Bonekickers, about a group of archeological sleuths, depicted an extremist Christian decapitating a man with a sword. The bloody scene has prompted 100 complaints since it was broadcast on BBC1 on Tuesday evening. The BBC drama Bonekickers has upset many viewers after showing a Muslim beheaded by an extremist ChristianYesterday the corporation admitted 'regret' that viewers had found the scene 'inappropriate', but defended its decision to show it.Some viewers were taken aback when former EastEnders actor Paul Nicholls was seen in...

Ron Fournier says he regards Sandy Johnson, his predecessor as head of The Associated Press’s Washington bureau, as “a mentor.” Johnson, though, regards Fournier, who replaced her in a hard-feelings shake-up in May, as a threat to one of the most influential institutions in American journalism. “I loved the Washington bureau,” said Johnson, who left the AP after losing the prestigious position. “I just hope he doesn’t destroy it.” There’s more to her vinegary remark than just the aftertaste of a sour parting. Fournier is a main engine in a high-stakes experiment at the 162-year old wire to move from...

PAPER: 150 banks nationwide could potentially fail over next year... Developing...

A BBC drama has triggered a barrage of complaints after it showed gruesome images of a Muslim being beheaded. Bonekickers, about a group of archeological sleuths, depicted an extremist Christian decapitating a man with a sword. The bloody scene has prompted 100 complaints since it was broadcast on BBC1 on Tuesday evening.

At long last, has the Associated Press lost all sense of decency? The AP's story (saved here for future reference in case the wire service is embarrassed into revising it; you might consider saving it too as Exhibit A on how far over the cliff the dinosaur media has driven itself) by Douglass K. Daniel, with Jennifer Loven contributing (I might have known), gets in at least three cheap, fundamentally untrue, and totally uncalled-for shots at Tony Snow, who died earlier this morning.

The newspaper industry is in a bad spot. Actually, run a correction on that statement — newspapers are in a "time to panic" spot. The business model is collapsing, ad dollars are disappearing, newsprint prices are at a 12-year high and the Internet is just giving news away for free. On July 2, the Los Angeles Times announced it was cutting more than one-sixth of its newsroom staff; the Tampa Tribune said it would cut 20%. Some weeks ago, Randy Michaels, COO of the Tribune newspaper group — the second largest in the nation — mused in a conference call...

Classless AP Takes Cheap Shots at Just-Passed Snow Photo of Tom Blumer. By Tom Blumer (Bio | Archive) July 12, 2008 - 09:03 ET At long last, has the Associated Press lost all sense of decency? The wire service's story (saved here for future reference in case the wire service is embarrassed into revising it; you might consider saving it too as Exhibit A on how far over the cliff the dinosaur media has driven itself) by Douglass K. Daniel, with Jennifer Loven contributing to the story (I might have known), gets in at least three cheap, fundamentally untrue, and...

Barack Obama graces the cover of Rolling Stone magazine for the second time in the campaign. After the first cover he got, I didn’t think it was possible to give him a more worshipful picture, but they have done so. In the first cover, they create the look of a mythical figure, no doubt the hero of their dreams. In the later cover, it’s as if Obama is too divine to even have words placed around him. Like it would be profane to sully a page containing his visage with normal language. Orthodox Jews won’t write the name “God,” believing...

See Bonus Coverage at foot: Barnicle accuses Jesse Jackson of "corporate blackmail." Two venerable members of the Senate, two entirely different treatments from Andrea Mitchell. Reverence for Ted Kennedy; derision for Strom Thurmond. Guest hosting in Mika Brzezinski's spot on Morning Joe today, Mitchell, emotion in her voice, hailed Ted Kennedy as "valiant" and a "hero." As for Strom Thurmond, Mitchell scoffed that he wasn't alive even when he was in the Senate. View video here.

Signaling a generational change at one of the nation’s most influential newspapers, the new publisher of The Washington Post on Monday selected an outsider as the paper’s top editor. Marcus W. Brauchli, a former top editor of The Wall Street Journal, will become the executive editor of The Post on Sept. 8, at a time of great upheaval in the industry. At age 47, he is young enough to remain in place in for many years, working alongside the publisher, Katharine Weymouth, who is 42 and has been in her job for five months. He will succeed Leonard Downie...

There are critically important issues that aren't getting the attention they deserve. They are closely related but can be stated and analyzed separately: * One is the bias of the mainstream media, which floods us with dishonest and fraudulent journalism that gives us a false picture of the world. This leads to the wrong decisions on public policy questions. * Another is the willingness of the mainstream media to reveal national security secrets. The mainstream media led by the New York Times has developed a penchant for putting national security secrets on the front-page for no good reason. *Still another...

The unnecessary refrigeration of America has become a chronic disease. It seems to have gotten worse over the past few years, with thermostats routinely set at 68deg.F, and sometimes even 65 deg., in the (far too many) hotel rooms I've suffered on the campaign trail. "Americans seem to keep their houses cooler in summer than they do in the winter," muses Edward Parson, an environmental expert at the University of Michigan Law School. But it's hard to know for sure, since there are no comprehensive studies that measure air-conditioning trend lines...

Is Barack Obama cracking under the pressure of the presidential campaign only one month after securing the Democratic nomination? Maureen Dowd in her New York Times syndicated column entitled "The Wrong Stuff" published today reports on Obama's whining to the press last Friday night when he deplaned at Washington Dulles International Airport after spending two days on the campaign trail with defeated rival Hillary Clinton. Dowd writes that Obama attempted to engage his traveling press pool in light banter about their having fun on a Friday night. A reporter asked Obama if he was going to have fun. Dowd quotes...

Adam Buckman at the NYPost blew the whistle last week on a moral equivalence-marinated PBS documentary that airs tonight. Melanie Morgan and I chatted about the smearing of the Greatest Generation with Rush Limbaugh during the “From the Frontlines” web-a-thon on Friday. I’ve heard from many upset WWII vets. Read Adam’s column here. Excerpt: Members of the Greatest Generation - especially those with weak hearts - might want to steer clear of an upcoming PBS documentary that suggests the Allied victory in World War II was “tainted” and questions whether it can even be called a victory. Moreover, the documentary,...

ABC News is Anti American They just released (June 30, 2008) a mandatory requirement that all reporters (maybe employees also) can no longer where American Flag pins or any type of US patriotic materials. My belief is this a direct reaction to the Obama Flag Pin debacle. I believe BHO is proud of his county, he just handled this simple hot button issue so poorly, that it may shed some light on how he will handle himself in the White House. Like most alphabet soup dinosor media, they are so far in the bag for OBH, they don't even know...

The Supreme Court ruling on gun laws last Thursday created media frenzy. Editorials, columnists, anchors and pundits predicted it would result in an American Armageddon. According to the major media outlets in the nation, innocent lives will be lost, the Supreme Court justices have joined forces with city criminals and life as we’ve known it is over. Who knew upholding the Constitution would have such disastrous effects?

Gannett Co. Inc. said Friday it is reorganizing its U.S. Community Publishing division, reducing the number of regional groups by one to four and seeing off two retiring top executives. Under the new structure, five regional groups have been reorganized into four: East, South, Interstate and West. Interstate will be headed by Senior Group President Barbara A. Henry until Aug. 1, when she is retiring, Gannett said. Henry, 55, has also been president and publisher of The Indianapolis Star since 2000. She began her career at Gannett as a reporter at the Reno (Nev.) Gazette-Journal in 1974, and later became...

Think Progress has a post titled McCain: I ‘Don’t See How It Matters’ That I Don’t Know The Price Of Gas. Wow, that sounds pretty bad. Let’s take a look: In a telephone interview with the Orange County Register earlier this week, John McCain acknowledged he was unaware of the price of gas. Jeez. That’s really awful. But let’s take a look at the actual exchange that Think Progress is citing: WICKSOL: When was the last time you pumped your own gas and how much did it cost? MCCAIN: Oh, I don’t remember. Now there’s Secret Service protection. But I’ve...

MEMBERS of the Greatest Generation - especially those with weak hearts - might want to steer clear of an upcoming PBS documentary that suggests the Allied victory in World War II was "tainted" and questions whether it can even be called a victory. Moreover, the documentary, titled "The War of the World: A New History of the 20th Century," asserts that the war could only be won by forming an unholy alliance with a dictator - Joseph Stalin, who was as brutal as the one they were fighting, Adolf Hitler - and by adopting the same "pitiless" and "remorseless" tactics...

So, there I was, sitting at a local Mexican food joint enjoying my nachos and sweet tea. Nothing like Tex-Mex to finish off a great day. That's when I turned my attention to a TV on the wall on which CNN's Wolf Blitzer was talking to Jack Cafferty. Cafferty had asked viewers a question and wanted an email response. The question? "What does it mean that Barack Obama has opened up a double digit lead over John McCain?" The responses are not important. What is important, however, is that in the entire program, Jack does not mention the Gallup poll...