Free Republic

Background How do people die? How do people think we die? And is there a difference? Well, it turns out there's a fascinating study conducted by Paul Slovic and Barbara Combs where they looked at how often different types of deaths were mentioned in the news. They then compared the frequency of news coverage with the actual frequency of people who died for each cause. The results are what one might cynically expect: "Although all diseases claim almost 1,000 times as many lives as do homicides, there were about three times as many articles about homicides than about all diseases....

I have to admit Usain Bolt is an amazing athlete. He looked like a man running against boys in 200 meter final yesterday. Still, his constant showboating turns me off. His total lack of respect for his competitors and post-race antics make me want to gag. I suppose I could stomach those a bit better if he was an American, but I can't say it would greatly change my opinion either. What really chaps my a** is the way NBC and the commentators fall all over this guy. We get these extended segments on him crammed down our throats instead...

The biggest Benghazi-related story that took place outside of the House Oversight Committee's hearing room today is this item in Politico, regarding CBS News correspondent Sharyl Attkisson. She's the reporter who famously drew White House officials' profane ire over her unapologetic pursuit of the Fast & Furious scandal story; now she's apparently facing searing criticism from another source: Her own bosses. Why? Because she's been covering the Benghazi story too aggressively. Ladies and gentlemen, I present to you media bias: "Attkisson, who holds a third-degree black belt in taekwondo, takes a fighting stance when she feels she’s being stonewalled. Which...

Though a longtime freeper, this is my first ever vanity here. I felt it's important to post this vanity about CNN's coverage of the post so-called "elections" in Iran which in my opinion has been one of the best and most thorough in this country. I have already sent them an email thanking them for their excellent coverage because contrary to the left which never acknowledges anything positive on the right, we should, and do, give credit where credit's due. THEREFORE, THANK YOU CNN FOR FINALLY -- AND SO FULLY AND TRUTHFULLY -- COVERING THE MASS PEOPLE'S MOVEMENT FOR DEMOCRACY...

SNIPPET: "Balance is a noble pursuit in journalism. But true balance requires more than presenting "both sides" of an issue. Stories about terrorism and extremism are complex and sensitive. But when there is a record to document many of the allegations – it requires more effort than simply asking two sides to comment."

SNIPPET: "The CMI spokesman says journalists should not let their support for President Obama get in the way of doing what is right. "The mainstream media are on Obama's side in a big way," he observes, "so why are they going to go write about something that they clearly don't agree with and knocks their guy -- even though I think it's pretty obvious that the TEA party protests are non-partisan."

Tea party at the Capitol Atlanta Journal Constitution - ‎Feb 27, 2009‎ By Mary Lou Pickel The pouring rain did not stop Allen LaBerteaux, 41, of Lilburn, from joining hundreds of protesters Friday who rallied at the Capitol ... Santelli tea party comes to Dallas Dallas Morning News - ‎Feb 27, 2009‎ In CNBC on-air editor Rick Santelli's live rant against homeowner bailouts, he called for a series of "Chicago Tea Parties" to protest federal largesse, ... Noon GOP protest in Sac. But where are the solutions? San Francisco Chronicle - ‎Feb 27, 2009‎ Republicans are so ticked by all this federal spending (the stimulus...

THE REAL NEWS of April played second fiddle to the presidential campaign, the pope's visit to America, and the Texas polygamy case. more stories like thisThe death toll for the US military in Iraq hit 49 in April, making it the deadliest month since September, according to the Associated Press. Around Iraq, at least 1,080 Iraqi civilians and security personnel were killed last month, an average of 36 a day, according to the AP tally. While that's down from March's total of 1,269, or an average of 41 per day, those casualties certainly don't add up to a stable Iraq....

man authorities questioned and quickly cleared in connection with the bombing of a military recruiting station in New York's Times Square criticized the media's depiction of letters he sent to members of Congress. David Karnes, a lawyer who lives in Hollywood, recounted what happened to him in a piece that ran in Saturday's op-ed section of the Los Angeles Times. He said he was relieved to be cleared of any connection to the March 6 bombing, but was disturbed at media accounts that labeled his letters an "anarchist manifesto" and "anti-Iraq war screed." "Speaking out on political matters entails risks,...

Covering Education in 2008 by: Bethany Stotts, March 07, 2008Although a compelling issue in the 2000 elections, educational issues have been eclipsed by security concerns in the War on Terror and growing fears about America's global competitiveness..... He added, "Additionally, people are weary of education talk and you add that to the fact they're interested in these other issues, and I think it's not hard to understand why education might sort of take the sidelines."... One of the more surprising-and inscrutable-educational developments on the campaign trail has been Obama's Milwaukee statement in favor of school vouchers. Elizabeth Green, reporter for...

It sounded simple enough on the campaign trail: Free the government to negotiate lower drug prices and use the savings to plug a big gap in Medicare's new prescription-drug benefit. But as Democrats prepare to take control of Congress, they are struggling to keep that promise without wrecking a program that has proven cheaper and more popular than anyone imagined. House Democrats have vowed to act quickly after taking power in January to lift a ban on Medicare negotiations with drugmakers, which they hope will save as much as $190 billion over a decade. But House leaders have yet to...

The drumbeat of media speculation was so loud last week that at times it sounded as though Karl Rove was on the verge of being thrown in the slammer. "Is the man some call Bush's brain about to be indicted?" CNN anchor Heidi Collins asked Thursday night. MSNBC's Chris Matthews asked whether Rove and Lewis "Scooter" Libby might receive a presidential pardon "if they get indicted." Now that an indictment has reached the highest level of the White House for the first time since Watergate, journalists face a minefield of potentially explosive questions: Are they enjoying a bit too much...

Louisiana National Guard Col. Thomas Beron tells The (New Orleans) Times-Picayune of his encounter with a doctor from FEMA. The doctor and three others arrived at the Superdome with a refrigerated 18-wheeler prepared to process 200 bodies that were reportedly stored in a freezer, there, following accounts of murder, mayhem and rape. The real total was six, Col.Beron explains. Four died from natural causes, one from an overdose, and one was an apparent suicide. (Four other bodies were found, nearby, outside the Dome.) The Times-Picayune went on to expose a long list of wild exaggerations and false claims of carnage...

The title is the understatement of the year. While I was working in the Astrodome, Kit was keeping me up-to-date on what was going on in the media. Some of it raised my ire to fever pitch (as displayed in my curse-laden rant about the race-baiting), but most of it left me scratching my head. The rumors of the atrocities being commited in the Superdome were too far-fetched, unsubstantiated, and gruesome to be believed. I personally hated the thought of all blacks being painted with such a sordid brush. That's not because I was in some kind of naive denial,...

This accurate account of the “D-Day Disaster” should help you understand the media stories of Fallujah as they are being invented. “The allies finally began the second front promised to the Soviets in 1942, as forces landed on the Normandy beaches. The British failed to capture the critical objective of Caen and the U.S. 1st Infantry was been decimated on Omaha beach. The allies suffered many unnecessary casualties because bombers struck innocent civilians behind the beaches instead of Nazi fortifications. Because of an intelligence failure, U.S. Rangers were needlessly slaughtered at Pointe-du-Hoc, when they discovered the artillery they were sent...

As seen live on NBC’s Today Show shortly after 9:00 a.m. EDT this morning, Jim and Sarah Brady have openly started to exploit media coverage of the national Reagan state funeral service to promote renewal of the 1994 Federal “Assault Weapons” Ban (AWB). Anti-gun NBC co-host Katy Couric did her usual feel-good pandering to television viewers with her totally biased interview of the Bradys, allowing them to exploit the outpouring of sympathy regarding former President Reagan’s death as a promotional tool to convince Congress and President Bush to renew the AWB. Sarah Brady kept reiterating past reports that Reagan strongly...

CBS juat aired a commercial for a 60 Min. special for Sunday night. They will be interviewing James Brolin on who Reagan really was and what it was like to play him? Fact or Fiction....? You decide:

WASHINGTON, Sept. 26 (UPI) -- As Bush administration officials and Pentagon chiefs peddle their $87 billion supplemental bill for Iraq next year - even as President Bush's popularity on the issue wanes -- they have a new enemy in their sites. Not Saddam or Osama, but the media. As they see it, the problem in Iraq is not so much the almost daily casualties or the pace of rebuilding but the fact that the news media keeps harping on it, at the expense of reporting "good news." "I understand that breaking news is largely driven by bad news. That's a...

Watch Fox News Channel. O' Reilly is featuring Terri Schiavo's story. Repeat after Greta's show tonight.

The Kremlin has introduced a draconian election law which threatens the media with closure if they give details of candidates' personal lives or analyse their policies. The new law aims to stem the "black PR" and slurs which marred past elections. But it has infuriated opposition MPs and journalists. Some said it represented a return to the Soviet era control of political debate. The decree, signed by President Vladimir Putin, places a blanket ban during campaigning on forecasting results and requires candidates to be given equal coverage - a practical impossibility because there are 44 parties. A media outlet can...