Fox News and NewsBusters Attack Margot Adler

The Wild Hunt Blog reports on an attack by sanctimonious FOX News on a friend of the site and previous guest Margot Adler (my interview with Margot is here):

It just seems like yesterday that I was discussing the smear job on NPR reporter (and fellow Pagan) Margot Adler by the “liberal media bias” watchdogs at NewsBusters.

“It seems that Graham’s biggest problem with Adler is that she isn’t a conservative Christian, that an atheist was hanging around when she recorded the report, and that she didn’t talk to some conservative Christians. Oh, and she didn’t find a (Christian or conservative) protester to talk to in a completely unrelated story.”

It seems that the folks at Fox News loved that dish so much they asked for seconds!

“A pagan priestess runs into the president of the atheists in a phone booth in New York. No, it’s not a joke — it’s the start of a controversial report from National Public Radio — and your tax dollars may have paid for it. New York City officials this fall launched an art project called “Public Prayer Booth” … To cover the story, NPR sent reporter Margot Adler, a Wiccan priestess and author of two books on paganism. Lo and behold, she happened upon the president of the New York City Atheists, Ken Bronstein, an outspoken opponent of public religious displays.”

Again, note the emphasis on Adler’s religion, as if being a Pagan was a strike against her. Luckily, it seems the NPR spokesperson has got Adler’s back.

“There’s no bias in this story and to imply that there is because of a reporter’s religious beliefs is absurd,” said Anna Christopher, an NPR spokeswoman. “[Adler] spoke with several different people with several different viewpoints on the booth.”

Christopher also debunked the notion that NPR operates “on the government dime”.

“Less than two percent [of NPR's budget] comes from competitive grants from the Corporation for Public Broadcasting and the National Endowment for the Arts,”

As for Adler running into the president of the New York City Atheists, it seems far more likely in New York where the “unaffiliated” outnumber the “evangelicals” by 5%. But I suppose the notion of coincidence is unthinkable for Fox News, especially when it involves a prominent Pagan running into a prominent atheist. Maybe they would have accepted it if a Catholic reporter ran into an evangelical pastor? Imagine that happening on the “government dime”!

Original post here.

1968 Democratic National Convention Episode II: Rocky Mountain Blues 40 Years After

Ralph Bernardo of Disinformation brought these two videos to my attention when he posted them on Disinfo.

The first is FOX News’ interpretation of why protesters at the 2008 DNC hate them.

The second is uncensored footage of a police brutality incident at said Convention played on the Rocky Mountain News.

Rapper Nas Protests FOX News at NY HQ and Declares Them Racist

Thanks to Ralph Bernardo of Disinfo.

Heres Nas on the Colbert Report explaining the day’s protest.

Laura Leebove and Evan Lucy write on Billboard:

On the day Nas‘ untitled Def Jam album hit No. 1 on The Billboard 200, the rapper joined political groups Color of Change and Move On, along with fans and protesters, outside of the Fox News building in New York to protest the network’s portrayal of African-Americans.

Color of Change and Move On delivered several boxes containing a petition signed by more than 620,000 people to support their cause, although Fox News refused to accept them.

Nas briefly spoke to the crowd of nearly 100 people and urged them to “stop the racist smears on the Obamas and black Americans.” In his speech, he cited examples of remarks made by Fox reporters that he and supporters found to be racist, including a reference to Michelle Obama as Barack Obama’s “baby mama,” and a fist bump between the couple as a “terrorist fist jab.”

Color of Change director Andre Banks said the campaign began about a month ago as an e-mail to the group’s members. After hearing Nas’ Fox-themed song “Sly Fox” a couple of weeks ago, he wanted to contact the rapper in hopes to get his support. “(We said), ‘Let’s call up his people and see if we can make it happen,’” Banks said.

Read more.

Fox News airs altered photos of NY Times reporters

Media Matters for America reported:

Summary: During a segment in which Fox & Friends co-hosts Steve Doocy and Brian Kilmeade labeled New York Times reporter Jacques Steinberg and editor Steven Reddicliffe “attack dogs,” Fox News featured photos of Steinberg and Reddicliffe that appeared to have been digitally altered — the journalists’ teeth had been yellowed, their facial features exaggerated, and portions of Reddicliffe’s hair moved further back on his head.

On the July 2 edition of Fox News’ Fox & Friends, co-hosts Steve Doocy and Brian Kilmeade labeled New York Times reporter Jacques Steinberg and editor Steven Reddicliffe “attack dogs,” claiming that Steinberg’s June 28 article on the “ominous trend” in Fox News’ ratings was a “hit piece.” During the segment, however, Fox News featured photos of Steinberg and Reddicliffe that appeared to have been digitally altered — the journalists’ teeth had been yellowed, their facial features exaggerated, and portions of Reddicliffe’s hair moved further back on his head. Fox News gave no indication that the photos had been altered.

After putting up the photos of Steinberg and Reddicliffe, Fox & Friends also featured a photograph of Steinberg’s face superimposed over that of a poodle, while Reddicliffe’s face was superimposed over that of the man holding the poodle’s leash.

Below is a screenshot of Fox & Friends featuring the photo it used of Steinberg, with the original photo on its left. Comparing the two photos, it appears that the following changes have been made: Steinberg’s teeth have been yellowed, his nose and chin widened, and his ears made to protrude further.

Read more.