KPFA - CounterSpin

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For months on end we’ve heard that the so-called oil-for-food scandal would show deep corruption at the highest levels of the United Nations. So when a lengthy report on the program’s mismanagement came out, how did the facts stack up against the right-wing spin that’s been driving the story? Joshua Holland of Alternet will join us to talk about that– and the potentially explosive charges that are actually in the report that have escaped media attention.

Also this week: The Media Access Project is challenging the broadcast licenses of every English language TV station in Chicago and Milwaukee, because the group’s director Andrew Schwartzman says that station are failing miserably to cover local political and ballot issues, as is required by conditions of their licenses.

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ConsortiumNews.com editor Robert Parry will join us to reflect on the latest Bush scandal, and how the news media seem eager to help the White House get back on its feet. Parry will tell us about an alternative response to the Bush scandals and share his thoughts on the Lewis Libby indictment from the perspective of a veteran reporter who broke some of the most important Iran Contra scandal stories.

Also on the show: With Harriet Miers out of the running, George Bush has put forward a new nominee for the Supreme Court. Judge Samuel Alito is being taken more seriously, but are media asking ALL of the questions about his record and his positions that are relevant for a potential Supreme Court justice? We’ll hear from Columbia law professor Michael C. Dorf.

The post Counterspin – November 4, 2005 appeared first on KPFA.

While the CIA leak investigation has the Beltway establishment on edge, a parallel scandal of sorts is playing out in the Italian media. The story gets to the heart of the Bush administration’s case for the Iraq war. So why aren’t we hearing more about it? We’ll talk to journalist Laura Rozen about the scandal unfolding in Italy, and what it could mean for the White House.

Also on the show: "Village Voice turns 50, merges with chain" –that dry wire service headline unfortunately does tell the story. The owners of New York’s and maybe the country’s preeminent alternative weekly have announced a merger with New Times Media another alternative weekly company that owns 11 papers. So what’s alternative about it? We’ll hear from hip hop journalist and author Jeff Chang.

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The New York Times finally published its report on Judith Miller and her grand jury testimony about the CIA leak story. But for many, the Times report–far shorter and less probing than its Jayson Blair reporting some years back– raises more questions than it answers. We’ll talk to Arianna Huffington, editor of the Huffington Post, about Judith Miller.

Also this week: Do sports and radical politics mix? And when they do, does the mainstream press scrub the messy politics out of their reporting on today’s top athletes? We’ll talk about that with Dave Zirin, author of the book What’s My Name Fool: Sports and Resistance in the United States.

The post Counterspin – October 21, 2005 appeared first on KPFA.

Most of the tales of murder and rape that came out of the Katrina catastrophe in New Orleans never happened. But that didn’t keep news media from conveying endless accounts of mayhem supposedly perpetrated by black thugs and gangs. Our guest says portrayals equating crime with African-Americans reflect a timeworn pattern, even when the stories are false. We’ll talk to author and political analyst Earl Ofari Hutchinson about Race, Lies and New Orleans.

Also on the show: The Judith Miller saga is just one of the stories that raises questions about the relationship between the press corps and the Bush White House. Ward Harkavy tracks such stories for his online column for the Village Voice, called The Bush Beat. We’ll hear his thoughts on the Miller case and on at least one other story, involving Dick Cheney, that seems to be flying under major media radar.

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