mediacrit.com

Obama and the End of Identity Politics

Christopher Martin — Wed, 12 Nov 2008 18:24:14 +0000

One of the most unfortunate book titles of the last year was Shelby Steele’s A Bound Man: Why We Are Excited About Obama and Why He Can’t Win. The book was published in December 2007, and beginning with the Iowa caucuses the following month, Steele had to explain with increasing difficulty why Obama still wouldn’t [...]

Candidates Respond to Wall Street Failures: Is Government the Problem or the Answer?

Christopher Martin — Tue, 16 Sep 2008 16:13:52 +0000

The recent collapse of several investment banks on Wall Street is one of those stories that is hard to understand and easy to dismiss. But the financial meltdown tells us plenty about how a McCain or Obama administration would handle the country’s economy, and whether we will bring stability back to the financial market, or keep blindly repeating the boom-bust cycle.

Mourning in America

Christopher Martin — Thu, 19 Jun 2008 17:22:30 +0000

Tim Russert, the host of NBC’s Meet the Press for 17 years who died suddenly on June 13, seemed like a thoroughly decent guy to me. In the following days, Washington journalists, politicians, and his viewing public lauded him as a fine political analyst, a straight shooter, and a great family man. In fact, we [...]

Iowa’s News Heroes

Christopher Martin — Thu, 19 Jun 2008 05:10:54 +0000

Iowa journalists deserve a lot of credit and time to catch their breath. They have been covering, almost nonstop, the tragic weather we’ve been having since the monster F5 tornado swept through Parkersburg, New Hartford, and Dunkerton on May 25. Then came the floods. This has been a bad several weeks for sleep if you [...]

Greenwashing Dirty Coal

Christopher Martin — Fri, 25 Apr 2008 18:50:29 +0000

It happened again. The Waterloo-Cedar Falls Courier had a special "green" tabloid section in their Sunday, April 20 newspaper, with big full-page ad by LS Power. After doing the same thing last year, it appears that Courier is operating in an irony-free zone where "green" and "coal-fired power plant" can mean the same thing.

CD Blues: Music Industry in Upheaval

Christopher Martin — Wed, 12 Mar 2008 15:01:33 +0000

The industryâ€™s frustration must have escalated even higher when the Grammy Award-winning British alternative rock group Radiohead decided to give away their 2007 album â€œIn Rainbowsâ€ on the Internet for whatever price fans wished to pay, including nothing at all.

WE SURVIVED THE STRIKE! Of course we did.

Christopher Martin — Wed, 13 Feb 2008 19:24:09 +0000

Back around November 5, when the Writers Guild of America first called a strike against the major entertainment studios, there were almost hysterical reports in the news media -- what are we going to do without new episodes of our favorite TV programs? Like, Omigosh! The January 25 Entertainment Weekly even had a special "Strike Survival Guide" issue with cover of a bearded Conan O'Brien (who, along with David Letterman, used the time off the screen to watch his facial hair grow) that boasted "67 tips to beat the entertainment dry spell."

New York Times Endorsement of Hillary Clinton Violates Its Own Ethical Journalism Standards

Christopher Martin — Sun, 27 Jan 2008 07:04:02 +0000

A clear conflict of interest, or at least the appearance of one, exists. Two of the board's 18 members are former (Bill) Clinton administration officials...The Times lists this biographical information on its web site, which is a good move towards transparency. But, the Times does not note this conflict of interest anywhere in the editorial itself, where such information would be most useful to readers.

It’s Time for Change — In the Caucuses, Too

Christopher Martin — Mon, 14 Jan 2008 06:26:48 +0000

Before Iowans savor the successes of this year's caucuses, perhaps we should be thinking about "change," too, because the drumbeat to take away Iowa's lead position in the nominating process is much louder than in previous years.

The News Media’s Low Standards for the High Office

Christopher Martin — Fri, 09 Nov 2007 22:10:45 +0000

It's at times frustrating to watch the national news media cover the caucus campaigning in Iowa -- as if we're all about ethanol, hogs, and loose-meat sandwiches.