Special Coverage: Media and Technology

Allison H. Fine, Personal Democracy Forum. July 3, 2008.
Historians will undoubtedly consider our current era of voting machines the technological equivalent of the 8-track tape machine.

My Last Column

Annalee Newitz, AlterNet. July 2, 2008.
After 9 long years, it's time to move on. One final thought: don't ever stop ruthlessly criticizing everything that exists.

The Strange Journey of Larry Johnson

David Weigel, The American Prospect. July 1, 2008.
The former CIA officer has morphed from defender of Valerie Plame to crazed purveyor of a debunked Michelle Obama rumor. What happened?

Fighting Against Radio's Hate-Spreading Shock Jocks

AlterNet Books. July 1, 2008.
Right-wing radio shock jocks are filling the airwaves with racist and sexist hate speech. Our new book takes the issue head on. With video.

There's Something Missing from Mommy Lit

Deesha Philyaw, Bitch Magazine. June 28, 2008.
Bookstores are brimming with motherhood memoirs. But why are so few of them penned by women of color?

George Carlin: A Funny Man in an Unfunny World

Amy Goodman, King Features Syndicate. June 26, 2008.
Carlin gave voice to dissident perspectives that have been almost entirely blocked from mainstream media.

Real Journalists Don't Make $5 Million a Year

Chris Hedges, Truthdig. June 26, 2008.
Unlike the media's Brokaws and Blitzers, real journalists don't have cozy relationships with the powerful. Real journalists are feared.

Is Personal Blogging Fast-Fading?

Rob Peters, The Tyee. June 26, 2008.
The golden age of the digital diarist may be over. Have we realized blogging isn't as fun as it sounds? Or that we're not so interesting after all?

Media Tell Us About Iraq War-Oil Connection Five Years After the Fact

Tom Engelhardt, Tomdispatch.com. June 25, 2008.
If Iraq's main product had been video games, the media might have been quicker to ask tough questions about the war's effects on our kids' lives.

Can the Media Deal With Michelle Obama?

Megan Garber, Columbia Journalism Review. June 21, 2008.
The media is pushing hard on the boundaries between being a life partner and being a political partner.

Nerdy Girls Have Attained Sexy Status

Vanessa Richmond, The Tyee. June 21, 2008.
A growing breed of young women are claiming the nerd label for themselves, challenging the notion of what a geek should look like.

Three Myths About the Internet That Refuse to Die

Annalee Newitz, AlterNet. June 20, 2008.
The Internet will not magically bring the world together; nor is it likely to destroy us.

What Happens When a School Board of Religious Zealots Will 'Lie for Jesus'?

Onnesha Roychoudhuri, AlterNet. June 20, 2008.
Lauri Lebo, author of Devil in Dover, gives an insider's account of a historic court battle about dogma and Darwin in small-town America.

Tim Russert Blew It on Iraq. So Why Are We Canonizing Him?

Alexander Cockburn, The Nation. June 20, 2008.
The delirium in the press at Tim Russert's passing has been strange.

Is the Tyranny of Right-Wing Radio Coming to an End?

Rory O'Connor, AlterNet. June 20, 2008.
The notion that the days of right-wing dominance of the airwaves may well be numbered is rapidly becoming a reality.

Life and Death in the Media Business

Stanley Bing, Huffington Post. June 18, 2008.
Newspapers aren't any deader right now than any other coughing, wheezing business in this lousy environment.

How the Mainstream Media Hype Health Care

Maggie Mahar, Health Beat. June 17, 2008.
The mainstream media's health coverage would lead you to believe all medical developments are risk-free and cost nothing.

Why Are Corporate Journalists So Afraid of Questioning Authority?

Scott Ritter, Truthdig. June 17, 2008.
Even after a former Bush spokesman says the press caved in on Iraq, the media are in total denial about their role in the invasion.

Rise of the Aristo-Brats

Vanessa Richmond, The Tyee. June 17, 2008.
Fame and fortune is flowing faster and faster to kids of the famous fortunate.

What Liberal Media?

Sean Gonsalves, AlterNet. June 17, 2008.
If the media are so liberal, why did most mainstream news outlets swallow Bush's lies about Iraq?

Back From the Dead: What Dog Cloning Means for Our Human Future

Osagie K. Obasogie, AlterNet. June 16, 2008.
Humans could be on a slippery slope towards Gattaca-like eugenics.

Sorry McCain, 'Angry White Women' Overwhelmingly Support Obama

Frank Rich, The New York Times. June 16, 2008.
Women favor Obama by 19 points, and the GOP is splintered over McCain. But we don't hear that narrative because it doesn't get the ratings.

Finally, the U.S. Mega-Bases in Iraq Are Under Debate

Tom Engelhardt, Tomdispatch.com. June 15, 2008.
In the last five-plus years, untold billions of taxpayer dollars have been spent on the construction and upgrading of permanent bases.

What's So Great About Beauty?

Shannon Rupp, The Tyee. June 14, 2008.
From soap ads to elections, looking good is way overrated.

Grand Theft Digital: How Corporate Broadcasters Will Hijack Digital TV

Bruce Dixon, Black Agenda Report. June 13, 2008.
The switch to digital TV is essentially a $70 billion gift from taxpayers to broadcasters. So, what will we get in return?

Political Coverage That's All About You

Laura Flanders, Huffington Post. June 13, 2008.
"Live from Main Street" brings audiences the local perspective on critical national issues.

The White House Returns to Stoking Fears About Potent Pot

Bruce Mirken, AlterNet. June 13, 2008.
In what is becoming a nearly annual ritual, the ONDCP has released yet another report filled with dire warnings about rising marijuana potency.

The Road to Better Media

Amy Goodman, King Features Syndicate. June 12, 2008.
Activists are creating alternatives to mainstream media and holding corporate media giants accountable. The corporations are pushing back.

Chavez's Call for FARC Disarmament Takes Washington By Surprise

Mark Weisbrot, AlterNet. June 11, 2008.
Political chasm between Washington and Latin America continues to deepen, as Chavez rejects FARC's armed campaign.

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EFF

Electronic Frontier Foundation is a nonprofit activism and information hub for Internet privacy, accessibility and development issues. Leading the fight on Net Neutrality issues.

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Center for Digital Democracy is a nonprofit committed to the preservation and support of an open, diverse and democratic Internet.

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A progressive research and information center dedicated to comprehensively monitoring, analyzing, and correcting conservative misinformation in the U.S. media.

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The Center for Media and Democracy aims to strengthen participatory democracy by investigating and exposing public relations spin and propaganda, and by promoting media literacy and citizen journalism.

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Columbia Journalism Review encourages and stimulates excellence in journalism in the service of a free society. It is both a watchdog and a friend of the press in all its forms.

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News, commentary and innovative responses on the political, cultural and social impacts of media -- from a nonprofit global network of over 700 affiliates.