The Other McCain

"One should either write ruthlessly what one believes to be the truth, or else shut up." — Arthur Koestler

Did National Magazine Award Winner Scott Horton Spin a Guantanamo Myth?

The award considered the “Pulitzer for magazines” went to Scott Horton of Harper‘s for an article asserting that three detainees at Guantanamo Bay were tortured to death in 2006. U.S. officials say the suspected terrorists committed suicide in a sort of jihadi publicity stunt. Alex Koppelman explores the possibility that the award-winning article promoted a […]

It’s Hard to Beat a Man …

. . . who refuses to quit. Haley Barbour quit. Donald Trump quit. Mike Huckabee quit. Guess who didn’t quit? Four years ago at the studios of WSB Radio in Atlanta, I interviewed talk-radio host Herman Cain, who had only recently recovered from cancer. He smiled as he vowed, “Death’s going to have to catch […]

On Media, Money and Membership

“Since 2003, Soros has spent more than $48 million funding media properties, including the infrastructure of news — journalism schools, investigative journalism and even industry organizations.” — Dan Gainor, Vice President for Business and Culture, Media Research Center Did Mitt Romney Mention That He Can Raise $10.25 Million in Eight Hours? — New York magazine […]

Tina Brown + Newsbeast = Profit?

Tina Brown, empress of the recently merged Newsweek/Daily Beast, tells Joe Pompeo of Yahoo that her operation will be profitable at some point “in the next two to three years.” Mark your calendars, then: Newsbeast will be in the black by May 2014 at the latest. According to Tina Brown, that is. Do you trust […]

Kiss and Tell at the Revolving Door

When Joe Biden’s press secretary, former Time magazine reporter Jay Carney, was promoted to White House press secretary, Washington Post reporter Shailagh Murray was hired as Carney’s replacement. Now, New York magazine reports: Murray was not the first journalist considered to handle Biden’s press. Both CBS News White House correspondent Chip Reid and Slate’s chief political correspondent […]

TheDaily.com: How to Lose $10 Million on a Startup Web Site in Three Months

Step One: Get $10 Million. After that, the rest is easy: Asked to comment on The Daily’s performance, [NewsCorp chief operating officer Chase] Carey says it’s a work in progress, which lost $10 million last quarter. Then, in the background, someone — most likely [chief financial officer] Dave DeVoe — mentions “800,000 downloads.” So: 800,000 people […]

Professor Reynolds and Journalism

One of my pet peeves is when people criticize “journalists” when what they actually mean to criticize are “people on TV.” It is the latter category of TV news that so often inspires contempt for “the media” — an attitude I generally share, except for the fact that I’ve been a professional journalist for 25 […]

Royalists for Social Justice?

After yesterday’s post about the royal wedding, I decided to develop the theme into a column for The American Spectator: Conservatives, predisposed to defend all things traditional and hierarchical, might naturally be expected to admire the British monarchy. But the remarkable fact is that most of the Americans obsessed by the royal wedding (and the […]

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