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Eric Alterman | The Nation

Eric Alterman

Author Bios

Eric Alterman

Eric Alterman

Columnist

Eric Alterman is a Distinguished Professor of English, Brooklyn College, City University of New York, and Professor of Journalism at the CUNY Graduate School of Journalism. He is also "The Liberal Media" columnist for The Nation and a fellow of The Nation Institute, a senior fellow at the Center for American Progress in Washington, DC, where he writes and edits the "Think Again" column, a senior fellow (since 1985) at the World Policy Institute. Alterman is also a regular columnist for Moment magazine and a regular contributor to The Daily Beast. He is the author of seven books, including the national bestsellers, What Liberal Media? The Truth About Bias and the News (2003, 2004), and The Book on Bush: How George W. (Mis)leads America (2004). The others include: When Presidents Lie: A History of Official Deception and its Consequences, (2004, 2005); His Sound & Fury: The Making of the Punditocracy (1992, 2000), which won the 1992 George Orwell Award; It Ain't No Sin to be Glad You're Alive: The Promise of Bruce Springsteen (1999, 2001), which won the 1999 Stephen Crane Literary Award and Who Speaks for America? Why Democracy Matters in Foreign Policy, (1998). His most recent book is Why We're Liberals: A Handbook for Restoring America's Most Important Ideals (2008, 2009).

Termed "the most honest and incisive media critic writing today" in the National Catholic Reporter, and author of "the smartest and funniest political journal out there," in the San Francisco Chronicle, Alterman is frequent lecturer and contributor to numerous publications in the US, Europe and Latin America. In recent years, he has also been a columnist for: MSNBC.com, Worth, Rolling StoneMother Jones, and the Sunday Express (London), a history consultant to HBO films and a senior fellow at Media Matters for America. A former Adjunct Professor of Journalism at NYU and Columbia, Alterman received his B.A. in History and Government from Cornell, his M.A. in International Relations from Yale, and his Ph.D. in US History from Stanford. He lives with his family in Manhattan.

Articles

News and Features

Why do the media believe that they must behave like idiots in order to be “fair” to the Republicans and their idiotic ideas?

Just three years ago, President Obama was an unapologetic Keynesian. Now, he's jumped on the deficit hysteria bandwagon.

Politicians don't just need the billionaire media mogul's cash—they need his newspapers, magazines and TV networks, too.

Academics flocked to a Paris conference in Tony Judt’s memory—but solutions to the growing anti-government absolutism he warned of were scarce.

Wall Street’s refusal to pony up for Obama’s second term is an example of ingratitude mixed with ineptitude on the grandest scale imaginable.

The liars and lunatics serve as a smoke screen for the conservative war on the poor and the middle class.

The killing of Osama bin Laden was a just and necessary undertaking, but it should not be an occasion for joy.

The newspaper should be taking a stand against education scams—but it’s dependent on one such program for its profitability.

The problem with Fox is not that it's conservative—it’s that it’s full of falsehoods.

Blogs

Eric on the living, the lying, and the Dead, and Reed on media bias. 
Eric and Reed just do not like this Ryan guy.
Reed dissects the the journalistic equivalent of mortal sins.
Eric on "Romy and Michelle’s High School Reunion" and Reed on Gore Vidal. 
 Eric on some classic Jazz, Reed on a glimpse into the 1%. 
Eric on Canada and Jimi Hendrix and Reed on Citizens United and the Press.
 Eric on David Johansen, Nora Ephron and Woodie Guthrie. Reed on Louie CK.
 Eric on the royal Internet "we" and Reed on this summer of political sequels.