Greg Mitchell

DAYBOOK for Wednesday: With Afternoon Updates!

Greg Mitchell on May 5, 2010 - 8:37 AM ET

WELCOME to the second edition of Daybook, our daily early a.m. collection of the greatest media hits and misses as we “limn the morning.” And return for updates as the day goes on, along with an "afternoon update" added at the top. Plus: Don't forget to keep up with fresh items, events and analysis all day on Twitter @MediaFixBlog.

AFTERNOON De-LITES

--Timing is everything: Newsweek chief Jon Meacham on Daily Show tonight--on day Wash Post announces plan to sell. At least Meacham has new PBS gig succeeding (?) Bill Moyers.

Frank Rich on the "Rage of 2010"—And How He "Escapes from the News"

Greg Mitchell on May 4, 2010 - 9:31 PM ET

WITH his recent columns sharply criticizing Fox News, the tea party movement, the rise of racism, the anti-Obama “Take Back America” crusade, and the “annexation” of the Republican Party, Frank Rich of The New York Times has become (if he wasn’t before) the poster boy for what’s wrong with the “liberal media”—at least as viewed from the far-right. It was no surprise that Fox's Bernie Goldberg, in his recent fracas with Jon Stewart, singled out the Daily Show host’s journalistic “french kissing” of Rich.

Rich returned this past Sunday with another sharp and sharply-worded column jumping off from the uproar over the new Arizona racial profiling law, concluding that this latest example of “the rage of 2010” will likely be repeated in other states, and with other issues, since the GOP is cheering it on, or at best not standing in its way.

In the column, Rich mentioned Fox only in passing (smacking Glenn Beck a bit), so I asked him how he judged Fox’s role in the latest “rage.” He replied: "Not all of Fox is automatically the same--Beck in particular is his own brand, and some of his most incendiary stuff can be on his (non-Fox) radio show. I try to be as specific as possible about who's doing what. Shepard Smith, for instance, seemed overtly skeptical about Arizona law.

Tory! Tory! Tory! Most Brit Newspapers Back Cameron as Election Nears

Morgan Ashenfelter on May 4, 2010 - 1:12 PM ET

(Note: This post is by Nation intern Morgan Ashenfelter who also supplies some of the links for the @MediaFixBlog feed at Twitter.) ON THURSDAY the Brits vote in their general elections, and most recent polls suggest the Conservatives—with the decline of Prime Minister Gordon Brown—now hold a slim lead. Another indicator: the endorsements made by Britain’s top national papers this past weekend.

None of the major British papers endorsed the Labour Party because, as some pointed out, it got the country into its current economic mess, and certainly can’t be expected to get them out of it. The Guardian is the only London paper we've seen endorsing Nick Clegg and his Liberal Democrats. The Independent clearly opposes Conservative leader David Cameron, but argues for “tactical” voting district by district (Labour here, Lib Dem there) to keep him out of power. The rest of the papers write that though the idea of Clegg is nice, the Liberal Democrats are fanciful, a party that hasn’t thought through all of its policies.

Plus, on Monday: The Financial Times switched from Labour to back the Tories. It says it still has questions about Cameron and his party but "Britain needs a stable and legitimate government to navigate its fiscal crisis and punch its weight abroad. On balance, the Conservative party best fits the bill." Here is a summary of endorsements made by major Britain papers.

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DAYBOOK: First Edition of Our Daily "Cheat Sheet"!

Greg Mitchell on May 4, 2010 - 12:42 AM ET

WELCOME to the first Daybook, our daily early a.m. greatest media hits and misses as we “limn the morning.” And return for updates as the day goes on, along with an "afternoon update" added at the top below. Plus: Here's our own new interview with Frank Rich. Don't forget to keep up with fresh items, events and analysis all day on Twitter @MediaFixBlog.

AFTERNOON UPDATE

—Blood-letting on the Left, as FireDogLake slams Obama for alleged slow response to oil leak, many others defend him and Steve Benen attacks Politico piece (which I linked to below) on same.

Welcome to MEDIA FIX, Day One!

Greg Mitchell on May 3, 2010 - 10:00 PM ET

OUR media watchdogs require close watching. It's been an article of faith for Nation editors and readers since the founding of the magazine. In recent decades, Nation writers have provided smart, often witty, media coverage. I'm excited for the chance to join this tradition, and take it to new terrain as writer and editor of The Nation's first blog devoted to highlighting the best and worst of current media (print, digital and broadcast) several times a day.

Every day at the blog – and at our Twitter feed @MediaFixBlog, which arrived in March -- we'll probe the latest media outrages, and uncover a few ourselves, while also providing links to important articles and blog posts at other sites (both mainstream and alt-), along with essential or amusing video. Since this is The Nation, we'll pay special attention to media politics and media culture, and update often, even at night and on the weekends. Others in The Nation family, and perhaps even readers, will contribute. We'll try to have some fun with it as we go along. Please take advantage of the Comments feature.

Another bonus, starting tomorrow: an a.m. cheat sheet titled “Daybook” (apologies to Mike Allen), a daliy collection of links to win your morning. UPDATE: Here's the Tuesday edition! Plus: My interview with Frank Rich.