USA Today

Tax bills fell to the lowest level since 1950 in 2009, according to a new analysis from USA Today. But don't be fooled into thinking that's a good thing. The newspaper downplayed the pain caused by the recession and the fact that the downturn lowered both incomes and consumption. USA Today undermined criticism of taxes saying, "Amid complaints about high taxes and calls for a smaller…

There's a cynical theme growing in the media that Faisal Shahzad, the man accused of attempting to set off a car bomb in New York's Times Square Saturday, was driven to violence by the loss of his job, the loss of his house, and his anger towards former President George W. Bush.In all of this theorizing -- or what some might call psychobabble -- those making the assertion have yet to ponder if…

The 2010 NFL draft showed that it's not enough to be a star football player anymore. Character counts now too. Tim Tebow, and the Denver Bronco's drafting him as first-round pick, was the big story out of the NFL draft. Despite a phenomenal college career in which he won the Heisman Trophy as a sophomore, led the Florida Gators to two national championships, and lived out his Christian…

Update: The well-publicized announcement that Editor & Publisher was going to "cease operations" last December and that was stated as a given in the original version of this post was apparently premature, as it's still there on the web. E&P is also covering the circulation news (daily; Sunday; HT to a BizzyBlog commenter). Advertising Age (AA) had the unenviable task (given that it's…

HBO is airing a movie, “You Don’t Know Jack,” about the life of Dr. Jack Kevorkian (aka: “Dr. Death”), who enabled the suicides of more than100 terminally-ill people. But the movie is so one-sided that even many mainstream media reviewers couldn’t help but point it out. USA Today, The Los Angeles Times, and the Boston Globe all noted how the movie favored assisted suicides. USA Today’s Robert…

The Navy plans to allow women into the Submarine Force and ban smoking by submariners. How have those changes been greeted by the rank-and-file? File this under: Which way is it? Two headlines from Thursday, April 22:USA Today, page 17A: Washington Post, page A12:

USA Today featured a special article to help celebrate Earth Day by Mark Thoreau, an indirect descendant of author Henry David Thoreau. In “Thoreau Descendant Reflects on Walden Pond, Earth Day,” Thoreau, however, took the opportunity to call for more government involvement on environmental issues and even praised the Sierra Club, the left-wing environmental group.Thoreau, an Englishman,…

Whenever you are bored or in need of a good laugh, help yourself to some mainstream media coverage of the economy under President Obama. Each month we at NewsBusters wonder how the recession will be spun anew, and each month news outlets act with increasing hilarity. First up for April was an earnest little piece by USA Today writer Matt Krantz published Thursday. Krantz insisted on reporting "…

In a Monday article, USA Today's Joan Biskupic (her “Court Beat” blog) identified retiring Supreme Court Justice John Paul Stevens as “liberal,” but in an accompanying sidebar on “second court picks by recent presidents,” she saw Republicans naming “ideological” conservatives to advance their agendas while Democrat Bill Clinton picked “pragmatic liberals.” Yes, Ruth Bader Ginsburg is a “pragmatic…

It's incredible to see how many ways the mainstream media are able to analyze and dissect the Tea Party movement phenomenon on a regular basis. But lately it has been en vogue to challenge this movement on merits of race - a popular ad hominem talking point for opponents of the movement. However, the Associated Press, an organization known for its extensive fact checking of conservatives, took a…

In the Thursday edition of their every other week “Common Ground” discussion for USA Today, Cal Thomas and Bob Beckel took up the liberal charge the Fox News Channel is out of bounds. Neither found any credence or efficacy in the efforts to discredit the channel. “The White House had been essentially stiff-arming Fox reporters in a very Nixonian way until someone at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue wised…

When the vaccine Gardasil was first introduced, the mainstream media wasted no time falsely touting it as a cure for cervical cancer. The dangerous side effects of Gardasil – including death -- were also ignored. Even though the side effects are now known, a March 18 article in USA Today by Liz Szabo worried about girls who are not receiving the vaccine. In “Poorer Girls Not Getting HPV Vaccine…

"Is President Obama losing his base?"So shockingly began an article published by USA Today Thursday.Entitled "Obama's Liberal Base 'Disengaged,'" the piece actually answered its own question, and in a fashion that had to disappoint liberals as it raised conservative eyebrows (h/t Big Government):

USA Today on Thursday devoted a front page story to defending one of the key scientists involved in November's ClimateGate scandal. In a piece entitled "Questions about research slow climate change efforts," author Brian Winter -- oh the irony! -- omitted important information about Penn State University's controversial global warming alarmist Michael Mann while downplaying the seriousness of the…