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By Idith Zertal and Akiva Eldar
$ 19.77
By Andy Borowitz
$16.95
$35
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Internet radio has provided an eclectic and independent alternative to the mainstream hit-oriented, payola-ridden music marketplace, but industry greed now threatens to wipe out the medium. Truthdig checks in with Frannie Wellings of Free Press to find out whether Internet radio stands a chance and what music fans can do to save it.
Posted on May 22, 2007
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“The Simpsons” has never shied away from biting the hand that feeds it, but in its 400th episode—heavily promoted by the network—the show went for a two-fer, mocking both the low-brow Fox and the propagandistic Fox News.
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Two more members of the news media have sacrificed their lives covering the Iraq war. Cameraman Alaa Uldeen Aziz and sound technician Saif Laith Yousuf, both Iraqi journalists working for ABC in Baghdad, were abducted Thursday and found dead at the city morgue Friday, according to an ABC executive.
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news.bbc.co.uk
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BBC reporter Alan Johnston will spend his 45th birthday in captivity. He was kidnapped nine weeks ago in Gaza, where he had worked for three years. The BBC will mark his birthday with candlelight vigils in cities around the world.
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By Joe Conason — While Rupert Murdoch is as conscious of his image as any other legendary villain, he also seems to possess a sense of humor—or at least somebody around him does. Early in his ongoing bid to take over Dow Jones Publishing and The Wall Street Journal, a Murdoch spokesman said that the media mogul would reassure those who may fear for the paper’s independence and integrity with all of the “necessary promises.”
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One would think the sports world would be the last place a transgender person could happily transition from one sex to another, but to Christine Daniels’ surprise, the opposite has been true. Daniels tells Newsweek about the fallout—or lack thereof—from her decision to stop being Mike Penner, a popular sports columnist for the Los Angeles Times, and resume her career with confidence, a new wardrobe and no writer’s block.
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John Gibson of Fox News attempts to “nail” Michael Moore for his recent trip to Cuba, arguing rather desperately that Moore cannot be considered a journalist because his last movie grossed $100 million and journalists are supposed to be underpaid.
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The Palestinian militant group Hamas has created its own version of Mickey Mouse, known as “Farfour,” to indoctrinate the next generation with such life lessons as “laying the foundation for a world led by Islamists.” TV show host Farfour has outraged Israel and rival faction Fatah, but the Walt Disney Co. has yet to comment.
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comedycentral.com
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According to the latest Pew Research survey, the most knowledgeable Americans are regular viewers of “The Daily Show” and “The Colbert Report” and avid newspaper readers. At the other end of the spectrum are viewers of Fox News and morning shows.
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This parody from the Onion challenges the assumption that 24 hours of news coverage, satellite uplinks and bold graphics actually keep us more informed.
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Voting closes at midnight tonight for the Webby People’s Voice awards. Truthdig has been nominated for three, in the categories of News, Politics, and Blog - Political. Click here to support Truthdig.
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The British prime minister made an unprecedented appearance on Youtube (of all places) to respond to questions from the host of “Labour:vision” and viewers at large.
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AP Photo / Hermann J. Knippertz
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By Reese Erlich — The veteran journalist and Mideast traveler profiles Jafar Panahi (above), whose socially conscious films have earned him critical acclaim, box-office success and the unwelcome scrutiny of his government.
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By E.J. Dionne, Jr. — There’s something obnoxious about a hugely popular TV show suddenly developing a social conscience, but it could be worse—they could just go on not giving a damn.
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The superintendent of the Virginia state police has politely criticized NBC for airing the Virginia Tech shooter’s video diatribe. The head of NBC News defended the decision to broadcast the footage, saying: “I’m not sure we’ll ever fully understand why this happened, but I do think this is as close as we’ll come to having a glimpse inside the mind of a killer.”
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If Don Imus’ Rutgers smear marks the boundary for what is considered indecent on radio, conservative pundits beware. Here is a sampling of the racism, sexism, homophobia and hate pumped out by talk radio every day.
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By James Harris — Truthdig’s resident analyst of racial politics argues that the firing of Don Imus will not alleviate the more pressing problems plaguing the black community.
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Zuade Kaufman / Truthdig
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By Gore Vidal — The iconic author, historian and patriot suggests that perhaps there’s a more sinister explanation for the president’s fiascos than mere incompetence: He’s out to destroy the American empire.
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By Andy Borowitz — The satirist says the embattled shock jock has found the perfect venue for his hate-filled rhetoric.
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The iconic writer, who challenged conventional wisdom through 14 novels and numerous essays, died Wednesday from a brain injury. Vonnegut survived a nearly lifelong smoking habit only to succumb to a recent fall in his apartment. He once joked that he would prefer to die in a plane crash on Kilimanjaro and said he would avoid suicide “so as not to set a bad example for my children.”
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By Marie Cocco — News organizations continue to close bureaus around the world at a time when Americans seem to know less than ever about other cultures. It’s hard to know why they hate us when we’re not entirely sure who they are.
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msnbc.com
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MSNBC announced it will no longer air “Imus in the Morning,” as the uproar over the radio host’s racist comment continues and several prominent sponsors withdrew advertising. CBS, which controls the radio version of Imus’ show, has not said whether it too will cancel the program or merely stick with a suspension.
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By Amy Goodman — As the TV pundits on the networks gab about the tens of millions of dollars raised by the top presidential candidates, what they don’t talk about is where that money is going: to their own networks.
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A couple of leading Internet personalities, including the creator of Wikipedia, have proposed a set of voluntary guidelines to help rein in the nastiness and abuse that can thrive in the blogosphere. Critics say the proposal would limit free expression, while supporters argue that “free speech is enhanced by civility.”
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cnn.com
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A Hong Kong broadcaster is about to release China’s first gay-themed TV show. Although the program will air only over the Internet, it’s a big step for a country that treated homosexuality, or “buggery,” as a mental illness until 2001.
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By Ellen Goodman — Is Justice Ruth Ginsburg in poor health, or did she just lose a shoe? The answer depends on how quickly—and accurately—you get your news.
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The Congressional Black Caucus has agreed to cosponsor two debates with Fox News, one for Democrats and the other for Republicans. But as Robert Greenwald and the folks at Fox Attacks demonstrate in this video, the network has a history of attacking black America.
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Mark Green, the new president of Air America, tells Truthdig why it didn’t work, what he’s going to do to fix it and what you can expect in the future from America’s largest progressive radio network. Pictured above, Al Franken, who was an Air America host.
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msnbc.com
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Mark Green, the new president of Air America, tells Truthdig why it didn’t work, what he’s going to do to fix it and what you can expect in the future from America’s only progressive radio network.
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Check out this spot-on sendup of news and punditry, which proves that the dumbing down of America can be funny when it’s not just plain sad.
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Tom Engelhardt explores the gap between public opinion and public action. If so many Americans are opposed to the Iraq war, why aren’t they out in the streets?
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jeffcohen.org
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Jeff Cohen joins Truthdig to talk about life in the big media trenches, why news coverage is only getting worse, and how horse race politics and the corporatization of information are killing American democracy. Cohen was the communications director for the 2004 Dennis Kucinich campaign, founder of Fairness and Accuracy In Reporting, and author most recently of “Cable News Confidential” (excerpted here).
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allposters.com
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Arnold Schwarzenegger has had enough of Rush Limbaugh, who refers to the California governor as a “closet liberal.” On Tuesday’s “Today Show,” Arnold fired back, saying “Limbaugh is irrelevant.” That was apparently too much for Rush, who responded on own show by saying Arnold has clearly “sold out.”
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Wow. CNN’s Jack Cafferty really doesn’t like Attorney General Alberto Gonzales. After calling him the definition of a “weasel,” Cafferty asked America whether the AG should resign. Surprisingly (or not), CNN didn’t get one e-mail saying Gonzales should stay.
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fcc.gov
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Jonathan Adelstein, one of five FCC commissioners, speaks with Truthdig about the battle to control America’s airwaves, the value of an open and fair Internet and his initial thoughts on the XM-Sirius merger.
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“The Simpsons” has never shied away from biting the hand that feeds it. In this classic clip, the show eviscerates Fox News in what may be the greatest ever indictment of the network. It’s worth watching multiple times just to take in the “crawl.”
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AP
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By Stan Goff — The Special Forces veteran and author of “Full Spectrum Disorder” explains why the media celebrate true believers such as Lt. Col. Ralph Kauzlarich who continue to fight a war that is already lost.
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One of the weapons used with devastating effect against U.S. forces in Iraq is the so-called explosively formed penetrator, which the administration has accused Iran of producing. Astonishingly, the Discovery Channel recently aired a puff piece that delightedly showed off such a bomb, complete with a demonstration of how effective the compact device was against armored military targets.
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During a recent radio show, Rush Limbaugh chortled over a newspaper headline that playfully asked whether John Edwards would be “the first woman president.” Limbaugh asked who would design the candidate’s inaugural dress, played “I Am Woman” as Edwards’ theme song and repeatedly called out to fellow bigot Ann Coulter, as if soliciting a pat on the back.
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Stephen Colbert says goodbye to an American icon, who began his career fighting the Nazis and would go on to capture the cultural temperature for decades. Plus, don’t miss Fox News’ reaction: “You should not kill Captain America when we’re at war.”
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Police say Ivan Safronov, a military correspondent for a major Russian newspaper, jumped out of a fifth-floor window. But the media and friends say it’s likelier that he was murdered because his reporting had embarrassed Vladimir Putin’s government. Thirteen Russian journalists were killed in 2006, making it the third-most-dangerous country to report from.
(h/t: Largest Minority)
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Keith Olbermann takes aim at Newt Gingrich for blaming residents of New Orleans for the devastation of Katrina, “comedian” Rush Limbaugh for suggesting that Barack Obama could own Al Sharpton because of their ancestry, and, of course, Ann “Coultergeist” for calling John Edwards “that name.”
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Actor, activist and author Mike Farrell joins regular panelists James Harris and Josh Scheer to talk about his new book “Just Call Me Mike,” why it took so long for Americans to wake up to George W. Bush and more.
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news.bbc.co.uk
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U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-Moon warned Thursday that the danger posed by war “is at least matched by the climate crisis,” and urged the U.S., which produces roughly 25 percent of all greenhouse emissions, to take a leading role in addressing global warming.
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you-are-here.com
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Santa Monica has removed advertisements for the TV show “America’s Next Top Model” from city buses because some residents complained the images were disrespectful to women. The ads featured host Tyra Banks and a group of women wearing swimsuits.
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Guantanamo Prisoner’s Case Demonstrates Unfairness of Military Commissions
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