Why Academics Should Read “The Fox Effect”
David Brock and Ari Rabin-Havt (of Media Matters) have a new book out, titled The Fox Effect: How Roger Ailes Turned A Network Into a Propaganda Machine. It is engagingly written and well-researched,...
View ArticleAndrew Breitbart Dead at 43
Conservative media activist Andrew Breitbart died suddenly last night. Given the amount of time I’ve spent talking about him on this blog and in the classroom, I felt I should post something about it....
View ArticleWhat the hell is the National Association of Scholars?
The Wall Street Journal published an OpEd last Friday by Peter Berkowitz, titled “How California’s Colleges Indoctrinate Students.” Berkowitz argues that higher ed has been “politicized” by “activist...
View ArticleNBC and the End of the Broadcast Era
The news broke yesterday that NBC will be canceling 30 Rock, Parks and Rec, and Community. (…On the bright side, I suppose I’ll be more productive next year when there’s nothing interesting to watch on...
View ArticleJaron Lanier’s technologist myopia
Jaron Lanier is at it again. Two weeks ago, at Personal Democracy Forum, Lanier unveiled the central thesis of his next book: computer networks are causing the demise of the American middle class,...
View ArticleDear Free Beacon: Please Stop Hurting America
Free Beacon is the worst. Take a minute to read Jonathan Chait’s latest column at New York Magazine, “Hitler Alive and Well, Owning Liberal Magazine.” While relaunching The New Republic, Chris...
View ArticleGoogling Isn’t “Investigative Journalism,” Tucker!
You might remember Tucker Carlson as the bow-tie’ed cohost of Crossfire. That show ended after Jon Stewart’s appearance, when he asked Carlson to “stop hurting America” with the two-bit hackery he was...
View ArticleShut It Down, DailyCaller. Shut. It. Down.
Wow. I didn’t have any respect for Tucker Carlson to begin with. But I assumed he was above this, at least. On November 1, days before Senator Robert Mendendez (D-NJ) faced reelection, the DailyCaller...
View ArticleGame of Gender Relations
Over on PolicyMic, Julia Rhodes writes, ‘Game Of Thrones’ and ‘Mad Men’ Make Women Characters Out to Be Mothers, Whores, and Little Else. I’m not a frequent Mad Men watcher, but I’m really into Game of...
View ArticleGeorge Packer and the End of Technology Criticism
[The real point of this blog post is just to encourage you to read George Packer's article (ungated version here. But c'mon, subscribe to the New Yorker already). It's the best thing you'll read this...
View ArticleCrime, News Coverage, and Institutional Racism
If there’s anything that pretty much everyone should agree on in light of the George Zimmerman/Trayvon Martin story, it’s that the story shows how deeply divided we remain as a country. At least as...
View ArticleBlurred Lines: Offensive, but Probably Not Copyright Infringement
At least in my circles, it’s pretty much taken for granted that Robin Thicke’s megahit “Blurred Lines” is shamelessly offensive. I can’t imagine telling a woman “You the hottest bitch in this place!” I...
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Hashtag Rage
Two students in my graduate seminar sent me this Jimmy Fallon clip yesterday. It’s pretty funny. But this isn’t a post about Fallon and Timberlake. It’s a post about a brief rant a subjected my...
View ArticleThe Real Threat to the US Economy
In the majority of media coverage about the shutdown and debt ceiling, the press has bent over backward to imply that there is plenty of blame to go around. This is false equivalency of the highest...
View ArticleDavid Brooks Is Not a Good Person
David Brooks is not a good person. I’m often mildly offended by Brooks’s writing. I think he’s (mostly) a lazy columnist who dresses up culture war outrage with faux social science language. But it’s...
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Another Opinion Columnist Took a Cheap Shot at Upworthy… You’ll Totally Guess...
Every month or two, it seems like the same cranky opinion piece gets written about Upworthy. The latest, “Upworthy’s unworthy politics” comes from Jordan Fraade at Al Jazeera America, bears all the...
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Upworthy Is People
This is meant as a brief follow-up to last night’s post about Upworthy. Jordan Fraade responded to my critique via twitter with the following reply: @davekarpf @Upworthy Anyway, I appreciate the...
View ArticleBill Simmons and ESPN’s Ombudsman: Is Goodell enough of a “certified liar”?
In his column on Bill Simmons’ suspension, ESPN Ombudsman Robert Lipsyte comes off as blissfully unaware of how ESPN’s action looks — parroting and even sanitizing the company line. For those who...
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