Friday, August 26, 2011

Bits and Pieces - August 26, 2011

Three big pieces today.

Fear, Inc.: The Roots of the Islamophobia Network in America. From the Center for American Progress. This network is part of what informed Andres Breivik's inspiration to kill all those people. Warning: big pdf file, although it loaded reasonably fast for me. Update: I'm reading more of this, and it's a really good report in the "follow the money" tradition. Will be interesting to see if journalists pick up on all the work that's been done for them here. But see the next item.

Jay Rosen on Why Political Coverage Is Broken. Short version: reporters shouldn't be insiders.

Two American hikers who strayed into Iran have been sentenced by an Iranian court to eight more years in prison, in addition to the two they've been there already. And US commentary has been largely harsh on the hikers. I have to admit that my initial reaction was along those lines. But c'mon, Iran, show a better face to the world!

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