Media | Praxis

Criminal Penalties for Blasphemy and Apostasy Are Still Commonplace, Even in Western Nations

Apostasy and blasphemy may seem to many like artifacts of history. But in dozens of countries around the world, laws against apostasy and blasphemy remain on the books and often are enforced. […] A new Pew Research Center analysis finds that, as of 2014, about a quarter of the world’s countries and territories (26%) had anti-blasphemy laws or policies, and that more than one-in-ten (13%) nations had laws or policies penalizing apostasy. The legal punishments for such transgressions vary from fines to death. We counted…

Former Fox News Employee Laurie Luhn Says Roger Ailes Used Her as Sex Slave

The morning after Fox News chief Roger Ailes resigned, the cable network’s former director of booking placed a call to the New York law firm hired by 21st Century Fox to investigate sexual-harassment allegations against Ailes. Laurie Luhn told the lawyers at Paul, Weiss that she had been harassed by Ailes for more than 20 years, that executives at Fox News had known about it and helped cover it up, and that it had ruined her life. “It was psychological torture,” she later told me….

Do Political Campaign Ads Actually Work? Research Suggests Not Really

Ever since Spiro Agnew’s 1970 speech blasting “nattering nabobs of negativism” in the media, attacking the political neutrality of the mainstream press has been a frequent activity of conservatives. By and large, however, the right-wing response to the media unfairness has been merely to complain about the situation rather than do something about it. Instead of buying, boosting, or starting mainstream media outlets, the primary response of conservatives to counter perceived bias against them in the press has been to purchase television, radio, and direct…

Charges Dropped Against Anti-Planned Parenthood Filmmakers

Two undercover filmmakers whose videos exposed abortion provider Planned Parenthood won’t face criminal charges after all. Instead, they’re hailing the news as a First Amendment victory for citizen journalists. On Tuesday, the Harris County [California] district attorney’s office dismissed all charges against David Daleiden and Sandra Merritt. The duo worked undercover to produce a series of videos alleging Planned Parenthood’s involvement in the sale of unborn baby body parts. Federal law makes it illegal to sell human fetal tissue for a profit. Daleiden, project lead…

Fox News Employees Couldn’t Believe Roger Ailes Was Going to Be Forced Out

On Thursday, Roger Ailes—the man who created the Fox News Channel under Rupert Murdoch and built it into the most powerful and influential cable news network in the country—stepped down. The decision to do so came after pressure from the Murdoch family—particularly Rupert’s sons, Lachlan and James—which was responding to numerous claims of sexual harassment against Ailes, including a lawsuit by former Fox & Friends co-host Gretchen Carlson. By the time the network’s newest star, Megyn Kelly, reportedly told independent investigators that Ailes had harassed…

Meet Alex Jones, the Conspiracy Radio Host Who’s Donald Trump’s Biggest Media Ally

“There’s no way the Trump people would have reached out to me a year and a half ago, if he wasn’t aware of the work,” Jones would tell me later in the week. “He’s been what you call a ‘closet conspiracy theorist’ for 50 years. I think he’s been a chameleon in the system, and now he sees the time to strike.” When I pressed for details about the Trump outreach, Jones clammed up. (Trump guested on his radio show last December, but hasn’t been a…

‘Communist’ China Is Going to Ban Ad Blocking Software

There are apparently 159 million people who block ads on their mobile devices in China. Desktop numbers are relatively low by comparison. All of them, though, are going to have a fundamental right snatched from them come September, when their government will take away their right to block ads. That’s because just last week China issued its Internet Advertising Interim Rules, Article 16 of which will place a ban on ad blocking. Aside from the oppressive part, the new regulations will seek to define what…

Fox News Will Be Better Off Without Roger Ailes

Several news outlets have reported that Roger Ailes will be or already has been terminated from his position as chairman of the Fox News Channel. On Tuesday, Matt Drudge reported it as fact and a Fox representative initially confirmed the report to the Daily Beast before retracting the confirmation. Drudge even provided a copy of what he said was the legal separation agreement between Ailes and FNC’s parent company, 21st Century Fox. (Drudge later removed the document and his headline touting it, however.) The writing…

Sheldon Adelson Just Revolutionized American Politics

Though he’s not exactly a household name, casino billionaire Sheldon Adelson is well-known in politics as one of the largest donors to Republican politicians. He’s also now the owner of one of the premier newspaper properties in America, the Las Vegas Review-Journal newspaper. The purchase is going to revolutionize politics because Adelson will have done something that Democratic billionaires like Warren Buffett have been doing for decades: purchasing newspapers. As of this writing, Buffett’s company Berkshire Hathaway owns 71 newspapers across America including swing states…

Media Coverage of Presidential Debates Is More Influential Than the Actual Debates

Ever since John Kennedy and Richard Nixon squared off in 1960, televised presidential debates have become a fixture of American politics. Whether it’s Al Gore’s repeated sighing or George H.W. Bush looking at his watch, there are dozens of moments which the conventional wisdom cites as being influential in the campaign. How much do debates actually move the numbers for the various candidates though? In this particular cycle, good debate performances seem to have been good for former Hewlett-Packard CEO Carly Fiorina who rocketed up…

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