It's no surprise that the year "fake news" entered our vocabularies was a controversial one for media. NewsBusters' Curtis Houck joins Cheddar to break down the year's most polarizing press events. We consider how to hold journalists accountable without vilifying them.
Houck points to Vice President Al Gore's marketing strategy for his documentary "An Inconvenient Truth 2" as an instance of dishonesty. He also revisits the media's decision to use Big Bird as a symbol of PBS' budget cuts. Despite headlines saying the government was killing the children's character, Sesame Street is still airing on PBS.
Finally, Houck reveals some of the most infamous media mistakes of the year. From Brian Ross' false reporting about the Michael Flynn guilty plea to CNN's misrepresentation of Anthony Scaramucci's Russia ties, Houck says the media lost significant credibility in 2017. We also consider the apparent double standard different networks are taking in their approaches to punishing erring journalists.
The Biden administration on Thursday released a plan for improving the nation's cybersecurity by shifting the burden from individuals, small businesses, and local governments to federal agencies and major tech providers.
COVID-19's origins remain hazy. Three years after the start of the pandemic, it's still unclear whether the coronavirus that causes the disease leaked from a lab or spread to humans from an animal.
Paul Vallas and Brandon Johnson will meet in a runoff to be the next mayor of Chicago after voters on Tuesday denied incumbent Lori Lightfoot a second term, issuing a rebuke to a leader who made history as head of the nation’s third-largest city.
Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot has lost her bid for a second term. None of the nine candidates in Tuesday’s election won more than 50% of the vote, so Paul Vallas and Brandon Johnson will meet in a runoff to succeed her.
A large cross-section of Americans is at risk of falling below the poverty line as the program that provided more than 32 million people with extra SNAP benefits during the pandemic is set to end. Families received at least $95 extra per month to spend on food.
Conservative justices in the Supreme Court’s majority seem likely to sink President Joe Biden’s plan to wipe away or reduce student loans held by millions of Americans.
Protesters in favor of student loan relief gathered outside the Supreme Court on Tuesday morning, demanding that the top jurists side with President Biden.
