Press Release
Free Press Introduces MediaFAIL
Contact: Timothy Karr, 201-533-8838
WASHINGTON – Fox News host Brit Hume’s comments about the "minimal" impact of the Deepwater Horizon oil spill catapulted him to the top spot on the newly launched MediaFAIL website this week.
On Wednesday, Free Press launched MediaFAIL, a user-powered site aimed at drawing attention to the weak reporting, flawed analysis and meaningless sideshows that often dominate the news and drown out real issues of public concern.
What often passes for news is badly sourced, unaccountable and tainted by commercial interests. MediaFAIL lets users identify such media failures by submitting their own examples of poor reporting, and then sharing them with friends via e-mail, Facebook and Twitter and voting for other FAILS on the site.
“The goal of MediaFAIL isn't just to give the media a failing grade — we want to make it better,” said Josh Levy, online campaign manager at Free Press. “We want the media to know that people are paying attention, and are ready to call them out when they try to pass off shallow stories and bad reporting as news.”
MediaFAIL connects participants to advocacy efforts by Free Press and allied organizations, so users can move from critique to action to build a more democratic, diverse and accountable media system.
On Wednesday, Free Press launched MediaFAIL, a user-powered site aimed at drawing attention to the weak reporting, flawed analysis and meaningless sideshows that often dominate the news and drown out real issues of public concern.
What often passes for news is badly sourced, unaccountable and tainted by commercial interests. MediaFAIL lets users identify such media failures by submitting their own examples of poor reporting, and then sharing them with friends via e-mail, Facebook and Twitter and voting for other FAILS on the site.
“The goal of MediaFAIL isn't just to give the media a failing grade — we want to make it better,” said Josh Levy, online campaign manager at Free Press. “We want the media to know that people are paying attention, and are ready to call them out when they try to pass off shallow stories and bad reporting as news.”
MediaFAIL connects participants to advocacy efforts by Free Press and allied organizations, so users can move from critique to action to build a more democratic, diverse and accountable media system.
