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CounterSpin
Counterspin is FAIR's weekly radio show, hosted by Janine Jackson, Steve Rendall and Peter Hart. It's heard on more than 125 noncommercial stations across the United States and Canada. Counterspin provides a critical examination of the major stories every week, and exposes what the mainstream media might have missed in their own coverage.
This week on CounterSpin: “She took the family to McDonald’s because they liked it, even though she knew they couldn’t afford to eat out. She went through more pain pills than she needed, and every few weeks, when those pills ran low, like today, she returned to the doctor for more.” That’s some of what the Washington Post thinks you should know about the mother in a family that relies on Social Security Disability Insurance. The paper is doing a series on disability benefits and so far it’s…exactly like that fragment suggests. And if you like bad data along with your mean-spirited anecdote, the Post has you covered there as well. We’ll talk with Rebecca Vallas of the Center for American Progress about the many problems and the potential impact of this kind of reporting.
Also on the show: Politicians and pundits made hay with congressional candidate Karen Handel’s comment that she did not support a “livable wage.” But while the phrasing was inelegant, the Georgia Republican didn’t really misspeak—and it’s a bit rich for corporate media to claim to find remarkable a position they’ve spent plenty of time entertaining. We discussed the merits of that position on a previous show with economist Holly Sklar. She runs a group called Business for a Fair Minimum Wage, and is author of, among other titles, Raise the Floor: Wages and Policies that Work for All of Us. We’ll hear again from Holly Sklar on the myths around a living wage.
