FAIR:
"NPR Infomercial for Its Sponsor Amazon Omits Labor and Environmental Criticisms. It would be good if a radio station, ostensibly set up to serve the public, could mention these inconvenient realities.
There are dozens of reports detailing how Amazon’s shipping policies negatively effects both the environment and workers, but one wouldn’t have any idea either was a concern after listening to NPR’s sexed-up report (Morning Edition, 11/21/18), 'Optimized Prime: How AI and Anticipation Power Amazon’s 1-Hour Deliveries.'
The report, detailing the 'Artificial Intelligence' behind Amazon’s delivery systems, relies entirely on interviews with Amazon flacks. The only people NPR speaks to are Brad Porter, the head of robotics for Amazon operations; Jenny Freshwater, director of software development; and Amazon VP Cem Sibay. No outside parties were sought for comment, let alone anyone remotely adversarial, such as labor organizers or environmental activists."
-->Yes, that old Morning Edition, always ready to celebrate the corporate vision of America.
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Common Dreams:
"Big Pharma's Worst Nightmare': Experts Champion Sanders-Khanna Bill That Could Lower Drug Costs by More Than 40%.
Decrying America's shameful status as the only industrialized nation on Earth that lets pharmaceutical giants hike drug prices without restraint, Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) and Rep. Ro Khanna (D-Calif.) on Tuesday unveiled legislation that would crack down on Big Pharma's government-granted monopolies by requiring the Secretary of Health and Human Services to approve far cheaper generic competition if companies refuse to bring drug prices into line with international standards.
'No other country allows pharmaceutical companies to charge any price they want for any reason they want. Somebody in America today can walk into a pharmacy and find out that the medicine they have been using for years can double, triple, or quadruple literally overnight. That needs to change,' Sanders declared in a statement. 'The greed of the prescription drug industry is literally killing Americans and it has got to stop.' "
-->The NYT decided not to print this story of Big Pharma's greed and Bernie's bill that would lower costs. It just doesn't fit the corporate view of America.
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Common Dreams:
"After years of empty promises and demands from frustrated members of Congress, the Pentagon finally conducted its first-ever comprehensive audit—and unsurprisingly failed it, Deputy Defense Secretary Patrick Shanahan revealed Thursday.
Although a 1990 federal law requires all U.S. government agencies to conduct annual financial audits, the Pentagon put it off until launching this one last December. Critics of the United States' astronomical military spending said the findings were precisely why lawmakers and the public have demanded Defense Department audits for decades.
'This is exactly why we must AuditThePentagon,' tweeted Rep. Barbara Lee (D-Calif.). 'The unchecked waste, fraud, and abuse at the Pentagon is an insult to the American people.' "
-->The NYT often avoids having to print stories like this by putting a Reuters version on the NYT webpage. That is what our newspaper of record did this time too.
