CounterPunch

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This article is about the newsletter. For other uses, see Counterpunch (disambiguation).
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Editors Alexander Cockburn
Jeffrey St. Clair
Staff writers Frank Bardacke,
Daniel Burton-Rose,
Andrew Cockburn,
Laura Flanders,
Annys Shinn,
Ken Silverstein,
JoAnn Wypijewski
Categories Politics
Frequency Bi-weekly
First issue 1994 (1994)
Country United States
Based in Petrolia, California
Language English
Website CounterPunch.org

CounterPunch is a bi-weekly newsletter published in the United States that covers politics in a manner its editors describe as "muckraking with a radical attitude".[1] It includes a website, updated daily, which contains much more material not published in the newsletter.

Running six to eight pages in length, the CounterPunch newsletter primarily publishes commentaries by Alexander Cockburn and Jeffrey St. Clair with regular contributions by a wide range of others. It is noted for its critical coverage of both Democratic and Republican politicians[2] and its extensive reporting of environmental and trade union issues, American foreign policy, and the Israeli-Arab conflict.[3]

Contents

[edit] History

The newsletter was established in 1994 by the Washington, D.C.-based investigative reporter Ken Silverstein.[4] He was soon joined by the journalists Cockburn and St. Clair.[5] In 1996 Silverstein left the publication and Cockburn and St. Clair have since been co-editors.[6]

[edit] Contributors

Notable contributors to CounterPunch have included Robert Fisk,[7] Edward Said,[8] Tim Wise,[9] Ralph Nader,[10] M. Shahid Alam,[11] Tariq Ali,[12] Ward Churchill,[13] Lila Rajiva,[14] Peter Linebaugh,[15] Tanya Reinhart,[16] Noam Chomsky,[17] Frank "Chuck" Spinney,[18] and Alexander Cockburn's two brothers: Andrew[19] and Patrick,[20] both of whom write on the Middle East, Iraq in particular.[21][22]

Some paleoconservative writers, such as Paul Craig Roberts[23] and William Lind,[24] and libertarian writers such as Sheldon Richman[25] and Anthony Gregory[26] also contribute to CounterPunch. The site regularly publishes articles from those with left-wing views, such as Lenni Brenner,[27] Fidel Castro,[28] and the late Stew Albert,[29] as well as newer contributors, such as Diane Christian,[30] Joshua Frank,[31] Norman Finkelstein,[32] Ron Jacobs,[33] Pam Martens,[34] Gary Leupp,[35] Cynthia McKinney,[36] Kelly Overton,[37] David Price,[38] and Sherry Wolf.[39]

[edit] Criticism

Ben Cohen of the American Jewish Committee has described Counterpunch as "frequently anti-Semitic."[40]

A number of writers, such as political commentator Steven Plaut, have written articles charging CounterPunch of being biased against Israel and antisemitic.[citation needed] In June 2006, the same Plaut was tried and convicted of libeling Neve Gordon, a regular contributor to CounterPunch, in an Israeli court. Plaut was ordered to pay the plaintiff NIS 80,000 (aprox. $18,600) in compensation plus NIS 15,000 (approx. $3,500) in legal fees.[41]

CounterPunch has also been criticised by anti-Zionist activists Tony Greenstein and Roland Rance of Jews Against Zionism, for its practice of publishing articles by writers such as Gilad Atzmon and Israel Shamir which they describe as "blurring the distinction" between Zionism and Judaism, and failing to publish responses to these articles.[42][43]

In 2009, CounterPunch's publication of articles by Alison Weir on organ transplant accusations were accused of disseminating the medieval antisemitic blood libel.[44]

[edit] References

  1. ^ "We've got all the right enemies". CounterPunch. http://www.counterpunch.org/aboutus.html. Retrieved 2010-10-01. 
  2. ^ Richard Keeble, Ethics for Journalists (2nd edn; New York: Routledge, 2009), p. 170; James Walch and Jim Walch, In the Net: An Internet Guide for Activists (London and New York: Zed Books, 1999), p. 127.
  3. ^ Richard Paul and Linda Elder, The Thinker's Guide for Conscientious Citizens on How to Detect Media Bias and Propaganda (3rd edn; Dillon Beach, California: Foundation for Critical Thinking, 2006), p. 29.
  4. ^ "Counterpunch is the brainchild of Ken Silverstein, a former AP reporter in Rio de Janeiro." Lies of Our Times, vols 4-5 (1993), p. 26.
  5. ^ Alexander Cockburn, Jeffrey St. Clair, Five Days that Shook the World: Seattle and Beyond (London and New York: Verso, 2000), p. 151; Alexander Cockburn, Ken Silverstein, Washington Babylon (London and New York: Verso, 1996), p. 302.
  6. ^ Alexander Cockburn, Jeffrey St. Clair, End Times: The Death of the Fourth Estate (Petrolia, California, and Oakland, California: CounterPunch and AK Press, 2007), pp. 2, 44.
  7. ^ "Who Killed Bhutto?". CounterPunch. 2007-12-31. http://www.counterpunch.org/fisk12312007.html. Retrieved 2010-10-02. 
  8. ^ "A Tiny, Unelected Group, Backed by Powerful Unrepresentative Interests". CounterPunch. 2003-03-08. http://www.counterpunch.org/said03082003.html. Retrieved 2010-10-02. 
  9. ^ "What Kind of Card Is Race?". CounterPunch. 2006-04-24. http://www.counterpunch.org/wise04242006.html. Retrieved 2010-10-02. 
  10. ^ "Obama's Afghan Formula". CounterPunch. 2010-08-02. http://www.counterpunch.org/nader08022010.html. Retrieved 2010-10-02. 
  11. ^ "Bernard Lewis and the New Orientalism". CounterPunch. 2003-06-28. http://www.counterpunch.org/alam06282003.html. Retrieved 2010-10-02. 
  12. ^ "From Reconquista to Recolonization". CounterPunch. 2010-01-06. http://www.counterpunch.org/tariq01062010.html. Retrieved 2010-10-02. 
  13. ^ "What Did I Really Say? And Why Did I Say It?". CounterPunch. 2005-02-21. http://www.counterpunch.org/churchill02212005.html. Retrieved 2010-10-02. 
  14. ^ "Unnatural Disaster?". CounterPunch. 2004-12-30. http://www.counterpunch.org/rajiva12302004.html. Retrieved 2010-10-02. 
  15. ^ "Some Principles of the Commons". CounterPunch. 2010-01-10. http://www.counterpunch.org/linebaugh01082010.html. Retrieved 2010-10-02. 
  16. ^ "Jenin: The Propaganda Battle". CounterPunch. 2002-04-24. http://www.counterpunch.org/reinhart0424.html. Retrieved 2010-10-02. 
  17. ^ "The New War against Terror". CounterPunch. 2001-10-24. http://www.counterpunch.org/chomskyterror.html. Retrieved 2010-10-02. 
  18. ^ "Obama's Toxic 'Green' Policy". CounterPunch. 2010-03-14. http://www.counterpunch.org/spinney03122010.html. Retrieved 2010-10-02. 
  19. ^ "The Wall Street White House". CounterPunch. 2009-07-02. http://www.counterpunch.org/andrew07022009.html. Retrieved 2010-10-02. 
  20. ^ "Erdogan Rising?". CounterPunch. 2010-06-10. http://www.counterpunch.org/patrick06102010.html. Retrieved 2010-10-02. 
  21. ^ "How Many Iraqis Have Died Since the US Invasion in 2003?". CounterPunch. 2008-05-02. http://www.counterpunch.org/andrew01092006.html. Retrieved 2010-10-02. 
  22. ^ "Uproar Before Iraqi Elections". CounterPunch. 2010-03-02. http://www.counterpunch.org/patrick03022010.html. Retrieved 2010-10-02. 
  23. ^ "Truth Has Fallen and Taken Liberty with It". CounterPunch. 2010-03-24. http://www.counterpunch.org/roberts03242010.html. Retrieved 2010-10-02. 
  24. ^ "Why Obama Is Wrong". CounterPunch. 2008-09-18. http://www.counterpunch.org/lind09182008.html. Retrieved 2010-10-02. 
  25. ^ "Obama the Neoconservative". CounterPunch. 2010-09-14. http://www.counterpunch.org/richman09142010.html. Retrieved 2010-10-02. 
  26. ^ "When Killer Cops Walk". CounterPunch. 2007-07-02. http://www.counterpunch.org/gregory07022007.html. Retrieved 2010-10-02. 
  27. ^ "Dave Van Ronk". CounterPunch. 2002-02-17. http://www.counterpunch.org/brennerdave.html. Retrieved 2010-10-02. 
  28. ^ "The Secret Summit". CounterPunch. 2009-04-21. http://www.counterpunch.org/castro04212009.html. Retrieved 2010-10-02. 
  29. ^ "Cops of the World". CounterPunch. 2003-05-29. http://www.counterpunch.org/albert05292003.html. Retrieved 2010-10-02. 
  30. ^ "War Corrupts". CounterPunch. 2008-02-17. http://www.counterpunch.org/christian02162008.html. Retrieved 2010-10-02. 
  31. ^ "Blackwash". CounterPunch. 2010-02-03. http://www.counterpunch.org/frank02032010.html. Retrieved 2010-10-02. 
  32. ^ "The Cleanser". CounterPunch. 2009-02-19. http://www.counterpunch.org/finkelstein02192009.html. Retrieved 2010-10-02. 
  33. ^ "A Life Worth Saving". CounterPunch. 2010-01-10. http://www.counterpunch.org/jacobs01082010.html. Retrieved 2010-10-02. 
  34. ^ "How Wall Street Blew Itself Up". CounterPunch. 2008-01-21. http://www.counterpunch.org/martens01212008.html. Retrieved 2010-10-02. 
  35. ^ "Is Iran Being Set Up?". CounterPunch. 2005-07-27. http://www.counterpunch.org/leupp07272005.html. Retrieved 2010-10-02. 
  36. ^ "Goodbye to All That". CounterPunch. 2002-09-18. http://www.counterpunch.org/mckinney0918.html. Retrieved 2010-10-02. 
  37. ^ "Animal Rights and Obama". CounterPunch. 2008-07-06. http://www.counterpunch.org/overton07062008.html. Retrieved 2010-10-02. 
  38. ^ "Silent Coup". CounterPunch. 2010-04-11. http://www.counterpunch.org/price04092010.html. Retrieved 2010-10-02. 
  39. ^ "Why are Liberals Building the Right?". CounterPunch. 2010-10-11. http://www.counterpunch.org/wolf10112010.html. Retrieved 2010-11-01. 
  40. ^ "Race encyclopedia's flawed premise". Jerusalem Post. 2009-12-02. http://www-contendo.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?cid=1259243065308&pagename=JPost%2FJPArticle%2FPrinter. Retrieved 2010-10-02. 
  41. ^ "U.S.-born professor guilty of libeling colleague". Haaretz. 2008-02-17. http://www.haaretz.com/u-s-born-professor-guilty-of-libeling-colleague-1.189859. Retrieved 2006-06-09. 
  42. ^ "Reply to Gilad Atzmon's 'What is to be Done?'". What Next?. [c. 2006]. http://www.whatnextjournal.co.uk/Pages/Politics/Atzmonreply.html. Retrieved 2010-10-02. 
  43. ^ "Open Letter to Conterpunch". What Next?. [c. 2005]. http://www.whatnextjournal.co.uk/Pages///Politics/Counterpunch.html. Retrieved 2010-10-02. 
  44. ^ "Why left wing anti-Zionism is antisemitism". Coordination Forum for Countering Antisemitism. [c. 2009]. http://www.antisemitism.org.il/eng/articles/43907/Whyleftwinganti-ZionismisantisemitismByDanielGreenfield. Retrieved 2010-10-02. 

[edit] External links

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