For instance, in the runup to the U.S. 2000 election it was frequently said or assumed that Al Gore was untruthful, but Somerby shows that much of what supposedly underlay that script was in fact untrue, misrepresented or greatly exaggerated.

Despite professing to be left of center in his politics, Somerby also critiques liberals in the U.S. mainstream media who he feels do poor journalism, such as Rachel Maddow[4] and Keith Olbermann,[5] both of MSNBC.

The Daily Howler critiques education writing, often by analyzing badly reported data on scholastic achievement in low income or minority populations.

[6] On the other hand, journalist Robert Samuelson supported a claim that public schools have made minimal progress since 1970 by using aggregated and cherry-picked NAEP statistics.

I've been finding The Daily Howler's concept of a media "script", a story line that shapes coverage, often in the teeth of the evidence, particularly helpful in understanding cable news.