58-604: American Fascists: The Christian Right and the War on America is a 2007 non-fiction book by the American journalist Chris Hedges . American Fascists profiles the rise of an American Christian right , and argues that the politically active bloc possesses the features of a fascist movement. The first chapter leads with an exposition on the importance of establishing the will of God as unknowable in mainstream Christian circles, along with some acknowledgement of Biblical errancy. This
116-428: A Washington Post feature on conservative magazines, T.A. Frank noted: "From the perspective of a reader, these tensions make National Review as lively as it has been in a long time." As Trump announced his run for reelection in 2022 and throughout 2023, National Review editorialized regularly against him and his candidacy . A popular web version of the magazine, National Review Online ("N.R.O."), includes
174-475: A newsroom , from home or outside to witness events or interview people. Reporters may be assigned a specific beat (area of coverage). Matthew C. Nisbet , who has written on science communication , has defined a "knowledge journalist" as a public intellectual who, like Walter Lippmann , Fareed Zakaria , Naomi Klein , Michael Pollan , and Andrew Revkin , sees their role as researching complicated issues of fact or science which most laymen would not have
232-403: A Communist spy in the 1930s and then turned intensely anti-Communist, became a senior editor. In the magazine's founding statement Buckley wrote: The launching of a conservative weekly journal of opinion in a country widely assumed to be a bastion of conservatism at first glance looks like a work of supererogation, rather like publishing a royalist weekly within the walls of Buckingham Palace. It
290-619: A conservative movement, which was increasingly embodied in Ronald Reagan . Reagan, a longtime subscriber to National Review , became politically prominent during Goldwater's campaign. National Review supported his challenge to President Gerald Ford in 1976 and his successful 1980 campaign. During the 1980s, National Review called for tax cuts, supply-side economics , the Strategic Defense Initiative , and support for President Reagan's foreign policy against
348-598: A digital version of the magazine, with articles updated daily by National Review writers, and conservative blogs. The online version is called N.R.O. to distinguish it from the printed magazine. It also features free articles, though these deviate in content from its print magazine. The site's editor is Phillip Klein , who replaced Charles C. W. Cooke . Each day, the site posts new content consisting of conservative, libertarian, and neoconservative opinion articles, including some syndicated columns, and news features. It also features two blogs : Markos Moulitsas , who runs
406-402: A heavy reliance on referencing intellectuals who were personally impacted by World War II , such as Karl Popper and Hannah Arendt , and added that his own experiences at an anti-gay Love Won Out event were not as alarming as Hedges described. In an interview with Michelle Goldberg of Salon.com , Hedges said "it's an angry book," adding that "when I see how these people are manipulating
464-460: A liberal commentator. Buckley's brother-in-law, L. Brent Bozell Jr. left and started the short-lived traditionalist Catholic magazine, Triumph in 1966. Buckley and Meyer promoted the idea of enlarging the boundaries of conservatism through fusionism , whereby different schools of conservatives, including libertarians , would work together to combat what were seen as their common opponents. Buckley and his editors used his magazine to define
522-500: A news media that tended to oversimplify issues and to reinforce stereotypes , partisan viewpoints and prejudices . As a consequence, Lippmann believed that the public needed journalists like himself who could serve as expert analysts, guiding "citizens to a deeper understanding of what was really important". In 2018, the United States Department of Labor's Occupational Outlook Handbook reported that employment for
580-403: A professional journalist and a source can be rather complex, and a source can sometimes have an effect on an article written by the journalist. The article 'A Compromised Fourth Estate' uses Herbert Gans' metaphor to capture their relationship. He uses a dance metaphor, "The Tango", to illustrate the co-operative nature of their interactions inasmuch as "It takes two to tango". Herbert suggests that
638-555: Is Yes – the White community is so entitled because, for the time being, it is the advanced race." By the 1970s National Review advocated colorblind policies and the end of affirmative action . In the late 1960s, the magazine denounced segregationist George Wallace , who ran in Democratic primaries in 1964 and 1972 and made an independent run for president in 1968. During the 1950s, Buckley had worked to remove anti-Semitism from
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#1732791478037696-437: Is contrasted with the ascendance of a minority doctrine that preaches a faultless Bible that then offers an absolute message about the desires for God to establish a Christian United States through dominion theology and tenuous interpretations of the book of Revelation . The chapter also examines the outsized media influence and corporate support of this minority perspective, as well as their increased political presence during
754-482: Is legitimized within the Christian right through othering and the projection of their own motivations to discriminate. The next chapter outlines how the highly contradictory nature of the motives and doctrines of the Christian right is sustained by a "War on Truth" that legitimizes pseudosciences like conversion therapy and creationism . The seventh chapter outlines perceived classism and excessive opulence on
812-491: Is not that of course; if National Review is superfluous, it is so for very different reasons: It stands athwart history, yelling Stop, at a time when no other is inclined to do so, or to have much patience with those who so urge it. As editors and contributors, Buckley sought out intellectuals who were ex-Communists or had once worked on the far left, including Whittaker Chambers, William Schlamm , John Dos Passos , Frank Meyer, and James Burnham. When James Burnham became one of
870-526: The Chicago Tribune and St. Louis Globe-Democrat . A few small-circulation conservative magazines, such as Human Events and The Freeman , preceded National Review in developing Cold War conservatism in the 1950s. In 1953, Russell Kirk published The Conservative Mind , which traced an intellectual bloodline from Edmund Burke to the Old Right in the early 1950s. This challenged
928-607: The Left Behind series names existing institutions and Islam as seats of power for the Antichrist . Hedges then argues that the movement, being financially sponsored by a broad range of corporations and increasingly preoccupied with messages of committing violence, represents a threat to the open society . Hedges concludes by calling for opposition against what he describes as a biblically unfounded and deeply fascistic Christian right. Rick Perlstein of The New York Times
986-621: The American right was a largely unorganized collection of people who shared intertwining philosophies but had little opportunity for a united public voice. They wanted to marginalize the antiwar , noninterventionistic views of the Old Right . In 1953, moderate Republican Dwight D. Eisenhower was president, and many major magazines such as the Saturday Evening Post , Time , and Reader's Digest were strongly conservative and anticommunist, as were many newspapers including
1044-653: The COVID-19 pandemic had given governments around the world the chance “to take advantage of the fact that politics are on hold, the public is stunned and protests are out of the question, in order to impose measures that would be impossible in normal times”. In 2023 the closure of local newspapers in the US accelerated to an average of 2.5 per week, leaving more than 200 US counties as “news deserts” and meaning that more than half of all U.S. counties had limited access to reliable local news and information, according to researchers at
1102-924: The Committee to Protect Journalists and Reporters Without Borders publish reports on press freedom and advocate for journalistic freedom. As of November 2024, the Committee to Protect Journalists reports that 1625 journalists have been killed worldwide since 1992 by murder (71%), crossfire or combat (17%), or on dangerous assignment (11%). The "ten deadliest countries" for journalists since 1992 have been Iraq (230 deaths), Philippines (109), Russia (77), Colombia (76), Mexico (69), Algeria (61), Pakistan (59), India (49), Somalia (45), Brazil (31) and Sri Lanka (30). The Committee to Protect Journalists also reports that as of 1 December 2010, 145 journalists were jailed worldwide for journalistic activities. Current numbers are even higher. The ten countries with
1160-637: The George W. Bush presidency . The second chapter elaborates how this new movement is fueled by a "culture of despair" arising from economic uncertainty following widespread outsourcing of United States economic production, and especially has a strong influence in the Rust Belt because of those conditions. It closes with a demonstration on how this despair is opportunistically captured by the Christian right through their religious narratives of salvation and renewal. The third chapter, titled "Conversion," covers
1218-450: The Hamas attack , Russian invasion of Ukraine and the presidential election . American consumers turned away from journalists at legacy organizations as social media became a common news source. Journalists sometimes expose themselves to danger, particularly when reporting in areas of armed conflict or in states that do not respect the freedom of the press . Organizations such as
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#17327914780371276-610: The Medill School of Journalism, Media, Integrated Marketing Communications at Northwestern University . In January 2024, The Los Angeles Times , Time magazine and National Geographic all conducted layoffs, and Condé Nast journalists went on strike over proposed job cuts. The Los Angeles Times laid off more than 20% of the newsroom. CNN , Sports Illustrated and NBC News shed employees in early 2024. The New York Times reported that Americans were suffering from “news fatigue” due to coverage of major news stories like
1334-521: The Soviet Union . The magazine criticized the welfare state and would support the welfare reform proposals of the 1990s. The magazine also regularly criticized President Bill Clinton . It first embraced and then rejected Pat Buchanan in his political campaigns. A lengthy 1996 National Review editorial called for a "movement toward" drug legalization. In 1985, National Review and Buckley were represented by attorney J. Daniel Mahoney during
1392-528: The liberal Daily Kos web-site, told reporters in August 2007 that he does not read conservative blogs, with the exception of those on N.R.O.: "I do like the blogs at the National Review —I do think their writers are the best in the [conservative] blogosphere," he said. The N.R.I. works in policy development and helping establish new advocates in the conservative movement. National Review Institute
1450-481: The wire services , in radio , or for news magazines . National Review Defunct Newspapers Journals TV channels Websites Other Economics Gun rights Identity politics Nativist Religion Watchdog groups Youth/student groups Miscellaneous Other National Review is an American conservative editorial magazine, focusing on news and commentary pieces on political, social, and cultural affairs. The magazine
1508-476: The Christian religion for personal empowerment and wealth and for the destruction of the very values that I think are embodied in the teachings of Jesus Christ, I'm angry." Publishers Weekly wrote that American Fascists "forcefully illuminates what many across the political spectrum will recognize as a serious and growing threat to the very concept and practice of an open society." Francine Prose of O, The Oprah Magazine mirrored this sentiment, saying that
1566-787: The Christian right, adding that "Christians have the right to pursue their political objectives" and accused Hedges of adopting a " culture war mentality" that may embolden the Christian right. Historian Jon Wiener criticized Hedges' comparisons of the United States to the Weimar Republic as well as the lack of clarity in the book's policy proposals. A New York Observer review by Jonathan Liu described American Fascists as "audacious" and "daring" in its wide coverage of social issues and its broad denunciations of liberal and conservative society alike. Liu commented that Hedges' apparent tendency towards hyperbole may have arisen from
1624-585: The Republican nomination for president. After Trump's election to the presidency and through his administration, the National Review editorial board continued to criticize him. However, following Trump's 2016 electoral victory over Hillary Clinton , some National Review and National Review Online contributors took more varied positions on Trump. Hanson, for instance, supports him, while others, such as editor Ramesh Ponnuru and contributor Jonah Goldberg , have remained uniformly critical of Trump. In
1682-552: The boundaries of conservatism—and to exclude people or ideas or groups they considered unworthy of the conservative title. Therefore, they attacked the John Birch Society , George Wallace , and anti-Semites. Buckley's goal was to increase the respectability of the conservative movement; in 2004, current editor Rich Lowry , compiled various quotes of articles commenting on Buckley's retirement including from The Dallas Morning News : "Mr. Buckley's first great achievement
1740-772: The category "reporters, correspondents and broadcast news analysts" will decline 9 percent between 2016 and 2026. A worldwide sample of 27,500 journalists in 67 countries in 2012–2016 produced the following profile: In 2019 the Reuters Institute for the Study of Journalism Digital News Report described the future for journalists in South Africa as “grim” because of low online revenue and plummeting advertising. In 2020 Reporters Without Borders secretary general Christophe Deloire said journalists in developing countries were suffering political interference because
1798-484: The conservative impulse and the reactionary impulse do not... express themselves in ideas but only... in irritable mental gestures which seek to resemble ideas. Buckley said that National Review "is out of place because, in its maturity, literate America rejected conservatism in favor of radical social experimentation... since ideas rule the world, the ideologues, having won over the intellectual class, simply walked in and started to... run just about everything. There never
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1856-471: The conservative movement and barred holders of those views from working for National Review . In 1962, Buckley denounced Robert W. Welch Jr. and the John Birch Society as "far removed from common sense" and urged the Republican Party to purge itself of Welch's influence. After Goldwater was defeated by Lyndon Johnson in 1964, Buckley and National Review continued to champion the idea of
1914-531: The country reportedly go unsolved. Bulgarian Victoria Marinova was beaten, raped and strangled. Saudi Arabian dissident Jamal Khashoggi was killed inside Saudi Arabia's consulate in Istanbul. From 2008 to 2019, Freedom Forum 's now-defunct Newseum in Washington, D.C. featured a Journalists Memorial which honored several thousand journalists around the world who had died or were killed while reporting
1972-579: The cumulative impact of The Nation and The New Republic , and a few other publications, on several American college generations during the twenties and thirties. On November 19, 1955, Buckley's magazine began to take shape. Buckley assembled an eclectic group of writers: traditionalists, Catholic intellectuals, libertarians, and ex-Communists. The group included Revilo P. Oliver , Russell Kirk , James Burnham , Frank Meyer , and Willmoore Kendall , and Catholics L. Brent Bozell and Garry Wills . The former Time editor Whittaker Chambers , who had been
2030-455: The editorial policy of the magazine and on the thinking of Buckley himself. National Review aimed to make conservative ideas respectable in an age when the dominant view of conservative thought was, as expressed by Columbia professor Lionel Trilling , [L]iberalism is not only the dominant but even the sole intellectual tradition. For it is the plain fact that nowadays there are no conservative or reactionary ideas in general circulation...
2088-579: The form of a targeted sexual violation, often in reprisal for their work. Mob-related sexual violence aimed against journalists covering public events; or the sexual abuse of journalists in detention or captivity. Many of these crimes are not reported as a result of powerful cultural and professional stigmas. Increasingly, journalists (particularly women) are abused and harassed online, via hate speech , cyber-bullying , cyber-stalking , doxing, trolling, public shaming , intimidation and threats. According to Reporters Without Borders ' 2018 annual report, it
2146-523: The form of journalism, "journalist" may also describe various categories of people by the roles they play in the process. These include reporters, correspondents , citizen journalists , editors , editorial writers , columnists and photojournalists . A reporter is a type of journalist who researches , writes and reports on information in order to present using sources . This may entail conducting interviews , information-gathering and/or writing articles. Reporters may split their time between working in
2204-496: The fourth estate being driven by the fifth estate of public relations. Journalists can face violence and intimidation for exercising their fundamental right to freedom of expression . The range of threats they are confronted with include murder, kidnapping , hostage-taking, offline and online harassment, intimidation , enforced disappearances, arbitrary detention and torture. Women in journalism also face specific dangers and are especially vulnerable to sexual assault, whether in
2262-404: The largest number of currently-imprisoned journalists are Turkey (95), China (34), Iran (34), Eritrea (17), Burma (13), Uzbekistan (6), Vietnam (5), Cuba (4), Ethiopia (4) and Sudan (3). Apart from physical harm, journalists are harmed psychologically. This applies especially to war reporters, but their editorial offices at home often do not know how to deal appropriately with
2320-426: The magazine's $ 16 million libel suit against The Spotlight . Victor Davis Hanson , a regular contributor since 2001, sees a broad spectrum of conservative and anti- liberal contributors: In other words, a wide conservative spectrum— paleo-conservatives , neo-conservatives , tea-party enthusiasts, the deeply religious and the agnostic , both libertarians and social conservatives , free-marketeers and
2378-521: The more protectionist —characterizes National Review . The common requisite is that they present their views as a critique of prevailing liberal orthodoxy but do so analytically and with decency and respect. The magazine has been described as "the bible of American conservatism ". In 2015, the magazine published an editorial titled "Against Trump", calling Donald Trump a "philosophically unmoored political opportunist" and announcing its adamant and uniform opposition to his presidential candidacy for
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2436-870: The news. After the Newseum closed in December 2019, supporters of freedom of the press persuaded the United States Congress in December 2020 to authorize the construction of a memorial to fallen journalists on public land with private funds. By May 2023, the Fallen Journalists Memorial Foundation had begun the design of the memorial. In the US, nearly all journalists have attended university, but only about half majored in journalism. Journalists who work in television or for newspapers are more likely to have studied journalism in college than journalists working for
2494-710: The next two years raising the $ 300,000 necessary to start their own weekly magazine, originally to be called National Weekly . (A magazine holding the trademark to the name prompted the change to National Review .) The statement of intentions read: Middle-of-the-Road, qua Middle of the Road, is politically, intellectually, and morally repugnant. We shall recommend policies for the simple reason that we consider them right (rather than "non-controversial"); and we consider them right because they are based on principles we deem right (rather than on popularity polls)... The New Deal revolution, for instance, could hardly have happened save for
2552-454: The notion among intellectuals that no coherent conservative tradition existed in the United States. A young William F. Buckley Jr. was greatly influenced by Kirk's concepts. Buckley had money; his father grew rich from oil fields in Mexico. He first tried to purchase Human Events , but was turned down. He then met Willi Schlamm , the experienced editor of The Freeman ; they would spend
2610-414: The original senior editors, he urged the adoption of a more pragmatic editorial position that would extend the influence of the magazine toward the political center. Smant (1991) finds that Burnham overcame sometimes heated opposition from other members of the editorial board (including Meyer, Schlamm, William Rickenbacker, and the magazine's publisher William A. Rusher ), and had a significant effect on both
2668-430: The part of highly visible business leaders within the movement as well as prosperity gospel preachers. Followers are said to embrace economic inequality as a means of righteous vindication for the elect . The next chapter describes how some religious institutions in the movement primarily view salvation and church membership as a financial imperative. This is followed by the chapter "God: The Commercial," which contrasts
2726-466: The pro-capitalist opulence of Trinity Broadcast Network televangelist Paul Crouch with the destitution and despair of wide swaths of their target audience. The final chapter, titled "Apocalyptic Violence," evaluated sermons of preachers in the Christian right that included calls to action for preparedness in case of an imminent apocalyptic conflict. Hedges notes that, instead of presenting spiritual influences as an immaterial threat, Christian media like
2784-495: The reason the rest of us should be fighting for the open society." Conservative outlets like National Review and Human Events gave negative reviews for the book, alleging that Hedges exaggerated the violent potential of the Christian right and unfairly characterized the movement as fascist. A book review by Joe Bailey of the Oregon Daily Emerald criticized Hedges' analysis of the political organization of
2842-606: The reporters they expose to danger. Hence, a systematic and sustainable way of psychological support for traumatized journalists is strongly needed. Few and fragmented support programs exist so far. On 8 August 2023, Iran's Journalists' Day, Tehran Journalists' Association head Akbar Montajabi noted over 100 journalists arrested amid protests, while HamMihan newspaper exposed repression against 76 media workers since September 2022 following Mahsa Amini's death-triggered mass protests, leading to legal consequences for journalists including Niloufar Hamedi and Elaheh. The relationship between
2900-513: The source often leads, but journalists commonly object to this notion for two reasons: The dance metaphor goes on to state: A relationship with sources that is too cozy is potentially compromising of journalists' integrity and risks becoming collusive. Journalists have typically favored a more robust, conflict model, based on a crucial assumption that if the media are to function as watchdogs of powerful economic and political interests, journalists must establish their independence of sources or risk
2958-402: The subject matter poses "a clear and present danger to our precious and fragile republic." Journalist A journalist is a person who gathers information in the form of text, audio or pictures, processes it into a newsworthy form and disseminates it to the public. This is called journalism . Journalists can be broadcast, print, advertising or public relations personnel. Depending on
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#17327914780373016-452: The tendency for churches in the movement to conduct love bombing and other cult tactics to increase membership. This is followed by a chapter on "The Cult of Masculinity " within the movement that permits the subjugation and alienation of women and emphasizes Biblical doctrines that center male hegemony . The rights of LGBT persons are covered in the fifth chapter titled "Persecution," in which prejudice against gay and lesbian individuals
3074-532: The time or access to information to research themselves, then communicating an accurate and understandable version to the public as a teacher and policy advisor. In his best-known books, Public Opinion (1922) and The Phantom Public (1925), Lippmann argued that most people lacked the capacity, time and motivation to follow and analyze news of the many complex policy questions that troubled society. Nor did they often experience most social problems or directly access expert insights. These limitations were made worse by
3132-583: Was an age of conformity quite like this one, or a camaraderie quite like the Liberals.' National Review promoted Barry Goldwater heavily during the early 1960s. Buckley and others involved with the magazine took a major role in the "Draft Goldwater" movement in 1960 and the 1964 presidential campaign. National Review spread his vision of conservatism throughout the country. The early National Review faced occasional defections from both left and right. Garry Wills broke with National Review and became
3190-418: Was critical of the work, saying that Hedges "writes on this subject as a neophyte, and pads out his dispatches with ungrounded theorizing, unconvincing speculation and examples that fall far short of bearing out his thesis." Perlstein was unconvinced of Hedges' presentation of the Christian right as a possible violent threat, and continued that "Hedges is worst when he makes the supposed imminence of mass violence
3248-432: Was founded by William F. Buckley Jr. in 1955. Its editor-in-chief is Rich Lowry , and its editor is Ramesh Ponnuru . Since its founding, the magazine has played a significant role in the development of conservatism in the United States , helping to define its boundaries and promoting fusionism while establishing itself as a leading voice on the American right . Before National Review ' s founding in 1955,
3306-442: Was the worst year on record for deadly violence and abuse toward journalists; there was a 15 percent increase in such killings since 2017, with 80 killed, 348 imprisoned and 60 held hostage. Yaser Murtaja was shot by an Israeli army sniper. Rubén Pat was gunned down outside a beach bar in Mexico. Mexico was described by Reporters Without Borders as "one of world's deadliest countries for the media"; 90% of attacks on journalists in
3364-591: Was to purge the American right of its kooks. He marginalized the anti-Semites, the John Birchers, the nativists and their sort." In 1957, National Review editorialized in favor of white leadership in the South, arguing that "the central question that emerges... is whether the White community in the South is entitled to take such measures as are necessary to prevail, politically and culturally, in areas where it does not predominate numerically? The sobering answer
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