Eric Alterman
Eric Alterman is Distinguished Professor of English and Journalism, Brooklyn College, City University of New York, and Professor of Journalism at the CUNY Graduate School of Journalism. He is also "The Liberal Media" columnist for The Nation, a fellow of the Nation Institute, and a senior fellow at the Center for American Progress in Washington, DC, where he writes and edits the "Think Again" column, a blogger for The DailyBeast.com, and a columnist on Jewish-related issues for Moment magazine, a regular contributor to The Daily Beast, and a senior fellow (since 1985) at the World Policy Institute in New York.
He lives in New York City[1].
Stone protege
Alterman was a protege of radical journalist and one time Soviet agent I. F. Stone.[2]
Writing/commentary
Alterman is the author of seven books, including most recently, Why We're Liberals: A Handbook for Restoring America’s Most Important Ideals (2008, 2009), and the national best-sellers What Liberal Media? The Truth About Bias and the News (2003, 2004), and The Book on Bush: How George W. (Mis)leads America (2004). The others include: When Presidents Lie: A History of Official Deception and its Consequences, (2004, 2005). His Sound & Fury: The Making of the Punditocracy (1992,1993, 2000), won the 1992 George Orwell Award and his It Ain't No Sin to be Glad You're Alive: The Promise of Bruce Springsteen (1999, 2001), won the 1999 Stephen Crane Literary Award, and Who Speaks for America? Why Democracy Matters in Foreign Policy, (1998).
Termed "the most honest and incisive media critic writing today" in the National Catholic Reporter, and author of "the smartest and funniest political journal out there," in The San Francisco Chronicle. In recent years, he has also been a columnist for: Worth, Rolling Stone, Mother Jones, and The Sunday Express (London), MSNBC-TV and MSNBC.com, and a history consultant to HBO Films[3].
The December 2005 issue of Z Magazine had a brief promotional paragraph about Alterman's book "When Presidents Lie", which said it "tells of the lies at start of the Cold War, during the Cuban missile crisis, and throughout the Vietnam War and the devastating consequences."
Education
A former Adjunct Professor of Journalism at NYU and Columbia, Alterman received his B.A. in History and Government from Cornell, his M.A. in International Relations from Yale, and his Ph.D. in U.S. History from Stanford[4].
JStreet conference
Secretary of State Antony Blinken headlined a JStreet in December 2022.
Other speakers included former Bernie Sanders adviser and longtime Israel critic Matt Duss, Daily Beast writer Wajahat Ali, a cadre of pro-Palestinian activists, and several Democratic members of Congress, including Sen. Chris Van Hollen (D., Md.) and senator-elect Peter Welch (D., Vt.).
Eric Alterman was on the list, as were Representatives Sean Casten, Gerry Connolly, Madeleine Dean, Mondaire Jones, Pramila Jayapal, Jamie Raskin, Melanie Stansbury, Jennifer Wexton, Ben Wikler of the Democratic Party of Wisconsin, Leah Greenberg of Indivisible, Ruth Messinger, Ambassador Rabbi David Saperstein and Hesham Youssef of US Institute of Peace.[5]
The Guardian, the U.S. Maoist weekly newspaper
The name Eric Alterman started to appear in the Guardian Associates list of contributing writers in early September, 1989, more specifically, the September 13, 1989 issue, p. 23, in the Guardian Staff/Correspondents section of the paper. He was also listed for at least some of 1990, and as more definitive information is found in additional issues, it will be entered here.
The name Eric Alterman was signed to Guardian subscription letters in the mid-late 1980's wherein he was listed as "Circulation Manager".
The name Eric Alterman was listed in the "Guardian" of November 6, 1985, as "Marketplace/Circulation Assistant", p. 19. Then on page 20, under "FILM", "Eric Alterman" wrote a long review of the movie "Kiss of the Spider Woman", entitled "Loving People ... And A Person".
In the March 25, 1987 issue of the "Guardian", an "Eric Alterman" was listed as "Circulation Director", p. 19.
Institute for Policy Studies
In 1993 Eric Alterman was listed as a among "former Visiting Fellows and Visiting Scholars and current TransNational Institute Fellows" on the Institute for Policy Studies 30th Anniversary brochure.
Defending I. F. Stone
In the 1990s, information was released indicating that the late journalist I. F. Stone had been a Soviet agent. Eric Alterman, a onetime Stone protégé, called the Stone-KGB stories “smears,” “phony,” and “pathetic,” dismissing the whole contretemps as “an almost entirely bogus controversy over whether Stone ever willingly spied for the Russians or cooperated with the KGB in any way. He did not.”[6]
DSA’s Cuba Letter
Eric Alterman signed an April 2003 Statement on Cuba, initiated and circulated[7] by prominent Democratic Socialists of America (DSA) member Leo Casey, calling for the lifting of trade sanctions against Cuba.
- “a statement circulating among democratic left/socialist folks, largely by members of Democratic Socialists of America, condemning the recent trials and convictions of non-violent dissenters in Cuba”.
The petition criticized Cuba's poor human rights record, but shared the blame for Cuba's problems with reactionary elements of the U.S. administration...
- The democratic left worldwide has opposed the U.S. embargo on Cuba as counterproductive, more harmful to the interests of the Cuban people than helpful to political democratization. The Cuban state's current repression of political dissidents amounts to collaboration with the most reactionary elements of the U.S. administration in their efforts to maintain sanctions and to institute even more punitive measures against Cuba.
Many of the petition's 120 odd signatories were known members of DSA.
Center for American Progress
In 2005 Eric Alterman served as a fellow[8] of Center for American Progress.
The Nation
In 2009 Eric Alterman was listed as a columnist for The Nation[9].
JournoList
Eric Alterman of The Nation, Media Matters for America - possibly a former Guardian Associate and possible writer for the Maoist-oriented Guardian, September 1989-1990's[3] ; Also, 2010, writer for The Nation magazine; Professor of Journalism, City University of New York -POLITICO op. cit. was an identified member of JournoList - an email group of approximately 400 "progressive" and socialist journalists, academics and "new media" activists.
JournoList members reportedly coordinated their messages in favor of Barack Obama and the Democrats, and against Sarah Palin and the Republican Party. JournoList was founded in 2007 and was closed down in early 2010.[10]
References
- ↑ http://www.ericalterman.com/
- ↑ Commentary Magazine 'I.F. Stone, Soviet Agent—Case Closed", Harvey Klehr, John Earl Haynes and Alexander Vassiliev, May 2009
- ↑ http://www.ericalterman.com/
- ↑ http://www.ericalterman.com/
- ↑ [1]
- ↑ Commentary Magazine 'I.F. Stone, Soviet Agent—Case Closed", Harvey Klehr, John Earl Haynes and Alexander Vassiliev, May 2009
- ↑ http://www.nathannewman.org/log/archives/000912.shtml
- ↑ http://www.americanprogress.org/aboutus/files/annual_report_2004-2005.pdf
- ↑ http://www.thenation.com/about/masthead.mhtml
- ↑ Free Republic: JournoList: 151 Names Confirmed (with News Organizations), July 30, 2010 (accessed August 2, 2010)