Norman Solomon
Encyclopedia
Norman Solomon is an American
journalist
, media critic
, antiwar activist
, and current candidate for the United States House of Representatives
. Solomon is a longtime associate of the media watch
group Fairness & Accuracy In Reporting (FAIR). In 1997 he founded the Institute for Public Accuracy
which works to provide alternative sources for journalists, and served as its executive director until 2010. Solomon's weekly column, "Media Beat", was in national syndication from 1992-2009. More recently Solomon has focused on his 2012 congressional campaign in California's 2nd congressional district
.
apartment complex near his home in suburban Maryland
when he was 14 and as a result came under scrutiny from the FBI. After high school, Solomon attended Reed College
in Oregon but left before graduating. It was in college that he began a lifelong commitment to peaceful protests against nuclear power and nuclear weapons. Solomon engaged in civil disobedience as part of the anti-nuclear movement
, and would eventually would spend 40 days in jail as a result. He made eight trips to Moscow
during the 1980s, including one during which he and a leader of a veterans' group organized a sit-in
at the U.S. Embassy, demanding that the U.S. join the Soviet Union
in a halt to tests of nuclear bombs.
. In 1988, Solomon worked briefly as a spokesperson for the Alliance of Atomic Veterans in Washington, D.C.
. He was hired in August 1988 to run the new Washington, D.C. office of Fairness and Accuracy in Reporting.
In 1997, Solomon published The Trouble With Dilbert, in which he said that the popular comic strip Dilbert
is a capitalist tool which promotes the evils of corporate America. Dilbert author Scott Adams
responded in his 1999 book The Joy of Work
, which included an imaginary interview between Norman and Adams' canine character Dogbert
.
A book of Solomon’s collected columns, The Habits of Highly Deceptive Media, won the 1999 George Orwell Award for Distinguished Contribution to Honesty and Clarity in Public Language. Jonathan Kozol's
introduction to the book noted that "the tradition of Upton Sinclair
, Lincoln Steffens
, and I.F. Stone does not get much attention these days in the mainstream press...but that tradition is alive and well in this collection of courageously irreverent columns on the media by Norman Solomon..."
In 2000, Solomon teamed up with fellow investigative reporter Robert Parry
to write a series of investigative reports on George W. Bush
's Secretary of State Colin Powell
.
His book Target Iraq: What the News Media Didn’t Tell You (co-authored with Reese Erlich
) was published in 2003 and translated into German, Italian, Hungarian, Portuguese, and Korean. War Made Easy: How Presidents and Pundits Keep Spinning Us to Death appeared in 2005. The Los Angeles Times
called the book "a must-read for those who would like greater context with their bitter morning coffee, or to arm themselves for the debates about Iraq that are still to come." A documentary
based on the book was released in 2007.
Solomon is the founder and former executive director of the Institute for Public Accuracy
, an organization founded in 1997 "as a national consortium of independent public-policy researchers, analysts and activists." According to its web site, the mission of IPA is to increase "the reach and capacity of progressive and grassroots organizations (at no cost to them) to address public policy by getting them and their ideas into the mainstream media."
seat in the newly created 2nd congressional district
. Representative Lynn Woolsey
—the incumbent from the former 6th congressional district
, which was geographically expanded into the new 2nd CD via redistricting—announced her retirement later in June, setting up what will likely be a competitive Democratic primary in one of the more liberal districts in the country.
Observers expect Solomon to position himself to the left of his competitors and as the "philosophical heir" to Rep. Woolsey, a leader of the Congressional Progressive Caucus
. In announcing his campaign Solomon himself argued that "After so many years of progressive leadership from Lynn Woolsey, her successor in the House should have a proven commitment to a wide range of progressive values." Solomon is emphasizing his strong environmentalist background and particularly his opposition to nuclear power, which he has used to differentiate himself from his primary opponent Assemblyman Jared Huffman
.
Solomon has a fundraising page through ActBlue
. As of late June of 2011, Solomon had raised over $100,000 for his campaign. His overall fundraising strategy is patterned after those of Howard Dean
and Barack Obama
, as he seeks to finance his campaign via small but continuous contributions from a large donor pool.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
journalist
Journalist
A journalist collects and distributes news and other information. A journalist's work is referred to as journalism.A reporter is a type of journalist who researchs, writes, and reports on information to be presented in mass media, including print media , electronic media , and digital media A...
, media critic
Media studies
Media studies is an academic discipline and field of study that deals with the content, history and effects of various media; in particular, the 'mass media'. Media studies may draw on traditions from both the social sciences and the humanities, but mostly from its core disciplines of mass...
, antiwar activist
Peace activist
This list of peace activists includes people who proactively advocate diplomatic, non-military resolution of political disputes, usually through nonviolent means.A peace activist is an activist of the peace movement.*Jane Addams*Martti Ahtisaari...
, and current candidate for the United States House of Representatives
United States House of Representatives
The United States House of Representatives is one of the two Houses of the United States Congress, the bicameral legislature which also includes the Senate.The composition and powers of the House are established in Article One of the Constitution...
. Solomon is a longtime associate of the media watch
Watchdog journalism
Watchdog journalism aims to hold accountable public personalities and institutions, whose functions impact social and political life. The term "lapdog journalism", for journalism biased in favour of personalities and institutions, is sometimes used as a conceptual opposite to watchdog...
group Fairness & Accuracy In Reporting (FAIR). In 1997 he founded the Institute for Public Accuracy
Institute for Public Accuracy
The Institute for Public Accuracy is a Washington, D.C.-based organization that encourages mainstream news media to interview alternative sources. It was founded in 1997 by Norman Solomon, who serves as executive director; its communications director is Sam Husseini....
which works to provide alternative sources for journalists, and served as its executive director until 2010. Solomon's weekly column, "Media Beat", was in national syndication from 1992-2009. More recently Solomon has focused on his 2012 congressional campaign in California's 2nd congressional district
California's 2nd congressional district
California's 2nd congressional district is a congressional district located in the U.S. state of California. The district contains much of the far northern part of the state, north of Sacramento. It is the largest district by area in California...
.
Early life and activism
Solomon was politically active early in his life. He picketed a segregatedRacial segregation
Racial segregation is the separation of humans into racial groups in daily life. It may apply to activities such as eating in a restaurant, drinking from a water fountain, using a public toilet, attending school, going to the movies, or in the rental or purchase of a home...
apartment complex near his home in suburban Maryland
Maryland
Maryland is a U.S. state located in the Mid Atlantic region of the United States, bordering Virginia, West Virginia, and the District of Columbia to its south and west; Pennsylvania to its north; and Delaware to its east...
when he was 14 and as a result came under scrutiny from the FBI. After high school, Solomon attended Reed College
Reed College
Reed College is a private, independent, liberal arts college located in southeast Portland, Oregon. Founded in 1908, Reed is a residential college with a campus located in Portland's Eastmoreland neighborhood, featuring architecture based on the Tudor-Gothic style, and a forested canyon wilderness...
in Oregon but left before graduating. It was in college that he began a lifelong commitment to peaceful protests against nuclear power and nuclear weapons. Solomon engaged in civil disobedience as part of the anti-nuclear movement
Anti-nuclear movement in the United States
The anti-nuclear movement in the United States consists of more than 80 anti-nuclear groups which have acted to oppose nuclear power or nuclear weapons, or both, in the United States. These groups include the Abalone Alliance, Clamshell Alliance, Institute for Energy and Environmental Research,...
, and would eventually would spend 40 days in jail as a result. He made eight trips to Moscow
Moscow
Moscow is the capital, the most populous city, and the most populous federal subject of Russia. The city is a major political, economic, cultural, scientific, religious, financial, educational, and transportation centre of Russia and the continent...
during the 1980s, including one during which he and a leader of a veterans' group organized a sit-in
Sit-in
A sit-in or sit-down is a form of protest that involves occupying seats or sitting down on the floor of an establishment.-Process:In a sit-in, protesters remain until they are evicted, usually by force, or arrested, or until their requests have been met...
at the U.S. Embassy, demanding that the U.S. join the Soviet Union
Soviet Union
The Soviet Union , officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics , was a constitutionally socialist state that existed in Eurasia between 1922 and 1991....
in a halt to tests of nuclear bombs.
Writer and media critic
As a freelance reporter, Solomon worked for a number of years for Pacific News ServicePacific News Service
Pacific News Service is a nonprofit media organization founded in 1969 by Franz Schurmann, the historian, and Orville Schell, a noted author, journalist and Dean of the Graduate School of Journalism at the University of California, Berkeley...
. In 1988, Solomon worked briefly as a spokesperson for the Alliance of Atomic Veterans in Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly referred to as Washington, "the District", or simply D.C., is the capital of the United States. On July 16, 1790, the United States Congress approved the creation of a permanent national capital as permitted by the U.S. Constitution....
. He was hired in August 1988 to run the new Washington, D.C. office of Fairness and Accuracy in Reporting.
In 1997, Solomon published The Trouble With Dilbert, in which he said that the popular comic strip Dilbert
Dilbert
Dilbert is an American comic strip written and drawn by Scott Adams. First published on April 16, 1989, Dilbert is known for its satirical office humor about a white-collar, micromanaged office featuring the engineer Dilbert as the title character...
is a capitalist tool which promotes the evils of corporate America. Dilbert author Scott Adams
Scott Adams
Scott Raymond Adams is the American creator of the Dilbert comic strip and the author of several nonfiction works of satire, commentary, business, and general speculation....
responded in his 1999 book The Joy of Work
The Joy of Work
The Joy of Work by Scott Adams is a two-part book, the first offering recommendations as to how office workers can find happiness at their cubicle desks and the second sharing Adams' formula for creating humor, based on his experience penning the Dilbert comic strip.-Synopsis:The first part of the...
, which included an imaginary interview between Norman and Adams' canine character Dogbert
Dogbert
Dogbert is Dilbert's anthropomorphic pet talking dog from the Dilbert comic strip. According to creator Scott Adams, the character is being based on, if not a member of, the beagle breed.-Characterization:...
.
A book of Solomon’s collected columns, The Habits of Highly Deceptive Media, won the 1999 George Orwell Award for Distinguished Contribution to Honesty and Clarity in Public Language. Jonathan Kozol's
Jonathan Kozol
Jonathan Kozol is a non-fiction writer, educator, and activist, best known for his books on public education in the United States. Kozol graduated from Noble and Greenough School in 1954, and Harvard University summa cum laude in 1958 with a degree in English Literature. He was awarded a Rhodes...
introduction to the book noted that "the tradition of Upton Sinclair
Upton Sinclair
Upton Beall Sinclair Jr. , was an American author who wrote close to one hundred books in many genres. He achieved popularity in the first half of the twentieth century, acquiring particular fame for his classic muckraking novel, The Jungle . It exposed conditions in the U.S...
, Lincoln Steffens
Lincoln Steffens
-Biography:Steffens was born April 6, 1866, in San Francisco. He grew up in a wealthy family and attended a military academy. He studied in France and Germany after graduating from the University of California....
, and I.F. Stone does not get much attention these days in the mainstream press...but that tradition is alive and well in this collection of courageously irreverent columns on the media by Norman Solomon..."
In 2000, Solomon teamed up with fellow investigative reporter Robert Parry
Robert Parry
Robert Parry is an American investigative journalist. He was awarded the George Polk Award for National Reporting in 1984 for his work with the Associated Press on the Iran-Contra story and uncovered Oliver North's involvement in it as a Washington-based correspondent for Newsweek. In 1995, he...
to write a series of investigative reports on George W. Bush
George W. Bush
George Walker Bush is an American politician who served as the 43rd President of the United States, from 2001 to 2009. Before that, he was the 46th Governor of Texas, having served from 1995 to 2000....
's Secretary of State Colin Powell
Colin Powell
Colin Luther Powell is an American statesman and a retired four-star general in the United States Army. He was the 65th United States Secretary of State, serving under President George W. Bush from 2001 to 2005. He was the first African American to serve in that position. During his military...
.
His book Target Iraq: What the News Media Didn’t Tell You (co-authored with Reese Erlich
Reese Erlich
Reese Erlich is a best-selling book author and freelance journalist who writes regularly for the Canadian Broadcasting Corp. Radio, Marketplace Radio and National Public Radio. He has won numerous journalism awards and he was a segment producer on a radio series that won a Peabody...
) was published in 2003 and translated into German, Italian, Hungarian, Portuguese, and Korean. War Made Easy: How Presidents and Pundits Keep Spinning Us to Death appeared in 2005. The Los Angeles Times
Los Angeles Times
The Los Angeles Times is a daily newspaper published in Los Angeles, California, since 1881. It was the second-largest metropolitan newspaper in circulation in the United States in 2008 and the fourth most widely distributed newspaper in the country....
called the book "a must-read for those who would like greater context with their bitter morning coffee, or to arm themselves for the debates about Iraq that are still to come." A documentary
War Made Easy: How Presidents & Pundits Keep Spinning Us to Death
War Made Easy: How Presidents & Pundits Keep Spinning Us to Death is an American documentary film that was produced and released in 2007...
based on the book was released in 2007.
Solomon is the founder and former executive director of the Institute for Public Accuracy
Institute for Public Accuracy
The Institute for Public Accuracy is a Washington, D.C.-based organization that encourages mainstream news media to interview alternative sources. It was founded in 1997 by Norman Solomon, who serves as executive director; its communications director is Sam Husseini....
, an organization founded in 1997 "as a national consortium of independent public-policy researchers, analysts and activists." According to its web site, the mission of IPA is to increase "the reach and capacity of progressive and grassroots organizations (at no cost to them) to address public policy by getting them and their ideas into the mainstream media."
2012 Congressional Campaign
On April 13, 2011, Solomon officially announced his candidacy for what will be an open HouseUnited States House of Representatives
The United States House of Representatives is one of the two Houses of the United States Congress, the bicameral legislature which also includes the Senate.The composition and powers of the House are established in Article One of the Constitution...
seat in the newly created 2nd congressional district
California's 2nd congressional district
California's 2nd congressional district is a congressional district located in the U.S. state of California. The district contains much of the far northern part of the state, north of Sacramento. It is the largest district by area in California...
. Representative Lynn Woolsey
Lynn Woolsey
Lynn C. Woolsey is the U.S. Representative for , serving since 1993. She is a member of the Democratic Party. The district includes all of Marin County and most of Sonoma County. She is a member of the Congressional Progressive Caucus, and its co-chair...
—the incumbent from the former 6th congressional district
California's 6th congressional district
California's 6th congressional district is a congressional district in the U.S. state of California that stretches up the Pacific coast north of the San Francisco Bay...
, which was geographically expanded into the new 2nd CD via redistricting—announced her retirement later in June, setting up what will likely be a competitive Democratic primary in one of the more liberal districts in the country.
Observers expect Solomon to position himself to the left of his competitors and as the "philosophical heir" to Rep. Woolsey, a leader of the Congressional Progressive Caucus
Congressional Progressive Caucus
The Congressional Progressive Caucus is the largest caucus within the Democratic caucus in the United States Congress with 83 declared members, and works to advance progressive issues and positions....
. In announcing his campaign Solomon himself argued that "After so many years of progressive leadership from Lynn Woolsey, her successor in the House should have a proven commitment to a wide range of progressive values." Solomon is emphasizing his strong environmentalist background and particularly his opposition to nuclear power, which he has used to differentiate himself from his primary opponent Assemblyman Jared Huffman
Jared Huffman
Jared Huffman is the assemblyman for California's 6th State Assembly district, which includes all of Marin and southern Sonoma counties...
.
Solomon has a fundraising page through ActBlue
ActBlue
ActBlue is a United States political committee established in June 2004 that enables anyone to fundraise on the Internet for the Democratic Party candidates of their choice....
. As of late June of 2011, Solomon had raised over $100,000 for his campaign. His overall fundraising strategy is patterned after those of Howard Dean
Howard Dean
Howard Brush Dean III is an American politician and physician from Vermont. He served six terms as the 79th Governor of Vermont and ran unsuccessfully for the 2004 Democratic presidential nomination. He was chairman of the Democratic National Committee from 2005 to 2009. Although his U.S...
and Barack Obama
Barack Obama
Barack Hussein Obama II is the 44th and current President of the United States. He is the first African American to hold the office. Obama previously served as a United States Senator from Illinois, from January 2005 until he resigned following his victory in the 2008 presidential election.Born in...
, as he seeks to finance his campaign via small but continuous contributions from a large donor pool.
Books
- Made Love, Got War: Close Encounters with America's Warfare State (October 2007)
- War Made Easy: How Presidents and Pundits Keep Spinning Us to Death (July 2005)
- Target Iraq: What the News Media Didn’t Tell You (co-authored with Reese ErlichReese ErlichReese Erlich is a best-selling book author and freelance journalist who writes regularly for the Canadian Broadcasting Corp. Radio, Marketplace Radio and National Public Radio. He has won numerous journalism awards and he was a segment producer on a radio series that won a Peabody...
) (2003) Download at Coldtype as a free PDF download (691kb) - The Habits of Highly Deceptive Media (1999)
- Wizards of Media Oz: Behind the Curtain of Mainstream News (co-authored with Jeff CohenJeff Cohen (media critic)Jeff Cohen is a journalist, media critic, professor, and the founder of Fairness & Accuracy In Reporting , a media watchdog group in the US. He was formerly a lawyer for the ACLU and authored or co-authored five books that criticize media bias, mainly written with Norman Solomon...
) (1997) - The Trouble With DilbertDilbertDilbert is an American comic strip written and drawn by Scott Adams. First published on April 16, 1989, Dilbert is known for its satirical office humor about a white-collar, micromanaged office featuring the engineer Dilbert as the title character...
: How Corporate Culture Gets the Last Laugh (1997) This Book is Online - Through the Media Looking Glass: Decoding Bias and Blather in the News (with Jeff CohenJeff Cohen (media critic)Jeff Cohen is a journalist, media critic, professor, and the founder of Fairness & Accuracy In Reporting , a media watchdog group in the US. He was formerly a lawyer for the ACLU and authored or co-authored five books that criticize media bias, mainly written with Norman Solomon...
) (1995) - False Hope: The Politics of Illusion in the Clinton Era (1994)
- Adventures in Medialand: Behind the News, Beyond the Pundits (with Jeff CohenJeff Cohen (media critic)Jeff Cohen is a journalist, media critic, professor, and the founder of Fairness & Accuracy In Reporting , a media watchdog group in the US. He was formerly a lawyer for the ACLU and authored or co-authored five books that criticize media bias, mainly written with Norman Solomon...
) (1993) - The Power of Babble: The Politician's Dictionary of Buzzwords and Doubletalk for Every Occasion (1992)
- Unreliable Sources: A Guide to Detecting Bias in News Media (co-authored with Martin A. LeeMartin A. LeeMartin A. Lee is an American author and activist who has written books and articles on far-right movements, terrorism, media issues, and drug politics.Lee has an undergraduate degree in philosophy from the University of Michigan...
) (1990) - Killing Our Own: The Disaster of America's Experience With Atomic Radiation (co-authored with Harvey WassermanHarvey WassermanHarvey Franklin Wasserman is an American journalist, author, democracy activist, and advocate for renewable energy. He has been a strategist and organizer in the anti-nuclear movement in the United States for over 30 years. He has been a featured speaker on Today, Nightline, National Public Radio,...
(1982) This Book is Online
Film
- War Made Easy: How Presidents and Pundits Keep Spinning Us to Death (2007). Based on book by same title; from the Media Education Foundation.
Other writings
- Past Media Beat columns on Fairness & Accuracy In Reporting (FAIR) site.
- Archive of Norman Solomon's columns at AlterNetAlterNetAlterNet, a project of the non-profit Independent Media Institute, is a progressive/liberal activist news service. Launched in 1998, AlterNet now claims a readership of over 3 million visitors per month .AlterNet publishes original content as well as journalism from a wide variety of other sources...
- Coldtype has Solomon's Media Beat columns from 2003-today online as PDFs, plus columns from August to December 2002 collected in PDF form as The Media Marches to War.