Eric Alterman

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Eric Alterman is a liberal American journalist, author, media critic, blogger, and educator, possibly best known for the political weblog named Altercation, which ran at MSNBC from 2002 until 2006.

Contents 1 Career 2 Nader 3 Books 4 References 5 External links

[edit] Career

Alterman writes a political column for The Nation, and is a Senior Fellow at the Center for American Progress, Media Matters for America and the World Policy Institute. He is also a Professor of English at Brooklyn College. He received a B.A. in History and Government from Cornell University, an M.A. in International Relations from Yale, and a Ph.D. in U.S. History from Stanford.

Alterman was hired by MSNBC in 1995, and appeared as a commentator on the cable channel and wrote a column. In 2002 MSNBC directed him to create the daily Altercation blog, which was the first blog run by a mainstream news outlet.^[1] In September 2006, Alterman and MSNBC parted ways, after a ten year association. Media Matters for America then hired Alterman as a Senior Fellow and agreed to host Altercation, effective September 18, 2006. Regular contributors to his Altercation blog include sportswriter Charlie Pierce and historians and military officer Robert Bateman.

In October 2004, Alterman released his sixth book,When Presidents Lie: A History of Official Deception and its Consequences - a version of Alterman's doctoral dissertation on lies of major consequence told by Presidents Franklin D. Roosevelt, John F. Kennedy, Lyndon Johnson, Ronald Reagan, and George W. Bush. He is currently working on a book about the history of Liberalism.

Alterman's academic expertise is in American history, and he is an historical consultant to HBO films, but he is better known for his media criticism, which is the subject of his Nation column as well as a weekly column he writes for the American Progress website and two of his books. Alterman argues that the press is biased against liberals rather than in their favor.

[edit] Nader

Alterman was and remains a critic of Ralph Nader for his actions in 2000 US Presidental Election claiming he is partially to blame for the election of George W. Bush because of vote splitting ^[2]. He has called Nader "Bush's Useful Idiot" ^[3], myopic ^[4], and a deluded megalomaniac ^[5]. In the documentary An Unreasonable Man, he is quoted saying

The man needs to go away. I think he needs to live in a different country. He’s done enough damage to this one. Let him damage somebody else's now. ^[6]

[edit] Books

• When Presidents Lie
• The Book on Bush: How George W. (Mis)leads America
• What Liberal Media?
• Sound and Fury: The Making of the Punditocracy
• It Ain't No Sin To Be Glad You're Alive: The Promise of Bruce Springsteen.

[edit] References

1. ^ Eric Alterman (September 11, 2006). I'm Fired. Retrieved on 2006-09-11.
2. ^ Eric Alterman (February 8, 2006). Dancing days are here again. Retrieved on 2007-02-26.
3. ^ Eric Alterman (September 16, 2004). Bush's Useful Idiot. Retrieved on 2007-02-26.
4. ^ Eric Alterman (March 22, 2001). Tweedledee, Indeed. Retrieved on 2007-02-26.
5. ^ Eric Alterman (June 6, 2004). Phew. Retrieved on 2007-02-26.
6. ^ Democracy Now (February 5, 2007). Ralph Nader on Why He Might Run In 2008, the Iraq War & the New Documentary "An Unreasonable Man". Retrieved on 2007-02-26.

[edit] External links

• Alertman's Website
• E. A. Blog at the Huffington Post
• Altercation weblog at Media Matters
• Alterman's page at the Center for American Progress