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March 03, 2003
Media & the War
How will the media conduct themselves in the forthcoming war with Iraq?
For some back ground to news and war, see Tim Porter
Will the media conduct themselves in being objective & telling the truth? Or will they act along the lines of this account of CNN's preparations by Robert Fisk. That is food for thought.
Let us hope that the media corporations show more initiative than they did last time around to be ‘to be witnesses to the truth’. It does not look to be so.
Posted by Gary Sauer-Thompson at March 3, 2003 04:10 PM
Comments
Does anyone require further evidence that the American media has largely gone to the dark side along with the government? If so, here 'tis:
http://news.google.com/news?hl=en&scoring=d&q=%22Frank+Koza%22&btnG=Search+News
Posted by: ausyankee at March 4, 2003 10:06 AM
There's proof aplenty and most of us outside the US are aware of it - the problem is that, living inside the bubble, many Americans don't. And until they do, not much will change. For me, the US press has been more darkness than light since the start of the Clinton hunt. That faux crisis was followed by a real one, the theft of the election and here the media confirmed it's declension from a protection against untrammelled power to an arm of the beast.
Did you know that there were in the region of 12,000 stories about Al Gore's hair, or earth tones or claim about the Internet; but that you could count the number of stories on Halliburton or Harken with your fingers - no need for toes. And they were buried under confusing subheads on page 16 or whatever. Like Mandela's or the Pope's blistering criticism of the US - non-stories. Like Blix's many brickbats for the US or bouquets for Iraq - buried. Like the Bali bombing - fishwrap a day later. Like the fact that there is lots of room for vote-rigging with the new touch screen machines, the manufacturers of which tend to have prominent Republicans on their boards. Not a story apparently.
Noam Chomsky was right all those years ago and remains right today. When you have British Tories complaining about the bias of US media, you know there's a problem.
One of the most devastating criticisms of the media was from Daniel Ellsberg of Pentagon Papers fame - in this interview for Editor and Publisher:
http://www.editorandpublisher.com/editorandpublisher/headlines/article_display.jsp?vnu_content_id=1803569
It was of course buried if it was noticed at all.
Posted by: Glenn at March 4, 2003 04:25 PM
>Noam Chomsky was right...
Here's a primer in case one of Gary's more unenlightened visitors happens upon this quote box...
Posted by: ausyankee at March 4, 2003 11:00 PM