A Foreign Policy Of Media Space
Monroe E. Price on the impact of the "war on terrorism" on media issues and the responsibilities of global media to struggling countries.

The Invisible Suffering Victims
U.S. and UK television has abandoned Afghan victims — millions of starving refugees and unknown civilian deaths — for a "fairy tale" war with only heroes and villains, writes Madeleine Bunting. From Guardian Unlimited, December 17

Tokyo Rose: The Media's Post-War Lie
NBC, The New York Times and others have compared American Taliban John Walker to Tokyo Rose, a Japanese-American traitor from World War II. Except "Tokyo Rose" was an innocent woman trapped by media fabrications and a witch hunt. From History News Network, December 11

Terrorism: The New Blacklist
From art exhibits and bookstore customer lists to student t-shirts and newspaper cartoons and articles, people are being harassed and even fired for their politics. Will the hunt for anti-Americanism kill America's free speech? From The Progressive, January 9
Also see: The McCarthyism Watch

Will Antiterrorism Damage Journalism?
Journalists and human rights groups fear that new antiterrorism laws worldwide will restrict free speech and lead to self-censorship. From International Freedom of Expression Exchange, December 11

The Patriotism Of Civic Journalism
A thoughtful and moderate response to flag-waving journalists by Ruth Conniff, who is troubled by the relationship between certain symbols and the dearth of critical thinking. From The Progressive Populist, January 2001 issue

Virtual War And Terror
"Horror has been converted into festive pyrotechnics of innocent perversion," writes Rajesh K. Sharma in a poetic meditation on death at a distance. From spark-online

The Power Of (Manipulated?) Images
The "smoking gun" video of Osama bin Laden made Tarek Atia feel sick, but so did the commentary that followed on U.S. and Arab TV, because, he says, there's no way to tell what's true. From Cairo Live via Globalvision News Network, December 17

Trust The Tape?
Has the U.S. government's videotape evidence of bin Laden's guilt been undermined by the blatant use of propaganda and censorship throughout this war? December 14

Rushdie Meets MacLuhan
Following Salman Rushdie's comments connecting Islam and terrorism, Marshall MacLuhan might have suggested that Islam attracts participation because it's less information-saturated than the symbols of the West. From spark-online

Where Are The Women On War?
Some of the most influential U.S. news outlets continue to all but ignore women as pundits or subjects. This homogenizes public debate, distorts public opinion and fails not only women, but America, writes Jennifer L. Pozner. From TomPaine.com, December 14

Advertising After Tragedy
Watching TV commercials since September 11 (when there were none for days), Jonathan Schildbach has gotten back in touch with his "inner smart-ass." From spark-online, November 30

America's War Comes To The Playground
"Enduring Freedom" trading cards seek to reassure American kids with photos of military hardware and biographical stats on leaders. "Not included are the disturbing images shown repeatedly on national newscasts." From The Lowbrow Lowdown, December 14

Seymour Hersh Gets Harsh
Investigative journalist Seymour Hersh has recently exposed U.S. military failures, Saudi corruption and nuclear dangers in Pakistan and Iran. But Michael Massing worries about the agenda behind scoops that rely on unnamed sources. From The Nation, December 31 issue

Myths Of "The Greatest Generation"
World War II and Pearl Harbor provided America with a ready-made post-September 11 myth, one that fit just right with a conservative agenda. From Los Angeles Weekly

How Newsrooms Cope In Wartime
This survey of U.S. newspapers presents "best practices in terms of caring for employees and rebuilding morale during this hard time, and engaging the community with thoughtful, diverse coverage." From Robert C. Maynard Institute For Journalism Education, December 7

Naming, And Misquoting, Names?
The American Council of Trustees and Alumni (ACTA) got big buzz for publicly naming academics who made "anti-American" statements. Now, accused of errors, ACTA has dropped the names from its Web site. From The Nation, December 31 issue

Manly Men And America's War
A feminist media reading post-September 11 finds too many pundits celebrating gruff heroic men and making empty noises about women's rights. From Lip Magazine, December 10

The Pentagon's Showman
The U.S. media seem to love Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld, writes John Powers, and somehow he makes it fun to be lied to. From Los Angeles Weekly, December 12

Censored Wars
U.S. media executives say we won't know the truth about the war in Afghanistan for years, so why worry about wartime censorship? Well, for starters, look back at Vietnam, says Richard Perlstein. From The Village Voice, January 12

Top of Page

A Deadly Cover-Up?
Are the U.S. media and government lying and colluding to conceal civilian deaths in Afghanistan? Yes, and more than 3,000 Afghans have already been killed by U.S. bombings, concludes Marc Herold's detailed analysis of international media reports, Taliban accounts and Pentagon statements. From Media Alliance, December 10
Also see: Pentagon Denials And Civilian Death In Afghanistan.

The Web: Perfect For Propaganda
This global war threatens to encompass ongoing conflicts from all over, as partisan news sites seek to brand their enemies as "terrorists."From Online Journalism Review, December 6

A Media Plan For Afghanistan
If Afghanistan is to develop into a peaceful, stable democracy, it must have international support for a free and inclusive media system. Hence this proposal by a coalition of press organizations. From InterNews, December 11
Also see: A Report On Afghan Media Assessment And Development.

Hollywood's War?
Did Hollywood movies, bloated on death and destruction, predict or even inspire the attacks of September 11? Has guilt caused America's most powerful global force to censor films, pump out military flicks and join the propaganda effort? asks J. Hoberman. From The Village Voice, December 5

Empathy From A Battered Journalist
Veteran correspondent Robert Fisk, beaten by a mob near the Afghan-Pakistan border, says, "If I were the Afghan refugees of Kila Abdullah ... I would have done just the same to Robert Fisk." From Media Workers Against War, December 10

Why Western Media Bash Saudi Arabia
The Saudi Crown Prince claims that the U.S. and European media malign his country and his regime. Writing for a Saudi-owned newspaper, Uthman al-Rawwaf breaks down the "anti-Saudi media campaign." From World Press Review, October 30

Muslims Must Enter The British Media War
The English press is far too full of anti-Muslim views, says Bilal Patel, and it's up to Muslims in the UK to change this. From Yellow Times, December 9

Osama's Bad Press
Although editorial writers in the Middle East press have begun turning against bin Laden, that doesn't mean the United States has won its campaign for Muslim hearts and minds. From WorkingForChange.com (Working Assets), December 6

The Silencing Of Davey D
After the radio host featured an anti-war discussion with Muslims and congressional war dissenter Barbara Lee and a debate on African American patriotism, he was fired. His bosses at radio giant Clear Channel Communications say it was simply cost-cutting. From TomPaine.com, December 3

Manufacturing Wartime Consent
Does media manipulation account for the nearly total public support for the war in Afghanistan that the Bush administration claims? If Americans use the Net to find alternative news sources, will that support wane? From AlterNet/Independent Media Institute, December 10

Ashcroft's Criticism-Terrorism Equation
U.S. Attorney General John Ashcroft recently told a Senate committee that those who criticize his antiterrorism plan "only aid terrorists." Er ... a justice department spokeswoman said that anyone who reported this was committing the same crime. From Spinsanity, December 10

President As Pitchman
A new multimillion-dollar ad campaign that features President Bush promoting U.S. tourism is at best rank commercialism and at worst irresponsible, says Arianna Huffington. From WorkingForChange (Working Assets), December 11

SOUNDBITES
"I don't believe that democracy and terrorism are relative things you can talk about, and I don't think there's any moral equivalence in those two positions. If that makes me a bad guy, tough luck. I'm still getting the ratings."
— Roger Ailes, chairman, Fox News, 12/3/2001 (From Hard News Cafe)

"To announce that there must be no criticism of the President, or that we are to stand by the President, right or wrong, is not only unpatriotic and servile, but is morally treasonable to the American public."
— Theodore Roosevelt, U.S. President 1901-1909 (From The American Presidency)

Top of Page

Counseling Journalists
How the Dart Center tries to help journalists traumatized by the World Trade Center attacks.
Plus: An interview with Chris Cramer, president of CNN International and honorary chair of Newscoverage Unlimited at the Dart Center for Journalism and Trauma. From MediaChannel, December 4
Also see: Resources for journalists covering the War on Terrorism.

News Dissector: War Crimes
The massacre of prisoners in an Afghan prison is being condemned by many throughout the world as a war crime. Danny Schechter asks: Why is the U.S. media largely ignoring the controversy?
Also see: Afghan prison massacre: American media accounts differ from other sources From MediaChannel.org, December 4

U.S. Communication Breakdown
The U.S. PR campaign will fail unless the government learns to understand the U.S. credibility problem, listen to Arab and Muslim audiences and realize that they don't trust the media, says Professor R. S. Zaharna. From Foreign Policy In Focus (Interhemispheric Resource Center), November 21

Invisible Immigrants
If the press didn't ignore immigrants, innocent people might not be waiting — and dying — behind bars, writes Laura Flanders, who says U.S. media shouldn't be given too much credit for finally paying attention to the hundreds detained since September 11. From TomPaine.com, November 30

A Tourist In A Deadly Land
Hustled into convoys full of expensive equipment, foreign journalists look for war stories despite risks from bombs, battles and potential thieves and killers. Ted Rall reports from the front. From The Village Voice, November 28

War Without Rules
There's a reason it's so risky: Western journalists in Afghanistan can trust neither their instincts in this anarchic war nor their Northern Alliance hosts, says this report from Pakistan News Service. From Globalvision News Network, November 27

How To Write News (Not PR)
As Canadian and U.S. journalists are pushed or compelled to narrowly report pro-war facts and views, radio journalist Byron Christopher offers some tips on writing news without biased, loaded and emotive terms. From Rabble, November 12

War Reporters: In Danger And In The Dark
Despite the dangers, war reporters must have battlefield access to keep a close eye on the military, writes Kim Campbell, quoting veteran newsman Walter Cronkite, "We must know what they are doing in our name." From Christian Science Monitor, December 4
Also: Is the U.S. government lying about U.S. casualties to keep support?

Reporting Secret Tribunals
In accepting a Committee to Protect Journalists award, The New York Times' Joseph Lelyveld spoke out against Bush's military tribunals and urged others journalists to do the same. From Committee to Protect Journalists, November 27
Plus: What the U.S. press has to say on secret tribunals.

Silencing The Enemy?
The U.S. Defense Department claims it has destroyed the communications networks of the Taliban and Al Qaeda. But in the age of the Internet, this may not be possible. From Globalvision News Network, December 3

Report: EU Plans Database To Track and Ban Protestors
The Council of The European Union is discussing an increased database system to track protestors and keep them from entering countries where protests are planned. From Statewatch, November 19

Terrorists = Protesters = Indy Journalists?
Krystalline Kraus, an accredited independent journalist, tells of being illegally searched then booted by guards from a G-20 meeting in Ottawa. She sees less tolerance for dissenting voices following September 11. From Independent Media Center, November 26

War On Terrorism Shuts Somalia's Internet
When the United States shut down a Somali firm for financial links to Al Qaeda, Internet access for all Somali citizens, the government and international agencies was also cut off. From Digital Freedom Network, November 29

Fearing Al-Jazeera
Hassan Al-Haifi says if the West hates Al-Jazeera, it's because the pioneering Arab-language broadcaster is doing something right and the West respects its professionalism. From Middle East News Service, December 3

Los Angeles Times Lines Up Behind Prez
A British reporter asks why the U.S. press uncritically supports Bush's policies on war and civil liberties, with none of the skeptical analysis of the U.K papers. From Media Guardian, December 3

Irony's Not Dead, Just Darker
Forget the claims that irony died on September 11, says New York-based columnist Michael Musto; the tragic and twisted events since — and our responses — are nothing if not bitterly ironic. From The Village Voice, November 28

Media In The Crossfire
While U.S. press freedom is in danger from the propaganda pressures after September 11, new economic pressures mean media jobs are at risk too. From The Newspaper Guild, October 19

The Poison At Ground Zero
Media workers who were based in the World Trade Center or who spent time there covering the attacks face unknown health risks from the toxins created by the destruction. From The Newspaper Guild, November 16

Team Anthrax
Did having a best-selling book about biological weapons to promote cause New York Times bioterrorism reporters to go heavy on hype and light on facts? From The Nation, December 17

The Demographics Of Lining Up
How class and geography affect the new reality of Americans standing in long lines at airports. Who's missing from those lines? asks Mark Trahant. From Maynard Institute, November 30

Top of Page

The Hip-Hop Antiwar Movement
With its global, multiracial, polycultural reach, the Hip-Hop Generation can play a central role in a worldwide call for peace. From Alternet, November 19

Italy: Tacit Propaganda
Gathering quotes from many commentators on Italian war coverage, Mariella Li Bergoli warns that the unmentioned threat of propaganda endangers press freedom as much as censorship. From MediaChannel, November 28

News Post-Taliban: Women Are Back
The moving account of Rida Azimi, a young Afghan newscaster who returned to Kabul Television - 48 hours after the Taliban fled - after five years under the burqa. From Guardian Unlimited, November 27

Afghanistan: Media And Democracy
Running wars via modern media is difficult to balance with democracy, says Afghanistan expert Michael Griffin in this interview with Danny Schechter. From MediaChannel, November 28

The Official Bias Of Mainstream News
Repeating the government line without comment may allow journalists to claim neutrality, but in fact means they are implicitly siding with the government. From MediaLens, November 27

Interview With A News Anchor
Jon Snow, the widely respected presenter of Channel 4's evening news, argues that the lack of diverse views on the war and Islam is due to the absence of good commentators, not censorship by the media. From OpenDemocracy, November 22

The Narrative Of Good And Evil
Why it's impossible to be objective and a dangerous trap to try, and how reporters find "news narratives." From Index on Censorship, November 26

The War On Journalists
In the old days, correspondents were thought to be neutral observers, and enemy soldiers seldom deliberately fired on them. But with seven correspondents killed last week in Afghanistan, that has changed. Phillip Knightley considers why. From Guardian Unlimited, November 26

Militants Of The Chattering Class
The warmongering belligerence of most mainstream U.S. pundits has shifted the debate so far to the right that any sensible critic gets labeled a pacifist or even a traitor. Plus: The 10 most war-hungry U.S. columnists. From Alternet, November 21

AS THE MEDIA WATCH THE WORLD,
WE WATCH THE MEDIA.