Ubiquitous propaganda, torturing suspected enemies, secret prisons, political operatives planted throughout the government, kangaroo courts, secret police tasked with spying on citizens, and a self-righteous refusal to ever admit the smallest of mistakes. Danny Schechter the News Dissector makes a powerful and disturbing case that Bush and the Neo-Cons are in fact the new Stalinists. More...
We've now been at (undeclared) war longer than the entirety of World War II. The war against Al Qaeda has progressively morphed into the War against Iraq, to the Global War on Terror, all the way to the "early stages" of the Clash of Civilizations. Yet it appears that the entire enterprise is not only illegal but also unconstitutional at its core.
I therefore have a modest proposal aimed at rectifying this situation: let's declare war! More...
Last night, the Walter Kaitz Foundation honored MTV with the Diversity Champion Award during its annual dinner in Manhattan. It would seem that the Kaitz Foundation either knows nothing about MTV Networks or is another example of how confused some of our diversity campaigns are. After all, MTV Networks probably considers "Where My Dogs At?" a show so diverse it makes canines feel included, with black women depicted with leashes around their necks and walking into a pet shop on all fours. Then there's "Yo Momma," with teenagers spewing racist epithets, and "Flavor of Love," a largely vulgar minstrel show.
When Iran's president, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, invited President Bush to engage in a "direct television debate," the White House predictably responded by calling the offer "a diversion." But even though this debate will never happen, it's worth contemplating. Both presidents are propaganda junkies -- or, more precisely, propaganda pushers -- so any such debate would overdose the audience with self-righteous arrogance. Each man, in his own way, is a fundamentalist: so sure of his own moral superiority that he's willing to push his country into a military confrontation. This assessment may be a bit unfair to Ahmadinejad, who hasn't yet lied his nation into war; the American president is far more experienced in that department. More...
As a balance to the much-maligned ABC/Disney mini-series 'Path to 9/11,' MediaChannel offers this online screening of '9/11: Press for Truth' in its entirety (124 mins).
Based on Paul Thompson's Complete 9/11 Timeline and the true story of how some family members fought a relentless, emotional battle (against the will of the Whitehouse) for an independent investigation of the attacks. The film features never-before-seen interviews and stitches together overlooked news clips, buried stories, and government press conferences to reveal a pattern of official lies, deception and spin. As a result, a very different picture of 9/11 emerges, one that raises new and more pressing questions. This film does not posit a conspiracy theory: it systematically reviews accounts, quotes, official Whitehouse statements and catalogs the many disturbing contradictions. After watching this film, it is simply impossible to believe the 'official story.' Please watch this important film...
The Federal Communications Commission
Chairman Michael Powell commissioned the study in hopes it would show that consolidated ownership didn’t negatively impact local communities. The Associated Press reported Wednesday afternoon that upon seeing the results, Powell ordered that “every last piece” of the study be destroyed. More...
On the fifth anniversary of the attacks of 9/11, Citizens Watch and the 9/11 Family Steering Committee held a press conference in Washington, D.C., to demand for a re-investigation of the attacks of 9/11. The 9/11 Family Steering Committee was instrumental in pressing for the first official investigation, against the will of the Whitehouse. 9/11 Commisioner
Jamie Gorelick originally praised the work of the Steering Committee, saying that their well-researched list of questions and concerns would serve as a 'road map' for the official investigation. Five years later, more than seventy per-cent of the 'road map' questions remain unanswered. Watch this video of the press conference (RealMedia only), and visit the '9/11 Press for Truth' website to learn more.
President George W. Bush has long preferred illusion to reality. "See, in my line of work you got to keep repeating things over and over and over again for the truth to sink in, to kind of catapult the propaganda," Bush explained of his approach at a public forum in 2005. For Bush, there are no real problems, only political problems. The only crises are when poll numbers fall. Bush administration officials are obsessed with controlling the flow of information. Their strategy for maintaining their grip on power is simple: Perpetuate fear. More...
It's true. It's weird. It's nuts. The Department of Homeland Security, after a five-year manhunt for Osama bin Laden, has finally brought charges against...Greg Palast. I kid you not. Television producer Matt Pascarella and I have been charged with unauthorized filming of a "critical national security structure" in Louisiana. More...
Now that all the books have been published and promoted… And the Hollywood films have all opened – and closed… And all the radio and television commentaries and commemorative specials have been broadcast… and all the dramas…and the so-called ‘docudramas’…and even a handful of reality-based, actual ‘documentaries’ have aired and been argued over, ad infinitum and ad nauseum, on the web and in the blogosphere…at long last, and after all has been said -- but so little really has been done -- where do we find ourselves, and where do we go from here, on the long, confusing, circuitous and still ever-painful path from 9/11? More...
Keith Olbermann is on a roll. First he took on Rumsfeld's 'political dissent equals Nazi appeasers'
speech, then he spanked President Bush for suggesting that US journalists and newscasters were doing al-Queda's work for them--by daring to question the Whitehouse. Last night on MSNBC's 'Countdown,' on the fifth anniversary of the attacks of 9/11, Olbermann channeled Edward R. Murrow and took the Bush administration to task for exploiting a national tragedy for political purposes, and he pulled no punches. WATCH VIDEO.
Despite the best efforts of the Pentagon to keep the lid on the story of Able Danger--the controversial secret military intelligence program that purportedly identified five active Al Qaeda cells and four of the 9/11 hijackers more than a year before the worst terror attacks ever on American soil – continues to make news. More...
As an antidote to Oliver Stone's remarkably incurious account of the attacks of September eleventh, watch, '9/11: Press for Truth,' a new film based on Paul Thompson's 9/11 timeline and made with the cooperation of 'The Jersey Girls' and other 9/11 activists. The film features a lot of new interview footage, and makes a compelling case that the official story of what happened on 9/11 is simply not true. With the fifth anniversary of 9/11 looming and national security a hot political issue, it's time to revisit the biggest national security failure in the history of our country--and ask why the press failed to investigate. (Disclosure: 9/11 Press for truth was co-produced by GlobalVision and the video re-mix was produced by MediaChannel's David Olson). Watch video re-mix. Visit website.
Keep Media Savvy Alive We would love to keep Media Savvy News going and improve it, but limited resources are catching up with us. Ultimately, the future of this newsletter depends on you. So, please, if you feel this news is of value to you, consider becoming a MediaChannel monthly sustainer and make a small tax-deductible donation that will Keep Media Savvy Alive.
CIA Agent in Leak Furor Sues Cheney and White House Aides
By Oliver Burkeman, The Guardian
The CIA leak scandal took a damaging new turn for the Bush
administration last night when the intelligence operative at the centre of the
affair filed a civil lawsuit against Vice President Dick Cheney and other
senior White House officials.
Former CIA Officer: Cheney, Rove Engaged in 'Whispering Campaign'
Associated Press via CNN
Former CIA officer Valerie Plame and her husband, former Ambassador
Joseph Wilson, said Friday that they decided to sue Vice President Dick Cheney
and presidential adviser Karl Rove because Cheney and Rove engaged in a
"whispering campaign" to destroy Plame's career.
Novak Attack, Off by a Mile
By Justin Rood, TPM Muckraker
Trying to dodge criticism for his role in outing Valerie Plame,
columnist Bob Novak attacked a National Journal story by Murray Waas on Fox's
Hannity & Colmes.
Robert Novak Waffles on CIA Objections to Outing Valerie Plame
By Ellen, News Hounds
Columnist Robert Novak, the man who outed Valerie Plame as a CIA agent,
appeared on Hannity & Colmes Wednesday night to discuss his ³tell all²
column that actually told very little about the Plame incident. Novak
was evasive about CIA efforts to stop him from publishing her name and
gave vague answers indicating he had arrogantly concluded she wasn¹t
covert enough and the CIA didn¹t object enough to warrant refraining from
revealing her identity.
Snark Is a Tell
By Tom Maguire, Just One Minute
It's one of the oldest tactics in debate-dom - if you have no facts to
support your argument, sneer. It might be instructive to compare and
contrast the Harlow-Novak exchange with the secret prisons story, or the
NSA wiretapping debacle, where multiple high-level officials, including
the President, implored the press to keep quiet.
The "Option" of Checks and Balances
By Tim Grieve, Salon.com
When the White House announced earlier this week that it would afford
at least some of the protections of the Geneva Conventions to detainees
at Guanánamo Bay, the story made headlines in newspapers all across
America. It's a sign of how far we've come in the past five and a half
years: What once would have been automatic -- an announcement that the
executive branch will comply with a final ruling from the judicial branch
-- is so remarkable now that it counts as front-page news.
The 'Times' Is Us
By Eric Alterman, The Nation
Mainstream media coverage conveys the impression that the
Administration's attacks on the New York Times were motivated by the paper's
3,550-word story detailing U.S. attempts to track terrorist financing methods,
published despite an official request for self-censorship. In fact, they
constitute another front in the Bush (& Co.) war on the press. And once
again many members of the media have enlisted as apparatchiks in
undermining their own putative profession, preferring ideology to
independence and access to accountability.
Media Badly Botches Reporting on Bush-Specter Wiretapping Bill
By Greg Sargent, American Prospect
Many news outlets buried one of the most important facts about this
pending legislation way down in their stories and sometimes mentioned it
only in passing. The fact is that the bill doesn't make it mandatory
that the FISA court review happen.
Electrocute Bill Keller! No, hang him!
By Joe Conason, Salon
The moronic hosts of GOP-connected radio station KSFO get big yuks
calling for "traitors" in the press to be killed -- all brought to you by
Disney.
Reporter Jailed for Subversion over Essays on Ruling Party Graft
South China Morning Post via Asia Media News
A Chinese reporter who posted essays on websites criticizing the ruling
Communist Party was sentenced to two years in prison on subversion
charges, a human rights monitoring centre said on Thursday.
Russia's 'Extremism' Law Should Be Withdrawn
World Association of Newspapers
The World Association of Newspapers and World Editors Forum have asked
the Russian government to abandon a proposed law that provides for up
to three years in jail for journalists, characterized as "extremists," who
criticize public officials.
Study Finds Substantial Use of Insults by Ghanaian Media
International Journalists¹ Network
A study by a media analysis group suggests that Ghanaian newspapers
publish a large number of insults, concluding that many journalists are
failing to meet ethical standards.
Collins Reflects on Five Years As 'NYT' Editorial Page Chief
By Joe Strupp, Editor & Publisher
Collins¹ biggest regret as opinion leader was not questioning the
existence of weapons of mass destruction in Iraq prior to the war. While the
editorial page has long opposed the invasion, due mostly to the lack of
a U.N. authorization, it had supported the contention that WMDs existed
early on.
CNN's Lebanon Problem
By Eric Boehlert, Huffington Post
Has CNN gotten to the point where it won't report pertinent facts that
are essential in putting the story in context? Facts that certainly
would have helped viewers understand some of the international criticism
Israel was coming under for what the European Union called a
"disproportionate" military response to the conflict at hand.
Coffins in Ads Spark Debate
Capitol Hill Blue via Reuters
Congressional Republicans attacked Democrats for an Internet video
featuring flag-draped coffins of U.S. casualties in Iraq, saying it
"crossed the line" by exploiting troops and politicizing the war.
Fox Crew Attacked in Israel after Providing Israeli Troop Movements
By Janie, News Hounds
A Fox crew, including Fox News Correspondent David Lee Miller, was shot
at after providing Israeli troop locations containing video of Israeli
tanks. It is unclear who was shooting at the crew, but the attack took
place live on air.
Story of 'Joe's Dead Intern' Began Harris' Slide, Insiders Say
By Marc Caputo, Miami Herald
When Katherine Harris attacked TV pundit Joe Scarborough, insiders
said the incident revealed the depth of problems with her campaign --
which was hit again by six staff departures.
MP Shahidul Apologizes to Journalists for Attack
The Daily Star via Asia Media News
Bangladesh lawmaker Shahidul Islam regretted and apologized for the
attack on journalists in Kushtia in May and said he would withdraw two
cases filed against them.
Time's Unserious and Misleading Cover Story
By Peter Wehner, Real Clear Politics
Peter Wehner, deputy assistant to the president and director of the
White House's Office of Strategic Initiatives, responds to Time magazine's
"end of cowboy diplomacy" cover story.
Another Battle for the CPB
By Matea Gold, Los Angeles Times
Less than a year after the chairman of the Corporation for Public
Broadcasting was forced to resign amid charges that he injected partisanship
into the agency, President Bush has nominated to the nonprofit's board
a television sitcom producer who has described himself as "thoroughly
conservative in ways that strike horror into the hearts of my Hollywood
colleagues."
Free Pass
By Jay Rosen, Pressthink
Why would a journalist describe prevailing wisdom in his own business
as way dumber than it really is? Because it's the cheapest way there is
to sound smart: defy the conventional wisdom that you just spent $0.0
and zero man hours compiling.
Invisible Greed
By William Powers, National Journal
Suddenly this summer, the media are agog about philanthropy. Funny
thing, though: Even as all this fuss is made about a couple of generous
moguls, there's been barely a peep about the less kindly plutocrats among
us.
Up for Grabs in New Australian Media Landscape
The Daily Telegraph
Foreign investors will be able to buy a greater slice of Australia's
print, radio and TV companies under planned changes to media ownership
laws.
MediaChannel.org/ MediaVision
/ C-SPAN
In case you missed it: MediaChannel's Rory O Connor interviewed
News Dissector Danny Schechter on C-SPAN's "Book TV." The discussion
of Schechter's new book, "When News Lies: Media Complicity and the
Iraq War" aired this past weekend and Monday morning. You can watch
the first half here on MediaChannel.org.
Source: MediaChannel.org / MediaVision
Bernard McGuirk: "She strikes me as the kind of woman who would wear one of those suicide vests. You know, walk into the, try and sneak into the Green Zone°. She may be carrying Habib's baby at this point."
Source: MediaChannel.org / Spectre Films
MediaChannel is inviting filmmakers, video guerrillas and groups
with media related videos to send them to us for showcasing on our
site. Our first submission is a new FIGHT MEDIA CONSOLIDATION ad
from Spectre Films.
Take Action: Demand Better Iraq War Coverage
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of Americans in calling on U.S. media outlets to do a better job
of reporting on the war in Iraq.
Net Freedom Under Fire: Act Now
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MEDIA CHANNEL BLOGS
Lobbyist scandal knocking at Whitehouse door--100 plus visits for Abramhof and Co. Flip-flop and flip again: Bush says he's after Osama after all. Media war no longer a metaphor: war photographer still in prison. Israeli army in Iraq, US General calls for more troops, reader email and more...
9/11: We've seen all the documentaries, the docu-dramas the mini-series, and heard all the conspiracy theories. Now, how to move forward? Some straight answers from a non-partisan investigation is our only real 'path from 9/11.'
AllAfrica Global Media is the largest electronic distributor of African news and information worldwide.
Registered in Mauritius, with offices in Johannesburg, Dakar, Lagos and Washington, D.C., AllAfrica aggregates, produces and distributes news from across Africa to tens of millions of end users. They are also the largest MC Affiliate in Africa.
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MEDIACHANNEL MATTERS
By Walter Cronkite
"MediaChannel
is undoubtedly worth taking part in. So many leading groups
and individuals around the whole world have come together."
more...
A new book from
Danny Schechter offers an up to date indictment of the role
media played in promoting and misreporting the war on Iraq.
The book includes the feature-length DVD of the award-winning
film WMD (Weapons of Mass Deception) and the complete script.
. . . More Information
The top story on TV news last night was not the Iraq war or tentative Lebanon peace, or major court rulings on tobacco and warrantless wiretapping, or oil prices or pension “reform” or any of a dozen stories that affect millions of citizens. TV’s top story -- a new suspect in the decade-old murder of 6-year-old beauty princess JonBenet Ramsey -- affects very few people. But it has the potential of grabbing millions of us, as spectators. More...
By Jeffrey Klein and Paolo Pontoniere, New America Media
European journalists and investigators are tracking the mysterious deaths of two security experts -- one in Italy, the other in Greece -- who had uncovered extensive spyware in their telecommunications firms. So far, despite possible U.S. links to the extralegal, politicized spy operations, few U.S. media have picked up the trail. Jeffrey Klein, a founding editor of Mother Jones, this summer received a Loeb, journalism's top award for business reporting. Paolo Pontoniere is a New America Media European commentator. More...
The failures of the C.I.A., F.B.I., the National Security Agency and many other branches of government to share information — and the concomitant failure to stop the 9/11 hijackers — have already been well documented by others, but few have offered Wright’s coherent focus on what the New York Times accurately describes as “the stupidity, hubris and dereliction of duty that occurred within the United States government.” More...
Besides defeating Sen. Joe Lieberman, challenger Ned Lamont has also registered a triumph over much of the Washington press corps that had rallied so ridiculously to Lieberman’s defense.
A victory over the old-guard incumbents of the D.C. media elite is one that all progressives should savor. Lieberman is not just the favorite Democrat of the White House and corporate interests; he’s also a favorite of conservative pundits and Fox News and Sean Hannity, who proposed “Conservatives for Lieberman” and has volunteered to campaign and fundraise for Joe in Connecticut. More...
Somehow many in our media have turned the words Israel and Jews into synonyms, as if all Jews are hard-line Zionists who automatically back the policies and practices of the Israeli government--any Israeli government. Ironically, there is more debate among Jews in Israel on these issues than is reported, or somehow allowed in the United States where Jewish critics of Israel policies are often ignored or labeled “self-hating” Jews. More...
As a former Marine commander and defense analyst in 1970, I had exclusive access to highly classified defense documents for research purposes. They constituted a 47-volume, top-secret Defense Department history of American involvement in Vietnam titled U.S. Decision-making in Vietnam, 1945-68. The Pentagon Papers made it very clear that I, like the rest of the American public, had been misled about the origins and purposes of the war I had participated in. Today's troops in Iraq have also been misled, as 85 percent of them believed, according to a Zogby poll from March, that Saddam Hussein was responsible for 9/11 and that he was allied with al-Qaeda. More...
"The membership of the Association for Education in Journalism and Mass Communication urges the Bush administration to abandon its anti-press policies." The resolution identifies ten troubling practices involving secrecy, propaganda and the control of information.
The Bush administration is threatening to sue if Maine regulators decide to investigate whether Verizon Communications illegally turned over customer information to the National Security Agency.
By Daniel Levy, Haaretz
Disentangling Israeli interests from the rubble of neocon "creative destruction" in the Middle East has become an urgent challenge for Israeli policy-makers. An America that seeks to reshape the region through an unsophisticated mixture of bombs and ballots, devoid of local contextual understanding, alliance-building or redressing of grievances, ultimately undermines both itself and Israel. The sight this week of Secretary of State Rice homeward bound, unable to touch down in any Arab capital, should have a sobering effect in Washington and Jerusalem. Full article...
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