Media Watch
Network's Craven Back-Down on Bush Draft Dodge Report Sure to Get a Standing Rove-ation at White House
"Independent" my ass. CBS' cowardly purge of five journalists who exposed George Bush's dodging of the Vietnam War draft was done under cover of what the network laughably called an "Independent Review Panel."
The "panel" was just two guys as qualified for the job as they are for landing the space shuttle: Dick Thornburgh and Louis Boccardi.
Remember Dickie Thornburgh? He was on the Bush 41 Administration's payroll. His grand accomplishment as Bush's Attorney General was to whitewash the investigation of the Exxon Valdez Oil spill, letting the oil giant off the hook on big damages. Thornburgh's fat pay as counsel to Kirkpatrick & Lockhart, the Washington law-and-lobbying outfit, is substantially due to his job as a Bush retainer. This is the kind of stinky conflict of interest that hardly suggests "independent." Why not just appoint Karl Rove as CBS' grand inquisitor and be done with it?
"Independent" my ass. CBS' cowardly purge of five journalists who exposed George Bush's dodging of the Vietnam War draft was done under cover of what the network laughably called an "Independent Review Panel."
The "panel" was just two guys as qualified for the job as they are for landing the space shuttle: Dick Thornburgh and Louis Boccardi.
Remember Dickie Thornburgh? He was on the Bush 41 Administration's payroll. His grand accomplishment as Bush's Attorney General was to whitewash the investigation of the Exxon Valdez Oil spill, letting the oil giant off the hook on big damages. Thornburgh's fat pay as counsel to Kirkpatrick & Lockhart, the Washington law-and-lobbying outfit, is substantially due to his job as a Bush retainer. This is the kind of stinky conflict of interest that hardly suggests "independent." Why not just appoint Karl Rove as CBS' grand inquisitor and be done with it?
The P.U.-litzer Prizes were established a dozen years ago to provide
special recognition for truly smelly media performances. As usual, I've
conferred with Jeff Cohen, founder of the media watch group FAIR, to sift
through the large volume of entries.
And now, the thirteenth annual P.U.-litzer Prizes, for the foulest media performances of 2004:
MANDATE MANIA -- Too many winners to name
It became a media mantra. Two days after the election, the Los Angeles Times reported that "Bush can claim a solid mandate of 51 percent of the vote." Cox columnist Tom Teepen referred to Bush's vote margin as an "unquestionable mandate." Right-wing pundit Bill Kristol argued that Bush's "mandate" went beyond the 49-states-to-one landslides of Nixon in 1972 and Reagan in 1984. Reality check: This was the narrowest win for an incumbent president since 1916. As Greg Mitchell wrote in Editor & Publisher: "Where I come from, 51 percent is considered a bare majority, not a comfortable margin. If only 51 percent of my family or my editorial staff think I am doing a good job, I might look to moderate my behavior, not repeat or enlarge it."
And now, the thirteenth annual P.U.-litzer Prizes, for the foulest media performances of 2004:
MANDATE MANIA -- Too many winners to name
It became a media mantra. Two days after the election, the Los Angeles Times reported that "Bush can claim a solid mandate of 51 percent of the vote." Cox columnist Tom Teepen referred to Bush's vote margin as an "unquestionable mandate." Right-wing pundit Bill Kristol argued that Bush's "mandate" went beyond the 49-states-to-one landslides of Nixon in 1972 and Reagan in 1984. Reality check: This was the narrowest win for an incumbent president since 1916. As Greg Mitchell wrote in Editor & Publisher: "Where I come from, 51 percent is considered a bare majority, not a comfortable margin. If only 51 percent of my family or my editorial staff think I am doing a good job, I might look to moderate my behavior, not repeat or enlarge it."
"I Know Who I Am, and Who I May Be, If I Choose"
~~"The Ingenious Gentleman Don Quixote de la Mancha" by Miguel Cervantes
"Sir, in regard to --"
"Who're you talkin' to?"
It was just a split second -- a collective intake of breath -- but reporters genuflecting before George Bush last April at Central Piedmont Community College in Charlotte, North Carolina, got the message. They got it, as Bush likes to say -- loud and clear. From that point on, it was...
"Mr. President --"
Watching the media herd jostle to gain the attention of the ill-natured and juvenile "Mr. President," it was difficult to discern which was more pathetic -- an unprofessional Bush delighting in forcing a reporter to grovel for access to his wondrous self, or a professional journalist allowing himself to be called "Stretch" while eagerly groveling.
"Sir, in regard to --"
"Who're you talkin' to?"
It was just a split second -- a collective intake of breath -- but reporters genuflecting before George Bush last April at Central Piedmont Community College in Charlotte, North Carolina, got the message. They got it, as Bush likes to say -- loud and clear. From that point on, it was...
"Mr. President --"
Watching the media herd jostle to gain the attention of the ill-natured and juvenile "Mr. President," it was difficult to discern which was more pathetic -- an unprofessional Bush delighting in forcing a reporter to grovel for access to his wondrous self, or a professional journalist allowing himself to be called "Stretch" while eagerly groveling.
On April 16 and 17, concerned
citizens gathered in Columbus
to assess the state of media and learn skills for media activism and the creation of community media.
Columbus hosted “The Medium and the Message: A Community Hearing on Local Broadcasting and the Public Interest” on April 16. The panel discussion featured Johanna Shelton, Media Advisor to Federal Communications Commission (FCC) Commissioner Jonathan Adelstein. Adelstein cast a dissenting vote in recent FCC rulemaking that permits greater concentration of media ownership and has been outspoken on the need to establish substantive localism requirement for broadcasters.
Columbus hosted “The Medium and the Message: A Community Hearing on Local Broadcasting and the Public Interest” on April 16. The panel discussion featured Johanna Shelton, Media Advisor to Federal Communications Commission (FCC) Commissioner Jonathan Adelstein. Adelstein cast a dissenting vote in recent FCC rulemaking that permits greater concentration of media ownership and has been outspoken on the need to establish substantive localism requirement for broadcasters.
For those with amnesia it was neither Reagan nor rock nor radiation that
ended the Marxist regime in Russia. One of the best sellers of 1969 was
Will the Soviet Union Survive Untill 1984? by an astute Russian. Due to
Reagan, gulag socialism lasted an extra half decade.
If journalism is history's first draft, the death of Ronald Reagan
has caused a step-up in the mass production of falsified history.
It's mourning in America.
The main technique is omission. People who suffered from the Reagan presidency have no media standing today. It's not cool to mention victims of his policies in, for example, Central America.
President Reagan lauded and subsidized the contra guerrillas -- extolling them as "freedom fighters" while they terrorized the population in Nicaragua, killing thousands of civilians. And he proudly funneled large-scale support to governments aligned with death squads murdering thousands more in Guatemala and El Salvador.
It's mourning in America.
The main technique is omission. People who suffered from the Reagan presidency have no media standing today. It's not cool to mention victims of his policies in, for example, Central America.
President Reagan lauded and subsidized the contra guerrillas -- extolling them as "freedom fighters" while they terrorized the population in Nicaragua, killing thousands of civilians. And he proudly funneled large-scale support to governments aligned with death squads murdering thousands more in Guatemala and El Salvador.
When the anchor of public television’s main news program goes out of
his way to tell viewers that he’s setting the record straight about a
recent historic event, the people watching are apt to assume that they’re
getting accurate information. But with war intensifying in Iraq, a bizarre
episode raises some very troubling concerns about the “NewsHour with Jim
Lehrer.”
Here’s what happened:
During a panel discussion April 7 on the NewsHour, while battles raged in close to a dozen Iraqi cities, a retired U.S. Air Force colonel referred to the American authorities’ closure of a newspaper that had served as a megaphone for the anti-occupation Shiite leader Moktada al-Sadr. “The immediate problem we have to remember is we started this ... with the aggressive policies towards Sadr that came from us, shutting down his press,” Col. Sam Gardiner said.
The program’s anchor spoke next.
Jim Lehrer: “The reason we shut down his press is because it was calling for violence and anti-American --”
Col. Gardiner: “Sure.”
Here’s what happened:
During a panel discussion April 7 on the NewsHour, while battles raged in close to a dozen Iraqi cities, a retired U.S. Air Force colonel referred to the American authorities’ closure of a newspaper that had served as a megaphone for the anti-occupation Shiite leader Moktada al-Sadr. “The immediate problem we have to remember is we started this ... with the aggressive policies towards Sadr that came from us, shutting down his press,” Col. Sam Gardiner said.
The program’s anchor spoke next.
Jim Lehrer: “The reason we shut down his press is because it was calling for violence and anti-American --”
Col. Gardiner: “Sure.”
Some of the most closely guarded documents in the White House are
sure to be the ones written by the president’s top media strategist. The
public will never get to see the key memos from Karl Rove, but a typical
one these days might read something like...
To: George and Dick
Re: Media Terrain
First, don’t worry about Richard Clarke. We’ll fix his wagon.
About Condi testifying in public -- people forget she can spin with the best. Is history ready for a black female Ollie North with a Ph.D.?
Closer to home now. I say this with the fondest high regard, etc., but both of you need to remember my admonition about looking a bit cartoonish on occasion. George, keep practicing that smile like I told you -- it still drifts a little too much toward “What, Me Worry?” -- and we sure don’t need that in swing states. Repeat after me: “I am not Alfred E. Neuman...”
To: George and Dick
Re: Media Terrain
First, don’t worry about Richard Clarke. We’ll fix his wagon.
About Condi testifying in public -- people forget she can spin with the best. Is history ready for a black female Ollie North with a Ph.D.?
Closer to home now. I say this with the fondest high regard, etc., but both of you need to remember my admonition about looking a bit cartoonish on occasion. George, keep practicing that smile like I told you -- it still drifts a little too much toward “What, Me Worry?” -- and we sure don’t need that in swing states. Repeat after me: “I am not Alfred E. Neuman...”
Local:
Public Access TV: On December 18th, Rich James, Chair of the Neighborhood Network, spoke at City budget hearings. To read his prepared remarks visit www.theneighborhoodnetwork.org. In 2003 the City completed a vetting of potential contractors and the Columbus Cable Commission recommended that The Neighborhood Network receive a management contract. This happened in May 2003 but the City has not taken action on a contract. There is a larger issue at stake than the immediate service the channel can provide. The next round of cable franchise negotiations for Columbus will commence in about two years. Additionally, there are legal and regulatory challenges facing local franchise authorities that threaten the right of municipalities to collect franchise fees and secure rightful public interest requirements from cable providers for using public rights of way.
Public Access TV: On December 18th, Rich James, Chair of the Neighborhood Network, spoke at City budget hearings. To read his prepared remarks visit www.theneighborhoodnetwork.org. In 2003 the City completed a vetting of potential contractors and the Columbus Cable Commission recommended that The Neighborhood Network receive a management contract. This happened in May 2003 but the City has not taken action on a contract. There is a larger issue at stake than the immediate service the channel can provide. The next round of cable franchise negotiations for Columbus will commence in about two years. Additionally, there are legal and regulatory challenges facing local franchise authorities that threaten the right of municipalities to collect franchise fees and secure rightful public interest requirements from cable providers for using public rights of way.
"I'm Ted Koppel and thisssssssss... is 'Nightline.'" If you remember that line, or the Saturday Night Line exaggeration of it, then you are old enough to know who Ted Koppel is, and why he might be bored by a debate with too little blood on the floor. 'Nightline' was born out of the hostage crisis in Iran, the grandfather of dozens of less successful crisis-turned-long-running-shows-posing-as-"serious journalism." Geraldo would love to have done the same with the OJ Simpson trial, but alas, it was not to be.
Koppel, of course, succeeded beyond his own wildest dreams; but his Geraldo-esque roots were showing recently when he bared his ample sensationalist teeth over the guest list at the Democratic candidates' debate in Durham, NH. Consider this series of events: the week prior to the event, Koppel is reported to have complained that only six of the candidates should be invited. How can you create conflict on such a crowded stage? Of course, conflict is the goal here-always has been. Wake up, America. The media's bleating about having to cover candidates that aren't "serious" is, neatly, the opposite of the truth. A lot like a Bush press release.
Koppel, of course, succeeded beyond his own wildest dreams; but his Geraldo-esque roots were showing recently when he bared his ample sensationalist teeth over the guest list at the Democratic candidates' debate in Durham, NH. Consider this series of events: the week prior to the event, Koppel is reported to have complained that only six of the candidates should be invited. How can you create conflict on such a crowded stage? Of course, conflict is the goal here-always has been. Wake up, America. The media's bleating about having to cover candidates that aren't "serious" is, neatly, the opposite of the truth. A lot like a Bush press release.