WE SURVIVE: Our Mediachannel Lives To Fight Another Day
September 30th, 2007 - by: danny
MEDIA TENOR STEPS IN: MEDIACHANNEL WILL SURVIVE
I am happy to report that Mediachannel.org has a new lease on life. I wish I could say that a mysterious funder like the imaginary and shadowy John Baresfoot Tipton of the old TV series “The Millionaire” showed up with a big whopping check. He didn’t. And your donations and our fundraising efforts and subsidies helped but could not provide the sustaining funding we need.
We didn’t want to have to pull the plug or stage yet another begathon next month because, as you can well imagine, the more the appeals, the less the response.
We are grateful to readers who responded because it kept us going—but we were at or near bottom and a recent server meltdown made our finances even more precarious. Some months ago, we decided that if we —our company Globalvision – couldn’t afford to produce Mediachannel, we would look for someone who could.
We thought a large media reform group might be interested but they weren’t. Maybe we are too “old school” or global or analytical or not reformist enough. We thought about possible relations with University media schools but they seem to lean towards finding benefactors, not taking in needy independent institutions like ours. Institutions like that move slowly some say glacially.
It was then that we decided to reach out to our own global network of affiliates. Among the largest and most impressive is Media Tenor, a research-oriented company based in Germany with offices in seven countries including one in New York. The Wikipedia describes them this way: “Media Tenor is an international content analysis organization founded in 1994 in Bonn, Germany. It describes itself as “the first international institute specializing in continuous and comprehensive media evaluation. Media Tenor works to provide an objective and transparent view of media content.”"
Media Tenor shares our concerns about the need for an unfettered press as the key tool in the arsenal of democracy. Its founder, Roland Schatz, a research scientists with a brilliant data base metholodology for analyzing media coverage and I have worked on projects together including the book “Mediaocracy: Hail to the Thief” an analysis of the role the media played in the 2000 election. Media Ternor’s publishing arm also put out my post 911 news study, “Media Wars,” in Europe. I have participated in and reported on some of their annual conferences examining media agendas: how they are built and then cut.
Happily, Roland and Media Tenor have been supportive of Mediachannel since its formation and have now agreed to assume responsibility as our new producer. This brings a wide range of global assets, contacts, university partnerships, research and information and immediate financing to insure our survival.. No it’s not big bucks, but it will keep our web director working, and enable our readers to continue to rely on our reportage, aggregated media news and other features.
We don’t necessarily agree on everything but so what? We do both believe in diversity in the news. We believe in the importance of media analysis.
We will now be able to bring you more of Media Tenor’s unique coverage of the coverage of important issues, based not just on opinions but on deep research findings.
You will be impressed by the depth of their reporting on the role of the media in the US election. (Our elections seem to be fought our more in the media – through ads, photo-ops, staged events etc) than in the public,
Example: This article appears on the MediaTenor.com website:
The most recent data show that Hillary Clinton received the most coverage of all the candidates, as well as the highest number of positive statements. Campaign and fundraising issues composed the majority of each candidate`s media coverage. But Clinton`s personal life and leadership qualities factored in heavily to news reports about her.
.
So let us welcome Roland Schatz and his colleagues at Media Tenor—to Mediachanel and the Global Center, the not for profit foundation, that will continue to sponsor Mediachannel. We are in the age of globalization and this new relationship puts our belief in global cooperation to the test. We believe that Mediachannel will be stronger than ever and better able to serve you and, we hope, a growing international audience.
It will take a while for changes to be implemented —including dumping obnoxious ads over which we have had no control–but please stick with us. I will continue to blog for now as will Rory O’Connor.
Your input and support is still very important to us.
Mediachannel started in l999 – way back in the old century – and was formally launched on February 1, 2000. We have been here for you through the whole 911 trauma up to the present day. We offer a mix of original content and the best media analysis we can find from around the world. We hope we can all keep on keeping on because, as we have seen, understanding and changing media must remain at the top of our agenda.
We started with the conviction that we need a media channel to monitor the other channels. We still feel that way. Think of what’s happened in the years that we have been here – more media concentration, more dumbing down, new attempts to control the internet, the rise of pseudo news outfits like Faux News etc etc. Even as we have more outlets, we are getting less information.
We need the Mediachannel more than ever–and we hope you will help us move into a new era.
Your ideas and suggestions are always welcome. The Mediachannel needs is members and readers.
Write to Dissector@mediachannel.org
Danny Schechter
News Dissector
October 1, 2007
See the whole Post / →
A World Of Pain and Struggle –Iran, Iraq, Burma, Afghanistan
September 30th, 2007 - by: danny
A Message (In English) From The Iraqi Resistance.
Must Watch Video and Transcript
“To the American people we say, you have finally awakened and the millions of honorable people amongst you have now realized that the Iraqi people are not your enemies, and they are not responsible for your grief. It is your troops which occupied our country, and not us yours. The arrogant war criminal who rules in your name has humiliated your nation & military honor and we believe, that a democracy that is not willing to fight for its own freedom, is no better that a raw dictatorship.”
SY HERSH ON NEW BUSH WAR PLANS
Seymour Hersh told Der Spiegel, a German newspaper, that President Bush has now accepted the idea of ethnic cleansing
Hersh has more on new plans for an attack on Iran in the new New Yorker:
BILL MAHER: IRAQ IS NOT ANOTHER VIETNAM —IT’S ANOTHER ENRON
NYT: The American Embassy reiterated its support on Sunday for a united Iraq as six political parties together voiced their objection to a United States Senate resolution endorsing partitioning the country into three states
New Congressional Report: WE ARE #1
US Still Major Arm Supplier to Developing Countries.
HARD RIGHT FUNDS POLITICAL HIT SQUAD
BURMA: THE STATE OF THE STRUGGLE
Many dissidents said they were resigned to defeat without international intervention.
EXILES FEAR MONKS MURDERED
I was sent this letter from Thailand, said to be from a Burmese exile, “a friend of a friend.” Clearly I can’t verify but it sounds like information coming from Burmese exiles in Norway who were intereviewed on NPR
We just got phone call with our sister living in Yangon about a
few hours ago.We saw on BBC world, saying that 200 monks were arrested. The true picture is far worse!!!!!!!!!
For one instance, the monastery at an obscure neighborhood of
Yangon, called Ngwe Kyar Yan (on Wei-za-yan-tar Road, Yangon) had been raided early this morning.A troop of lone-tein (riot police comprised of paid thugs) protected by the military trucks, raided the monastery with 200 studying monks. They systematically ordered all the monks to line up and banged and crushed each one’s head against the brick wall of the monastery. One by one, the peaceful, non resisting monks, fell to the ground, screaming in pain. Then, they tore off the red robes and threw them all in the military trucks (like rice bags) and took the
bodies away.The head monk of the monastery, was tied up in the middle of the monastery, tortured , bludgeoned, and later died the same day, today. Tens of thousands of people gathered outside the monastery, warded off by troops with bayoneted rifles, unable to help their helpless monks being slaughtered inside the monastery. Their every
try to forge ahead was met with the bayonets.When all is done, only 10 out of 200 remained alive, hiding in the monastery. Blood stained everywhere on the walls and floors of the monastery.
Please tell your audience of the full extent of the fate of the monks please please !!!!!!!!!!!!
‘Arrested’ is not enough expression. They have been bludgeoned to
death !!!!!!
Buddhist Peace Fellowship – petition and further information:
OTHER FORMER DISSIDENTS IDENTIFY’
AP: Lech Walesa and Desmond Tutu speak of solidarity. Vaclav Havel hopes for another “Velvet Revolution.” Wei Jingsheng warns of a bloody sequel to Tiananmen Square.
Some of the globe’s most prominent former dissidents – acutely aware of what can go right and wrong when a repressed society attempts to shake off tyranny – see shades of their own past struggles in Myanmar’s drama.
In interviews with The Associated Press and other media, they offered insight and advice to the Buddhist monks and pro-democracy protesters who have defied Myanmar’s military government – and to the world leaders and ordinary people watching it all unfold.
“If there’s not enough international pressure, and China offers support in the background, then there will very likely be in Myanmar something like Tiananmen Square: a big massacre,” Wei, China’s best-known ex-dissident, told the AP in a phone interview from the U.S., where he lives in exile
BETWEEN A ROCK AND A HARD PLACE
Afghan Leader Sees ‘Serious’ Taliban Debate Over Disarming
KABUL, September 30, 2007 (RFE/RL) — Afghan President Hamid Karzai’s office says there is “serious debate” among some Taliban fighters about laying down arms. “The information we have received from tribal elders indicate that different groups operating inside Afghanistan under the Taliban name are discussing this issue seriously,” Karzai spokesman Humayun Hamidzada told RFE/RL’s Radio Free Afghanistan today. “In this case, we don’t expect huge developments in the very near future, but we hope those who want peace and stability in Afghanistan will come step by step to join the ongoing peaceful process.”
Karzai recently said he would be willing to meet with Taliban leader Mullah Omar and give militants a position in government in exchange for peace. Karzai spokesman Hamidzada said today that the militants would also have to accept Afghanistan’s constitution, which was approved early in 2004.
A Taliban spokesman, Qari Yosuf Ahmadi, was quoted as saying the militia will “never” negotiate with Afghan authorities as long as U.S. and NATO forces remain in the country.
Afghan boys in ‘Oscar contender’ refused visa for US premiere
The Daily Mail Reports: Spielberg Film “Not Famous Enough” For USG
(UK) The Kite Runner, the tale of two Afghan boys united in war-torn Kabul by their love of kites, is based on the international bestseller by Khaled Hosseini. It is produced by Steven Spielberg and directed by Marc Forster, who guided Halle Berry to her Oscar for Monster’s Ball. All three men are expected to attend the premiere of the £10million film at a theatre in west Hollywood next month, along with members of the cast and crew and a host of stars.
Yet on the night there will be two noticeable absentees. Zekeria Ebrahimi and Ahmad Khan Mahmidzada, the young Afghan stars of the film, will not be there. Despite American protestations that they have brought liberty and normality to the streets of Kabul, the US government has turned down the boys’ visa applications on the grounds that the film ‘is not famous enough’.
BBC: PEACEKEEPERS KILLED IN DARFUR
Darfur attack kills peacekeepers
Ten soldiers die and another 50 are missing after a powerful rebel force raids an African Union base in Darfur.
See the whole Post / →
On The Home Front in the Homeland: Security Insanity
September 30th, 2007 - by: danny
WASHINGTON POST: EPA ASLEEP ON THE JOB
Shocking: Bush’s EPA Is Pursuing Fewer Polluters
The Environmental Protection Agency’s pursuit of criminal cases against polluters has dropped off sharply during the Bush administration, with the number of prosecutions, new investigations and total convictions all down by more than a third, according to Justice Department and EPA data. (By John Solomon and Juliet Eilperin, The Washington Post)
AIRPORT SECURITY CAN KILL
PHOENIX – A woman late to her plane became irate, was put in handcuffs and was later found dead in a holding cell, police said. Authorities were investigating Saturday if the woman choked herself while trying to get free from the handcuffs.
Carol Ann Gotbaum, 45, of New York, was arrested Friday at Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport after a conflict with gate crews who refused to allow her to board a plane, said Sgt. Andy Hill, a Phoenix police spokesman.
The airline said the plane was already preparing to depart. She was rebooked on the next flight, but “she became extremely irate, apparently running up and down the gate area,” US Airways spokesman Derek Hanna said Saturday.
SCHOOL SECURITY MADNESS
Student has arm broken for dropping a piece of cake
Fox News reports locally:
Palmdale — A walkout is planned for this morning by some students at Knight High School in Palmdale. They are protesting what they call an “unprovoked assault” on two students by a security guard. The incident apparently left a 15-year-old girl with a broken wrist. Some students and the girl’s parents want the guard fired.
AP reports: High-Priced Student Loans Spell Trouble
Explosion in High-Priced Student Loans Sow Seeds of Trouble for U.S. Economic Growth
Professor Robert Manning, the editorial advisor to my film IN DEBT WE TRUST sent the story along with this note:
The US debt crisis hits with the coming economic slowdown. It will not only hit students and recent grads but also parents that will spend money helping with student loans rather than contributing to their retirement accounts in the post-”defined” pension era. Oh, my, it is going to be bad…
Speaking of credit cards, have you seen the new wave of ads selling us the “swipe” idea arguing that you can now pay your bills even faster…..Mmmmmmm
LETTER:
Chris Skiers writes:
As a professional young Black woman and now FORMER Glamour magazine reader, I am sadened by the above referenced article where a Glamour employee and editor addressed a group of lawyers indicating that certain Black ethnic hairstyles in the office were inappropriate. Please know that this article is being circulated so that the greater public can be made aware of this careless and ignorant mentality.
What is more hysterical is the hidden response to the incident from Cindi Leive that is located on the Glamour magazine website. If you do not click on the box, readers will have no clue as to what she is responding to. To me, this is insufficient. I think the header needs to specify what she’s responding to!
I am hoping that CondeNast can address this incident in an upcoming Glamour magazine article, apologizing to all Black women. It’s unfortunate in this day in age that the CondeNast culture is unsupportive of recognizing the true beauty of Black women in all of it’s diverse forms. Despite what Leive says, if CondeNast and Glamour were truly an organization that didn’t support that type of behavior, this incident would not have even occured.
I’d like to challenge CondeNast by asking them to put more Black women and other women of color in their magazines! It should not be once a year or less that I see women like me on their covers.
Thank you for your attention to this.
JOURNALISTS PROTEST IN PAKISTAN
Via Lady Jane Stahl:
ISLAMABAD, Pakistan: Journalists staged rallies across Pakistan, marking Sunday as a “black day” to condemn police beatings during opposition protests against President Gen. Pervez Musharraf’s pursuit of another five-year term.
The protests came a day after Musharraf picked up a key legal victory when the Election Commission approved his candidacy for the Oct. 6 vote as lawyers and opposition activists protested outside. Police wielded batons and fired tear gas to disperse them before turning on journalists covering the melee in Islamabad.
Sixty-four people were injured, including 13 police officials, 31 journalists, two opposition lawmakers and several passers-by, the state-run Associated Press of Pakistan news agency reported Sunday, citing an official statement.
Wearing black armbands and carrying black flags, journalists were joined by opposition activists, legislators and lawyers in a rally Sunday in the capital. About 1,000 people chanted “We want freedom” and “No to rules of oppression.”
Rallies also were held in Peshawar, Quetta and Lahore. In Multan, more than 400 protesters burned tires near the city’s press club.”
QUESTION TO 60 MINUTES ON “INTERVIEW” WITH CLARENCE THOMS
Yo, do you ever get the big “gets,” ie. the major interviews when there is no book to sell?
STILL HERE
Welcome to a new week and hopefully a new era. We are still here thanks to Media Tenor’s 9th inning save. Please stay with us and help us build a more sustainable Mediachannel.
Comments to: Dissector@mediachannel.org
See the whole Post / →
The Radio Show
 | New show every Friday at 1PM ET from NYC on the internet at the Progressive Radio Network. |
Click here for the latest podcast.
About Danny Schechter
Danny Schechter is an Emmy award winning journalist, television producer and independent filmmaker who also writes, blogs and speaks about media issues.
His latest film is PLUNDER The Crime Of Our Time.
Mr. Schechter is NOT the Godfather of Soul.
read more about The News Dissector →