27
Dec
Sean Penn And The Great Osama Debate
On the second day of Christmas (what day is this,anyway?) my true love gave to me another video in the media war of dueling propaganda tapes. He’s Baaack with another in the Al Jazeera series of videos by the man that TIME Magazine did not chose as its newsmaker of the year. Time’s decision to go for the Mayor rather than the Sheik was the subject of a heated debate on Faux News’s O’Reilly Factor (sans O’Rellly) as one of my favorite newspaper columnists Ellis Henican blasted the AOL TimeWarner “property” for copping out in their cover selection this year in fear of antagonizing its consumers. Henican was fearless in trashing Time which, as was pointed out, did chose Hitler and Ayatollah Khomeini in years’s past, popularity concerns be damned. At issue was whether placing someone on the cover of TIME is actually an honor or not, or merely,as everyone on the show conceded a mere publicity stunt.
WHERE IS OSAMA? WHERE IS HIS NEW TAPE?
I clicked over to Nightline in search of the Osama Tape, reportedly recorded on December llth but only released today. But ABC, in deference no doubt to White House requests only summarized its contents. OBL called the terrorism against “infidelity”(does he mean the infidels?) praiseworthy terrorism, and charactized the US war as a war on Islam. The tape certainly is evidence that the Al- Qaeda leader who some media outlets reported is now very dead and buried was very much alive, at least two weeks ago. I don’t know what else he said because I don’t get Al Jazeera, and none of the networks I watched carried it in living color (as opposed to the yucky prod values of his his candid camera appearnce. If you want more, check out:
SEAN PENN SPEAKS WITH ELOQUENCE
From Nightline, I skipped over to PBS and Charlie Rose for the a dissenting perspective, and one of the view I have heard in a long time. Actor Sean Penn was on condemning simplicity in the media, for stimulating a “blood lust” on the part of the audience, He blasted Howard Stern and Bill O’Relly for their role in stupidifying the audience (and he added,”to a lesser degree Osama Bin Laden.”) That took guts. When he asked Charlie Rose if he knew what he meant, in his references to Stern and Blustering Bill, Charlie shook his headm gave that grin of his, and said.No. He later leapt to the defense of US journalism claiming we have seen “very good journalism” about the war.” Penn countered that “we pick and chose the journalism” we rely on. He acknowledged that Charlie sees the good stuff but doubts that most Americans do. Among the “good stuff” this morning was an op-ed in the New YorkTimes by Nicholas Kristof, the veteran foreign correspondent to the effect that Mullah Omar should be allowed to live, and left alone, to promote reconcilliation and peace. You will notice that his name is hardly heard anymore. Kristoff calls him a hick.
CLICK, BACK TO CANADAClick, And I am bnack to News World International with a repeat of the segment I discussed yesterday of l2 CBS journalists who were critical of US and British networks for focusing on the military campaign to the detriment of covering the mass pooverty, disease, hunger and death so pervasive in Afghanistan. While they were sharing the heart felt feeling,s CNN’s report from Afghanistan was discussing when e-mail will become more common in Kabul.
AND THEN ON TO ENGLAND”S JOHN PILGER AND AMERICA’S NORMAN SOLOMON
Click, and I am online to read British TV commentator/producer/critic John Pilger’s latet take on the war, a global viewpoint that remains invisible on most US networks and in most TV news programs. “…the “war on terrorism” has provided a pretext for the rich countries, led by the United States, to further their dominance over world affairs,” he writes.
“This, not the hunt for a man in a cave in Afghanistan, is the aim behind US Vice-President Dick Cheneyís threats to “40 to 50 countries”. It has little to do with terrorism and much to do with maintaining the divisions that underpin “globalisation”… It is time we recognized that the real terrorism is poverty, which kills thousands of people every day, and the source of their suffering, and that of innocent people in dusty villages, is directly related.”
The closest thing I found today to a US voice raising a similar perspective was from media critic Norman Solomon, as carried on Alternet.org: “Since Sept. 11, many journalists have commented that theUnited States is unaccustomed to the role of victim. Left unsaid is howaccustomed we are to being victimizers, while congratulating ourselves as a nation of worldly do-gooders.”http://www.alternet.org/story.html?StoryID=12144
TONY BLAIR BLASTS CRITICS
In the US, critical views like Solomon’s are ignored or marginalized while over in the UK, they are taken seriously enough to be denounced by Prime Minister Tony Blair whose “Third Way” does not countenance anyone else’s way. Writes David Ben-Aryeah.”In an episode unprecedented in British politics, Prime Minister TonyBlairhas tried to ‘name and shame’ publications and their journalists who haveexpressed doubt about the continuing action in Afghanistan or the ‘waragainst terror.’ To mark the 100th. day of action in the ‘war against terror, the PrimeMinister published an upbeat document entitled “100 days - 100 ways’ andinone entire section headed ‘ 10 media views which have proved wrong’ namedacross section of the print media, including Susan Sontag of the NewYorker.
“Those named in the UK are from across the spectrum of print media, fromthetabloid Mirror (Note: the Mirror has carried Pilger’s reportes) to such respected (and widely read) broadsheets as theIndependent, Guardian and the Daily Mail.
“Reaction from the Downing Street Press pack has been surprised and swift,questioning the wisdom of harsh and public criticism of a left wingsector ofthe media who, it is felt helped get Mr. Blair elected to Downing Streetinthe first place.”
WHERE IS MAHATMA GANDHI NOW THAT WE NEED HIM?
Today, I had an “urgent” call from an Indian producer, a colleague with an office in New Delhi. He was expressing fears about the imminence of war between India and Pakistan as trooops from each country are moved to their respective borders in the aftermath of that terrorist attack on the Indian parliament. “Statements by people on both sides who are calling for peace are not being heard,” he told me with alarm. “I spoke to friends in Delhi who tell me that they are resigned to “going quickly” if war comes,” he said with dismay. Noting that both sides have nuclear weapons, he worries that there could be a nuclear exchange on any pretext. So I rushed to CNN and other networks for updates. Guess what? They are not covering it, only mentioning it. I saw the conflict referred to on the crawl on CNN, but no stories on the air. Instead, I watched reports on what a good job the US marines are doing at Camp Rhino which is about to be closed down. A non war is getting the coverage; the threat of a new and more frightening one is not. This just means we are back to U.S. “world” news as usual, focused only on America and Americans.
BUILDING A MEDIA–ORIENTED MOVEMENT
As media wars rage in Britain, a political war against media power is underway in the United States. For a perspective on this emerging movement, read the current issue of The Nation which includes a think piece by Robert W. McChesney & John Nichols which also cites the role of Mediachannel.org,
Write M&N: “No one should be surprised by the polls showing that close to 90 percent of Americans are satisfied with the performance of their selected President, or that close to 80 percent of the citizenry applaud his Administration’sseat-of-the-pants management of an undeclared war. After all, most Americans get their information from media that have pledged to give the Americanpeople only the President’s side of the story. CNN chief Walter Isaacson distributed a memo effectively instructing the network’s domestic newscasts to be sugarcoated in order to maintain popular support for the President and his war. Fox News anchors got into a surreal competition to see who could wear the largest American flag lapel pin. Dan Rather, the man who occupies the seat Walter Cronkite once used to tell Lyndon Johnson the Vietnam War was unwinnable, now says, “George Bush is the President…. he wants me to line up, just tell me where.”
“No, we should not be surprised that a “just tell me where” press has managed to undermine debate at precisely the time America needs it most–but weshould be angry. The role that US newsmedia have played in narrowing and warping the public discourse since September 11 provides dramatic evidence of the severe limitations of contemporary American journalism, and this nation’s media system, when it comes to nurturing a viable democratic and humanesociety. It is now time to act upon that anger to forge a broader, bolder and more politically engaged movement to reform American media.
“The base from which such a movement could spring has already been built. Indeed, the current crisis comes at a critical moment for media reformpolitics. Since the middle 1980s, when inept and disingenuous reporting on US interventions in Central America provoked tens of thousands of Americans to question the role media were playing in manufacturing consent, media activism has had a small but respectable place on the progressive agenda. The critique has gone well beyond complaints about shoddy journalism to broad expressions of concern about hypercommercial, corporate-directed culture and the corruption of communications policy-making by special-interest lobbies and pliable legislators…
“Crucial organizations such as Fairness & Accuracy In Reporting (FAIR), the Institute for Public Accuracy, the MediaChannel, Media Alliance and the Media Education Foundation have emerged over the past two decades. Acting asmainstream media watchdogs while pointing engaged Americans toward valuable alternative fare, these groups have raised awareness that any democratic reform in the United States must include media reform. Although it is hardly universal even among progressives, there is increasing recognition that media reform can no longer be dismissed as a “dependent variable” that will fall into place once the more important struggles have been won. People arebeginning to understand that unless we make headway with the media, the more important struggles will never be won. ” For more see: www.thenation.com
YOUR VIEWS WELCOMED
If you check out the current NATION, you will also find a comment by your news dissector. I am still at home this week, attempting but not quite achieving a “sleep cure” to the exhaustion of the past few months. But duty calls. I hope you will find it within yourself to respond with comments, stories and suggestions. Write dissector@ mediachannel.org
