*AMERICA’s NON VOTERS*

*MEDIA BIAS AGAINST ISRAEL?*

*WHAT’s MISSING IN THE SNIPER STORY?*

We have the same exchange every morning when I pick up my coffee — milk, no sugar — and an apple at the Stage Door deli downstairs. What’s in the news, I am asked again by the Greek counterman who has an opinion on just about every thing. I started telling him about a story that I saw on CNN this morning about polls that show one of the lowest turnouts expected in any mid term election. The “expert” blamed it a lack of issues, not, of course looking at the role of the media which has been off in sniperland for the most of the run-up. More people are more concerned about the threat of Iraq than the declining economy — the latest rising unemployment statistics come out today. And why is that? No doubt because Iraq is the issue that the Administration has pushed — and the media has focused on, while the hapless Democrats scratch their heads.

Anyway, my friend in the white apron tells me, “That’s it. I am not voting. I come from Greece. We know how important voting is. But after Bush was elected the way he was, I know my vote won’t count.” Sad.

WHY DON’T YOUNG PEOPLE VOTE

How many others have come to the same view? Steven Hill and Rashad Robinson, who work with an institute that studies elections, write today about why young people don’t vote in large numbers. He asks: “Are Young People Too Smart to Vote:?”

“This election season, once again young people will not vote in very great numbers. In the 1998 midterm election, only 12 percent of 18 to 24 year olds and 8.5 percent of 18-19 year olds voted, and this year will be aboutthe same.

“And yet a recent study funded by Pew Charitable Trust found that young people are volunteering in their communities more than ever. Young people are not apathetic, but most find little connection between volunteering and voting. While volunteering is viewed as a way to “give back” and help one’scommunity, voting doesn’t inspire the same sentiments.

“So why don’t young people vote? Perhaps young people don’t vote because they have a better sense than adults that our political system truly isbroken, particularly from the point of view of a young person?..”

PROMOTING CYNICISM AND NON VOTING

Objectively I would agree with my colleage Don Hazen of Alternet that politics is becoming more and more urgent. War, peace, elections and Paul Wellstone’s death make this a hyper-political moment,” he writes.

And yet many don’t see it that way, especially the media that focuses on the horse races, not on issues or why so many of us are estranged from politics. Writing in the New Republic, John Judis argues that a Republican campaign in Missouri targets black voters with the intent of souring them on Democrats and politics all together.

“We’ve never seen in our lifetime an effort to attract the black vote by Republicans like we’re seeing now,” Former Kansas City Mayor Emanuel Cleaver told The Kansas City Star last month. In Missouri, Republican Senate candidate Jim Talent is making the rounds of black business groups, while black radio stations are inundated by Republican ads calling on blacks to “break the habit” of voting Democratic. In Arkansas, Republican ads are running on black radio as well. Speaking in August at a barbecue organized by the Jefferson County Minority Business Owners Association, Republican Senator Tim Hutchinson confessed, “When I read the history of the civil rights movement, our party wasn’t doing what we should have been doing. I ask for your forgiveness.”

Has the GOP Changed? Judis argues the strategy is cynical: “they haven’t really. For the most part, Republicans this election cycle aren’t trying to woo black voters by offering their own solutions to issues such as poverty or civil rights. Rather, they’re trying to convince them not to vote at all by sowing cynicism about white Democrats, even implying they are racist. This ‘depress the vote’ strategy becomes even clearer when viewed in conjunction with the GOP’s ongoing efforts to subtly intimidate black voters with dubious charges of election fraud. When it comes to race, the GOP hasn’t changed nearly as much as it would have you believe.”

PALAST PROBE NOW OUT

Journalist Greg Palast’s new article about the voter purge in Florida is carried on Salon’s Premium Service today. (salon.com): “Jeb Bush’s secret weapon 94,000 people on a voter “purge” list — half of them African-American — continue to be banned from voting in Florida, even though the state knows the list is wildly inaccurate.” I apparently quote from an earlier unedited version yesterday. See Gregpalast.com for more as well.

CAN WE COUNT ON DEMOCRACY?

In this climate, it is not surprising that our film COUNTING ON DEMOCRACY is so unfashionable in certain PBS circles. Why should they be any more indifferent than others in trying to pump up democratic involvement in an age of elite domination?

Activists on the left and the right seem to be targeting the film. Democratic activists have been pushing PBS stations to run the film. I had a call from KCET in Los Angeles which is airing it to tell me that the films supporters are screaming at them — even though they are carrying it — and what’s worse, in their eyes, rudely. Republicans seem to be organizing a write in to ITVS.org to flood their site with supposed viewer comments branding the fillm biased and worse. Most of the comments are as empty headed as they are predictable. Many threaten to get ITVS to stop funding reporting they don’t like. (By the way, for New Yorkers, a group called COWGIRL Media is screening the film in New York on Monday Nov 4, before it airs on Channel 13 at midnight. It is being billed as “AN ELECTION EVE FILM + DISCUSSIONMON NOV 4, 2002 / 6PM Makor Screening Room, 35 West 67th (CPW + Columbus). I will be speaking.) One footnote, the cynicism fostered from on high is having an effect in England too. The Guardian reports this morning that “TV viewers’ enthusiasm for news and current affairs is in decline, according to a new survey.

CRONKITE FEARS THIRD WORLD WAR

Walter Cronkite, America’s most respected newsman, now retired, and a Media Channel backer, was speaking in Texas last week, warning of a possible third world war: “Christopher Ferrell reported for the Bryan College Station Eagle: “Walter Cronkite, the veteran newsman who covered almost every major world event that took place during his six-decade career, on Sunday warned that if the United States takes action against Iraq without support from the United Nations it could set the stage for World War III.

“The threat from the White House is to go in anyway,” Cronkite said.”Our only ally would probably be Great Britain. That is not goodenough. I see the possibility if we do that of really setting forthWorld War III.”

Cronkite spoke at Texas A&M University’s Rudder Auditorium on Sunday afternoon as part of the Wiley Lecture Series?.( full story at: http://www.theeagle.com/aandmnews/102802cronkite.htm

PENTAGON TO TRAIN MEDIA

The Bush Administration has been roundly criticized for clamping down on information, manipulating journalists and the public with selective leaks and media management practices. But now that a war is on the way, the media is being offered some new services that I may try use. (Do you think they will let me in?) Here is an excerpt from the AP report:

“The Pentagon is offering to train journalists in the basics of military combat as part of its contingency planning for media coverage of a possible war with Iraq.

“Details of the one-week training sessions are being worked out, but Pentagon officials said Wednesday the training would be led by each military service.

“Journalists would learn about military customs, ammunitions, basic first aid, and how to protect themselves in the event of nuclear, chemical, and biological attack. They also would learn about the rules of engagement, the U.S. command structure and military customs, according to a memo sent to bureau chiefs in Washington.

“In a meeting with news managers Wednesday, Pentagon spokesman Bryan Whitman said the training would provide a measure of confidence for commanders that journalists would not hinder their operations. He said the training was not a prerequisite for joining a military unit and neither was it a guarantee of access.

“Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld said it was “generally almost always helpful” to provide access for journalists, though he added “there are times when it is not appropriate…”

CNN: WASHINGTON PROPAGANDA NOT WORKING

As the military seeks to cultivate the media, The Office of Public Diplomacy (read, propaganda) is spending $600 million dollars on a media campaign targeted at youth In the Middle East, using music driven radio programming, American music and TV commercials to try to improve the image of the US. According to a report by Andrea Koppel, daughter of Ted, on CNN this morning, it isn’t working. New Survey in Arab countries considered friendly the US shows that hostility to the US is running from 50 to 80% of the population. The people interviewed said clearly that draw a distinction between the American people who they like and US policies, especially policy towards Israel, that they don’t.

Yesterday BBC World noted that US policy makers are disturbed by the breakup of Ariel Sharon’s government and its turn in an even more right wing direction because it is likely to turn public opinion even more against Israel and, its main backer, the USA In fact, Sharon is trying to hold on to power by moving rightwards

IS THE MEDIA BIASED AGAINST ISRAEL?

Even as this continues, Israel’s friends in western media continue blasting their own industry for bias against Israel. In Canada Izzy Asper who took over from like-minded media mogul Conrad Black, gave a speech attacking what he calls “dishonest reporting.” Here’s the thesis from the actiual speech: “BECAUSE DISHONEST REPORTING IS DESTROYING THE TRUST IN AND CREDIBILITY OF THE MEDIA AND THE JOURNALISTS, AND THE SAME DISHONEST REPORTING IS BIASED AGAINST ISRAEL, THUS DESTROYING THE WORLD’S FAVOURABLE DISPOSITION TOWARD IT?.”

Our report on the controversy that ensued comes from a reader, Ware (rhymes with “sorry”) Pilgrim: “I was wondering if you had come across the statements made by Izzy Asper (founder of CanWest Global, owner of the National Post and Canada’s largest newspaper publisher) regarding media bias. These links are a little awkward, so copy & paste them in your browser if you can’t simply click on them:

CanWest founder condemns media’s anti-Israel ‘bias’

“There really isn’t anything in there that you (and many other astute readers) haven’t seen before. What I found somewhat interesting was the fact that Mr. Asper attempts to make the case that the media outlets that he names (the CBC, the NY Times, etc.) are responsible for the problem, and hence should be responsible for the solution (namely, reporting stories in a fashion that’s in line with his views).

“This coming from a man who’s the patriarch of a family that owns most of the major newspapers in Canada? Wouldn’t you think that if Mr. Asper really wanted to combat the bias of which he complains, that he’d simply issue a memorandum throughout his family’s media empire to get all of his properties in line? To be honest, he sort of tried that before with a national editorial policy that fell flat on its face a few months ago, but given that he’s so passionate about the subject of bias, it seems funny that he hasn’t done the obvious and whip all of his outlets into ideological shape. (ed note: The speech points out that the media lies about EVERYTHING…and Israel, too.)

ROAD MAP TO NOWHERE

As for US policy towards Israel, supporters and detractors seem agreed that the new ?road map” isn’t going anywhere. Henry Siegman, a leader of a Jewsish American organization calls it in the International Herald Tribune:

“A ‘map’ without a destination:” “The best way to judge whether the new ‘road map’ for Middle East peace put forward by the Bush administration offers a realistic prospect for a renewed political process and an Israeli-Palestinian peace agreement is to ask why earlier initiatives failed, and whether the new map avoids earlier mistakes.”

He concludes that it doesn’t.

Palestinian personality Hanan Ashrawi, (discredited recently for sleeping with Peter Jennings years ago, thus begging the question of HIS credibility on Israel at ABC News) has a devastating critique on the Media Monitors network: “Beyond Sharon’s initial dismissive attitude, Israeli responses have ranged from a total rejection of the June 4, 1967 borders, to the negation of the establishment of the Palestinian state, to the refusal to cease settlement activities and dismantle any settlements, to the rejection of any binding timetables, to the elimination of any aspect of monitoring or third party involvement, to further demands and preconditions specifically designed to abort the initiative (including collection of Palestinian weapons, arrest of “suspects,” the total cessation of “violence,” the political “elimination” of President Arafat, comprehensive Palestinian “reform,” among other dictates).

“By now,” continues Ashrawi, “Israeli tactics have become all too familiar. After sabotaging the substance, Israel proceeds to raise procedural and technical objections with the aim of prolongation and obfuscation. Thus with the parties totally bogged down in micromanaging the most obscure detail and side issue, Israel buys more time to create more facts to render the whole exercise entirely irrelevant.”

MOSCOW MUZZLES MEDIA

The fallout from the killings in Moscow continue to be heard. Writing on ZNet, Russian activist Boris Kagarlitsky calls it

“An Attack Against The Society: “After special forces commandos stormed the Theater Na Dubrovke early Saturday morning, the authorities proclaimed the operation a complete success. They first announced that the enemy had been destroyed with no losses among the hostages or special forces. Then they mentioned 30 dead. By midday on Saturday the death toll had reached 67, and in the evening the Health Ministry officially admitted that ‘more than 90 people’ had died, after which physicians were forbidden from talking to the press. On Sunday, the number of dead reached 117.

“The crisis saw an unprecedented government crackdown on the media. The Moskovia television station was taken off the air after broadcasting an interview with a hostage who called for an end to the war in Chechnya. After being warned by the authorities, normally opposition-minded Ekho Moskvy radio toed the official line in its coverage of the hostage crisis. The Chechen web site Kavkaz.org was taken offline.

“The authorities did in Moscow what they have been doing for more than three years in Chechnya: They blocked the flow of information, they lied and passed off defeat as victory. But what the federal government gets away with in a distant Caucasus republic didn’t work in Moscow with dozens of journalists and thousands of witnesses watching?.”

IS THERE MORE TO THE SNIPER STORY

And I don’t mean all the details of links to new killings like the one that came out today. Mark Crispin Miller called my attention to a website tracking contradictions and under reported aspects of this issue.

Consider the following:

“*Muhammad’s ex-wife, with whom he has had a stormy relationship marked by bitter custody battles, recently relocated to the DC area to take a job at, of all places, John Ashcroft’s Justice Department. This peculiar fact, though reported by the British press, has been curiously absent in the blanket coverage of the case by the American media.
http://www.observer.co.uk/focus/story/0,6903,820087,00.html

* Two years ago, Muhammad kidnapped his own children, in clear violation of a court order, and took them out of the country for an extended period of time. There is no indication that he was charged with any crime in connection with these actions, nor for repeatedly threatening his former wife.

* That same former wife charged Muhammad, in court documents, with tapping her phone line. No indication has been given as to how Muhammad acquired the skills and equipment to do this.

VISIT THIS NEW WEBSITE

The Globalvision News Network is assisting Joseph Stiglitz, the 2001 Nobel Prize Recipient in Economics, in launching a global journalism training program aimed at helping reporters who work in developing and transition countries.

“We hope that this program will prove useful to you and members of your reporting staff, especially those who cover finance and economics. You can learn more about the training program via Stiglitz’s Initiative for Policy Dialogue (IPD) website.

The site is the first of its kind and includes tips on covering subjects such as banking crises, privatization, foreign exchange crises, central banks, debt forgiveness programs and capital markets in developing countries. The Initiative for Policy Dialogue program also provides case studies on different countries so reporters can find out what has happened around the world.

Anya Schiffrin writes: “We are adding more material in the coming months and plan to translate it into several languages, including Russian, Vietnamese and Portugese. Submissions, ideas, links, comments, photos can be sent to me at journalismtraining@hotmail.com.”

IN THE EMAIL

James writes: This was the only US media link I ever saw regarding the Right Wing bombings in Soweto this week. … I blogged it on my own blog…

HAPPY DIWALI

And finally to all of us from India: “Happy Diwali from all us at OneWorld South Asia.Warm regards, Nitya Jacob.” We return the greetings and share them now with all of you.Have a great weekend. I am back Monday. Until then, keep your letters and comments coming.Write: dissector@medichannel.org