THE BUSH MEDIA PUSH

Dan Cassidy of New College in San Francisco sends a local article of interest

Bush spends heavily to get message out

“The Bush administration, amid record budget deficits, has been spending huge amounts on advertising and public relations contracts to counter a hostile media environment.

“The administration spent $1.62 billion on advertising and public relations contracts over two and a half years. Most of the money was spent by the Defense Department amid its efforts to recruit soldiers for the war in Afghanistan and Iraq…”

MIRTH IN ISTANBUL

Adam McConnel writes from the Turkish city:

Kaloogian admitted that the picture posted on the site was from Istanbul:

http://www.kaloogianforcongress.com/aboutus.asp?id06=116&par06=104

Damn — Since the picture was from Istanbul I was hoping to provide the definitive evidence that it was. On the other hand, it’s notable that Kaloogian, despite being Armenian, is not able to see the difference between Baghdad and tanbul in a picture even after being to both places. . .Ooooops!

BTW, Kaloogian’s little booboo made the Turkish press today:

http://www.milliyet.com.tr/2006/03/31/dunya/adun.html

and Newsweek:

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/12071317/site/newsweek/

VETERAN RADIO HOST JAY DIAMOND NOW A MEDIA CRITIC

”Hi Danny, Here is a critique I wrote after watching some blatant Propaganda on Lou Dobbs recently….Jay

”Below please note the highlighted portions of Kitty Pilgrim’s remarks on Lou Dobbs Tonight March 23, 2006. Ms. Pilgrim’s “reporting” was consumed in value judgements and rank Propaganda that were not supported by facts.

“Specifically, Ms. Pilgrim’s description of Iran as a “terrorist regime” has not, to my knowledge, been documented anywhere, or for that matter, even asserted by the United States.

“If Ms. Pilgrim has special insight into the “terrorist” nature of the Iran government, she should share it with United States intelligence gathering agencies prior to broadcasting on CNN.

“But then again, she “reported” zero evidence of her assertions of Iran’s “terrorism”.

“In the next sentence, Ms. Pilgrim states that “chinese companies are already working in Iran”.

“That may or may not be factual, but if it is, then she would have demonstrated better journalistic ethics had she noted that American companies are ALSO “working in Iran!”

See as follows: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/7119752/

“But Kitty Pilgrim isn’t finished. In the last highlighted segment, after the remarks of Prof. Lieberthal, Pilgrim refers to the “tirades” of Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez Frias against the United States, but makes no reference to similarly belligerent remarks made by the Bush administration, and Pres. Bush himself, toward Venezuela. Presumably, Pilgrim is telling us that we should be wary of, and dislike China because China has a business relationship with a government that has been critical of the government of the United States.

“However, were the State of Israel to apply Kitty Pilgrim’s very same standard for suspicion and hostility to the the United States, then Israel would note the United States’ huge trade relationship with Saudi Arabia and other Middle Eastern regimes as hostile to Israel…”

Leith Elder writes from Australia:

”Many years ago I trained myself like one of Pavlov’s dogs, to salivate at a journalist’s use of the tiny word “we”, as in “how we are we are winning” (Dissecting 60 Minutes on Tel Afar). Once one has become so attuned any reporter’s bias becomes immediately obvious. It stood me in good stead throughout the whole of the long War on Vietnam as a means to immediately separate reportage from advocacy. Use of loaded terms like “the enemy” are also dead giveaways. Pogo Possum got it right “we have met the enemy, and he is us”

VIDEOS TO WATCH

Stefano is a photographer of the Italian persuasion who very kindly took some head shots of me after we met at a Book store appearance for my book When News Lies. He does some fantastic street work in New York and recently documented a run-in he had with some of NY’s Finest when he start shooting some trains against the night sky, Check out the video he sent me:

http://stefpix.com/movies/kops-ride.mov

Two new independent films will be opening soon. One is Kevin Keating’s long awaited Giuliani, a comprehensive look at the man who treated NY City the way Mussolini treated Rome. Also coming to theaters is a fabulous film on the soldier’s movement against the Vietnam War. See their trailer:

http://www.sirnosir.com/

DISSECTOR WHIRLWIND

I will be in Newark New Jersey tomorrow at the Society For Professional Journalists meeting. No April Fool’s Joke that.

RESPONSE TO WMD FROM INDIA

Vijendra Rao writes:

“That’s great work - please accept my hearty congratulations on WMD. I would be too keen to have the DVD screened for the students of journalism in Mysore, where I live, as also for local journalists.

“Having been a journalist with a couple of major publications, I have quietly slid to the background of near-anonymity. There is no way I can imagine myself a part of any media organization in India - media is a racket. I would rather die of unemployment. I have just started my blog press-distrust-india.blogspot.com.

“Please let me know what mite I can contribute against the United States’ war of terror in Iraq. I will raise the necessary resources to do it. Please keep up your good work.

“PS: My another blog is bloggingtrinkets.blogspot.com.
I should be keen to arrange a video conference between the local press and you. It should be possible to do the same in Bangalore, as well.”

THANKS

Thanks to Judith for kind comments on WMD, to Chuck for organizing last night’s well-attended screening and, for all her great work, to our Globalvision intern, Mi-Yang who is returning to South Korea….

There will be another WMD screening TONIGHT in the Trumansburg N.Y. Fire Hall in upstate New York sponsored by the group “BACK TO DEMOCRACY. Thanks to radio programmer Dennis Dore for his efforts. Sorry, I can’t make it.

Have a great weekend.

Comments always welcome.

Write: Dissector@mediachannel.org