The Military Analyst Scandal Dies -- Even on NPR?

Two weeks ago, the New York Times revealed that the "military analysts" parading through network and cable newscasts for the past six years have been largely willing members of a Pentagon psy-ops program, used as "message force multipliers" to carry good-news messaging about the war to viewers. Today, the Politico runs a story about the deafening response from those networks, usually so eager to hop onto and run with a major New York Times scoop.

But even the Politico story misses an area of eerie silence. It cites Tom Rosenstiel, of the Project for Excellence in Journalism:

Rosenstiel's organization tracked the mainstream media for a week after the Times story and found that out of approximately 1,300 news stories, only two touched on the Pentagon analysts scoop -- both airing on PBS's NewsHour.

The silence Politico doesn't mention comes from NPR, not cited in Rosenstiel's survey as having followed up the NYT story, despite the fact that one of the analysts quoted in the story as begging for another Pentagon-sponsored trip to Iraq and citing the good work he'd done for them after past trips, was doing his analysis for both Fox News -- and NPR.

By the way, the payoff for the analysts to cooperate with the Pentagon program, according to the original NYT story, was not just increased insider access, the fool's gold of Beltway media corruption. The analysts also had day jobs working for military contractors, and their cooperation with the media program certainly didn't hurt their companies' chances of gaining contracts.

Those connections, of course, went unrevealed to viewers, and listeners. As did the connections of the host and all panelists on a recent public radio discussion of psychoactive drugs to the manufacturers of such medications. This Slate story covers that little scandal.

We may, sadly, be beyond the time when such hidden motives for the "experts" paraded before us have the power to surprise when ignored by the corporate media. Have we also moved beyond the time when public radio isn't held (or doesn't hold itself) to a higher standard?

UPDATE: Tyndall's survey covered only television news. NPR's media correspondent did indeed file a story on the military analyst scandal.

UPDATE #2: Glenn Greenwald at Salon has read through the 8000 pages of transcripts the Pentagon released as a result of the NYT's Freedom of Information Act lawsuit (the basis for the original Times story). He has two reports on what he's read, here and here

UPDATE #3: According to Regret the Error (a wonderful website), NPR"s ombudsman now says the network has a contractual relationship with the talk show in the Slate article, "The Infinite Mind", to run the broadcast on Sirius "public radio" channels.

Comments

[Binx101]

We're not so sure that this is forgotten ... but isn't presumptuous to believe that the corporate media would launch an attack on themselves, considering that they are likely to look more like co-defendants in a law suit than victims.

These are the collaborators that have sold our country out for that taste of blood that their war machine parent companies long for.

NPR will come around - but unlike the knee-jerk journo-tainers - a little more investigative journalism is called for no? Right now don't we know all the facts about the DOD. It seems to me the bulk of the story rests on investigating the corporate media's part in all of this.

Today we talked about the bogus contract with America and collaborators just like the corporate media and "analysts"

Binx101
The Almost Daily Binx
http://binx101.wordpress.com

[ajax2]

NPR and most public communications are run, and have been run by Republicans for some time. The managers are political appointments.

[Nofoolhere]

“Have we also moved beyond the time when public radio isn't held (or doesn't hold itself) to a higher standard?”

This observation becomes understandable when you consider that the Board of Directors are all right wing advocates and protectors who have been appointed by the Bush administration to keep the lid on NPR. My heart goes out to Jim Lehrer, Bill Moyers and the other NPR’s real journalists who have had to function under this blanket of oppression for almost eight years.

Relief from this oppressive evil will be only one fruit from the blessings of electing Barack Obama to President of the United States.

[ohdotoh]

Hi Harry,

You closed by asking, "Have we also moved beyond the time when public radio isn't held (or doesn't hold itself) to a higher standard?"

I don't know about the others reading this, but I moved beyond thinking that was the case a long time ago. The intellectual capacity of the entire country is phenomenally abysmal, and the media is a reflection of that low level of intellectual functioning.

See http://www.informatics-review.com/FAQ/reading.html for some stats:

"Nearly 50% of the Americans surveyed cannot read well enough to find a single piece of information in a short publication, nor can they make low level inferences based on what they read"

"About 20% of the US population are functionally illiterate; for some subsets of our population, that rises to 40%."

"About one in every four Americans (25%) is a high school dropout"

"About half (45%) have gone to college for some period of time, but fewer than one in six (15%) have a college degree "

I don't blame the Republicans for the sorry state of education in America. It's the other way around, and it has become a positive feedback loop in the cul-de-sac at the end of the street called Stoopid.
-- Sean

[Franciscodeflores]

I agree. Anyone who listens to NPR and still thinks it represents some kind of neutral or fair and balanced reporting must not really be listening or lives in some romantic la-la land.

[rpence]

I wouldn't know what's on NPR these days. Had to stop listening because Paul Begala said it made me a snob who's handing the election to McCain.

[londubh]

Either media execs are complicit and don't want to reveal they've been had, or more likely shadowy Pentagon representatives are muzzling the media in such a way they can't talk about it.

[Mike O.]

Or maybe, despite the never-ending efforts on the part of mindless liberals to undermine our efforts, the U.S. IS SUCCEEDING in bringing democracy to the oppressed people of Iraq.

But, that would never occur to you, I'm sure.

[CenterOfMass]

Can you focus? Nothing in Iraq matters to the fact that the major news outlets let Pentagon and defense-contractor shills present supposedly-objective analyses. This is a conflict-of-interest, regardless of your political bent.

[Hoelder]

If you watch some of the propaganda minister Alfred Goebbels you know mastery on a massive scale.

[Atticus]

C'mon Harry! The "Military Anaylyst Scandal is utterly bogus, and you know it. Who in their right mind would expect veteran US military officers to announce negative, defeatist news about OUR side during wartime? The very folks we are fightuing hang on every word that is uttered by our media-- and they'd be idiots if they didn't. The last thing warring powers want to announce to the enemy is how bad things are going for themselves!

[londubh]

So it's OK for them to lie us into a disastrous war? Because that's what it was about. We weren't at war with Saddam when those military analysts were building the case for war. And what those retired military analysts should have been doing instead of propping up a disaster would have been to lobby the government quietly to get us out.

[zigzag1]

Right, they left there brains and integrity in their duffle bag. Hope they remember to pick up the retirement checks.

[rmc53x]

C’mon Atticus! The Military Analyst "Message Force Multipliers" is utter propaganda, and you know it. What Fascist in their right mind wouldn’t hide behind ‘National Security’ to suppress the negative, defeatist Free Press that’s guaranteed by OUR Constitution? The very folks who own the Military-Industrial Complex control every word that is uttered by our media-- and they wouldn’t be billionaires if they didn't. The last thing the Ruling Class wants to announce to the public is how bad things are going for themselves!

[TRex86]

'Scuse me, colonel, "defeatist news about OUR side during wartime" is a classic propaganda phrase. FYI, we won the war five years ago. That mission was accomplished. What followed, the illegal occupation of a non-belligerent nation has been a disaster, the results of which cannot be turned into a simplistic "win:lose" paradigm. Gen. Shenseki (sp?) knew this when he criticized the size of the occupation forces. Moreover, our failure to have clear goals for the occupation--or goals that are under our control--is a failure worse than Vietnam.
As to the "warring powers" concept, who's the other "warring power?" That notion is Cold War stuff. If it's Al Qaeda, we gave them a pass when we invaded Iraq. It's bad enough to spout Bush talking points, but the tragedy is a complete failure to understand our failed policy to the point that the desperate Bushites are threatening a war with Iran for no reason other than homeland politics--a war we could lose unless we deploy nuclear weapons.

[VitriolAndAngst]

NPR has quickly become just like all the other CorpMedia outlets. Sure they get backing from "Listeners like you." But they also get most of their money from a good list of crooks.

I'm almost screamed when I listened to them quote the Heritage Foundation on analysis -- as if it were just another, independent source of "thinking" and not a paper mill for propaganda, that is well know for promoting talking points for the NeoCons -- some fabricated whole cloth.

Then, the day before, I heard a "balanced" report, of BB&T wanting to help schools out with money as long as they could teach a course on Ayn Rand's "Atlas Shrugged." Hey, I'm all for alternative points of view -- but an entire class on one book? You know, what the Straussians and NeoCons are full of? There was no background on the story, or how profoundly WRONG this books is on its failed premise. Adam Smith and responsible economists are still rolling over in their grave. Maybe if the balanced the course of with "Toxic Sludge is Good for You."

The problem with a corporate sponsored course; we let education get so impoverished that it needs Business patronage to function. And what happens after that? Just like NPR, it becomes "more fair" towards the point of view of corporations that endow it. Have we heard any good stories about DuPont, Monsanto, or ADM on NPR in the past few years? RIP NPR.

[Chavez08]

The Reaganite deception machine, via the Bush admin., gave Public Broadcasting a decent mugging. Since then, pro-fascism management changes effectively neutering those with opposing viewpoints had turned NPR into National Petroleum Radio.

Viva Leo Strauss!!

[BetterDeadthanRedState]

I think the media might be a bit embarrassed and wanted to sweep this story under the rug. Stay tuned to see who was voted off American Idol.

[kellygrrrl]

NPR has clearly sold its soul
for a chance to play with the cool kids

little do they know, the American People have risen from our coma
we will not be played by the Propaganda Machine in the living room
we are defecting in huge numbers

[raw915]

defecting to? BBC? CBC?

[kellygrrrl]

internet!!!!!

[therealredstateblues]

Indeed - they parade out neocons and right wing zealots and AM loudmouths like Beck and Cunningham, do not challenge extreme partisans like Mitch McConnel['s ridiculous non sequitors on Iraq and terrorism

And just yesterday they presented a story about Wire coat hangers and a new tariff to protect the industry from chinese dumping - the last of the US makers is now hiring new people and investing in new equipment, and a competitor is now bringing jobs back to the US to cover the increased demand. So the tariffs worked as intended keeping and creating jobs and investment here at home, yet the global corporatist influenced NPR piece made this sound like a bad thing since a few dry cleaners were whining about paying a few more pennies for their hangers

[steamboat]

Harry, I'm really enjoying reading everybodies opinions. Probably because everybody has a different view of things.............So hears mind:

FOX > republicans.

MSNBC> liberal wing of the democrats.

CNN >entertainers and in the middle

NPR> Moyers-Smiley (left) Williams (center)

. 'San Francisco liberalism'.-- San Francisco folks preach open-mindness, inclusion for all, and the 1st amendment. But don't practice it themselves. Examples: a military recruiter should have a right to advertise and practice their occupation, also. Example: Nancy Pelosi will take money from all the unions and preach workers-rights, but she and her husband won't let the workers at the wineries they own, or the workers at the hotel and the restaurant they are part-owners of unionize. Or the fact San Francisco people always preach how 'they champion the American working-man', but then turn around and nobody anywhere owns more foreign-cars the folks there. Or they keep the standard of living so high in SF that working-class person can't afford to live there.

....Harry, its like what I call 'Texas tough-guys'. They preach 'charge' but they themselves make sure they had deferments and connections to have stayed out of the army. I don't find it a coincidence that one Texan escalated a war which got 58,000 American soldiers killed, while another Texan gotten us in this Iraq mess.

------Like I say everybody has an opinion !

[Marlyn]

FOX > republicans.

MSNBC> liberal wing of the republicans.

CNN > republicans

NPR> republicans

[steamboat]

What are you smoking? All those biased MSNBC commentators like Olbermann, Maddow, and Matthews are NOT republicans.................Neither are people like Cooper on CNN or for that matter, Moyers or Smiley on NPR.

[Chavez08]

"a military recruiter should have a right to advertise and practice their occupation"

[VitriolAndAngst]

Other than Bill Moyers and Olbermann -- ALL of the News from those outlets is Corporate. You are just going from the old model of the "trappings of Liberalism" -- that if there is someone concerned about fair treatment, or puts on a show about racism (usually, with no clear answer), that it is somehow benefitting the Liberals.

Liberalism is about empowering the Citizen. And NPR bends over backwards for its sponsors now -- which are indistinguishable from those that back McCain, or back the war. Glenn Beck is supposed to be a Liberal?

I think everyone needs to listen to some old speeches of Eisenhower to see how far we've fallen from even being actual Conservatives. No, we are just mooing cows, being herded by the Corporate Media. It is up vs. down and not left vs. right.

[steamboat]

>"Liberalism is about empowering the Citizen."<


At one-time you were correct. But these new liberals, its about only including people in who think exactly like us. Our way or else. This 'new left' , these PC-thought police have become the McCarthyites of today's times.

[JBS]

I'd like to point out that many of those "foreign" cars are manufactured right here in the U.S. Costs the Japanese and the Germans less to build 'em here than to ship from overseas.

For one thing, the workers at U.S. Honda, Mercedes & BMW plants get paid less and have fewer benefits than their Japanese and German counterparts.

[steamboat]

Even more reason to buy AMERICAN cars. Instead of workers who are not allowed to join UAW.

[kellygrrrl]

The Propaganda Machine got played
guess they don't want to admit it

I'd really like to see a few MSM "jounralists" wake up and start acting like they have a functioning brain

[northcan]

The media silence is deafening, this I know from personal experience, especially foreign policy issue's that has (not publicaly announced) destroyed many lives throughout the world. Something many countries have taken issue with but are sqelched.

The public never hears of these major issues and cannot even be published on post's. I have tried, the media backs down. It must have an arrangement with the pentagon, presidential administration and media together, to thwart any kind of contraversy or fact, protecting administration.

I am saddened by this, especially during the Clinton era, the corruption domestically and foreign policy or rogue nation involvement. I dare mention it on certain blogs because it will not be published, disempowering me to give an opinion or fact as a citizen.

This is not transparancy in Government and now a third term candidate is vowed she want's back in the WH, I think, for all the same reasons her operation was there in the ninety's. It had nothing to do with Americans or the Global arena, just everything they got out of their system.

They also had a "operation" similar in Arkansas, but I think some high up members of the DNC drew this politically insane couple into the arena as cover. As you and I well know, associates went to jail, while they hung onto power. Sound third world? It is. So much for Freedom.

[kellygrrrl]

"an arrangement with the Pentagon" = fear of retaliation??? yikes!