McClellan and His Media Collaborators

No sooner had Bush's ex-press secretary (now author) Scott McClellan accused President Bush and his former collaborators of misleading our country into Iraq than the squeals of protest turned into a mighty roar.

I'm not talking about the vitriol directed at him by former White House colleagues like Karl Rove and Ari Fleischer. I'm talking about McClellan's other war collaborators: the movers and shakers in corporate media. The people McClellan refers to in his book as "deferential, complicit enablers" of Bush administration war propaganda.

One after another, news stars defended themselves with the tired old myth that no one doubted the Iraq WMD claims at the time. The yarn about hindsight being 20/20 was served up more times than a Rev. Wright clip on Fox News.

Katie Couric, whose coverage on CBS of the Iraq troop surge has been almost fawning, was one of the few stars to be candid about pre-invasion coverage, saying days ago, "I think it's one of the most embarrassing chapters in American journalism." She spoke of "pressure" from corporate management, not just Team Bush, to "really squash any dissent." Then a co-host of NBC Today, she says network brass criticized her for challenging the administration.

NBC execs apparently didn't complain when -- two weeks into the invasion -- Couric thanked a Navy commander for coming on the show, adding, "And I just want you to know, I think Navy SEALs rock!"

This is a glorious moment for the American public. We can finally see those who abandoned reporting for cheerleading and flag-waving and cheap ratings having to squirm over their role in sending other parents' kids into Iraq. I say "other parents' kids" because I never met any bigwig among those I worked with in TV news who had kids in the armed forces.

Given how TV networks danced to the White House tune sung by the Roves and Fleischers and McClellans in the first years of W's reign, it's fitting that it took the words of a longtime Bush insider to force their self-examination over Iraq. Top media figures had shunned years of well-documented criticism of their Iraq failure as religiously as they shunned war critics in 2003.

Speaking of religious, it wasn't until two days ago that retired NBC warhorse Tom Brokaw was able to admit on-air that Bush's push toward invasion was "more theology than anything else." On day one of the war, it was anchor Brokaw who turned to an Admiral and declared, "One of the things that we don't want to do is destroy the infrastructure of Iraq, because in a few days we're going to own that country."

Asked this week about the charge that media transmitted war propaganda, Brokaw blamed the White House and its "unbelievable ability to control the flow of information at any time, but especially during the time that they're preparing to go to war." This is an old canard: The worst censors pre-war were not governments, but major outlets that chose to exclude and smear dissenting experts.

Wolf Blitzer, whose persona on CNN is that of a carnival barker, defended his network's coverage: "I think we were pretty strong. But certainly, with hindsight, we could have done an even better job." Coverage might have been better if CNN news chief Eason Jordan hadn't gotten a Pentagon "thumbs-up" on the retired generals they featured. Or if Jordan hadn't gone on the air to dismiss a dissenting WMD expert: "Scott Ritter's chameleon-like behavior has really bewildered a lot of people... U.S. officials no longer give Scott Ritter much credibility."

ABC anchor Charlie Gibson, the closest thing to a Fox News anchor at a big three network, took offense at McClellan: "I think the media did a pretty good job." With the "drumbeat" coming from the administration, "it was not our job to debate them," said Gibson. He claimed "there was a lot of skepticism raised" about Colin Powell's pre-war U.N. speech. Media critic Glenn Greenwald called Gibson's claim "one of the falsest statements ever uttered on TV" - and made his point using Gibson's unskeptical Powell coverage at the time.

In February 2003, there was huge mainstream media skepticism about Powell's U.N. speech... overseas. But U.S. TV networks banished antiwar perspectives in the crucial two weeks surrounding that error-filled speech. FAIR studied all on-camera sources on the nightly ABC, CBS, NBC and PBS newscasts: Less than 1 percent -- 3 out of 393 sources -- were antiwar. Only 6 percent were skeptical sources. This at a time when 60 percent of Americans in polls wanted more time for diplomacy and inspections.

I worked 10-hour days inside MSNBC's newsroom during this period as senior producer of Phil Donahue's primetime show (cancelled three weeks before the war while the network's most-watched program). Trust me: too much skepticism over war claims was a punishable offense. I and all other Donahue producers were repeatedly ordered by top management to book panels that favored the pro-invasion side. I watched a fellow producer get chewed out for booking a 50-50 show.

At MSNBC, I heard Scott Ritter smeared -- on-air and off -- as a paid mouthpiece of Saddam Hussein. After we had war skeptic and former U.S. Attorney General Ramsey Clark on the show, we learned he was on some sort of network blacklist.

When MSNBC terminated Donahue, it was expected that we'd be replaced by a nightly show hosted by Jesse Ventura. But that show never really launched. Ventura says it was because he, like Donahue, opposed the Iraq invasion; he was paid millions for not appearing. Another MSNBC star, Ashleigh Banfield, was demoted and then lost her job after criticizing the first weeks of "very sanitized" war coverage. With every muzzling, self-censorship tended to proliferate.

I'm no defender of Scott McClellan. Some may say he has blood on his hands -- and that he hasn't earned any kind of redemption.

But as someone who still burns with anger over what I witnessed inside TV news during that crucial historical moment, I'm trying my best to enjoy this falling out among thieves and liars.

Jeff Cohen is a recovering TV pundit, founder of the media watch group FAIR, and associate professor of journalism at Ithaca College. His latest book is Cable News Confidential: My Misadventures in Corporate Media.

Comments

[luziannagirl]

So Brokaw & others blame not themselves, but the White House? Is Brokaw senile, or does he think we are?

So, real journalists make administration foot-dragging and obfuscation (and worse) the story. Where the daily 6 p.m. tv news stories with taglines screaming: "White House Stomps Press Corps; Avoids Tough Questions" or "White House Punishes Reporters For Doing Their Jobs" or "White House High On Propaganda; Low On Truth"?

I'll tell you where that kind of story was.

Buried on PBS's Bill Moyers and Frontline, once a week for a total of 2 hours. Buried in an every-once­-in-awhile piece on National Public Radio. Buried on Air America so-called "left wing" talk radio, in the case of Thom Hartmann's show, at least, not so much partisan as reality-based.

So many lies, and only a few outlets to cover them. So many juicy stories, too, largely left on the table to rot by all the mainstream media "journalists".

You know, as the true story of "what happened" during the American Dark Ages emerges, I am increasingly appreciative of those who blew the whistle, changed jobs, retired, or even just gave up and died rather than be complicit enablers.

[legalgirl]

I'd like to suggest a couple of changes to FCC regulations, as follows:

1. Military contractors should not be allowed to own and/or operation media outlets, including, but not limited to, GE's ownership of NBC and MSNBC.

2. The quality of news reporting in every media outlet must meet a minimum standard of truthiness. The dominance of what I laughingly refer to as "news" on AM Radio is a "clear channel" joke. Talk about your selective reporting!

[luziannagirl]

legalgirl

I love it! Truthiness!

Well, if the minimum standard to be called news is something as lofty as, say, "has basis in fact", not to mention "is important and relevant to the lives of citizens", I'm afraid we would see about 98% of what is now called news disappear.

Perhaps an entirely new cadre of faces might appear on camera, too, as the present ones have unfortunately been z-trained and may not be able to regain previously learned skills. Assuming they ever learned any...

[Kalemanao]

REMINDER: The WHITE HOUSE PRESS CORPS WAS LATE! Not Scott McClellan. Reflect back on a bunch of those press
conferences he "gave" during those recent years as Deputy WH Press Sec. It is my belief, McClellan's
answers to some of the questions conveyed an OBVIOUS message to those who were listening.
I am convinced some members of the White House Press got the message. But... DID NOTHING.
As usual, most of the esteem WH Press Corps were... waiting... to be handed the Official White House Press
Release before they could submit "their" story. Already, some are on the defensive.­..
They are "puzzled" and Scott is "not the Scott McClellan they knew"... Talk about better late than never.

[BarryChamplain]

JEFF: I've been a supporter and fan of FAIR, sinceI first sent for their reports via snail mail. Yes, pre-internet. So I know what you do and the resistance you meet doing it.

May I passionately and fervently suggest one very effective remedy for the tainting of the Fourth Estate?

You need to name names. Katie says there was "pressure"; as did Jessica Yellin. You speak in your piece about witnessing a producer get his butt chewed for not loading the deck to the right.

I know media, and you know media. The Peter Principle (remember that?) thrives. The men and women who ordered the news reporters of America to paint a false, administra­tion-frien­dly picture of reality for the lumpen WILL WORK AGAIN. They wlll be in positions to MAKE DECISIONS affecting our lives, again. They'll pop up in mass media again, like the gopher in "Caddyshack".

OUT THEM, PLEASE. Which executives, specifically, colluded with this administration to lie to America?

Maybe if we can somehow elect a more democratic government, the climate will be more amenable to purge mass media of the people who misused their power. But we need to know WHO THEY ARE.

[TheEmptinessOfTruthiness]

Yes. Let's see their faces and learn all about them.

[Counterglow]

Ever since television took over as the main news source for most Americans, with the result that salaries among the chattering class got high enough to make journalists unwilling to walk away from a job as a matter of principle, news coverage has become a joke.

And as long as the majority of on-air personalities are unwilling to say, "Screw this. I'm not reading a pack of lies and entertainment nonsense on a hard news show", there will be no serious examination of the current problem. How can these faux journalists admit that they'd rather suck down a six figure salary than tell the truth? It would be an admission of something we members of the "great unwashed" already know: that these drones aren't journalists in any sense of the word. They proved it by tanking on Iraq, and they'll prove it again the very next time somebody really nasty and evil threatens their paycheque.

One quick example: remember Anderson Cooper's promise that he'd stay right on top of the Katrina story until the horrid, evil mess was cleaned up and the people of New Orleans got some small measure of justice? Where is he now?

[luziannagirl]

Well, he's not been hanging around these parts.

The ONLY major American broadcast and/or paycast news outlets which haven't dropped the tragic New Orleans post-Katrina story are National Public Radio, and to a lesser degree, National Public Broadcasting. Two outfits not in a quid-pro-quo relationship with advertisers nor beholden to corporate shareholders.

See, polls show that Americans got tired of that Katrina story, even though they REALLY needed to know more about it,not only for the good of New Orleans and Louisiana, but for the good of the country and for their own good.

New isn't supposed to be fun, and being informed isn't always pleasant.

[Counterglow]

Thanks for the update. It's sometimes difficult to get an accurate read of what's happening with the under-reported stories in the United States from up here North of the Border.

[bracken]

If asked, "What does it profit a man if he gain the world and lose his own soul?" I suppose the answer is "at least six figures."

You can always get back your soul, though, by doing a McClellan.

[marignymitch]

Junior's criminal designs on Iraq might have been thwarted by a professional media. Instead both led the nation in a stampede over a cliff. And both today are drenched in blood as a result. Thousands and thousands of tragic deaths later, with a nation in ruins, our 'journalists' this week guilessly defend their actions in support of violence and insanity and HuffPost writes mindless heds such as 'Did press enable run-up to war?'. Proving that the truth is still out there, somewhere, but we havn't found it yet. And the media shows no inclination of changing its ways. (Where's the reportage on MSM relying on illegal Pentagon Propaganda, for example?) I don't know if we'll ever recover. I'm angry, angry, angry and sad.

[JBS]

Yeah? And who sez they're gonna' examine their own role in selling administration lies?

[kfdan]

It's painfully obvious that the strictures brought to media ownership by Roosevelt need to be re-enforced. News has to be unbiased and the press free from domination by the interests of any one group. The government has to get active again over how to balance special interests (read that as large, and few in number, corporations) which the mainstream media has come to represent over the interests of the country. Good public health is not met when the government has no skeptical counter-balance!

[LutherBrixton]

The media had been turning further and further to the extreme rightwing even prior to the war and 9/11. But the grotesque rightwing totalitarianism of the Bush years (and the unprecedented devastation to this country and it's reputation around the world) has taken this country over the edge. Hopefully it has proven to all sentient beings beyond a shadow of a doubt what "conservatism" brought to its logical conclusion reaps for this country: Avarice, Greed, Narcissism, the Treasury being siphoned dry (stolen) by the top 1%, poorest job creation level since the great depression, wide-scale mass-murder, a weakened military, nonexistent national security, and American ideals thrown into the garbage.

During a time when the media refused to cover some of the most outrageous scandals in our nation’s history, we’ve witnessed a national election overturned and an unelected twit installed as our president, our country taken to war on lies for an ideological and corporate-driven agenda, the outing a CIA covert spy during wartime, American citizens illegally being spied on by their government, and innumerable war crimes including torture, illegal detention, and genocide. Meanwhile, our media focused on inane trivial news stories from Paris Hilton’s to American Idol winners. And now the Charlie Gibson’s, David Gregory’s, and Brian William’s of celebrity news pat themselves on the back for the egregious job they've done and boast it “wasn’t their job” to question anything they were told by the Bush administration.

[edtastic]

"Corporate Media enemy of Americain Freedom and Gateway to Facism". That would be a good book title. My anger at the media has not subsided, other than beating the drum for war they also force our politicians to swear allegiance to Israel a foreign nation for no apparent reason. The series of debates were awful usually devoid of substance. The media invented Gotcha Politics because it got them good ratings which is more than i can say for a lot of there propaganda pushes. The American Media is truly disgusting and the shame of the nation. If this were the "Root Of All Evil" I would put the American Press on the list of competitors. Seven years of cheesy propaganda and they arrogantly go on like it nothing is wrong. Honestly I hope they all go out of business and our sent into exhile for corrupting the principals of a free press. How will the people fight the supposed spokes persons for the people. The media chooses our heroes our enemies, they frame our debates. We are indeed being held hostage by the corporate media.

[TheEmptinessOfTruthiness]

I imagine they feel so emboldened by their success they consider themselves invincible.

Alternately, perhaps they just want to hold on long enough to accomplish the long-held agenda to bomb Iran.

Pure speculation, but it will take something more substantial than "left-wing bloggers" to force a change...

[tomsemioli]

Amen to the VoiceofReason: Reportage on Iraq was not journalistic failure - it was journalistic success! Journalists achieved their goal of selling the war to Americans. That was their job as dictated by the interests of those who sign the media's paychecks . Thank You For Smoking.

[cmhmd]

Thanks for this post. You, P Donahue, the McClatchey reporters and others did your best, but virtually everyone else dropped the ball.

I do want to get this up somewhere on HuffPo: How about we go back and give props to Paul O'Neill and Ron Susskind for "The Price of Loyalty". Here was a man, PON, who did what we are complaining McClellan never did. PON spoke truth to power while it mattered and got fired for it. He then went out and let people know about it.

My only disappointment was that he didn't come out more vigorously against Bush before the 04 election. I doubt it would have made a difference all in all, but it would have been good to see him be less circumspect earlier.

I wonder, did McLellan read "Loyalty" when it came out or while writing his book or ever?

Cheers,

[robertlockwoodmills]

Edward R. Murrow was a broadcasting icon who started in radio and moved to television fairly late in his career. Before all the media consolidation, before CBS was owned by Westinghouse and Viacom and whomever else, before ABC became part of Capital Cities and Disney, and before NBC became part of RCA which became part of GE...befor­e all this, Murrow typified the best in broadcast journalism. Independence, objectivity, and a lack of fear that some important person would be offended.

There are no Murrows left, except possibly for Keith Olbermann. Wolf Blitzer? Are you kidding? Katie Couric, America's sweetheart? Please! To be honest, if I made $10 million a year for sitting if front of a teleprompter and mouthing someone else's crap, it would be hard to interrupt the broadcast with a comment like, "Sorry, folks. I can't go on with this. My bosses insist I read it, but it's all a pack of lies."
So the corporate suits call the show, and the White House stays happy, and...well­, you know the rest.

[walk0nwalls]

Good show lads. Sorry i had to come at the expense of your careers that you did the right things but you represent the best of Americanism.

How unfortunate that truth, justice, and the American way are being strangled by false prophets of the same idea.

[FirstShirt]

Bob Dole said it best about McClellan:

"There are miserable creatures like you in every administration who don’t have the guts to speak up or quit if there are disagreements with the boss or colleagues," Dole wrote in the personal e-mail. "No, your type soaks up the benefits of power, revels in the limelight for years, then quits, and spurred on by greed, cashes in with a scathing critique."

[KHAAANNN]

Notice that Bob Dole (BTW - why would you quote someone who always speaks in the third person?) and ALL of the Bush apologists­/McClellan haters have not said that what McClellan stated as FACT in the book is NOT TRUE.
They only attack him for NOT BEING LOYAL, not for being wrong.
This speaks volumes.

[Durango]

Late conversion is better than no conversion.

So he came late to the truth. Does that make it any less the truth?

Not at all.