TV's Response to Pentagon Propaganda? Never Happened

Last week, it was a mudslinging debate hosted by ABC. This week, it's revelations of pro-war propaganda on nearly every major television news outlet.

The quest for quality journalism and for the truth about the fast sell on the Iraq war just hit a new low. And today, in the ensuing days, our loyal Bush lapdog news outlets are either dismissing the damning revelation or pretending it never happened.

Sunday's New York Times' article exposing a secret Bush administration campaign to infiltrate the media with pro-Iraq war "analysts" is enraging and is likely illegal. Trillions of dollars and hundreds of thousands of casualties later, we learn that the drum beat to war was led by a choir lip-synching the Pentagon's talking points.

And no one - not the network officials, not the military analysts, and certainly not the White House - can walk away from this scheme with clean hands. Of course, propaganda has always played a role in the government's wartime strategy. But the extent to which the American people were duped into trusting military officials in the build-up and ongoing pursuit of the Iraq war -- aided and abetted by the largest news outlets -- is as devious as it gets.

We need more than an empty reprimand of these propaganda pundits. Congress must investigate the Pentagon's "hidden hand" in driving war coverage, and the defense contractors, military analysts and national news media who went along for the ride.

The Department of Justice must launch an investigation to determine if the Pentagon broke the laws prohibiting government sponsored covert propaganda. But don't hold your breath. As Senator Byron Dorgan (D-ND) said in a Capitol Hill hearing this week, Bush-appointed DoJ officials are so MIA on government accountability, they should all be "on the side of milk containers".

This is not a partisan issue. Democrats, Republicans and everyone else are the victims. Public interest groups have launched an effort to pressure our lawmakers to act; to send a resounding message that the American people will no longer tolerate government lies, half-truths, and manipulations in the media.

Many of the network officials interviewed by the Times "acknowledged only a limited understanding of their analysts' interactions with the administration" and said analysts were not expected to disclose their financial conflicts before being broadcast as an expert.

Shame on the media for their irresponsible and shoddy reporting, for their unwillingness to vet sources, and for being compliant lapdogs when we needed snarling watchdogs.

Welcome to a familiar refrain. America's media system is dominated by a handful of giant corporations obsessed with making money, and terrified of upsetting the apple cart. Problem is, critical, accountable journalism questions authority, stirs the pot, and almost always spills more than a few apples. It even scares away a coveted advertisers and pisses off politicians who would otherwise hand over policy favors, earmarks and tax breaks worth millions.

Every time you see the media fail to inform and enlighten - a failure you can witness every time you turn on your TV or radio - don't get mad, join the ranks of Americans who are realizing that the fight for media reform is perhaps the most important political fight of our time. A fight who's outcome will determine whether our nation will continue its Orwellian slide into propaganda and falsehood, or become the enlightened democracy we so desperately want to live in.

Correction: The video refers to CNN's Rick Sanchez as a morning host. His show appears evenings.

Comments

[AmericaIsATerroist]

Republicans can proceed to just shut the fuck up for the next decade or so. We'll call you when we want you for something. IE:Don't hold your breath.

[AmericaIsATerroist]

Lincoln, Kennedy, oh please dear Lord, add George W Bush to that list.

[phasechange]

And, it's not just TV that has to be scrutinized. The Washington Post ran this story in their "Style" section along with movie reviews and the comics. Page 1 story? Well, at least they printed something, eh?

[JadedAggie]

Seriously, how was that article even a revelation? They ask campaign surrogates for political news, brokerage firms and hedge fund managers for business news, and interview economists about the climate change. Anybody that is watching these news casts and doesn't realize that there is very VERY little investigative journalism and that all the information provided must be taken with a few pounds of salt deserves to be misled. Realistically how often in the last 12 months have you heard of a news station being the original source of breaking news? All the investigative and meaningful coverage is done by the Associated Press and print news, mainly the Washington Post and New York Times.

[elbzee]

I used to think that people who said our government was Fascist were exaggerating and wrote it off as hysteria. Sadly, I can't deny it any more. We have become the bad guys of the cold war. And, we're the critters in Animal Farm. What a nightmare!

[AmericaIsATerroist]

Welcome to the party. You're only about 8 years too late. Who's the "Moonbats" now?

[Orlando]

Please google "Operation Mockingbird" to learn about the CIA's 28 year operation infiltrating the domestic and international media with PAID programming and operatives.
Then director of the CIA, George H. W. Bush, called for an end to paying for this service when it was exposed as an illegal activity of the CIA in the Church hearings. He did however say that the CIA would continue to accept "voluntary" assistance.
Research this and share with those whom you love so the media will not be able to fool them as they bang the drum for the next 20-30 years in the lead up to the war with Iran.
Don't trust the media, know the source.

[ComicBookGuy]

Too bad the TV networks have every reason NOT to cover this, since it pretty much destroys any credibility they have left. If they don't know (or care) that their military experts are getting talking points from the military, what other standards have they lowered?

[elbzee]

Just look at your local programming guide. There can't be much further to go!

[AmericaIsATerroist]

It's the same reason CBS doesn't want to talk about Dan Rather these days. It took them two years to realize that'd they'd been duped into railroading one of it's cornerstones out of a job.

[AZM]

So the Bush administration has total and complete contempt for the American public. Well, what to heck, George is a great guy to have a beer with, so let's make him our president!

[Woggles]

Great contribution Josh. I wish this story would get legs and really turn into a major American re-evaulation of our media situation. But, you know the very same media that could promote this, will be trying to stop this from getting legs. That isn't all that surprising.

[lagunabeach]

I'm grateful that you're keeping this important story going. I am not hopeful that we will be able to stop the descent into the world George Orwell so presciently predicted many years ago.

The republicans and their corporations know how to make a profit and if it takes buying lying military men and selling them to their own corporate entities, then so be it. All's fair in love and the war on democracy.

[pmorlan]

Our MSM is pathetic! Every time they have an opportunity to do the right thing they do just the opposite. Our corporate media structure has all but ruined real journalism in this country but it's at least encouraging that more and more people are recognizing this fact. Eventually this decaying house of cards will fall under it's own weight and these people who pretend that they are "serious" journalists will be shown for the preening fools that they have become.

[Marlyn]

"Congress must investigate those who went along for the ride." ???

But Congress went along for the ride too.

[mbaty]

Remember when Voldemort took over the media? Yeah, that was supposed to be fiction. J.K. Rowling gets ever more relevant the more we learn. And guess who CNN just hired?

[MS]

NPR today (Thurs April 24) is running a news feature on this story, pointing to the New York Times story, and discussing the outrageous ways the Bush Administration used the retired military to build support for their specious war:

+ Training retired military to tell stories about what was going on in Iraq and the need for a war
+ creating a "speakers bureau" for retired military to be placed as commentators at stations
+ bringing the commentators to Iraq to see what the handlers wanted presented on-air (ie positive stories) + hiring an outside agency to tally the impact of the military commentators.

[nellie]

Keep fighting for net neutrality.