Norman Solomon: A month after the invasion of Iraq began, CNN executive Eason Jordan admitted on his network's "Reliable Sources" show (April 20) that CNN had allowed U.S. military officials to help screen its on-air analysts: "I went to the Pentagon myself several times before the war started and met with important people there and said, for instance -- 'At CNN, here are the generals we're thinking of retaining to advise us on the air and off about the war' -- and we got a big thumbs-up on all of them. That was important."
Break the Corporate Stranglehold on the US News Media,
Show Up for Democracy in 2004: Defeat Bush (again!)
http://www.commondreams.org/views03/1222-10.htm
Published on Monday, December 22 , 2003 by
CommonDreams.org
Announcing the P.U.-litzer Prizes for 2003
by Norman Solomon
The P.U.-litzer Prizes were established more than a
decade ago to give recognition to the stinkiest media
performances of the year.
As usual, I have conferred with Jeff Cohen, founder of
the media watch group FAIR, to sift through the large
volume of entries. In view of the many deserving
competitors, we regret that only a few can win a
P.U.-litzer.
And now, the twelfth annual P.U.-litzer Prizes, for
the foulest media performances of 2003:
MEDIA MOGUL OF THE YEAR -- Lowry Mays, CEO of Clear
Channel
While some broadcasters care about their programming,
the CEO of America's biggest radio company (with more
than 1,200 stations) admits he cares only about the
ads. The Clear Channel boss told Fortune magazine in
March: "If anyone said we were in the radio business,
it wouldn't be someone from our company. We're not in
the business of providing news and information. We're
not in the business of providing well-researched
music. We're simply in the business of selling our
customers products."
LIBERATING IRAQ PRIZE -- Tom Brokaw
Interviewing a military analyst as U.S. jet bombers
headed to Baghdad on the first day of the Iraq war,
NBC anchor Brokaw declared: "Admiral McGinn, one of
the things that we don't want to do is to destroy the
infrastructure of Iraq, because in a few days we're
going to own that country."
"THE MORE YOU WATCH, THE LESS YOU KNOW" PRIZE -- Fox
News Channel
According to a University of Maryland study, most
Americans who get their news from commercial TV
harbored at least one of three "misperceptions" about
the Iraq war: that weapons of mass destruction had
been discovered in Iraq, that evidence closely linking
Iraq to Al Qaeda had been found, or that world opinion
approved of the U.S. invasion. Fox News viewers were
the most confused about key facts, with 80 percent
embracing at least one of those misperceptions. The
study found a correlation between being misinformed
and being supportive of the war.
"CLEAR IT WITH THE PENTAGON" AWARD -- CNN
A month after the invasion of Iraq began, CNN
executive Eason Jordan admitted on his network's
"Reliable Sources" show (April 20) that CNN had
allowed U.S. military officials to help screen its
on-air analysts: "I went to the Pentagon myself
several times before the war started and met with
important people there and said, for instance -- 'At
CNN, here are the generals we're thinking of retaining
to advise us on the air and off about the war' -- and
we got a big thumbs-up on all of them. That was
important."
"CONSERVATIVE TIMES FOR THE 'LIBERAL' MEDIA" AWARD --
ABC News
Over the years, ABC correspondent John Stossel became
known for one-sided, often-inaccurate reporting on
behalf of his pro-corporate, "greed is good" ideology.
He boasted that his on-air job was to "explain the
beauties of the free market," received lecture fees
from corporate pressure groups, and even spoke on
Capitol Hill against consumer-protection regulation.
In May of this year, when Stossel was promoted to
co-anchor of ABC's "20/20," a network insider told TV
Guide: "These are conservative times. ... The network
wants somebody to match the times."
"CODDLING DONALD" PRIZE -- CBS's Lesley Stahl, ABC's
Peter Jennings and Others
On the day news broke about Saddam Hussein's capture,
Stahl and Jennings each interviewed Defense Secretary
Donald Rumsfeld. In step with their mainstream media
colleagues, both failed to ask about Rumsfeld's
cordial 1983 meeting with Hussein in Baghdad on behalf
of the Reagan administration that opened up strong
diplomatic and military ties between the U.S.
government and the dictator that lasted through seven
years of his worst brutality.
MILITARY GROUPIE PRIZE -- Katie Couric of NBC's
"Today" Show
"Well, Commander Thompson," said Couric on April 3, in
the midst of the invasion carnage, "thanks for talking
with us at this very early hour out there. And I just
want you to know, I think Navy SEALs rock."
NOBLESSE OBLIGE OCCUPATION AWARD -- Thomas Friedman,
New York Times
In a Nov. 30 piece, Times columnist Friedman gushed
that "this war (in Iraq) is the most important
liberal, revolutionary U.S. democracy-building project
since the Marshall Plan." He lauded the war as "one of
the noblest things this country has ever attempted
abroad." Friedman did not mention the estimated 112
billion barrels of oil in Iraq ... or the continuous
deceptions that led to the "noble" enterprise.
Norman Solomon is co-author of "Target Iraq: What the
News Media Didn't Tell You." For an excerpt and other
information, go to:
www.contextbooks.com/new.html#target
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