‘Devastating’ Moyers Probe of Press and Iraq
April 21st, 2007File this one in the You’ve-Known-It-Since-2002 folder…
Via: E & P:
NEW YORK (Commentary) The most powerful indictment of the news media for falling down in its duties in the run-up to the war in Iraq will appear next Wednesday, a 90-minute PBS broadcast called “Buying the War,” which marks the return of “Bill Moyers Journal.” E&P was sent a preview DVD and a draft transcript for the program this week.
While much of the evidence of the media’s role as cheerleaders for the war presented here is not new, it is skillfully assembled, with many fresh quotes from interviews (with the likes of Tim Russert and Walter Pincus) along with numerous embarrassing examples of past statements by journalists and pundits that proved grossly misleading or wrong. Several prominent media figures, prodded by Moyers, admit the media failed miserably, though few take personal responsibility.
The war continues today, now in its fifth year, with the death toll for Americans and Iraqis rising again — yet Moyers points out, “the press has yet to come to terms with its role in enabling the Bush Administration to go to war on false pretenses.”
Bill Moyers, like Seymour Hersh is a fascinating figure. They are both members of a dying breed, old school classic liberals, as opposed to modern neoliberals. They have both been sharp critics of much corruption. And yet, even these old gray gadflies know their limits. No serious talk of 11/22/63 or 9/11/01 is allowed, ever. That is the price for access to PBS and publication in the chic glossy magazines.
Can you say “Operation Mockingbird”? From the Wikipedia piece on same as to Carl Bernstein’s great, and forgotten, Rolling Stone article from the 1970s (notice Pincus’ name, still active after all these years, working in the “people’s” interest – – what a farce:
In 1977, Rolling Stone alleged that one of the most important journalists under the control of Operation Mockingbird was Joseph Alsop, whose articles appeared in over 300 different newspapers. Other journalists alleged by Rolling Stone Magazine to have been willing to promote the views of the CIA included Stewart Alsop (New York Herald Tribune), Ben Bradlee (Newsweek), James Reston (New York Times), Charles Douglas Jackson (Time Magazine), Walter Pincus (Washington Post), William C. Baggs (The Miami News), Herb Gold (The Miami News) and Charles Bartlett (Chattanooga Times).[5] According to Nina Burleigh (A Very Private Woman), these journalists sometimes wrote articles that were commissioned by Frank Wisner. The CIA also provided them with classified information to help them with their work.[6]
The media in the USA is the equivalent of Pravda during the Soviet era, the only difference is the Soviet people knew it was a controlled phoney media while the USA “free” idiots are generally clueless that the mainstream media in the USA is completely phoney and controled whether it be right, “left” (whatever that means as applied to the USA), and center (which, of course, is actually right), progressive voices are totally ignored, and when, on rare occasions, not ignored are vilified and marginalized by Russert, Pincus, Broder and the rest of the millionaire pundits that sold out their countrymen years ago . . . the average joe being clueless . . . “another beer over here, let’s watch the game . . . “