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Showing all posts tagged mainstream media
MSM has duty not to replay Iraq 2003 with Iran 2012
While some in the corporate media, such as this article in the LA Times, question how the US has any idea about Iran’s actual nuclear program, the bigger question is how journalists report the information given by military and government sources. Do they become, like in Iraq in 2002 and 2003, propagandists for war? The…
What the MSM isn’t telling us about the war in Afghanistan
My following book review appears in today’s Sydney Morning Herald: A journalist with access to a superpower’s military machine refuses to toe the line. “I went into journalism to do journalism, not advertising,” independent American journalist Michael Hastings told… The Huffington Post… in 2010. ”My views are critical but that shouldn’t be mistaken for hostile – I’m…
Saluting the power of Anthony Shadid-style journalism in a cynical age
Famed New York Times journalist Anthony Shadid died tragically in February in… Syria… while reporting the war there. He was one of the finest reporters of his generation, spending years in the Arab world explaining its twists and turns. He proved that insightful, punchy and beautifully written journalism still matters in the modern age. Now his widow,…
Frank Lowy’s key role in backing occupying Israel
As one of Australia’s richest and most influential men, Frank Lowy deserves far more scrutiny than the political or media elites give him. The Power Index profiles him… and features some quotes from yours truly: It’s no surprise Lowy is a passionate supporter of Israel, telling the NSW parliamentary inquiry into the Orange Grove affair in…
Stop idealising the war journalist
Robert Fisk is typically provocative (and accurate) in today’s Independent column: It took a lot of courage to get into Homs; Sky News, then the BBC, then a few brave men and women who went to tell the world of the city’s anguish and, in at least two cases, suffered themselves. I could only reflect…
War, what is it good for (ask corporate media, they love freedom bombs hitting Muslims)
Many mainstream journalists love conflict. Gives them the opportunity to hang with military types in war zones and feel important. Truth be damned. Repeating official talking points is par for the course. History has shown that far too many blindly (wilfully?) spread propaganda. The next target is Iran. Why? Because Israel and Washington tell them…
The Guardian puts its best foot forward for journalism 21st century style
The British Guardian is a paper with a fine reporting record albeit with blind spots incorporated (including Wikileaks and war). They’ve just released a startling new ad that aims to showcase its “open journalism” style: Back in 1996, this is how the newspaper last promoted itself:
ABC Radio National on beards, cider and extreme retro
Sometimes it’s time to talk about issues apart from politics (even for me). I was the guest on yesterday’s ABC Radio National’s Common Knowledge: What’s behind the… kooky ad campaign… featuring two delivery girls on a tandem bicycle and with golden plaits and the faces of bearded men? Who is it targeting and what is the surreal…
Finally, in the NYT, acknowledgement that media leading us to war against Iran
Slow down there, eager journalists, hacks, politicians, Zionist lobby and think-tankers. An attack on Iran is clearly the war you’ve been dying for (since Iraq and Afghanistan worked out so well for you). This piece in the New York Times, a paper with a long history of backing America’s imperial wars, offers necessary caution: The…