[MAPC-discuss] Fw: [IAC] A.N.S.W.E.R. Fact Sheet on the Media

[MAPC-discuss] Fw: [IAC] A.N.S.W.E.R. Fact Sheet on the Media

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2001-11-05

> A.N.S.W.E.R. FACT SHEET - The Media and the Government
>
> The State Of The "Free Press" After October 7 -
> ALL PROPAGANDA, ALL THE TIME!
>
> In the past weeks, images have been seen around the world of
> bombings of villages, hospitals, mosques, Red Cross
> facilities and more.  What has been the response of those
> dropping the bombs?  The U.S. and England are opening what
> they call "Coalition Information Centers" - a plan for
> 24-hour-a-day domination of the news to manipulate and
> refute these images.
>
> In the last weeks, the Bush administration, the Pentagon and
> the CIA have been battening down all of the hatches to
> deprive the people of the United States of any independent
> source of information.  Why is the government so afraid that
> people in the United States will have the opportunity to
> receive uncensored news and information?  It is because the
> Bush administration, having learned a crucial lesson in
> Vietnam, knows that if the people actually learn the truth
> about the war, they may become its most vocal and effective
> opponents.
>
> In some countries, governments have waged violent and
> repressive wars against journalists.  Reporters have been
> arrested and even killed, fear has been installed in those
> who seek to go against the government.  But that is not the
> case in the U.S.  Reporters here don't have to be arrested
> or shot or even threatened.  These big capitalist media
> realize that their real function is to be the public
> relations arm of the Pentagon. They are engaging in
> self-censorship.
>
> U.S. textbooks teach of a U.S. media that is distinguished
> from the media in vast parts of the globe because it is a
> "free press" - not a state-run media, but an independent
> media, free from government supervision and dictates.
>
> But since September 11, 2001, and especially since the
> bombing of Afghanistan began on October 7, it would be very
> hard to assert that there is a free or independent press in
> the United States.  (Those who have studied the
> corporate-dominated media know that there wasn't much of a
> "free" press in the U.S. prior to September 11 either,
> though there is a growing progressive media independent from
> corporate domination.)
>
> Did you know that ...
>
> On October 7 - the day the U.S. began bombing Afghanistan -
> the National Imagery and Mapping Agency signed a contract
> for exclusive rights to all commercial satellite imagery of
> Afghanistan and other countries in the region.  The U.S.
> government's National Imagery and Mapping Agency is a
> "top-secret Defense Department intelligence agency," and it
> is currently in negotiations to renew its contract, which
> expires November 5.  It paid $1.91 million for the first 30
> days of the contract. (Reuters, 10/30/01, "US in talks to
> keep rights to satellite images)
>
> On October 10, White House national security adviser
> Condoleezza Rice met with major U.S. television networks and
> asked them not to show videotaped messages issued by Osama
> bin Laden live and unedited. They agreed to this request.
> MSNBC and Fox News did not air at all the next statement
> issued by bin Laden, and CNN showed only brief excerpts.
>
> On October 11, the Bush administration asked newspapers not
> to print statements issued by Osama bin Laden.  They agreed.
>
> On October 17, a closed-door meeting was held between
> network heads and studio chiefs in Hollywood and members of
> the Bush administration.  Deputy Assistant to the President
> Chris Henick and Associate Director of the Office of Public
> Liaison Adam Goldman represented the Bush administration in
> the meeting, where Hollywood heads "committed themselves to
> new initiatives in support of the war on terrorism. These
> initiatives would stress efforts to enhance the perception
> of America around the world, to 'get out the message' on the
> fight against terrorism and to mobilize existing resources,
> such as satellites and cable, to foster better global
> understanding." (Variety, 10/18/01, White House enlists
> Hollywood for war effort, By Peter Bart)
>
> On October 30, the chairman of CNN and its head of standards
> and practices sent memos to the CNN staff relating to their
> coverage of the war.  In the first memo, Walter Isaacson,
> the chairman of CNN, said it "seems perverse to focus too
> much on the casualties or hardship in Afghanistan."  The
> memo sent by Rick Davis, the head of standards and
> practices, continued, it "may be hard for the correspondent
> in these dangerous areas to make the points clearly."  Davis
> actually suggested language for anchors to use while footage
> of civilian casualties was being shown: (1) "We must keep in
> mind, after seeing reports like this from Taliban-controlled
> areas, that these U.S. military actions are in response to a
> terrorist attack that killed close to 5,000 innocent people
> in the U.S." or (2) "We must keep in mind, after seeing
> reports like this, that the Taliban regime in Afghanistan
> continues to harbor terrorists who have praised the
> September 11 attacks that killed close to 5,000 innocent
> people in the U.S." or (3) "The Pentagon has repeatedly
> stressed that it is trying to minimize civilian casualties
> in Afghanistan, even as the Taliban regime continues to
> harbor terrorists who are connected to the September 11
> attacks that claimed thousands of innocent lives in the
> U.S."  He concludes, "Even though it may start sounding
> rote, it is important that we make this point each time."
> ("CNN Chief Orders 'Balance' in War News" by Howard Kurtz,
> Washington Post 10/31/01)
>
> On October 30, British Defense Minister Geoff Hoon met with
> U.S. Secretary of State Donald Rumsfeld, to stress England's
> concern about the fact that public opinion in Britain and
> the rest of Western Europe has been turning against the war,
> largely because of the increasing reports of civilian
> casualties from the bombing.  A "Western diplomat" quoted in
> the New York Times said, "the collateral damage doesn't make
> nice pictures in the newspapers."  The Times also reported
> that "The European public appears more concerned about
> civilian casualties than ending the war swiftly." Senior
> Blair adviser Alstair Campbell met with U.S. Presidential
> Counselor Karen Hughes about concerns about public opinion
> in Europe and the Middle East. ("U.S. Campaign on 2nd Front:
> Public Opinion" by Michael R. Gordon and Eric Schmitt, New
> York Times, 10/31/01)
>
> On October 31, Taliban representatives held a press
> conference in Pakistan to announce that over 1,500 people
> had been killed in the first 24 days of bombing, mainly
> civilians.
>
> On October 31, at a joint press conference with British
> Prime Minister Tony Blair, Syrian President Bashar Assad
> said "We cannot accept what we see on the [television]
> screen every day - hundreds of civilians dying."
>
> On November 1, the U.S. and Britain jointly opened
> "Coalition Information Centers" in Washington DC, London and
> Islamabad, Pakistan.  These centers will allow for
> 24-hour-a-day efforts to dominate news coverage of the U.S.
> and British bombing of Afghanistan.  Their focus will be on
> rebutting reports of civilian casualties. It will include
> press conferences, speeches and Internet reports staggered
> to target morning and evening coverage in the U.S., Europe
> and the Middle East and South/Central Asia. The State
> Department is planning its own effort to circulate
> information on the Internet and providing downloadable
> information sheets to be used by U.S. embassies worldwide.
> ("U.S., Britain Step Up War for Public Opinion," by Karen
> DeYoung, 11/1/01 Washington Post)
>
> On November 2, New York Times Op-Ed writer Thomas Friedman
> wrote, "A month into the war in Afghanistan, the
> hand-wringing has already begun over how long this might
> last. Let's all take a deep breath and repeat after me: Give
> war a chance. This is Afghanistan we're talking about. Check
> the map. It's far away." ("One War, Two Fronts," by Thomas
> L. Friedman, NY Times, 11/2/01)
>
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Monday, November 05, 2001 7:54 PM

[MAPC-discuss] Fw: [IAC] A.N.S.W.E.R. Fact Sheet on the Media