The Media sucks

Society Pakistan & World Affairs
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In case you couldn’t tell before…

Amanpour: CNN practiced self- censorship](http://www.usatoday.com/life/columnist/mediamix/2003-09-14-media-mix_x.htm)

CNN’s top war correspondent, Christiane Amanpour, says that the press muzzled itself during the Iraq war. And, she says CNN “was intimidated” by the Bush administration and Fox News, which “put a climate of fear and self-censorship.”

As criticism of the war and its aftermath intensifies, Amanpour joins a chorus of journalists and pundits who charge that the media largely toed the Bush administrationline in covering the war and, by doing so, failed to aggressively question the motives behind the invasion.

On last week’s Topic A With Tina Brown on CNBC, Brown, the former Talk magazine editor, asked comedian Al Franken, former Pentagon spokeswoman Torie Clarke and Amanpour if “we in the media, as much as in the administration, drank the Kool-Aid when it came to the war.”

Said Amanpour: “I think the press was muzzled, and I think the press self-muzzled. I’m sorry to say, but certainly television and, perhaps, to a certain extent, my station was intimidated by the administration and its foot soldiers at Fox News. And it did, in fact, put a climate of fear and self-censorship, in my view, in terms of the kind of broadcast work we did.”

Brown then asked Amanpour if there was any story during the war that she couldn’t report.

“It’s not a question of couldn’t do it, it’s a question of tone,” Amanpour said. “It’s a question of being rigorous. It’s really a question of really asking the questions. All of the entire body politic in my view, whether it’s the administration, the intelligence, the journalists, whoever, did not ask enough questions, for instance, about weapons of mass destruction. I mean, it looks like this was disinformation at the highest levels.”

Clarke called the disinformation charge “categorically untrue” and added, “In my experience, a little over two years at the Pentagon, I never saw them (the media) holding back. I saw them reporting the good, the bad and the in between.”

Fox News spokeswoman Irena Briganti said of Amanpour’s comments: “Given the choice, it’s better to be viewed as a foot soldier for Bush than a spokeswoman for al-Qaeda.”

CNN had no comment.

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"self-muzzled" is politically correct speak for media-whore

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American's are preaching how al-Qaeda is spreading in the Muslim world. They should look at themselves first. They have a fundamentalist evangelical Christian for a President with a blindly pro-Jew Cabinet and Congress. Civil liberties are being suppressed, first amendment is being re-defined in the media and a systematic terror is being unleashed on anyone who is not pro-evangelic or pro-Israel. All this is being done in the so-called war on terror. Instead of attacking the reasons for the un-rest in the middle-east and larger third world, the USA is taking the Israeli mindset of kill them all. We are better than them and they don't deserve to live on this earth.

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You beat me to it, Spoon... i was going to post up this article;~D Note the quote,

[quote]
Fox News spokeswoman Irena Briganti said of Amanpour's comments: "Given the choice, it's better to be viewed as a foot soldier for Bush than a spokeswoman for al-Qaeda."
[/quote]

She's comparing apples and oranges... how can you even begin to utilize an analogy of how the 'media' works in a system such as al Qaeda's, with a supposedly democratic country's media outlets ? That's a scary thought if she actually believes the two are comparable. i thought we held ourselves to higher standards.

Anyhow, it's surprising to see Amanpour come out with these statements... although had she done it a few months earlier, like during the invasion itself, it may have made more of an impact. With honorable exceptions, there's very little questioning in the mainstream media outlets, Canada's included. That's why i prefer European papers like the Guardian... at least they are not scared of arguing several points of view.

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Update: CNN GIVES CHRISTIANE ‘PRIVATE’ DRESS DOWN

CNN news chief Jim Walton had a “private converation” with reporter Christiane Amanpour after she accused her own network of being “intimidated” in its coverage of the Iraqi war. …

CNN denied it was cowed by anyone in its coverage - but said to have no plans to reprimand Amanpour. “I respect her,” Walton told reporters yesterday and emphasized that Amanpour “speaks for herself” and not for CNN.

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Of course they didn’t reprimand her.. she’s one of their last credible journalists (on the US version at least). Lose her and Fox takes over unopposed. Let that happen and the human race will regress into thumbless salamanders.

Yeah, Nadia, I like that quote.. sad part is that talk isnt uncommon. It’s amazing those folks survived childhood being that damn stupid..

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ah. i’m sure she expected that and was probably prepared for some sort of discussion with her supervisors, subsequent to making those comments.

On a slightly different note, i thought i read somewhere that she is married to that former US State Dept spokesman - Jamie something? Jamie Shea or Jamie Rubin? He used to be the official spokesperson…until his contract ended or something and he announced he wasn’t going to renew it.

What happened to Peter Arnette, the CNN journalist who made his name during the first ‘gulf war’? Didn’t he also say something re: the media?

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Politicians suck too.. and the media isn’t that bad…

Press slants Iraq news: Members

Journalists are giving a slanted and unduly negative account of events in Iraq, a bipartisan congressional group that has just returned from a three-day House Armed Services Committee visit to assess stabilization efforts and the condition of U.S. troops said.

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That article goes on with whining about “why don’t they pay attention to the good things we do”.. well, hell, that’s just what the media does! It doesn’t matter if it’s Iraq or Hollywood! Why do I always hear about body counts?? The same damn reason I always hear about white girls going missing (what black kids go missing too?) or “how can we repair the failing electrical infrasctructure of America” (its not failing, just had a fool working the board that nite) or Kobe Bryant or chimps running for gov of Cali!! Anyone ever hear that we’ve proven neutrinos have mass on mainstream media?? What you are witnessing with the media and Iraq is not bias (well, it certainly is there.. but it’s not what these guys are talking about) it is the natural behavior of American media.. geared for a 5-y/o in need of ritalin.

What’s really sad is that people are using these lousy arguments to call out ‘bias’, ex here