Journalism Glance
The Federal Communications Commission has announced that it will investigate a Department of Defense propaganda program to determine whether news networks or military analysts violated the Communications Act of 1934 and FCC rules.
Earlier this year, The New York Times reported that a Department of Defense program had ex-military officers presenting the Bush administration’s position on the War on Terror as objective analysis on major television news programs and 24-hour cable news networks. Congresswoman Rosa L. DeLauro and Congressman John Dingell wrote to the FCC to investigate allegations that the news networks and the analysts failed to disclose the ex-military officers’ ties to the Pentagon -- and if that violated sponsorship identification requirements in the Communications Act.
FCC to Probe Defense Department's 'Propaganda' Program
Press kept under a watchful eye
Constantly under the watchful eyes of security, the media wasn't permitted to wander around inside Coachman Park to talk to Sarah Palin supporters. When reporters tried to leave the designated press area and head toward the bleachers where the crowd was seated, an escort would dart out of nowhere and confront him or her and say, "Can I help you?'' and turn the person around.
Judge Suppresses Report on Voting Machine Security
A judge of the New Jersey Superior Court has prohibited the scheduled release of a report on the security and accuracy of the Sequoia AVC Advantage voting machine. Last June, Judge Linda Feinberg ordered Sequoia Voting Systems to turn over its source code to me (serving as an expert witness, assisted by a team of computer scientists) for a thorough examination. At that time she also ordered that we could publish our report 30 days after delivering it to the Court--which should have been today.
TVNL Comment: And we the people should suppress this judge's oxygen supply!
Mainstream Media Fail to Report Big Pharma Funding on Drug Studies
Editors working for the mainstream media (MSM) routinely fail to report that Big Pharma funds the drug studies they're writing about, a new study reveals. Published in JAMA, this study shows strong media bias in favor of simply trusting the conclusions of studies funded by drug companies rather than asking intelligent, skeptical questions about them. Simply put, mainstream media journalists are either ridiculously gullible or intentionally biased when it comes to reporting on prescription drugs.
Tom Brokaw Acting As NBC Liaison With McCain Campaign
The Times reveals that Brokaw has "played a pivotal role out of public view, both within NBC and in its dealings with the campaign of John McCain in particular."
Mr. Brokaw said that over the summer he had "advocated" within the executive suite of NBC News to modify the anchor duties of the MSNBC hosts Keith Olbermann and Chris Matthews on election night and on nights when there were presidential debates. Their expressions of strong political opinions from the MSNBC anchor desk has run counter to the more traditional role Mr. Brokaw played on "NBC Nightly News" for more than two decades. NBC said earlier this month that the two hosts would mostly relinquish their anchor duties to Mr. Gregory, while being present as analysts.
Brokaw said he has also conducted some "shuttle diplomacy in recent weeks" between NBC and the McCain campaign.
US newspapers embroiled in controversy for distributing DVD about Muslim radicals
More than 70 US newspapers have been helping to distribute a DVD of a documentary film, Obsession: Radical Islam's war against the West, that has been criticised as Islamophobic. The DVD is being included as an advertising insert in newspapers in "swing" states ahead of the presidential election.
As The Guardian reported last week, the use of the DVD is being seen as an attempt to secure John McCain's victory over Barack Obama, who has been falsely accused of being a Muslim. Now the row over the DVD's distribution has proved controversial for newspapers.
When Journalists Refuse To Tell the Truth About Israel
'Fear of being slandered as "anti-Semites" means we are abetting terrible deeds in the Middle East'
by Robert Fisk
What if we had supported the apartheid regime of South Africa against the majority black population? What if we had lauded the South African white leadership as "hard-line warriors" rather than racists? What if we had explained the shooting of 56 black protesters at Sharpeville as an understandable "security crackdown" by the South African police. And described black children shot by the police as an act of "child sacrifice" by their parents? What if we had called upon the "terrorist" ANC leadership to "control their own people".
Almost every day that is exactly the way we are playing the Israeli-Palestinian war. No matter how many youths are shot dead by the Israelis, no matter how many murders – by either side – and no matter how bloody the reputation of the Israeli Prime Minister, we are reporting this terrible conflict as if we supported the South African whites against the blacks. No, Israel is not South Africa (though it happily supported the apartheid regime) and no, the Palestinians are not the blacks of the shanty towns. But there's not much difference between Gaza and the black slums of Johannesburg; and there's not much difference between the tactics of the Israeli army in the occupied territories and that of the South African police. The apartheid regime had death squads, just as Israel has today. Yet even they did not use helicopter gunships and missiles.
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