The Myth of a Free Press

(archived broadcast )
Guest: Kristina Borjesson, Editor of Into the Buzzsaw: Leading Journalists Expose the Myth of a Free Press
We do not have a free press in America. At least, not in the sense that journalists are free to write about whatever they discover to be true without pressure from their editors, corporations, and governments to toe the Administration line.
Borjesson and prominent journalists make clear in this fascinating book the
severe constraints journalists work under:
— self-censorship
— corporate interests of their news organization
— cheerleading (providing the public what the public is perceived to want, rather than the truth)
— threat of government action, most notably the Federal Communication Commission headed by Colin Powell’s son, Michael Powell
— media consolidation by Rupert Murdoch’s FOX empire, Clear Channel radio stations, and other right-wing organizations aided by the FCC.
— government propaganda/disinformation (false information disseminated openly or secretly leaked by the Administration)
— requiring journalists to participate in “media pools” so they cannot obtain information by asking questions outside of US government minders
— giving “good sources” to journalists, who in return, repeat the lies of those sources without indpendent verification or scrutiny
Join us for a fascinating look into the myth of a free press in America, on one of the few independent sources of information that remains outside these contraints, Mark Levine’s INSIDE SCOOP.

Kerry's 1971 Senate Testimony

(archived broadcast )
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Election Tuesday

(archived broadcast )
Why is Bush so afraid of people who disagree with him, including ordinary voters?
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No show today

The Source of Swift Boat Anger

Editorial published in Buzzflash
In verifying the accuracy of the ads of the now notorious “Swift Boat Veterans for Truth,” the media has quite rightly focused on the details of their accounts: how their attacks on John Kerry contradict their own prior statements, official Navy records, and the accounts of Kerry’s crew.
But lost in the media hoopla is the motivation of these men.
[To read rest of Mark’s op-ed, go to Buzzflash or click below]
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