Fools and Follies by Mark Taylor-Canfield US News Media’s Failure To Hold Political Leaders Accountable As an alternative freelance reporter for Pacifica Radio’s Free Speech Radio News and KBCS, I often find it necessary to monitor the corporate news networks in order to find out what kinds of disinformation they are feeding to an unwary public. My first reaction is usually a kind of severe mental shock as I realize once again just how insipid the newscasts have become. It’s truly frightening to contemplate the fact that most residents of the US get 100% of their information about the world through commercial infotainment news sources like CNN, MSNBC and Rupert Murdock’s Fox News Network. Sometimes I have to laugh out loud at the many outlandish statements being made by television and radio news anchors. Insinuation is reported as fact, rumors are thrown about like cheap tabloid sleaze, and vapid infotainment fluff pieces fill up the few minutes of “news” between endless advertisements on commercial news programs. Meanwhile, most so-called “public” TV and radio suffers from the need for massive underwriting from questionable self-promoting corporate interests like Exxon/Mobil and Monsanto. The US news media is definitely high on corporate interest programming and extremely low on programming for the sake of the public interest. Often I feel like crying when I consider the poor and powerless whose unheard voices have been purposely left out of the cultural media mix. The artificial frame of reference created for us to look through is more like Alice’s Wonderland looking glass than any true form of journalism. If CNN, MSNBC and Fox News represent the current state of journalism in the US, then we are surely lost without hope of ever recovering the high standards of Edward R. Murrow or Walter Cronkite. Instead of responsible exposés on high crimes and misdemeanors in government and the corporate world, we are left with nothing but crass infotainment news pieces. A few of the more obvious examples of mass media manipulation and deception would have to include the news networks’ hyper cheer-leading for the Bush administration’s war mongering. Those militaristic policies have resulted in the invasion and occupation of Afghanistan and Iraq. Hundreds of thousands of innocent lives have been lost in Bush’s insane war against “terror”. Our reputation as a civilized nation has been severely damaged. The corporate news media has ignored impeachable offenses committed by the Bush administration and the US Congress, including unconstitutional domestic surveillance and international war crimes. I am convinced that historians will look back at this period as a shameful and barbaric chapter in US history, a time when our cherished principals of human and civil rights were abolished, only to be replaced by militaristic greed and chauvinistic paranoia on a grand international scale. Be assured, dear reader, that I am not engaged in just another bitter and tireless rant here. I am, sadly, only reporting the documented truth. Even after witnessing two stolen presidential elections, illegal warfare, and repeated mass violations of the US Constitution, the corporate US news media failed to call for accountability and justice. Instead, fake news reporters have continued to deliver fake news reports for a fake government and their fake friends in the multi-national military industrial complex. When oil barons run the nation from the White House, what else can we expect? If not for the dauntless reporting of folks like Amy Goodman on the Pacifica radio network, along with progressive bloggers, there would be no trustworthy voice of reason at all in the US media. Only a handful of brave souls – alternative media journalists and networks like Pacifica have been willing to stand up and confront the corruption in our government and its quickening march towards right-wing fascism. As we embark on yet one more political exercise in the US designed supposedly to choose the next president and “leader of the free world”, let us hope that Dick Cheney and Karl Rove’s dark lords do not pull another nefarious trick out of their hats with the intention of placing yet another imperialistic war mongering fanatic upon the throne of power. What we clearly do not want is a perpetuation of the scandalous machinations of the greedy and undeserving minions currently controlling the purse strings and the military in Washington, DC. If the past is any indication, the US corporate news media will be more than willing to go along with another charade in order to usher in the next dastardly neo-con coup. We can only hope and pray that they don’t get the chance this time around to collaborate with the undemocratic forces that have already deceived an entire nation and have stolen our dreams of liberty and justice for all. Despite the best efforts of media reform organizations, many millions of dollars of clout being wielded by media magnates like Rupert Murdock have left us with a vapid, useless, irrelevant cadre of news reporters whose greatest talent seems to be kissing the collective corporate ass of politicians and CEOs. Rubbing elbows with the powerful is much more important to these so-called journalists than telling the truth about corruption and tyranny. Where is good ole’ Tom Paine when we need him? For surely we have never needed his kind of truth telling more than we do now in the year 2008. Randi Rhodes Kicked Off The Radio In an ironic turn of events, the media company which describes itself as the nation’s most “progressive” commercial radio network decided to suspend one of its most popular talk show hosts. Air America, it seems, does not wish to allow its employees to express their personal opinions about certain politicians, even on their own time. Rhodes was reportedly fired for controversial remarks she made about current presidential candidate Senator Hillary Clinton and former vice-presidential candidate Geraldine Ferraro. Randi Rhodes, a former rock DJ, is not exactly the paradigm of proper puritan etiquette. Her friends include famous rock and roll bad girl Joan Jett, as well as the pot smoking hippie cowboy Willie Nelson. But while her radio act in Florida and New York City never pretended to include polite conversation, she is certainly no crazy ranting fool. A bit brash and even crass at times, she invokes the typical New York “in your face” analysis of pop culture without apologies to anyone. I doubt she is cowering right now before the Air America big-wigs, begging desperately for her gig, promising never to utter another insulting word about Hillary. Instead, I assume she is pounding back another stiff drink with her friends at her favorite club, laughing about how infamous she has become overnight because of a simple You-tube video. In fact, she’ll probably just keep right on laughing all the way to the bank as she sells a million copies of her book about the controversy. Rhodes is not the first controversial host to be axed from the network. Last year, radio bad boy Mike Malloy’s talk show was cut from the Air America schedule because it was apparently too confrontational for the network executives. In reality, Malloy is a brilliant, acerbic raconteur from Atlanta whose tirades against the Bush administration’s fascist policies resulted in his dismissal. Fortunately, he has been picked up by the Nova M radio network and his passionate diatribes can now be heard again in many parts of the country. Malloy is not just another talk show host. While working on Air America, he read a chapter from George Orwell’s “1984” on the air every night. A few months ago he devoted an entire program to reading and discussing the Declaration of Independence. Once again, one can not escape the irony of a radio network, whose very name is a direct slap in the face of the CIA, acting as a self-appointed thought police enforcer for the current political and corporate establishment. “Air America” was the cover name of the covert drug running operation conducted by the CIA during the war in Vietnam. It is a media company which claims to be dedicated to exposing the truth about corruption in our government and in corporations around the world, but instead, it has attempted to silence two of the most salient and thoughtful voices on the US radio airwaves. I predict that Randi Rhodes may also go to the satellite radio market where she and Malloy can expound upon their progressive views without the threat of corporate or government censorship. Another irony: the First Amendment might actually work on a format where listeners are forced to pay a substantial fee for what they hear. Evidently, freedom of speech is not free at all – quite the contrary, in fact. Apparently, poor folks in the United States can’t afford the truth. If Air America is to save face and exemplify the values which it claims to promote, the company execs have got to stop interfering with free speech and let their radio hosts express their honest opinions both on and off the air. The most irritating fact of all is that Rhode’s comments were not made on the air or at any event sponsored by Air America. Her “controversial” remarks were made on her own time and she did not claim to be speaking for anyone but herself. Yes, she called Clinton and Ferraro “fucking whores” because of their willingness to prostitute their principals in order to play power politics. Yes, she inferred that Geraldine Ferraro is a racial bigot for her statement claiming that Senator Barack Obama would not be getting as much attention from the media if he were a “white man”. Perhaps these were not the most eloquent or well-chosen words to describe her anger and frustration with the Clinton campaign, but if nothing else, Randi is honest. At least that was my experience when I met her. She may not always be the polite, saintly matron of the radio that folks would like her to be, but you know what she is thinking and she will not lie about her impressions. As with many typical New Yorkers, you know immediately what her opinions are about most issues. Personally, I found Randi Rhodes to be smart, witty and fun to be around. I definitely did not detect the maliciousness or hatred inherent in many right-wing radio wacko shock jocks. Randi thinks about what she says before she lets loose. I doubt we will hear any contrite apologies coming from her sassy mouth. If anything, she has most likely become even more outspoken and more emboldened to speak her mind just to spite the hypocrites and hate mongers who have attacked her so savagely. Another irony in this whole story that has been missed by most media pundits is the amazing fact that Rhodes was originally a big Hillary Clinton supporter until she decided to endorse Illinois Senator Barack Obama. To some, Rhode’s punishment may be seen as a result of her public acts of disloyalty to the Clinton camp. One has to wonder what kind of pull the Clintons have with Air America. Whatever their influence, it must be strong enough to allow the campaign to successfully pressure the network into firing one of the Clinton’s most outspoken political opponents. China Cracks Down on Political Dissent Blaming civil unrest in Tibet on the Dalai Llama, the Chinese government continues to crack down on dissenters who are trying to call attention to human rights abuses. With the Olympics scheduled to take place in China, the world is watching its police state tactics and condemning the political repression of the Chinese people. In a surprising development, Chinese Muslims have been demonstrating in solidarity with the largely Buddhist population of Tibet. In an attempt to stop dissent, the Chinese government has begun to arrest activists for speaking out against its policies in Tibet, and those trying to bring attention to other problems endemic to their society. Pollution, poverty, and religious oppression are among the issues being discussed on blogs which the government authorities are desperately trying to shut down. Chinese reporters are also subject to serious penalties for criticizing government policy. One very prominent blogger was recently sentenced to three and a half years in a Chinese prison for criticizing the government’s preparations for the Olympic games online and in interviews with western media. In Athens the traditional lighting of the Olympic torch was surrounded by protests. Security will be extremely tight as it passes through Tibet. Academic observers and China experts say the government is playing to two vastly different audiences. They say the authorities want to present an iron hand to the Chinese people in order to discourage demonstrations of freedom of speech, while at the same time the government of China would like to promote itself as a modernized, peaceful, civilized nation to the rest of the world – i.e., a good place to do business. Some of the plans include the closure of large industrial factories around Olympic facilities during the games in order to create the impression that China’s infamous air pollution problem has been solved. In reality, the factories will resume operation as soon as the foreign press and dignitaries have left the country. The industrial plants will continue to pollute and harm the health of residents of the major cities despite these temporary and illusionary propaganda ploys conducted by the government. In one rare document, the Chinese government has admitted that over the last two and a half years, there have been more than 15,000 clashes between Chinese authorities and farmers, protesters, and other dissenters. In some cases, Chinese police have opened fire on protesters, killing dozens and attempting to dispose of their bodies by purchasing the corpses from their families afterwards. Often these confrontations are the result of corrupt land practices whereby mid-level administrators pocket the money promised to farmers when the government confiscates ancestral farm land in order to construct power plants and shopping malls. Westerners should remember that the vast majority of Chinese citizens still live in small rural villages with few of the comforts of modern life. They see their cousins in the cities getting rich and fat while they continue to starve during famines, having no hope of ever increasing their livelihood. The incredible growth in the Chinese economy has left most of the people behind, much as has happened historically in the west. Increasing disparities between the rich and poor in China reflect one of the major failures of western-style capitalism – unequal distribution of education, technology, health and wealth. So, in short, the red communist leadership in China are now experiencing the very problems they used to castigate the western powers for perpetuating through crass commercialism. It’s clear that the efforts by authorities to stifle dissent will lead, inevitably, to more demands for freedom and more social unrest. It is simply foolish of the Chinese government to think that they can control the minds of their people in the 21st century. More political prisoners and more deaths will only lead to more uprisings. It’s too late to dismantle the world wide web. Information will get through to the people despite the most repressive measures. Overreacting to growing opposition in the country, Chinese authorities have harassed foreign diplomats, including ambassadors, who have been rousted out of their homes in the middle of the night. Many of the dignitaries have been summoned to the Foreign Ministry where they are lectured about the justifications for the crack downs against dissenters. The ambassador from India was called in at 2AM and scolded by government officials about the need for tougher security measures when protecting Chinese diplomats in India. Many multi-national corporations are risking their images in supporting the Olympics in China. Coca-Cola, UPS, and General Electric are the three largest investors in the games. A very important part of this story is the huge amount of US debt which is currently owned and controlled by the Chinese government and their central bank. US politicians and corporate interests are unwilling to confront the Chinese on their atrocious human rights record because so much of our own economy is now controlled by foreign interests. Although Chinese and Tibetan activists will use the world-wide stage to demonstrate against human rights abuses, don’t expect widespread boycotts of the Olympic games this time around. As long as the country is engaged in investments in the US, you can count on American businesses to forestall any strong criticism of the Chinese regime. As the former head of the Hong Kong bank stated several years ago, the Chinese leadership sees no reason to engage in a direct military conflict with the US. Instead, they plan to control US policy through economic pressure. So far, their plan seems to be working. |
