Helen Thomas: Government-Filtered News

[struggle4progress]

<snip> The Government Accountability Office(GAO) -- a congressional investigative unit -- has ruled that such government videos represent "covert propaganda." The GAO declared that agencies may not produce pre-packaged news reports "that conceal or do not clearly identify for the television viewing audience" that they were made by the government.

But the White House rejected that opinion and handed reporters a memorandum from the Justice Department and the Office of Management and Budget directing the federal agencies to ignore the GAO verdict.

The memo contended that the GAO did not distinguish between propaganda and "purely informational" news reports and claimed there was no requirement for a federal agency to label its disguised broadcasts.

This is consistent with the administration's other outrageous exercise in propaganda that took the form of paying a few columnists and broadcasters such as Armstrong Williams to promote administration programs. Williams pushed the Education Department's "No Child Left Behind" program without disclosing that he was on Uncle Sam's payroll. <snip>

http://www.fcnp.com/504/thomas.htm

[Zenlitened]

1. Sigh. I wish we had a hundred Helen Thomases.

Heck, make it an even dozen.

She's one of the last of the Journalists, and I hope she goes on writing forever!

:)