Editorial: Moyers to the rescue

[rodeodance]

Tell Bill Moyers Thank You at:



http://www.pbs.org/moyers/journal/about/feedback.html

Forum Name General Discussion Topic subject VIDEO! BILL MOYER'S BUYING THE WAR. AVAILABLE TO VIEW ONLINE! Topic URL http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=389x758307#758307 758307, VIDEO! BILL MOYER'S BUYING THE WAR. AVAILABLE TO VIEW ONLINE!
Posted by OmmmSweetOmmm on Thu Apr-26-07 07:52 AM

http://www.pbs.org/moyers/journal/btw/watch.html




http://www.madison.com/tct/opinion/index.php?ntid=130959&ntpid=0
Editorial: Moyers to the rescue

An editorial
April 25, 2007

Bill Moyers is not the first American to ask with regard to media coverage of the run-up to the invasion of Iraq: "How did the mainstream press get it so wrong?"

The man who has been a White House press secretary, newspaper publisher, author and television news program host is not alone in wondering: How did the evidence disputing Bush administration claims and intimations regarding the existence of weapons of mass destruction and the link between Saddam Hussein and 9/11 continue to go largely unreported?

But Moyers has done something that most Americans have not had the time, the resources or the contacts to do, and that is answer the fundamental questions about the failure of print, broadcast and cable news outlets to cut through the spin and give the American people the truth about the Bush administration's unwarranted rush to war.

"What the conservative media did was easy to fathom; they had been cheerleaders for the White House from the beginning and were simply continuing to rally the public behind the president -- no questions asked," explains Moyers. "How mainstream journalists suspended skepticism and scrutiny remains an issue of significance that the media have not satisfactorily explored. How the administration marketed the war to the American people has been well covered, but critical questions remain: How and why did the press buy it, and what does it say about the role of journalists in helping the public sort out fact from propaganda?"

These are the premises and purposes of a remarkable new documentary, "Buying the War," which explores the role of the press in the lead-up to the 2003 invasion of Iraq. The 90-minute program, which airs at 8 p.m. tonight on PBS is the special premiere of the new weekly series, "Bill Moyers Journal.".........

[Captain Hilts]

1. One of the most amazing television programs I've ever seen. nt

[azurnoir]

2. The entire program was wonderful

one of my favorite parts was his "interview" with Peter Bienart(sp), you could tell Mr Moyers was enjoying calling this twit on the carpet, "what makes you a middle-east expert?" :evilgrin:

[Kikosexy2]

6. You could..

tell the little sh*t nearly crapped in his pants...but Tim Russert, good God..did he make me wanna just puke...

[Ilsa]

3. I jsut sent them an email praising Moyer's program last night. nt

[bbgrunt]

4. while I appreciated the program, I wondered why

no mention was made of Gov. payment of journalists such as Armstrong Williams, or the government produced propaganda pieces that are passed off as actual reporters covering a story, or the CIA's Mockingbird program--a direct attempt by gov. to control media starting in the 1950's.

Sure, we can see how the herd mentality led many (most) outlets to stick to the safe story, but that doesn't really account for all those editors always ignoring important contradictory stories, or burying them in back pages.

I think there is more to this story than what the Moyer's piece covered.

[Uncle Joe]

5. They were in the habit of "suspending skepticism and scrutiny",

have practiced doing so by slandering Gore for the better part of two years and enabling Bush to power prior to and during the coup of 2000. I look forward to Moyers's special on this aspect of the mass corporate media's behavior.

Last night's program was excellent but it seemed to me as if Moyer's pulled his punches just a little bit. He spoke nothing Al Gore's speech against going to war with Iraq and the MCM's subsequent coverage of the speech by only referring to Al Gore as ranting or off his meds instead of actually reporting on the content of his speech. The speech was quite prescient and most everything Al warned about regarding the folly of going to war with Iraq, has come to pass, none the less, it was a good program.

Thanks for the thread rodeodance

Kicked and recommended

[ellenfl]

7. kicked eom