Media starting to wake up?

[No2W2004]

US media revisit own failures on Iraq conflict

NEW YORK, (AFP) - While President George W. Bush takes heat from the media over the Iraq conflict, US journalists have started an introspection of their coverage of the administration's pre-war arguments for ousting Saddam Hussein.

"This has been the most shameful era of American media and for American democracy," argued Los Angeles Times columnist Robert Scheer during a March conference on the war and the media at Berkeley University in California.

The media failed to question the links being made between Saddam's regime and the September 11, 2001, attacks and the "war on terror," Scheer said.

"Why did the media get distracted?" he asked.

"There couldn't have been a single intelligent person in the media who actually thought Saddam Hussein was behind 9/11. Yet they went along with the line," he said. "The media has been sucker-punched completely by this administration."

John Burns, who covered the war for The New York Times, issued a mea culpa for the media.

"We failed the American public in the period leading up to the war, by being insufficiently critical of the elements of the administration's plan to go to war," he said via telephone from Baghdad during the conference.

(more)

http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&u=/afp/us_iraq_media_debate

[MichaelHarris]

1. maybe someone read it after all

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_topic&forum=109&topic_id=7653

[KissMyAsscroft]

2. They weren't "sucker punched"...

They were BRIBED with tax cuts. Of course no one can say that because they will get fired.

[Arugula Latte]

3. Too little, too late

Hey, media whores: You all have blood on your hands.

You were supposed to be the 4th Estate, but instead you turned into the friggin' PR/Propaganda Arm of the Bush White House.

You wouldn't listen to those of us who told you to do your jobs.

FOR SHAME.

[Must_B_Free]

4. Exactly as I predicted

The "We got fooled" excuse - Rats trying to save themselves jump off the sinking ship that they bought a ticket for, too.

[FDRrocks]

6. "We got fooled" excuse...

Isn't that how Kerry excused his vote on the Iraq War Resolution?

[tridim]

9. No, they don't get off that easy

They got fooled? I personally wrote dozens of emails to various media outlets begging them to report the truth. We all warned them, and they ignored us.

[Must_B_Free]

11. I was standing on a streetcorner banging a drum and shouting

trying to keep people from getting killed.

[emulatorloo]

15. and your snarky misrepresentation contributes how?

IWR was not an up down vote on invading iraq, but you know that.

IWR was not a vote on Saddam Is Responsible For 911, but you know that too.

[Carolab]

7. Sorry, not buying it.

The international media "knew". The U.S. media were playing a game of CYA. I'll start believing them when I see this mea culpa on the mainstream media. Try CNN, MSNBC, Faux, and the rest of the sorry excuse for the Fourth Estate.

[newyawker99]

21. Hi Carolab!!

Welcome to DU!! :toast:

[doni_georgia]

16. I'll be satisfied if they will just report the truth NOW, of course

the conservatives will say that it is all in an effort to "turn the American people against the war," (as a C-Span caller said this morning). Why is it the repugs believe that the media telling the truth is an effort to turn Americans against Bush and the war? If they had told the truth to begin with, Americans wouldn't have supported the war at all, and there would have been no war. Bushco lied to the American people and lied to Congress (an impeachable offense I might add). Why is it the repugs were completely outraged by Clinton lying about sex, but think it is perfectly reasonable for Bush* to lie about foriegn policy? Fucking hypocrites!

[FDRrocks]

5. Corporate Media

It's simple, the media is corporate, not liberal/conservative. Either side of that battle will lose. The media is controlled by corporations, and the political bias changes depending on which interest it serves.

I say 'liberal' in a very loose way, since liberals haven't had a say in America for decades.

[No2W2004]

8. this is outrageous

"There couldn't have been a single intelligent person in the media who actually thought Saddam Hussein was behind 9/11. Yet they went along with the line.."

What the hell is the job description for being a journalist? I remember "All the President's Men" Bradley wouldn't let Woodward & Bernstein print anything till they had it confirmed and he was convinced that their sources were actually in position to know.

I guess now all journalist do is re-print the lies they are fed by the government even though they KNOW IT'S BULLSHIT! Thats what I can't get over....They knew it was bullshit. Hell, I knew it was bullshit & I'm just a dork who looks up stuff on his computer. It was right in front of them....no digging necassary...all of it right on the surface. The New York Times DID NOT KNOW Chalabi was wanted for bank fraud and was known world wide as a crook and a swindler?

I know for me personally, I stopped watching "news" on TV and pretty much rely on the net for my news & I STILL look to confirm some of the more "shaky" stories. I'm not as afraid as I was of the rest of the world, or my neighbors for that matter.

[girl gone mad]

10. They wanted a war.

That much was obvious.

The system of embedded journalists clearly contributed to the corruption.

[The Backlash Cometh]

12. Thank you for this thread.

This is what I've been waiting for. An apology from the media. I hope this is just the beginning as they all soon wake up. I don't think I'll be completely satisfied until I hear an apology from the t.v. punidts, like Matthews.

But, here's a quote that bear repeating:

"John Burns, who covered the war for The New York Times, issued a mea culpa for the media.

"We failed the American public in the period leading up to the war, by being insufficiently critical of the elements of the administration's plan to go to war," he said via telephone from Baghdad during the conference."

[SemperEadem]

24. so what are they going to do about it now? Start telling the truth

when their credibility is so shot? How does anyone know if what they're reporting is the truth anymore?

The white house press corp should be far more savage with the press secretary than they are.. but the reporters are afraid of getting back to their offices and having a note on their computer screen telling them that the Publisher/General Manager wants to have a word with them. They really love those high paying reporter jobs they've got and they're not willing to stand in the truth and report it because they are too used to an income which affords them a comfortable lifestyle.

[Jacobin]

13. They just figured out they are whores?

What gave it away?

Reading the "news" from Carl Rove's faxes?

The fishnet stockings?

[emulatorloo]

14. Don't worry. They will be wide awake for the Kerry admin!

Now that they have seen the error of thier ways by embracing all things Republican w at face value, they will make up for it with hyperskepticism for all things Democratic.

[RC]

17. No matter how cynical you get,

it is impossible to keep up.
Lily Tomlin

No Matter How Cynical You Become, The Right Will Top It.

The Cynic's Corner
http://www.ravenmore.com/shadowrun/humor_cynic_4.html

Cynicism, the only way to survive. RC

[Rageneau]

18. The media was, is and will continue to be stupid and lazy.

Because these days it's the crap, not the cream, that rises to the top.

[keithyboy]

19. It's called 'ratings' 'bias' and trying to out FOX FOX!!

Good journalists know that most of the American public will believe a lie before they will believe the truth, especially if it supports their own biases. That's how you get things like the 'welfare queen' lie to motivate voters. The people in power know full well what they are doing.

[robbedvoter]

20. Never asleep, just looking the other way. Rate it up, anyway, Freepers

have been there and didn't approve

[SemperEadem]

22. The media wasn't suckerpunched at all.. they were complicit

in advancing Bushco's agenda. None of them had the balls to risk losing their TV/newspaper job incomes to tell the truth. They received marching orders from their owners who contribute madly to the GOP/Neo-com agenda and didn't question a thing. It was the "angry white 'christian' male" mentality in overdrive and the reporters and editors fell right into step with this because they didn't want to lose their job.

So for him, of all people working for the conservative LA Times, to sit up and now say they were 'suckerpunched' is laughable.

[peacetalksforall]

23. This is a child king, with Rasputin wanna-be's controlling everything

in the kingdom.

Former formally trained journalists became court jesters on the stage of communicating with the masses and smirkily take their manipulated cues from the kings' right hand men and women with glee and with a little gold coin pressed into the hand. In today's world, the gold coin represents the mortagage and a pension and/or a golden parachute.