Journalism

An Army of One Viewpoint

by Diane Farsetta — June 24, 2009 - 11:43am

U.S. Army officials have barred a reporter with the military newspaper Stars and Stripes "from embedding with a unit of the 1st Cavalry Division that is attempting to secure the violent city of Mosul" in Iraq. In the refusal letter to Stars and Stripes reporter Heath Druzin, an Army public affairs officer wrote that "Mr.

Main Source: 
Stars and Stripes, June 24, 2009

Speaking of Monsters...

by Sheldon Rampton — June 19, 2009 - 9:58am

Retired U.S. Col. Ralph Peters has written an essay calling for military attacks on journalists. Writing for the Jewish Institute for National Security Affairs (JINSA), Peters calls the media "a hostile third party in the fight ... killers without guns," and writes, "future wars may require censorship, news blackouts and, ultimately, military attacks on the partisan media. ... The point of all this is simple: Win. In warfare, nothing else matters.

Main Source: 
Alternet, May 25, 2009

Tobacco-Free Coverage for Australian Honoree

by Bob Burton — June 10, 2009 - 2:53pm
  • Topics: Journalism, International, Tobacco

    • Should someone who worked for one the world's biggest tobacco companies be celebrated as a national role model?

    Ms. Quentin Bryce, the Australian Governor-General who acts as the representative of the Queen of England, apparently thinks so. To coincide with the Queen's Birthday long weekend in early June, Bryce announced that Carla Zampatti had been made a Companion in the General Division of the Order of Australia for "service through leadership and management roles in the fashion and retail property sectors, to multicultural broadcasting, and to women as a role model and mentor." Two others were also made companions, the most prestigious honorary titles bestowed on individuals.The awards, announced twice a year, are extensively publicised in the mainstream media.

    Slick Award

    by Bob Burton — June 8, 2009 - 4:47am

    The Australian Petroleum Production and Exploration Association (APPEA), a peak lobby group for the oil industry and an opponent of strong government action on global warming, has awarded the JN Pierce Award for Media Excellence to the editor-in-chief of

    Main Source: 
    Sydney Morning Herald, June 6, 2009

    Pentagon Pundit Expose Gets the Pulitzer

    by Diane Farsetta — April 20, 2009 - 3:43pm
  • Topics: Journalism, Third Party Technique, Propaganda, U.S. Government, War / Peace

    • It was a shocking revelation. Exactly one year ago today, the New York Times published an in-depth account of the Pentagon military analyst program, a covert effort to cultivate pundits who are retired military officers as the Bush administration's "message force multipliers." The elaborate -- and presumably costly -- program flourished at the nexus of government war propaganda; the private interests of the officer-pundits, many of whom also worked as lobbyists or consultants for military contractors; and major news organizations that didn't ask tough questions about U.S. military operations while failing to screen their paid commentators for even the most glaring conflicts of interest.

    The story was huge, but it wasn't easy to break. It took two years for reporter David Barstow and others at the Times to pry the relevant documents from the Pentagon. Seven months later, Barstow helped us further understand how the U.S. "military-industrial-media complex" works, with another front-page exposé on one spectacularly conflicted Pentagon pundit, Barry McCaffrey.

    On April 20, David Barstow received the 2009 Pulitzer Prize for Investigative Reporting, for his work on the Pentagon pundit story.

    Help! CMD Needs You

    by John Stauber — April 14, 2009 - 9:29am
  • Topics: Internet, Journalism, Democracy

    • I can't say it much plainer than this: Help! Our Center for Media and Democracy needs your support to keep our work alive and well. Many of you reading this appeal have assumed that others have been lending a hand, but we need your support as well. Please give now by clicking and contributing online here.

    Our unique reporting and propaganda-busting at PR Watch and SourceWatch is not free; it just seems that way. We must raise more than a half-million dollars a year to support our work. We do it while refusing grants from political parties, government agencies, labor unions and corporations, in order to preserve our independence. Our work depends on individuals like you, and on a small number of grants from non-profit foundations.

    Right now, we're hurting. This brutal recession has devastated the giving ability of individuals and foundations alike, and our income is showing the effects. We are a lean organization, and I can assure you that there is NO fat that we can trim at this point -- cuts are going to the bone.

    Whether you have given to our work recently or not at all, please give now. We fully intend to survive this global economic unraveling and come back stronger than ever, but we can only do it with your support. Please, show you care and give now.

    LA Times "Innovates" with Front Page Fake News

    by John Stauber — April 10, 2009 - 12:30pm

    The Los Angeles Times is breaking new ground in the fake news business. The Associated Press reports that the paper "took the unusual step Thursday of running a front-page advertisement that resembles a news story.

    Main Source: 
    Associated Press, April 9, 2009

    The Bleak State of the News Media

    by Diane Farsetta — March 19, 2009 - 9:55am

    "Newspaper ad revenues have fallen 23% in the last two years. ... By our calculations, nearly one out of every five journalists working for newspapers in 2001 is now gone, and 2009 may be the worst year yet," reads the summary of the "State of the News Media 2009" report. In local television, "revenues fell by 7% in an election year -- something unheard of -- and ratings are now falling or are flat across the schedule." News "audience migration to the Internet is now accelerating," but "online ad revenue to news websites now appears to be flattening; in newspapers it is declining. ...

    Main Source: 
    Project for Excellence in Journalism, March 16, 2009

    Mixing Advocacy, Scholarly Research and Journalism: Can the New America Foundation Square the Circle?

    by Diane Farsetta — February 26, 2009 - 4:12pm
  • Topics: Journalism, Ethics, Think Tanks

    • In the spring semester of 2008, I was a fellow researching a paper on think tank ethics ("The Perils of Non-Profit Journalism") at the Harvard Kennedy School of Government's Shorenstein Center on the Press, Politics and Public Policy. I was thus pleased when the New America Foundation's President, Steve Coll, spoke at the Shorenstein Center on March 11, 2008, and expressed his commitment to high ethical standards for journalists, researchers and other think tank staff.

    The New America Foundation is a Washington, DC based think tank that has pioneered the introduction of journalism to the traditional think tank mix of advocacy and research. A two-time Pulitzer Prize winner, Steve Coll is the former Managing Editor of the Washington Post and spent 20 years at the Post as a reporter and editor. Currently, in addition to serving as New America's President, Mr. Coll writes a column for The New Yorker magazine. Launched in 1999, the New America Foundation currently employs more than 100 individuals and has an annual budget of over $10 million. Its Chairman of the Board is Eric Schmidt, the CEO of Google, Inc.

    Journalism "Saved My Life"

    by Sheldon Rampton — February 24, 2009 - 11:13am

    Aaron Glantz, the author of books about Iraq including The War Comes Home: Washington's Battle against America's Veterans, has written a powerful and emotional account of his encounter with a veteran who told him that his reporting "saved my life." Glantz has written about James Eggemeyer, an Iraq war veteran whose war injuries left him disabled and homeless while the Veterans Administration dithered on his disability benefits.

    Main Source: 
    Huffington Post, February 18, 2009
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