Left Wing

"If we learn nothing else from the war on Iraq and its subsequent occupation, it is that the U.S. ruling class has learned to make ideological warfare as important to its operations as military and economic warfare," write Robert W. McChesney and John Bellamy Foster in this excerpt from their upcoming book, The Big Picture: Understanding Media through Political Economy.

"The rules of political engagement have changed, and progressives had best observe the planful discipline that has brought right-wing conservatives to such powerful heights," writes Joe Bevilacqua. "The ladder of these heights was built, rung by rung, through the efforts of non-profit organizations. ... In a slow and calculated manner over the last 30 years, the Right has built a solid organization that is only now reaping the fruits of its labors in the form of unprecedented governmental, corporate and media control. The Left has sat quietly, letting it happen."

"The BBC was attacked by both sides over the Iraq war. It was the only news
organisation apart from the Sun that was targeted by anti-war demonstrators,
and senior managers apologised for the use of biased terms such as
'liberate' in their coverage. Meanwhile, ministers publicly criticised the BBC's alleged bias towards Baghdad," David Miller reports for the Guardian. "The BBC argued that criticism from all sides showed it must be getting something right. The empirical evidence, however, suggests a pro-war orientation. ... The BBC thus turned a blind eye to divisions in the [UK].

As the so-called general strike against Venezuelean President Hugo Chavez comes to an end, Venezuelan television will begin broadcasting advertising again. For the two months of the strike, "the only commercials on Venezuelan TV were the opposition's relentless barrage of powerful and often witty "_blank">anti-Chavez spots," Advertising Age reports. Fifteen Venezuelan ad agencies worked together to make over 200 commercials, "although most shops and clients were closed until Feb.