War & Truth

War & Truth to Air on Free Speech TV

2009-02-24T16:46:00.000-05:00

War & Truth will be broadcast on the Free Speech TV channel on February 24 and March 5 at 9 p.m.

About Free Speech TV
The Nation's First Progressive Television Channel, Free Speech TV reaches over 25 million homes in the U.S. Finally, after 50 years of television broadcasting, there now exists a national television channel that reflects the diversity of our society, provides perspectives that are under-represented or ignored by the mainstream media, and shines a national spotlight on engaged citizens working for progressive social change.

Free Speech TV is a publicly-supported, independent, non-profit TV channel that is a project of Public Communicators, Inc., a 501(c)3 non-profit, tax-exempt organization. It is available nationally, 24/7, on DISH Satellite Network. Selected programs are available on 189 community access cable stations in 38 states.

War & Truth Trailer

2009-02-01T12:00:00.000-05:00

James Crawley, 1957 - 2008

2008-04-27T11:57:00.001-04:00

By ELLEN ROBERTSON
TIMES-DISPATCH STAFF WRITER
James Walter Crawley II wanted so much to cover the Iraq invasion that he had gastric bypass surgery.

James Walter Crawley II was a journalist who climbed ropes, crawled on his belly, lifted weights, marched for miles, learned to use a gas mask and came under gunfire for the privilege of filing his military stories.

The chief military reporter from 1994 until October 2004 for the San Diego Union-Tribune, he specialized in covering the Navy and the Marine Corps.

Mr. Crawley, who from October 2004 until recently covered national security and veterans affairs for Media General News Service, died Tuesday at 51. The Tulsa, Okla., native, who lost a kidney to cancer in early 2007, succumbed in a Rockville, Md., hospital, near his home, to kidney cancer that metastasized to his brain.

During Operation Iraqi Freedom in 2003, he was embedded with the Marines' 1st Light Armored Reconnaissance Battalion. He covered the invasion from the border to Baghdad. He was among the first group of American journalists the government ever trained prior to a military action.

"He would do anything for a story," said his wife, Melba Crawley.

"He weighed about 340 pounds and couldn't lose the weight to get fit enough to go with the Marines [to Iraq] . . . . He had a gastric bypass and lost 130 pounds."

He also reported on Operation Enduring Freedom, the American action in Afghanistan, from naval warships in the Arabian Sea and from Bahrain.

"He brought to the job encyclopedic knowledge," said Peter Hardin, former Washington correspondent for the Richmond Times-Dispatch. "Jim never was too busy to explain kindly to an inquiring colleague a military acronym, technical terms involved in writing about a missile or a military firearm or the location of a city in Iraq."

Mr. Crawley served as national president and webmaster of Military Reporters and Editors and was a member of Investigative Reporters and Editors.

Mr. Crawley grew up in Oklahoma City and moved to Dallas his junior year in high school, where he joined the newspaper staff to meet girls, his wife said. He was in a pre-medical program at Texas A&M University, on the way to becoming an emergency-room doctor, when he discovered a medical-school executive was taking kickbacks from a supplier, his wife said.

Deciding to write a newspaper story about the situation, he went to the executive for comment. "The man looked over his glasses and said, 'You're a second-year premed student and I can keep you from being able to get into a good medical school.' The next day, Jim changed his major to journalism and printed the story," his wife said.

Mr. Crawley also had a master's degree in journalism from American University.

He also worked, either as a reporter or an editor, for newspapers in Oklahoma, Texas and Florida.

His reporting awards included the San Diego Press Club's Drew Silvern Award for Courage in Journalism and the Navy League of the United States' Alfred Thayer Mahan Award for Literary Achievement.

"Jim was the type of reporter most other reporters dream of having the chance to work with," said Mary Shaffrey, a former Washington correspondent for the Winston-Salem Journal.

Survivors, besides his wife, include a stepson, Raymond Tilley of Ramona, Calif.; his parents, James W. and Jane Crawley of Dallas; and a brother, Karl Crawley of Rowlett, Texas.

A memorial service will be held Monday at 10 a.m. at the Church of the Redeemer, 19425 Woodfield Road in Gaithersburg, Md.

Death of a Network Career

2008-02-27T13:12:00.001-05:00

From www.deusexmalcontent.com:

With the exception of the period immediately following 9/11, which saw the best characteristics of television journalism shocked back into focus and the passion of even the most jaded and cynical of its practitioners return like a shot of adrenaline to the heart, the profession I once loved and felt honored to be a part of has lost its way.

I say this with the knowledge of implied complicity: I continued to draw a salary from stations at the local level and national networks long after I had noticed an unsettling trend in which real news was being regularly abandoned in favor of, well, crap. I may not have drank the Kool-aid, but I did take the money. I may have been uncomfortable with a lot of what I was putting on the air, but I was comfortable in the life that it provided me. I just figured, screw it, most people don't like their jobs; shut up and do what you're told, or at least try to. Besides, I told myself, what the hell else do you know how to do?

FULL ARTICLE

New Awards from SSFF!

2007-10-07T23:36:00.001-04:00

"War & Truth" won two awards at the Secret City Film Festival, Documentary Director's Choice and Best East Tennessee feature Film!

"War & Truth" TN Premiere

2007-10-04T14:41:00.001-04:00

"War & Truth" is coming home this weekend with it's Tennessee Premiere at the fourth anual Secret City Film Festival. The film will be shown Saturday, Oct. 6, at 9:15 p.m. and a reception hosted by Knoxville Films will follow at 10:30 p.m.

Details on the premiere can be found at www.secretcityfilmfestival.com and www.knoxvillefilms.com.

The Making of War & Truth

2007-10-04T14:10:00.001-04:00

Click above for the full text.

Review from The American Prospect

2007-07-18T10:39:00.000-04:00

"The discrepancy between what journalists see on assignment and what their publishers approve for dissemination to the American public is the subject of Michael Samstag's new documentary, War & Truth, which chronicles the high-risk careers of embedded war correspondents from World War II to the present day. Supplementing archival footage rescued from a military storage depot with the commentary of retired and active war correspondents, Samstag and producer Debbie Etchison reconstruct the details of war that so often don't make it back to the American people."

Purchase War & Truth at the Cinema Libre Store

2007-07-14T18:04:00.000-04:00

You can now purchase the War & Truth DVD directly from the Cinema Libre Store.

$24.95

CNN Gets Blitzed by Michael Moore

2007-07-10T13:27:00.000-04:00

Mike demands an apology from CNN for Dr. Sanjay Gupta's biased reporting on 'SiCKO' and for helping the Bush administration lie us into a pointless war. More about this story on http://www.michaelmoore.com .

Happy Independence Day 2007

2007-07-04T09:09:00.000-04:00

Six years ago on this day I was fortunate enough to be in Philadelphia for the filming of a reading of the Declaration of Independence by some of Hollywood's finest actors. It was an experience I will never forget being in Indepence Hall in the very place the document was signed 225 years earlier.

That film, which is introduced by Morgan Freeman and featured Mel Gibson, Ed Norton, Michael Douglas and many others was directed by Rob Reiner and shot by renowned cinematographer Conrad Hall shortly before his death. It was an inspired reading that was beautifully produced by Caste Rock Entertainment.

So, in the frenzy of beers, backyard barbeques and fireworks, take a moment to enjoy the words of our forefathers that started this whole crazy experiment we proudly call the United States of America.

WATCH THE VIDEO

Available on Netflix

2007-07-03T22:27:00.000-04:00

War & Truth will be available on Netfilx starting July 3!

"War & Truth" DVD Press Release

2007-07-02T15:52:00.000-04:00

Contact: Beth Portello, bportello@cinemalibrestudio.com, 818-349-8822

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
June 21, 2007

The Challenges Faced By Embedded Journalists Will Be Examined This Independence Day
"War & Truth" DVD Will Be Released July 3rd

“Reporters, we've gotta be the eyes and ears of the people. We've gotta show you what is going on out there. And if we're unable to do that, then something is lost. And we're not, we're not living in the free society that we should be.”
-Roger Peterson, ABC News

LOS ANGELES – For decades, journalists have been side by side with soldiers in combat. These reporters, armed only with cameras and notepads, have risked their lives to deliver their stories to waiting viewers and readers back home. Unfortunately, too often the whole story goes untold. War & Truth seeks to illuminate the difficulties faced by embedded journalists. The film will be released on DVD July 3, 2007.

War & Truth chronicles the history of embedded journalists from WWII to today. When the United States went to war with Iraq, more than two thousand journalists charged across the Iraqi desert to document history and send the story home. Not everything they saw made it into the newspaper or onto the television news. The film details the courage and frustrations of journalists who risk their lives on the front lines. It dares to bring to light the images you won't see on the news and explores the true story of what it really means when a nation goes to war.

Through interviews with Academy Award winning Combat Camera Officer Norman T. Hatch, renowned author and journalist Joe Galloway, former ABC correspondent Roger Peterson, Marine Corps General Drew Davis, White House Correspondent Helen Thomas and other journalists, editors, and military officials, this documentary attempts to reveal what has remained concealed from the public eye. By combining graphic footage that depicts the true nature of war and candid narrative from journalists, this documentary intends to unearth the controversial issues surrounding wartime reporting. Media self-censorship in the United States emerges as a major theme in the film. This theme is addressed by reporters candidly discussing the reality of war, why they risk their lives to get the story, and the frustration of knowing that the whole story will rarely make it to the American public.

DVD extras include extended interviews with Helen Thomas, Joe Galloway and Norman T. Hatch. This film was an official selection at the 2006 Atlanta Film Festival and winner Best Documentary at the 2005 Annapolis Film Festival.

About Cinema Libre Studio
Cinema Libre Studio is a haven for independent filmmakers with views, offering one-stop shopping for production, co-production, distribution, foreign sales, marketing, and post-production services. Headquartered in Los Angeles, the company is best known for distributing in theaters and on DVD titles that include "Outfoxed," "Uncovered," Tim Robbins' "Embedded Live" and "Through the Fire." Several Cinema Libre Studio productions have recently won festival awards including "Conventioneers,"(Winner of the 2006 Independent Spirit Awards 'John Cassavetes' Award (best feature under $500,000) and Best Feature at the Florida Film Festival), "The Empire in Africa," (Best Documentary at Slamdance 2006 and Best Documentary at the Hollywood Film Festival), and "Giuliani Time," (Best Documentary at the Silver Lake Film Festival). For more information visit www.cinemalibrestudio.com.

EDITORS AND PRODUCERS:
If you are interested in receiving a screener or to schedule an interview, please contact Beth Portello at bportello@cinemalibrestudio.com or call 818-349-8822. Michael Samstag, the director of the film and Joe Galloway, journalist and author of "We Were Soldiers Once… and Young" are both available for interview. More information on the film can be found at www.warandtruththemovie.com.

DVD will be available July 3, 2007 at www.cinemalibrestore.com and at retailers nationwide.

Also coming soon from Cinema Libre Studio:
"Caravan Prague" on DVD August 14
"Speaking Freely Vol 2: Susan George" on DVD August 21

"WAR & TRUTH" On DVD

2007-07-02T15:40:00.000-04:00

"War & Truth" will be released on DVD July 3, by Cinema Libre Studio!

David Halberstam knew about quagmires

2007-07-01T17:18:00.000-04:00

My opinion Joseph L. Galloway : David Halberstam knew about quagmires | www.azstarnet.com �: "He was the stuff of legend, and it is nothing less than a national tragedy that so great a voice was silenced by a car crash last Monday, just when it's needed more than ever.

David Halberstam's work and influence as reporter and author spanned half a century. He covered the most important stories of our time, from the civil rights struggle in the South during the 1950s to the Vietnam War in the 1960s and 1970s and into a new century and a new war, one that eerily reminded him of the mistakes of the one of his youth.

Along the way, he wrote hard-hitting stories that sounded an early warning against a rush to war in Vietnam. Those stories earned him the enmity of two American presidents and a Pulitzer Prize when he was 30 years old."

War & Truth Preview

2007-07-01T15:48:00.000-04:00

Interview with Helen Thomas

2007-06-29T10:20:00.000-04:00

From Salon.com

By Glenn Greenwald

Last Thursday, I wrote about an acrimonious exchange at the White House press gaggle between Helen Thomas and Tony Snow regarding the number of Iraqis who have been killed during the war. Thomas relentlessly challenged the administration's tactic of labelling everyone killed in Iraq a "terrorist," and demanded to know how many Iraqi civilians had been killed during the four-year-and-counting war. Snow claimed he did not know the answer because the U.S does not "track" that information.

About that exchange, I wrote: "It is unnecessary to identify the reporter asking these questions because there is really only one White House correspondent who would." Several commenters suggested an interview with Thomas, and following up on those suggestions, I interviewed Thomas this morning regarding the state of modern journalism, the Bush administration and related issues.

Following is a verbatim transcript of that interview, edited solely for length:

GG: You have covered every President since John Kennedy. I wanted to ask if you could identify how the White House press corps has changed over time, if it has, and what differences are there in terms of how journalists cover presidents?

HT: Well, that's a big order. But I do think that in the good olden days, reporters were really straight reporters. I worked for a wire service, UPI, for 57 years, and I covered the White House for UPI from the 70s onto Bush, and then became a columnist. So I certainly know both sides.

As a wire service reporter, I played it straight, with the facts, which is absolutely required of a wire service reporter. But that doesn't mean I bowed out of the human race. I permitted myself to think, to care, to believe, but it didn't get in my copy.

Clkick here for the full interview: Salon.com

NPR : Rules Change for Photos of War Casualties

2007-06-20T10:48:00.000-04:00

NPR : Rules Change for Photos of War Casualties: "Rules Change for Photos of War Casualties

All Things Considered, June 19, 2007: The U.S. military recently has established new rules for embedded journalists in Iraq that require the signatures of injured soldiers before their images or voices can be used by the media.

This is a shift from the previous policy, which required that media outlets wait for next-of-kin notification before broadcast.

In January, The New York Times published 'Man Down: When One Bullet Alters Everything,' an article by correspondent Damien Cave that told the story of several soldiers and what happens when one is shot in the head by a sniper during an operation. Staff Sgt. Hector Leija, the man who was shot, died."

Arts & Entertainment | Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist, author Halberstam killed in car crash | Seattle Times Newspaper

2007-04-26T15:48:00.000-04:00

Arts & Entertainment | Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist, author Halberstam killed in car crash | Seattle Times Newspaper: "SAN FRANCISCO — David Halberstam, the journalist whose acclaimed books included a towering study of the Vietnam War and a poignant portrait of aging baseball stars, died while heading to an interview for a new work.

The 73-year-old writer was killed in a car crash Monday while working on a book about the legendary 1958 NFL championship game between the Baltimore Colts and the New York Giants. He was on the way to interview Hall of Fame quarterback Y.A. Tittle while researching 'the greatest game ever played.'

"

Iraq’s Endangered Journalists

2006-09-06T11:44:00.000-04:00

IN today’s Iraq, intellectuals are targets of a widespread, often ethnically driven campaign of murder. Many have fled their homes, or even the country, to protect their families. Doctors, engineers, professors and even teachers seek new careers in parts of Iraq where their ethnic or sectarian group is in the majority. But one class of professionals cannot escape the violence because its work is connected to it, and it is a group that has been attracted to, and cultivated by, the new Iraq. They are the news media workers. And I am one of them.

Under Saddam Hussein, I was a doctor. But I took up journalism in late 2003, when it was clear that the best jobs in post-Hussein Iraq were those in the news media. Building a free press in Iraq was one of America’s greatest achievements. When the American-led coalition installed itself in the Green Zone, it created the Combined International Press Center, where American soldiers issued press passes to Iraqis and Westerners alike.

Just like American reporters, we could embed ourselves with the United States Army and we could attend coalition press conferences, where we addressed critical questions to American officials as well as to Iraqi officials. Many of the biggest stories were either written by Iraqis or reported by them.

With American encouragement, Iraq produced a generation of young journalists who are decades ahead of their counterparts elsewhere in the region. Those who had the opportunity to work for Western publications or broadcast companies advanced the furthest, but many journalists working for local news media organizations also catapulted ahead in their careers. The two groups complemented each other, succeeding in the midst of violence and confusion to reveal the hidden atrocities in our country to Iraqis and the world.

In the last year, however, as successive short-term governments have taken power in Baghdad, American support for the Iraqi news media has waned. In May the United States ambassador announced the transfer of the International Media Center, which has served as a headquarters for the international and local news media, into the hands of the new Iraqi government, which is dominated by militias and regards the news media as akin to the insurgency, something that it must defeat and suppress. In mid-July, the Iraqi prime minister threatened to close any news media outlet that insufficiently supports the Iraqi government in its fight against sectarian violence. I fear that if this government survives, the press in Iraq will become similar to that in Iran, Saudi Arabia or Syria.

CinemATL Magazine

2006-06-17T11:03:00.000-04:00

CinemATL Magazine: "
First up was War & Truth, which was preceded by the short Journey into Sunset. Unfortunately, due to Atlanta's lovely traffic, I only caught maybe the last 10 minutes of the short, but what I saw was extremely powerful. The short tells the story of Don Cheadle's journey to Africa, where he saw first-hand the suffering that is going in Sudan and Chad. I really wish I caught the beginning of this short, and I can say that it needs to be sought out and seen.

Likewise, War & Truth is a documentary that needs to be seen. The topic is journalist in war time, and how wars are covered for the civilians at home. Disturbing images tell as story that we don't see on the nightly news, and director Michael Samstag and producer Debbie Etchison need to be commended for the bold choices they make. It's not easy to watch this documentary, but that's the point. The true horrors of war are sanitized by the time the news reaches us Stateside. But the film doesn%u2019t preach, it lets the reporters tell their stories, and you'll gain a new appreciation of what these journalists go through on the front line."

CinemATL Magazine - News & Notes: Journalists get their due in "War and Truth"

2006-06-11T08:56:00.000-04:00

CinemATL Magazine - News & Notes: Journalists get their due in "War and Truth": "More than 2,000 journalists risked their lives embedded with Coalition forces on the front lines in the war in Iraq, but not everything made the news. The documentary War and Truth brings to light things that weren't seen by the general public.

A journalist covers a story in Iraq in 'War and Trurth.' (courtesy Debbie Locker Etchison)War and Truth producer Debbie Locker Etchison earned a bachelor's degree in journalism from Auburn University and served reporting stints for UPI and a daily newspaper before becoming an award-winning screenwriter and film producer. Etchison, who was living in Atlanta at the time, began the documentary in 2003 at the onset of the ground war.

She was amazed at the number of imbedded journalists who were heading to Iraq. 'It was important for me to talk about the dangers that reporters face, and what it really takes from them for us to get the stories,' Etchison said.

Director/producer Michael Samstag of Knoxville came to the project after being introduced to Etchison while working on a Harry Potter DVD at Crawford Communications. 'She pitched the idea to me and we've been working together on the film since March of 2003,' Samstag said."

Creative Loafing Atlanta: Cover Story: Curt Holman's festival f8ik,avorites

2006-06-09T10:22:00.000-04:00

Creative Loafing - Creative Loafing Atlanta: Cover: Cover Story: Curt Holman's festival favorites: "WAR AND TRUTH 3 stars. Michael Samstag's slick documentary initially offers a modern history of combat journalists, from World War II reporters to the 'embedded' broadcasters of the current war in Iraq. The interviewees serve as evocative storytellers and the film contains shockingly grisly images of wartime realities, from the South Pacific to Baghdad, that photographers knew would never make the evening news but still deserved public showings.

Having paid an eloquent homage to the dedication of wartime reporters, the film then tries to argue the journalistic shortcomings in reporting the Iraq War. However passionate, this side of War and Truth never presents as powerful an argument as its firsthand accounts of reporting under fire.

Fri., June 16, 4:45 p.m., at GSU Speakers Auditorium."

2006 Atlanta Film Festival

2006-06-09T10:20:00.000-04:00

2006 Atlanta Film Festival: "Run time: 75 min. | Director: Michael Samstag

War and Truth chronicles the history of embedded journalists from WWII to today. When the United States went to war with Iraq, more than two thousand journalists charged across the Iraqi desert to document history and send the story home. Not everything they saw made it into the newspaper or onto the television news. The film details the courage and frustrations of journalists who risk their lives on the front lines. It dares to bring to light the images you won't see on the news and explores the true story of what it really means when a nation goes to war."

War Unvarnished: Baghdad ER by Ron Steinman- The Digital Journalist

2006-06-06T13:52:00.000-04:00

War Unvarnished: Baghdad ER by Ron Steinman- The Digital Journalist:

"The film is strong; its reality, potent. Blood and severed limbs are everywhere, so much so that without any effort you can the smell the blood on the sheets and on the floors. Seeing the hospital staff cleanse the operating room of blood, gore and severed limbs, before a new set of wounded arrives, brings home the horror of war better than a firefight. Even in war, the OR must be pristine before the residue of violence settles in to become a permanent fixture of the hospital.

"

DART CENTER for Journalism & Trauma

2006-05-26T14:59:00.001-04:00

DART CENTER for Journalism & Trauma

Viewing graphic depictions of war—such as those that appear in the HBO special "Baghdad ER"—can trigger real problems for veterans and others who have survived traumatic events. Military psychiatrists at the Center for the Study of Traumatic Stress have released fact sheets to help military servicemembers, veterans and families who are considering watching graphic movies.

DART CENTER for Journalism & Trauma

2006-05-26T14:59:00.000-04:00

Dying to tell the story? More than you know

2006-02-08T10:13:00.000-05:00

Dying to tell the story? More than you know : "NEW YORK - Imagine the uproar if the American public suddenly learned the actual number of U.S. military deaths in Iraq was 66 percent higher than previously reported.

In fact, such a disparity exists between what is widely reported and the true loss of life in Iraq, but the discrepancy centers around the number of reported journalist deaths in Iraq - the deadliest war ever for news organization employees.

Few people, even among journalists, know how many news organization staffers have paid the ultimate price in Iraq since the conflict began in 2003."

American Journalist Kidnapped in Iraq - Yahoo! News

2006-01-07T12:12:00.000-05:00

American Journalist Kidnapped in Iraq - Yahoo! News: "BAGHDAD, Iraq - Gunmen kidnapped a female American journalist and killed her Iraqi translator Saturday in western Baghdad, an Interior Ministry official said.

Maj. Falah Mohamadawi said the translator told police before he died that the abduction took place when he and the journalist were heading to meet Adnan al-Dulaimi, head of the Sunni Arab Iraqi Accordance Front, in the Adel section of the city."

Guest Contribution: Danny Schechter: Mediaocracy 2006

2006-01-04T16:46:00.000-05:00

Guest Contribution: Danny Schechter: Mediaocracy 2006

Mediaocracy 2006: Out with the Old, In With the New

Telling it like it isn't - Los Angeles Times

2005-12-29T10:19:00.000-05:00

American television, meanwhile, continues to present war as a bloodless sandpit in which the horrors of conflict — the mutilated bodies of the victims of aerial bombing, torn apart in the desert by wild dogs — are kept off the screen. Editors in New York and London make sure that viewers' "sensitivities" don't suffer, that we don't indulge in the "pornography" of death (which is exactly what war is) or "dishonor" the dead whom we have just killed.

Our prudish video coverage makes war easier to support, and journalists long ago became complicit with governments in making conflict and death more acceptable to viewers. Television journalism has thus become a lethal adjunct to war.

DART CENTER for Journalism & Trauma

2005-11-27T21:58:00.000-05:00

Ruined Berlin Afire After 2d Bombing; U. S. Planes Smash At Toulon and Sofia; 4 Japanese Destroyers Sunk In Battle

2005-11-23T07:38:00.000-05:00

Ruined Berlin Afire After 2d Bombing; U. S. Planes Smash At Toulon and Sofia; 4
Japanese Destroyers Sunk In Battle

On this day in history, Nov. 23, 1943:

: "With the Seventh Army Air Force in the Central Pacific, Nov. 22 (Delayed)--United States Marine assault battalions today conquered the west end of Betio Island, on Tarawa atoll, driving the defenders into the sea and others onto the eastern open flat sections where they became excellent targets for dive-bombing and strafing attacks."

Clooney and a Maze of Collusion - New York Times

2005-11-23T07:34:00.000-05:00

Clooney and a Maze of Collusion - New York Times:

'Syriana,' written and directed by Stephen Gaghan (who also wrote 'Traffic,' its obvious precursor), is a movie that demands and rewards close attention. Loosely based on the memoirs of a C.I.A. veteran, Robert Baer, on whom Mr. Clooney's character is modeled, it aims to be a great deal more than a standard geopolitical thriller and thereby succeeds in being one of the best geopolitical thrillers in a very long time. Along with Mr. Baer's book 'See No Evil,' it assimilates a whole shelf of post-9/11 nonfiction and journalism, spinning a complex, intriguing narrative about oil, terrorism, money and power. Parsing its details requires a good deal of concentration: important information is conveyed through whispered conversations and sidelong glances, and you may sometimes wish for a chart diagraming all the patterns of influence, connection and coincidence. But the mental labor of figuring out just what is going on is part of what makes the film such a rich and entertaining experience."

El Paso Times - Local news

2005-11-23T07:18:00.000-05:00

A Fort Bliss soldier who gained national attention two years ago when he was photographed carrying a wounded Iraqi boy to safety is the same man behind a shooting that terrified an East Side apartment complex Thursday, police and friends said.

The photopgraph mentioned was taken by Warren Zinn and is one of the first images to appear in War & Truth while Warren is talking about the importance of capturing a pience of history.

Annapolis Film Festival

2005-11-18T10:17:00.000-05:00

Annapolis Film Festival Winners

Overall Festival Winner - Favela Rising
*Best Feature - A Perfect Fit
*Best Documentary - War & Truth
*Short Documentary - Stand Up
*Short Narative - Pee Shy
*Short Animation - Joyride
Comcast Maryland Film Award - Full Moon Fables

CNN.com Specials

2005-10-27T09:15:00.000-04:00

CNN.com Specials: "There have been 2,198 coalition troop deaths, 2,001 Americans, 98 Britons, 13 Bulgarians, two Danes, two Dutch, two Estonians, one Hungarian, 26 Italians, one Kazakh, one Latvian, 17 Poles, one Salvadoran, three Slovaks, 11 Spaniards, two Thai and 18 Ukrainians in the war in Iraq as of October 26, 2005, according to a CNN count. (Graphical breakdown of casualties). The list below is the names of the soldiers, Marines, airmen, sailors and Coast Guardsmen whose families have been notified of their deaths by each country's government. At least 15,220 U.S. troops have been wounded in action, according to the Pentagon. The Pentagon does not report the number of non-hostile wounded. Get a historical look at U.S. war casualties and view casualties in the war in Afghanistan."

CNN.com - War as real as it gets - Oct 26, 2005

2005-10-27T09:11:00.000-04:00

CNN producer Cal Perry is embedded with the U.S. Army's 3rd Armored Cavalry Regiment, 3rd Infantry Division, Forward Operating Base Falcon: Northern Babil Province.

NORTHERN BABIL PROVINCE, Iraq (CNN) -- It's dubbed the "meat grinder." And the toll taken on U.S. forces on these roads patrolled by the 3rd Armored Cavalry Regiment in the northern Babil province explains why.

"War & Truth" to premiere at the Annapolis Film Festival, Nov 13

2005-10-25T10:51:00.000-04:00

War & Truth to Premiere at the Annapolis Film Festival, Nov. 13 at 2pm

This is the first official public screeningfor the film. PLEASE spread the word. Tickets are only $10 and include an animated short and a short feature.

Action-HQ Limited -- BBI: 12 inch War Journalist Action Figure (Limited Production)

2005-08-11T14:18:00.000-04:00

Action-HQ Limited -- BBI: 12 inch War Journalist Action Figure (Limited Production)

village voice > news > Press Clips by Sydney H. Schanberg

2005-07-14T13:49:00.000-04:00

village voice > news > Press Clips by Sydney H. Schanberg
"History," Hegel said, "is a slaughterhouse." And war is how the slaughter is carried out.

Journalists under stress

2005-05-13T21:09:00.000-04:00

Journalists under stress: "aily
News photographer David Handschuh was shooting through the haze and horror of the September 11, 2001 attack on the World Trade Center when the south tower collapsed, blowing him down the block and burying him in debris. While his badly broken leg required months of recuperation, he is 'still dealing with what I paid witness to that day.' "

War Reporting an Issue in Suit Against ABC

2005-05-09T07:33:00.000-04:00

War Reporting an Issue in Suit Against ABC :

"LONDON -- If a reporter refuses to go to a war zone, can his employer fire him?

No, say a growing number of codes of practice for journalists worldwide, developed in response to the increasing danger of war reporting. The News Security Group, formed in 2000 to establish guidelines to protect journalists, says clearly that 'assignments to war zones or hostile environments must be voluntary.' Networks such as CNN, ABC News, CBS News and NBC News have all agreed to follow the guidelines."

Media Downplay Historic Day of Protests

2005-03-20T19:20:00.000-05:00

t r u t h o u t - Scott Galindez | Media Downplay Historic Day of Protests

Fayetteville, NC -- The second anniversary of the war was the impetus for major demonstrations throughout the world. In the United States, over 800 communities held events calling for an end to the occupation.

CNN, however, reported that in the United States "barely a ripple was made while large protests took place in Europe." The New York Times reported that protests in the United States ranged from 350 people in Times Square to thousands in San Francisco. Later in the same story, the Times reported that several thousand marched from Harlem to Central Park. If thousands marched in New York, why did the Times highlight the 350 in Times Square?

Extreme Cinema Verite

2005-03-14T11:10:00.000-05:00

Extreme Cinema Verite

Film cameras arrived at the front during World War II, but soldiers didn't really document their own combat experience until the Vietnam War. (The technology didn't lend itself to amateur moviemaking until the arrival of the smaller Super 8 cameras.)

Today, video cameras are lightweight and digital technology has cut out the need for processing. Having captured a firefight on video, a soldier can create a movie and distribute it via e-mail, uncensored by the military. With editing software such as Avid and access to Internet connections on military bases here, U.S. soldiers are creating fast-paced, MTV-style music videos using images from actual firefights and killings.

calendarlive.com: Basic training for chronicling a war beyond words

2005-03-13T08:24:00.000-05:00

calendarlive.com: Basic training for chronicling a war beyond words: "

Over the last nine months, two dozen established writers have conducted NEA-organized writing workshops at Camp Pendleton and 10 other military bases — the next is scheduled for this week at Fort Bragg — to prod returning vets and their stateside spouses to write about their experiences in fiction, nonfiction or poems. The NEA hopes to anthologize the best of the work submitted by the end of March in a book to be published next year.
"

t r u t h o u t - Frank Rich: What's Missing from the News

2005-03-07T10:46:00.000-05:00

t r u t h o u t - Frank Rich: What's Missing from the News: "

New York - Two weeks ago Hunter S. Thompson committed suicide. This week Dan Rather commits ritual suicide, leaving the anchor chair at CBS prematurely as penance for his toxic National Guard story. The two journalists shared little but an abiding distaste - make that hatred in Thompson's case - for the Great Satan of 20th-century American politics, Richard Nixon. The best work of both was long behind them. Yet memories of that best work - not to mention the coincidental timing of their departures - only accentuate the vacuum in that cultural category we stubbornly insist on calling News.

What's missing from News in the United States is the news. On ABC, Peter Jennings devotes two hours of prime time to playing peek-a-boo with UFO fanatics, a whorish stunt crafted to deliver ratings, not information. On NBC, Brian Williams is busy as all get-out, as every promo reminds us, 'Reporting America's Story.' That story just happens to be the relentless branding of Brian Williams as America's anchorman - a guy just too in love with Folks Like Us to waste his time looking closely at, say, anything happening in Washington."

MediaChannel.org - A Global Network of More Than 1,000 Media Issues Groups

2005-03-07T10:37:00.000-05:00

MediaChannel.org - A Global Network of More Than 1,000 Media Issues Groups:

"NEW YORK, March 2, 2005 -- On March 9, Dan Rather will step down after 24 years as anchor of the CBS Evening News. Media retrospectives of Rather's career will likely refer to the long-running right-wing critique of Rather's supposed 'liberalism.' But the notion that Rather has used his CBS platform to disseminate left-wing propaganda over the last two decades does not hold up to scrutiny.

If Rather can be accused of anything, it's the same bias one can see throughout the mainstream media: an unwillingness to challenge official power and policy. And it's a bias that Rather has admitted to embracing; speaking at a Harvard forum on the media (7/25/04), Rather offered no apologies for uncritical reporting on Iraq's supposed weapons of mass destruction:

'Look, when a president of the United States, any president, Republican or Democrat, says these are the facts, there is heavy prejudice, including my own, to g"

Reluctant Rather Is Set to Sign Off

2005-03-07T10:34:00.000-05:00

Reluctant Rather Is Set to Sign Off :

"After months at the center of a media storm and years as one of the most polarizing figures on the American news scene, Dan Rather will sign off this week as anchor of 'CBS Evening News.' But to paraphrase one of his homespun Rather-isms, don't bet the trailer money that he'll disappear.

'I'm not retiring, I'm changing jobs,' the 73-year-old newsman insisted in a phone interview. Still, his voice caught when he was asked what he could yet do in his career to make viewers forget about his role in a flawed story last year on President Bush's military service.
"

washingtonpost.com – White House Briefing – News on President George W Bush and the Bush Administration

2005-02-22T11:53:00.000-05:00

washingtonpost.com – White House Briefing – News on President George W Bush and the Bush Administration:

"And after a few days in which the chatter was fixated on the salacious associations that bloggers uncovered between James D. Guckert (Gannon's real name) and gay escort Web sites, the focus is back on a serious public policy question: Why was a non-journalist asking slanted non-questions welcomed into the White House Briefing room?"

Joe Galloway: The Pentagon's Lies

2005-02-22T11:41:00.000-05:00

Joe Galloway: The Pentagon's Lies

There is a struggle inside the Pentagon over where to draw the line in conducting so-called information operations or propaganda in the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq and who will be involved. On one side are the information warfare activists, led by Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld and Assistant Secretary Douglas Feith. On the other are those who believe that telling lies to the media is wrong and military public affairs officers should never be involved in that.

New Journalism's Dark Prince

2005-02-22T11:04:00.000-05:00

New Journalism's Dark Prince :

"The suicide of Hunter S. Thompson, the best-selling writer who pioneered an extravagant form of participatory journalism famously labeled 'gonzo,' brought to a sober close an era of print journalism rooted in the raucous 1960s.

Unlike other practitioners of the so-called New Journalism, Thompson, who died Sunday, was a full-fledged participant in his stories, which explored the dark recesses of the American dream.

CPJ Press Freedom Online

2005-02-20T18:35:00.000-05:00

CPJ Press Freedom Online

The media was abuzz over comments attributed to CNN news executive Eason Jordan that some of the several dozen journalists killed in Iraq were deliberately targeted by U.S. forces. Pundits, bloggers, columnists, and members of Congress expressed outrage at the remarks—and Jordan, who later made clear that he never believed or meant to suggest that the U.S. military deliberately tried to kill journalists, resigned in the aftermath.

Breaking Ranks to Shun War

2005-02-07T12:34:00.000-05:00

Breaking Ranks to Shun War

"War robs you of your humanity. It makes people do terrible things they would otherwise never do," Benderman said in the living room of his home in Hinesville, his wife, Monica, by his side and his dog, Carl, at his feet.

Kevin Sites Blog

2005-01-31T11:18:00.000-05:00

Kevin Sites Blog

Kevin Sites was taking time off in southeast Asia when the tsunami took place. He remained in the region to filed reports, and has just now posted this extensive first-hand account -- with photos -- documenting some of what he witnessed there.

Philadelphia Inquirer | 01/23/2005 | Journalists' objectivity needs balance of truth

2005-01-29T13:13:00.000-05:00

Philadelphia Inquirer | 01/23/2005 | Journalists' objectivity needs balance of truth: "Balance and objectivity, without a strong commitment to the truth, can turn journalism into farce. It was impossible to witness the army massacres in El Salvador or the murder of children by Bosnian Serb snipers in Sarajevo without being revolted. I hated these crimes. I took risks, along with many of my colleagues, to expose and explain them. And I wanted, through my reporting, to get the world to wake up and put an end to the wholesale murder of innocents."

Dart Center for Journalism & Trauma

2005-01-23T12:50:00.000-05:00

Dart Center for Journalism & Trauma: "Several organizations have been soliciting and organizing aid for journalists affected by the South Asian tsunami.

Internews has established a “Journalist Support Fund” that will direct aid to local media outlets. Internews is accepting online donations through 'Network for Good.' An Internews press release explains:"

Dart Center for Journalism & Trauma

2005-01-23T12:43:00.000-05:00

Dart Center for Journalism & Trauma: "The word 'indescribable' is one of those clichés often used by people too lazy to really describe what they're seeing.

But for the first time in my professional career, I found a place where indescribable was actually the most accurate description."

Dart Center for Journalism & Trauma

2005-01-23T12:36:00.000-05:00

Dart Center for Journalism & Trauma: "U.S. Army stress-control guidelines for troops who are exposed to large numbers of dead human bodies may be helpful to reporters and photographers covering the tsunami aftermath at the scene, and also to photo and video editors back in the newsroom."

Women Reporting War

2005-01-23T12:33:00.000-05:00

Women Reporting War: "A high number of women war reporters have suffered physical attack or intimidation while covering conflicts, according to a new survey.

More than half of those who responded to the poll by the International News Safety Institute (INSI) reported sexual harassment and a significant number said they had experienced sexual abuse.

Several of the women called for self-defence to be made an intrinsic part of safety training. Requests were also made for female trainers on Hostile Environment training courses."

News Safety Institute

2005-01-23T12:31:00.000-05:00

News Safety Institute

NOTICEBOARD

In this section we plan to post comments and advice received from journalists and others about locations they are currently working in or have recently visited, for the benefit of others who may need to work in these places. You will be able to read those comments here and are also invited to send us your own responses, advice and details of your experiences, using our Add Advice facility.

Dart Centre | Europe

2004-12-03T10:50:00.000-05:00

Dart Centre | Europe

An interview with Valentin Areh, a Slovenian war correspondent who survived a tortuous escape out of Kosovo in 1999 during NATO’s war to expel Serbian forces.

Dart Centre | Europe

2004-12-03T10:26:00.000-05:00

Dart Centre | Europe

Since the tragic events in the Russian town of Beslan two months ago, when more than four hundred children and adults died after being taken hostage by militants demanding independence for Chechnya, counselling centres have been working hard to try to help the survivors ... BBC2 broadcast a special concert and film as part of efforts to raise money for post-traumatic stress care in Beslan. For the programme, Jonathan Charles went back to Beslan for the first time since he reported on September's dreadful events. His visit was a very personal one — not just to look at how people there were coping but also to try to deal with his own demons following the events that he witnessed:

NewsDissector.org | The Dissector's Daily Blog

2004-12-01T10:56:00.000-05:00

NewsDissector.org | The Dissector's Daily Blog

Yup, ANOTHER "Indy" film is out attacking the media for its war reporting. Another film about the Iraq War. This one was made with about ten times my budget and is opening in twice as many cities, And it is apparently getting a big PR boost around the country. I must have missed it because of the all the traveling I have been doing.

Significantly, this movie is being is being touted as an "Anti-Michael Moore film."How about that? After spending a few hours checking it out, I became convinced that this movie actually belongs in MY movie because it smells positively Rumsfeldesque and appears to be a weapon of mass deception in its own right.

PR Meets Psy-Ops in War on Terror

2004-12-01T10:42:00.000-05:00

PR Meets Psy-Ops in War on Terror

"The movement of information has gone from the public affairs world to the psychological operations world," one senior defense official said. "What's at stake is the credibility of people in uniform."

WorkingForChange-Thanksgiving in Iraq

2004-11-29T11:17:00.000-05:00

WorkingForChange-Thanksgiving in Iraq

Characteristically, American media has yet to fully catch up to the latest bad news from Iraq. And, so, while American media focused on the recent U.S. blitz on Fallujah, the political and military fallout from that offensive hasn't gotten nearly the play it deserves. Put simply: Iraqi anger over the flattening of Fallujah, and the creation of a refugee population of the survivors among its 400,000 residents, not only threatens the January elections, but has turned virtually every corner of Iraq into an insurgent hotbed.

Shoot the Messenger

2004-11-28T17:11:00.000-05:00

Shoot the Messenger

Shoot the Messenger
When Darrin Mortenson, a former embed for a California paper, defended the NBC reporter who videotaped a U.S. Marine in Fallujah shooting an injured insurgent, he got a lot of hate mail. "Go back to Iraq with a target on your back," wrote one.

By Greg Mitchell

Open Letter to Devil Dogs of the 3.1

2004-11-23T10:22:00.000-05:00

Kevin Sites Blog

Since the shooting in the Mosque, I've been haunted that I have not been able to tell you directly what I saw or explain the process by which the world came to see it as well. As you know, I'm not some war zone tourist with a camera who doesn't understand that ugly things happen in combat. I've spent most of the last five years covering global conflict. But I have never in my career been a 'gotcha' reporter -- hoping for people to commit wrongdoings so I can catch them at it.

Road Rules for Surviving on the Streets of Baghdad

2004-11-19T10:14:00.000-05:00

Road Rules for Surviving on the Streets of Baghdad

On a day a car bomb hits a police station, never travel alone and never stop, a reporter learns.

By John Hendren, Times Staff Writer

BBC - Press Office - Richard Sambrook Poliak lecture

2004-11-16T18:33:00.000-05:00

BBC - Press Office - Richard Sambrook Poliak lecture:

"I am going to talk about the idea of objectivity in journalism, the pressures it is under now, the changing face of news organisations, the views and concerns of the audience, and finally suggest some ways that journalists and news rooms might re-claim the idea of objectivity for the 21st century. "

Dart Center for Journalism & Trauma

2004-11-16T18:24:00.000-05:00

Dart Center for Journalism & Trauma

The blame for the news media's failures in covering the Bush administration and the war in Iraq lies mainly with the top editors at national news outlets, say acclaimed reporters Seymour Hersh and Jonathan Schell.

NewsDissector.org | The Dissector's Daily Blog

2004-11-12T14:21:00.000-05:00

NewsDissector.org | The Dissector's Daily Blog

Murder seems to be the mandate as our re-elected President spends "political capital" with the lives of young soldiers. One article I read spoke of this escalation of the war a "faith based massacre." Perhaps it's just the big-bang start of Allawi's presidential campaign or maybem as the EU chief suggests, a pretext for ending elections unlikely to go "our" way.

Electronic Iraq's Dahr Jamail reminds us "The US and British governments, along with the US-installed Iraqi interim government have rejected an appeal made by Kofi Annan, the Secretary General of the UN, who warned that attacking Falluja would jeopardize the elections slated for January in Iraq."

BBC reports this AM: "It is estimated there could be tens of thousands of civilians still in Falluja. The BBC's Paul Wood, embedded with US soldiers -- and whose reporting is subject to military restrictions -- says US-led forces are having to fight every step of the way."

WMD: Weapons of Mass Deception - Flash Video

2004-11-12T14:17:00.000-05:00

WMD: Weapons of Mass Deception - Flash Video

Media For Democracy 2004 | Take Action: Networks Return to the Front, and to TV Group Think

2004-11-12T14:16:00.000-05:00

Media For Democracy 2004 | Take Action: Networks Return to the Front, and to TV Group Think

Judging from the reporting that has accompanied the bloodletting in Fallujah, it appears that -- in the words of West Virginia Senator Robert Byrd -- the media have, once again, bought into the Pentagon war narrative "hook, line and sinker."

Religion & Ethics NewsWeekly . INTERVIEW . Chris Hedges . January 31, 2003 | PBS

2004-11-11T09:18:00.000-05:00

Religion & Ethics NewsWeekly . INTERVIEW . Chris Hedges . January 31, 2003 | PBS: "Harvard"

Read more of Bob Abernethy's interview with NEW YORK TIMES reporter Chris Hedges, author of WAR IS A FORCE THAT GIVES US MEANING:

When you ask a democracy to go to war, the state is required to give evidence to the citizens that there is a credible and real threat against them, and that, therefore, their sons and daughters should be put in a situation in which they could be killed. I think that is a minimum in a democracy.

Dart Centre | Europe

2004-11-08T10:01:00.000-05:00

Dart Centre | Europe

"What you shoot, what you film and see can't just be forgotten easily. These pictures go home with you, stay in your mind, in your dreams." -Nael Shyoukhri

New Effort to Defend Journalists

2004-11-07T11:20:00.000-05:00

From the Dart Center for Journalism and Trauma web site: www.dartcenter.org

New Effort to Defend Journalists
BBC's Sambrook to chair international committee of inquiry
29 October, 2004
"Journalists are now at risk to a greater extent than they have ever been before," said Richard Sambrook, director of BBC World Service and Global News Division during a recent speech in New York City. "Where once their neutrality was widely recognised and respected, today they are targeted and sought out, seen as high profile representatives of their countries or cultures."

In response to this phenomenon, Sambrook said, an international committee of inquiry is being formed to "investigate the causes of this increase in violence towards the media and to recommend urgent action to protect journalists carrying out their work."

Sambrook will chair the committee, which is being led by the International News Safety Institute and will include media organisations, government representatives, non-government organisations and human rights campaigners.

Sambrook's remarks and announcement came during the annual Poliak Lecture at the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism in New York (The full transcript of his address is available here). The formation of the committee was also announced in a BBC World Service press release.

Sambrook's speech, which was titled "Holding on to Objectivity," focussed on the difficulties of maintaining journalistic integrity and credibility in a dangerous and polarized world:

... Sir Harold Evans - one of the greatest British newspaper editors and now of course a resident of New York - told the Foreign Press Association in London earlier this year: "Fifty-three journalists died last year...

"Most of them were murdered for trying to tell the truth about the world. Truth seems to me to be more and more a casualty of a partisan press…

"The men and women who lost their lives gave them for the highest aspirations of journalism. Every time a fellow journalist distorts the facts, every time a journalist intrudes on private grief, every time a journalist torments the facts to fit a preordained thesis, he betrays those who died and shames the profession."

FAIR ACTION ALERT:

2004-11-06T10:13:00.000-05:00

FAIR ACTION ALERT:

The Bush administration's long-running attempts to link Iraq and Al Qaeda were dealt a serious blow when the September 11 commission's June 16 interim report indicated that there did not appear to be a "collaborative relationship" between Iraq and Osama bin Laden, and that there was no evidence that Iraq was involved in the September 11 attacks.

But if you were watching the Fox News Channel, you saw something very different, as the conservative cable network eagerly defended the Bush administration and criticized the rest of the media for mishandling the story.

Media Reporting, Journalism and Propaganda

2004-11-06T09:51:00.000-05:00

Media Reporting, Journalism and Propaganda

by Anup Shah

The war on Iraq, however swift in its short three week period, was accompanied by propaganda from many angles. From the ridiculous claims of the Iraqi information minister that the Americans will surrender or perish, or that they were nowhere near Baghdad (while coalition tanks could be heard just a mile from where he said that!) to the subtle propaganda of Coalition nations' media, that at times minimized the civilian casualties, highlighted the awesome military force of the coalition, minimized geopolitical discussion and context, and often jumped at unconfirmed reports as confirmed news.

Under the Gun in Fallouja

2004-11-06T09:42:00.000-05:00

Under the Gun in Fallouja

Some of the remaining residents willingly help rebels. Others fear them and want them out.

By Alissa J. Rubin, Times Staff Writer

FALLOUJA, Iraq — This rebel city's broad boulevards are empty now, the mosques thinly attended even for Friday prayers. Save for those too poor, too old or too sick to leave, Fallouja has been left to the insurgents and the Marines who vow to crush them.

Chicago Tribune | Will draft cards make a comeback?

2004-10-22T09:32:00.000-04:00

Chicago Tribune | Will draft cards make a comeback?

Just about every talking head in Congress and the Bush administration denies it, including President Bush. But rumors of a looming military draft, fed by the Internet, mischievous Democrats and anxious draft-age youths, have become a persistent annoyance in these tense political times.

MySA.com: Editorials

2004-10-11T13:00:00.000-04:00

MySA.com: Editorials

Sig Christenson
Express-News Military Writer

CAMP AS SALIYAH, Qatar — A familiar Iraqi street scene plays out on a flat-screen TV in the office of the U.S. Central Command's No. 2 man here. Shot from an RQ-1 Predator unmanned aerial vehicle, the image captures Iraqis in traditional Arab dress walking onto a street in Mosul near a set of earthtone homes.

"You're looking at a city that didn't look very much different than any community in the United States," said Lt. Gen. Lance Smith, deputy chief of the U.S. Central Command. "Traffic all over the place, people all over the streets, commerce going on, and they don't have mortars going off and IEDs (improvised explosive devices) blowing up and all that stuff all the time."

That's the Iraq he thinks many Americans never see or read about. It's an argument as old as the U.S.-led occupation and tends to be made by some in the military and supporters of President Bush. Once a whisper, the claim is now a roar. "You're not telling the good news stories," they say.

Major Assaults on Hold Until After U.S. Vote

2004-10-11T10:05:00.000-04:00

LINK: Major Assaults on Hold Until After U.S. Vote

By Mark Mazzetti, Times Staff Writer

WASHINGTON — The Bush administration plans to delay major assaults on rebel-held cities in Iraq until after U.S. elections in November, say administration officials, mindful that large-scale military offensives could affect the U.S. presidential race.

Interview with Danny Schechter about "WMD: Weapons of Mass Deception" about the American media, 09/04

2004-10-07T15:49:00.000-04:00

LINK: Interview with Danny Schechter about "WMD: Weapons of Mass Deception" about the American media, 09/04

It seems practical, even reasonable, to rely on news organizations to broadcast accurately. Such informational institutions exist to dig up the facts, right? Maybe not. In the aftermath of President Bush's crusade to eliminate the seemingly omnipotent threat of 'weapons of mass destruction,' it has become pretty obvious that what initially appeared to be a deed of heroism and liberation was actually a vicious act of messy retribution. The burning question is, how much did the embedded American media uncover while reporting from the Middle East? Were American audiences actually getting the facts as they unfolded, or were we shielded from the truth?

Under Threat

2004-10-07T15:45:00.000-04:00

Under Threat

New York, May 17, 2004—Since the U.S. invasion of Iraq began in March 2003, twenty-seven journalists have been killed covering the war and its aftermath. Nearly all of those killed in 2003 were foreign correspondents, from the United Kingdom, Spain, Australia, Germany, the United States, and elsewhere. In 2004, however, 12 of the 14 killed to date were Iraqis. Six Iraqi media workers have also been killed.

Letter from Iraq

2004-10-07T15:06:00.000-04:00

Letter from Iraq

Security is tenuous for everyone in Iraq, but conditions for journalists have deteriorated to the point that many major news agencies now rely on local stringers and employees for newsgathering. Among nearly every constituency here, hostility toward journalists has increased.

WSJ reporter Farnaz Fassihi's letter from Baghdad.

2004-10-07T14:54:00.000-04:00

War and Piece:

Being a foreign correspondent in Baghdad these days is like being under virtual house arrest. Forget about the reasons that lured me to this job: a chance to see the world, explore the exotic, meet new people in far away lands, discover their ways and tell stories that could make a difference.

Will 'WSJ' Reporter Who Wrote Famous E-mail on Horrid Conditions In Iraq Lose Her Beat?

2004-10-07T14:52:00.000-04:00

Will 'WSJ' Reporter Who Wrote Famous E-mail on Horrid Conditions In Iraq Lose Her Beat?

(October 04, 2004) -- Will Wall Street Journal reporter Farnaz Fassihi be taken off her Baghdad beat in response to the notoriety surrounding the world-famous e-mail that she wrote 11 days ago? Her editor, Paul Steiger, says no, she is just taking a well-earned and long-scheduled vacation, out of the country. Fassihi confirmed this in an e-mail to E&P on Monday night.

Confronting the Horror

2004-10-07T14:50:00.000-04:00

American Journalism Review

SIFTING THROUGH GRISLY AUTOPSY reports on abused, murdered children, Arizona Republic reporter Karina Bland was transfixed by a Polaroid photo. It was stapled to a police file labeled ``Ashley Guerard, 8 months,'' and showed a tiny pink coffin. Bland made a mental note to describe it in her copy as ``the size of a dresser drawer.''

Republicans, Out of Ideas, Ask Prosecutors to Arrest Michael Moore

2004-10-07T14:44:00.000-04:00

Republicans, Out of Ideas, Ask Prosecutors to Arrest Michael Moore

By: Michael Moore
Published: Oct 7, 2004

Dear Friends,

You may have heard by now that the Michigan Republican Party has called for my arrest. That's right. They literally want me brought up on charges -- and hope that I'm locked up.

No, I'm not kidding. The Republican Party, yesterday, filed a criminal complaint with the prosecutors in each of the counties where I spoke last week in Michigan.

My crime? Clean underwear for anyone who will vote in the upcoming election.

NPR : Analysis of Media Coverage of the War

2004-10-07T14:43:00.000-04:00

NPR : Analysis of Media Coverage of the War

American media is split over how to deal with graphic images of American dead and wounded. Some newspapers are running photographs of American POWs, others are not. Even within television networks, there is no agreement over whether to broadcast video of dead or injured American soldiers. Hear Washington Post media critic Howard Kurtz.