VITAMEDIAS
Some newsroom doves give false image of war: some media outlets want the war in Iraq to go poorly for the Bush administration for political reasons. Thus, the more chaos and uncertainty that war headlines and stories can produce, the better the ultimate outcome will be as far as they're concerned. These ideologues masquerading as news people are hoping for a Pyrrhic victory so the hawks will not gain power and prestige.
I deeply resent that kind of game playing with news, especially concerning a story that is vitally important to all Americans. So, in this column, I am going to do something about it.
A few days ago, I was handed an E-mail from the Iraqi front. It came from a U.S. Army colonel in the 3rd Infantry Division. He is deeply angered over much of the reporting he is seeing in the American media.
US media dig deep for politicians: Political donations by US television and radio stations have almost doubled in the last year, research has shown.
And the Bush family's association with many media organisations runs deep and is reflected by the hefty handouts from the likes of NBC network owner General Electric and Rupert Murdoch's News Corporation, both trenchant supporters of the war.
The amount of money ploughed into party coffers by Rupert Murdoch's Fox TV, NBC and radio giant Clear Channel among others has gone up to £7.56m in 2001/2002, compared with just £4.6m in 2000, the latest figures reveal.
Media companies have shown that they have deep pockets when it comes to politics, with the level of contributions made over the last decade growing ninefold, according to the Centre for Responsive Politics, a US research group that tracks money and politics.
The support President Bush has received from the corporate sector is evidenced by the unprecedented $100m he raised when he decided to run for president.
[act.:] Mr. Murdoch's War: Mr. Murdoch is constantly on the phone with his company's editors and news executives from wherever he is, several people who work with him said. Occasionally, he offers praise or criticism of their coverage, but more often he is hunting to pick up the latest bits of information for himself, sometimes passing them on from one newsroom to another. "He'll say, `Do you know what The Times of London is saying?' " Mr. Moody said. "He is a source for us. He is like a very well-dressed information service." [...]
Mr. Murdoch said he was hardly on the phone dictating headlines or opinions. "When a new editor is hired I will be asked for approval, but that will be all," Mr. Murdoch said. He continued: "I don't put them through a litmus test on every belief they have."