Consilience Productions

« Sports subsidies: A New York Yankees Case Study | Main | Why Hillary didn't concede to Barack... »

Bush insider re-confirms the existance of the Iraq war propaganda machine.
May 29, 2008 11:11 PM

Scotty McClellan, Bush's ex-press secretary has a new book out where he reveals some pretty big bombshells from his days working next to Bush, the absolute biggest that Bush authorized the leaks against Valerie Plame:

It's pretty clear that Bush has committed treason by declassifying information that exposed a CIA operative.

Of course McClellan was part of the press propaganda machine that led up to the war, wrapping the American flag around the invasion effort. Contributing to the hysteria was corporate mainstream media, the so-called "liberal media" you always hear about. Well, we now have former MSNBC reporter, Jessica Yellin, revealing the pressure she received from senior producers to make her stories more palatable to the war effort:

She clarifies these remarks on her blog:

First, this involved my time on MSNBC where I worked during the lead up to war. I worked as a segment producer, overnight anchor, field reporter, and briefly covered the White House, the Pentagon, and general Washington stories.

Also, let me say: No, senior corporate leadership never asked me to take out a line in a script or re-write an anchor intro. I did not mean to leave the impression that corporate executives were interfering in my daily work; my interaction was with senior producers. What was clear to me is that many people running the broadcasts wanted coverage that was consistent with the patriotic fever in the country at the time. It was clear to me they wanted their coverage to reflect the mood of the country.

And finally, you still have the massive Pentagon propaganda story that has yet to be covered in depth by any main stream "liberal" media channel:

Internal Pentagon documents repeatedly refer to the military analysts as "message force multipliers" or "surrogates" who could be counted on to deliver administration "themes and messages" to millions of Americans "in the form of their own opinions."

Over time, the Pentagon recruited more than 75 retired officers, although some participated only briefly or sporadically. The largest contingent was affiliated with Fox News, followed by NBC and CNN, the other networks with 24-hour cable outlets. But analysts from CBS and ABC were included, too. Some recruits, though not on any network payroll, were influential in other ways --
either because they were sought out by radio hosts, or because they often published op-ed articles or were quoted in magazines, Web sites and newspapers. At least nine of them have written op-ed articles for The Times.

Glenn Greenwald has a fairly comprehensive rundown on this story, too, albeit from three weeks ago now:

The Pentagon has posted to its website the roughly 8,000 pages and audio tapes it was forced to provide to the New York Times regarding its "military analyst" program. Anyone who reads through them, as I've now done, can only be left with one conclusion (other than being extremely impressed with David Barstow's work in putting together this story): if this wasn't an example of an illegal, systematic "domestic propaganda campaign" by the Pentagon, then nothing is.

Remember, this has all occurred in the United States of America, supposedly the most news-transparent country in the world. The press is supposed to be the Fourth Estate, keeping an eye on our leaders, right? And yet all of the networks were completely complicit with the massive Pentagon propaganda war machine - still unwilling to report on this issue!


Join the discussion: Comments (0) | TrackBack (0) | Email Link to a Friend
Permalink to post: http://www.cslproductions.org/democracy/talk/archives/000627.shtml
Receive an email whenever this DEMOCRACY blog is updated:   Subscribe Here!
Tags: , , , , ,

Share | | Subscribe


Add your comment

Name (required)
Email
Website
Remember personal info? Yes   No
Comments

home | music | democracy | earth | money | projects | about | contact

Site design by Matthew Fries | © 2003-23 Consilience Productions. All Rights Reserved.
Consilience Productions, Inc. is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization.
All contributions are fully tax deductible.

Support the "dialogue BEYOND music!"

Because broad and informed public participation is the bedrock of a free, democratic, and civil society, your generous donation will help increase participation in the process of social change. 100% tax deductible.
Thank you!


SEARCH OUR SITE:

Co-op America Seal of Approval  Global Voices - The world is talking, are you listening?