remember the illegal domestic propaganda programme?

[solarbird]

Remember that illegal domestic propaganda programme that David Barstow exposed in the New York Times last year, where the major television news channels and agencies were co-operating to present Bush administration military spin as independent analysis by "retired military experts"? Remember how they never acknowledged the story in any way?

The story won a Pulitzer Price for investigative reporting yesterday. There has, of course, been no reporting on this, even as other winning stories did receive comment. Stories on CNN and NBC (both participants in the illegal programme) covering the Pulitzer announcement go into depth on the arts awards but manage not to mention Mr. Barstow or his story in any way. NBC also managed to go into detail about the Best Biography award, but not mention the story which exposed their own network:

The Pulitzer Prizes for journalism and the arts were awarded today. The New York Times led the way with five, including awards for breaking news and international reporting. Las Vegas Sun won for the public service category for its reporting on construction worker deaths in that city. Best commentary went to Eugene Robinson of The Washington Post, who of course was an on-air commentator for us on MSNBC all through the election season and continues to be. And the award for best biography went to John Meacham, the editor of Newsweek magazine, for his book "American Lion: Andrew Jackson in the White House."

The NBC story is courtesy Glenn Greenwald, who also noted that NBC's lead story yesterday featured commentary from Col. Jack Jacobs, one of the architects of the illegal domestic propaganda programme, posing, as always, as an independent NBC military analyst.

eta: More on network propaganda support - and the documented lies they present as fact - for covering up the American torture programme and other war crimes here.

Comments

[mojave-wolf.livejournal.com]

Thanks for this, as I'd forgotten all about it,' and had no idea of the Pulitzer, either.

[phillipalden.livejournal.com]

I've come to believe that Americans just don't care, (until they lose their jobs, their homes or their freedoms.) We have become The United States of Apathy.

[solarbird]

Yeah, as far as I can tell, Americans don't care unless it's about money.

[brombear.livejournal.com]

I agree...and in my opinion,( and I've put my foot in my mouth too many times in this forum so I'm going to go out on a limb again...) is that too many people have been desensitized by the mass media. You turn on the evening news, scroll through each station, and you'll hear one station talking about the same thing on another station. Add in the talking heads and the endless droning about how it can affect one group, then the flip side and so on.
Add in the headaches from the day to day grind, and it's easier to turn the news off. And when you're tired of the doom and gloom, people will get depressed from everything that's going on, and feel they can't do any good. They may scream and rant about it, but give them a week, and something else will come up to take their attention. Even if they do manage to keep their mind focused on one topic, you'll soon have to wade through tons of "opinion turned 'fact'" that you're fighting an uphill battle.

Mind you...that's not every person in this country. Some are open minded and keep fighting. Some are brainwashed one way or the other and either (refuse to acknowledge/cling to) empirical data, while others (refuse to acknowledge/cling to) emotional beliefs. Some just don't care.

And after a while, you run into someone who, when you ask, "How're you doing?" they respond "Can't complain...doesn't do any good, and nobody listens."

[mtext.livejournal.com]

There has, of course, been no reporting on this...

And well they shouldn't (http://www.slate.com/id/2216519/)! Apparently.

...even as other winning stories did receive comment.

Oh wait... well, damn.