"How and when does journalism become propaganda?" asks Jasmina Teodosijevic-Ryan. "As a writer, broadcaster and media analyst from the former Yugoslavia, I have observed the process first-hand. It starts slowly, then spreads like a stain. The transformation from objective journalism to propaganda begins with the addition of adjectives when referring to the other side. The 'enemy' becomes 'merciless' or 'hate-filled.' Then comes the shaping, cutting and editing reports to benefit one side. 'Our' victims have names, faces and grieving families; they must be avenged. 'Theirs' do not exist.

"Invest in US," a non-profit group comprised of "communications professionals--writers, illustrators, filmmakers, etc.," has launched a website aimed at encouraging people to invest in the currently-depressed stock market. Stock indexes, the website argues, are "an indicator of the economic health and a measure of our country's self-confidence." Just as "heroic firemen, doctors, police officers, and so many others ...

Concerned about appearing sympathetic to the Taliban, CNN chairman Walter Issacson has ordered his staff to "balance" reporting on civilian destruction and images of Afghanistan casualties with reminders of Sept. 11 victims and video of the World Trade Center and Pentagon. "I want to make sure we're not used as a propaganda platform," Isaacson told the Washington Post. "You want to make sure people understand that when they see civilian suffering there, it's in the context of a terrorist attack that caused enormous suffering in the United States."