U.S. Government

Army Runs J-School

Submitted by Laura Miller on

The U.S. Army is training Iraqis, many of them translators, to be journalists. In workshops taught by military public affairs officers, students learn "things like news gathering, writing fair and balanced stories, interviewing techniques, ethics, the Associated Press Style Guide, and the role of the press in a free society," according to the U.S. Army website "Soldier Stories." "[The students] met for six hours a day, six days a week for about five weeks.

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Main Source: 
Soldier Stories, March 17, 2004
Topics: 
Iraq
Journalism
U.S. Government

World Opinion, One Year Later

Submitted by Sheldon Rampton on

"A year after the war in Iraq, discontent with America and its policies has intensified rather than diminished," concludes a new international survey conducted by the Pew Research Center for the People and the Press. "Opinion of the United States in France and Germany is at least as negative now as at the war's conclusion, and British views are decidedly more critical. Perceptions of American unilateralism remain widespread in European and Muslim nations, and the war in Iraq has undermined America's credibility abroad.

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Main Source: 
Pew Research Center, March 16, 2004
Topics: 
Iraq
International
Public Relations
U.S. Government

Occupation Is Sell

Submitted by Diane Farsetta on

The White House is marking "this Friday's first anniversary of the invasion of Iraq with a week-long media blitz arguing that the overthrow of Saddam Hussein was essential to combating global terrorism and making the United States safer." Another goal is to set "realistic expectations" for the rebuilding of Iraq.

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Main Source: 
The Washington Post, March 14, 2004
Topics: 
Iraq
Propaganda
U.S. Government

Some Spies Saw Through the Lies & Blew the Whistle

Submitted by John Stauber on

"When David Kay, the CIA's former chief weapons inspector in Iraq, announced earlier this year that his team had found no stockpiled weapons of mass destruction in Iraq, he touched off an explosion of blame, finger-pointing, denial, and hasty 'clarifications' about the extent and accuracy of the intelligence that the Bush Administration used to buttress its decision to invade Iraq. Kay's startling conclusion, though, came as no surprise to many analysts in the U.S.

No
Main Source: 
Mother Jones, March 10, 2004
Topics: 
Iraq
Propaganda
U.S. Government

Another WMD Post-mortem

Submitted by Sheldon Rampton on

The Center for International and Security Studies at Maryland has published a new study on "Media Coverage of Weapons of Mass Destruction," and the picture isn't pretty. "Most media outlets represented WMD as a monolithic menace, failing to adequately distinguish between weapons programs and actual weapons or to address the real differences among chemical, biological, nuclear, and radiological weapons," the report states.

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Main Source: 
Editor and Publisher, March 9, 2004
Topics: 
Iraq
Journalism
Propaganda
U.S. Government

Saudi Clerics Bash U.S. Funded Channel

Submitted by Laura Miller on

Two Saudi clerics have said that Muslims should not watch, work for, or advertise on the new U.S. funded Al-Hurra satellite channel. In a written fatwa, Sheik Ibrahim al-Khudairi said the channel was "founded by America to fight Islam, and to propagate massive decay to Americanise the world." Al-Hurra, which means the free one, is the latest Arabic-language media project run by the Broadcasting Board of Governors. According to U.S. officials, the channel, which will cost U.S.

No
Main Source: 
Singapore Straits Times, March 7, 2004
Topics: 
International
Media
Religion
U.S. Government

Silencing Science (Again)

Submitted by Sheldon Rampton on

"Two scientists from President Bush's top advisory board on cutting-edge medical research yesterday published a detailed criticism of the board's own reports, and said the board skewed scientific facts in service of a political and ideological cause," reports Gareth Cook. One of the scientists, Janet Rowley, is a member of the President's Council on Bioethics. The other Elizabeth H. Blackburn, is a highly regarded biologist who was fired from the panel last Friday.

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Main Source: 
Boston Globe, March 6, 2004
Topics: 
Science
U.S. Government

Bush Campaign Ads: Brought to You by ... Special Interests

Submitted by Sheldon Rampton on

Public Citizen has released a report outlining who helped pay for the Bush administration's campaign ads and what favors they have received during his presidency. Bush backers include the finance, real estate, communications, energy, health care, and insurance industries. The report also lists the tax breaks, regulatory changes, legislative favors and plum appointments Bush has given his backers.

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Main Source: 
Public Citizen, March 3, 2004
Topics: 
Corporations
U.S. Government

Beware 'Sound Science'

Submitted by Laura Miller on

"When George W. Bush and members of his administration talk about environmental policy, the phrase 'sound science' rarely goes unuttered," Chris Mooney writes in the Washington Post. "On issues ranging from climate change to the storage of nuclear waste in Nevada's Yucca Mountain, our president has assured us that he's backing up his decisions with careful attention to the best available research. ...

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Main Source: 
Washington Post, February 29, 2004
Topics: 
Rhetoric
Science
U.S. Government

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