Page 15 - Mass Media, Mass Propoganda Examining American News in the War on Terror

Understanding the News in the "War on Terror" 5

chapter dissects the main categorizations of Iraqi resistance as driven by Saddam
Loyalists, foreign fighters, terrorists, and "Shi'a extremists." The chapter allots
significant time to exploring an aspect of Iraqi resistance seldom addressed in
the American major media, namely the nationalist-driven desire on the part of
resistance groups to expel the U.S. and establish Iraqi independence. This chap-
ter also takes an in-depth look at Iraq's unfolding civil war, and what role the
U.S. has played regarding the re-emergence of ethnic tensions.
Chapter 6 examines the many ways in which anti-war voices have been
punished, downsized, or eliminated in American media coverage. Such penalties
range from verbal attacks to the firing of critical anti-war media figures that
have posed serious challenges to the statements and promises of the Bush ad-
ministration during the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. The chapter directs special
attention to the power of nationalism in limiting dissent during times of war.
Nationalistic pro-war pressures have found a welcome home in the major
American media outlets.
Chapter 7 analyzes the ways in which corporate reporting mirrors George
Orwell's "Doublethink" propaganda model. The chapter provides a short back-
ground, introducing Doublethink in the context of Orwell's classic work of lit-
erature, 1984. Contradictory statements used within the corporate media to de-
scribe the Iraq war are explored in this chapter, including the assertion that
military force is the best means of promoting peace. Perhaps the most important
piece of Orwellian Doublethink that will be examined is the media's promise of
democracy in Iraq, pursued alongside media admissions that the United States is
pursuing imperial policies in the Middle East, and that most Iraqis do not want
the United States in Iraq. Highlighting such contradictory frames is crucial to
understanding Orwellian government and media propaganda.
Chapter 8 deals with the separate poles of reporting on Iraq, which are seen
in the Progressive-Left press and the mainstream media in the U.S. Concepts
such as "collateral damage," Iraqi reconstruction, casualty counts, and Iraqi and
American public opinion are examined in great detail. The image of the U.S. as
a humanitarian superpower is thoroughly deconstructed. U.S. responsibility for
serious human rights violations are examined at length.
Chapter 9 further explores the gulf between American mainstream reporting
and alternative paradigms of reporting as seen in other media institutions
throughout the U.S. and the world. This chapter examines three alternative me-
dia models to that of the U.S. corporate press. These include the American non-
corporate, independent media, A1 Jazeera, and the anti-war leaning sectors of the
British and Australian press. As these media systems challenge the legitimacy of
the invasion and occupation of Iraq at every turn, the American mainstream me-
dia, in contrast, has sought to reinforce the war effort through the use of embed-
ded reporting.
The arguments of specific anti-war reporters and editorialists in each system
will be reviewed, including Robert Fisk and Patrick Cockburn of the Independ-
ent of London, Tariq Ali and Jonathan Steele of the Guardian of London, Paul
McGeough of the Sydney Morning Herald, and David Enders, Aaron Glantz,
Amy Goodman, Dahr Jamail, and Rahul Mahajan of the American independent