Page 49 - Mass Media, Mass Propoganda Examining American News in the War on Terror

All the News That's Fit to Omit:
A Background to Pro-War Media

Highlighting the power of the mainstream media to influence public opinion in
favor of official agendas is not a high priority for many reporters, editors, and
owners in the corporate press. When the media's power in shaping public opin-
ion is addressed by joumalists and academics, it is often done through the use of
stereotypes and romanticism that describe the media as a public watchdog and
protector of the common good. The New York Times, for example, describes
itself as "an independent newspaper, entirely fearless, free of ulterior influence
and unselfishly devoted to the public welfare."' While the mainstream media is
often idealized-as seen in journalistic rhetoric-for its alleged efforts to expose
government lies and deception and uncover hidden truths, it is less often de-
scribed as an institution driven by ulterior motives such as profit.
The view of the American press as committed to muckraking and investiga-
tive journalism is not the only description of the mainstream media. The emer-
gence and prominence of "neutral," "value-free" journalism has also played an
important role in shaping the behavior of journalists, editors, media analysts,
academics, media owners, and many others in the pre and post-9/11 periods.
While many journalists speak idealistically about the mass media, they also
criticize media outlets in other countries for what they consider biased and un-
professional reporting. The New York Times criticizes Arab newspapers for
"publish[ing] at the pleasure of their governments,"2 while the Washington Post
speaks about "the vicious anti-Americanism that drives the popular media of the
Middle ~ast."~
Criticisms of Arab media outlets are juxtaposed with support for the Ameri-
can mass media as committed to a "fair and balanced" brand of journalism (the
Fox News slogan) that mediates between opposing views on important political
and social problems, and allowing Americans to choose from a variety of view-
points by presenting "All the News That's Fit to Print" (the New York Times
motto). CBS News president Andrew Heyward argues that, "There is a long-
standing tradition in the mainstream press of middle-of-the-road journalism