the media and the sept. 11th attacks

[minus1972]

hear me out here before you start to rank on me...

every morning now, since a couple weeks after the attacks in new york and washington, I watch the news when I get up instead of just sitting around or doing homework, whatever. in doing this, I've become sickened by the US media and the way television news works. every morning TV news show starts out with a shock story, then an interview with a random expert who attests to what the reporter is saying. then comes the sob/compassion story, that one person who was affected just a little more than the rest of us on Sept. 11th and wants to be on TV. granted, many of these people do need aid, but the red cross has recieved millions in donations and there's a case like this for every worthwhile cause out there.

in my opinion, the media is being used against us. look at how people have reacted to the anthrax attacks. stories like this show up EVERY day, amplifying panic to unnecessary levels. laws are being tossed aside in the intrest of 'public saftey'.

the media has also been quite revealing in it's knowledge of US troop movements in the middle east and has been relentless in trying to get members of congress to leak national security information.

this freedom of information stuff is all well and good, but I for one am convinced that this is all in pursuit of the all mighty dollar.

don't agree with me, fine, it's a free country, let me know, I like intelligent debate, but watch the news tomorrow morning and keep this all in mind.....the guy looking at you wants a raise, and he gets it by getting you to watch his station.

 

[SaidMohammed]

Media coverage of U.S. military actions has often involved a duplicitous two-step, with news outlets heavily engaged in self-censorship and then grousing -- usually after the fact -- that the government imposed too many restrictions on the press.

As the media investigation focused on Osama bin Laden, news outlets still provided little information about what fuels his fanaticism. Instead of a serious inquiry into anti-U.S. sentiment in the Middle East and elsewhere, many commentators media offered little more than self-congratulatory rhetoric. Constantly crawling across TV screens, snippets of quotes blur together... Bin Laden saying that believers will triumph, Bush declaring "may God continue to bless America," the Taliban accusing the U.S. of "terrorist" attacks... As time goes on, the adversaries increasingly seem to be talking each other's language. The on-screen logos, spangled in red-white-and-blue, exude pride in a nation resurgent. CBS has opted for "America Fights Back." NBC and MSNBC are using "America Strikes Back." At times, MSNBC switches to an alternate buzz phrase: "Homeland Defense." Supposedly, bombing Afghanistan is going to make us safer back here in the USA. Yet hours after the attacks began on Oct. 7, the FBI called for heightened alerts across the United States -- because the risk of another deadly attack in this country had just increased. If war can be peace, why can't greater danger bring us greater security?

By Monday afternoon, networks were showing bombers taking off from aircraft carriers, en route to Afghanistan. MSNBC's viewers saw footage of warheads with "NYPD" scrawled on them; in the background, an American Flag fluttered on deck. And so, a bait-and-switch process of patriotic imagery is near completion. For weeks, in the aftermath of the horrendous events of Sept. 11, the public embraced Old Glory as a symbol of grief, human solidarity and love of country. Now the ubiquitous American Flag is being affixed to military means of destruction.

As seen on www.fair.org

 

[gumbysucks]

The news reports that speculate what the terrorists might do next are the absolute worst. I don't like them getting any new ideas on how to kill us .... just my 2 cents