The Myth of a Free Press
(archived broadcast 
)
Guest: Kristina Borjesson, Editor of Into the Buzzsaw: Leading Journalists Expose the Myth of a Free Press
We do not have a free press in America. At least, not in the sense that journalists are free to write about whatever they discover to be true without pressure from their editors, corporations, and governments to toe the Administration line.
Borjesson and prominent journalists make clear in this fascinating book the
severe constraints journalists work under:
— self-censorship
— corporate interests of their news organization
— cheerleading (providing the public what the public is perceived to want, rather than the truth)
— threat of government action, most notably the Federal Communication Commission headed by Colin Powell’s son, Michael Powell
— media consolidation by Rupert Murdoch’s FOX empire, Clear Channel radio stations, and other right-wing organizations aided by the FCC.
— government propaganda/disinformation (false information disseminated openly or secretly leaked by the Administration)
— requiring journalists to participate in “media pools” so they cannot obtain information by asking questions outside of US government minders
— giving “good sources” to journalists, who in return, repeat the lies of those sources without indpendent verification or scrutiny
Join us for a fascinating look into the myth of a free press in America, on one of the few independent sources of information that remains outside these contraints, Mark Levine’s INSIDE SCOOP.
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Ray Torical May 27, 2006 10:51 am
So, Fred are we the bad guys? and/or do we through the consciousness of the people have the power to be the force for freedom and human rights throughout the world, our Democratic ideals portend we can be?
Gordon August 27, 2004 2:28 pm
So, Fred are we the bad guys? and/or do we through the consciousness of the people have the power to be the force for freedom and human rights throughout the world, our Democratic ideals portend we can be?
Fred Dawes August 27, 2004 2:01 pm
We have never had anything but the Myth and it is the same in all of our little world,
a free press can never happen in any part of our empire, “and understand one fact” this is an EMPIRE,Once you understand that FACT, you will understand all the WHY’S! Colin Powell and his Son do Understand that Fact! Most of what you see is a lie and most of what you think has been setup to make you think it is a truth, self censorship is a joke! we our all under the governments monopoly, we our all the threat to that government we live under.
Skip August 27, 2004 1:45 am
Mark,
That was a great show. I bought Kristina’s book about a month ago. I’ll have to get the new upcoming edition with that new chapter on Dan Rather. Hopefully there will be additional good stuff.
I agree with Gordon. I’ll give Mark’s “experiment” a C and E. I was holding my breath, wondering whether Mark would cross the line. That finely tuned legal mind came close. It was a teaser.