errands today, once again with NPR as my co-pilot. I heard some of “To the point” [listen: Iraq and the Propaganda War] and was subjected to of the most ludicrous, embarrassing (for the speaker, not me), and idiotic comments I have ever heard. One Cliff Kincaid, from Accuracy in Media, claimed that the media (I cringe when I hear that) is exploiting the images of torture and humiliation in Saddam Hussein’s old prison for political gain. That didn’t gain any traction, so then he compared it to college sports hazing or pranks.
Eventually, his argument consisted of blaming the news outfits for publishing the pictures and defending any actions with “there’s a war on.” The soldiers involved are not to blame, their commanders likewise: it’s the reporters who revealed the facts who are the villains. He also attacked Al Jazeera as a biased news source, since it was obviously pro-Arab and therefore anti-American (being pro-truth doesn’t enter into it).
The publisher of Harper’s magazine was also on the program and explained that far from exploiting the news, US media companies were under-reporting and self-censoring. The numbers of dead civilians far outweighs the number of uniformed casualties, but they are never mentioned.
Here’s what AIM claims as its mission statement:
Accuracy In Media – Mission Statement:
Accuracy In Media is a non-profit, grassroots citizens watchdog of the news media that critiques botched and bungled news stories and sets the record straight on important issues that have received slanted coverage.
He ended up ranting about Sen Kerry having admitted to war crimes of his own during his Vietnam service, but no specifics. I got the sense the host was trying to just get through the program without further incident.
Now check out their front page and tell me they don’t have an agenda.
