Links

The Real First Casualty of War  new

Pilger suggests that journalism is the first casualty. It has also become a weapon of war, a virulent censorship that goes unrecognized in the United States, Britain and other democracies. (by John Pilger, April 2006)

http://www.lewrockwell.com/pilger/pilger40.html

(Added: Wed Jul 16 2008   Hits: 3)

Their Barbarism, and Ours

This article critises mass-media coverage of the war in Iraq. Jornalists allow themselves appropriate moral outrage when Americans suffer but tiptoe around what is suffered by victims of the U.S. military - as if dropping bombs on civilians from thousands of feet in the air is a civilized way to terrorize and kill. (Norman Solomon, ZNet, 22 June 2006)

http://www.zmag.org/content/showarticle.cfm?SectionID=15&ItemID=10465

(Added: Mon Jun 26 2006   Hits: 83)

Conspiracy-free Conformity

"As we have shown in earlier Media Alerts, the corporate media is structured in a way that protects and furthers the interests of state-corporate power in the absence of any conspiracy, or even overt interference. The uniformity of reporting simply follows from the interaction of human nature with the framing structures of state-corporate capitalism - journalists with the correct views, priorities and goals 'fall into place' in the media pyramid, while others bounce (or are bounced) out." (ZNet Sustainer article) By Dave Edwards, September 16, 2002. David Edwards is co-editor of Media Lens.

http://www.zmag.org/sustainers/content/2002-09/16edwards.cfm

(Added: Thu Sep 26 2002   Hits: 118)

Fairness and Accuracy in Reporting (F.A.I.R)

FAIR, the national media watch group, has been offering well-documented criticism of media bias and censorship since 1986. We work to invigorate the First Amendment by advocating for greater diversity in the press and by scrutinizing media practices that marginalize public interest, minority and dissenting viewpoints. As an anti-censorship organization, we expose neglected news stories and defend working journalists when they are muzzled. As a progressive group, FAIR believes that structural reform is ultimately needed to break up the dominant media conglomerates, establish independent public broadcasting and promote strong non-profit sources of information.

http://www.fair.org/

(Added: Fri May 02 2003   Hits: 145)

Free Press

US based organisation aimed at reforming the media to promote diverse and independent media ownership, strong public media, and universal access to communications.

http://www.freepress.net/

(Added: Thu Nov 01 2007   Hits: 37)

Globalization's Watchdogs

When Bolivian President Evo Morales announced plans to nationalize his country's oil and natural gas resources in early May, he did more than lay out a promising path for development. He also provided an ideal opportunity to illustrate how large segments of the U.S. and British press have adopted roles as watchdogs for corporate globalization. Despite the general trend, there were some levelheaded voices in the media. These exceptions went far in debunking many of the Evo-bashers' doomsday scenarios. And amidst the anti-nationalization hysteria, a basic principle about democracy was one point that the critics consistently miss. Morales was elected in a landslide on a platform vowing nationalization. This time, when democracy and neoliberal economics collided, democracy won. (Mark Engler, Foreign Policy In Focus, 26 May 2006)

http://www.fpif.org/fpiftxt/3284

(Added: Mon May 29 2006   Hits: 212)

How news items represent Maori and what to do about it

This checklist for news media consumers provides points to look for in assessing news items about Maori issues and te Tiriti o Waitangi. The four-page resource includes questions about the sources quoted in the item; its use of negative media frames; whether it uses te reo Maori; and absences which may make the item unbalanced. It also includes suggestions for action about poor media representations of Maori and te Tiriti with examples, including campaigns, complaints, boycotts and protests. The checklist was published by Kupu Taea, a media research group based at Massey University in Auckland. It is part of their Media and te Tiriti Project, which includes two reports on how newspapers and television news represent Maori.

http://www.trc.org.nz/resources/media.htm

(Added: Wed Jul 02 2008   Modified: Mon Jul 07 2008   Hits: 2)

MediaChannel.org

MediaChannel is a media issues supersite, featuring criticism, breaking news, and investigative reporting from hundreds of organizations worldwide. As the media watch the world, we watch the media.

http://www.mediachannel.org/

(Added: Wed Feb 02 2005   Modified: Wed Dec 07 2005   Hits: 112)

Michael Moore

Web-site of Michael Moore, Academy Award winner for "Bowling for Colombine", and author of "Stupid White Men".

http://www.michaelmoore.com/

(Added: Tue Apr 22 2003   Hits: 243)

Mirror on the Media: Gender and Advertising in Southern Africa

This publication is a study conducted by Gender Links on gender and advertising in Southern Africa. Covering 1650 radio, television, print and billboard advertisements in Mauritius, South Africa, Zambia and Zimbabwe, the study seeks to establish how women and men are represented and portrayed in advertising. (Civicus, 7/11/2007)

http://www.comminit.com/en/node/264233

(Added: Thu Nov 08 2007   Hits: 39)

Researchers Who Rushed Into Print a Study of Iraqi Civilian Deaths Now Wonder Why It Was Ignored

The Chronicle of Higher Education, by by Lila Guterman, Thursday, January 27, 2005. When more than 200,000 people died in a tsunami caused by an Asian earthquake in December, the immediate reaction in the United States was an outpouring of grief and philanthropy, prompted by extensive coverage in the news media. Two months earlier, the reaction in the United States to news of another large-scale human tragedy was much quieter. In late October, a study was published in The Lancet, a prestigious British medical journal, concluding that about 100,000 civilians had been killed in Iraq since it was invaded by a United States-led coalition in March 2003. On the eve of a contentious presidential election -- fought in part over U.S. policy on Iraq -- many American newspapers and television news programs ignored the study or buried reports about it far from the top headlines.

http://chronicle.com/temp/email.php?id=6g87s8d900q52bjppa5m3h7noo5ikert

(Added: Tue Feb 01 2005   Modified: Mon Nov 07 2005   Hits: 119)

Telling it like it isn't

In this article, a veteran journalist criticises the sanitized language the media uses when covering the Israel/Palestine conflict, ending with this plea: "Let's call a colony a colony, let's call occupation what it is, let's call a wall a wall. And maybe express the reality of war by showing that it represents not, primarily, victory or defeat, but the total failure of the human spirit." (Robert Fisk, Los Angeles Times, 27 December 2005)

http://www.choike.org/nuevo_eng/informes/3797.html

(Added: Tue May 23 2006   Hits: 56)

The Center for Digital Democracy

The Center for Digital Democracy is a nonprofit organization working to ensure that the digital media systems serve the public interest.

http://www.democraticmedia.org/

(Added: Mon May 05 2003   Hits: 124)

The invasion of Iraq - and how the media war was won and lost: Half truths and media spin: whom do y

Justified War? Seminar, 3 May 2003. Auckland University (Aotearoa New Zealand) Continuing Education. RECENTLY a revealing book was published in the United States and, as far as I know, it was never reviewed, or barely mentioned, in the New Zealand media. But its message was a salutary lesson for us here, half a globe away from the Anglo-American invasion of Iraq. Robert W. McChesney and John Nichols have argued for an honest debate over a total rethink of policy for media if it is to continue to have an effective role in democracy, if it is to remain a genuine Fourth Estate.

http://www.asiapac.org.fj/cafepacific/resources/aspac/iraqwarmedia.pdf

(Added: Wed May 28 2003   Hits: 147)

The UN's 2006 List: Ten things the world should hear more about

Every year, the U.N.'s Department of Public Information unveils its list of the world's 10 most under-reported stories. Those for 2006 are as follows. Liberia: Development challenges top agenda as the nation recovers from years of civil strife. Lost in migration: Asylum seekers face challenges amid efforts to stem flows of illegal migrants. DR of Congo: As the country moves boldly towards historic vote, humanitarian concerns continue to demand attention. Nepal's hidden tragedy: Children caught in the conflict. Somalia: Security vacuum compounding effects of drought. Protracted refugee situations: Millions caught in limbo, with no solutions in sight. South Asian earthquake: Relief effort saves lives, stems losses, but reconstruction tasks loom large. Behind bars, beyond justice: An untold story of children in conflict with the law. From water wars to bridges of cooperation: Exploring the peace-building potential of a shared resource. Cote d'Ivoire: A strike away from igniting violence amidst a faltering peace process. (UN, 15 May 2006)

http://www0.un.org/events/tenstories/

(Added: Fri May 19 2006   Modified: Fri Sep 01 2006   Hits: 344)

Too Little Media Attention Notwithstanding: Hope and Achievement Seen in East Timor's Independence

The greatest genocide of the last century, in proportion of population killed, was in East Timor. Do you remember hearing about it when it happened? If not, why not? By Scott Loughrey, The Baltimore Chronicle, June, 2002.

http://baltimorechronicle.com/media_jun02.html

(Added: Tue Jul 30 2002   Modified: Mon Sep 29 2003   Hits: 112)