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Pundits in Their Pockets -- A Peek at Pentagon PsyOps and Message Control

Submitted by BuzzFlash on Mon, 04/21/2008 - 4:06pm.

A BUZZFLASH NEWS ANALYSIS
by Christine Bowman

Here's a story to ponder while waiting for the PA election returns to trickle in Tuesday night. This one's bigger than politics; it's Constitutional. Put the cable pundits on mute for awhile and look instead at how they've been covering stories from the Pentagon.

David Barstow and his team at The New York Times dug deep into some Freedom of Information Act documents to come up with a dramatic expose of Bush Administration manipulation of public opinion on Iraq, Gitmo human rights issues, and Donald Rumsfeld's performance as Secretary of Defense. Barstow documents that the administration selected people, mostly ex-military, to "catapult the propaganda" by going directly from meetings with Rumsfeld and others at the Pentagon to the microphones of big media with a set of administration talking points in hand. Outlets including CNN, Fox News, ABC and CBS, to name just a few, uncritically provided them with same-day opportunities to sell the Pentagon view to Americans while posturing as independent experts and pundits on major news programs. Pentagon staffers also helped two Fox analysts write "their" OpEd for publication in The Wall Street Journal. The Pentagon called these folks "message force multipliers."

Selected by the Bush administration, and paid as pundits on the nightly news, some of these mouthpieces benefited financially, too, as defense industry lobbyists who had been granted special access to Pentagon players who influence the awarding of contracts. Cozy, all around.

The White House has been caught previously blurring the lines between PR and public manipulation in a variety of ways. By controlling access to the President and other top officials (in Jeff Gannon's case) and even paying journalists directly to promote administration viewpoints (Armstrong Williams was paid to promote No Child Left Behind), they've made a mockery of separation between government sources and journalistic outlets.

Take time to read the original investigative article; or go to the NY Times multimedia page dealing with the "generals' revolt" against Rumsfeld in 2006; or look at the insights of some truly independent Internet analysts.

Then let your news sources know how you feel about them.

Resources:

Message Machine: Behind TV Analysts, Pentagon’s Hidden Hand (NY Times)

How the Pentagon Spread Its Message (NY Times)

“MindWar”: The Bush Propaganda Machina (feministe.us)

A Guide to 'NYT' Scoop on Pentagon's Media Propaganda (Editor and Publisher)

A BUZZFLASH NEWS ANALYSIS

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We have Always been Aware Of This

Submitted by Citizen over 50 on Thu, 04/24/2008 - 11:49am.
And we have complained bitterly. Ever since the Telecommunications Act of 1996, which Clinton gave us, wiped out the last vestiges of "real" news and possible art in cinema. What I think is most necessary at this point is to go back yet again, read that "Looter Capitalist Memo" known as the "Powell Memorandum" and put this story into it's proper context. (Here's the link: http://www.opednews.com/maxwrite/diarypage.php?did=5749 ). A thought for today: Why is it that the New York Times is FINALLY ADMITTING TO THIS INSIDIOUS CORRUPTION of their precious "Fourth Estate"? Is it because profit is down? Maybe if we applied a little more pressure, they would all fall like dominoes. They need our income to stay on our necks. So why do we subscribe to them and pay them a monthly stipend to tear apart our country? Have we lost our minds? Do your country a favor. Cancel your TV and Newspaper and Magazine subscriptions if they belong to the enemy. Doesn't leave you much outside the internet! Then make sure you join forces with those who fight for your right to keep a free internet. (Here's a link to get you started: http://blog.wired.com/27bstroke6/2008/04/fcc-gets-an-ear.html )
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problem??

Submitted by alibe50 on Wed, 04/23/2008 - 2:42pm.
BuzzFlash Addict no more... Meanwhile, down in the Tarheel state, NBC/National Journal’s Carrie Dann reports: “The North Carolina Republican Party will unveil a 30-second ad [Wednesday] that attacks Democratic gubernatorial candidates Beverly Perdue and Richard Moore for endorsing Barack Obama. The ad, per the party, will reference `controversial figures from Barack Obama’s past’ and raise the question of the candidates’ `judgment’ in supporting him. The ad will be unveiled at an 11am press conference.” According to Dann, “The Rev. Jeremiah Wright is expected to play a starring role.” Because of his relationship with Wright, Obama is becoming a serious drag on down-ticket Dem candidates. Why should every Democrat have to bear the burden of Obama’s recklessness?BuzzFlash Addict no more... Meanwhile, down in the Tarheel state, NBC/National Journal’s Carrie Dann reports: “The North Carolina Republican Party will unveil a 30-second ad [Wednesday] that attacks Democratic gubernatorial candidates Beverly Perdue and Richard Moore for endorsing Barack Obama. The ad, per the party, will reference `controversial figures from Barack Obama’s past’ and raise the question of the candidates’ `judgment’ in supporting him. The ad will be unveiled at an 11am press conference.” According to Dann, “The Rev. Jeremiah Wright is expected to play a starring role.” Because of his relationship with Wright, Obama is becoming a serious drag on down-ticket Dem candidates. Why should every Democrat have to bear the burden of Obama’s recklessness?
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This media manipulation has been used before

Submitted by kjlovell on Mon, 04/21/2008 - 5:37pm.
This media manipulation technique has been used before. For basically the same results. Control the message, control the people. Why is this unethical media manipulation used today? Because it worked, although for a limited time. Why is the bush crime family using it now? Probably because they helped use it the first time in nazi germany. See: prescott bush hitler connection - if it hasn't been scrubbed from the internet. There are WAY too many parallels of this illegal administration and Hitler to be ignored or swept under the rug.
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