Stories by Norman Solomon
Norman Solomon's latest book Made Love, Got War: Close Encounters with America's Warfare State (PoliPointPress) is available now. For more information go to www.madelovegotwar.com.
"Now more than ever, media glitz is much admired. In theory, a person becomes a celebrity as a result of achievements. In practice, being a celebrity is widely seen as a great achievement in itself."
Posted on Apr 26, 2000, Source: AlterNet
"Across the country, PBS stations are in denial. And if we think the programming they provide is worthy of the name "public television," then maybe we're in denial, too."
Posted on Apr 26, 2000, Source: AlterNet
"Every modern presidential contest generates a lot of discussion about how the nation's most prominent journalists cover major candidates. But there's not much analysis of how candidates get along with the media conglomerates that employ those journalists."
Posted on Apr 26, 2000, Source: AlterNet
This summer begins with a large shadow hanging over one of the nation's pioneering radio stations. Half a century after listener-supported KPFA took to the airwaves in the San Francisco area as a unique experiment in media independence, the battle raging over its future is ominous -- yet inspiring.
Posted on Apr 26, 2000, Source: AlterNet
After 11 weeks of bombing Yugoslavia, top U.S. officials were pleased to take a virtuous bow in the media spotlight as refugees from Kosovo prepared to return home. With steadfast U.S. leadership, we're told, NATO forces of decency persevered and won. Yet few media commentators have explored how the bombing actually fitted into the region's recurring cycles of violence.
Posted on Apr 26, 2000, Source: AlterNet
"Once upon a time, in early June of 1999, the man on the throne displayed his moral finery as he complained that 'children are being fed a dependable daily dose of violence.' But somewhere in the crowd stood a little girl and a little boy who were perplexed. They wanted to know why the royal scribes did not talk about the huge holes in the weave of the emperor's pronouncements..."
Posted on Apr 26, 2000, Source: AlterNet
In late May, the president of the United States openly violated the War Powers Act -- and the national media yawned.
Posted on Apr 26, 2000, Source: AlterNet
The media spin about the changing of the guard at the Treasury Department has been consistent: It's too bad that the superb Robert Rubin chose to resign. But Larry Summers is capable of walking in his footsteps.
Posted on Apr 26, 2000, Source: AlterNet
"Hi! My name is CBU-87/B, but my friends call me Cluster Bomb. I've been busy lately, slicing up human bodies in the Balkans. And I sure appreciate the careful treatment that I receive from the American news media..."
Posted on Apr 26, 2000, Source: AlterNet
In a media world crying out for sharp satire, Mad Magazine still manages to lampoon human foibles and mass-culture idiocy -- without capitulating to a dime of advertiser money.
Posted on Apr 26, 2000, Source: AlterNet
Some disturbing patterns seem to dominate American journalism: Candor loses out to caution, integrity drowns in expediency and independence falls as income rises. At the peak of the news profession, the most lauded reporters often rely on official sources and defer to powerful institutions.
Posted on Apr 26, 2000, Source: AlterNet
For many weeks now, the suffering of refugees from Kosovo has filled our TV screens. Empathy seems to motivate much of the public support for the ceaseless bombing of Yugoslavia. Fortunately, Americans can be stirred by moral outrage. Unfortunately, that outrage has been manipulated by a constellation of forces that could be described as a military-industrial-media complex.
Posted on Apr 26, 2000, Source: AlterNet
"Early this month, the anniversary of the murder of Martin Luther King Jr. came and went. Though today's media presented him as a dreamer and a martyr, yesterday's pundits widely vilified King when he spoke out against the Vietnam War -- just as opponents to our current war are being pushed out of the debate."
Posted on Apr 26, 2000, Source: AlterNet
"Ever since the start of NATO's bombing blitz, American journalists have scornfully reported on the propaganda role of Yugoslavian news media. But no one should be smug about freedom of the press in the United States."
Posted on Apr 26, 2000, Source: AlterNet
While bombs keep exploding in Yugoslavia, a fierce media war is raging on television. TV news programs sometimes claim to be showing us what war is all about, but that's an absurd pretense.
Posted on Apr 26, 2000, Source: AlterNet
"Listen up, future leaders of America. If you want to develop the necessary skills for promoting a war agenda in our country's news media, recent events are instructive. Going to war is not simply a matter of ordering soldiers to fire missiles and drop bombs. There's a lot more involved. The public must be induced to accept and even cheer the bloodshed. That requires some careful preparation."
Posted on Apr 26, 2000, Source: AlterNet
"Spring is often a time of renewed hopes and fresh dreams. So, let's visualize some media breakthroughs -- however unlikely -- for the last seasons of this century."
Posted on Apr 26, 2000, Source: AlterNet
"You know what, boys and girls? Thanks to Trent Lott and others in the Senate club, the big people at the Walt Disney Co. don't have to worry about Mickey and his pals getting lost in a scary place called 'public domain.'"
Posted on Apr 26, 2000, Source: AlterNet
"The power to open the news gates goes hand-in-hand with the ability to close them tight. Along with deciding what media consumers need to hear, the biggest and most influential news outlets can also determine what the public doesn't need to hear very often -- or ever."
Posted on Apr 26, 2000, Source: AlterNet
You may be tired of hearing about a "culture war," but such talk is just getting started. On the media battlefield, righteous warriors are lining up to fight the infidels in the first big political conflict of the 21st century.
Posted on Apr 26, 2000, Source: AlterNet
This year has already given us plenty of material for "Media Jeopardy!"
Posted on Apr 26, 2000, Source: AlterNet
Solomon writes: " It was fitting that the announcement of Academy Award nominees came just days before the climax of President Clinton's trial in the Senate. The top contenders for an Oscar were unable to compete with the intrepid actors inside the Beltway."
Posted on Apr 26, 2000, Source: AlterNet
Solomon writes: "With few exceptions, liberals in the mass media -- and in Congress -- are comfortable with the existing economic order. And they refuse to challenge a status quo that means dire neglect for millions of Americans."
Posted on Apr 26, 2000, Source: AlterNet
Solomon writes: "Under the Capitol big top, you'll see blow-dried fire eaters! Oratorical snake charmers! A white-maned lion tamer from Chicago! And hired guns, eager to rescue the death-defying pioneer from a backwoods town called Hope!"
Posted on Apr 26, 2000, Source: AlterNet
Solomon writes: "On network television, some pundits are always ready for prime time. After the president's State of the Union speech, they were all over the airwaves -- smooth and glib -- mostly lauding Bill Clinton's boffo performance. But many commentators are never eligible for prime time."
Posted on Apr 26, 2000, Source: AlterNet
Solomon writes: "When Alice returned from her journey to Medialand, she was visibly shaken. 'Frightful,' she said. 'When I was a kid, I found Wonderland to be strange -- but Medialand is something else. I was lucky to get through half of January.'"
Posted on Apr 26, 2000, Source: AlterNet
Solomon writes: "Senators are supposed to be restrained, deliberative and steeped in tradition. But one important detail gets left out: The U.S. Senate is the most undemocratic elected body in the nation."
Posted on Apr 26, 2000, Source: AlterNet
Solomon writes: "After a year that has culminated with the bombardment of Iraq and the impeachment of President Clinton, we can draw some important conclusions about America's news media."
Posted on Apr 26, 2000, Source: AlterNet
Solomon writes: "For the seventh year in a row, I have worked with Jeff Cohen of the media watch group FAIR to sift through the many entries for a P.U.-litzer Prize -- the annual award that pays tribute to this nation's smelliest media offerings. The competition to win a P.U.-litzer was never more fierce. Now, after long and careful deliberations, we are ready to reveal the prizes for 1998."
Posted on Apr 26, 2000, Source: AlterNet
Solomon writes: "When a question is asked and repeated often enough, we're apt to become preoccupied with trying to answer it. And anything that sounds constitutionally profound is hard to pass up. With cable TV networks in the lead, the national media have followed every twist and turn of impeachment mania with the breathless explanation that it is 'historic.'"
Posted on Apr 26, 2000, Source: AlterNet
Solomon writes: "Depending on the spin, history can seem crucial or irrelevant to the present. In deep ways, the past is far from over. But commentators often claim that we should just move on and let bygones be bygones."
Posted on Apr 26, 2000, Source: AlterNet
Solomon writes: "For many years, across the United States, huge quantities of tax breaks and subsidies have been going to corporations. Sometimes called 'corporate welfare,' this pattern of legalized ripoffs has been widespread -- yet little of the story seems to emerge in major news outlets. Overall, the coverage is sporadic at best. In mass media, the broader picture has been missing -- until the last few weeks."
Posted on Apr 26, 2000, Source: AlterNet
Solomon writes: "In the days since Saddam Hussein's pledge of full cooperation with U.N. weapons inspectors led President Clinton to cancel air attacks at the last minute, a strong wave of frustration has swept through American news media. The pattern is all too familiar, the refrain goes. Yet again, after a tense confrontation, the U.S. government ended up taking yes for an answer from Iraq's cunning despot."
Posted on Apr 26, 2000, Source: AlterNet
Solomon writes: "We may be glad to see glamorous stars with white mustaches asking the question: "Got milk?" But the ongoing media blitz for milk does not ask a more important question: 'Got clogged arteries?'"
Posted on Apr 26, 2000, Source: AlterNet
Solomon writes: "Many conservative politicians and pundits are now struggling with disappointment. Some can't understand why voters confounded expectations and refused to move the country rightward. But the election results might seem less mysterious after pondering why the new movie "Pleasantville" has resonated with audiences across America."
Posted on Apr 26, 2000, Source: AlterNet
Solomon writes: "Are you ready for the Internet Shopping Network? Ready or not, here it comes. The guy who pioneered home shopping channels on television, Barry Diller, is now blazing trails into cyberspace."
Posted on Apr 26, 2000, Source: AlterNet
The recent arrest of Gen. Augusto Pinochet presented a challenge to American news media. For a quarter of a century, he didn't get much bad press in the United States. As time went on, it seemed that human memory had been buried alive. But Pinochet's arrest suddenly exhumed the legacies of his 17-year dictatorship.
Posted on Apr 26, 2000, Source: AlterNet
Solomon writes: "Despite this year's scandalmania, Bill Clinton now appears to be rather entrenched in the White House. A big reason is that he has been very careful to stay near the 'vital center' of America's political spectrum ... But what does all this talk about the 'vital center' and the 'Third Way' really mean?"
Posted on Apr 26, 2000, Source: AlterNet
Solomon writes: "Columbus Day is a national holiday. But it's also a good time to confront the true story of the heroic explorer who "discovered" America. This bloody history might make modern readers tremble -- if they had access to it instead of just mythology."
Posted on Apr 26, 2000, Source: AlterNet
Solomon writes: "On Sept. 30, 1986, Israel's government kidnapped Mordechai Vanunu in Rome and put him on a cargo ship. Back in Israel, at a secret trial, he faced charges of espionage and treason. A military court sentenced him to 18 years in prison. What was Vanunu's crime? He gave detailed information to journalists at the Sunday Times of London -- about Israel's arsenal of nuclear bombs."
Posted on Apr 26, 2000, Source: AlterNet
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