Media for Complicity with Saddam's Regime

Best of the Web, opinionjournal.com ^ | September 16, 2003 | JAMES TARANTO

[OESY]

There were correspondents who thought it appropriate to seek the approbation of the people who governed their lives. This was the ministry of information, and particularly the director of the ministry. By taking him out for long candlelit dinners, plying him with sweet cakes, plying him with mobile phones at $600 each for members of his family, and giving bribes of thousands of dollars. Senior members of the information ministry took hundreds of thousands of dollars of bribes from these television correspondents who then behaved as if they were in Belgium. They never mentioned the function of minders. Never mentioned terror.

[Leo Carpathian]

He was with a major American newspaper

Let me guess... New York Slimes?

[Miss Marple]

Apparently there is one decent person at the New York Times. He has probably been looking for another job.

[68skylark]

The John Burns column is great.

On the other hand, thousands of Freepers could have told the media establishment that something is rotten in their profession and they way they get cozy with any goon, murdurer, thug, torturer, etc who has an anti-American image.

The full Burns article is here:

http://www.editorandpublisher.com/editorandpublisher/headlines/article_display.jsp?vnu_content_id=1979014

[Arkady]

The networks can only cover so many stories, and right now there's that whole ben-j.lo thing. Plus Bush is a meanie.....

[dighton]

FR thread here.

[okie01]

Thanks for posting the link.

To all: Burns' piece is well worth reading. It will confirm everything you've suspected about the cowardice and corruption of the media.

Can't help but wonder where Burns expects to be getting his next job...

[Kay Soze]

"Why yes we did hide alot Saddam did"