Posted on 05/17/2002 9:38:53 PM PDT by LarryLied
LONDON (May 17, 2002 11:39 p.m. EDT) - Patriotism has been so strong in the United States since the Sept. 11 attacks that it sometimes prevents American journalists from asking tough questions about the war on terrorism, CBS News anchor Dan Rather said on British TV on Thursday night.
"What we are talking about here - whether one wants to recognize it or not, or call it by its proper name or not - is a form of self-censorship," Rather said on the British Broadcasting Corp. Newsnight TV show.
"It starts with a feeling of patriotism within oneself. It carries through with a certain knowledge that the country as a whole - and for all the right reasons - felt and continues to feel this surge of patriotism within themselves," he said.
"And one finds oneself saying, 'I know the right question, but you know what? This is not exactly the right time to ask it," said Rather.
As the BBC interview was being shown in Britain, the White House was facing questions about its decision not to alert the American public in the weeks before the Sept. 11 attacks that Osama bin Laden wanted to hijack U.S. airplanes.
Rather said that "patriotism run amok" is making it difficult for journalists to provide Americans with all the information they need about the war in Afghanistan and to hold the Bush administration accountable.
He also accused the Bush administration of failing to give journalists full access to the fighting and the information it has about the war.
"There has never been an American war, small or large, in which access has been so limited as this one," Rather said, adding that he was sorry to say that the American people have accepted these limitations.
Blather wouldn't know good journalism if it sat up and slapped him in the face.
DAN IS A LIAR. In World War II all war reporters were drafted into the army. They were forced to wear military uniforms with out badge of rank and call all officers SIR. They had the rank of a 2nd John. But were were considered to have less seniority than any commissioned 2nd john entited to wear the badge of rank. They reporters had to be saluted by enlisted men, but could not command them.
All NEWS reports had to be cleared by a military censor..Yes that was their title MILITARY Censor. A reporter who filed a story with his paper nor station, with out having it censored first was court marshalled. They would be tried by a military courts marshall. They were also paid by the military. They were in fact drafted members of the us army. In the European theater they has what ever access Eisenhower said they had today. And they had to get Military approval to report anything. In the Pacific theatre MacArthur was their boss. He was their commander.
War correspondents in world war II came under the UNIFORM CODE OF MILITARY JUSTICE. That means they had no constitutional rights to civilian justice. If Eisenhower or MacArthur wanted one of them shot, he would have been shot. That is the freedom they had in WWII.
Good stuff Common Tator, thanks.
Yeah, Dan, like the "difficult questions" you always had for the Scumbag administration, or the "difficult questions" you and your liberal ilk were always asking Senator Bride of Scumbag, before the 9/11 attacks. Okay, Dan.
If it means you are limited in what you can lie about Dan, we're all for it.
Sigh.Why dont you understand the clarity of Dan's world? He does know it all. We are all remiss in not worshipping him.After all, he was elected to.......
As the BBC interview was being shown in Britain, the White House was facing questions about its decision not to alert the American public in the weeks before the Sept. 11 attacks that Osama bin Laden wanted to hijack U.S. airplanes.
Rather said that "patriotism run amok" is making it difficult for journalists to provide Americans with all the information they need about the war in Afghanistan and to hold the Bush administration accountable.
The left wing media is frustrated. Rather and his biased media buddies would like to turn the public against the Bush administration but the people can no longer swallow their liberal tripe. Not because of patriotism, or lack of access to information, or censorship. The public overwhelmingly supports Bush. They believe that he is doing exactly what needs to be done to defeat our enemies.
None of the innuendos, claims of corruption, inside deals, or trumped up scandals have stuck to the Bush administration and it is driving the liberal press crazy. Fewer people are listening and they are getting desperate. It's conservatism run amok Dan, get used to it.
Is truth a victim?by Madeleine Holt
BBC Newsnight Arts correspondentOne of America's foremost newscasters, Dan Rather of CBS, says the US media has stopped asking tough questions of the Bush administration since 11 September.
And he blames a climate of extraordinary patriotism.
In an interview with Newsnight, the CBS anchorman says that fear of offending the politicians "keeps journalists from asking the toughest of the tough questions" and adds: "I do not except myself from this criticism."
Rather's anger is also aimed at a new kind of war coverage which has emerged since the terrorist attacks of last year.
Unprecedented access
It's been coined "Milatainment" - entertainment programmes about the military, which include the shows Military Diaries, American Fighter Pilot and Profiles from the Front Line.
Crucially, Milatainment is being produced with the co-operation of the Department of Defense, which is offering documentary makers unprecedented access.
Military Diaries is a 13 episode documentary for music channel VH1. It features personal stories from men and women on the front line talking about the music they listen to away from home.
Producer RJ Cutler, who was Oscar nominated for his Clinton campaign documentary in 1992, was allowed to hand out 80 digital cameras to service personnel to record their feelings for broadcast.
Editorial control
One of the episodes is about Operation Anaconda - the 17-day offensive to flush out al-Qaeda members from caves in eastern Afghanistan.
Mr Cutler says: "This is first hand eyewitness accounts with combat footage that no-one has ever seen before. This is the real thing."
He claims to have editorial control over his material, but admits that "anytime you can put a human face on a soldier or a sailor or a marine - I guess that's to the benefit of the Department of Defense."
A spokesman for the Pentagon told Newsnight that they consistently gave more access to news teams than to "reality TV" makers.
But he also said there were clear advantages in co-operating with entertainment producers, because they were less likely to "run off to Baghdad and film the flipside".
Rather argues that reality TV doesn't always reflect the truth.
Sensational images
He says: "What you see in a movie or a made-for-TV reality series is not war. It's somebody's glamourised view of war."
Mr Cutler responds in kind, saying that news is as keen to exploit sensational images for ratings.
He says: "They want loud headlines and external sensationalism and ideally, somebody's leg being blown up."
News reporter and reality TV director may have irreconcileable views about what kind of coverage is more truthful.
But Rather's fundamental concerns are with government accountability and journalistic integrity.
"There has never been an American war, small or large, in which access has been so limited as this one," says Rather.
News divisions appear to be carrying on as usual but journalists find it extremely difficult to verify information provided by the US Government, he contends.
Many stories are being half told, Rather argues, citing Operation Anaconda as one of many.
Uphill struggle
He says: "Limiting access, limiting information to cover the backsides of those who are in charge of the war is extremely dangerous and cannot and should not be accepted."
Rather faces an uphill struggle if he wants to teach the Pentagon how to run their war.
But he may well succeed in rallying journalists to go against the current swell of patriotism and ask those difficult questions.
"I would willingly die for my country at a moment's notice and on the command of my president," says Rather.
"Its unpatriotic not to stand up, look them in the eye, and ask the questions they don't want to hear."
Yet what Rather believes is in the public interest may not interest the American public - at least not yet.
"Freerepublic.com is where I get all my news, have you heard of them? Oh its fantastic! You should check it out!"
In front of every newsie as he slumps up to his office in terror of finding a pink slip in his Demoroidally correct in-basket...*EVIL glee begin!
Great Post LL!
I can't change the channel fast enough when I see the greasy Blithering SOB's face on the TV now... I hope he gets a good dose of London's night life...Most common crime...knife fights...
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