DB: Talk about evolving U.S. policy in Colombia. The Interhemispheric Resource Center in Albuquerque has issued a statement: “U.S. Policy in Colombia: Towards a Vietnam Quagmire.” Do you think that’s an appropriate analogy? The New York Times writes in an editorial titled “Dangerous Plans for Colombia” that the aid to Colombia “risks dragging the United States into a costly counterinsurgency war.” Continue reading NOAM CHOMSKY: BEHIND THE HEADLINES ON COLOMBIA. AN INTERVIEW by David Barsamian.
The air attack on Afghanistan began at 8:57 p.m. local time on October 7. The following day, Reuters carried an interview with a 16-year-old ice cream vendor from Jalalabad who said he had lost his leg and two fingers in a Cruise missile strike on an airfield near his home:
“There was just a roaring sound, and then I opened my eyes and I was in a hospital,” said Assadullah, who had been taken across the border to Peshawar for medical help. “I lost my leg and two fingers. There were other people hurt. People were running all over the place.” Continue reading WHO WILL COUNT THE DEAD? U.S. MEDIA FAIL TO REPORT CIVILIAN CASUALTIES IN AFGHANISTAN. By Marc W. Herold.
Despite its auspicious and promising beginning, the Public Broadcasting Service largely has failed its congressional mandate. PBS was supposed to compensate for the inadequacies of advertiser-driven network programming by providing, in the words of its mandate, an “alternative” that expresses “diversity and excellence,” involves “creative risks,” and addresses “the needs of the unserved and underserved audiences.” Continue reading PBS SHUTS OUT INDEPENDENT PRODUCERS. by Jerold M. Starr.
Under intense lobbying pressure and lawsuits brought by corporate media, the federal government is now considering removing the last few media-ownership limits. These rules–intended to protect diversity of viewpoints, competition and local ownership– keep major TV networks from merging into one and prevent a single company from dominating the local TV market or owning a town’s local newspaper, TV and radio station. Continue reading ACTIVISTS FIGHT MEDIA CONSOLIDATION: FCC DROPPING OWNERSHIP LIMITS by Aliza Dichter
Produced in San Francisco, the radio program Street Soldiers is well known as a live forum for youth to talk openly about their experiences with gang violence, crime, drugs, pregnancy, and countless other issues. Antiviolence activists credit the program with saving lives by mediating conflicts through dialogue and providing an on- and off-air system of social support. Continue reading STREET SOLDIERS SILENCED BY MEDIA MERGER, by Laura Saponara
The convergence of activists on the recent World Trade Organization meetings in Seattle signaled not only worldwide concern about the effects of globalization, but also the emergence of a well-organized and increasingly sophisticated network of internationalist media campaigners based both in and outside the media world. While the Internet plays a significant role in linking far-flung participants and disseminating information, these grassroots activists are not reliant on computer connections. They’re using a variety of old and new media–face-to-face communications, leafletting, and street art, along with radio, video, and websites–to organize with social justice movements at every level. Continue reading INTERNATIONAL MEDIA CAMPAIGNS WIN VICTORIES, by Dorothy Kidd
“We will have to repent in this generation not merely for the vitriolic words and actions of the bad people, but for the appalling silence of the good.”
–Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.
I saw the ad in the last issue of MediaFile soliciting signatures for the writers’ petition in support of a fair trial for Mumia Abu-Jamal. I am signing the petition and would like to share my reasons for doing so. Continue reading MUMIA’S TRIAL — THE SMELL OF SMOKE, by Margot Pepper
Media coverage plays a crucial role in educating the public on disability issues. It could–and should–be helping people understand that these are civil-rights issues. But more often than not, reporting on disability perpetuates negative stereotypes or fails to tell the story from the perspective of people with disabilities. Continue reading REPORTING ON DISABILITY, by Suzanne C. Levine
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