-Caveat Lector-
http://www.idmedia.com/mediacoverup.htm
The Media's Role in Federal Government
Cover-ups
By Jean Duffey
Most Americans, regardless of their political persuasion, have an abiding
distrust for our federal government. We know our national leaders lie to us,
but we feel helpless to do anything about it. Forthright investigators are
discredited for trying to reveal the truth, (See Investigators, Bill Duncan
and Russell Welch) and whistle-blowers are punished, while
"team-players" are rewarded. We hear about shredded or lost documents,
but no one is held accountable. We are weary of Congressional hearings
that tip-toe around the real issues or go into closed-door sessions in the
name of "national security." Our federal government has too much power,
and we have none. Worse still, we are in a Catch-22 situation - power
corrupts and we bestow that power via the polls.
Not too many years ago, news reporters seemed to do a better job of
holding our leaders accountable. Our Constitutional right (and protection)
of "freedom of the press" still exists, but it doesn't seem to be doing much
for us lately. That's because our federal government controls the press. Oh
please - not another conspiracy theory!
I truly hate to suggest a conspiracy explanation of anything. Mainstream
Americans generally won't buy it, and mainstream media's favorite
sarcastic topic for editorials, at least in Arkansas, is "conspiracy nuts."
(Arkansas Democrat-Gazette's Editorials "This week's conspiracy
theory" and "Conspiracies behind every rock") So, imagine how vicious the
suggestion of a conspiracy might be attacked by the media if they are
accused of being involved themselves. However, I'm going to stick to this
conspiracy theory, but bear with me - I will qualify the role of the media.
I think every American can accept as fact that our federal government is
engaged in a deliberate and calculated cover-up of information. Federal
officials, appointed and elected, have many secrets. Some secrets may be
kept legitimately for purposes of national security, but some secrets are
nothing more than a cover-up of the dirty deals and illegal activities of our
officials. This is where the conspiracy begins - with dirty officials
protecting
themselves and other dirty officials, which expands to officials protecting
their cronies for favors, which expands to staff members who are
rewarded for their loyalty. This web of protection and deceit is next to
impossible to escape. Those who have tried to expose it are handily
discredited or even destroyed, because the government is in charge of
investigating the government.
At one time, the media was supportive of a legitimate whistle-blower but
not these days. That's because they're part of the conspiracy, and here is
how I want to qualify that accusation. There are different levels of
culpability, and I don't believe the media deliberately participates in the
conspiracy. They are, however, negligent and maybe even reckless. So,
am I saying media reporters, editors, and producers/publishers are
ignorant? No, I'm saying they're lazy. So, am I accusing them of being
unethical? Absolutely.
My notion revolves around the media's acceptance of the government's
"official" position on a subject. Once a government agency has taken an
"official" position, mainstream media, especially network news, will not
challenge it. This is not just an observation, it is an unwritten policy
confirmed by several seasoned reporters. The deaf, dumb, and blind
acceptance of an "official" press release from the government fits very
nicely into the American way of life - do as little as is necessary to get
that
paycheck. Put in your eight-hour day, but no longer without compensation.
Exert enough effort to keep the boss off your back, and, by all means,
don't make waves.
My brother very eloquently describes today's method of reporting as the
three R's - rip, read, and write. The government takes advantage of this
three R's method by employing their own news writers to feed the lazy
media. There are a reported 10,000-plus federal employees who are
responsible for inundating the media with press releases. Just think about
that for a minute and try to iminage how many press releases are being sent
every day to every major news media source in the world. All a reporter
has to do is rip a news release off his fax, and he's got his article for the
day. And the real beauty of it is, he doesn't even have to verify the
information or its source. It doesn't matter if the information is inaccurate
or
even a bald-faced lie - it's an "official" statement from the government, so
the reporter's butt is covered.
On the other hand, what happens if an ambitious reporter wants to
investigate the dubious subject of a government news release? He (or she)
enters the game with three strikes against him. Strike one: The rest of the
media has already given the government's "official" position credibility by
reporting it as factual. Strike two: The government agency who put out
the release is the keeper of some, if not all, of the evidence proving the
information is not accurate. Strike three: If the reporter discovers a fraud,
the rest of the media attacks the work and defends their originally reported
position (either because they have been made to look like lazy fools, or
because they don't want to disturb their cushy status quo three R's method
of getting information, or both).
Bottom line - a forthright investigative reporter who challenges the
establishment will have hell to pay. Just ask Gary Webb, Micah Morrison,
Chris Ruddy and Emmett Tyrrell, to name a few. This is not to say those
reporters don't make mistakes. After all, look what they're up against.
They had to dig up censored information the old-fashioned way; I believe
they called it wearing out the shoe leather or something like that. Rather
than giving these gritty reporters a pat on the back, the rest of the media
turn on them. Instead of following up the investigative reporters information
and joining the effort to dig for more, they attempt to discredit the
reporter,
and they take up the government's banner and defend that ever-sacred
"official" position.
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