Backspin for War: The Convenience of Denial
The man who ran CNN’s news operation during the invasion of Iraq is now doing damage control in response to a new documentary’s evidence that he kowtowed to the Pentagon on behalf of the cable network. His current denial says a lot about how “liberal media” outlets remain deeply embedded in the mindsets of pro-military conformity.
Days ago, the former CNN executive publicly defended himself against a portion of the “War Made Easy” film (based on my book of the same name) that has drawn much comment from viewers since the documentary’s release earlier this summer. As Inter Press Service reported, the movie shows “a news clip of Eason Jordan, a CNN News chief executive who, in an interview with CNN, boasts of the network’s cadre of professional ‘military experts.’ In fact, CNN’s retired military generals turned war analysts were so good, Eason said, that they had all been vetted and approved by the U.S. government.”
Inter Press called the vetting-and-approval process “shocking” — and added that “in a country revered for its freedom of speech and unfettered press, Eason’s comments would infuriate any veteran reporter who upholds the most basic and important tenet of the journalistic profession: independence.”
But Eason Jordan doesn’t want us to see it that way. And he has now fired back via an article in IraqSlogger, which calls itself “the world’s premier Iraq-focused Web site.” Jordan runs that Web site.
The journalist who wrote the Aug. 14 article, Christina Davidson, was in an awkward spot: “War Made Easy” directly criticizes her boss, and it was the subject of the article.
Davidson’s only assessment of the film that wasn’t favorable had to do with its criticisms of Jordan. “While there’s no doubt that journalistic laziness contributed to the uncritical re-broadcasting of the Bush administration’s official line,” she wrote, “Solomon takes it a little too far in trying to make the case that all of the cable networks were actively complicit in promoting the war. Solomon bases his reasoning primarily on one choice quote from Eason Jordan, former CNN news chief and current CEO of IraqSlogger’s parent company, Praedict.”
In fact, the film provides a wide range of evidence that “all of the cable networks were actively complicit in promoting the war” — the result of chronic biases rather than “journalistic laziness.” And CNN, like the rest of the cable news operations, comes in for plenty of tough scrutiny in the documentary. As the magazine Variety noted in a review of “War Made Easy” a few days ago, “Fox News is predictably bashed here, but supposedly neutral CNN gets it even harder.”
CNN is among the news outlets at the core of the myth of “the liberal media” — perpetuated, in part, by the fact that people are often overly impressed by the significance of rhetorical attacks on some media organizations by more conservative outlets. (Before his resignation from CNN in 2005, Eason Jordan was himself subjected to denunciations from the right — for allegedly skewing news coverage to curry favor with the Baghdad government during Saddam’s rule and, after the invasion, for reportedly stating that U.S. troops had targeted some journalists in Iraq.) But antipathy from right-wing pundits is hardly an indication of journalistic independence.
Stretching to defend Jordan’s CNN record, IraqSlogger complains that the CEO of its parent company is unfairly characterized in the film: “Solomon assumes that Jordan was seeking the blessing of Pentagon officials on the propriety of his choices, when in fact he was just doing a boss’s duty.”
The article then provides a quote from Jordan, supplying his explanation to set the record straight: “Employers routinely vet prospective employees with their previous employers. In these cases, we vetted retired generals to ensure they were experts in specific military and geographic areas. The generals were not vetted for political views.”
The explanation can only flunk the laugh test.
Eason Jordan was CNN’s chief news executive when, on April 20, 2003 (a month after U.S. troops invaded Iraq), he appeared on CNN and revealed that he’d gotten the Defense Department’s approval of which retired high-ranking officers to put on the network’s payroll. “I went to the Pentagon myself several times before the war started and met with important people there and said, for instance — ‘At CNN, here are the generals we’re thinking of retaining to advise us on the air and off about the war’ — and we got a big thumbs-up on all of them. That was important.”
With war euphoria riding high, Jordan was eager to shore up his — and CNN’s — image as cooperative pals of the nation’s military commanders. Now, Jordan is trying some backspin with the claim that he was merely checking job references.
“Often journalists blame the government for the failure of the journalists themselves to do independent reporting,” I note in the documentary. “But nobody forced the major networks like CNN to do so much commentary from retired generals and admirals and all the rest of it.” What Jordan did on behalf of CNN “wasn’t even something to hide, ultimately. It was something to say to the American people on his own network, ‘See, we’re team players. We may be the news media, but we’re on the same side and the same page as the Pentagon.’ And that really runs directly counter to the idea of an independent press. And that suggests that we have some deep patterns of media avoidance when the U.S. is involved in a war based on lies.”
Part of that deadly avoidance comes when powerful news executives do the bidding of the Pentagon — and then, later on, claim that they did nothing of the kind.
The new documentary film “War Made Easy: How Presidents and Pundits Keep Spinning Us to Death” is based on Norman Solomon’s book of the same title. For information about the full-length movie, narrated by SeanPenn and produced by the Media Education Foundation, go to: www.WarMadeEasyTheMovie.org
They don’t call it “Military Industrial Complex” for nothing. How do you like the ride?
Anyone opposed to what this country has been turned into who is still watching the MSM and, worse, supporting their advertisers, needs to rethink their definition of forcing change. If we did less whining and more voting with our wallets, the Exxons and CNNs of the world would either evolve in order to earn our money, or die. Yet, this summer, for example, SUV sales remain strong and Americans are driving more than ever. The only way that’s possible is if WE, the dedicated opposition, are not doing our job. And that’s why the situation continues to worsen - because we have shown “them” that no matter what they do, we will still hand over our hard earned dollars.
Fight back with every penny. Now, more than ever, we get what we pay for, whether it’s cheap poison toys from China or lying, thieving lobbyist-in-training Congressional “reps.” If we can’t even manage to simply buy from those not doing their best to screw us, we deserve whatever catastrophes befall us.
Did anyone catch the news that the suicide rate in the US army is at its highest in 26 years?
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/6950158.stm
It is curiously missing (at this time 16:31 EDT) from the US MSM, though it is being widely carried by the world press.
more like “Corporate Media Military Industry Complex”
Shane, os you think the Bush Misadminitration will declare the military suicidees as “Terrorists” for atacking US Personnel?
“We Report, Bush Decides Who Reports”
No Constitution, no free press, just what is the truth that shall set us free? Why not take this September 11th off and stay home from work, school, shopping and such, and talk with friends, family, and neighbors, and find out. Before you’re drafted to fight in Iran are then are to busy trying to stay alive to discuss anything?
Media pundits should be required to report their accuracy ratings. Some of these guys on the air are not correct 5% of the time.
I forget the jerk’s name but one of these pundits has been saying we should wait 6 months in Iraq to give the military a chance to succeed. He has been saying this every month for over 6 years. Only the hosts of these shows seem to buy it.
If you had on cable news channel 1, an unbiased panel discussion with the worlds most qualified foreign policy experts and on cable news channel 2, a recap of Paris Hilton’s latest adventures, guess what? Channel 2 gets 5 times the viewership. That’s what we’re dealing with in this country.
Gosh, the coordinated truck bombing in Iraq which killed 400, at latest count, is a comment on the effectiveness of the surge. It hasn’t drawn much attention. Wonder if it will be mentioned in the Petraus report?
RE: pundit post at 5:01 this morning.
If I’m not mistaken, I believe the good general’s name is pronounced “Betray Us”. At least that’s how I think it’ll sound on September 15th.
Peace
For those interested in a psychological analysis of warmongering, I have recently completed a 10-minute online video entitled “Resisting the Drums of War.” It examines how the Bush administration has promoted the misguided and destructive war in Iraq by targeting five core concerns that often govern our lives–concerns about vulnerability, injustice, distrust, superiority, and helplessness. Looking ahead, the continuing occupation of Iraq–or an attack on Iran–will likely be sold to us in much the same way. The video examines these warmongering appeals and how to counter them. It’s available for viewing HERE.
Even if the media was jsut being lazy and not complicit on purpose, any idiot could have seen that this was was built on lies right ffrom the beginning! It was obvious to me and I’m not even a journalist. Anybody whose job it is to be informed and inform others has no excuse whoatsoever!
I am amazed that they can get anything out of our military. The fact that they come up with some of the stories and have proof takes a lot of investigative journalism. This so called administration is perhaps THE most secretive ever. The old adage was “what you don’t know can’t hurt you. It seems like their adage is, what you know can hurt them.
I don’t suppose Solomon is waiting for Petraeus’s September report with baited breath.
If Congress represented the progressive spirit found in the public, and had some courage, it would commission an independent report of its own liking to serve as its own source.
Interesting clip Roy. But with all due respect, we need information as to how to remedy the current situation. Not more clips and information on how we got to this point. Repeating over and over how we got here isn’t going to get us the answers we seek or the justice due. I want information as to why for several weeks before the invasion, stations like the History channel, Geographic Explorer, etc, kept playing over and over a show of a scientist claiming Saddom had all the weapons this administration claimed he had. And the ability to go nuclear again. Information as to why the aluminum tubes report were falsified after knowing the truth of them. Why this administration isn’t being brought up on charges for the falsification, of not only the tubes, but other issues also. Why the Iraqi scientist I mentioned above now lives comfortably in the U.S. having not been prosecuted for playing his part in this administrations deceit. Why none of the few members of congress and senate that opposed this illegal occupation made it to our tv screens to inform us of the truth. With the insight and information in which they have better access to, to educate us on. Why the media isn’t being dismantled and brought up on charges for not fulfilling the constitutional rights/duties given to them by our founding fathers. Seemingly conspiring with the present administration. How does a poll(favoring a war with Iraq) the night of invasion (bombing) go from the mid 30’s, to low 70’s the next morning in the media. I could probably spend the rest of the day, OR, find one of the few list of criminal activities per this administration, that have been posted on the internet to copy and paste, as to what we the people need answers to. That continue to go unchecked and or investigated. AND! why is our congress and senate not proceeding with their constitutional rights/duties to perform those investigations. WHY! many of themselves aren’t being investigated for their rubber stamping, knowing the true facts, making them conspirators. When they should be using those rights and duties to form unprecedented record breaking committees to engage in their duties. All other issues should come to a total stop until we solve the peril this administration has put this nation in with its blatant deceit, placed not only on us as a country, but the world as a whole!!! I think our States can manage until the nation puts this perilous act behind us.
Kinky said: “But with all due respect, we need information as to how to remedy the current situation.”
The answer is far too obvious.
The media should be prosecuted for war crimes in the same manner as the other masters of war. There is a very long list of those in postions of information power as well as political power who knowingly perpetrated the crimes. Corporate incest most of the time.
Much of our nation is complicit, but unlike Germany there will never be a Nuremberg for the crimes in Iraq.
Funny this article drew few comments when the national psychosis created by media is one of the root causes of the horror.
However, just by putting all the cards on the table, we make it more difficult for the same tricks to be used again.
Thank you Mr. Solomon for your clear reporting.