pentagon pundits

Pentagon "Spokesdrone" Does First Press Conference

mthompson — Thu, 07 Aug 2008 07:28:18 -0700

A sign of things to come? Following on the heels of the "Pentagon pundit" scandal, The Onion offers a glimpse of the Pentagon's future press strategy...

‘Daily Show’ Slams Big Media’s Version of Journalism

Ira Horowitz — Fri, 20 Jun 2008 05:37:00 -0700

The mainstream media’s latest pseudo-news obsession was exposed on Monday night’s episode of “The Daily Show with Jon Stewart,” when host Stewart mocked the media for its role in spreading false and often ridiculous rumors about Sen. Barack Obama. Stewart shows clips from several network news anchors repeating Internet rumors as fact or real news.

Pentagon Pundits, Media Reform and Talking Back to Bill O'Reilly

Stevie Converse — Wed, 11 Jun 2008 09:18:51 -0700

As Paul Schmelzer wrote on the Minnesota Independent website, "There were two National Conferences on Media Reform in Minneapolis over the weeken

FCC Commissioner Jonathan Adelstein Speaks at National Conference for Media Reform

Stevie Converse — Wed, 11 Jun 2008 09:08:34 -0700

Last night, Dan Rather validated all of our deepest concerns and worst fears about how corporate media has abandoned its sense of responsibility. To make a buck, they are transforming real journalism into infotainment.

Attack on White House Propaganda

Stevie Converse — Mon, 02 Jun 2008 10:50:36 -0700

There is growing momentum in Washington for a crackdown on government-issued information.

Because of a small addition to a bill that passed the House of Representatives, the inspector general of the Department of Defense (DOD) and the Government Accountability Office (GAO) may be joining the FCC in investigating the Bush administration's “embedded analyst” program.

McClellan and the Enablers

Timothy Karr — Mon, 02 Jun 2008 06:34:47 -0700

For all the press attention swirling around Scott McClellan's explosive tell-all, there's a brewing back story that's making Katie Couric and Charles Gibson squirm. And they're not alone.

Selling a War

Stevie Converse — Fri, 30 May 2008 08:22:22 -0700

The U.S. House of Representatives has angrily and appropriately lashed out at a Pentagon program that used retired senior military officers as propaganda surrogates to sell the Iraq war.

GAO, Pentagon's IG Investigate Military TV Analysts

Stevie Converse — Fri, 30 May 2008 07:38:10 -0700

The Defense Department's inspector general (IG) as well as the General Accountability Office (GAO) began investigations last week into the Pentagon's private briefings of retired military analysts.

Reporter Admits to Pro-War Pressure from Network Execs

mthompson — Thu, 29 May 2008 10:04:23 -0700

CNN's Jessica Yellin revealed that news executives at MSNBC actively pushed her not do hard-hitting pieces on the administration during the run up to the war in Iraq.

Amendment Targets Embedded-Analyst Program

Stevie Converse — Thu, 29 May 2008 06:02:32 -0700

It looks like the inspector general of the Defense Department and the Government Accountability Office may be joining the Federal Communications Commission in investigating the Bush administration's “embedded analyst” program.

Place this Ad: Put the Propaganda Problem Before Washington

Neal Bastek — Tue, 27 May 2008 16:25:59 -0700

The media still refuse to cover the outrageous Pentagon propaganda scandal. But thanks to your help we placed this ad in The Hill on May 23 to send a message to Washington:

We won't let the Pentagon -- and its Big Media enablers -- get away with manipulating and deceiving the public.

House Aims at Pentagon Propaganda on Iraq War

Stevie Converse — Tue, 27 May 2008 07:57:24 -0700

The House of Representatives moved Thursday to crack down on a Pentagon program that Democrats say planted false and overly optimistic news stories about the Iraq war, using military analysts who appeared regularly on television.

Military Public Relations Effort Faces Inquiry

Stevie Converse — Tue, 27 May 2008 04:41:27 -0700

The Pentagon's internal watchdog is investigating a government public relations effort that relied on retired military officers to defend the administration's Iraq war policies.

DeLauro Fights Use of Retired Generals to Justify Iraq War

Stevie Converse — Tue, 27 May 2008 04:25:02 -0700

Rep. Rosa DeLauro's long-standing frustration about government propaganda has been reactivated by the recent revelation that the Bush administration recruited retired generals and armed them with the administration's pro-war message to deliver on television news shows.

Two Inquiries Set on Pentagon Publicity Effort

Stevie Converse — Tue, 27 May 2008 04:10:44 -0700

The inspector general’s office at the Defense Department announced on Friday that it would investigate a Pentagon public affairs program that sought to transform retired military officers who work as television and radio analysts into “message force multipliers” who could be counted on to echo Bush administration talking points about Iraq, Afghanistan, Guantánamo and terrorism in general.

White House Says Pentagon Propaganda Program Similar to Writing for a 'Liberal Blog'

Stevie Converse — Tue, 20 May 2008 06:24:16 -0700

Earlier this month, the Pentagon released a document dump in response to the New York Times’s expose on its military analyst program.

Famed War Reporter Calls Pentagon/Media 'Propaganda' Program Illegal

Stevie Converse — Fri, 16 May 2008 05:32:25 -0700

A Pentagon spokesman, in response to the "media generals" revelations said this week that Donald Rumsfeld had reached out to critics as well, citing Joe Galloway one. Here Galloway responds.

Networks still ignoring Pentagon Pundits scandal

mthompson — Tue, 13 May 2008 08:58:41 -0700

Despite the emergence of damning new audio tapes, the major networks continue to ignore the Pentagon Pundits scandal. But the netroots and independent media are keeping the story alive -- and pushing for a full Congressional investigation.

Four-Star Elephant in the (News)room

Stevie Converse — Tue, 13 May 2008 08:28:08 -0700

On the heels of an April 20 New York Times investigative report exposing the hidden relationship between media military analysts and the Pentagon and defense industries, Media Matters for America today exclusively released an accounting of the analysts identified in the Times exposé

Why Big Media Needs Propaganda to Survive

Stevie Converse — Fri, 09 May 2008 10:09:59 -0700

The mainstream media are as likely to report on Pentagon propaganda — and thus, themselves — as President Bush is likely to cede that “mission accomplished” was poor phrasing. That is, it ain’t ever gonna happen.