Monday, February 12, 2007

Independent Media in a time of war

Vocal polemicist and host of Democracy Now!, Amy Goodman, discusses the way American reporting has degenerated into something identical to State-sponsored media. We're not just talking about Fox News either. Some of the most venerable news outlets, such as CNN, is placed under Goodman's microscope, and it's tragic to find how lop-sided toward the military American coverage is. A highlight from the short, 30-minute documentary is Amy's suggestion that 24-hour networks invite doctors along with retired Generals onto their evening "newscasts" to inform people of how the recently-deployed bombs the General talked about in the previous segment effects the human targets on the ground.

A major theme presented in the film is the power of images. For a deeper analysis on the topic the ever-illuminating Susan Sontag wrote an exquisite book entitled Regarding the Pain of Others and is well worth your time.


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