John Zogby on Manipulation of the Media

[TexasLawyer]

From Arab News

http://www.arabnews.com/?page=7§ion=0&article=58164&d=28&m=1&y=2005

Image, Message and the Media
Dr. James J. Zogby, [e-mail]

In a media saturated democratic society like the US, the relationship between the media and those who govern it is both intimate and complex. Presidents are elected because they know how to present their message in the media and how to manipulate and control media

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Similarly, in the lead-up to the invasion of Iraq, the second Bush administration used the power of the presidency and the public’s insecurity resulting from 9/11 to move a pliant national media to build the campaign for war.

The media was, in all these instances, managed in the service of policy and governing, and did not play an independent role in examining administration campaign efforts. As I’ve noted earlier, too often, media merely “records and reports” what government officials say and does not search for the truth. In fact, only when major dissident voices were raised did the media cover “the other side” and then, in a “he said-she said” format. Thus it was, in the lead-up to the Iraq war, that only after “quotables” like former National Security Advisor Brent Scowcroft spoke out, or when former Vermont Governor and presidential candidate Howard Dean built a bottom-up campaign in opposition to the war, were serious questions about Iraq policy raised in the mainstream media.

These challenges have been further fed by new questions that are now being asked, now that stubborn Iraqi realities have defied the administration’s fantasy scenario about the war’s successes. The administration’s response to all of this has been vigorous and sustained. They have denigrated opponents, preyed on fear and relied on patriotic fervor, and managed an effective counter media campaign effort to win the day with public opinion — at least for now.

And so it is that while technically free of government influence, US media is nevertheless profoundly influenced by political and governmental factors. And the interrelationship of political, cultural and commercial consideration combine to make the US media more responsive to these pressures and as a result less free and less inquisitive.

— Dr. James J. Zogby is president, Arab-American Institute based in Washington.