Posted on 11/10/2001 1:50:05 PM PST by Diogenesis
TALIBAN HOPES FOR WESTERN PROPAGANDA
The Qatarian television network Al-Jazeeras monopoly for the air seems to be coming to an end. The Taliban has allowed
two BBC workers to arrive in Kabul. This has taken place for the first time since the expulsion by the Taliban all foreign
correspondents from the country. Such a move on the part of the Taliban may have been caused the its dissatisfaction
with how the Qatarian network have been depicting the events. The network has failed, in the Talibans view, its
propaganda mouthpiece in its fight against the infidels.
Several weeks ago, the Taliban organized a show trip for a group of foreign correspondents to the Kandagar region, so
that those correspondents could see for themselves the devastation caused by US bombings.
Kathy Gannon, Associated Presss Islamabad bureau chief, is working there. She is the only Western journalist entitled to
cover events on Taliban-controlled territory of Afghanistan.
Seizure of Mazar-i-Sharif has virtually cleared the way for the Northern Alliances troops directly to Kabul, and the Taliban
cannot but take in into account. The Taliban also is not happy about yesterdays statement by one of Pashto tribes
leaders of their support for the anti-terror campaign in Afghanistan. The Taliban is now in urgent need for support from
the international community, not only from the Arab world. Masterly shot film footages of mass casualties among civilians
after carpet bombings are design to melt peoples hearts. Mass demonstrations protesting against the bombing of
Afghanistan in many countries are also supposed to take the desired effect. Ultimately, the Taliban is interested in
convening an international conference on Afghanistan under UN aegis, where the Talibans stance would be advocated
by Moslem countries. It also cannot be ruled out that some in the Taliban leadership, having realized the futility of further
fighting, may be trying to show their inclination towards America.
Dmitri Litvinovich PRAVDA.Ru Read the original in Russian
Moral of the story --- Without NBC, CBS, CNN, and ABC they are gone NOW.
No surprise. The BBC has been doing excellent work for the Taliban, just as good as al-Jazeera.
That's going to be a little difficult, considering the UN still recognizes Rabbani as the leader of Afghanistan.
1) The business of journalism is nonfiction entertainment. They can "buy ink by the barrel"--but that is true precisely because they make the money by attracting an audience. And the fact that they attract an audience does not make them more moral than you or me--their money is no cleaner than yours or mine.
2) Journalism entertains by following a formula: promise truth but deliver titilation. Scare the audience into not ignoring you by attacking the things, people, and institutions upon whom the public must depend. Tell the story quick so the audience hasn't heard it first from someone else and can ignore you.
3) Journalism maintains its facade of "objective truthtelling" primarily by avoiding controversy with other journalists. If one journalist says "A (nicotine, SUVs, the ozone layer, whatever) is an important threat to the public" it is bad form and counterproductive to dispute it--that would make work for everyone, and caues questions about the objectivity of both parties. In other words, "cooperate and graduate".
4) "Liberal" politicians simply join the chorus of journalists attacking the things, people, and institutions upon whom the public must depend. That places the propaganda wind at their back--and moots any claim that journalists are independent of liberal politics; liberal politics is just journalism without the deadlines.
5) Inasmuch as journalism is systematically negative and superficial it is NOT "the first draft of history" but the first draft of a Democratic party platform.
6) Newspapers are part of the press, and thus are protected by the First Amendment. But "the press" includes books and other printed matter and does not include any form of broadcasting. Not because broadcasting was invented after the First Amendment was ratified--IMHO the Internet fits the First Amendment model perfectly--but because nothing the FCC does would pass First Amendment muster if applied to printing presses.
7) Because indeed the Constitution was designed and instituted before the advent of telecommunications of any sort, broadcast journalism is not necessary. Of course, the Constitution was designed for an electorate which understood that the character of the congressmen and--and especially of the POTUS--were crucial. The idea that the people can trust journalism to provide them with a true and complete understanding politics adequate to obviate the need for honesty and integrity in the capitol is arrant nonsense put out by purveyors of "objective" journalism.
8) The conclusion is that the FCC and its licensees should be sued to require them to cease and desist from allowing/perpetrating broadcast journalism. The Florida fiasco is the most obvious tort; the Bush faction would have given a lot of money to buy off that erroneous call for Gore, if given the time and opportunity to raise it. And however much they (we) would have raised is how much was illegally contributed to Gore.
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