Media and Propaganda : A Quality Interview

POSTED BY: Howard
UPDATED: Saturday, May 31, 2025 22:18
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HOWARD

Wednesday, October 19, 2005 1:29 AM

Media and Propaganda:
Kasim Tirmizey interviews David Barsamian
October 17, 2005

David Barsamian is the founder of Alternative Radio, a weekly un-embedded public affairs radio program that can be heard on community radio stations across North America. Some of his books include Imperial Ambitions with Noam Chomsky, Eqbal Ahmad: Confronting Empire, and The Checkbook and the Cruise Missile: Conversations with Arundhati Roy. This interview was taken on a sunny morning in October of 2005 in Montreal.

KT: I read that you said "When the US marches to war, the media march with it". Could explain broadly how media is often in service of empire?

DB: Well particularly in the United States where five corporations basically control what most Americans see, hear, and read, these corporations have very close economic, political, and I dare say emotional ties with power. They identify with the state, and they subordinate their cameras and their microphones to the interest of the state. Particularly in time of war where there is much jingoistic hysteria, flag waving, and nationalist fervour; the media, much of the media, not all, much of the media see themselves as being instruments of American destiny, whatever that might mean, or American power. We saw that very clearly with Iraq and Afghanistan, but also historically, the Vietnam War, the attacks on Laos and Cambodia, these went unchallenged for years. The media internalized the basic assumptions that are generated by the state, that such and such country is a threat to the United States, that becomes the basis of discussion, and then the dialogue, it is more of a monologue then a dialogue, then occurs between the pundits, between the experts, from these golden rolodexes of intellectuals and favoured thinkers, such as Michael Ignatieff of Canada, David Frum, and others. [The discussion is about] How to implement the policy, so should the US attack Iraq with 200,000 troops or 150,000 troops? Should it invade from Turkey and Kuwait, or just from Kuwait? Should there be a bombing campaign initially, or a land campaign? This is the discourse, so you see how corrupt the situation is in the United States, the media do not challenge the basic assumptions, no one says “what right does the United States have in invading any country under international law, its illegal”. I will give you an example, the New York Times is considered to be a liberal newspaper, it is all the news that is fit to print, it is kind of the US Global and Mail, the national serious newspaper, it not for common people, it is for the managers and the owners, and the political and cultural elite. From September 11, 2001 until the attack on Iraq in March 2003, the New York Times had 70 editorials on Iraq, in not one of those editorials did they mention the United Nations Charter, or the Nuremberg Tribunals, or the Geneva Conventions. All of which, particularly the United Nations Charter, specifically state that the planning and waging of aggressive war, that is a first strike on a country that is not threatening you, is the supreme international war crime. Now, why didn't they write that, why didn't they inform their readers, maybe they didn't know? That's not plausible, of course they knew, it was deliberately left out so that information would not become part of the political discourse.

KT: Do you see this as something [that happened] in previous empires, that media would also be marching with [empire]?

DB: Well, the history of media as we know it is not that old, we can go back to the birth of propaganda which actually occurs in the World War I period, where the British and Americans launched a sophisticated campaign to demonize the Germans. In the case of the United States, an actual propaganda agency was created by the Woodrow Wilson administration, someone who is considered a liberal in US history. This was the birth of, literally, modern propaganda. Such luminaries as Walter Lippman and Edward Bernays were members of this what was called the Creel Commission, it was designed to whip up suppor

GEEZER

Wednesday, October 19, 2005 11:00 PM

I tried to read this whole interview, but hit a couple of stopping points.

First let's talk about media bias:

"KT: I read that you said "When the US marches to war, the media march with it". Could explain broadly how media is often in service of empire?"

Empire? Well, glad the interviewer doesn't have an agenda.

And then...how about an elementary spell and grammar check?

"...they setup (sic) a Ministry of Propaganda, they had a very clever propagandist as it's director Joseph Gerbils(sic)."

Joseph Gerbils. (chortle) Sounds so warm and fuzzy. Small mouselike rodents with long hind legs and a long tail. Or maybe they meant Joseph Goebbels?

"Keep the Shiny side up"

HOWARD

Thursday, October 20, 2005 4:14 AM

I was going to alter the error but as the
error occured in the rush transcript I left
it in. I did see it. Not everyone is Anglo-
Saxon and Northern European language raised.
I put it down to a quirk of immigrant
phoneticism.

After all English and German speakers are just
as prone to making spelling errors on Hindi or
Farsi, Arabic or Vietnamese names. To such an
extent that famous persons from those cultures
are more often referred to via nicknames or
other kinds of abbreviated monicas.

David B would not make that mistake he was
speaking it. Someone else transcribed it.

CANTTAKESKY

Thursday, October 20, 2005 7:48 PM

I agree Gerbils is obviously the mistake of the transcriber, though the publication should have proofread the transcript. Goebbels pronounced in English does sound like Gerbils. (Chuckle.)

From Merriam Webster Dictionary:
Main Entry: em·pire
Pronunciation: 'em-"pIr
Function: noun
Etymology: Middle English, from Old French empire, empirie, from Latin imperium absolute authority, empire, from imperare
1 a (1) : a major political unit having a territory of great extent or a number of territories or peoples under a single sovereign authority; especially : one having an emperor as chief of state (2) : the territory of such a political unit b : something resembling a political empire; especially : an extensive territory or enterprise under single domination or control
2 : imperial sovereignty, rule, or dominion

I can see the USA described as an empire, especially in this context. They are examining the effects of a formidable, monolithic political entity on media. Empire is not inaccurate, IMHO.

Can't Take My Gorram Sky

SIGNYM

Saturday, October 22, 2005 12:47 AM

You should check out this website

www.mediamatters.org

BY the way, I was impressed with the interview. Barsamian has the ability to convey insights and a masterful command of the factual detail- names, places, processes- to back them up. And have you ever been interviewed and recorded? I can guarantee you it's NOT going to come out like that! Kudos for an interesting piece.

Please don't think they give a shit.

JAYNEZTOWN

Thursday, July 13, 2023 8:19 PM

Russia's war against Ukraine will be Biden's Afghanistan 2.0
https://www.foxnews.com/opinion/russia-war-against-ukraine-biden-afgha
nistan
Russia, Ukraine, and US are unwilling to change goals to reduce conflict

JAYNEZTOWN

Saturday, October 28, 2023 4:24 AM

and there are Israeli Jews who might lie but the Arabs can take the stupidity to a whole other level

Palestinian blogger “miraculously” healed in one day from "Israeli bombing".
Yesterday, he was “hospitalized,” today, he is walking and walking like nothing happened.
https://twitter.com/HananyaNaftali/status/1717602451769967043
I don't watch Netflix because Pallywood propaganda is the actual comedy.

JAYNEZTOWN

Tuesday, November 26, 2024 8:51 PM

Move Over Nero, Trudeau Dances While Montreal Burns

https://pjmedia.com/sarah-anderson/2024/11/24/trudeau-dances-while-mon
treal-burns-n4934590

Western media ‘parrots Israeli propaganda’ over Gaza, says analyst

https://asiapacificreport.nz/2024/11/16/western-media-parrots-israeli-
propaganda-over-gaza-says-analyst/

JAYNEZTOWN

Friday, May 16, 2025 4:33 PM

and headlines of bombing Pop Concerts with 'Airstrikes'

for a while BBC was pushing fake pictures

not saying all of it didn't happen...but

new invesigations

UN launches an enquiry into Rohingya refugees being cast into the sea by Indian naval vessels
https://www.thehindu.com/news/national/un-launches-an-enquiry-into-roh
ingya-refugees-being-cast-into-the-sea-by-indian-naval-vessels/article69580527.ece

the islamics are fantastic swimmers even while wearing those mohammedan jihadi Sharia type Clothes?

should they be hired for the US Olympics Swimming Team?

Indian authorities reportedly detained dozens of Rohingya refugees living in Delhi, many or all of whom held refugee identification documents. Approximately 40 members of this group were reportedly blindfolded and flown to the Andaman and Nicobar Islands and then transferred to an Indian naval ship. After the boat crossed the Andaman Sea, the refugees were reportedly given life jackets, forced into the sea, and made to swim

they swim better than Sharks and Dolphins

JAYNEZTOWN

Saturday, May 31, 2025 10:18 PM

Putin is bombing his own helicopter they say

Russia Accused of Staging Attack on Putin's Helicopter
https://www.newsweek.com/russia-putin-helicopter-kursk-2079305