The F.B.I. agents did more than seize my personal electronics when they searched my home on Aug. 7, the author writes. They stole the truth.
SCOTT RITTER: A Farewell to Truth
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Tag: Journalism
In this case, when Israel, the ally of the US and the West in the Middle East commits war crimes, editors at the big media corporations seem to feel that their job is to paper over these atrocities to protect an ally. Let’s not forget that old video showing President Joe Biden proclaiming in the Senate “[Israel] is the best 3 billion dollar investment [the United States] made…were there not an Israel, the United States would have to invent an Israel to protect our interests in the region (Middle East).”
Source: Systemic Journalistic Malpractice: How Western Journalism Failed in covering Gaza
Given the fact that the US in 2024 has been openly enabling genocide, vetoing the UN, and giving the nod to Bibi to illegally take over Palestine, and it’s all over the internet, why keep Julian Assange locked up? There are no “secrets” Joe. There is Trump and certainly not an effen secret anymore but the Israelis know they have his support. So let Assange go and win some brownie points and deal with AIPAC and let the non Zionist Jews rally in your favour. Become what America pretends to be for once a liberating force
The Russians, Israelis, and Nth Koreans are working their tits off for Trump. Biden is working to unite the English-speaking world against the Chinese and we can see it all. Worst of all we are forced to listen to the bullshit. Listen and watch, watch corporate and right-wing media battle with Rupert Murdoch for any excess gravy flow there is from the least progressive at the very top. After all 2024 is an election year and lobbyists are hard at work making more promises but non in the interests of any Common Good
In terms of posterity’s calling, there are surely fewer better things at this point for a US president nearing mental oblivion to do, or a Tory government peering at electoral termination to facilitate, than the release of Assange. At the very least, it would show a grudging acknowledgment that the fourth estate, watchful of government’s egregious abuses, is no corpse, but a vital, thriving necessity.
Today, with the endorsement of the West Bank settlements there is no hint that Netanyahu, or anyone in his government has any intention of finding a two-state solution to the situation in Israel/Palestine.
His policy is to continue the process of driving Palestinians from their ancestral homes. And “Who will remember the Palestinians?” is his final solution.
Objectively report that!
Objectivity does not exist – it cannot exist… The word is a hypocrisy which is sustained by the lie that the truth stays in the middle. No sir: sometimes truth stays on one side only. – Oriana Fallaci
The journalist who penned an open letter to Australian media organisations calling for ethical reporting of the Gaza war were probably not aware of Italian journalist and partisan, Oriana Fallaci’s quote, when they rightly called for adherence to truth over ‘both-sidesism’ in reporting of the war.
Source: Only journalists who support the Gaza war can report “objectively” on it… – Pearls and Irritations
Open one social media platform and you’re hit with a fake video; open another and you’re hit with bigotry. Open a news article, and you’ll find some victims “killed” but others “dying.” Each account of events in Israel and Palestine seems to rely on different facts. What’s clear is that misinformation, hate speech, and factual distortions are running rampant.
There are no consequences.
Source: “Read With Extreme Caution”: A Journalist’s Guide to Israel-Palestine Media Literacy – Mother Jones
It is the job of journalists to warn against abuse, exploitation, and corruption, and to shine a light on power so that an informed citizenry can decide on the course of its government. Many journalists are indeed speaking out against sidestepping the responsibility to report on genocide. More than a thousand have signed on to a letter saying they “hold Western newsrooms accountable for dehumanizing rhetoric that has served to justify ethnic cleansing of Palestinians.”
That ethnic cleansing is in full force. CCR’s lawsuit is seeking an injunction to immediately block U.S. tax dollars from supporting Israel’s war in a concrete effort to block the genocide, or at least wash the stain of Palestinian blood off American hands. Meanwhile, public support for U.S. aid to Israel has dropped, with more Americans now opposed to the military assistance than supporting it according to a Reuters-Ipsos poll. Nearly 70 percent support a ceasefire.
Source: Americans are Bankrolling Israel’s Unfolding Genocide in Gaza | The Smirking Chimp
We have failed you. This is the awful guilt we carry. We tried. But we did not try hard enough. We will go to Rafah. Many of us. Reporters. We will stand outside the border with Gaza in protest. We will write and film. This is what we do. It is not much. But it is something. We will tell your story again.
Source: Chris Hedges: Letter to the Children of Gaza – scheerpost.com
Any journalist who wishes to avoid colluding in the genocide unfolding in Gaza ought to be wary of repeating the Israeli claims about what happened during the initial Hamas assault, writes Jonathan Cook.
The “savages” narrative is being weaponised by Israel to justify its mounting campaign of atrocities in Gaza. Which is why it is so important that journalists don’t simply allow themselves to be spoon-fed. Far too much is at stake.
Hamas committed war crimes on Oct. 7 on a scale that is unprecedented for any Palestinian group. But there is little more than Israeli narrative spin so far to suggest that there was an unparalleled depravity to Hamas’ actions. Certainly from what we know, it is hard to see that anything Hamas did that day was worse, or more savage, than what Israel has been doing daily in Gaza for weeks.
And Israel’s actions — from bombing Palestinian families to starving them of food and water – has the blessing of every major Western politician.
Democracy and War are incompatible
“Ideas like, there’s a civil war, or there are people who are pro-Russian … these are very touchy issues,” he said. “If a reporter either knowingly or unknowingly starts using these kinds of talking points in their report, it’s going to be something that Ukrainian authorities look at.”
Source: Ukraine Blocks Journalists From Front Lines With Escalating Censorship
Ch9 and it’s stable of journalists have been sorted OUT
Yet from Nine Entertainment’s chairman down to senior editors though this is an organisation of yes-men and yes-women. The likes of yours truly, Michael Pascoe, Mike Carleton, John Hewson – just to name a few – have been weeded out for failing to cower sufficiently to Nine’s advertisers and assorted corporate and political agendas.
Descending the greasy pole all the way down from Liberal Party heavyweight and fundraiser Peter Costello, we have Editorial Director James Chessell (who is an ex-Liberal staffer for Joe Hockey), his 2IC Tory Maguire (whose husband is a Liberal Party linked lobbyist), Editor in Chief of the AFR Michael Stutchbury, a true believer in the virtue of big business whose ideology is to the right of the Liberal Party.
On the radio front, it’s no accident that Nine owns 2GB and 3AW. On the TV front, it’s no accident Nine Network is now framing The Voice as “The Divisive Voice to Parliament“. This is unambiguous Coalition messaging.
Source: On captured media: we respond to Nine Entertainment and the AFR’s tepid hit-job – Michael West
Audio Interview
The use of the century old Espionage Act in the Julian Assange case continues to set the chilling precedent of a bleak future in American journalism, a precedent that endangers even those outside US borders.
Source: The Nightmare Espionage Act That is Killing Julian Assange and the First Amendment – scheerpost.com
Calling for Australia’s ABC
Nonpartisan, publicly funded media is “an idea that we should explore,” said the senator.
Source: Sanders Proposes ‘New Deal for Journalism’ to Ensure Media Serves Public Interest
The Western establishment doesn’t appear to understand how Western journalists could exercise their own agency and judgment to critique U.S. foreign policy without them being agents of a foreign power, writes Joe Lauria. By Joe Lauria Special to Consortium News The United States was fou
Source: A History of Dissent
This submission to the Parliamentary Inquiry into Regional Newspapers by Broome journalist Andrew Chambers was rejected by the Committee for containing content “adverse” to another party so we published it here.
This has rapidly become the standard business model for American newspapering. Today, more than half of all daily papers in America are in the grip of just 10 of these money syndicates. That’s why our “local” papers are dying. It’s not a failure of journalism.
It’s a plunder of journalism by absentee corporate owners.
Opponents of Putin are not just accident prone they’re dead shot in the streets assassinated and have fatal or near-fatal accidents. If they happen to survive they are simply jailed until at least another leader comes along.
Russia has jailed a journalist for “treason”, in a case widely viewed as politically motivated and designed to silence the media and Kremlin critics.
Source: Journalist jailed for 22 years in Russia | The New Daily
Why do the LNP, IPA, and Murdoch want us Americanised?
Why must we wait until some of our ablest journalists are sacked before they are willing and able to tell America the truth?
It is not “partisan” to explain what Trump and his anti-democracy movement are seeking. It is not “taking sides” to point out that the Trump Republicans are trying to establish an authoritarian government in America. It is not “violating journalistic standards” to tell the unvarnished truth about what we are facing today.
In fact, a failure to call out the Trump Republicans for what they are — liars, enablers, and accessories to crimes against the Constitution — itself violates the most basic canons of journalistic ethics.
Source: What Must We Expect of Journalism in This Crisis? | The Smirking Chimp
A royal commission can’t fix journalism as it might fix aged care or veterans’ services. Journalists are going to have to save themselves. Here’s how they could start. First, understand that the Australian government has gone a long way down the road of destroying pillars of democracy. The rate of destruction of accountability and judicial bodies and the government’s hostility to transparency and truth are actually undermining Australian democracy. That this destruction is being led by the prime minister should weigh heavily on what journalists do.
Source: Journalism must save itself or, frankly, it’s done for
To me, democracy is a fairly simple thing: People put forward ideas, either as a member of a party or as an individual, and everyone else votes for the person whose ideas they think are best, so it’s a matter of some concern when the media aren’t discussing these ideas but instead resemble football commentators speculating on which team is best placed to win and what last week’s result suggests about the upcoming finals.
We need to hear about what the actual plans are to ensure net-zero and an effective economy. Parroting the idea that we have lots and lots of jobs isn’t really an indication of the economy running smoothly. The fact that businesses are claiming that they can’t get workers is just as much a sign that the government is mismanaging the economy as higher unemployment.
While there’s every chance that the election will be tighter than the polls suggested a few weeks ago, there’s also a strong tendency to overlook the difficulty the Morrison government will have in holding on. Of course, it doesn’t help when the media keep asking Labor how much things will cost, while never asking the same question of the Liberals.
According to the framing, Labor spends money on things like infrastructure and education, while the Liberals invest in infrastructure and education.
Source: The Media, Ted Baillieu And Curry Recipes For Scotty – » The Australian Independent Media Network
Andrew Bolt cries blue murder at the ABC’s bias against the LNP
Leigh Sales questioning Adam Bandt’s 6% tax increase for billionaires with the retort that the ultra-rich will be less inclined to give charitably is way off the mark.
Source: Leigh Sales parrots ultra-rich narrative – Michael West Media
The editorial in The Age concentrates on “the gaffe” and ignores “the deception”!! Like reports paid $167M for delivered but not tabled “The Prayer Room” for one. Or Tudge’s Taxpayer Payout of almost $$600k to a $1M. When the Minister of Education’s bad behavior in the work place is declared a “private matter and nothing to do with Morrison. It seems The Age believes in the triviality of Morrison’s deceptions more than Albo’s cost nothing mistake. Looks like “cash for comment” to anyone looking at it.
Both leaders have to be on their game. “Albanese was not”.
Source: Election 2022: Anthony Albanese’s unemployment rate gaffe could come at great cost
Murdoch an American, owns 66% of the print media in this country and is the unofficial PR arm of the LNP government so what can we expect. The APC is after all like the ABC are a watered down version of our critical voice. Morrison’s promised an ICAC if and whenever it comes will be another watered down version of what our voice could be. But let’s be fair the defamation laws will be changed and called “strengthened” and MP’s will be allowed taxpayer money to sue us.
Australia’s media watchdog found more than two-thirds of all complaints upheld for violations of the media code of ethics in 2021 were against News Corp, Alan Austin reports. AUSTRALIANS WILL BE SAFER, healthier, happier and much better informed when Rupert Murdoch’s malevolent media empire eventually disappears.
Source: News Corp’s shoddy ‘journalism’ again dominates Press Council complaints
In Australia, for example, coverage of asylum seekers in the conservative, particularly tabloid, media has over the last decade been based too often on the incorrect framing that they are “illegal” and “queue jumpers.” Too rarely is the coverage based on the facts. This media (intended) failure has enabled the government to continue to persecute innocent people who came to us seeking safety.
Culture war “games” have thus turned life and death issues into something too “political” to address (either rationally) or intelligently. The spirit of Schwartz Media, Michael West Media and our other organisations dedicated to holding the powerful to account needs to be embraced by our legacy masthead writers. We need to consider the laws that can be crafted to balance the damage done by Malcolm Turnbull’s 2017 slashing of our media ownership laws. In a moment when the climate and democracy decay form a deadly helix, we cannot afford to have entertainment or agenda masquerading as news.
We need to debate new ways to fund the reliable news utterly critical to the functioning of democracy.
Too much is at stake to allow our news to frame this moment as “business as usual.”
I was under the impression that no matter which government was in power the ABC’s charter was to critically test the truth and validity of what they claimed to be doing against what they were actually doing. Basically, fact-checking, for and on behalf of the electorate, not simply the mouth piece of the government. Abbot’s promise to both Murdoch and the IPA was to rid us of the ABC. The LNP seems to refuse and accept this. Rather, claiming any revelation not supporting what it is they are doing, is in opposition and therefore biased. As a consequence, they prefer to work with the private. A media which they feel they can control with promises of “cash for comment” in exchange for what it is they want. Now that is biased.
Journalists have the power to frame reality for audiences, because they set the standards for what is considered “good”, “bad”, “normal” or “controversial”.
The justices also failed to consider the murderous elephant in the room, one that had been submitted by the defence at both the extradition hearing and the appeal: that US government officials had contemplated abducting and assassinating the very individual whose extradition they were seeking. This was a view that held sway with former US Secretary of State and CIA chief Mike Pompeo. In the United States, talking heads expressed their satisfaction about the glories of the US justice and prison system. Former Democratic Senator Claire McCaskill told MSNBC that, “This was really a guy who just violated the law.” Concerns by Assange’s defense team that his “safety in [US] prison” would be compromised showed that “they really don’t have perspective on this.” It is fittingly monstrous that this decision should be handed down the same day the Nobel Peace Prize was being awarded to two journalists, Maria Ressa and Dmitry Muratov. Or that it should happen on Human Rights Day, which saw US Secretary of State Antony Blinken’s boast that “we will continue to promote accountability for human rights violators.” Except one’s own. Inevitably, these cruel, gradually lethal proceedings move to the next stage: an appeal to the Supreme Court. As the paperwork is gathered, Assange will muse, grimly, that the entire period of his discharge never saw him leave Belmarsh Prison.
Source: Journalism, Assange and Reversal in the High Court – » The Australian Independent Media Network
For the Left, it’s easy to hate the media, with its entrenched centrist biases and loyalty to the status quo. But a world without high-quality news is a world where meaningful democracy is impossible. That’s the message of media scholar Victor Pickard, who argues for a transformation of our media system away from the model of commercial news and toward a “public option.”
Source: Journalism Is in Crisis. Only Public Funding Can Save It.
Wedged between the recent passage of legislation expanding Australia’s spy agency’s powers and a date for a Senate inquiry into press freedom after the New Year, Attorney-General Christian Porter and the Morrison government announced on Wednesday a range of measures aimed at enhancing public interest journalism and the protection of whistle-blowers. However, both the Greens and the Media, Entertainment and Arts Alliance (MEAA) have criticised the government’s announcement, claiming it doesn’t go far enough to prevent the persecution of journalists and others acting in the public interest. And those bodies collectively warn that such persecution can ultimately lead to prosecutions unless further revisions are taken.
ASIO bill reforms aren’t enough, say MEAA and Greens – » The Australian Independent Media Network
The questions are huge. How do we balance the democratic need for transparency and accountability, with the demands of national security? How do we pay for journalism that is costly and necessary but not always commercially viable? How do we restore trust in an institution that underpins the way our society and our government works?
If we do nothing, we can expect to see a lot more cases like Jamal Khashoggi, Maria Ressa, The Capital Gazette or Wa Lone and Kyaw Soe Oo. I suspect that is a world few of us would relish.
Last year, Facebook recorded $327 million in digital advertising revenue in Australia, and Google reported $882 million. Many industry experts believe most of this revenue came from aggregating local news content and swaying advertisers away from media organisations through cheaper rates. Google and Facebook have not clarified the source of their revenue because Australian corporate reporting standards do not require them to. This is a problem — a black hole in the local digital laws. The fact that Google and Facebook can surreptitiously make millions from local news content and avoid paying any royalty to the source is appalling. Local news media is already struggling. Like a parasite living off its host, these two corporate behemoths continue to breathe down their necks and make money off them. As a member of the local media and journalism community, I demand that our Federal Government do more. Their counterparts in India have imposed a 6 per cent equalisation levy on Google and Facebook’s advertising revenue. In the EU, plans are underway to impose a 3 per cent levy which will bring in €5 billion a year.
Source: A fair go for local news media
12 YEARS AGO THIS MONTH, WikiLeaks began publishing government secrets that the world public might otherwise never have known.
What it has revealed about state duplicity, human rights abuses and corruption goes beyond anything published in the world’s mainstream media.
via Julian Assange and Wikileaks’ service to journalism should be applauded
Just gonna leave the MEAA Journalist Code of Ethics here for any who thinks journalists have no obligation but to report a good story not naming names or anything.
The manner in which some journalists are defending their perceived right to publish salacious slurs against a woman, just because they can, is sickening. There’s little point in engaging with these people.
There’s a much-needed conversation about journalistic ethics begging to be had, but there’s no point in arguing ethics with people who simply don’t seem to have any.
Discussions about the future of journalism have broken out of the newsroom and into Australia’s public debate. How will society adjust its information needs?
The future of journalism and democracy lies in news and analysis that reflects the interests of ordinary people, says John Passant.
Source: Rare gems like Mark Colvin and the future of the fourth and fifth estates
When Donald Trump is inaugurated later this month, the presidency will officially be held by an inveterate liar. And the way the press has covered Trump in the two months since his November election victory suggests that many journalists need to adjust their approach to address that reality before Trump takes office.On New Year’s Eve, Tru
Source: What Journalists Can Do When The President Is A Liar
It took the military three years to conduct disciplinary proceedings against commanding officers who ordered soldiers to attack journalists with clubs.
Source: Israeli soldiers who beat journalists escape punishment | The Electronic Intifada
Waleed Aly delivers the Andrew Olle media lecture, calling for the media to stop pursuing short-term victories at long-term cost to its authority.
“The media is a food chain that would fall apart without local newspapers.”
Source: John Oliver Takes On the Bleak Future of Journalism | Mother Jones
As we reshape our business to meet readers’ demands, we will not take a backward step on quality.
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