Month: August 2006

Lock Up The Bloggers

Posted by on August 4, 2006 at 10:42 am. 1 Comments :

Josh Wolf is in trouble. The San Francisco journalist/activist is in jail on contempt charges for refusing to comply with a federal subpoe0na. The Feds want to see a video he took of a protest where a cop was injured and some property damaged.

I’ve been struggling with the merits of this case because, on the one hand, I’m inclined to be sympathetic to an independent media advocate who is under pressure to submit to government demands. On the other hand, this is a difficult case to argue for a reporter’s privilege. The key issue is that Wolf is not protecting an external source, but is declining to provide potential evidence to an event to which he was a witness.

If the videotape in question was given to Wolf in confidence, he would have every right to withhold it and to defy the court order. But this is video he took himself, so who is he protecting? The problem I had with Judith Miller’s claim of privilege was that she was not protecting a source, but that she was a participant in the events on which she was reporting. I don’t believe she had the right to withhold testimony from the grand jury regarding a crime she was helping to facilitate. Of course, there is no allegation that Wolf was involved in anything criminal himself and the state cannot engage in witch hunts.

Despite the conflicting arguments in this matter, I have remained troubled by Wolf’s predicament, and this story from Editors and Publishers has helped me understand why:

Trying to compel journalists to testify is an increasingly popular tactic among federal investigators seeking all types of information. Even the occasional incarceration of reporters is enough to put the squeeze on the news media.

The article goes on to make the point that this case was bumped to the federal courts because California has a strong reporter’s shield law, while the feds have none at all. In addition, there appears to be an escalation of legal pressure being placed on journalists to, in effect, do the work of law enforcement. Lucy A. Dalglish, executive director of the Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press, said:

“This is the first time it’s been pretty clear to me the federal government is interested in what bloggers do.” And that, “While jailings are infrequent, the number of subpoenas seeking to force reporters to testify has grown.”

The problem here is the trend. As the government seeks to intimidate reporters, it is also silencing the voices of its critics. For an administration that has elevated secrecy to an art form, there is no greater achievement than the dismantling of the first amendment. Josh Wolf may not be the perfect banner carrier for this battle, but he is at least collateral damage and his dilemma should be troubling to anyone who reveres a free press.

The White House Propaganda Center

Posted by on August 2, 2006 at 2:07 pm. NO Comments :

Today’s confab from the White House briefing room will be the last for nine months while the site undergoes an extreme makeover. While it is indisputable that renovations are necessary, the scope and the timing are surprising.

When originally proposed, the work was expected to take about a month. Typical of Washington’s efficiency, the budget and schedule have exceeded projections. Now, the press corps will be cast out of the White House throughout the fall campaign and beyond into next year. Is the White House erecting new barriers between itself and the media during a campaign season that is likely to be rife with bad news for the incumbent party?

When the press does return (if they return), they will hardly recognize the place. Press Secretary Tony Snow, newly recruited from Fox News, seems bent on bringing the Fox flavor to presidential briefings. The centerpiece of the remodeling will be a video wall that can display anything from waving flags to charts and graphs to remote speakers. The press pool will be able to televise the podium with the video wall in the background or switch it to full screen. All they need now is a news ticker, a swoosh, and a Fox logo. They also plan to install microphones and Internet access at all seats. I’m not sure I would use that Internet connection with any expectation of privacy. And reporters would be wise to consider what those mics are recording.

The new press room appears to be developing into a full-fledged PR facility. This administration knows the power of perceptions. They carefully manage all photo ops. They decorate public appearances with graphic reinforcements of the day’s message. They pay pundits to evangelize their agenda. They pioneered video press releases that were made to look like local TV news reports, and distributed them to stations that aired them without disclosing that they were fake.

Now they are putting the finishing touches on the propaganda machine that is already humming at the White House. For those interested in substantive journalism, this electronic theater could be a step backwards. The flashy graphics and canned promotional clips may serve to distract from the probing inquiries of reporters. In the end, the audience will remember the brightly shining objects that filled their screen. What will those objects look like? Will they show the rubble produced by a suicide bomber in Baghdad? Will they show victims of natural disasters here at home? Not likely. But they will show positive images that promote whatever fiction they are trying to sell that day. Those images will be as professionally conceived as any other television commercial. And it will be their intention to have the same effect. Politics will be just another consumer product, and ideology will be just another brand.

Update: The New WH Propaganda Center Is Open.

Fox News Sinks Again

Posted by on August 1, 2006 at 2:20 pm. NO Comments :

In the July ratings for the cable news networks, Fox continues its steady year-over-year decline. This July’s book includes reporting on the Israel/Lebanon conflict. Breaking news events like this spike ratings for news programs. So when comparing this year’s July book with last year’s, it is important to note that there was no comparable news event in July of 2005. That means that the comparisons with this year would have been even worse, but for the boost caused by current events.

UPDATE: Here is an hourly breakdown (PDF) of the numbers by demo and program, with comparisons to 2005.

Total Day – 25-54 Demo:

  FNC CNN MSNBC HLN CNBC
July ’06: 293 203 109 85 56
July ’05: 295 144 84 104 43
% change: -1% +45% +30% -18% +24%

Primetime – 25-54 Demo:

  FNC CNN MSNBC HLN CNBC
July ’06: 404 278 142 104 61
July ’05: 492 210 111 151 61
% change: -24% +32% +28% -31% 0%

The severe decline in the Fox and Headline News primetime schedules suggests a possible audience fatigue for the bloviating pundits that populate those dayparts. That includes Bill O’Reilly, Hannity & Colmes, and Greta Van Susteren on Fox, and Nancy Grace and Glen Beck on on HLN. While the increases at MSNBC and CNN may suggest an appreciation for the counter-programming on MSNBC (i.e. Keith Olbermann’s Countdown) and the hard news flavor of CNN.

Most of all, I believe that the significance of the O’Reilly, et al, free fall is that we may have pushed back the hands of the Armageddon Clock a half hour or so. There is still a long way to go before Fox is knocked off its pedestal, but the trends are consistently pointing toward that outcome.