PGHIMC - Pittsburgh Independent Media Center

American media slapped awake
by AntiChimp.com Wednesday, Sep. 07, 2005 at 2:08 PM

One good thing to come from the hurricane tragedy on the gulf coast (probably the only good thing) is the re-birth of the ability for reporters on the scene to believe their own eyes, and not fall in lock-step with the official government lies.

As we all know, up until now the media has pretty much been the guardian of the status quo, a vehicle for the government's disinformation machine. But now, faced with a disaster which no amount of official spin can obviate, the media is being forced to confront the harsh realities of life in modern America, a country experiencing a total vacuum of leadership, and a virtual breakdown of responsible government.

Whether they like it or not (and I suspect that many do not), reporters are finding themselves confronting the blatent disconnect that exists between party line and reality. For example, a few days ago CNN's Anderson Cooper dropped the jaded facade of the cynical reporter archetype and launched into an impassioned tirade on Senator Mary Landrieu, D-La., who was praising congress for their $10 billion appropriation bill:

"Excuse me, Senator, I'm sorry for interrupting. I haven't heard that, because, for the last four days, I've been seeing dead bodies in the streets here in Mississippi. And to listen to politicians thanking each other and complimenting each other, you know, I got to tell you, there are a lot of people here who are very upset, and very angry, and very frustrated.

And when they hear politicians slap--you know, thanking one another, it just, you know, it kind of cuts them the wrong way right now, because literally there was a body on the streets of this town yesterday being eaten by rats because this woman had been laying in the street for 48 hours. And there's not enough facilities to take her up.

Do you get the anger that is out here? ...

I mean, I know you say there's a time and a place for, kind of, you know, looking back, but this seems to be the time and the place. I mean, there are people who want answers, and there are people who want someone to stand up and say, 'You know what? We should have done more. Are all the assets being brought to bear?'"

Another CNN talking head, Miles O'Brien, pinned Mississippi Governor Haley Barbour to the wall when he refused to acknowledge that there had been an inadequate response to the hurricane:

"We knew it was a strong storm developing for several days before it ever made landfall. Do you have the sense that the federal government has dropped the ball here, sir?"

Barbour didn't take the bait:

"I think it's very unfair for the federal government, for you to say we knew this was a great powerful storm. This was a category 1 hurricane when it hit Florida. Now that's the truth."

Calling the Governor on this obvious obfuscation, O'Brien insisted Barbour had his facts wrong.

"Governor, it was a category 5 storm. No, no, Governor Barbour ... surely there was enough knowledge in advance that this was a huge killer storm a matter of days, not hours, before it ever struck landfall. And it seems to me the military could have done more."

Again at CNN, anchor Soledad O'Brien ripped into failed rodeo clown and current FEMA director Michael Brown:

"As you can tell, the situation clearly is deteriorating. You've got armed bandits roving the streets. They're heavily armed. You've got people living out on the streets with absolutely no protection, no help whatsoever, no food, no water. How many armed National Guardsmen do you have on the ground right now? ...

How is it possible that we're getting better intel than you're getting? ...

FEMA has been on the ground for four days, going into the fifth day. Why no massive airdrop of food and water? In Banda Aceh, in Indonesia, they got food dropped two days after the tsunami struck. ...

It's five days that FEMA has been on the ground. The head of police says it's been five days that FEMA has been there. The mayor, the former mayor, putting out SOS's on Tuesday morning, crying on national television, saying please send in some troops. So the idea that, yes, I understand that you're feeding people and trying to get in there now, but it's Friday. It's Friday. ..."

Does any of this signal a media rebellion? Will the American media cease to be a tool of the imperialist government now sitting in Washington? Katrina is bringing to the forefront the fact that we live in dark and dangerous times, that the government can't solve our problems at home, let alone competently take over the middle east. The truth is finally starting to drive the reporting, and the sense of discontent that is growing in America can't be ignored any longer.

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