Tuesday, January 24, 2006

NEWS DISSECTOR: THE FATE OF THE NATION

NEWS DISSECTOR January 24, 2005

From MediaChannel.org's Executive Editor, Danny Schechter...

The Fate of The Nation

THE SPEECH AND THE SHAME
OUR "UNSUSTAINABLE" FINANCES
PBS NAMES NEW PRESIDENT

Tonight is the night of tradition and ritual. The President of the United States, bathed in expected applause, is welcomed into the well of the House of Representatives on Capitol Hill to deliver the annual State of the Union address. Watch men who hate him smile and give him high fives. Watch Democrats grovel before the leader, out of deference and respect they say must be paid to the Executive Branch. You know the hooey: "Its not the President we are clapping for but the Presidency."

And then watch as Papy Bush’s boy mounst the rostrum to be guided to the teleprompters, there to deliver a well-rehearsed address to the Nation labored over by a team of speech writers and approved by Karl Rove.

Will we see a new Bush or the same old W? Don't bother stretching your "beautiful" mind (to use a Barbara Bushism) around that? Last Saturday, he previewed his key domestic themes which were dutifully reported by the stenographers of the Washington Post:

”President Bush previewed three domestic themes of his upcoming State of the Union address _ tax cuts, energy prices and the rising cost of health care _ in his weekly radio broadcast Saturday.”

Do you know the old joke about how you know when a politician is lying?

The answer has always been: ”when they open their mouths.” You can safely predict that everything but truth will fill the air and the airwaves tonight. So why not try an experiment. Call it an exercise in Mediaocracy. Watch the speech but without the sound. And while you do, read the words of David W. Walker.

FOLLW THE MONEY

Who he? David Walker, never heard of him. You are not alone not to be in the know. Mr. Walker does what every good journalist aspires to do, but he really does it. He follows the money as the Comptroller General of the United States. (Yes we have a comptroller General who is there to audit every dime and shekel of spending by all the agencies and the federal government.) While others talk, he counts. While others make promises, he keeps tabs. While others fudge, he tells the truth.

We are lucky because Mr. Walker seems to be an honest man. Last December, under his guidance, The US Government Accountability Office delivered a report that earned him the title: Prophet of Doom. His conclusions were not very popular in the White House, the corporations or in the press for one reason.

They are based on hard cold FACTS.

His conclusions led him to compare the United States to Rome before its fall. You always think that Republicans, unlike Democrats, believe in careful money management.

Think again.

THE FLAWED FINANCES

His report is devastating in what it tells us about the financial condition of our government. I would call it the FATE OF THE UNION.

First, he says that he and his team of accountants and financial analysts can’t even “render an opinion” on the consolidated financial statements or “the books.” Why? Get this:

l. Serious financial management problems at the Department of Defense;

2. The Federal Government’s inability to adequately account for and reconcile intergovernmental activity and balances between government agencies;

3. The Federal Governments ineffective process for preparing the financial statements.

In short the numbers are worthless and the books are COOKED.

“More troubling still," he writes, "the federal government’s financial condition and long term fiscal outlook is CONTINUING TO DETERIORATE.” (my emphasis)

A MASSIVE DECEPTION

The government is not accounting for the money it spends, and all of its financial reports are “unrealistic” and “misleading.

He concludes based on a DETAILED examination of our collective finances:

The gross debt was about 8 TRILLION DOLLARS. (The number excludes social security, Medicaid, veterans health benefits and other liabilities. Fiscal expenditures have gone UP from $20 TRILLION in 2000 to $46 TRILLION.

“This translates into a burden of $156,000 per American or $375,000 per full time worker.”

And get this: these numbers do NOT include future costs resulting from Hurricane Katrina or the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.

His bottom line and warning: "CONTINUING ON THIS UNSUSTAINABLE PATH WILL GRADUALLY ERODE, IF NOT SUDDENLY DAMAGE OUR ECONOMY, OUR STANDARD OF LIVING, AND ULTIMATELY OUR NATIONAL SECURITY.”

Heed: This is not a radical economist spewing folks: this is our Comptroller General who says softly, "the economy is not doing as well as advertised."

He should be delivering that speech tonight. His report should be all over the media today. Of course. It isn’t.

HOW THE MEDIA COVERS THIS CALAMITY

Mr. Walker’s PR office sent us some representative headlines based on his report. They were all a one day story. When his detailed report came out, he was presented as the GRINCH of Christmas and characterized as Mr. Negative.

”January 16, 2006, edition of the Seattle Times: "Straight Shooter's Grim Message for Baby Boomers and Their Heirs," by Liz Taylor.

January 5, 2006, edition of the Christian Science Monitor: "The comptroller: Washington's prophet of fiscal doom," by Linda Feldmann.

December 25, 2005 edition of The Ledger, Lakeland, Florida (as well as other New York Times regional newspapers): "COMPTROLLER GENERAL Walker: Hard Times Ahead for Economy," By Cory Reiss.

Business Week magazine in its November 14, 2005, issue published a column by Mr. Walker, "Spending Is Out of Control."

Will you hear any of this tonight from the TV anchors and pundits? I doubt it.

Among other signs of gloom are these:

And this tragedy from today’s newspaper:

"Ford to Cut Up to 30,000 Jobs and 14 Plants in Next 6 Years"

The cutbacks represent 20 percent to 25 percent of Ford's production. The NY Times reports:

”Ford's announcement came two months after General Motors said it would close all or part of a dozen factories and eliminate a similar number of jobs.

“Including cutbacks that have taken place at the Chrysler Corporation since 2000, the Big Three automakers have eliminated or plan to eliminate 86,000 jobs, or about one-third of their North American work force.”

COMMENT: Jim Hightower
http://www.alternet.org/columnists/story/31127/

THE GLOBAL DIMENSION:

The International Labor Organization (ILO) Annual jobs report says global unemployment continues to grow, youth now make up half those out of work

LAST MINUTE GIVEAWAY

As if this wasn’t enough, this morning’s Washington Post brings more news of the latest rip-off and transfer of funds from the public to already wealthy corporations:

” House and Senate GOP negotiators, meeting behind closed doors last month to complete a major budget-cutting bill, agreed on a change to Senate-passed Medicare legislation that would save the health insurance industry $22 billion over the next decade, according to the nonpartisan Congressional..."

NOTE TO JOURNALISTS: HOW TO COVER THE ECONOMY
niemanwatchdog.org

 

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Pat Out, PBS Names New President

Paula A. Kerger, a top executive at New York's Educational Broadcasting Corporation, Channel 13 WNET, has been named as the next president and CEO of the Public Broadcasting Service replacing Pat Mitchell who is stepping down to run a TV Museum.

Free Press’s Executive Director Josh Silver welcomed the appointment:

“We're excited and relieved to see a committed advocate of the public interest appointed to lead PBS. After the Kenneth Tomlinson controversy, the public is demanding change, and we hope that Paula Kerger will be a strong ally to advance needed reforms.

“Public broadcasting is at a crossroads. It will continue to suffer partisan attacks and threats to its budget without policies to protect long-term funding and provide political insulation. We look forward to working with the new president to put the public back in public broadcasting.”

 

WHAT KERGER MUST DO

Jeff Chester of the Center for Digital Democracy and a long time public television advocate and activist called on the new President to take a stand for better programming:

”Ms. Kerger has to quickly articulate a serious public interest vision for non-commercial digital TV. She has to challenge the system--including the stations, independents and other producers--to create content that illustrates that public television is relevant and necessary in the broadband era. Kerger has to also fearlessly defend the mission of public television to produce serious, thought-provoking, and risk-taking programming --especially against the conservative cabal running CPB and much of Congress. She also has to develop a plan that will build financial support to keep public television in business. There's no question that she faces a near impossible task--but one that must be done if PBS is to survive.

http://www.democraticmedia.org/

STATE OF THE MEDIA

One of the issues unlikely to be addressed in Tonight’s State of the Union is the state of the media. The Nation Magazine has assembled critics of the Bush agenda to define an alternative this week. Congressman Maurice Hinchey writes about media”

”Changes in media ownership have been swift and staggering. Over the past two decades the number of major US media companies fell by more than one half; most of the survivors are controlled by fewer than ten huge media conglomerates. As media outlets continue to be gobbled up by these giants, the marketplace of ideas shrinks. New and independent voices are stifled. And the companies that remain are under little obligation to provide reliable, quality journalism. Stories that matter deeply to the country's well-being have been replaced by sensationalized murders and celebrity gossip….

“Last year I founded the nonpartisan Future of American Media Caucus, which holds briefings designed to give members of Congress new perspectives on pressing media issues. I've also introduced the Media Ownership Reform Act (HR 3302). MORA would restore the Fairness Doctrine--a provision, overturned by the FCC in 1987, that required broadcasters to offer alternative points of view on controversial issues. MORA would reinstate a national cap on radio- and TV-station ownership. It would also lower the number of outlets one company can own in a local market and require more independent programming. In addition to restoring some of the key regulations that have been axed since the 1980s, the bill would insure that broadcasters meet the needs of local communities and would mandate public outreach and public input into programming decisions.

“It will not be easy to reverse our recent history of media consolidation. But unless we do, another dangerous trend will continue: the dumbing down of America.

TELECOM LAWYER TO FCC

Reuters reports:

“WASHINGTON (Reuters) - President George W. Bush is expected to nominate telecommunications lawyer Robert McDowell to fill the third Republican seat on the five-member Federal Communications Commission, three sources familiar with the matter said on Monday.’

Jerry Starr comments: “If this is true McDowell could be a swing vote on internet issues pitting the bells against the start-ups.”

HAMAS TV FACES SHUT DOWN

EJC reports:

”The Palestinian public prosecutor on Sunday decided to close down a television station belonging to Hamas, just days ahead of crunch general elections because it did not have the necessary broadcast license.

“The decision to close the channel, which was made in coordination with the Palestinian Interior Ministry, has not yet been enforced and comes just three days ahead of the general elections, in which Hamas is fielding candidates for the first time.”

http://www.dailystar.com.lb/article.asp?edition_id=10&categ_id=2&article_id=21626# - AFP, Daily Star

SAN FRANCISCO EXAMINER EXAMINED

http://www.sfwall.net/

Michael Petralis writes: “Terrific analysis about the stagnant journalism, if you can call it that, of the San Francisco Examiner. It's written by 'Able Dart,' the host of the SFWall.net site and experienced political observer of our crazy local leaders, customs and agitators.”

A RARE MEDIA MOMENT: BELAFONTE V BUSH ON CNN
transcripts.cnn.com

FOUR NEW MEDIA REFORM RESOURCES

1. The Brennan Center for Justice has just posted a series of fact sheets on issues relating to media democracy. The fact sheets explain, in easy-to-follow language, several hot topics in media reform, including internet access and municipal wi-fi, media ownership, and public broadcasting.

http://www.fepproject.org/factsheets/mediademocracy.html

2. Deanna Zandt writes: ”We've got a new blog on AlterNet starting today, and I'm one of the main bloggers. It's called the Echo Chamber, and we're going to be talking about framing and reinforcing the messages of progressive ideas.

http://www.alternet.org/blogs/echochamber/

You can read my first post, which is about the difficulty of framing abortion, here:

http://www.alternet.org/blogs/echochamber/31129/

3. Free Press invites you to “Check out our "Dead End
for the Internet?" campaign to follow new developments in the net neutrality debate and help ensure that the Web remains an open road for all”

http://www.freepress.net/deadend/

4. Launch of the Arab Media Freedom Network

CMF MENA is hosting a meeting of Arab national NGOs working for the defense of journalists and the promotion of media freedom to launch The Arab Media Freedom Network. A number of NGOs in Jordan, Morocco and Egypt have pledged to join the network already.

http://www.cmfmena.org/magazine/news/Arab_Media_Freedom_Network.htm

 

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