PItts: Bush sending mixed messages

[billr]

By LEONARD PITTS

Thomas Jefferson understood.
He said that if asked to choose between government without newspapers or newspapers without government, "I should not hesitate for a moment to prefer the latter." Jefferson knew that a free and adversarial press was the people's best defense against the excesses of their government and a fundamental building block of healthy democracy.

Unfortunately, that was 40 presidents ago.

The present president has a decidedly different view of the news media's role. His administration sees the press as a thing to be bought. In fact, Bush and his staff have a long and singularly sordid record of trying to turn the media into a wholly owned public relations subsidiary.

Now they're taking their act on the road. And get this: they're doing it under the guise of building democracy. Which is rather like stealing from the collection plate under the guise of giving to the needy.

I refer you to the Los Angeles Times report that the Pentagon has been secretly paying Iraqi newspapers to publish stories, written by American troops, that reflect favorably upon the U.S. mission in that country. The stories, while basically factual, are written so as to flatter U.S. forces and the Iraqi government and to omit information or perspectives either might find embarrassing. These press releases are presented to the Iraqi people as independent reports by independent reporters.

http://www.buffalonews.com/editorial/20051212/1000283.asp

[second edition]

1. Absolutely, Jefferson didn't trust the truthfulness of the press and

we shouldn't either. Apparently, they can be too easily per$uaded to see things to the liking of this current administration. The levels to which Bush and Co. have, until recently, managed to influence what news reaches the public should be considered nothing less than propaganda. It's a real shame what has happened to real journalism. In it's place we have manipulation, unsubstanciated statements, twisting of the facts and out and out lies. The public is the only means to correct this situation. We have to call out the media on their tactics and demand they be held accountable for their reporting.