Somebody’s been smoking newsprint
: New York Magazine media kvetch Michael Wolff gives a keynote to a Guardian forum on war coverage (!) and accuses U.S. TV networks of “kissing ass” to get relaxed ownership rules.
Wolff put forward what he described as the “semi-conspiracy theory” that major media companies in the US meekly followed the flag-waving agenda of the Bush administration in order to persuade the federal communications commission to change its regulations.
“Ass kissing has gone on to a profound degree. It’s pervasive throughout all these news organisations. They need the FCC to behave in certain ways. In order to do this we have got to go along to get along,” said Wolff…
I dare him to look the war reporters and show producers in the eye and say that. I dare him to tell them that they’re all just a bunch of frigging liars. I dare him to go to the widows and children of the correspondents who lost their lives covering this war and say that they died in vain; worse, they died a lie.
Yeah, he’s grandstanding. But this kind of grandstanding only reduces his own credibility as he questions the credibility of those he criticizes.
I wonder who else spoke at this forum: Fisk? [via IWantMedia]
