Corporate Media Videos

An interview with Rick Fellows from Media Island International & Pastors for Peace in Olympia, Washington on Nov. 9th 2009. Rick talks about his involvement in Pastors for Peace and how American Imperialism will end.

U.S. author, blogger, and activist David Swanson says that it's time for the American people to reclaim their country and create a new, different America. In his new book, Daybreak:Undoing the Imperial Presidency and Forming a More Perfect Union, Swanson warns of the deterioration of the very institutions that the United States was founded upon. He calls for citizens to take back the freedoms they have apparently lost throughout the past several years. RT's Dina Gusovsky sits down with Swanson in Washington D.C. as he tours the country to promote his book and progressive political views.

Keith Olbermann wrote to me apropos my F Word on Monday. Following news of a corporation-brokered truce between MSNBC and FOX, I?d written that while the two networks pose as divided ? and play up social divides for ratings - they actually stand united when it comes to corporate profits. According to a New York Times report, General Electric, which owns MSNBC, reined in their host ? Keith Olbermann ? as part of a deal to call off Bill O?Reilly's questioning of GE's business. A notable example of corporate interests trumping ratings - several commentators thought ? myself included. But Olbermann, while he doesn't deny there was a peacemaking summit of CEOs -- wrote to me Tuesday that there never was/is/nor shall be any deal. And on his first appearance after the Times story ran, he went after the Times and Bill O And Rupert Murdoch ? CEO of Fox?s corporate parent, News Corp.

This week Indymedia presents Testimonies From Falluja. One of the guiding priciples of Indymedia is to have the people tell their own stories, to speak for themselves. This video is an outstanding example of this concept. The piece was made in the war zone, by Iraqi videographers shortly after the second US siege of Falluja. Directed by Dr. Hamodi Jasim, with an independent Iraqi crew, the video cut through the baloney to bring out the true situation on the ground. At the time, the US was suppressing information about what had happened in Falluja, and this video played an important role in letting people around the world know of the horror imposed on the citizens of that unlucky city. Dahr Jamail, independent US journalist, who was in Iraq when this piece was made, provides the narration. When we originally showed this piece on Indymedia Presents #136, it was the first time the video had been shown on American TV. Dahr brought the piece out of Iraq as a video CD. The PepperSpray Collective converted the VCD to DVD and began US distribution. For those concerned with how the war in Afghanistan is going, watchin g this video about Iraqis quite instructive, since it seems like much of the same thing all over again. For more info about this video, contact the PepperSpray collective: PepperSpray@riseup.net.

There are days when one's reminded why one works in independent media. August 1st was one of those days, when the New York Times ran a front page media story that might as well have been headlined: GE and Fox Hush Hosts For Profits. In a nutshell, Keith Olbermann of MSNBC and Bill O'Reilly of Fox have been going at it. For months, Olbermann's called the Fox host out for his lies and smears, regularly dubbing him "Worst Person in the World," while O'Reilly's raised questions about MSNBC's corporate owners, General Electric. The on-air feud was good for ratings. It wasn't even bad journalism, for these kind of programs. Olbermann held Fox's O'Reilly to account for dubbing Dr. George Tiller "baby killer" in the run up to Tiller's assassination. O'Reilly sent a producer to a GE shareholder's meeting to raise questions about company business in Iran. The feud wasn't bad for ratings, but it was perceived as a potential threat to other corporate interests. And so it was that some time this May, the chairman of General Electric (which owns MSNBC), and Rupert Murdoch, the chairman of News Corporation (which owns Fox News), were brought into a "summit meeting" for CEOs where Charlie Rose played peacemaker. Said one General Electric employee quoted by the Times, calling the two into line meant, "Fewer headaches on the corporate side.? The sniping's stopped. There's been virtually none of it since the deal took effect on June 1. When Glenn Beck called the President a racist, for example, commentators criticized Beck, but they obediently avoided going after the network that pays him. It's just another reminder why we don't see stinging reporting, say, of General Electric's investment in the weapons trade, or the healthcare business, or News Corp's dealings with the Chinese government. In the all-about profits media business, ideological rifts are fine for the purposes of gaining notoriety and building audience. Stir things up and play up divides -- among parties, politicians, little people. But go after business interests -- and that's another story. Then, the same media moguls who profit off our social divides starting singing Kumbaya and act in unison. Making independent media's tough. It's hard to fund and it's tempting to think there must be a better way. Wouldn't it be easier if some corporation paid the bills? Not exactly. The F Word is a regular commentary by Laura Flanders, the host of GRITtv which broadcasts weekdays on satellite TV (Dish Network Ch. 9415 Free Speech TV) on cable, and online at GRITtv.org and TheNation.com. Follow GRITtv or GritLaura on Twitter.com.

Part 3: This is the film that inspired the creation of the Maine Video Activists Network. It deconstructs the forces that shape our mainstream media system -- politics, advertising, government, and technology. Understanding these forces helps explain why some issues are covered (Tsunami, Martha Stuart, Paris Hilton, Street Crime), why some issues are not covered (gentrification, Free Trade Agreements, Third World Genocide), and why only the most homogenized content makes it through the Hollywood system. It then highlights what alternative forms of media are resisting these trends. Interviews include: Scott Beibin (Lost Film Fest), Penny Lane (Indymedia), Richard Rhames (Biddeford Public Access), Steve Thaxton (Gannet Broadcasting), Mary Caroline Powers (Broadcast Journalism), Noam Chomsky (Co-author of Manufacturing Consent), and more... Running Time: 18:00

Part 2: This is the film that inspired the creation of the Maine Video Activists Network. It deconstructs the forces that shape our mainstream media system -- politics, advertising, government, and technology. Understanding these forces helps explain why some issues are covered (Tsunami, Martha Stuart, Paris Hilton, Street Crime), why some issues are not covered (gentrification, Free Trade Agreements, Third World Genocide), and why only the most homogenized content makes it through the Hollywood system. It then highlights what alternative forms of media are resisting these trends. Interviews include: Scott Beibin (Lost Film Fest), Penny Lane (Indymedia), Richard Rhames (Biddeford Public Access), Steve Thaxton (Gannet Broadcasting), Mary Caroline Powers (Broadcast Journalism), Noam Chomsky (Co-author of Manufacturing Consent), and more... Running Time: 27:00

This is the film that inspired the creation of the Maine Video Activists Network. It deconstructs the forces that shape our mainstream media system -- politics, advertising, government, and technology. Understanding these forces helps explain why some issues are covered (Tsunami, Martha Stuart, Paris Hilton, Street Crime), why some issues are not covered (gentrification, Free Trade Agreements, Third World Genocide), and why only the most homogenized content makes it through the Hollywood system. It then highlights what alternative forms of media are resisting these trends. Interviews include: Scott Beibin (Lost Film Fest), Penny Lane (Indymedia), Richard Rhames (Biddeford Public Access), Steve Thaxton (Gannet Broadcasting), Mary Caroline Powers (Broadcast Journalism), Noam Chomsky (Co-author of Manufacturing Consent), and more... Running Time: 29:00