WikiLeaks and the Imperial Press
The release of some 70,000-plus files from the Afghanistan War has been treated by most corporate media as, at best, a minor irritant, and worst, an act of treason.
The instincts expressed by these outlets betray the same mind set that whipped the nation to war in the aftermath of 9/11. Media as servant of presidential power. Media as servant of the defense industries—and Empire.
Julian Assange, editor-in-chief of WikiLeaks, has been lashed for not caring sufficiently for U.S. soldiers or secret Afghanistan informants.
His other offense? Counting the deaths of Afghan civilians killed by U.S. troops. For most of the media, that’s a no-no.
This is what the Imperial media sounds like.
As it stands, American corporate media is fast becoming a vanishing breed, for less and less people watch TV news, or read newspapers. Furthermore, young people are leading the trend. According to some reports, the average U.S. newspaper loses at least 10 percent of its readership every year.
While technology undoubtedly plays some role in this process, the lack of trust must also be a factor.
Their flag-waving, martial music and lies led the nation into disasters in Iraq and Afghanistan.
When an outfit like WikiLeaks comes along, with raw files from the battlefield, the corporate media seems superfluous.
And now, like underfed pit bulls, they attack WikiLeaks for not playing their imperial game.
They are barking, but WikiLeaks is biting.
—prisonradio.org, August 1. 2010