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We first got to know Danny Schecter here at The World's Magazine as the motive force behind MediaChannel.org, a Web presence dedicated to understanding media both on- and offline. As part of GlobalVision, it's stated mission was to empower those of us involved in independent or "alternative" journalism by providing resources and connecting us to like-minded news professionals around the globe. It was our honor to sign on as an affiliate of MediaChannel back in the 1990s.Schecter's resumé is quite impressive. He worked for the Cable News Network (CNN) and when it was in its seminal days and still committed to global reach. He went on to be a producer at the American Broadcasting Company (ABC's) television newsmagazine, "20/20." But, as he points out in his new documentary "WMD: Weapons of Mass Deception," he has always had a personal concern with how stories are covered and the relationship between the press and the people we purport to cover.
In recent years, at his "News Dissector" Web site and his blog on the MediaChannel site, Schecter has been more and more concerned with the relationship between government and th e ever-more concentrated media conglomerates here in the United States.
When we heard about his documentary film, which is now playing in theatres around the country, our first impulse was to simply review the film. But after viewing this hard-hitting and important documentary, we had questions.
Herewith a transcript of our discussion with Danny Schecter.
G21: "WMD: Weapons of Mass Deception" covers a wholly new and important area of American discourse, the responsibilities of mass media organizations, using the run-up and continuing coverage of the aftermath of the Iraqi war as an object lesson.? Were you concerned that the title of the documentary might be a turn-off for audiences who believe they've heard all they need to from left-wing, "Blue State" losers?
SCHECTER: Not really because concerns about irresponsible media are not partisan. Republicans have been waging a media war on so-called liberal media for years -- many are media savvy and some are turning against the war and its logic.
Bill O'Reilly was one of the first TV journalists to admit he was wrong on WMDs -- (he did so on ABC, not Fox, of course) but I wanted to go beyond the simplistic left-right divide and analyze an institutional response and then contrast US media with media in other countries.
It is true that many viewers are increasingly into a kind of "faith-based journalism" -- looking only for information that confirms their existing prejudices or makes them feel right or righteous. This is also true on the left.
G21: In that vein, what are you doing to avoid making this film just another exercise in "preaching to the choir?"
SCHECTER: Because it doesn't just preach to the choir. I have found that many in the anti-war movement don't understand media or the importance of challenging it ... The preaching to the choir idea assumes that everyone who feels a certain way knows whats going on ... I am a journalist clinging to the hope that facts and information matter.
G21: You make the argument in the first quarter of the film that the U.S. Department of Defense and the Pentagon treated the run-up to and initiation of hostilities in Iraq like a "product roll-out ..."? where "... only one message would be in the media -- theirs."? Yet, Victoria Clarke, the Pentagon P.R. person asserts in your film that history will look back on the war coverage as being " ... more truthful and hard-hitting ..." than ever before.? Why are your views and hers so divergent?
SCHECTER: She is a propagandist. I am a journalist. She wants us to believe that the coverage she constructed was accurate ... now we know that much (not all, but much) wasn't.
G21: Have you had any difficulties getting distribution for the film?? Will it show nationwide, the way Michael Moore's film did, or do you expect it to be akin to an "art house" project, vis-a-vis availability?
SCHECTER: Yes of course. No Media channels would fund it. I did get an independent distributor, Cinema Libre, and we are rolling it out city by city ... 9 cities so far ... In making films, you need money for production and marketing ... the latter is the challenge ... Michael had a big company behind him. I didn't. The media was not his main target.
G21: You've got an impressive resumé.? Since you were a broadcast insider for so long, being with CNN and then with ABC's "20/20," do you get criticism from your former colleagues for now calling them to task about their styles of journalism and methods of covering important stories?
SCHECTER: Many of my colleagues have cheered me on ... Others are defensive.
G21: MediaChannel.org does a lot to offer a diversity of news sources to people familiar with its existence.? Yet, I meet people who aren't even aware that the Web site exists.? Are you making efforts to bring the Web site and your "News Dissector" blog onto the radar screens of non-journalist surfers?
SCHECTER: Yes we are. Again, the marketing and promotion challenge is often about resources. But we have 1313 [affiliates] and get some attention ... I have a piece this week on Editor and Publisher, was profiled in the New York Times, had big write-up in France, Denmark, Japan etc ... See www.wmdthefilm.com for more of the press coverage.
G21: What do you think will bring journalism back into news reporting -- especially broadcast news reporting -- or do you believe that's already a lost cause?
SCHECTER: No I don't. Its a battle ... a media war by itself. There are many dissidents in the media and growing dissatisfaction in the public.
G21: You mention that many people have migrated to the Internet and, often, non-USA news sources in order to get their information. Do you believe this trend will continue?? Is so, why so?
SCHECTER: Yes because big coroporate media is DEVOLVING and lacks integrity.
G21: Thanks for being with us.
© 2005, GENERATOR 21.
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