network 'military analysts' part of pentagon pr campaign, NYT reports
Submitted by farrell kramer on Mon, 04/21/2008 - 9:54am.Many of the "military analysts" who explain wars and weapons programs to the public on CNN, NBC and other TV and radio networks are actually part of an Pentagon-orchestrated PR campaign, The New York Times tells us this weekend:
To the public, these men are members of a familiar fraternity, presented tens of thousands of times on television and radio as “military analysts” whose long service has equipped them to give authoritative and unfettered judgments about the most pressing issues of the post-Sept. 11 world.
Hidden behind that appearance of objectivity, though, is a Pentagon information apparatus that has used those analysts in a campaign to generate favorable news coverage of the administration’s wartime performance, an examination by The New York Times has found.
News With a French Accent
Submitted by sharon bially on Tue, 12/12/2006 - 10:13am.The mission of France's newly launched English-language news station, France 24, is "to cover worldwide news with French eyes." This may sound simple, but dig a little deeper and it has broad implications for the communications world.
CBS Evening News -- Live, On the Web?
Submitted by farrell kramer on Thu, 08/17/2006 - 10:23pm.We've talked before about the stunning decline in network TV news and the great challenges this medium faces.
So when CBS announced Katie Couric would take over for Dan Rather on the CBS Evening News, it seemed like more of the same was coming...
Perhaps, it's not.
This came from CBS today, in a press release:
Jurassic TV -- Turn on the Evening News!
Submitted by farrell kramer on Mon, 02/13/2006 - 11:27pm.It strikes me watching the Olympics on NBC that this kind of thing -- a big, worldwide event -- is precisely what the major TV networks do well. In fact, it is one of the few things they do well.
News isn't one of them.
Now, those of you who know me recall that I come from the mainstream media. I wrote for The Associated Press for the final half decade or so of my journalism career. In today's fragmented media environment, organizations like the AP will always survive because they dig up and share news. They're a primary source for other media outlets.
But for those who put a far greater emphasis on presentation than gathering -- "sound bites," "live standups," "interview gets" -- the future will be much tougher.
