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Media Mishandles Iraq Story
Complicity worse
than a problem
of bias or passivity
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The U.S. m edia’s mishandling o f the
Iraq war — including the build-up and
aftermath — has brought an unusually
wide range o f criticism and condemnation.
. The most obvious evidence o f this fail­
ure is a “results-based” measure. A Gallup
«
If It’s New or Informative,
You Probably Saw It In ‘ri?r JJo rtlan h (Obsi'ruer
The Portland Observer is Oregon s
Oldest and Largest Multi-Cultural Newspaper.
T he P ortland O b se rv e r’s d istribution o f
nearly 4 0,000 papers encom passes a w ide
c ro s s -s e c tio n o f re s id e n tia l an d sta te
read ersh ip , as w ell as a large percentage
o f the local b u sin ess com m unity.
Become a part of our community.
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poll last August found that 53 percent o f
Americans believed that Saddam Hussein
was “personally involved” in the massa­
cre o f Sept. 11,2001. Where did they get
this idea, for which no evidence exists?
They got this idea from hearing it implied
not even stated outright — repeatedly
by the Bush administration. The broadcast
media transmitted this information over and
over again, with only occasional rebuttals,
if any.
Regardless o f their own views on the war,
American journalists became the Bush
administration's major means ofpromoting
it, even through misinformation. This misin­
formation included the alleged weapons o f
mass destruction, the forged documents
and aluminum tubes put forth as evidence
ofan Iraqi nuclear program, and other false­
hoods.
The broadcast media is most important,
because that is the main source o f informa­
tion for the “swing voters” and Americans
whose views are not determined by party
affiliation. This media will have to be re­
formed. Journalists must begin to treat
government lying as any other fonn o f
malfeasance such as bribery or stealing: It
is something to be exposed to the public
as news, not glossed over and reinforced
with endless repetition.
In a political move beginning last Au­
gust that was as transparent as it was
cynical, the Bush team used a manufac­
tured threat from Iraq to remove from the
electoral agenda all the domestic issues
on which it was politically vulnerable.
Among these: a series o f scandals involv­
ing the adm inistration’s highest officials
(including President Bush and V ice Presi­
dent Dick C heney), the economy, the bud­
get, Medicare and Social Security.
The strategy worked, and helped them
win both houses o f Congress for the Re­
publican Party. They then invaded Iraq,
causing the media and the public to rally
even more around the president, and lift­
ing his approval ratings. Now the press is
Journalists must begin to
treat government lying as any
other form o f malfeasance such
as bribery or stealing.
talking about whether he can “use the
capital from the military success to push
forward his domestic agenda.”
That is not likely, as the economy con­
tinues to sputter and unemployment rises.
The odds are therefore very high that we
will find ourselves confronting another
“security threat" before the next election
— North Korea, Iran, Syria... there are
many to choose from.
Yes, it can happen again. The media's
complicity in such scams is therefore much
worse than a problem ofbias or passivity. It
is one o f the greatest threats to democracy
— and security — that this country faces.
Mark Weishrot is co-director o f the
Centerfor Economic and Policy Research
in Washington. D.C.
Predatory Lending Targets Homeowners of Color
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I
Bv M aude H vrd
T w o y ea rs ag o , C e le stin e an d Earl
Ja ck so n alm o st c o m p le te ly ow n ed
th e ir hom e. A fter tw o d ec ad e s o f
m ak in g m o rtg ag e p ay m en t s, they
looked fo rw ard to en jo y in g th e ir re ­
tire m en t in a sta b le n eig h b o rh o o d .
But in the upside-down world o f preda­
tory lending, dreams turn into nightmares
and African-Americans like the Jacksons
are often targeted for loans that flip them
over, from owning almost all o f their home
to virtually none o f it.
While the media spotlight has recently
Maude Hurd
shined on predatory lending and politicians
are responding to communities outraged by can homeowners looking to refinance were
the abuses, destructive loans continue to m ore likely than low -incom e w hite
be made in our neighborhoods. Some o f the homeowners to receive a subprime loan -
country’s biggest home mortgage lenders an outrageous commentary on how our
- includingthe Jacksons’ lender. Wells Fargo country’s financial system really works.
- are raking in big bucks making predatory
Only when homeowners w ho’ve been
loans to unsuspecting borrowers.
hurt step forward and join together will we
The past decade's explosive growth in ever stop these loan sharks from preying on
subprime lending has been particularly our neighborhoods.
hard on our neighborhoods, as subprime
If you may have received a predatory
loans are heavily targeted to African- loan, or to get involved in the fight against
American homeowners. In 2001, African- predatory lending, please contact the local
American homeowners wert-4.4 times more Association for Community Organization
likely to receive a subprime refinance loan and Reform Now office at 503-788-4362.
than whites. And it’ s not ju st an income
Maude Hurd is the national president o f
issue, since upper-income African-Ameri- ACORN
A