Head swimming from the weighty conversation right across the hall, I jumped into the middle of a discussion on Mass Media, Islam and the War on Terror, starring Anthony DiMaggio, Deepa Kumar, Adel Iskandar, and Danny Schechter. I landed at the tail end of Iskander’s opening remarks; here are some highlights from what I could pick up before jetting to meet our intrepid intern, Himeka Hagiwara, at the press table.
Iskandar notes that the greatest threat to Arab journalists used to be the state. Today, however, it’s a different story because power is diffuse. Lots of self-censorship is happening amongst Arab journalists. The “ceiling of freedom” has been lifted, but it’s a ceiling made of glass. Arab journalists can now see the lofty limits of where their profession can take them, but they won’t know they’ve hit their limit until they bump their heads.
Coverage by outlets like Al-Jazeera English shows the social justice movement and global South interests better, which has taken Western media and states by surprise.
Shortly after I arrived, Danny Schechter, of medichannel.org took the floor. Literally. He stood up and moved to the center of the room, taking control with his voice and animated gesticulation. And well, it was great material he delivered.
Schechter’s concerned that the Left dismisses critical journalism and media. The Left, he says, is stuck in its mode of thinking that the target of their criticism is corporate control over manufacturing, which has all but disappeared in the U.S. Instead, more concern should be given to the message-making coming out of mass, mainstream media. The Left/liberal response to the mainstream is effectively, non-existent.
He is also dismayed that on March 19, the beginning date of Left Forum, there was barely a mention that it was the seventh year anniversary of the invasion of Iraq. ANSWER Coalition just marched in Washington to protest the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. The protest was covered by the Washington Post, but ANSWER should have been marching against the Post and mainstream media as well for enabling the conflicts.
He laments the lack of confrontation with the media. There was nonstop coverage of the Iraq War when it began, but war coverage is no longer a concern for big media. “Media is engaging in crimes against democracy” by not giving full due to the complexities of current affairs. Academics see this as a media analysis project rather than a fight to be waged. Academics are unaware of the larger media project because they don’t see the entire media landscape. They are too focused on one outlet (e.g. New York Times or Fox News). They need broader exposure.
Check out JK Fowler's interview with Schechter here.
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The floor was turned over to questions. As happens at these things, an audience member loved to hear the sound of her own voice and kept rambling on. Luckily, our intern, Himeka Hagiwara sent me a text letting me know she had entered the Left Forum fray. I split to meet her, and then to radio row where JK Fowler was steeped in an interview with Margaret Yard.
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