Pure
Fiel a Verdad
- Joined
- Dec 20, 2001
- Posts
- 15,135
The Republican Noise Machine
Such a great title deserves a thread. The book, just out, is one of those 'insider' books: by a former conservative writer of Republican screeds like the hatchet job on Anita Hill.
It has excellent reviews.
David Brock, the reformed conservative noise-maker, on how the Right has sabotaged journalism, democracy, and truth.
{from the Mother Jones site}
David Brock
Interviewed By Bradford Plumer
September 1, 2004
As a young journalist in the 1990s, David Brock was a key cog the Republican noise machine. Writing for the American Spectator, a conservative magazine funded by billionaire Richard Mellon Scaife, Brock gained fame for his attack pieces on Anita Hill and President Bill Clinton.
Then, in 2002, Brock came clean. In his memoir, Blinded by the Right, Brock admitted that his work was based on lies and distortion, and part of a coordinated smear campaign funded by wealthy right wing groups to discredit Clinton and confuse the public.
Since then, Brock has continued to expose the conservative media onslaught. In his newest book, The Republican Noise Machine, Brock documents how right-wing groups pressure the media and spread misinformation to the public. It's easy to see how this is done. Fringe conspiracies and stories will be kept alive by outlets like Rush Limbaugh, the Washington Times, and the Drudge Report, until they finally break into the mainstream media. Well-funded think tanks like the Heritage Foundation overwhelm news reporters with distorted statistics and conservative spin.
Mainstream cable news channels employ staunchly rightwing pundits -- like Pat Buchanan and Sean Hannity -- to twist facts and echo Republican talking points, all under the rubric of "balance." Meanwhile, media groups like Brent Bozell's Media Research Center have spent 30 years convincing the public that the media is, in fact, liberal. As Brock says, it's all a sham: "I have seen, and I know firsthand, indeed from my own pen, how the organized Right has sabotaged not only journalism but also democracy and truth."
Not content to merely complain, Brock launched _Media Matters for America_ in May, a media watchdog organization devoted to exposing rightwing distortions in the news, and to chart undue conservative influence in the media.
Brock recently chatted with MotherJones.com about Media Matters,
Such a great title deserves a thread. The book, just out, is one of those 'insider' books: by a former conservative writer of Republican screeds like the hatchet job on Anita Hill.
It has excellent reviews.
David Brock, the reformed conservative noise-maker, on how the Right has sabotaged journalism, democracy, and truth.
{from the Mother Jones site}
David Brock
Interviewed By Bradford Plumer
September 1, 2004
As a young journalist in the 1990s, David Brock was a key cog the Republican noise machine. Writing for the American Spectator, a conservative magazine funded by billionaire Richard Mellon Scaife, Brock gained fame for his attack pieces on Anita Hill and President Bill Clinton.
Then, in 2002, Brock came clean. In his memoir, Blinded by the Right, Brock admitted that his work was based on lies and distortion, and part of a coordinated smear campaign funded by wealthy right wing groups to discredit Clinton and confuse the public.
Since then, Brock has continued to expose the conservative media onslaught. In his newest book, The Republican Noise Machine, Brock documents how right-wing groups pressure the media and spread misinformation to the public. It's easy to see how this is done. Fringe conspiracies and stories will be kept alive by outlets like Rush Limbaugh, the Washington Times, and the Drudge Report, until they finally break into the mainstream media. Well-funded think tanks like the Heritage Foundation overwhelm news reporters with distorted statistics and conservative spin.
Mainstream cable news channels employ staunchly rightwing pundits -- like Pat Buchanan and Sean Hannity -- to twist facts and echo Republican talking points, all under the rubric of "balance." Meanwhile, media groups like Brent Bozell's Media Research Center have spent 30 years convincing the public that the media is, in fact, liberal. As Brock says, it's all a sham: "I have seen, and I know firsthand, indeed from my own pen, how the organized Right has sabotaged not only journalism but also democracy and truth."
Not content to merely complain, Brock launched _Media Matters for America_ in May, a media watchdog organization devoted to exposing rightwing distortions in the news, and to chart undue conservative influence in the media.
Brock recently chatted with MotherJones.com about Media Matters,
