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Bill Moyers has a special on PBS recently about the sales job the Bush White House did in the run up to invading Iraq. Many theories will be laid out including wanting to suck up to the White House for continued access and lingering patriotism left-over from 9/11/2001. I have an alternate theory to throw into the hopper. I have always wondered why there was not more balance to the coverage.

It struck me that the major media outlets were almost universally in favor of the war, yet the polls indicated that there were 35-40% of the voters against the war. Imagine being a news director and seeing everyone else lining up to cater to the 50-60% in favor of the war, and then seeing 35-40% sitting there with nobody trying to reach them. If only as a smart business move, if not an ideological one , go for the low hanging fruit. That is, if you even appeared to be even handed on the issue of going to war, you would pick up a huge percentage of the anti-war group who feel left out by the universal drumbeat for war. Yet, no news outlet even tried, and the one cable show that came close was shut down when MSNBC fired Phil Donahue.
On the face of it, this doesn't make sense, until you factor in the age old motive, money. In late 2002 and early 2003 the FCC was debating about whether to allow giant media conglomerates to get even bigger. The decision would allow companies to hold three TV stations in some markets, instead of two. It would also allow broadcast networks to reach a total of 45% of the national audience, up from a limit of 35%. Michael Powell, coincidentally then Secretary of State Colin Powell's son, was the deciding vote. Supporters of the plan claimed that the old rules were out-dated relics. Opposition to the changes focused on the reduction of diversity of viewpoints, and the possible stifling of reporting of local news.
Oddly enough the decision, which was due at any moment after the hearings ended, inexplicably was delayed until June 2nd, 2003 . This is 1 month to the day after George W. Bush declared, somewhat mistakenly, "Mission Accomplished" in a photo op on an aircraft carrier. Not surprisingly, the FCC decision was in favor of all those media outlets who marched in lockstep with the White House down the road to war.
Oh, and those in opposition to this decision certainly appear to have been right, if the state of diversity of discourse and the state of local news is any example. As for MSNBC, they now are ardently opposed to this administration and this war as long as Keith Olbermann, and to a lesser extent Chris Mathews, is on the air. Sadly MSNBC, too little, too late.

Learn more about this author, Phillip Fears.
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