Into the Buzzsaw

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Into the Buzzsaw

• LEADING JOURNALISTS EXPOSE THE MYTH OF A FREE
  PRESS

Kristina Borjesson, 2002
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• Forward by Gore Vidal (1925- )
• 1948 Wrote The City and the Pillar about a
  young, homosexual male NYT refused to review his
  next five novels he began publishing under
  pseudonyms

• The writers in the book go to the roots and they
  ask the only question worth asking why?

The Gore Vidal Index
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Authors comments

• The buzzsaw is a powerful system of censorship
  in this country that is revealed to those
  reporting on extremely sensitive stories, usually
  having to do with high-level government and/or
  corporation malfeasance. Misconduct or
  wrongdoing, especially by a public official
  (Dictionary.com)
• ? radioactive journalists unemployable,
  blacklisted

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About the book

• A series of essays written by award-winning,
  investigative journalists from around the world
  about their difficulties in getting articles
  which contain verifiable truth published by
  mainstream media
• Essayists include Gerard Colby, Jane Akre, Greg
  Palast, Maurice Murad, Kristina Borjesson, David
  E. Hendrix, Philip Weiss, Helen Malmgren, Robert
  Port, April Oliver, Monika Jensen-Stevenson, Karl
  Idsvoog, Michael Levine, Gary Webb, John Kelly,
  Carl Jensen, Brant Houston, Robert McChesney

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Ch. 1 The Price of Liberty

• Author Gerard Colby journalist and author,
  former VP and current co-chair National Book
  Division, National Writers Union
• Privishing practice of killing an authors
  book without that authors knowledge via
• reduce initial printing in order to boost price,
  reduce profit
• refuse re-prints
• reduce advertising budget
• cancel promotional tour(s)

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• Cont.
• Privishing is propagated by big media ownership
  in publishing (i.e. Rupert Murdoch)
• Colbys books, Du Pont Behind the Nylon Curtain
  and Du Pont Dynasty privished because of the
  influence of the Du Pont family on publisher
  Prentice-Hall
• 1981 filed suit against Du Pont, Prentice-Hall
  and Book of the Month Club (BOMC)

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• I knew the chances for justice were really bad
  when Judge Brieant suddenly got up from the bench
  and walked down to Irenee as he was reading the
  document and reached over to turn on the light
  for him.

- Gerard Colby concerning the federal suit
against Du Pont Corporation
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Ch. 2 The Fox, the Hounds and the Sacred Cows

• Author Jane Akre 20-year veteran broadcast
• journalism reporter
• The Mystery in Your Milk lack of federal
  testing for use of chemical rBGH which increases
  amount of milk produced by cows by chemical
  company Monsanto.
• -Rupert Murdoch purchased FOX WTVT in 1997,
  ending any chances of story being released

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• Cont.
• Florida Private Whistleblowers Act (employee
  cannot be fired for refusing to participate in
  illegal action or reporting illegal action to
  authorities)
• A five-week trial yielded a judgment of 425,000
  to Akre her husband received nothing.
• Fox appeals have prevented them from receiving
  any of the award they are unemployed.

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Ch. 16 What Happened to Good Old-Fashioned
Muckraking?

• Author Carl Jensen founder and creator of
  Project Censored (1976-present) a national
  media research effort to improve media coverage
  of important political issues http//www.projectc
  ensored.com
• Muckraking to search for and expose
  misconduct in public life (Dictionary.com)

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Doomed investigative reporting

• Six conditions dooming future of investigative
  reporting
• litigation against news media
• censorship by monopolies
• trend from individual investigation to group
  approach
• censorship of student publications
• unfulfilled role of media watchdog
• bottom line profit

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Ch. 18 The Rise and Fall of Professional
Journalism

• Author Robert McChesney author/editor of seven
  books on media, its operations and flaws
• Problems with media result from the structure of
• the media industry improvements will
• require changes in that structure
• watchdog role
• reliable information and sources

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• Beginnings
• - highly partisan
• - political agendas
• 1800s
• - rise of media to advance interests of
  socialists, feminists, abolitionists, trade
  unionists and radicals

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Progressive Era rise of professional journalism

• Three biases
• official sources setting news agenda
• news hooks, pegs
• agendas dig here, not there phenomenon

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• The media system is the result of laws,
  government subsidies, and regulations made in the
  publics name, but made corruptly behind closed
  doors without the publics informed consent.

- Robert McChesney on the needed overhaul of the
media system