Bill Moyers Journal: Buying the War

Brian Zick

Bill Moyer's first show of the new season airs tonight on PBS. How the administration marketed the war to the American people has been well covered, but critical questions remain: How and why did the press buy it, and what does it say about the role of journalists in helping the public sort out fact from propaganda?The program looks at how the DC bubble people became propagandist cheerleaders for the Bush administration's Iraq war, instead of examining the bogus justifications and the well-founded predictions of tragic failure. The show also makes a point to note the exception to that journalistic malfeasance, giving credit to the good reporting done by the folks at Knight-Ridder (now McClatchy). You can view a clip. Broadcast tonight at 9 PM EDT on PBS (check local listings)

The text is from the poem “QUADRENNIAL” by Golden, reprinted with permission. It was first published in the Poetry Project. Inside front cover photo by Golden.
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