US media transparency and war

The United States have little transparency when it comes to their media.

According to television producer, independent film maker and author, Danny Schechter, "...the U.S. media is so self-referential that they seem unwilling to acknowledge that

a media outside the United States might prefer not to compare itself to a U.S. media brand." The United States constantly portrays itself to the world as an image of democracy. However, when it comes to policies and the media, they are anti-democratic.

This can be shown in their media portrayal of the War on Terror. It is biased and racist against the Iraqis and do not show an equal representation of the two parties, the way one would expect from the news. CNN is the major television channel in covering the War on Terror but has been criticised for being a "mouthpiece for the U.S. government and military." It uses racial profiling which is defined as "the practice of substituting skin color for evidence as grounds for suspicion by law enforcement officials." This is evident in the way the US chooses to portray Iraq and the Middle Eastern government style. Their imperial presidency powers are being challenged by the United States. The US are trying to impose their capitalist ways upon these countries and this is the result of orientalism. For example, coverage shown of the killing of Saddam Hussein and Osama was gory and explicit whereas the U.S. banned photos of Americans jumping off the twin towers in 911. This shows the different benchmarks set for those of the Middle East as opposed to Americans.

The United States’ media also use fear to convince Americans that the end justify the means. Geroge Bush uses binary opposites to construct the evil Other, in this case being the Islams. This mind set can be linked back to the Enlightenment where eurocentricity was established as a universal norm. This type of stereotyping are one-dimensional and demeaning. The “dangerous savage and the civilised white” stereotype has been employed in the U.S. mass media against the Arabs. According to Said: “In newsreals or newsphotos, the Arab is always shown in large numbers. no individuality, no personal characteristics or experiences. Most of the pictures represent mass rage and misery, or irrational (hence hopelessly eccentric) gestures. Lurking behind all of these images is the menace of the jihad. Consequence: a fear that the Muslims (or Arabs will take over the world.” During the Bush administration, Bush laid down a mythology of Bin Laden, making him almost “superhuman” while generating fear and hysteria. This reduced his traits to pure evil which is an oversimplified way of projecting someone.

To this day, the U.S. media is still not transparent despite the country’s multiculturalism. And it seems like history keeps on repeating itself when it comes to racism despite all the debate.

It is, indeed, a white man's world.