Was the Media Told? : CRITICAL MEDIA LITERACY IN TIMES OF WAR

The Washington Post, "CNN Chief Orders 'Balance' in War News; Reporters are Told To Remind Viewers Why U.S. is Bombing," Howard Kurtz (Staff Writer) October 31, 2001, Page C1

"The chairman of CNN has ordered his staff to balance images of civilian devastation in Afghan cities with reminders that the Taliban harbors murderous terrorists, saying it 'seems perverse to focus too much on the casualties or hardship in Afghanistan'."

The Guardian (London), "CNN to carry reminders of US attacks," Matt Wells, November 1, 2001, Page 1

"News presenters on the service that is shown to US viewers will be required to end each report with a formula such as: ‘We must keep in mind, after seeing reports like this, that the Taliban regime in Afghanistan continues to harbour terrorists who have praised the September 11 attacks that killed close to 5,000 innocent people in the US.’ Alternatively, they can say: ‘The Pentagon has repeatedly stressed that it is trying to minimize civilian casualties in Afghanistan, even as the Taliban regime continues to harbour terrorists who are connected to the September 11 attacks that claimed thousands of innocent lives in the US...
"And ‘if relevant’, the presenter can say that ‘the Pentagon has stressed that the Taliban continues to harbour the terrorists and the Taliban forces are reported to be hiding in populated areas and using civilians as human shields’."

-- Critical Media Literacy in Times of War -- Introduction to the Site -- Modules -- Afghanistan -- Introduction -- Background -- Media Coverage -- How Many Protested? -- Crowd Size Sept. '01 -- Crowd Size April '02 -- Was Reporting Fair? -- Comparing Reports -- Comparing Reports, con't -- Why Underreporting? -- Tones and Headlines, Sept. '01 protests -- Tones and Headlines, April '02 protests -- Comparing Positions -- Civilian Casualties -- How Many Civilians Died? -- Tones and Headlines -- U.S. Raid, Oct 11, 2001 -- U.S. Raid, Oct 11, 2001 con't -- U.S. Raid, Oct 11, 2001, part 3 -- Was the Media Told? (you are here) -- Networks Follow Orders!	WAS THE NETWORK MEDIA TOLD HOW AND WHAT TO REPORT? The Washington Post, "CNN Chief Orders 'Balance' in War News; Reporters are Told To Remind Viewers Why U.S. is Bombing," Howard Kurtz (Staff Writer) October 31, 2001, Page C1 "The chairman of CNN has ordered his staff to balance images of civilian devastation in Afghan cities with reminders that the Taliban harbors murderous terrorists, saying it 'seems perverse to focus too much on the casualties or hardship in Afghanistan'." The Guardian (London), "CNN to carry reminders of US attacks," Matt Wells, November 1, 2001, Page 1 "News presenters on the service that is shown to US viewers will be required to end each report with a formula such as: ‘We must keep in mind, after seeing reports like this, that the Taliban regime in Afghanistan continues to harbour terrorists who have praised the September 11 attacks that killed close to 5,000 innocent people in the US.’ Alternatively, they can say: ‘The Pentagon has repeatedly stressed that it is trying to minimize civilian casualties in Afghanistan, even as the Taliban regime continues to harbour terrorists who are connected to the September 11 attacks that claimed thousands of innocent lives in the US... "And ‘if relevant’, the presenter can say that ‘the Pentagon has stressed that the Taliban continues to harbour the terrorists and the Taliban forces are reported to be hiding in populated areas and using civilians as human shields’."
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WAS THE NETWORK MEDIA TOLD HOW AND WHAT TO REPORT?