Date:         Thu, 8 Apr 1999 19:53:25 -0400
Subject:      [FAIR-L] ACTION ALERT: CNN CAN'T FIND DISSENT FROM THE LEFT




                                 FAIR-L
                    Fairness & Accuracy in Reporting
               Media analysis, critiques and news reports


 FAIR ACTION ALERT: CNN CAN'T FIND DISSENT FROM THE LEFT
 April 8, 1999

 On April 7, CNN's Bill Schneider offered this analysis of the anti-war
 sentiment in the country: "What's missing from the Kosovo story is
 anti-war protest, at least on the left."  Schneider continued by
 saying that there was "no action out there on the streets or on
 campuses -- no marches, no demonstrations, no teach-ins."

 The statement is true, if one watches the media for signs of dissent
 from the left.  In fact, contrary to Schneider's claim, there is
 plenty of dissent from the Clinton policy-on campuses, in the streets
 and from leading progressive writers and thinkers.

 Leading left-of-center publications like The Nation and The
 Progressive have editorialized against the NATO bombings. Groups like
 the War Resisters League and the International Action Center, led by
 former U.S. Attorney General Ramsey Clark, have organized
 demonstrations and spoken out forcefully. Dozens of prominent
 commentators, like Noam Chomsky and Howard Zinn, have condemned the
 bombings. And a gathering of notables and activists like Tim Robbins,
 Erica Jong and Rosie Perez in New York City on April 5 attracted an
 overflow crowd.

 Since the day before the bombing of Yugoslavia began, the Institute
 for Public Accuracy (IPA) has sent eight news releases to countless
 media outlets, featuring 25 independent analysts with critical
 perspectives on the bombing. Experts and commentators from IPA's
 roster have appeared on numerous media outlets--including MSNBC and
 Fox News Channel--but have not thus far been featured on CNN.

 When Schneider claims that dissent from the left boils down to
 criticizing Clinton "not for what he's trying to do, but for the way
 he's doing it," he is incorrect. Many of the most prominent critics
 are in fact questioning NATO's moral authority to intervene in this
 war.

 Schneider concludes the report with this: "The peace movement is
 leading the war.  And for liberals who oppose the war, they don't have
 any Pat Buchanan to speak for them."

 Again, if Schneider's understanding of dissent is limited to the
 mainstream media, that is correct. Unfortunately, there is much more
 going on that fails to make the news.

 ***

 ACTION: Call on CNN to expand their coverage of the war in Yugoslavia
 to include progressive critics that have been marginalized by the
 media thus far. Ask them to consider some of the experts, journalists
 and commentators whose work is featured on the web sites listed below.


 Contact:
 CNN Senior Political Analyst William Schneider
 Phone: (202) 515-2852
 Fax: (202) 515-2853

 CNN President Richard Kaplan
 Phone: (404) 827-1500
 Fax: (404) 827-1575

 mailto:on-air-AT-turner.com



 Relevant links:

 Institute for Public Accuracy-- a roster of leading anti-bombing
 experts available to the media
 ( http://www.accuracy.org/press.htm )

 Z Magazine-- commentary by prominent NATO critics, like Noam Chomsky
 and Edward Said
 ( http://www.zmag.org/ZMag/kosovo.htm )

 The Nation
 ( http://www.thenation.com/issue/990419/0419editors.shtml )

 The Progressive
 ( http://www.progressive.org/latest.htm )

 Common Dreams-- News and Views for Progressives
 ( http://www.commondreams.org )

 War Resisters League
 ( http://www.nonviolence.org/wrl/ )

 International Action Center
 ( http://www.iacenter.org )



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