Tell Me Lies: Propaganda and Media Distortion in the Attack on Iraq
David Miller (Editor)
Reviewed by Mick Gosling
Pluto Press, London, 2003
There is no flim-flam or pseudo-academic media analysis bullshit in 'Tell Me Lies'. This book is a forensic and passionate dissection of the propaganda and media distortion used to justify the war on Iraq.
David Miller from the Stirling Media Research Institute has quickly brought together short essays from over 30 media watchers and workers. These systematically demonstrate how the mainstream media regurgitated government propaganda, ignored the existing humanitarian crisis in Iraq, never seriously considered the consequences of war and - with a few honourable exceptions such as Robert Fisk who is interviewed in the book - failed to address the over-riding issue in the Middle East, namely Palestine (aside from the oil).
One of the most telling contributions is from Tim Llewellyn, the BBC's Middle East correspondent for three decades. He strips apart the way the Israeli/Palestinian conflict is reported by the BBC. For Tim, the real parallel is apartheid but the way the BBC frames the issue is of two state powers fighting each other on a level playing field. BBC executives are terrified of accusations of anti-semitism from the well-organised Israeli lobby.
This is followed by an excellent research-based study by the Glasgow Media Research Group exploring the media's role in shaping public understanding not just of the present but also of the past. This is of fundamental importance: if we don't own and control our own history we can't determine today's (his)story or change its future direction.
A further powerful contribution is from Faisal Bodi, a senior editor at Aljazeera.net and a Guardian columnist on Muslim affairs. Readers will appreciate the irony - in structuring its reporting, Al Jazeera practices what the BBC preaches.
'Tell me lies' is a breath of fresh air in media analysis. It's about changing things. It's for activists not anoraks. Miller pulls no punches: 'media activism must also be seen as part of a bigger struggle, which, in the end, involves civil disobedience. It requires millions of us to speak and act "knowing and fearing" as John Pilger puts it, "that we cannot be silenced".'
Mick Gosling
Chair Press and PR Branch NUJ
January 2004
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