UPDATED - ColdType

competitors, like CNN and MSNBC, to the right.
In global terms, Al-Jazeera has emerged with
new respect and a bigger audience. As Michael
Wolff noted in New York Magazine: “The network
is being transformed the way Gulf War I
transformed CNN – but then CNN’s audience has
never exceeded more than a few million,
whereas Al-Jazeera already speaks to a good 35
million people every day.
“By the time this whole thing is over,” I said to
three (Middle East) correspondents, “you’ll be
far and away the dominant media organization in
the region – one of the largest in the world! You
could end up being Time Warner Al-Jazeera.”
The Al-Jazeera man responded: “No, Al-
Jazeera Time Warner.” Clearly, they understand
brand positioning.
The real war may have ended but the media
war grinds on and heats up. While most of the
world had its eye on Baghdad, Rupert Murdoch
had his on the Direct TV satellite that he wants
to add to his arsenal of media weaponry.
In Washington, the FCC, under the leadership
of Colin Powell’s son Michael, announced plans
to lift media rules that limit concentration of
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media in the hands of a few companies, this on
June 2. Michael Powell has already cited the war
coverage as the reason America needs media
Goliaths.
This story bas been badly covered in the
American press, but not in England where The
Guardian’s Annie Lawson reported, “U.S. broadcasters’
war stance under scrutiny.” Unfortunately,
only non-profit groups not the government
are calling for such scrutiny. The Center for
Digital Democracy, which promotes diversity in
digital media, says it believes news organizations
in the U.S. have a “serious conflict of interest”
when it comes to reporting the policies of the
Bush Administration.
“It is likely that decisions about how to cover
the war on Iraq – especially on television – may
be tempered by a concern not to alienate the
White House,” said Jeffrey Chester, the Digital
Democracy Center’s executive director, in a
recent article. “These media giants stand to
make untold billions if the FCC safeguards are
eliminated or weakened.”
This issue has yet to surface in the American
media. Does anyone wonder why? ●