MEDIA WATCH

Asia Times: The power of silence
OSLO - "If the reality in Iraq is one thing and the reporting of it remains another, it is because much of the media want it that way," say two leading journalists who have earned reputations for reporting the "other" side of the Iraq story.

The level of self-censorship in the media has risen not just during the Iraq war but also since September 11, says Robert Fisk from The Independent newspaper published in Britain and John Pilger, Australian broadcaster and film maker.

Pilger and Fisk both spoke to Inter Press Service on visits to Oslo recently. Pilger was to receive the US$100,000 Sophie Prize for 30 years of work to expose deception and war against humanity. Fisk gave a lecture at Fritt Ord, a Norwegian media foundation.

"Propaganda is not found just in totalitarian states," Pilger said. "There at least they know they are being lied to. We tend to assume it is the truth. In the US, censorship is rampant."

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