EMBEDDED: WEAPONS OF MASS DECEPTION: How the Media Failed to Cover the War on Iraq.

(1)Can you tell ZNet, please, what your new book is about? What is it
trying to communicate?

The other day, I asked a media veteran if he had ever seen anything like
what passed for news coverage during the Iraq War. I opined that it
represented the final stage of the collapse of journalism as an
independent force in our society.

My friend, an older man, said that he had seen it before.

"Oh really, I replied. Where?

His response: Germany, l938

That shut me up.

I hope my new book, Embedded Weapons of Mass Deception will wake you up
to the newest techniques being deployed by the mainstream media outlets
for sanitizing coverage and cheerleading for war.

This book offers a day by day account of what we saw and how it
contrasted and conflicted with what others were seeing around the world.
It tells the story of how what was once called "the fourth estate"
became the "fourth front."

Drawing on the considerable resources of Mediachannel.org, the world's
largest online media issues network, as well as my own 30 year
experience as a journalist in print, radio and TV it offers an insider's
view with an outsider's critique. I am proud that it has been endorsed
by Noam Chomsky, Greg Palast, and Peter Arnett who was there.

The book, just out in hard cover from PROMETHEUS Press and online at
Mediachannel.org with support from ColdType.net, offers a readable
window in how the war was sold-and why so many Americans bought it.

(2) Can you tell ZNet something about writing the book? Where does the
content come from? What went into making the book what it is?

I write a weblog for mediachannel.org every morning starting at 6 AM.
This book collects my reportage supplemented by longer reports and
analysis for other publications. In many ways I was "self-embedded" at
my computer.

My tears and sweat went into writing it and quickly. The first e-book
edition was posted in July. It has now been updated through October.
That other fine book on weapons of mass deception deals mostly with
government PR and propaganda. Mine deals with the media and its
collaboration with the military. It shows how journalism became
"militainment."

For more: write dissector@mediachannel.org