The Silence Is Deafening
As Glen Beck says, "This just in, Michael Jackson is still dead". The media coverage of Jackson has been anything but over the top with documentaries and tributes, and now it seems we'll have an all day Jacksonthon as his memorial service is held today. Did anyone else catch who else died and received little coverage from the mainstream media? In fact, NBC Evening News had a short story on him at the end of their broadcast last night which was then ironically followed by a commercial for a Dateline NBC Jackson special. So who died that has me so riled up against the media?
Robert McNamara.
McNamara served in WWII as a bombing analyst for Curtis LeMay. He also had a role in helping to decide whether or not to fire bomb Japanese cities. In his own words, he said both he and LeMay, if we would have lost the war, would have been tried as war criminals. After WWII, he worked for the Ford Motor Co. and rose through the ranks to become President of the company. President Kennedy tapped him to become his Sec. of Defense and his advise was instrumental during the Cuban Missile Crisis. McNamara was also staunchly anti-communist and supported the Vietnam war and was responsible for escalating the conflict. After serving in government, McNamara served as the President of the World Bank untl the early 80s.
People say that Jackson was controversial. He doesn't hold a candle to McNamara! McNamara had a hand in the deaths of over 1 million Japanese civilians. He was also responsible for committing over 3 million troops to South Asia. His resolve to stay committed in Vietnam split a nation and the resulting protests that influenced an entire generation's ideology, music, culture, etc.
But the media sweeps his death under the rug. Most of the media power brokers, editors, and many journalists grew up during the Vietnam war and most probably were not war-hawks. We saw this nugget of truth when the media was very opposed to the wars in Iraq and Afganastan. To them, President Bush was McNamara all over again. The anti-communist, pro-military, American businessman McNamara stands for everything that the US media loathes. As a result, the media covers Michael Jackson and his death almost 24/7 whereas McNamara gets a few hours screen time on the news crawler at the bottom of the TV screen.
If you would like to read more about McNamara and LeMay during WWII, read Retribution by Max Hastings
If you would like to read more about McNamara and the Cuban Missle Crisis, read One Minute to Midnight by Michael Dobbs
If you would like to see and hear McNamara in his own words, the documentary Fog of War is fantastic (set aside an hour or so of your time though).
UPDATE: Check out this editorial to the Washington Post. Another death overshadowed by the Michael Jackson media frenzy.
Robert McNamara.
McNamara served in WWII as a bombing analyst for Curtis LeMay. He also had a role in helping to decide whether or not to fire bomb Japanese cities. In his own words, he said both he and LeMay, if we would have lost the war, would have been tried as war criminals. After WWII, he worked for the Ford Motor Co. and rose through the ranks to become President of the company. President Kennedy tapped him to become his Sec. of Defense and his advise was instrumental during the Cuban Missile Crisis. McNamara was also staunchly anti-communist and supported the Vietnam war and was responsible for escalating the conflict. After serving in government, McNamara served as the President of the World Bank untl the early 80s.
People say that Jackson was controversial. He doesn't hold a candle to McNamara! McNamara had a hand in the deaths of over 1 million Japanese civilians. He was also responsible for committing over 3 million troops to South Asia. His resolve to stay committed in Vietnam split a nation and the resulting protests that influenced an entire generation's ideology, music, culture, etc.
But the media sweeps his death under the rug. Most of the media power brokers, editors, and many journalists grew up during the Vietnam war and most probably were not war-hawks. We saw this nugget of truth when the media was very opposed to the wars in Iraq and Afganastan. To them, President Bush was McNamara all over again. The anti-communist, pro-military, American businessman McNamara stands for everything that the US media loathes. As a result, the media covers Michael Jackson and his death almost 24/7 whereas McNamara gets a few hours screen time on the news crawler at the bottom of the TV screen.
If you would like to read more about McNamara and LeMay during WWII, read Retribution by Max Hastings
If you would like to read more about McNamara and the Cuban Missle Crisis, read One Minute to Midnight by Michael Dobbs
If you would like to see and hear McNamara in his own words, the documentary Fog of War is fantastic (set aside an hour or so of your time though).
UPDATE: Check out this editorial to the Washington Post. Another death overshadowed by the Michael Jackson media frenzy.
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