Jessica Yellin is currently an American political reporter for CNN. On the popular primetime news show, Anderson Cooper 360, Jessica Yellin admitted to being pressured by corporate executives to present positive stories during the run up to the Iraq war on May 28th, 2008. MSNBC, who was her employer at the time, told her to avoid negative reporting about the government and to report favorably on the war in Iraq.
This is a transcript of the interview that took place between Anderson Cooper and Jessica:
Cooper: “Jessica, McClellan took press to task for not upholding their reputation. He writes: "The National Press Corps was probably too deferential to the White House and to the administration in regard to the most important decision facing the nation during my years in Washington, the choice over whether to go to war in Iraq. The 'liberal media' -- in quotes -- didn't live up to its reputation. If it had, the country would have been better served." Dan Bartlett, former Bush adviser, called the allegation "total crap." What is your take? Did the press corps drop the ball?”
Yellin: “I wouldn't go that far. I think the press corps dropped the ball at the beginning. When the lead-up to the war began, the press corps was under enormous pressure from corporate executives, frankly, to make sure that this was a war that was presented in a way that was consistent with the patriotic fever in the nation and the president's high approval ratings.
And my own experience at the White House was that, the higher the president's approval ratings, the more pressure I had from news executives -- and I was not at this network at the time -- but the more pressure I had from news executives to put on positive stories about the president. I think, over time...”
Cooper:”You had pressure from news executives to put on positive stories about the president?”
Yellin: “Not in that exact -- they wouldn't say it in that way, but they would edit my pieces. They would push me in different directions. They would turn down stories that were more critical and try to put on pieces that were more positive, yes. That was my experience.”
As one can see, the role of corporate media in modern democracy is a large one as this interview demonstrates. Marshall McLuhan’s phrase “the medium is the message” effectively defines the relationship of the corporate media in modern democracy because the medium, which in this case is MSNBC, has directly affected the society’s minds by brainwashing them into believing that there was nothing negative going on in Iraq. A television news network would be a great example of a “cool” medium because of the fact it engages the minds of viewers. If the government tells or pays a news network to say something incorrect to the public, it would have a mass effect on the minds of all the viewers irrespective of the fact that it is of a negative nature.
By: Abilash Sriskandarajah
Youtube Link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ULw0tfYvxhU
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