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conformed to those of the U.S. military, although they were often less extreme in suggesting enemy success, as we have seen. Braestrup is not unaware of this. He writes, for example, that “MACV spokesmen in Saigon themselves contributed in February to a general journalistic perception that no logistics, organizational, or manpower limitations inhibited the NVA’s capacity, even after the ‘first wave,’ to strike anywhere at will (‘No place was safe any more’)” (I, 190). Furthermore, “most eyewitness combat reporting, rare and restricted as it was, showed up better in February than the MACV communiqués or the communiqué rewrites in Saigon” (I, 334). In fact, the military briefings cited are closely similar to media commentary in basic content, e.g., Brigadier General John Chaisson, February 3, who described “a real battle,” “a very successful offensive in its initial phases,” “surprisingly well coordinated,” “surprisingly intensive,” conducted with “a surprising amount of audacity”—for example, in Hué, where “the VC had the town,” etc. Naturally the media varied more widely in content and style, but characterizations of the sort cited above must simply be dismissed as hysteria, even apart from the numerous misrepresentations and sheer fabrications.

If this is one of the great achievements of contemporary scholarship, as John Roche claims, then scholarship is in a bad way indeed.

Notes

INTRODUCTION TO THE 2002 EDITION

1. On a number of issues, such as trade agreements, health care, and the appropriate size of the military budget, there is a sharp division between media personnel and the elite on the one hand and the general population on the other hand, as we discuss below under “Further Applications.”

2. This was even true in the Soviet Union, where the media’s disclosure of inconvenient facts on the Afghan war caused the Soviet defense minister to denounce the press as unpatriotic; see Bill Keller, “Soviet Official Says Press Harms Army,” New York Times, January 21, 1988.

3. For an account of critiques, and the present writers’ replies, see Noam Chomsky, Necessary Illusions (Boston: South End Press, 1989), appendix 1; Edward S. Herman, “The Propaganda Model Revisited,” in The Myth of the Liberal Media (New York: Peter Lang, 1999).

4. Ben Bagdikian, The Media Monopoly, 6th ed. (Boston: Beacon Press, 2000), p. xxi.

5. Ibid.

6. Edward S. Herman and Robert McChesney, The Global Media (London: Cassell, 1997).

7. Robert McChesney, Rich Media, Poor Democracy (Urbana: University of Illinois Press, 2000), p. 108.

8. Ibid., p. 109.

9. James Ledbetter, “Public Broadcasting Sells; (Out?),” The Nation, December 1, 1997.

10. Ibid.

11. Stephanie Strom, “Japanese Sites for Women Aim for Empowerment,” New York Times, December 25, 2000.

12. Mark Fineman, “Military Can’t Outflank Rebels in War of Words,” Los Angeles Times, February 21,1995; Leonard Doyle, “Rebels Try to Advance via Internet,” The Independent, March 7, 1995.

13. Jim Shultz, “Bolivia’s Water War Victory,” Earth Island Journal, September 22, 2000; “Bolivia—The Last Word,” April 13, 2000, JShultz@democracyctr.org; “How the Internet Helped Activists,” Straits Times (Singapore), May 25, 1998; Marshall Clark, “Cleansing the Earth,” Inside Indonesia (October–December 1998).

14. Madelaine Drohan, “How the Net Killed the MAI,” Globe and Mail, April 29, 1998.

15. Kayte Van Scoy, “How Green Was My Silicon Valley,” PC/Computing, March 1, 2000; Keith Perine, “Power to the (Web-Enabled) People,” Industry Standard, April 10, 2000. See also “Further Applications” below.

16. James Ledbetter, “Some Pitfalls in Portals,” Columbia Journalism Review (November–December 1999).

17. Quoted in ibid.

18. Alex Carey, Taking the Risk out of Democracy (Urbana: University of Illinois Press, 1997); John Stauber and Sheldon Rampton, Toxic Sludge Is Good for You! (Monroe, Maine: Common Courage Press, 1995); Stuart Ewen, PR! A Social History of Spin (New York: Basic Books, 1996).

19. Mark Dowie, “Introduction,” Stauber and Rampton, Toxic Sludge.

20. See Stephen Cohen, Failed Crusade: