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Alternative Radio for February 04, 2008
1:02 PM - 2:00 PM
[Program Website]
Today's Highlight: War and the Media," with Tariq Ali
When the U.S. marches to war, the media march with it. The din of collateral language rises to cacophonous levels. The mobilization and ubiquity of present and past high-ranking military officers on the airwaves is an essential component of manufacturing consent for war. Perhaps we need no-air zones for them. That's unlikely to happen when ABC and NPR's Cokie Roberts gushes, "I am, I will just confess to you, a total sucker for the guys who stand up with all the ribbons on and stuff and they say it's true and I'm ready to believe it." And the vaunted BBC? Not much better. In the lead up to the attack on Iraq it gave just 2% of its coverage to antiwar dissent.
Tariq Ali
Tariq Ali, an internationally renowned writer and activist, was born in Lahore, then a part of British-ruled India, now in Pakistan. For many years he has been based in London where he is an editor of "New Left Review." A charismatic speaker, he is in great demand all over the world. In his spare time he is a filmmaker, playwright and novelist. He is the author of "The Clash of Fundamentalisms," "Bush in Babylon," and "Pirates of the Caribbean. " He and AR's David Barsamian have collaborated on a book entitled "Speaking of Empire & Resistance."
Alternative Radio is a weekly one-hour public affairs program offered free to all public radio stations in the U.S., Canada, Europe, South Africa, Australia, and on short-wave on Radio for Peace International.
Established in 1986, AR is dedicated to the founding principles of public broadcasting, which urge that programming serve as "a forum for controversy and debate," be diverse and "provide a voice for groups that may otherwise be unheard." The project is entirely independent, sustained solely by individuals who buy transcripts and tapes of programs.
Its "headquarters" is situated to correspond with its position in the mainstream mass media: down an alley, behind a house, on top of a garage in Boulder, Colorado. From this rarefied location, AR's programs manage to reach over 125 radio stations and millions of listeners. AR is part of the non-profit Institute for Social and Cultural Change.
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