Socialist Challenge readers who failed to switch off their TVs after Playhour couple Thursdays ago will have seen the TUC passing a resolution which attacked the bias of the mass media and demanded the right of reply for the workers' The issue will come in for further When Labour Party Blackpool at the end of this month. An opportune time, then, for the appearance of two new publications dealing with the right-wing distortions of press and broadcasting.
In The Media Machine (Pluto Press, £4.95), Downing takes a long and comprehensive look at the sympJOHN Pilger's film shown on TV last year, Cambodia Year Zero, brought millions of people in the devastation wrought on Kampuchea, first by the secret war waged by Nixon and Kiss. inger, then by the barbaric régime of Pol Pot.
The response to Year Zero was incredible. British people forked out millions of pounds for famine relief and medical aid. As Pilger says, they were mainly ordinary people could least afford it.
ATV's Cambodia One, shown on Wednesday of last week, recounted the progress that has been made since Pilger's original film. The new Vietnamese-backea regime mas been able to bring a semblance of normality to most of the Phnom Penh has gradually brought back to life, through Hospitals have been re-built and starvation eliminated. in most parts of Kampuchea.
distortion. concentraling the way that trade disputes, of alC unfavourably there is much of interest in the BOOK Absent He mentions, the survey • ФТ in bulletins on industrial disputes in which only one out of 12 interviews. were with workers actually involved in the strike. here is an examination of the pro-police media on race issues along by the John 'public relations' of Scotland Yard. britain who Year region who claimed that they been were there to co-ordinate relief work. In fact some aid. same relief workers Led in William book Sideshow ordinators of the American war in Kampuchea, when the US was fighting Pol women's lives by the press from the 'chocolate box' covers and women of. WONCIS portrayed, the portrayal Castle's talks workers at Ford's as popping in for a chat and a cup of tea'.
The examples rather out of date (the chapter for example, on reporting disputes is illustrated, exclusively, by reference to the 1970 dock luminating nonetheless.
some of the left press for failing stance of the to provide an alternative forum - helped . burgeoning for the frustrations of working department people and, while his manner is offhand, reference to the mere And the author provides a 1 per cent of front page and inJohn Pilger with Kampuchean children. A year ago they were puchea, financed by thousanas of ordinary people, or Inese sabotaged.
were namShawcross's CIA co- which John Pilger's story was previous told is, at best, confused. Pol Pet, the 'Hitler of our time', appeared to have carried out mass 'fanatically left-wing'.
Pol Pot is United blocking UN the rewith a Khmer who inreferred to as the UNwere and ching over of Barbara women the Morning weight to economism. used are The one of trade union almost Machine, weakness, strike), but Downing also has a go at Despite describing offering solutions. arving.
is being effort theories which led the The political framework in massacre millions.
Despite this murder because he was Repulsed by their methods, on target.
Socialist Worker (from a sample survey streteight years: 1970-78), and the similar paucity of attention paid to racism in Star, does lend his argument of thing which is totally absent from The Media and It is big is any reference to action that could be taken to fight the bias of the media.
fascinating chapter on workers' radio stations in Italy, which have been used in a very dynamic way to promote and strengthen strug gles, the book ends up merely (TUC, 60p);
problems without proposed misleading, Jer any at all.
Lest open media: jahn Downing say, the 14 May Day of Action?
The sheer audacity of the TUC's proposals is breathtakPrint workers, lor in stance, have an important role to play by 'examining in conjunction newspaper owners methods of achieving industrial democracy. Times workers, who recently returned to work after nearly a year of being locked-out by their management, will surely find this advice very helpful.
So, too, will workers on the Observer whose management have been trying the same trick recently, though regard their determination 1o secure a right of reply for the Grunwick strikers, securing a front-page spot after stoppin work on a Saturday night, as a tactic more likely to succeed As to an alternative dail!" workers' well, this is solely marketing problem, a question of 'identifying and reaching the appropriate market'. Nothing would be worse than a well. publicised launch for newspaper which then proves 10 be non-viable; the TUC concludes in its usual rousing You can almost hear Len leaning over 'But if this daily Terri and whispering: newspaper thing gets off the ground, thousands of workers be reading • about policies every day — god forbid!' That the pamphlet should • be published on the same day Congress voted over whelmingly to secure the right of reply suggests that it will be up to militants - and not the trade union leaders - to demand and secure this right. Socialist Challenge 18 September 1980 Paise 15