Buying the War

Bill Moyers' new series, BILL MOYERS JOURNAL premiered last night with a special presentation entitled "Buying the War," a 90-minute documentary that explores the role of the press in the lead-up to the invasion of Iraq:

How did the mainstream press get it so wrong? How did the evidence disputing the existence of weapons of mass destruction and the link between Saddam Hussein to 9-11 continue to go largely unreported? "What the conservative media did was easy to fathom; they had been cheerleaders for the White House from the beginning and were simply continuing to rally the public behind the President — no questions asked. How mainstream journalists suspended skepticism and scrutiny remains an issue of significance that the media has not satisfactorily explored," says Moyers. "How the administration marketed the war to the American people has been well covered, but critical questions remain: How and why did the press buy it, and what does it say about the role of journalists in helping the public sort out fact from propaganda?"

(Click for excerpt)

To watch the entire program, go here. BILL MOYERS JOURNAL continues at it's regular time slot this Friday night with special guest Jon Stewart. Check your local listings for times.