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GRITtv: Feb. 7, 2011
"The negotiations really are just a form of propaganda to the international community to give the regime some sort of cover for their desire to hold on to power," says Philip Rizk of talks between Mubarak and so-called opposition forces. He notes that scaremongering continues over the Muslim Brotherhood's role in the talks, but that the protesters that continue to occupy Tahrir Square are opposed to talks and mostly do not support the Brotherhood.All the people of Egypt want, Philip notes, is true democracy--structural change in their government. He checks in with us via phone from Cairo, where he continues to cover the situation despite threats to journalists."I think the myth is shattering in front of us," Eugene Jarecki says of Ronald Reagan. Conservatives have tried for so long to "engineer Reagan into our drinking water," he notes, but it's an illusory Reagan, a Reagan who stands for whatever program those people want to pass, whatever agenda they're promoting. The real Reagan was quite different from what we hear about--and this week we're hearing a lot about Reagan, as it's the 100th anniversary of his death.Eugene Jarecki joins Laura in studio to set the record straight. He's the director of a new HBO documentary on Reagan, premiering Monday at 9 and available this week on that channel.One of the biggest stories of the past few weeks has been the story of Americans discovering Al-Jazeera English. ; It shouldn't have been so hard.
Email this pageGRITtv: The F Word: Media Miss the Al Jazeera Story
One of the biggest stories of the past few weeks has been the story of Americans discovering Al Jazeera English. It shouldn't have been so hard. As the protest movement in Egypt grew, Americans found that Al Jazeera had what no US network has any more: fully staffed reporting teams working round the clock in Cairo. But other than in a handful of pockets across the U.S. -- including Ohio, Vermont and Washington, D.C. -- cable viewers couldn't watch Al Jazeera. Some cable operators have blamed political pressure. Others have said they had little time for it. Distributed by Tubemogul.
GRITtv: Nov. 22, 2010
"Average people must look at the screens and see the disconnect—it's not left vs. right, it's top-down. It's establishment vs. people." So says Katrina vanden Heuvel of the average TV news show. She joins us, of course, here on GRITtv for our weekly partnership with The Nation magazine to bring you a different kind of political TV show.Katrina and Laura discuss the impending end of unemployment benefits for millions of Americans out of work, the members of Congress who will continue the fight for the people, real progressive taxation, and what Obama can do with his executive power to get around a gridlocked Congress.It's not a year since the earthquake rocked Haiti and destroyed homes and cities, leaving people in desperate situations. And now as elections are approaching, Haitians face a cholera outbreak on top of everything. Nicolas Rossier, an award winning independent filmmaker and reporter whose latest films include American Radical and Aristide and the Endless Revolution, spoke to exiled former Haitian president Jean-Bertrand Aristide about the situation in his country and brought us an exclusive first look at his two-hour conversation.Rossier joins Laura in studio to discuss the situation in Haiti, Aristide's enforced exile in South Africa, and why his party, still popular in Haiti, isn't allowed to participate in the upcoming election.Finally, this weekend saw the loss of two men who were important parts of the Nation family: anti-imperialist author and thinker Chalmers Johnson, and codebreaker and crossword puzzler supreme Frank W. Lewis. Laura has some words in remembrance.
GRITtv: Katrina vanden Heuvel: Choosing Sides in Fight
"Average people must look at the screens and see the disconnect—it's not left vs. right, it's top-down. It's establishment vs. people." So says Katrina vanden Heuvel of the average TV news show. She joins us, of course, here on GRITtv for our weekly partnership with The Nation magazine to bring you a different kind of political TV show. Katrina and Laura discuss the impending end of unemployment benefits for millions of Americans out of work, the members of Congress who will continue the fight for the people, real progressive taxation, and what Obama can do with his executive power to get around a gridlocked Congress. Distributed by Tubemogul.
GRITtv: Gigi Sohn: Your TV, Your Choice
Consolidation amonst media companies continues. Comcast just bought NBC. Gigi Sohn of Public Knowledge takes some time to explain why cable companies and movie studios want to control what you can watch and when.
GRITtv: The F Word: Media Monsters Threaten Net Freedom
Comcast, the nation's biggest cable and broadband Internet company, has plans to take over NBC Universal. The result would be a new kind of media monster that would not only produce some of America's most popular entertainment but also control viewers' access to it. Comcast would control the joint venture's day-to-day operations but Pentagon contractor GE would retain a 49 percent stake. The likely impact on consumer choices? Well you tell me: the Washington Post reports that all in all, the joint venture would control more than one out of every five television-viewing hours. With almost one in four cable subscribers in the U.S. a Comcast customer and NBC Universal owning not only NBC but also dozens of cable channels, including Telemundo, MSNBC, CNBC and Bravo as well as theme parks, TV stations such as Washington's WRC (Channel 4), and Universal movie studios, the NBC Comcast deal is a biggie. In the meantime, it's time to cherish ever more all that remains in the way of independent media. And yes, that's our self interest speaking. -- Laura Flanders
