Media Dragon Scoop, Just Say Spaciba

ABCNN.com: Online Powerhouse or Alphabet Soup? Or Worse Ministry Of Truth??

Pravda (Truth), staffed by reporters from the old state-run paper, sees this merger as a way for George Bush to have more control of the U.S. media and turn it into an Orwellian "Ministry of Truth." The merger is not really about declining profits, says Pravda, it's so that "George Bush will never have problems with ratings, and he is sure to gain the support of the American people for any suggestion to wage war anywhere in the world." It's true that the press has given Bush much wider latitude after 9/11, but this goes off the deep end of that conspiracy theory.

White House Stymied as Sydney Morning Herald Oposes Iraq Attack

(2002-10-10) -- U.S. President George Bush withdrew his congressional resolution on the use of force against Iraq today after hearing that Sydney Morning Herald believes an attack is not justifiable.
"We were hoping this wouldn't happen," said White House spokesman Ari Fleischer, who then paraphrased the late songwriter Jim Croce. "You don't tug on Superman's cape, you don't spit in the wind, you don't pull the mask off the old Lone Ranger, and you don't mess around with Fairfax."
The White House will now wait for further instructions from Fairfax, Fleischer said.

(pause for dramatic effect, but business as usual)

‘The owner of the World is also a large owner of property, and I presume that, in common with other newspaper owners who are possessed of wealth, his eyes are beginning to be opened to the fact that he is like Samson, taking the initiative to pull the building down upon his head,’ Rockefeller wrote in a letter to Edwina.