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Kill Your TV By Greg Cahill THE NEWS NETWORKS--particularly the Fox News Network--are spewing a flood of paranoia and propaganda. No war has been as tightly controlled by the Pentagon as the undeclared war on terrorism or the air campaign over Afghanistan (the Pentagon last week dropped its daily press briefings and returned to its "normal" schedule of twice-a-week press conferences). And media critics thought the news organizations bowed on bended knees to their military handlers during the Gulf War and the invasion of Panama. . . . All it took to control the mainstream media was one small warning from the White House to "watch what you say" and America's fourth estate ran for cover. Yeah, the post-terrorist era hasn't been easy for the TV industry. The Emmy Awards show, originally scheduled for Sept. 16, has been postponed twice. The weekly bloodbath on the popular HBO series The Sopranos--which garnered the most nominations (22)--doesn't seem so damned entertaining anymore. As with major league baseball and the National Football League, which both took time off after the suicide attacks, the Hollywood glitterati have been forced to admit that they're not gods but just overpaid entertainers with huge PR machines. However, the proposal to hold the Emmys on a military base to protect the celebs from terrorist attacks has a certain appeal. It's the ultimate expression of life during wartime--American-style. Now if we can just enlist Donna Karan and other top fashion designers to develop a line of camouflage chic. [ North Bay | Metroactive Central | Archives ]