An Activist Media

Here's an excerpt an, 18Nov2006 issue of the Economist review of the book, Khrushchev's Cold War: The Inside Story of an American Adversary - Aleksandr Fursenko and Timothy Naftali.

"Western journalists also served as unlikely accomplices in fomenting cold war terror.  In one of the book's more startling sections, the author's detail how American columnists repeated and exaggerated false claims about the extent of Khrushchev's arsenal.  President Dwight Eisenhower knew that the so-called "missile gap" tilted in America's favour.  Nevertheless journalism created a public clamour for more missiles and was used by defence industry executives to press for purchases."

Jounalists should stick to reporting.  Their activism rarely seems to work to the benefit of the US public.