Expert savages 'useless' US war coverage

By GREGG WYCHERLEY

Internationally published journalist Gwynne Dyer has harsh words for the United States media coverage of the September 11 attacks and ensuing "War against terrorism".

"The American media has been absolutely bloody useless," he said.

"There is a huge amount of self-censorship."

Speaking at the Media Peace Awards in Auckland last night, he said the mainstream media had willingly toed the US Government line, portraying the conflict as a battle between good and evil, with no discussion of the motives of the perpetrators.

Dyer, senior war analyst for the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, whose articles are published in the Herald, was critical of the US bombing of Afghanistan, but said viewers could make their own judgement about the images they saw on television.

Dyer came to New Zealand to present the awards, started by the Peace Foundation, which aim to promote the values of peace and conflict resolution.

Veteran broadcaster and columnist Brian Edwards won the print category of the awards for his column "Life of Brian", in the NZ Listener.

The radio award was won by Paul Diamond, for his work Nga Tamatoa - the back of the whale, broadcast on Radio New Zealand.

Independent film-maker Gaylene Preston won the television/film category for her documentary Titless Wonders, about the emotional journeys travelled by women with breast cancer.