PORTO ALEGRE, Brazil -- The question, from a participant here at the World Social
Forum, was polite and understated: "Sometimes, one wonders if the poor political
consciousness and the lack of information about the world of the standard American
is not one of the problems of the world today. Do you think we all could help in
some way to get Americans more aware of the rest of the world?"
The question -- directed at me because I'd just given a speech -- hung in the air
while my brain fumbled for a fitting response. Programming decisions by U.S. media
executives loom large at home and abroad. A hundred years ago, when Queen Victoria
died, the sun never set on the British empire. Today, around the world, the market
shares are shimmering for AOL Time Warner, the Walt Disney Co. and Rupert Murdoch's
News Corp.
When I tuned into CNN International in this city on Brazil's southern coast, a report
about fashion was explaining that "today's revolutionary woman" prefers
to wear chiffon. More Spanish-speaking people on the planet get their news from one
website -- CNNenEspanol.com -- than from anywhere else on the Web. Editors in Atlanta
and Washington, employed by a subsidiary of AOL Time Warner, are deciding what news
and views will reach huge numbers of readers online.
Corporate media globalization is part of what's come to be known as "neo-liberalism"
-- worldwide policies giving top priority to corporations and their quest for maximum
profits. As part of the movement to challenge neo-liberalism, about 4,700 delegates
and 10,000 other people from 122 countries participated in the first-ever World Social
Forum to share information and develop strategies.
Key concerns of the global South -- where extreme poverty and rampant inequities
are ever-present -- came through loud and clear here in Porto Alegre. The men and
women crowding into overflow sessions included 1,700 journalists. But in the United
States, even the most avid news consumers didn't learn much about this auspicious
convergence.
Don't blame the wire services. For a week, some of the world's biggest -- including
the Associated Press -- produced a steady stream of informative news reports from
Porto Alegre. But the day after the World Social Forum adjourned, when I did a search
of the comprehensive Nexis database, it was clear that the event didn't make the
U.S. media cut.
The Washington Post did better than most American outlets, but it wasn't much --
a single news story on Jan. 27. The Los Angeles Times didn't mention the World Social
Forum at all. Neither did USA Today.
During the week, the country's "paper of record" -- the New York Times
-- published only one paragraph on the subject, rendered in McPaper roundup style.
"BRAZIL: ORDERED OUT -- The French farm workers' leader Jose Bove, best known
for vandalizing McDonald's restaurants to protest globalization, has been detained
by the federal police and ordered to leave Brazil. The action came after Mr. Bove,
at a forum in Porto Alegre held to counter a world leaders' meeting in Davos, Switzerland,
joined Brazilian farmers in attacking a farm owned by the Monsanto Corporation, which
grows genetically modified soybeans."
Readily available AP stories had offered much more context for the Bove incident.
For instance: "Bove and about 1,300 farmers destroyed five acres of soybeans
at the Monsanto farm near Porto Alegre last Friday, saying the beans were genetically
engineered. At the Forum's closing rally, Bove urged the Landless Workers' Movement
to reoccupy the farm and turn it into an environmentally friendly operation."
At that rally, thousands of people chanted: "Bove is my friend, touch him and
you touch me."
Landless workers of Brazil and a leader of French farmers joined together to fight
for redistribution of land, social justice and environmental protection. It was a
dramatic alliance -- just one of many that flowered at a highly disciplined and creative
international conference of activists from all over the world. There were hundreds
of other highly significant stories to be told from the World Social Forum. Most
U.S. news outlets didn't tell even one.
National Public Radio did send a correspondent to Porto Alegre, and a pair of his
reports aired. On "Morning Edition," NPR correspondent Martin Kaste provided
a rather upbeat definition of "neo-liberalism," describing it as "the
American-inspired philosophy that smaller government is better." NPR's final
report from Porto Alegre mentioned a proposed policy step toward reducing the world's
extreme economic disparities. But in that "All Things Considered" piece,
the subject came up not to be explored but to serve as a setup for a cutesy -- and
disparaging -- tag line.
"One of the most talked-about plans is a worldwide tax on international financial
transactions, something that defenders say could raise money for developing countries
while at the same time making it harder to move funds across borders," the news
report said. "Even this concept, however, is not embraced by everyone. At the
start of the conference, an anti-globalization delegate from Holland was seen loudly
cursing the Brazilian cash machines for not accepting her Dutch ATM card. Martin
Kaste, NPR News, Porto Alegre, Brazil."
From North America, it's difficult to get a clear look at the global South -- and
at the pro-democracy movement against corporate rule -- with nose pointed high in
the air.
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Norman Solomon is a syndicated columnist.
His latest book is "The Habits of Highly Deceptive Media."
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