Bay City News. 26 March 2003. Protesters denounce media at CNN's San
    Francisco office.

    SAN FRANCISCO -- Marching in front of news reporters and cameras,
    protesters staged a demonstration outside of Cable News Network's San
    Francisco bureau today to denounce what they believe is unbalanced media
    coverage of the war in Iraq.

    Beginning at noon, between 150 to 200 activists assembled outside of
    CNN's offices at 50 California St. to protest what they claim is an
    underreporting of Iraq casualties and too much reporting of American
    patriotism by national news networks.

    Some protesters laid small white coffins bearing pictures of children on
    the sidewalk and others chanted, "independent journalism is dead and
    gone when the media is in bed with the Pentagon."

    "We are here to say that bombs are not smart," demonstration spokeswoman
    Medea Benjamin, dressed in fake blood covered clothing and clutching a
    bloody baby doll, said to the crowd.

    "Show us what collateral damage really means."

    Organizers say they selected CNN because it is one of the most watched
    American news networks in the world and they feel it should be a leader
    in unbiased and accurate coverage.

    "Media really has played an uncritical role that has not helped America
    make the most democratic decisions," said Global Exchange spokesman Ted
    Lewis.

    Global Exchange, Media Alliance and Code Pink Women for Peace organized
    the demonstration.

    "The overall framework is such that it is difficult for people to get an
    accurate picture of what is happening," Lewis said.

    . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

My reply,
     Rather than conducting demonstrations at government buildings or military establishments in general, which tends to dissipate the influence and generalize the message, the above tactic can often be a much more effective approach.  You are not going to be able to change governmental/military activities until you first influence millions of citizens to come your way, and that can only be done through the media.   Particular media targets should be singled out and none are more important at this time than those in major cities.  By demonstrating outside CNN, ABC, CBS, NBC, FOX or other government cheerleading agencies or the platforms from which prominent political mouthpieces vomit their awful offal, anti-war activists can disseminate their message in important ways which other methods fail to accomplish simultaneously.  By demonstrating directly against the media:

1.  You make it abundantly clear that you are opposed to the war, while being quite close to the media themselves which puts them in a quandary as to whether or not your activities should be broadcast.  If your numbers are huge what are their options, especially when they don't have to go anywhere to find a news story.
2.  You are focusing on those institutions that distribute mass information and mold public opinion and that is the key consideration.
3.  You are not only demonstrating against the war but demonstrating against war propaganda, lies and, above all, information suppression, which combines two goals in one.  That is VERY important.
4.  You are showing people that you are not only against the war but that the media should not be trusted by Americans which differs in perspective from the prior goal.
5.  You are intimidating and influencing the personnel of those institutions by the fact that they have to confront demonstrators in the very act of doing their work or arriving and leaving same.
6.  You put the media in the exposed position of being labeled censors when they fail to report demonstrations against themselves personally.
7.  And finally, you are confronting institutions that are more amenable to changing their views should conditions deteriorate for the imperialist aggressors.  Since they can place all blame for having caused the war upon the shoulders of government leaders, while the latter have a vested interest in maintaining the odious policy long after objective observers not looking at coming elections can see it is going down the wrong path, they can reverse policy more easily.   Paraphrasing what President Johnson said during the Vietnam War according to a Cronkite interview, �When I turned on the Evening News one evening and saw CBS anchor Walter Cronkite turn against the cause I knew the effort was doomed.�

for the cause,

Klo