Falling from Grace

[khaosworks]

Grace News
by Russell Mokhiber and Robert Weissman; April 29, 2003

The U.S. government this week launched its Arabic language satellite TV news station for Muslim Iraq.

It is being produced in a studio -- Grace Digital Media -- controlled by fundamentalist Christians who are rabidly pro-Israel.

That's Grace as in "by the Grace of God."

Grace Digital Media is controlled by a fundamentalist Christian millionaire, Cheryl Reagan, who last year wrested control of Federal News Service, a transcription news service, from its former owner, Cortes Randell.

Randell says he met Reagan at a prayer meeting, brought her in as an investor in Federal News Service, and then she forced him out of his own company.

Grace Digital Media and Federal News Service are housed in a downtown Washington, D.C. office building, along with Grace News Network.

When you call the number for Grace News Network, you get a person answering "Grace Digital Media/Federal News Service."

According to its web site, Grace News Network is "dedicated to transmitting the evidence of God's presence in the world today."

Of course, the Broadcasting Board of Governors (BBG), who run the channel say that they will be using no editorial personnel from Grace. That's not quite the point, however - how exactly Grace was chosen to supply the production facilities and equipment for the new channel is still undetermined. It's interesting to note, though, that the CEO of Grace is Thorne Auchter, who, during the Reagan years (and later under Bush Sr.) led the charge for "Regulatory Relief" for OSHA as its administrator. Business loved degregulation, of course. Labor felt otherwise. Another case of jobs for the boys, perhaps, rewarding an old soldier for loyal service, especially considering the fudamenatlist Christian and very pro-Zionist stance of Grace?

The other problem of course, is that given this connection, even if Grace has no editorial input, how will the Arab world feel about having programs broadcast to it by an American agency using a fundamentalist Christian organization as a production house? The reaction, one predicts, might not be very good.

Comments

[springheel-jack.livejournal.com]

We're so stupid.

[kaasirpent]

Randell says he met Reagan at a prayer meeting, brought her in as an investor in Federal News Service, and then she forced him out of his own company.

<sarcasm>Ah, what could be more Christian?</sarcasm>

It speaks well for what they probably plan to do in Iraq, anyway....