On Radio National’s Media Report this week John Pilger discussed with presenter Mick O’Regan the Australian media and how it is dealing with propaganda and the looming war in Iraq.

Commented on the quality of debate about the buildup of arms for a possible invasion of Iraq Pilger said:

“The quality of debate amongst the public has been high… but the media has not really contributed to the debate” except where the public can speak directly, for instance through the letters pages of newspapers.

With the exception of Radio, where the public could be heard directly, Pilger criticised the level of debate in Newspapers and on TV as “poor, because so much space and time is channelling and echoing the official viewpoint.”

“Official statements are channelled as though this is all we need to know,” he said. “I don’t find anything in the TV news that would enlighten me and the newspapers reflect [their] restricted ownership.”

Asked by O’Regan whether the media should report on official decisions and statements, Pilger said: “Yes, of course official positions should be reported but … all governments lie – especially at times like this. Simply channelling those lies is not good enough.”

Apart from reporting those official statements “there are other positions that need to be covered,” he said.