WTO Media Watch

No one can accuse the U.S. news media of downplaying this WTO summit. Quantity of coverage won’t be a problem. But what about quality? The spin, already frenetic, seems to be approaching warp speed.

So far, many influential media outlets have been inclined to portray opponents of the WTO as simplistic naysayers who want to spoil the corporate party in Seattle. A front-page New York Times article Sunday reported that the WTO talks will "test support for freer trade in both rich and poor countries, especially since delegates will face a giant, 1960s-style protest campaign meant to mobilize worldwide opposition to new trade efforts."

Just to make sure readers got the (stereotypical) point, The Times explained in the second paragraph of another prominent article Sunday that protesters "are planning to turn what initially sounded like the yawner of all international meetings–a gathering of trade ministers from 135 countries to start the ‘Millennium Round’ of trade liberalization talks–into the Woodstock of the era of globalization."

Aside from reliance on such cliches, of course, there’s plenty of policy-wonking in the press. And the paper-of-record Times is supposed to be about as good as it gets, with lots of ink devoted to intricate tangles of trade, economics, politics, and nationalism. But the edifice of coverage is mostly constructed on the bedrock assumption that the WTO has been helping to enhance the future of humanity.

The overall New York Times tone on Sunday reached a crescendo with an editorial that flatly declared: "Lost among the disputes is the fact that open trade promotes prosperity." Such assumptions, usually implicit in U.S. media coverage, are rarely exhumed for critical examination–least of all in the media outlets propagating them.

For instance, how is the WTO fostering "open trade" when it sets about rigorously imposing rules that are protectionist for multinational corporations? And what is the meaning of "prosperity" when huge numbers of people are poor, income disparities are outrageous, labor rights are trampled, and rampant environmental destruction continues?

Mainstream media routinely tell us that the basic mission of the WTO is a noble one. When that’s the presumption, complacency prevails. "The goal of trade talks," the Times editorial concluded, "is to guarantee that countries that want to export can find countries willing to import–a goal that can start to be met if the trade ministers drop proposals that cannot yet be resolved by consensus and focus on the few that can."

Like other big media, The New York Times is eager to see the WTO staying afloat and steaming ahead. To guard against any dangers that might cause it to capsize, the WTO is being urged not to do much on behalf of the rights of working people around the world. "Rich and poor countries are nowhere near a consensus on fair labor practices," The Times editorialized yesterday, "and the Clinton administration wants to set up a working group to study the issues. That makes sense."

Among those who seem to agree is the president of the AFL-CIO. At a news conference Sunday afternoon, I asked John Sweeney to explain his support for the White House position that the WTO summit in Seattle should merely set up a working group to do a report on labor standards. Sweeney replied that the AFL-CIO is in this "for the long haul"–an apparent euphemism for patience that dovetails with the labor organization’s endorsement of WTO-booster Al Gore for president.

Sweeney appeared in front of journalists here in Seattle at a conference of the International Confederation of Free Trade Unions, just after a speech to the group by WTO Director-General Mike Moore. Union officials from all over the world greeted Moore’s presentation without enthusiasm. Several spoke up to challenge his fervent defense of WTO policies.

Advocates for labor rights had good reason to view Moore’s latest performance as yet another exercise in the arrogance of global power. Hours later, an Associated Press story quoted the claim in his speech that "trade is the ally of working people." The AP reported that Moore "has made a point of reaching out to critics." But in the case of both Moore and the Associated Press, saying it doesn’t make it so.

Norman Solomon’s latest book is "The Habits of Highly Deceptive Media." He is co-host of this week’s daily one-hour program World Trade Watch Radio, airing on more than 100 public radio stations.

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