The New York Times today reports that, despite the Bush administration’s best efforts, Hollywood never honoured its post-9/11 pledge to make the world love America, and instead just made loads of money for itself.
Think Progress, always on the prowl for a good headline, quotes NYT and huffs: “AFTER 9/11, ROVE PRESSURED THE ENTERTAINMENT INDUSTRY ‘TO PRODUCE PROPAGANDA’”.
Guys. I really like your stuff, and I think you’re doing an all-round commendable job in exposing the administration’s secrets. But — and this is a HUGE ‘but’ — this news is seven years old. The showbiz newspaper Variety covered Rove’s visit at length already in October 2001.
Don’t believe me? For starters, check these out:
“H’wood enlists in war” — October 17, 2001.
“H’w'd war summit” — November 7, 2001.
“War chores for H’w'd” — November 11, 2001.
“Biz mobilizes war panel” — November 26, 2001.
“Nets rally stars ’round flag” — December 3, 2001.
“White House sez H’w'd true blue” — December 6, 2001.
But what about the meagre results of Rove’s entertainment offensive? Surely that must count as a scoop?
Nope. Variety also reported that particular not-totally-unexpected piece of information — essentially the same stuff NYT and TP now tout as news — in July, 2002.
And how do I know all this?
Because I wrote about it myself — two and half years ago.
