GEORGE CLOONEY - CLOONEY SLAMS THE US MEDIA

CLOONEY SLAMS THE US MEDIA

Hollywood activist GEORGE CLOONEY has launched a scathing attack on the US media, accusing journalists and producers of neglecting their responsibilities to their country. The OCEAN'S ELEVEN star is a vocal opponent of US President GEORGE BUSH - and he believes the media has betrayed the public by not reporting the truth about the Bush administration. And Clooney, who joined Holocaust survivor ELIE WIESEL last week (14SEP06) to address the United Nations Security Council about the problems in Darfur, blames the American public for focusing on reality TV shows instead of real news. Clooney says, "In the year-and-a-half or two years leading up to the war in Iraq, both in print and in broadcast journalism, the media took a pass on its responsibilities. I don't think there's anyone that would deny it - The New York Times certainly hasn't. "And if The New York Times and The Washington Post and USA Today are all reneging on their responsibility, then believe me it's going down to the local news level as well. "This has really been a poor time in journalism. We already had a Congress on the same side as the White House. We needed a Fourth Estate more than ever, to say, 'Let's at least ask questions before we do these things.' "The media's failings reflect on the rest of us too. It took, what, three months after September 11 before reality shows became big again? There's a responsibility to be upheld."