Moore scolds Bush from Oscar stage
Director Michael Moore, who won best documentary at Sunday’s Academy Awards, attacked Bush and the war on Iraq in his acceptance speech in the evening’s most outspoken cry for peace. Wagging his finger from the stage as he was both applauded and booed by the audience, Moore — who had asked all documentary nominees to join him on stage in solidarity — said, “We are against this war, Mr. Bush. Shame on you.” Moore won for Bowling for Columbine, a film on the roots of gun violence in America, whose title refers to the Colorado high school where two students massacred 13 people before killing themselves in 1999. “We like nonfiction and we live in fictitious times. We live in a time where we have fictitious election results that elect a fictitious president. We live in a time where we have a man sending us to war for fictitious reasons,” said Moore, who had received a standing ovation from the assembled celebrities on receiving the award. (Reuters)

Media giant’s rally sponsorship raises questions
Some of the biggest rallies this month have endorsed Bush’s strategy against Saddam Hussein; the common thread linking most of them is Clear Channel Worldwide Inc., the nation’s largest owner of radio stations. In a move that has raised eyebrows in legal and journalistic circles, Clear Channel radio stations in Atlanta, Cleveland, San Antonio, Cincinnati, and other cities have sponsored rallies attended by up to 20,000 people that have served as a loud rebuttal to the more numerous anti-war rallies.
The sponsorship of these large “Rallies for America” by Clear Channel, which owns more than 1,200 radio stations in 50 states and DC, is unique among major media companies which have confined their activities in the war debate to reporting and occasionally commenting on the news. While labor unions and special interest groups have organized and hosted rallies for decades, the involvement of a large, publicly related broadcasting company breaks new ground in public demonstrations.
“I think this is pretty extraordinary,” said former FCC Commissioner Glen Robinson. “I can’t say that this violates any of a broadcaster’s obligations, but it sounds like borderline manufacturing of the news.” Lisa Dollinger, a spokeswoman for Clear Channel said the “Rallies for America” are the idea of Glen Beck, a Philadelphia talk show host whose program is syndicated by a Clear Channel subsidiary. “They’re not intended to be pro-military. It’s more of a thank you to the troops. They’re just patriotic rallies,” said Dollinger. (Chicago Tribune)

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