Kwiatkowski

July 22nd, 2004
Transcription by Franki Franklin

ECHO CHAMBER PROJECT: So why don't you go ahead and introduce yourself, and --
KWIATKOWSKI: Should I talk to you the whole time?
ECHO CHAMBER PROJECT: Yeah.
KWIATKOWSKI: I'm Karen Kwiatkowski. I'm a retired Air Force Lieutenant Colonel, and I spent my last 4 1/2 years of 20 in the Pentagon. And my last almost a year working in Office of Near East South Asia. And that's where I -- Near East South Asia is like the Middle East policy -- office of Secretary of Defense policy for the Middle East region. And that's where I really -- In that final year of my service, is where I was really exposed to some of the things that I've been speaking out about since I've retired.

I am trying to take an integrative, systems approach to this documentary. It’s hard to pin the blame of any alleged failings of the mainstream media squarely on the media.

This is because there is a complex feedback loop relationship between the government, the media, and the society. Just critiquing the supply (media) without analyzing the demand (popular culture) is a simplistic and reductionistic approach to the issue.

One implication of this is that our public education system and college educational paradigms have a major impact on our culture, which then influences the demand for the programming that commercial broadcasters provide.