"The first causality when war comes is truth," warned Senator Hiram Johnson in 1917. Those words resonate strongly today. When the country goes to war, the corporate media are virtually cheerleaders. Journalists extol the noble virtues and intentions of US state power. There's a time-honored system of you scratch my back, I'll scratch yours. If you want that important interview with a White House official or if you want to be called upon at a press conference you'd better be certain that you've established yourself as obedient and not likely to ask the wrong questions. Play the game and you'll make yourself rich and famous. Stray from the pack and you'll get, as Marlon Brando says in "On the Waterfront, "a one-way ticket to Palookaville."

John Pilger
John Pilger is a leading journalist and documentary filmmaker. He's twice won British journalism's highest award, that of Journalist of the Year. His latest book is "New Rulers of the World." His documentaries are seen all over the world but rarely in the US. His most recent film is "Palestine is Still the Issue."