Barrie Zwicker
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Barrie Wallace Zwicker (born 1934) is an award-winning Canadian alternative media journalist, documentary producer, and left-wing political activist. He is most famous for his documentary work, which has dealt primarily with 9/11 conspiracy theories.
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[edit] Biography
Barrie Zwicker was born on November 5, 1934 in White Haven, Nova Scotia. His family soon moved to Manitoba, and Zwicker's earliest work in journalism was with the Russell Banner, a local newspaper in Manitoba, at the age of 16. He went on to study journalism at University of Michigan. In 1967, Zwicker earned a Southam Fellowship in allowing him to work with media analysis pioneer, Marshall McLuhan at St. Michael's College.
Zwicker went on to staff writing assignments at a variety of newspapers in Canada and the United States, including The Globe and Mail, Toronto Star, Vancouver Province, Sudbury Star, Detroit News, and Lansing State Journal. During his seven year tenure at the Globe and Mail, he won several awards with the Education Writers' Association of North America.
Zwicker also taught the Media and Society course at Ryerson Polytechnic University in Toronto as a part-time professor for seven years. He worked as Vision TV's media critic since the multifaith network's inception in the fall of 1988, until 2003. [1]
[edit] Alternative viewpoints and 9/11 conspiracy works
In Canada, Zwicker has drawn comparisons to Michael Moore with respect to his viewpoints, and his approach to documentary making. He was the first from the mainstream press to go public with his opinion that the 9/11 terrorist attacks were an "inside job", when, on January 21, 2002, he stated that he wanted the media to ask the following questions:
- Why didn't the president give any orders for 140 minutes after the first plane had been hijacked?
- Why did he make a statement in the first 165 minutes after the first plane got hijacked?
- Why did not a single American Air Force plane make a single interception during these two hours?
[edit] The End of Suburbia
He was involved in the video The End of Suburbia: Oil Depletion and the Collapse of The American Dream on Vision TV[2] [3], and earned a number of awards from local film and video festivals for his contributions.
[edit] The Great Deception
In 2002, Zwicker's first documentary on 9/11 aired on Vision TV. Titled, The Great Deception, it was the first North American documentary critical of the mainstream media's portrayal of 9/11.
[edit] The Great Conspiracy: The 9/11 News Special You Never Saw
The Great Conspiracy: The 9/11 News Special You Never Saw[1] is a 70-minute sequel to The Great Deception. It premiered at the The Citizens' Commission on 9-11.
In this work, Zwicker contends that fear was used to control the public after 9/11, and states that the "War on Terrorism" is a public control mechanism. He also analyses the military breakdown on 9/11 and claims that the president and his aides acted entirely inappropriately that day. Throughout, mainstream media is accused of being either compliant or complicit with a cover-up.
Zwicker followed this with an additional documentary entitled, Deep Complicity, 9-11 And The Media, released in 2004.
[edit] Towers of Deception: The Media Cover-up of 9/11
Some have asked, "What did Zwicker get for making these allegations?" Answer: Zwicker's new book published by New Society Publishers was released September 1, 2006.
"Even skeptics like myself will find much in Barrie Zwicker's book to ponder, enjoy and, yes even embrace. Interestingly researched and well written, a valuable aid to correct thinking about conspiracy theory." -Michael Parenti, author of Culture Struggle and The Assassination of Julius Caesar.
[edit] Other accomplishments
- In 1977, Zwicker created a directory of contacts for editors, reporters and researchers, called Sources; and, in 1994, a Canadian government directory called Parliamentary Names & Numbers. He subsequently sold them in 1999.
- In 1996, he founded a media relations newsletter and Web site called HotLink.
- In 1991, he was awarded an honorary membership in the Media Club of Canada.
- Zwicker is also the director of an alternative information web site, 911inquiry.org
[edit] References
[edit] See also
[edit] External links
- Biography of Barrie Zwicker from the Humanist Association of Toronto [4]
- Barrie Zwicker's media profile and areas of expertise [5]
- Barrie Zwicker Blog [6]
- The Great Conspiracy website [7]
- Barrie Zwicker's assertions in TGC video (related info)
