Ok--before you read this---make me a promise. Promise me you'll put aside all notions of conspiracies among the mainstream press and the Democratic Party, promise me you'll reject the notion that Barack Obama got special treatment in the past election because the Press was personally invested in his success. Put all that aside for a moment, and then read this report. Go ahead---I'll wait for you.
Now. What do you feel? Do you think there might be a conspiracy among the mainstream press and the Democratic Party? Do you think Barack Obama got special treatment in the past election because the Press was personally invested in his success?
It is now four days after this report was posted. That it hasn't been widely reported in the mainstream press is a sign of one of two things: 1) it simply isn't true or 2) it is true, and it is sickeningly inconvenient. I don't know which it is--but where are the stories in the media that debunk its truth? I'd like to see some of them. If you have, please send them along.
Does it really surprise anyone that the media (which is after all a business with the aim of making money and not making news. News ist just a product) has a vested interest in politics like many other companies, too? The only difference is that the media has more influence on the election through its direct channels to the population, however I don't think that's to tragic since people generally only read/watch/listen to what reinforces their own beliefs and thus Republicans will chose Fox and other conservative networks while Democrats read the NYT.
ReplyDeleteAnd those people that are not decided yet have the opportunity to inform themselves, that's what campaigns are for.
But the notion that business interested news companies have a)the obligation and b)any interest in providiing perfectly neutral news is just ridiculus. On the contrary it's capitalism at its finest. If the NYT overdoes it with "selective informatoin" readers will go somewhere else, quite simply. And as long as they can use their influence on politicas to make business better for them, well that's capitalism for you. If you want anything even remotely close to objectivity you will need to abolish the money making aspect of the news companies, but at the moment money is their highest goal.
- Sebastian
Why does this surprise you? Treat yourself and read Bernard Goldberg's 'A Slobbering Love Affair: the Story of Barack Obama and the Mainstream Media.' Really, it will take you 90 minutes to read some afternoon in the bookstore. Take your blood pressure meds before you read it.
ReplyDeleteBut this HAS been discussed - it was in a segment on O'Reilly's show the other night. Not exactly 'mainstream', but he does have the most watched cable news show. The opposing viewpoint on the show that night dismissed it as nothing more than a worker with an axe to grind. I suspect we'll hear little more about it.
Nothing to see here, move along.
ReplyDeleteSebastian--you make a great series of points...all the way from A to Y. Where your whole theory blows is up is when you consider that the NYT claims NOT TO BE what you say it is. I'm all for them hoisting their colors and doing what they like---just don't say you're something else, or that you are seeking "the truth".
ReplyDeleteSally--what surprises me is how BLATANT this is. But you're right.
"...all the way from A to Y"
ReplyDeleteI like that. May I use it?
Point well taken, the hypocracy does indeed deserve criticism.
ReplyDelete- Sebastian
A to Y? Please. CW, you nailed the Times. However, you forgot to highlight that Fox promotes itself as "fair and balanced" -- it isn't and its slant is palpable. Thus, both sides practice the same style.
ReplyDeleteSebastian, you provided one of the best and most balanced perspectives I've read on this site. Please continue to inform the non-lemming audience here.
Anonymous--why would I talk about Fox in a blog post about a very particular story of the NYT allegedly spiking a story? Fox wasn't a player in this discussion. You can make it that if you'd like, but that wasn't what I was talking about.
ReplyDeleteAnon - Good Lord. Allow me to make you feel more at home here. Bush is the root of all evil. Fox news is his still-standing propaganda machine. There. Can we stick to the discussions at hand now?
ReplyDelete