Oct 26 2006
Media Credibility An Oxymoron
Jed Babbin is pondering what will be the effect on the media and political message-movers of the Democrat wave fails to appear. While I agree the 527 groups will see their funding dry up since they will have been (accurately) deemed failures, his contention that the anitque media will recover is completely wrong. The trend has been for those outlets who refuse to balance their reporting staff with conservative views will continue to lose money and wither on the vine of liberal stubborness. We have seen this in cable news, and we see it in the far left major newspapers as they turn in worse and worse financial numbers. The antique media has no credibility or balance. And these traits are the core assets any news organization requires to succeed. The NY Times has been on a self-destruct binge of liberalism and is paying the price.
How many times can a liberal rag declare the coming success for the dems before people totally ignore them? I give them this year and it is over. The parable about the Boy Who Cried “Wolf” is still valid. And it is still valid on the left as well as the right. Maybe even more so for the left. Because another round of hopes dashed will make it painful for liberals to put their trust in these purveyors of fantasy again. So with the right just not buying anything the NY Times is saying and the left too upset to ever trust them again, organizations like the NY Times will take a massive hit if the Dems fail to take Congress.
I almost sense some real desperation in the MSM this time – as if they feel that if they can’t influence the election like they tried in 2004, then they * are * finished. For me, the game was over a long time ago, and the things like CNN sensationally showing terrorist snuff films or David Gregory’s tiresome and childish rants just confirm to me that the MSM can no longer be trusted. Period.
I would encourage everyone to go one step further and simply stop patronizing the MSM as much as possible, and let their advertisers know that you will no longer be purchasing the MSM’s “product.”
First responders to mayhem, are usually fire trucks!
So up ahead, on November 8th, I expect a hue and cry that “the election was stolen!”
And, the last best hope of the media is to draw out a few nuts to “man the barricades.” And, this they will try to foist up as if it’s a successful Cindy Sheehan rally. Remember her?
After that? Like in all organizations that “tighten their belts,” some people will go job hunting.
ONE THING YOU WON’T SEE: Is what happened when unions killed industries; and how cities joined the rust belt. Or saw jobs bleed overseas, leaving men without work.
What will you see? What you see at C-BS. Some of the goons on top still get great salaries. And, while that old eye has nearly extinct vision; you do see how quickly a fortune spent on Katie Couric has proven to be MIS-SPENT.
Moonves will not say he is sorry, either.
I think, ahead, there will be IMPLOSION. Just like it was when the old Soviets went; and no one was around, here, to report it. Not in the CIA. And, not in academia.
Denial seems to have placed itself on the map, as if it was flowing in eygpt land.
Be prepared for worse name-calling ahead, than anything you heard from the FOLEY affair. There’s a lot of outraged queers, who are gonna be screaming mad they were all thrown under the bus. For naught. While middle America waves the middle finger. In Silent revenge.
AJ and archtop; though I personally agree with your points, realistically I have to disagree, as in it ain’t gonna happen. The problem as I see it is that your looking at the issue as sane, common sense people, but half the people in the debate are rabid left wingers who would refuse to acknowledge any such truths even if God himself stood before them with irrefutable evidence- they’d just get more rabid in their denial.
For example, take Chris Matthews of MSNBC- Mr. “Hardball” himself. Remember during the runup to the war? Matthews made many predictions on how it would go, most notably that I recall that there would be “a hundred thousand body bags in the desert”. Every one of his other predictions were every bit as assinine, and in total, he couldn’t have been more wrong if he tried. Yet, 31/2 years later, MSNBC still pays him tons of money to do his show; he even holds court on Sundays on NBC.
The problem with your premise on this thread, as I see it, is basically one of tunnel vision; the issue is pretty clear cut , so everyone must see it. You discount the almost total domination the left has on discourse in the major, drive the message home forms of communication, such as tv and newspapers. Hell, even in the blogosphere, which I am more and more viewing as the last hope, the #1 ranked blog is- the Daily Kos.
As I wrote on another thread (the treason one of a few days ago) it is their message that is best filtering through to the so called grass roots , or salt of the earth types, whatever you want to call them, as I gave a personal example of in that same thread.
Any of you remember about a year ago or so, when a noted blogger was at a Dick Durbin press conference on C-Span? The blogger gave Durbin fits, catching him off guard with tough questions that the MSM beat reporters in attendance would never have dreamed of asking a prominent democrat. Durbin cut it short, clearly flustered. C-Span and others ran the tape a few times; the blogosphere, such as Michelle Malkin (another favorite of mine) went nuts over it. It was a golden opportunity. Then, no follow up. Within, oh, say 72 hours, the golden opportunity had become a puff of smoke. Haven’t seen or heard of it since.
Don’t get me wrong AJ; what you do is not only enjoyable, but informative, and I view as a vital public service, so this isn’t a criticism. Until the other day, I wasn’t one to join in such discussions online. It is good to have sites such as yours to keep up on the stories, and facts, that are passed over by the MSM. It is good to have a forum for discussion, even if just to vent. But until we can collectively find a way to break into the spotlight and confront the MSM on their ommisions, distortions, and outright lies, it is their views that will hold sway with the large majority of people, especially those on the fence.( Again, read my second post on the treason thread- that is just one personal example. ) And we will continue, in effect, to be not much more than a disgruntled group sitting over in the corner, complaining , venting, and patting each other on the back, while across the room, the party will go on, without anyone knowing, or caring about what is really going on, much less about our views. Outfits such as The NY Times will continue to omit, lie, and distort- hell, even commit treason- with virtual impunity.And so on. The Left and their allies in the MSM continue to play the tunes; we have to find a way to get our playlist the same degree of exposure, and not just dance to whatever tune they’re playing at the time.
AJ, Well said!
MSM is packaged news, with producers (TV), and editors(newspapers). The internet allows more self selection, interactive feedback, and finally, instant source checking (links). Technology is quickly replacing the unaccountable pontificators of MSM.
The MSM was captured by the Left 40 years ago and it is now inbred (justifying the oxymoron label).
Lastly, journalists only know their craft. The Internet has opened the field to bright and expierenced people from diverse fields of knowledge. So news gets better scrutiny.
Here’s to open source information!
Archtop,
You’ve succinctly stated what I have believed for the past year or so. Its a shame that the media have collectively assumed the role of partisan and taken ( or “maken” {sic}) the facts to create story lines, if not, outright propaganda in an attempt to create the reality they so desperately seek.
As Macker suggests, the way is wide open for a new medium(s) to fulfill the public’s unmet need for a fact finder(s) to search for and to provide a “reasonably un-biased” presentation of facts of significant newsworthy events and situations.
http://www.nytimes.com/2006/10/26/us/politics/26googlebomb.html?ei=5090&en=cf9c1ba8c49c62b2&ex=1319515200&partner=rssuserland&emc=rss&pagewanted=print
and here is the 527s fair and balanced strategy
Limerick, does that surprise you that the DEM 527s would do something like that? The only way they can win is through subterfuge and deceit.
Google is, nevertheless, a useful tool. I Googled “Democrats + honesty” and got 161,000 matches. Then I Googled “Republicans + honesty” and got 253,000 matches. Does that mean that Republicans are 57% more honest than Democrats? Sounds about right to me.
yeah you are right Spook…..I posted it I guess because if the story was reversed(reps attack dem sites) it would be a crime-against-humanity story…..instead of a back page in the Times.
I watched the CBS evening news with Katie today. Actually I watched it two times, the first and last. (joke) No wonder she’s tanked. the 30 minute show had 5 stories. 1. Real Estate has tanked
2. ExxonMobil profit
3. Micheal J. Fox’s dishonest coverage
4. Black and white twins born
5. Micheal J. Fox’s dishonest coverage
Got that, not one story that I hadn’t read on Drudge yesterday.
Look at that Agenda, purely political.
two stories about economy, real estate and exxonmobil, both to make Repubs look bad.
M.J.Fox story ONLY from his side, no questions that would make him look political.
I will admit, I couldn’t see the politics of the black and white twin baby story, but it only lasted about 10 secs.
The Fox story was about 80% of her “news” coverage.
The story on Drudge that gave her (Katie) 7th place in LA shouldn’t be surprising. It noted she finished behind some reruns. Well….. Her news was all reruns. See Drudge yesterday.
If she lasts in the anchor spot, it’ll be a surprise. It was pathetic.
T
Don’t forget that bloggers have forced the MSN to recant many times, i.e. CBS documents, Lebanon war pictures, etc. Before the internet there was no one to refute their garbage. If we had had the internet during the Nixon debacle, I wonder what would have been uncovered. I wonder if that would have fizzled like the Foley mess.
The fact is that the internet is getting bigger all the time. More and more people are turning to the internet for information. I quit taking my local paper because (1) They copied the NY times in all their news and (2) I had already read the news on the internet so the only reason to take the paper was local news and comics.
Agree, Barbara. And the MSM is one day late. The only reason for reading the NYT, according to C. Hitchens, is to find out what others think has happened.