If you read the Time article, it becomes apparent that the American people are not the only ones that have issues with the press (and little faith, too). The White House is sick of the lack of fact checking and intentional distortion of facts as well.
However, I'm not sure that fighting back will help much, especially where Fox News is concerned. It may just give them even more ammunition. I wouldn't be surprised if they started saying that Obama wanted to get rid of the First Amendment and control the press.
Although, I have to say I agree with what the WHite House is doing to an extent. Fox News is a disgrace to news organizations everywhere. You would be hard pressed getting me to believe that they do not intentionally lie to mislead the American people. They push the Republican agenda no matter what. And that usually means creating a deeply divided country simply because Republicans would rather do battle than try to concentrate on things that they have in common.
Its no secret that they want Obama to fail (at least the vast majority of them) but is it right to lie in order to make that happen? Americans rely on news organizations to be the watchdogs of the government, or at least we did. What can we do when the news is no longer watching but participating in and creating news for their own agenda?
NB C-notes
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From the WaPo:
NEW YORK -- The Society of Professional Journalists condemned NBC News for
practicing "checkbook journalism" by chartering a jet that carrie...
14 years ago
4 comments:
Here’s why so many Americans hate the media.
Those of among us who support its lying, scumbag, low-life tactics have to be filled with self-loathing because we know cheaters shouldn’t be rewarded.
We know FAUX News and MSNBC are ugly reminders, beyond the limits of the on/off button, of how powerless hoi polloi actually are.
The great irony: You can likely find several million Americans who are outraged by steroids in baseball. But, to further their political beliefs, these same people accept that FAUX News must lie, prevaricate and flat out invent bad stuff about President Obama.
How could that possible make you feel good when it really counts – as you judge the merits of your values?
Here’s a bumper sticker I’d love to see.
I LIE and CHEAT, BUT ONLY IN GOD’S NAME
I deplore such practices. Our nation, due largely in part to the private and political agendas of news organizations, has become largely ignorant to the actual machinations of politics. The MSM has created an image of 'teams' within politics, prompting people to align with one of two images as opposed to making decisions based upon the informed proposals and actions of politicians.
With this perversion of the flow of information to the public, our government has become a literal one-party incumbent. It is fueled by corporate lobbyists and the desire to maintain stature. This was allowed to happen by the public, who was blind to such proceedings because of extremist media.
I completely agree, Michael. The state of media is just as much if not the fault of the public. If we did not let them get away with it then we might actually have the facts reported to us instead of spun.
The media may be the watchdog of the government, but we need to be the watchdogs of the media. Too bad, we are all failing miserably at our jobs.
Like it or not, the newstainment phenomenon is a direct result of demand. These media outlets are businesses and they respond directly to ratings. If people did not watch, they would not exist. People naturally want to surround themselves with those that agree with them. Objective journalism is not dead, it is just harder to find than it once was. I have to wonder if now that we have these 24 hour "news" outlets if, on average, people are more informed. Is it possible that a large portion of the folks that watch these newstainment stations were completely disengaged before the advent of such media? Although I may not agree with much of what comes from Fox News, at least they are engaging a segment of the population that may not have been involved previously.
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