February 9, 2011
I’m surprised that otherwise intelligent people continue to believe the myth that the media is “liberal.” I think it’s worth discussing what a liberal media would look like if we had one, so we can better understand that we don’t have one.
Read on.
7 comments:
While the debunking of the Conservative fostered myth that the mainstream media has a Liberal bias is certainly something that deserves thoughtful and serious attention, this rant certainly can not be counted as such an exercise.
The author begins by expressing surprise "that otherwise intelligent people continue to believe the myth..". This ridiculous and inept observation then becomes the premise for a functionally incoherent, unedited, and repetitious fictional foray into what a "liberal media" would or should be. The fact that the author has seeded this screed with a few thoughtful observations and suggestions does not, in my opinion, qualify this piece as an example of informed intelligent journalism or "liberal" opinion.
First of all, no reasonable informed person, regardless of latent intelligence, "believes" the Conservative propaganda/talking point that the "media is Liberal"; it is widely understood to be partisan political spin directed at the willfully uninformed lemmings that mindlessly adopt such nonsense as fact. This element of our society does not read anything, many, if not most of them, can not read; a point curiously overlooked by this "liberal" manifesto.
With regards to the aforementioned 'incoherent, unedited' content, one might attempt to divine what this journalistic jewel portends:
"Nothing, as this network would point out to us regularly until people filled the streets in protest, insisting on a change."
My purpose in offering this admittedly strident criticism is twofold. Those of us who advocate for reason, truth, and an informed citizenry must stop pretending that merely parroting our own talking points will evoke meaningful change. And, if we are to be successful, the product of our efforts must reflect the informed intelligence that we advocate.
There have been dozens of excellent articles debunking the myth of the liberal media. But I've never seen a single one that showed what the media could, or even perhaps should, look like. That was the point of this - not to try to convince those who don't need convincing (or to address those who don't read at all) - but to get us to broaden the discussion. Sometimes it's worth talking about not what the media isn't, but what it still could be.
As for the opening comment, perhaps you have never met an intelligent Republican. I know many. They are smart. I think their goals are very different than mine, but they are not unintelligent. They are, however, so misinformed that many really do believe the media is liberal. This is just another tool in the toolbox. Use it or ignore it. But different tools are needed, as the ones we've tried haven't driven this point home, yet.
We need more truth in our media. One that is on our side...the people..not the powerful elite.
Lovely piece, Lisa. There are many more examples of what media should be covering, but this is a good start.
I'd like to see an article about how the news media became profit driven. Discuss how there was a "buffer" between NEWS and ENTERTAINMENT and how that broke down (1970s, 1980s, exactly when?). Discuss NEWS bureaus being depend upon network profits. Discuss other models of maintaining media that is independent from commercial influence.
Still we have to keep faith on media. They will definitely improve someday.
Eventually, remember that you are examining a book that has been written not the just one you wanted the author to write. Even though it is all right to point out pay to write my paper and level out failures, will not criticize it for not getting what you needed.four Book Evaluate Example (PDF)Perspective File four. Fictional Ebook Report.
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