Tabloid Journalism, Investigative Reporting, Mainstream Media, Biased Reporting
April 2, 2009
Today's Zinger:
Say Something Enough Times And It Becomes A Fact. Do Something Enough Times And It Becomes A Habit. Hear Something Enough Times And It Is Real.
Morning Briefing:
The Facts:
Discussion:
Truth should be the most important consideration for the "Fourth Estate", but cutthroat competition, ratings (read this as money and wealth, as in the same greenback that Wall Street has been criticized for their greed) and group think has resulted in reporting that is sensationalized and biased. The media has become a polarizing force in our society. This is a very disturbing trend as the media represents one of the most important checks and balances in any free society.
The framers of the Constitution knew that freedom of speech is critical to a functioning society. Freedom of speech permits a society's citizens the ability to speak up, without reprisal, and address important issues of the day. But freedom of speech does not give its citizens the right to lie or defame. Nor should it permit failure to report on important stories, which is a moral failure. More of us are beginning to abandon traditional media.
More and more people are dropping out of daily news and opting for entertainment news. For many, shows like Jon Stewert's Daily Show continue to increase in ratings. Colbert, Saturday Night Live and Bill Maher have taken the place of Katie Couric, Brian Williams and Tom Brokaw. Nightly broadcast news continues to decline and newspapers are becoming dinosaurs.
Certainly there has been a change in demographics with younger news consumers relying on the internet (+2%). Many of these younger viewers have recently been educated at a college that has 85% of the faculty representing liberal viewpoints. But more importantly,, there has been a 6% increase (2006-2008) in just two years as to the number of people that no longer watch, read or consume news on a regular basis (broadcast, cable, print, internet). The only segment that continues to grow is cable news and this is primarily FOX news (who is obsessed by ratings) and entertainment news (ratings are the basis of their existence).
And the news they watch, entertainment news, for the most part, is venomous with no regard to fair and honest reporting. Its purpose is to appeal to their audience for laughs with a disregard to facts and a focus on the sensational. They play to their audiences' political biases and emotions and even shapes their bias. These comic reporters generate ratings for their companies and huge salaries for themselves, in excess of AIG or other greedy Wall Street executives.
As soon as Sarah Palin was nominated for Vice President the media and the Democratic Party converged on Wasilla, Alaska with a clear intent to find something. After a lot of digging there was little to find on Governor Palin, except some false accusations that were later disproved. Her daughter was another story. Her daughter was pregnant and became the focus of the story. Even to this day the media follows up on the story and the aborted wedding. Some would say it is because Sarah Palin was not qualified. Others say it is because she is a threat to the supporters of Women's Lib and the Democratic Party. These same people stand up for Al Franken, a Saturday Night Live comedian turned US Senate candidate. I have to believe someone having the experience of a Mayor and Governor is more qualified and deserves more respectful treatment than a comedian with views based on what gets a laugh.
Yesterday, the Vice Presidential nominee's daughter was caught on video snorting cocaine. This time the media was not sent to dig up more on the story. A matter of fact, the media didn't really cover the story. The rationale was that it is a family matter and is off limits to reporting. My opinion is the media didn't want to embarrass the Vice President. No, not Sarah Palin. The media was totally comfortable embarrassing Sarah Palin. I mean Joe Biden. It was his daughter I was referring to.
I would say this was an isolated incident, but if you remember, the media didn't have any problem reporting on George Bush's daughter drinking at a college party. Or Dick Cheney's daughter being gay and raising that as an issue during the campaign.
As I listen to the news media fawn over Barrack and Michelle Obama, or President Clinton, I ask "Why is there such a double standard"?
It is because we allow it to happen. For those that are fact based and care about staying informed, they search alternative media to learn and hear opposing views. For those that vote with their heart, they tend to tune in to the programs and sources of news that reinforce their core beliefs. And for those that want see the news as a form of entertainment they tune in to Comedy Central and think they have been informed, in a fun way.
The truth of the matter is, corporations and individuals know how to make money. What we learn selling Coca Cola or automobiles is similar to selling politics. You need to segment the population and build a brand. A strong brand will garner greater profits. The media knows who they are appealing to. And just like any product, if the segment you appeal to begins to get smaller because they reject your product, you will fade away. So is the case with the newspaper and broadcast news. It is not just the medium (paper) but the content. It is not just the content of what is covered in the media, but also what is not covered. This is a form of bias just as dangerous as the written or spoken word. Unfortunately, unless you are one of the few that source your news from multiple media, you will never know what you are missing.
Start listening to and reading alternative sources of news. You will really see the biases that plague our media today. You will also become more informed and an informed public is the best solution to social and political problems.
Today's Zinger:
Say Something Enough Times And It Becomes A Fact. Do Something Enough Times And It Becomes A Habit. Hear Something Enough Times And It Is Real.
Morning Briefing:
- Our society is in danger of losing all perspective as our politicians, now supported by the media, vie for our attention to influence our thinking. News doesn't just inform, it shapes our opinion.
- Personal and group biases have taken the place of news. Funded by wealthy individuals or groups with sufficient media clout, what we accept for news is becoming a campaign for the hearts and minds of the individual.
- As yesterday's article discussed, we are becoming more polarized. We watch and spend time with those people or programs that capture our attention through sensationalism or provide the comfort of reinforcing our beliefs.
The Facts:
- Circulation continues to decline at two thirds of the major newspapers. Chapter 11 Bankruptcy has gone to press for the L.A. Times, Chicago Tribune, Philadelphia Inquirer, Sun Times, Columbus Dispatch to name just a few. The New York Times and Washington Post are teetering on insolvency.
- 36% of news viewers receive their news on line while total news consumption has declined 4% which is 40% of the over 18 population.
- On the Comedy Channel, Jon Stewert's fake news program, The Daily Show, draws more viewers (2 million viewers per night on average) than the national newspaper USA Today and approximately one third as many as CBS Nightly News (7 million/night).
Discussion:
Truth should be the most important consideration for the "Fourth Estate", but cutthroat competition, ratings (read this as money and wealth, as in the same greenback that Wall Street has been criticized for their greed) and group think has resulted in reporting that is sensationalized and biased. The media has become a polarizing force in our society. This is a very disturbing trend as the media represents one of the most important checks and balances in any free society.
The framers of the Constitution knew that freedom of speech is critical to a functioning society. Freedom of speech permits a society's citizens the ability to speak up, without reprisal, and address important issues of the day. But freedom of speech does not give its citizens the right to lie or defame. Nor should it permit failure to report on important stories, which is a moral failure. More of us are beginning to abandon traditional media.
More and more people are dropping out of daily news and opting for entertainment news. For many, shows like Jon Stewert's Daily Show continue to increase in ratings. Colbert, Saturday Night Live and Bill Maher have taken the place of Katie Couric, Brian Williams and Tom Brokaw. Nightly broadcast news continues to decline and newspapers are becoming dinosaurs.
Certainly there has been a change in demographics with younger news consumers relying on the internet (+2%). Many of these younger viewers have recently been educated at a college that has 85% of the faculty representing liberal viewpoints. But more importantly,, there has been a 6% increase (2006-2008) in just two years as to the number of people that no longer watch, read or consume news on a regular basis (broadcast, cable, print, internet). The only segment that continues to grow is cable news and this is primarily FOX news (who is obsessed by ratings) and entertainment news (ratings are the basis of their existence).
And the news they watch, entertainment news, for the most part, is venomous with no regard to fair and honest reporting. Its purpose is to appeal to their audience for laughs with a disregard to facts and a focus on the sensational. They play to their audiences' political biases and emotions and even shapes their bias. These comic reporters generate ratings for their companies and huge salaries for themselves, in excess of AIG or other greedy Wall Street executives.
As soon as Sarah Palin was nominated for Vice President the media and the Democratic Party converged on Wasilla, Alaska with a clear intent to find something. After a lot of digging there was little to find on Governor Palin, except some false accusations that were later disproved. Her daughter was another story. Her daughter was pregnant and became the focus of the story. Even to this day the media follows up on the story and the aborted wedding. Some would say it is because Sarah Palin was not qualified. Others say it is because she is a threat to the supporters of Women's Lib and the Democratic Party. These same people stand up for Al Franken, a Saturday Night Live comedian turned US Senate candidate. I have to believe someone having the experience of a Mayor and Governor is more qualified and deserves more respectful treatment than a comedian with views based on what gets a laugh.
Yesterday, the Vice Presidential nominee's daughter was caught on video snorting cocaine. This time the media was not sent to dig up more on the story. A matter of fact, the media didn't really cover the story. The rationale was that it is a family matter and is off limits to reporting. My opinion is the media didn't want to embarrass the Vice President. No, not Sarah Palin. The media was totally comfortable embarrassing Sarah Palin. I mean Joe Biden. It was his daughter I was referring to.
I would say this was an isolated incident, but if you remember, the media didn't have any problem reporting on George Bush's daughter drinking at a college party. Or Dick Cheney's daughter being gay and raising that as an issue during the campaign.
As I listen to the news media fawn over Barrack and Michelle Obama, or President Clinton, I ask "Why is there such a double standard"?
It is because we allow it to happen. For those that are fact based and care about staying informed, they search alternative media to learn and hear opposing views. For those that vote with their heart, they tend to tune in to the programs and sources of news that reinforce their core beliefs. And for those that want see the news as a form of entertainment they tune in to Comedy Central and think they have been informed, in a fun way.
The truth of the matter is, corporations and individuals know how to make money. What we learn selling Coca Cola or automobiles is similar to selling politics. You need to segment the population and build a brand. A strong brand will garner greater profits. The media knows who they are appealing to. And just like any product, if the segment you appeal to begins to get smaller because they reject your product, you will fade away. So is the case with the newspaper and broadcast news. It is not just the medium (paper) but the content. It is not just the content of what is covered in the media, but also what is not covered. This is a form of bias just as dangerous as the written or spoken word. Unfortunately, unless you are one of the few that source your news from multiple media, you will never know what you are missing.
Start listening to and reading alternative sources of news. You will really see the biases that plague our media today. You will also become more informed and an informed public is the best solution to social and political problems.
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