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The End of Days the End of Journalism


NewHampster's picture

NewHampster - Posted on 26 October 2008

http://abcnews.go.com/Business/Story?id=6099188&page=1

Nine days.  Nines days and not a single ad re-introducing the dishonorable Rev. Jeremiah Wright. Nine days and no 527s asking why the anthem was canceled in my home town.

Nine days and lo and behold some in the media can't keep quiet anymore.  They are beginning to ask why their brethren "journalists" have forgotten what journalism is about.  My question to the now honorable Michael Malone is, "where have you been the last 2 years?".  "What makes you wait until a week before election to come out and call out your fellows?".

Media's Presidential Bias and Decline
Columnist Michael Malone Looks at Slanted Election Coverage and the Reasons Why

Column By MICHAEL S. MALONE
Oct. 24, 2008 —

 

The traditional media are playing a very, very dangerous game -- with their readers, with the Constitution and with their own fates.

 

The sheer bias in the print and television coverage of this election campaign is not just bewildering, but appalling. And over the last few months I've found myself slowly moving from shaking my head at the obvious one-sided reporting, to actually shouting at the screen of my television and my laptop computer.

 

But worst of all, for the last couple weeks, I've begun -- for the first time in my adult life -- to be embarrassed to admit what I do for a living. A few days ago, when asked by a new acquaintance what I did for a living, I replied that I was "a writer," because I couldn't bring myself to admit to a stranger that I'm a journalist.

So Michael is your guilt and long wait due to you or is it the bosses at ABC?  Did you just have this revelation or is this a story you submitted and your editor put in the bottom drawer?

Now, of course, there's always been bias in the media. Human beings are biased, so the work they do, including reporting, is inevitably colored. Hell, I can show you 10 different ways to color variations of the word "said" -- muttered, shouted, announced, reluctantly replied, responded, etc. -- to influence the way a reader will apprehend exactly the same quote. We all learn that in Reporting 101, or at least in the first few weeks working in a newsroom.

 

But what we are also supposed to learn during that same apprenticeship is to recognize the dangerous power of that technique, and many others, and develop built-in alarms against them.

 

But even more important, we are also supposed to be taught that even though there is no such thing as pure, Platonic objectivity in reporting, we are to spend our careers struggling to approach that ideal as closely as possible.

Michael, I do not feel for you and your conscience.  I do however encourage people to read the entire long article to learn where you place the blame.

 

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Editors get their marching orders from publishers and owners.  Malone didn't even mention them, nor the effect of money on this election coverage.  This article only got halfway there.

WHERETHEHELL IS MY ERA???

It's worth reading. Was nice to see somebody say all of this.

I have a feeling that there are serious journalists out there that would like to have been reporting the "truth" about you know who, but have had to defer to their bosses.   If The One is elected whoa be unto the media.  No more freedom of the press.   They will be forced to report Obama propaganda or be eliminated.  Look what has happened to Barbara West at channel 9 news in Orlando.  NewHampster, I can't access NoQuarter.  I keep getting that stupid gateway page telling the website can't be found.  Do you know what has happened?

I had a story idea about one city supervisor proposing something-or-other and the editor said we don't report on him, because he's wacky. You constantly have to re-phrase the way you propose stories to get them heard before the editor cuts you off (at a daily paper.)

It's very fast and the editor (and reporter) has to make decisions quickly. There is no time to reflect. And right now jobs are being cut left and right, so you either go with the flow or find another line of work.

Not all editors are alike, of course.

and I have a feeling that somebody fouled up the move of the dns or the pointers that tell us where a site is located.

If I do here anything from Susan, I'll let folks know.

I just hope it's not because they took my advice or something.

Civil Discourse - ERA - A Mother President - Women's Rights - Primary Reform

 

Hillary will be campaigning with Jeanne in Dover on 28th.

 

Oops, that should have been "woe" be unto instead of whoa.   I must have had a brain cramp.

Any time websites like NoQuarter or similar go down, I always have a pit in my stomach that it was due to Obot hackers suppressing freedom of speech and criticism of "the one".

Independently adrift

i'm just waiting til I get an all clear email from Larry or Susan.

Civil Discourse - ERA - A Mother President - Women's Rights - Primary Reform

I applaud him for writing this piece it's very fair. Also he's not a political reporter, he's a tech reporter.

right.  and even some of us FDR-type Dems are so disgusted with the media bias that a slew of us will be voting Republican out of protest.   If we're that upset, imagine how Republicans are feeling.  My sister-in-law is a moderate Republican who has sometimes voted for Dems, but she is so outraged now over this, she'll probably never vote for a Dem again her whole life (including down tickets).

 

the media's vile, distorted treatment of Gov. Palin has achieved its desired efffect to such a degree that even "her own" party leadership is turning on her  (especially the old Bush strategists -- what's that all about?)
Already they're setting it up to blame Palin if McCain loses --  just like the Dems' old pattern of blaming Hillary for everything.  What is it with these effing good ole boys?  (do we ever need a rebirth of feminism now.  Trouble is a lot of young women these days don't have much of a feminist streak -- they seem content with male rule.)
from Politico:
 
"These people are going to try and shred her after the campaign to divert blame from themselves," a McCain insider said...."
 
 

it'll be many years before we see another woman at the top of a Repug or Dem presidential ticket.  

self-respecting woman want to after this?  And as much as Hillary wanted to be the first woman president, she seems kind of relieved to be back in the Senate for now.

 

...is for us to "do the right thing" for Hillary 2012 on November 4.  Wink  I stepped outside of my own selfish desires and did it, and I hope others can, as well.  The key for me was to get past issues-related voting this cycle and think strategically toward a long-term goal. 

From now on, I'm a fully-committed thirty percenter.  The Thirty Percent Solution makes voting decisions easy.

"Right wing sledge hammers never, ever help us."  Pacific John

I'll tell you a little secret about how I've ALWAYS voted:  I've always cast my vote for the woman.  No exception.  I don't care what their record is, or their stand on the issues, if a man and a woman are running for election, I always vote female.  This year I'm just going to do what I've always been doing---except this year it'll be for the top of a ticket.

...about it, I guess I've been doing that for a long time, too.  Especially on our local ballots, there's always a lot of different judges to vote for and I'm occasionally not fully familiar with all of them.  So, I've always picked the woman in those cases.  I think I was inspired by an AA female judge who goes to our church and she is one tough-love woman in her courtroom.

"Right wing sledge hammers never, ever help us."  Pacific John

24 gets the first woman president this year. http://www.fox.com/24/trailer/

Civil Discourse - ERA - A Mother President - Women's Rights - Primary Reform

to the woodshed?  His own advisors are spreading nasty innuendo about Palin.  When it appeared they were saying "unacceptable" things about Obama he berated them firmly.  Now they're doing it to his own Vice-Presidential nominee and he's silent.

For someone who is supposed to have guts, McCain sure doesn't show it.

WHERETHEHELL IS MY ERA???

maybe he is behind the scenes?  It's interesting that it's the former Bushies that are doing this -- some of them on the cable shows too.  The Bushies want Obama?  Not surprised -- BO's in the pocket of Big Money -- just like Bush.

 

 

so as you already know that's ok.

Civil Discourse - ERA - A Mother President - Women's Rights - Primary Reform

I am an Indy and believe that both the Repubs and the Dems have been corrupted by outside influences, foreign and domestic. Both parties are full of elitists who believe they are above the rest of us. I don't vote "Party," because both organizations have worked against the interests of the American people by allowing the anti-American leanings of their extremists to get a foothold and cause havoc.  

I put my country and my freedoms above any party or politician. I am outraged by the media and have personally completely blocked MSNBC and  CNN (with the exception of Lou Dobbs) from my sets. I have also cancelled my subscriptions to Newsweek and Time. If I reward the corrupt media  by viewing/ reading their garbage, then I contribute to their corporate coffers and thus their existence as enemies of our Constitution. If something is important for me to view or read, I go to the Internet.

I refuse to give them a political platform inside my head. I will celebrate when the bastion of misogyny, falsehoods, and corruption known as The NY Times goes down around the knees of its "journalists" and "editors," as it may do very soon if its stock prices are any indication.

 

 

 

Right on, BJ.  Great comment.