It's easy to blame the amorphous media for spinning the facts and burying the truth. And, a lot of times, they deserve the blame. However, we have to share some of the blame as we tend to be passive media feeders rather than interactive thinkers who question what we hear and form our own opinions instead of relying on others to shape our views.
One of the topics we discussed in my introductory journalism classes -- yes, as a matter of full disclosure, I must admit that I am a journalist and, perhaps worse yet, I have taught university journalism courses -- was whether the media reflect society or shape it. Throughout the course of American history, it has done both. For much of the 20th century, journalists at least gave lip service to trying to be objective or fair (they're not one and the same). But today, "community" or "citizen" journalism rules. With the advent of the Internet, the idea of balance and fairness in reporting has become antiquated. From CNN's iReports to local media on-the-spot viewer reports to YouTube, everyone has a chance to spin his or her personal view of the world.
My advice to all of my students: Don't be a passive news junkie. If you're not arguing with the news anchors and commentators -- be they Anderson Cooper, Campbell Brown, Katie Couric Brian Williams or Bill O'Reilly -- you're not using your God-given brain. Don't let someone else form your opinion for you. Do the research, and make up your own mind. And then let yourself be heard -- through comments on blogs, other social media, letters or comments to the media, letters or email to your elected officials, community organizations, etc.
We can't change our world if we don't first influence it. And we can't influence it if we keep our mouths shut. Speak up.
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Okay, I'm speaking up. I continue to be amazed by the contradictions in Washington, D.C. Under the Bush administration, Republicans were more than happy to force the United Auto Workers to renegotiate their contracts with GM as a requirement for recieving bail out money. Yet, now, under the Obama administration, Republicans are screaming that we can't possibly make AIG Executives renegotiate their contracts. Is it the difference between blue collar/white collar? Or is it that most Union workers vote Democratic so it's okay to make them take less pay and bonuses, while most AIG Executives probably vote Republican?
ReplyDeleteActually a lot of the bonous money went out of the country, so the people in power are making a big show and accomplishing nothing. The Republicans are not against getting the money back, they are against the way it is being done. We have this thing called a Constitution that prohibits taxing a particular group of people in a punitive fashion. I know there are a lot of folks out there that forget we are a nation of law.
ReplyDeleteWho allowed the bonous' to be written into the contracts?
I am in agreement that their are a lot of contradictions in Washington DC. I did not put it in the bill/I guess I did put it in the bill but it somebody else's fault.
The buck stops with me. I had nothing to do with any of this, those other guys did but you can blame me.
Now back to the original blog about the media. I would not have a problem with the media taking a side if they were honest about it. When Sixty Minutes does a story they should say, We took this position and this is why. The evening news needs to do this as well. Even some of my favorite shows on television are starting to get politically correct. I just heard this on a local talk show. Some guy in England just wrote about when the world was turned upside down. It was when politics became nice or nasty.
ReplyDeleteIf you do something stupid, and you suffer from it, the nice thing is to bail you out. The just thing would be to let you suffer your own consequences, but that is nasty.
President Bush was as bad as everyone else on the domestic front. Compassionate conservatism. Yeah right.
The idea of relegating the notion of objectivity in the media to antiquity is kind of ironic considering objectivity is a relatively modern concept for journalism (early to mid 20th century). Prior to that, yellow journalism reigned. How sad would it be if objectivity became a passing fad or "a fun thing we tried once"? I agree with "Journalism 101" in that removing bias from the media starts with active readers/viewers.
ReplyDeleteOn the issue of AIG bonuses, even if you take the view point that Republicans are trying to impede efforts to return the bonus money in order to attain votes rather than that it would be constitutionally wrong to do so in the manner that Congressional Dem's are attempting, who allowed the bonuses to occur in the first place? That would be Dodd, Dem-Connecticut. Less than a handful of Republicans voted in favor of the largely Democrat-backed bill.