media
I did my own little poll the other night and the question was, "Which best describes your opinion of the American news media?"
The choices were-
1- They generally do a good job and are even-handed
2- They have a negative bias to most things
3- They report everything
4- They don't report everything
5- They report everything but selectively and with their own slant
Last time I checked, 17 people had voted. One person chose #1, one #2, none #3, two #4, and thirteen picked #5. People could also leave comments and without exception, they each had a bone to pick with the news media and a specific story or stories that they found fault with.
I deliberately tried not to pose this in liberal or conservative terms, and the answers I got back were from both persuasions. There should be no surprise in the conservative reactions, but liberals as well were unhappy. If there was a common theme, it was that the establishment media are full of self-importance, frame stories to suit their own purposes, and pat themselves on the back WAY too much.
One interesting response was from a woman who was frankly offended by all the press coverage of the CBS news crew in Iraq, two that were killed and the other injured. She asked why they warranted headlines and why Iraqi casualties are often glossed over.
Another mentioned frequent mistakes and wrong assumptions made by the press and that except in a very few high-profile cases, such as the NY Times reporter caught blatantly making up stories, corrections and apologies are few and far between and usually buried if published at all.
This of course wasn't a scientific survey in the slightest. I suspected the results would be critical of the media but I was surprised at how lopsided it was. The group of people I put it to was a pretty good mix, young and old, liberal and conservative.
The choices were-
1- They generally do a good job and are even-handed
2- They have a negative bias to most things
3- They report everything
4- They don't report everything
5- They report everything but selectively and with their own slant
Last time I checked, 17 people had voted. One person chose #1, one #2, none #3, two #4, and thirteen picked #5. People could also leave comments and without exception, they each had a bone to pick with the news media and a specific story or stories that they found fault with.
I deliberately tried not to pose this in liberal or conservative terms, and the answers I got back were from both persuasions. There should be no surprise in the conservative reactions, but liberals as well were unhappy. If there was a common theme, it was that the establishment media are full of self-importance, frame stories to suit their own purposes, and pat themselves on the back WAY too much.
One interesting response was from a woman who was frankly offended by all the press coverage of the CBS news crew in Iraq, two that were killed and the other injured. She asked why they warranted headlines and why Iraqi casualties are often glossed over.
Another mentioned frequent mistakes and wrong assumptions made by the press and that except in a very few high-profile cases, such as the NY Times reporter caught blatantly making up stories, corrections and apologies are few and far between and usually buried if published at all.
This of course wasn't a scientific survey in the slightest. I suspected the results would be critical of the media but I was surprised at how lopsided it was. The group of people I put it to was a pretty good mix, young and old, liberal and conservative.
posted by gbj at 6:10 PM
3 Comments:
I always got a kick out of seeing a letter to my hometown paper, the Orlando Sentinel, complaining about the paper's undeniable liberal slant, followed a week later with one from a reader who could prove it was a conservative slant.
I had a student once who said he had learned a system to rate the degree and type of slant of any article from a book by Ann Coulter, I think it was, but I could be wrong about that. I told him I was intrigued and if I brought him an article, would he analyze it; he said yes. So I downloaded a New York Times front page article about Bush's inauguration, and gave it to him. He had already assured me that the NYTimes was a seething hotbed of liberal propaganda, so I was surprised when he told me it was a fair article, even slightly slanted to the right. "Whatever that publication is, I like it," he told me. He refused to believe it was from the NYTimes until I showed him the actual article.
Bottom line, it's impossible to be 100% objective but I do think Americans can be reasonably well-informed if they read two or three sources that sit in the middle of the spectrum. We used to have a great handout at the Rollins library that listed newspapers, magazines, and websites and their orientation and which seemed to me to be fairly objective about it.
The other problem I find is that my students don't understand that Rush Limbaugh or Jon Daily are doing commentary, not news reporting, and that they are not getting the entire picture if that's their only source for what's happening in the world. Ditto for right or left leaning websites.
I think nearly everyone is ultra-suspicious these days of most institutions, including the media. Everyone is suspected of having an agenda. I think people who read and watch the news have their agendas as well. They're looking for a slant or a spin and if they look hard enough, they'll probably find one.
Very few people are really open-minded. They're not looking for enlightenment.
And I'm as bad as anyone in that regard. I find myself scrutinizing not just the articles themselves, but their placement in the newspaper and how the headline presents the article. A lot of times I feel that what should be the main point of the news piece is glossed over and a relatively minor point is overemphasized. Can I prove any of this? Most of the time, probably not. It's my perception. And how do you 'prove' that one aspect of a story is more important than another anyway?
I agree. I just want the facts, ma'am. Then a fair summary of reactions from opposing sides. I'll make up my own mind what I think or feel about it.
Since I don't watch tv, I don't have that input; and I read NyTimes, BBC, and my local paper for news and generally avoid the opinion pages. I figure that's as good as it's gonna get for me.
I also agree that we tend to find whatever it is we look for.
More and more people seem to think in terms of simplistic soundbites, and to be terribly intolerant of uncertainty and gray areas. This is a real problem in a very complex world. Whether that's a sign of decreasing literacy or increasing fear or what, I don't know.
And part of the problem is media can impose ethical standards on itself, but they still need to sell advertising. When money's the bottom line, few take the high road. How's that for a mixed metaphor?
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