Lately we Americans have been bombarded with headlines about the media war between the White House and Fox News, mainly over the claim that Fox isn't really a new organization and instead is the media wing of the Republican party. To be honest I do find Fox's motto of being "Fair and Balanced" quite comical, but I believe that most citizens are missing the overall point, that News media is almost ALWAYS BIASED! But is it really such a terrible thing? When I was in college I took a class in Comparative Politics which compared the political systems of Western Europe to the United States and one interesting point is that in the United Kingdom most of the major news media are not only politically biased, they are proud of it!
Now do I believe that this is the right way for news media to act? I believe that true news agencies should just talk about the facts and give both sides of an arguement a fair chance to defend their stance...For example, Fox news early on in the Healthcare debate broadcasted several erroneous claims about the various bills...which were then echoed by other news agencies and many people watching just naturally assumed that these claims were true because they "trust" Fox. The amazing thing to me is that these news agencies with their vast research resources didn't seem to have anybody actually READ the bills which makes them just as bad as so many politicans that never read the bills they vote on....though all this missinformation did give the good people at Factcheck lots of work to do lol.
To me, I have always believed the news media is biased and it doesn't surprise me. These media groups are owned and controlled by very wealthy people and they know that they can display their political views THROUGH their news stations without taking any of the heat. So while I believe the media should try its best to be as un-biased and just tell you the facts and not take sides, I don't believe any of us are going to see that anytime soon and I believe that this is just part of the nature of American politics.
Now don't get me wrong, I think personalities like Glenn Beck, Bill O'Reilly, or Keith Olbermann have every right to display their opinions on both television and radio. That is their 1st Amendment right. My issue is that some of these individuals purposely miss-represent the facts to advance their own agendas which is MAKING MONEY and they do this by saying controversial (or outright untrue) things that they know will draw in viewers, boast their ratings and make them more money. And I believe that the White House has every right to challenge any news agency that doesnt truthfully represent FACTS. Now do I go as far as Keith Olbermann in saying that Fox news isn't a real news agency and just the media wing of the Republican party? Not quite. Just as I wouldn't say that MSNBC is the media wing of the Democratic party or CNN or whatever...the real questions is are news media biased? Of course! Should we be shocked? Nope!
They have cut the throats of the poor and the middle class.
ReplyDeleteThey have looted our national treasure.
They have abandoned their constituency in favor of a multi-national corporate behemoth and an out-of-control military industrial complex.
They have created a global, geo-political catastrophe in the Middle East that will take at least a century to remedy.
They have shoveled a generation of American children into an untenable slaughterhouse in Iraq.
They have engendered an economic nightmare so immense that generations yet unborn will still be bearing its burden.
They have sold our nation's soul to the highest corporate bidder.
They have made a mockery of the First Amendment.
They have squandered a trillio-plus dollar surplus with a tax cut for a class of people who didn't need it.
They have gutted vital social programs that aid the poor and the elderly which have been in place for over seventy years.
They have gutted laws meant to protect working men and women.
They have plundered the environment.
They have depleted our educational system.
They have hijacked this nation's political dialogue.
They have ruined our international reputation.
They have handed our domestic agenda over to religious fanatics.
They have stolen two national elections.
They have trampled on our constitution.
They have sent our Bill of Rights through the sausage grinder....
They must never, ever be allowed to govern our country again.
The grand old party is over.
http://www.tomdegan.blogspot.com
Tom Degan
Goshen, NY