The myth of the "librul" media

http://www.commondreams.org/views04/0528-12.htm


Published on Friday, May 28, 2004 by CommonDreams.org
Major 'Liberal' Outlets Clog Media Diets
by Norman Solomon

For many years, health-conscious Americans avidly consumed margarine as a wholesome substitute for artery-clogging butter. Only later did research shed light on grim effects of the partially hydrogenated oil in margarine, with results such as higher incidences of heart disease.

Putting our trust in bogus alternatives can be dangerous for our bodies. And for the body politic.

For many years, staples of the highbrow American media diet have included NPR News and the New York Times. Both outlets are copious and seem erudite, in contrast to abbreviated forms of news. And with conservative spin widespread in news media, NPR and the Times appeal to listeners and readers who prefer journalism without a rightward slant.

Recent developments, however, add weight to evidence that it would be unwise to have faith in news coverage from NPR or the New York Times.


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Keller's internal memo explains that the editors' public article "is not an attempt to find a scapegoat or to blame reporters for not knowing then what we know now." The phrasing was seriously evasive. A comment from FAIR, posted in the "Media Views" section of its website, pointed out: "If Keller thinks the problem with Judith Miller's reporting was her lack of clairvoyance rather than her failure to exercise basic journalistic skepticism, then it's clear that he didn't learn much from this fiasco. He describes the publication of the editor's note as 'a point of journalistic pride' -- as if a publication should be proud of acknowledging egregious errors that other people have been pointing out for more than a year."

Jefferson had a change of heart and lost faith:

Thomas Jefferson 1799
"To the press alone, checquered as it is with abuses, the world is indebted for all the triumphs which have been gained by reason and humanity over error and oppression."

Thomas Jefferson 1807
"Nothing can now be believed which is seen in a newspaper. Truth itself becomes suspicious by being put into that polluted vehicle. . . . The man who never looks into a newspaper is better informed than he who reads them: inasmuch as he who knows nothing is nearer to truth than he whose mind is filled with falsehood and errors."

Other intersting quotes to ponder on a nice day.

George Orwell
"Early in life I had noticed that no event is ever correctly reported in a newspaper . . ."


Hunter S. Thompson
"I have spent half my life trying to get away from journalism, but I am still mired in it--a low trade and a habit worse than heroin, a strange seedy world full of misfits and drunkards and failures."


E. W. Scripps
The press of this countrty is now and always has been so thoroughly dominated by the wealthy few of the country that it cannot be depended upon to give the great mass of the people the correct information concerning political, economical, and social subjects which it is necessary that the mass of people shall have, in order that they shall vote and in all ways act in the best way to protect themselves from the brutal force and chicanery of the ruling and employing class."


Thorstein Veblen
"The first duty of an editor is to gauge the sentiment of his reader, and then to tell them what they like to believe . . ."