A Plea to the American Liberal Media...

America needs an open and honest press. We need editors and reporters that have the courage to stand up to the threats of the radicals and neocons in power. We need newspapers that are not intimidated by the White House and are willing to stay independent from the White House. They need to use their own judgement rather than follow the leadership of the criminal radicals.

We need reporters to challenge the status quo. In these times, reporters should wear the badge of "liberal" very proudly, because America needs a free press. Political Parties cannot defeat radical fascism alone. The power of propaganda cannot be underestimated. Liberals need to challenge outright those organizations that spout the propaganda of those in power. The facts are the only weapons needed...with a little courage.

Media.

That's what I've decided.

It's not even only the corporate media that is spreading the right-wing bunkum - with the Republicans and their influence on the Corporation for Public Broadcasting.

The Right-Wing Manipulated Media describes what the wingers really want. The want their lies and PR used as news.

This controlled media results from the Regan years, when the FCC was radically altered. The 10 commissioners were reduced to 3 and the Regan changes allowed ALL TV, radio and newspapers to be owned by a single person, in theory... That hasn't happened yet but a few large coperations do own massive holdings in diverse media in certain areas... They may sound like disc jockeys but they're rarely live broadcasters... live broadcasters sometimes have opinions... In this approach, the news becomes the opinions of only a very few people, instead of the opinions of hundreds of Mom and Pop radio stations.... It was David Brinkley, i think, who said, "the news is what I SAY it is." He knew the power he held as the nation's NO. 1 news anchor.

Welcome to DU!! :toast:

I'm enjoying posting here... free-thinking has always been a hobby of mine. ;-)

As far as I can see, there is literally no subtlety or nuance left. I think it used to be something like, "you scratch my back, I'll scratch yours". But now it's just plain old quid pro quo. They PAY the media people for phony favorable news stories. They just flat-out GIVE THEM MONEY. Period.

Professional wrestling spectacles have more credibility than does any rightwing media "report".

and it needs to be. Then corporations will be free to own media outlets, but not free to pervert them into mouthpieces for the corporate state. Instead, they will be doing a public service. What a concept, the rich serving the public, I'll surely get labeled as a subversive now.

manipulated and coopted by the RW message machine.

but they have been intimidated into silence. They need to speak up.

They have been coopted by the RW message machine, you are correct.

"Because the beltway press corps has conditioned itself to respond only to Republicans. They've trained themselves not take Democrats seriously, either the rank and file who inconvenience them with e-mails they do not want to read, or the leadership they simply disdain. Unpopularity obligates them to criticize Bush at least mildly, but the relief they feel when his numbers edge up a bit is palpable. They don't seem to know this about themselves."

The New York Times needs to change its motto, because it no longer is "All the news that's fit to print."

I have thought the same. I'm glad that Digby verbalized it. They have been conditioned to accept everything the Repubs says at face value and to question or criticize any remarks by Democrats. Theydon't seem to know this about themselves.

Why does the press feel it is always necessary to give Bush shills equal time to tell their lies when the facts are the facts.

I just saw this happen again on Nightline.

They should just report the straightforward fact that Bush broke the law and confessed to felonies on TV. Instead they give incredible amounts of air time to the Bush spin masters.

These press people have no back bone to stand up and say: here's the story take it or leave it.

Real Journalists used to do that: Walter Cronkite, Murrow, Brinkley, et. al. now we just have announcers for the most part.

There are very few real journalists left now the only two I can name off the top of my head are Lou Dobbs, and Jon Stewart.

So many of them have been co-opted and are more interested in the Washington party circuit and access. What they should be doing is their own research and stop going to all the parties. They should be reporting front page when the White House cuts them out that the White House is trying to intimidate the media, instead of just caving to the intimidation.

Doug D.