The Media is a big part of the problem in so many issues, including Race Relations in the US!

In this last saga in our difficulties with Race Relations, the media showed just how much of a provocateur and participator they are in dividing this country in a destructive way.

It took a President to let the media know that this ain't 1996, and the days of OJ madness in this country. The Media really can't seem to learn that they are here to inform, not to polarize and to stir hatred in this country......whether racial, or otherwise. They aren't supposed to build sides and then simply offer the views from each side in an adversial manner....that it ain't about showing both sides, it's about putting forth responsible discussion without allowing passion to become the driving force in a given argument.

And the media does this exact same thing with many subjects day in, day out.

That is something we are going to have to address, because they are making this country
more dangerous, hateful, and regressive, and that ain't supposed to be their role in America.

Can you imagine how the corporate masters in this country would tremble if our nation were to unify and stand strong against the 1% group that rules it?

Health care reform would be a cake walk. Wars would only be declared by Congress and forced to stand responsible for that vote instead of their dancing around with amendments and shit. Education would be free. The military congressional complex would cower. No jobs would be sent overseas and no corporation would be using post office boxes on the Cayman's to evade paying their fair share of taxes.

See? They can't have that so corporate media and their word-wizards in journalism throw out hot-button words and create scandals where there aren't any.

Divide the American people so we can steal 'em blind and they'll like it.

as they fail to keep in mind how he is restricted in actually changing things for the better all on his own.

There is a reason why he encourages our involvement; because it is only with large numbers of the population behind him that he can actually affect the changes that we demand.

He doesn't want to be patient....he wants us to make him do it, and he also wants us to use all that we can to fight the institutions that are attempting to restrict him from implementing the platform he ran on.

And as I'm watching, they're doing it with zest, slowly poisoning the American people's mind to see President Obama as a racist now; using any and all angle, topic, divisive issue they can, trotting out dipshit repubs as if they have any credibility, showing polls that have always been biased against progressives... let the corporate psy-ops begin!

It's worked swimmingly before in the past, but that was before the Internetsss. Let's hope they fail this time.

country in the process. x(

I cannot imagine Congress under either party voting to break up the monopolies. Any President who dares suggest such a thing will not be backed up by congress and the media will fillet him/her to pieces and ensure they have no more "political capital" (what the hell is that anyways?).


I think its very telling that I have seen more black men and women as pundits this week, that I seen the last 2 years. Its as if only blacks can/need to discuss race relations. Race Relations is an American problem, not a black problem.

You think the Congress has that- or that the people in the districts would support the media conglomerates? They poll as low as insurance companies.

The poll will probably be coming early Monday morning courtesy of the mediawhores.

because "media is the method". Movies, radio and newspapers played a big part in the FDR recovery and also has been used to sell us lies about our "enemies". We are just so tuned into media today that it has a deeper effect on us.

It bears keeping in mind that even "liberal" media tend to be center-right re. economics and so have no particular desire for broadening health coverage. Racial controversies always transfix media, though. And I do not doubt Lynn Sweet's question is related to both of those facts. Neither do I think it's coincidence that birther lunacy has gotten a lot more play in major media recently -- a welcome diversion from "boring" health care!

...here: http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=132x8551780

My post...

You know, the MSM just seems to have trouble reporting on anything even remotely related to race these days. It's like they don't know what to do...ever since Obama became the nominee for President...and especially now that he IS President.

Remember how they did all the polls by race during the primary? They had all those fancy visuals that were really just graphs that popped up out of the floor? They could have chosen lots of data to share, but it was all 'black' vs.'white' percentages.

The whole Rev. Wright thing. And the inflammatory Palin campaigning that was getting scary...the media actually drew a line on that one, sort of. They've had all these weird (only my opinion) shows to try to teach racial history...some good, some just strange. And now Sotomayor and this incident at Harvard.

The coverage just seems odd, to me...like they don't know what the goal is. The Republicans seem to want to goal to be to create divisiveness again...because that's how they win elections (Karl Rove's specialty). There is another election in 2010 and it seems race may be their wedge issue.

Democrats have a different goal...unity...at least I think it's unity. And Obama leads on this very well, IMHO.

But the MSM, the media? Where are they on this ?? Except for Fox, who chose sides long ago, they seem to be insecure. They seem afraid to stand up and say "It's wrong to use race to divide this country ON PURPOSE."

It is so much sensationalist crap.

Just look at the stories they air and what emotions they want to evoke.

This current race fight they're talking about - Outrage over racism one way or another
The health care set backs - Cheer at a big government pork project and 'socialized medicine' losing/getting set back again
Obama using the phrase lipstick on a pig - OMG Obama insulted a woman VP!
The much higher ratio of people bashing the stimulus then praising it being invited on TV news shows - Get outraged at all that government pork, and try to stop it from happening, screw the fact that the economy will just get worse without a stimulus!

So often the media is trying to evoke some kind of an outrage from you. At times, maybe 20% of the time in politics, they have a feel good story they talk about constantly, but not often.

In a way this is actually the GOP's problems as well, the GOP has become a party focusing on evoking emotion with their campaign rhetoric, rather than offering actual solutions to our problems. Nate Silver did some analysis on this a few months ago about how the right wing radio shows are bringing down the GOP in this way, because emotional soundbytes don't tend to be very persuasive to moderates and undecided voters.