The MSM as GOP shill

(Repost because no matter how bad the Bush and the GOP screw up, the MSM morphs to continue its RW shill)

The American Media 101 (The media as GOP shill)

Or why the media is so damn complicit in furthering the Republican agenda.

The media serves as a shill for the group more likely to protector its corporate interests, Republicans. The fact is the levels of media ownership run so far and deep into the financial community it's hard for the average person to see, and so easy for the media to deny that these connections have any impact on its reporting

Here is and excellent ownership chart:

http://www.projectcensored.org/newsflash/C2006_chap6.pdf (pp 4-9 highlight the connections)

Now an example of how much deeper it goes beyond AOL/Time Warner connection to Citigroup (pg. 9). What this chart doesn’t show is the link to Kingdom Holding Company:









The point of all of this is that the media’s objectivityhas to be questioned because of these corporate/financial links. And even if the point is made about how spread out those ownership interests are, look at how much of Citigroup this Saudi company owns: 3.9% (or as stated above, half the Prince’s fortune).


How it works

Scenario 1 and Democrats: When charges, regardless of how false, are leveled at a Democrat, the media launches into a ling of questioning using RW talking points to put Democrats on the defensive to respond and prove the charges false.

Scenario 2 and Democrats: When charges are leveled at a Republican (no matter how factual) the media launches a line of questions using RW talking points to put the Democrats on the defensive to prove they are different from the Republicans, not as guilty or complicit.


In the first scenario, Republicans are asked leading (softball) questions. For example:

Media interviewer: So you’re saying President Clinton did the same thing…
Republican responder: Exactly. (Further elaboration optional)

In the second scenario, Republicans are offered the opportunity to rebut the Democrats charges and/or reiterate the Democrats’ complicity.

Case studies: See recent posts about Timmy Russert, whiney lapdog media, illegal spying on Americans and Rove indictment (My bad, MSM still processing spin on the latter).


The RW further engages in payola because some so-called journalists are only in it for the money and the practice allows the Republican to create the appearance of a solid, consistent and objective (Ha!) block of voices in agreement with their positions.


The wingnuts don’t get it

The RW audience, clueless that the media isn’t objective, complains whenever any charges are leveled against Republicans and picked up by the media because they still have to report most things. The RW audience accuses the media of having a liberal bias. When the media does something that really doesn’t appeal to them, they freep the media with e-mail


Other resources:
http://www.cjr.org/tools/owners/
http://www.mediachannel.org/ownership/chart.shtml

Extortion and Blackmail are tools the Bush family knows all too well

I can't think of someone who deserves the term "GOP shill" or "lapdog" less. Trouble is, he always gets overlooked in the rush to condemn the rest of the MSM.

Granted, his show is typically well-done and doesn't carry water for the powerful, but he's really the exception that proves the rule.

Follow the money and the GOP!