Back in the day, I was a CNN VJ. At the time, CNN supported the telegenic Daniel Ortega’s fascist regime against the U.S.-supported Contras. El Salvador was “another Vietnam.” Apparently. Until everyone got bored. The spin reflected a liberal bias so pervasive no one needed to discuss it. It’s still the same deal at CBS, NBC, ABC, The New York Times, The Washington Post and now the Huffington Post. The jobbing journos in the mainstream media cranking-out anti-gun agitprop don’t even know they’re doing it. If you challenged the folks at 524 West 57th St. about the above news package — what does this Newtown mom know about gun control or the Second Amendment, exactly? — they’d defend it as important reportage ’cause, you know, it’s her opinion. And she has a child in that school! Oh, and the reporter mentioned the NRA’s position. In truth, it’s a perfect example of bleeding heart liberalism. Dangerous stuff. I wonder if it’ll ever change. Whatdaya reckon?
Mainstream media? I assume you mean Fox News, the most popular cable “news” outlet in the country.
Yeah, pretty much a lost cause, the lying sacks of shit.
wherever news and entertainment get conflated journalism dies
Just like how the FCC monitors for violations and issues fines, we need a Fact Checking body that monitors supposed “news” stations / papers / magazines / sites and if they make a false statement, they should be given a fine per infraction and made to make a very public correction (none of this hiding it on page 52 in size 3 font crap) – if they don’t issue the correction or don’t make it on the front page, then they get hit with a massive fine in the range of several hundred thousand dollars.
News has lost it’s integrity. Rather than taking the time for in depth civil conversion with let’s say the head of the SAF, and Shara Brady, they trot out people who no little to nothing and give them a national platform.
This simply spreads misinformation, but you can’t be mad at the mother. It isn’t her fault she is being used like a stooge.
Most of the news readers on Fox News don’t know jack about firearms or the 2ndA either. Some defend it in principle, but, i have seen quite a bit ignorance there. Would love to see a 8″ Python strapped to Kimberly Guilfoyle’s thigh.
You mean the only center right news station in the country called Fox News……….or ALL the others? Dont be a silly libtard. Numbers matter. Whoever is more for your cause (pro-gun) is on the right side. Where do ALL those other channels lean on the gun control issue? Yeah, there is AM radio and the Wall Street Journal……while the libs have EVERY (and I do mean EVERY) other conceivable sphere to get their sick idiology out to the sheeple.
ALL media are lying sacks of shit.
any sensible person would stop listening to them.
Generally true. But GOD, MSNBC is a real cluster F.
And the left leaning bias in general is the very reason for the existence of FOX (who I dont always agree with). It is primarily the libs who are going for the guns…..so they must burn. The enemy of my enemy is my friend.
left bias?
i wish.
if only we had a liberal media
http://www.examiner.com/article/former-cnn-reporter-alleges-cnn-accepted-money-from-bahrain-to-ignore-oppression
www(dot)youtube.com/watch?v=aJpMb7ElZ1Y&feature=youtu.be
Guess we would have to have a long definition of what a liberal is. Lets just say bad liberals (or all of the bad qualities of liberalism run amok). Think Hollyweird minus Tom Selleck, Ted Nugent, and….and….Holy God, is that it?
No, it won’t ever change. Fortunately we have more unrestricted sources like the Internet to let the truth be known. There is still a lot of noise to filter out, but at least the truth has a chance to be known online.
No, it’ll never change.
News is entertainment. Entertainment is about emotion and a quick n’ easy hook to keep the masses watching. People as a whole are stupid and fickle and absolutely buy into the fast-food emotion approach to news. Thus, the media moguls give the drooling public what they want: shallow emotion rather than insightful fact. True journalism, facts, and integrity are punchlines these days.
I don’t think mass media is inherently leftist. Mass media is inherently capitalist, and the things that bring in viewers (phony outrage, emotional manipulation, and moral bankruptcy) just happen to be leftist values.
Then why is Fox News blowing all the other cable news outlets out of the water? And despite that, they don’t change.
because only the talking heads who spew stuff I disagree with are biased 😉
Since when is Fox news libertarian? Modern Republicans harbor just as many far leftist values as their leftist counterparts. Look at Bill O’Reilly’s gun screed, Fox is no better than any of them.
I bet you think I’m a Republican too.
Of course, she’s a victim. The narrative is victims have more credibility than the rest of us. Their opinions matter more.
Being a victim is not an accomplishment. E.g., Carolyn McCarthy.
In the leftist camp, being a victim is the political holy grail.
Besides that, a tragic story of home invasion, torture, rape and barely living to tell about it sell so much better that a criminal who got shot for breaking into a house. Follow the money….
Robert….
You spent how long with CNN and still don’t know that it’s *opinion* that matters over fact and truth?
Apparently, “truthiness” is a non-discriminating affliction….
There was a brief time in my youth, before 24/7 tv coverage, when the news was a public service performed by the tv and radio stations. These programs were breif and to the point and not expected to generate a profit.
All that changed with the increased hours of coverage and the for profit commercial news. I doubt if Walter Cronkite could get a job in broadcast journalism these days.
One of the things I admired about Cronkite was that if he had an opinion on something, he was sure to let you know that his opinion was not the news.
For an example, see this, published in a liberal newspaper:
http://www.baltimoresun.com/entertainment/tv/z-on-tv-blog/bal-pew-study-suggests-msnbc-really-is-more-partisan-than-fox-20121102,0,7266571.story
Today’s MSM is a self-perpetuating liberal club, like academia. Conservative journalists, just as conservative professors face enormous and probably insurmountable obstacles to being hired. So how exactly is MSM going to change.
Note how – after the election – suddenly the media has discovered how bad the economy is, Benghazi, and other issues that might have moved the results away from their desired results. This is not ignorance; this is deliberate and voluntary whoring. Maybe you believe in waiting for a whore to reform. I don’t.
They never even admit they are wrong. “Love means never having to say you’re sorry” and nobody loves [himself] more than a liberal.
I am 27 years old, have not had have cable in years (by choice), dont buy newspapers or MSM type magazines (Newsweek, US News, etc). So my question is, aside from the emergency alert broadcast system did the MSM ever have a cause?
They were the defenders of truth way back. But I’m referring to a time when integrity, sticking with the 5 W’s, and being a neutral journalist was more important than being a celebrity or a political agent. The more adjectives used in a “news story” the more slanted the perspective.
There was a time, when the ethics taught at J-school were at least pretended to be honored- Think Edward Murrow, Walter Cronkite. But it wasnt perfect- think Walter Duranty at NYT.
Now we have CNN who admitted to slanting/censoring their own factual coveragge, per the requirements of Baghdad Bob, Saddam Husseins PR man, in order to get head of the line access.
Not to mention Anderson “Tea Bag” Cooper…(retch)
they do have a cause
http://www.crossroad.to/articles2/05/dialectic.htm
and this is how they do it,
http://12bytes.org/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/Media-Ownership-2011.png
Yes.
If you really want to change media perception, get Snooki or Pauly D or some other mainstream idol to come out for RKBA.
The opinions of these twits are what really registers with the bulk of the youth, forget Wayne Lapierre.
Was mainstream media ever a cause that wasn’t lost? Folks keep talking about this heyday of media where everyone was honest and news was news. I’ve been around 36 years and have never seen it. I look at old clips from decades ago and see the same old bias and sensationalism. No matter what we’re getting the most exciting news. The only difference these days is that there’s so much media we can tune in to whatever bias we want to confirm. For example, how many folks here regularly contribute to an anti-gun site to get the “other side”? (besides Mikeynumbers)
Thats why I dont watch main stream media news. Its all propaganda and no fact I trust Brightbart and townhall news on national matters bit more realistic reporting despite being a blog. And for gun issues here of course.
Keep telling Robert to not give them lip service and play them here they dont deserve it.
I highly doubt anyone in mainstream media will see the error of their ways when it comes to gun control. And even if they did, trumpeting the virtues of gun rights would be career suicide.
The only way I can see the mainstream media changing their tune is if there are several events where armed citizens save the day. And those events would have to include “small scale” events similar to the list of mass murder events such as Lubby’s cafe, Columbine, Virginia Tech, Aurora theater, Sandy Hook School … and at least one much larger and scarier event such as a major terrorist or criminal action involving multiple attackers and several hundred potential victims like the Beslan School Massacre or the Mumbai attacks.
Meanwhile, the Armed Intelligencia can take advantage of every single opportunity to get face time on mainstream media and deliver convincing facts to win over people on the fence.
I really, really hate it when the relatives of victims are brought out. Being the mother of a child shot in Connecticut makes one an expert in grief and loss – period. From that expertise I take nothing away – I bow to their grief and will listen to the lessons of their heartbreak – seriously. But, that automatically makes them the LAST person who should talk about gun control. They are de facto completely unreliable and totally emotional on that topic, as they SHOULD be.
Leave the relatives alone to grieve and come to terms with their losses. And when they attempt to talk about the reasons behind the loss of their child/friend/spouse, gently lead them away.
Hard to picture the MSM becoming “balanced” in my lifetime. I’ll be 54 next month.
They were a lost cause for me when I came to my senses about the need for my responsibility to protect myself and my fellow citizens after a human predator tryed to mug me and we fought hand to hand with me bearly winning the fight.
After I started carrying a weapon, I came to see that the print and broadcast news is completely hostile to personal reponsibility, self-defense and the right to keep and bear arms. Everything America was based on.
Now, I see them as nothing more than the propoganda arm of the progressive/communist movement in this country. If I want the real truth about the world, I’ll come to sites on the internet. Which also requires discernment.
Ever hear of yellow journalism? The newsmedia has never been unbiased. What has changed is the elimination of diversity of view. New technology and federal regulation destroyed competition. The founding fathers didn’t anticipate this development. We need to revisit the First Amendment along with Second. First statement is fact. For literal minded the remedy is sarcasm.
the founding fathers didnt anticipate the internet, social media, and other advanced technology that would evolve throughout the centuries??? i somehow doubt that.
No, not until people change. There’s always going to be an ignorant mass who dont care or cant understand the news or do their own homework.
People with money and power want to influence these “low information voter”, and the historical record shows this has been going on for some time.
Benjamin Franklin published a newspaper, and posted inflammatory flyers about his opponents: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pennsylvania_Chronicle
The term “yellow journalism” was coined for the Hearst/Pulitzer newspaper subscription battles in the 1800s. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yellow_journalism#Origins:_Pulitzer_vs._Hearst
Today its WAPO/NYT and CNN/NBC/CBS/ABC/PBS/MSNBC vs Fox.
Heres a link on Pew study showing MSNBC more biased than Fox.
Whats frightening is how the vast majority of the MSM journalists have rationalized their decisions to sacrifice truth on the altar of furthering their cherished political beliefs, and have thus indirectly or directly colluded to in effect, become an organ of the State, ie propagandists.
The proof is too abundant to debate, and not necessary if you have been paying attention for the last three election cycles – but examples like Journolist, and faux foundations and outlets funded by people like Soros, or Al Gore (now Al Jazeera)., show just how radical and Anti-American the agenda has become, and why its important to follow the money, and keep “outing” the connections in daylight.
The solution is the rise of the alternative media- first radio talk shows, now blogs, like this one and many more too numerous to mention. Think of the innertubes as the virtual Tianenmen Square …
oops too tardy on the edit- heres the Pew Research link, and hat tip to tdinva for being ahead on the yellow journalism comment.
http://www.baltimoresun.com/entertainment/tv/z-on-tv-blog/bal-pew-study-suggests-msnbc-really-is-more-partisan-than-fox-20121102,0,7266571.story
what we need to do is keep telling the truth, and converting those willing to do their homework, by providing information, and speaking to them from a position of credibility- your family, relatives, friends at work. There are more than we know who are already uneasy about whats happened, and will be ready to think again, about cherished beliefs propagandized by the MSM.
you’re welcome
I’ve dealt with and opposed the “mainstream media” since Jr. high and Viet Nam. After college and for many years I told people it wasn’t a conspiracy, but rather a consensus caused by the biases in colleges and the news business itself.
However, in the the last few years I think it’s self-evvident that CBS,NBC,ABC,NPR, the NYT,and WA Post, et.al, are anti-American, anti-Constitutional conspirators.
They constitute a Fifth Column dedicated to to the destruction of this constitutional republic as founded.
They no longer care about the truth, only their leftist agenda.
The must be boycotted, opposed, and refuted at every turn.
“anti-American, anti-Constitutional conspirators.”
you would be correct. To elaborate on that, they serve a globalist, manipulative banking interest that is becoming more and more desperate every day because what theyre doing is starting to fail.
Read “Bias” by Bernard Goldberg. The MSM has always been a bunch of lying doucheb@gs. I can still remember the Tet offensive and that POS Walter Cronkheit intoning that the war was lost. Meanwhile, the offensive was a disaster of Stalingrad-like proportions for the NVA, who fired Gen. Giap because of it. I’m not claiming that the war was a good thing, but I am saying that the North didn’t need four columns of infantry inside the South when they had a fifth column inside CBS News.
I don’t know if anyone has noticed, but the Internet is killing the old-school mainstream media a little more every year. For some demographics (that under-35 crowd someone was maligning, for example) the Internet IS the source for news and information.
There are folks who rely on Wikipedia for coverage of breaking events, because the content is sourced from literally everywhere and ruthlessly peer-reviewed in real time. I got massively better info on Newtown, live, by refreshing the Wikipedia article every 10 minutes than I did from any one of the old-school news networks.
That’s a pipe dream on both sides of the political divide. Print media is dying not broadcast. 40% of public believes what they see on the MSM. A significant number of voters get their news from comedy central. There was a NYT article by the guy who ran Obama’s media campaign where he bragged about how the campaignsuccessfully influenced so-called “low information aka to stupid to care” voters. They used popular media like late night TV and women’s magazines. He didn’t exactly call the voters that put Obama back in office stupid but the inference was there. He could come out and brag becuase those voters he insulted don’t read the NYT. The read junk like People Magazine.
Wikipedia as source? Give me a break. It’s a good source for reading up on Joan Jett or basic physics but political information? It’s further to left than MSNBC.
youre absolutely correct. “fringe media” is far more reliable in telling people what they need to know. Perfect? no. Certainly better than MSM.
Here’s a example: The Fukushima nuclear power plant disaster. Another? Amber Lyon and the CNN cover-up over Bahrain. Another? HSBC and eric holder.
Folks talk about 1984 and George Orwell coming into effect in the US. I disagree. Ill go with Brave New World and Aldous Huxley: too much information and too much entertainment rather than constraining information and entertainment.
@RF – youtube video isn’t working anymore.
You simply can’t leave FOX out of the conversation when talking about biased msm. Rupert Murdoch has an obvious agenda and is more than willing to let his minions spin away. John Stewart and Colbert get most of their material from FOX spin.
More like Stewart and Colbert are counterspining. You do know that Stewart and Colbert are sole source of information for many Obama voters, right?
exactly.
what cracks me up is people making excuses for Fox News and trying to claim theyre somehow more credible than the other stations.
Yes.
And see this: http://www.powerlineblog.com/archives/2013/01/headlines-of-the-day.php
I don’t know if it will ever fade away, but it will and has been changing. One thing that proves to me that it is something inherent in the media,or the liberalism of the big media outlets, is that they all say the same flawed arguments and as the arguments are proved wrong they all change.
Another point I’d like to make goes along with what one commenter said above about the Internet killing off the mainstream media. I think this has a lot to do with how hard the MSM tries to be shocking, controversial, as well as even more agenda driven. They are losing viewers constantly to the freedom to choose your new stories and the source you want them from that is offered online. This has instilled an air of desperation in all of the big MSM groups, and this can easily be seen by just how viciously they grab on to any story that is scary or tragic. Not only school shootings but hurricanes. I live in South Florida so I have in just the last 8 years lived through quite a few hurricanes. It’s gotten to the point where the MSM is so desperate for the extra viewers something scary brings that as soon as a system can be classified as a tropical depression (comes before tropical storm, which leads to a category 1 hurricane; and in general, really is nothing to worry about) they start a “Tropical Depression Watch” and start running stories about how to prepare for the worst. It’s almost comical for those of us down here who when we here is Category 3 or below we start organizing parties to enjoy the day off. It’s just an example of how desperate the MSM is for something scary and breaking to trump up. I almost think this could be a part of the increase in mass shootings. The MSM now grabs on to tragedies like this so tightly and milks every bit of money they can out of them that this added coverage is sending the message to those mentally ill that they can and will get this attention too.