Posted on 11/12/2003 5:36:44 AM PST by Pharmboy
Ah ... spelling error, make that casualties.
I agree that bias in the broadcast media is a much more serious issue
. . . so you will probably enjoy a thread entitled
Why Broadcast Journalism is
Unnecessary and Illegitimate
Wow. "militantly!" As any good Reuters man can tell you, Smith is obviously a terrorist! In our US Senate!
Wow. "militantly!" As any good Reuters man can tell you, Smith is obviously a terrorist! In our US Senate!
Name one conservative talk show host who claims to be "objective". Why does that matter? Becauseobjectivity is impossible, andThe person who claims to have no POV is the one who is the most tendentious. That is, "journalistic ethics" is the biggest fraud going.the closest thing to objectivity is the self-critique of admiting that your POV has a name.
On Iwo Jima, more US Marines earned the Medal of Honor than in any other battle in US history.
In 36 days of fighting there were 25,851 US casualties (1 in 3 were killed or wounded). Of these, 6,825 American boys were killed. Virtually all 22,000 Japanese perished.
At the rate we are losing our soldiers in Iraq to combat deaths, it would take almost 10 years before they equaled the number of Americans killed on 9/11, and almost 20 years before they equaled Americans killed at Iwo Jima (in 36 days). Every death is tragic, but in the end I believe our actions will save lives.
Too bad the networks have such trouble providing perspective when they pick sides, and not too bad viewers are deserting in droves.
| New York Times | Washington Post | |||
| Congress | % Lib | % Con | % Lib | % Con |
| 102nd | 3.87 | 9.03 | 2.04 | 6.00 |
| 103rd | 3.18 | 10.80 | 2.48 | 7.31 |
| 104th | 3.08 | 8.03 | 1.90 | 5.40 |
| 105th | 5.54 | 11.95 | 2.13 | 6.28 |
| 106th | 3.71 | 12.73 | 2.28 | 5.52 |
| 107th | 4.43 | 6.67 | 3.68 | 7.21 |
Cities are a form of community, just as Free Republic is a form of community. Traditionally, news organizations have sliced the market by geography. Newspapers share many sources in national coverage, and provide unique coverage on local. Hence, as you point out, the larger papers are based on larger geographic population centers (aka the "blue counties").
If we then look at the trend in conservative media, we see some things happening. First there is obviously the web. More on that later. Secondly, in many cities, a conservative local press is beginning to emerge, perhaps publishing weekly or monthly. Here in Charlotte we have the Rhino Times, a weekly, and the Charlotte World, a Christian worldview weekly. Both are popular and have, at a minimum raised public consciousness on liberal schemes at a local level. (The local Stratton case in which the homeschooled children of the Stratton family were removed from their home by the local DSS significantly raised awareness of DSS tactics, strategies, the cash flow generating from the social services system and the overall biases of the system.) The two Charlotte papers are in fact parts of small chains. The Rhino Times also publishes in the Greensboro/Winston-Salem market, the there is a Raleigh World, a Piedmont World, a Columbia World and others. Concurrently, sources of National News are growing in effectiveness, largely via the web. These sources range from the Christian Agape press to the Family Research Center, to WorldNetDaily to the Media Research Center and many others. The "urban centers" of these national services are virtual, but "urban" nontheless in the sense that they represent a critical population mass with a cosmopolitan perspective. These two bases, the local and the virtual urban are both growing and building intricate interdependencies, forming new networks in the process. It seems likely that Metcalf's law concerning networks will apply here, and that as a result, these nascent networks will grow in reach, value and profitability. It is likely that we will see many of these organizations begin to merge in the future.
In answer to your question about what can be done, may I suggest the following:
1) Cancel any subscription you have to your liberal local paper. Wean yourself from depending on them for local coverage and discover the small alternative sources of local news. In the process, starve these liberal outlets of both subscription and advertising revenue. Use your "cancellation dividend" to subscribe to and support the local conservative sources.
2) Use public sources of information (local government websites) and personal networks (ie email lists) to disseminate any local news not covered by the local conservative outlets on a timely basis.
3) If your community currently lacks a local conservative source, reach out to one in a nearby community and find out what it would take for them to expand coverage into your community. Round up support and resources if necessary.
4) Act as a watchdog to track and report on local media bias.
5) Become active in your local FreeRepublic chapter.
6) Support your local conservative Think Tank (eg. The John Locke Foundation in North Carolina.)
These actions should help to accelerate the market forces and network effect already at play.
Still, documenting the omissions, commissions and instances of outright bias and lies is an essential way to fight these phonies.
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