The fall of the media empire has just begun and already we're squabbling over the sexuality of an image?
You want "non-gender"? May I suggest a Black Grouper?
They seem to have the ability to change their sex as need dictates. ;)
Posted on 09/15/2004 2:28:40 AM PDT by Cincinatus' Wife
A revolution is sweeping the American media that will eventually spread to this part of the world.
What is happening is that for the first time in decades, if not ever, the power of the mainstream media (MSM) in the United States is being seriously challenged by a mostly ragtag army of outsiders armed with little more than the internet. The age of the blogger is upon us.
A blogger is someone who keeps a web-log, updated on an almost daily basis. They offer blow-by-blow commentary on current events. They can do so at almost no cost and their sites can be accessed by anyone with an internet connection anywhere in the world. Basically the internet has eliminated the cost of entry into the world of media and commentary at a stroke.
Last week we had a clear demonstration of blogger power.
CBS broke a story based on a document purporting to blow further holes in George Bush's National Guards record. This was to be the big counteroffensive against Bush following the Swift Boat Veterans for Truth campaign against Kerry.
The trouble is, it fizzled out in no time. Why? Certainly it was not because of the MSM, which showed no desire to subject the story to critical scrutiny, seeing as it was helping their man, John Kerry.
Instead it was left up to the bloggers to do that. As soon as the story broke they pounced on it and quickly showed that the document upon which CBS based its story was in all likelihood a forgery.
CBS and its unbelievably pompous anchorman, Dan Rather, have tried their best to defend the story but it is now all but dead and with it possibly Kerry's chance of election.
This sort of thing has never happened before because no one was around to call the MSM to account before.
The MSM in the US is liberal with few exceptions and will gladly run stories that embarrass the Republicans and suppress stories that will embarrass the Democrats. But now with the bloggers on the scene, the bias of the MSM is being revealed daily and the MSM can't stand it.
Let's broaden out the perspective here. As others have pointed out, what is happening to the MSM is roughly analogous to what happened to the Catholic Church when the printing press was invented. Up to that point the Catholic church controlled most of the available bibles and therefore the theological interpretations of the Bible.
This gave it great power in a Europe that was still very religious-minded.
Then the printing press arrived and put the Bible in the hands of vast numbers of people who could read it for themselves and interpret it in their own way. Before it knew it, the Catholic Church was faced with the Reformation, and not long after that the continuing proliferation of Protestant churches began in earnest. The Catholic Church had lost its monopoly because it lost control of the Bible.
Similarly the MSM is now losing its monopoly over the news. Before the arrival of the bloggers the vast majority of people had to rely on CBS, NBC, ABC, and the mostly liberal print media, dominated by papers such as the New York Times, for their daily news. Almost as importantly, they also relied on these outlets for their interpretation of the news.
Now the proliferating number of bloggers is directly challenging not only the MSM's interpretation of the news, but also what it decides should be news and what shouldn't be news. Some bloggers actually break news, e.g. the Drudge Report, which broke the Monica Lewinski story.
This is devastating for both the MSM and the Democrats, who have long been given a more or less free pass by the MSM. Never again will it dominate the news as it once did. Those days are gone and in the years to come its power will diminish and, with it, its influence.
I came across an ad at the weekend that showed a man skewered by a woman's high heel. A striking image to be sure. Men are an easy-going lot about these things. We treat them as a joke. However, it's easy to imagine the reaction of feminist groups if an ad showed a woman being crushed under a man's heel.
Not much humour in those quarters.
"CBS and its unbelievably pompous anchorman, Dan Rather, have tried their best to defend the story but it is now all but dead and with it possibly Kerry's chance of election."
POMPOUS!! This is the most perfect description yet of Dan. I guess you could say that pride and pompousity will catch up sooner or later..What a way to end a career!
What the democrats have relied on is management of preceptions... they have opinion 'shapers' like Dan Rather who are out there peddling any old lie they want... that's cool.. Freedom of the press.. he lied - we caught him.. he will be held to account.
President Bush said you're with us or you're against us.... heh. Truer words have never been spoken :-)
Now I don't want you and your sleuthing compatriots to get swelled heads Howlin. He he he he....
Most definately.
The fall of the media empire has just begun and already we're squabbling over the sexuality of an image?
You want "non-gender"? May I suggest a Black Grouper?
They seem to have the ability to change their sex as need dictates. ;)
The (((click))) heard 'round the world.
This gave it great power in a Europe that was still very religious-minded.
Then the printing press arrived and put the Bible in the hands of vast numbers of people who could read it for themselves and interpret it in their own way. Before it knew it, the Catholic Church was faced with the Reformation, and not long after that the continuing proliferation of Protestant churches began in earnest. The Catholic Church had lost its monopoly because it lost control of the Bible.
YES! And so to when not only was it published on the printing press -- but then another giant step when it was translated into the languages of the lands -- into the vernacular. And most spectacularly -- when it was translated into English!
LOL
I love her cartoon.
I suggested, "the ((click)) heard 'round the world"
Or
"The mouse that roared"
And the Internet is a great money raising (free speech) instrument too.
That man is the perfect symbol for the DNC.
Very nice...but what about us ladies?
He just needs a little more educating.
LOL
Women in nighties, kicking Dan Blathers butt.
I better be careful here.
Good looking Republican women in nighties. I'd buy the calender, if someone was up to the task to make one. It wouldn't even need to be a print version.
And the meek shall inherit the earth... heh.. who would have figured it would happen this way :-)
Too cool!
See post 37!!!
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