Posted on 11/17/2004 9:01:23 PM PST by valleygal
To: The News divisions of ABC, CBS, NBC, MSNBC, CNN, FOX, Associated Press, New York Times, Washington Post, LA Times, Arizona Republic and other Major Media
We, the undersigned, urge the media to produce unbiased and agenda-free news or fully disclose all political, cultural, racial and religious bias in every edition of news product. We have withstood the cultural and intellectual assault of an obviously biased media for far too long now and we ask ALL PUBLIC BROADCAST AND PRINT MEDIA to perform a thorough review of its editorial and reporting policy, the purpose being;
· To dispel the myth of its own neutrality; · To eliminate the patently obvious use of misleading definitions and terminology; · To eliminate politically charged labels (such as the reference to enemy combatants and terrorists as “freedom fighters” or referring to a Movement calling itself pro-life as “anti-abortion”); · Politically unbalanced reporting; · Opinions disguised as news reporting; · Selective omission of relevant facts and context; · The use of true facts to draw false and misleading conclusions; · The distortions of otherwise verifiable facts to draw false and misleading conclusions.
The biased coverage of events without the FULL DISCLOSURE OF POLITICAL OBJECTIVE is a most serious breach of the public trust. That trust is breached when bias is included in news reporting without a clear understanding by the public of the underlying political ideology and when individual views are reported as news. Personal opinion must be reserved for the Op Ed pages. The American public deserves true news reporting without being told what to think about the news. Selective reporting is an insult to the intelligence of Americans; we do not need to be told how to interpret the news.
We know there are many positive and newsworthy stories and images available concerning the War on Terror, as well as social and economic issues in our own country that are not being reported or are reported in a biased manner. We have seen the images and heard many such stories from family and friends serving our country in Iraq and Afghanistan, yet most of the American media is not reporting them. During a time of war, the American media must support a united front and a common understanding of our need to succeed in the war effort. To do otherwise puts American lives at risk. This can be done without compromising the important and necessary role the media plays in reporting on its government and military. Remember, the military you criticize is the same military that lays down its life to preserve your right to criticize it. As Americans, we want to hear the news reported from an American point of view.
Objective, meaningful reporting of facts and information relevant to the American public IS your most important responsibility, NOT the propagation of any political agenda. The fact that the media treats terrorists like Yasser Arafat with respect yet treats an accomplished American public servant like Dr. Condolezza Rice with condescension and derision through racist cartoons only serves to make the media look biased and irrelevant in the eyes of millions of Americans.
Sincerely,
The Undersigned
Pinging you here. In honor of Sharon and all our military.
the only problem is they don't see their slant. the media really believes everyone favors abortion, blames man for global warming, thinks gays should be allowed to marry....
This will not make a difference. What makes a difference their pocket.
Hurt them in the pocket only way to make them stop.
Challange by giving support to someone who does report good news, and support them. Got anyone in mind?
Otherwise pull stock, dont buy their paper or magazine.
Thanks for the ping!
I know they don't see their slant. But I told them they had one anyway. And you're right it may not change a thing. Lots of petitions dfon't change anything. It's a way for people to be vocal. I'm just tired of getting reports from Iraq on a daily basis of the good things happening and hearing nothing here.
Our military over there is tired of it!
Some boycotts work. Some don't. I've already boycotted the news media, except for FOX, as well as the AZ Republic.
Do YOU, TX4ever, have anyone in mind?
I agree. Money talks, petitions go in the trash can.
A better approach would be to target advertisers or the folks who sell the advertising.
The reason why the LSM has omsbudsmen, comment lines, ad nauseum is not to listen to their viewers/readers. It's a diversionary tactic. The thinking is that if they give the public someone to send their complaints to, they can divert your energies away from doing something that might turn out to be effective.
For those who do want to sign, the addy is http://PetitionOnline.com/mediaRx
You might as well hum to these buggers ''Big Rock Candy Mountain'', or sing it if you know the lyric (posted upon request) -- you've NO play at all in persuading them to exhibit any sort of honesty or objectivity in their ''reporting''.
Big difference between alphabets who subsist on access to limited frequencies that are publicly owned and go along with licenses...and cable channels who can do whatever they want. Also, cities where a single newspaper has been entrusted effectively to be the "paper of record" have a responsibility to play fair.
Thanks for the ping.
As my dad would say, "looks like youre charging Hell with a bucket of water!"
You go girl!
It's not bias; it's a coup.
That's how girly men do it -- get strong, healthy people to turn against one another. They in themselves can do nothing; so they manipulate others to do their dirty work though manipulation, deception, misinformation and disinformation.
In schools and prisons, when the rest realize what they are up to, they grab them by the scruff of their necks and force their heads down a toilet bowl and flush it. That's the only thing that seems to work. The editors and reporters at the NY Times make it easy; they're usually to be found patrolling the bathrooms at Port Authority.
Thanks, TO.
I know, LOL, just call me Don Quixote.
I realize this isn't gonna help a whole lot but sometimes you just have to take a stand and shout out how you feel,
even if few people listen.
Thanks. I appreciate what you said. It's frustrating not to be able to change it. But I just had to write the thing anyway.
You know, the first time my son saw, "The Emperor's New Groove" (Disney) and heard Pacha's wife say, "I'm just gonna march right down to the Emperor and...."
my son looked at me and said, "Mom, that's you!".
LOL! how cute!!
PLease dont ever give up!
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